The Big Mac(Donald’s) Update

Since I last did a McDonald’s update, I’ve gained a lot of readers. For those who are new, I try to eat at a McDonald’s restaurant in every country I visit. McDonald’s in every country are just a little bit different as they adjust the menu to fit local tastes. Eating at McDonald’s is an …

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Japan: Mecca for Sushi Lovers

Sushi is far and away my favorite food. I’m not alone in that assessment. All around the world sushi restaurants have been springing up like weeds as sushi has gained in popularity. It is easily the biggest Japanese contribution to global culture (yes, bigger than Anime). So I couldn’t really go to Japan and not …

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The Temples and Shrines of Japan: Part 1, Kyoto

Read part 2 and part 3 Travelers to Europe often complain of church fatigue. Everywhere you go, you see old churches and castles and after a while they all sort of just blur into each other. In Asia, the equivalent would be Shrine and Temple fatigue. No place I’ve visited so far suffers more from …

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Domo Arigato Mister Momofuku

I have a quick question for you, and you have to think really quick…..what is the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th Century? My guess is that the first thoughts that come to mind might include the Walkman, instant cameras, the VCR, blue-green lasers, DVDs (jointly with Phillips), or something involving technology. They took a …

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The Shrines and Temples of Japan: Part 2, Horyuji and Nara

If you’ve been following along for a while, or if you at least take a look at the left column of my website, you’ll notice that I have an affinity for UNESCO World Heritage sites. I’m not trying to visit every one of them, for that would be impossible. I passed up four in Japan …

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Preah Vihear: My Trip To A War Zone, Part 1

My day traveling to Preah Vihear is one of the most interesting and grueling of my trip, and so my description of the events is going to be a lot longer than most posts. I’ll be splitting this up into two parts. Today will be a general overview of the temple, its history, location and …

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Back in Bagiuo

I’m back in Bagiuo for the night. I spent most of the day on the bus coming back from Banaue. It turns out that I picked the rainy season to visit. Tomorrow I’m off to Vigan north of here, then to Puerta Princessa. I may have to say here a few days longer than expected. …

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Off to Osaka

I’m off to Osaka with a stop at Himeji Castle on the way. I haven’t been posting that much, but if you take a look at the loads of photos I’ve put on Flickr, you can get an idea of what I’ll be writing about shortly. I have a lot of things in the works, …

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1 Month

I have been in Japan over one month. I can’t really believe it. I’ve have so much stuff to write about, but I’ve been so busy it has been hard to find the time. I still have 6gb of photos to go through. You’ll be seeing Japan updates for a while I think. Tomorrow is …

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