Gone with the Sakura

Starting approximately the week of Apr 4, Kyoto's famous cherry trees started to bloom. Called Sakura (桜 or 櫻) in Japanese, they are as much a symbol of Japan as sushi is. Since the time of the Heian-kyo, which is how the city of Kyoto was called in the early medieval, many poets and artists have tried...

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Okinawa

Before you start reading, please turn up your speakers and play the song below. What you are listening to is an Okinawan three-stringed instrument called Sanshin, something very similar to the Japanese Shamisen, except that it is covered with snake skin and not cat skin. The singer is...

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Korea Part 2

As promised, here is the second part of my Korea journal. Sorry for the note format, but there is too much to be said and too little time to do it. I also do not guarantee a 100 per cent accuracy of what I wrote as I received much of the info from unverified sources, such as locals who spoke miserable...

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Korea Part 1

The one and only preview picture, just to wet your apetite. This one captures a scene from Jeju Island. Last week me and three of my AKP friends went on a trip to South Korea as a part of our spring break. We visited the country's capital city, Seoul, and then made our way to its largest...

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