This gallery contains 1 photo.
I wanted to write a song about Ginza, Tokyo, Japan. And I wanted to write a song that was laced with yearning and melancholy, but still upbeat; an epic electronic dance number, that went on and on and attained epiphany, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 19 photos.
The other historic grand hotel in Tokyo – and the one I actually stayed at – is the Tokyo Station Hotel. The Tokyo Station opened its doors in 1914 – it was built by the same architect that designed the Bank … Continue reading
This gallery contains 17 photos.
The Imperial Hotel is THE grande dame of the hospitality scene in Tokyo. It was built in the Meiji Era – the first Western-style hotel in Japan, built to cater to European visitors. It opened in 1890 but unfortunately, burnt down in … Continue reading
This gallery contains 15 photos.
The Imperial Palace in Tokyo stands on the foundations of the former Edo Castle, which has existed on the same site since 1457. In 1868, the Meiji Emperor moved from his Imperial Palace in Kyoto to the Edo Castle, renaming it … Continue reading
This gallery contains 47 photos.
In 1868, the Meiji Emperor, upon ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the Imperial Capital, Kyoto 京都, subdued the Tokugawa Shogunate and abolished shogunates altogether, declaring that from henceforth, political power would once again be restored to the Monarchy. The last time … Continue reading
This gallery contains 25 photos.
Underneath the contemporary glass and steel of Tokyo likes the older city of Edo, the seat of power of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The city became the de facto capital of Japan in 1603, when the Tokugawa Ieyasu consolidated power and … Continue reading
This gallery contains 15 photos.
So finally, 15 months and 14 cities later, we arrive here at the final destination of our Grand Tour of the Far East: Tokyo, also known as the Eastern Capital 東京. Tokyo is most often known as a hyper-modern metropolis – … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
I love art, and I love cities. As a cultural policy-maker in a past life, my role was to examine how art could be used to transform cities, and to apply what I uncovered to Singapore. I loved my job. … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
Over the holiday weekend, I had the opportunity to reflect upon time, upon travel, and on my journeying this past year. What I discovered was that I am often struck by places of instability and ambiguity, in which the past … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Over the weekend, I finished reading celebrity philosopher, Alain de Botton’s (2002) excellent book, The Art of Travel. In it, he very humorously and counter-intuitively examines why and how we travel, using his own experience, and excerpts from travel narratives … Continue reading
Dream Of A City 