Travel

Buddhism and Shintoism – a very basic guide to Japanese culture

In 710 AD the first capital city was established in Japan, Nara, and there it remained until 794 when it moved to nearby Kyoto for the next 1,074 years before Tokyo became the capital in 1868. While Nara was the capital, Buddhism became officially supported alongside Japanese Shintoism, hence the abundance of significant, old Buddhist

Buddhism and Shintoism – a very basic guide to Japanese culture Read More »

Japanese Food for Novices (or “Food to look out for if you are not vegetarian and want Japanese food that is not too Japanese”)

I lived in Japan for two and a half years and have visited three times since then, most recently in February/March 2019. When I say I love Japanese food, in reality I like roughly 5%, albeit that I like that 5% a lot. I love the idea of Japanese food in that the emphasis is

Japanese Food for Novices (or “Food to look out for if you are not vegetarian and want Japanese food that is not too Japanese”) Read More »

Connaught Place – tourist hotspot in Delhi best avoided

Connaught Place is the centre of Lutyens Delhi, conveniently pinpointed by an enormous flagpole (to the far left of the aerial photo; that photo is only half of Connaught Place) within a circular “Central Park” from which concentric circles of road and 1930s Georgian-style buildings radiate. The buildings around the rings are grand, colonnaded and

Connaught Place – tourist hotspot in Delhi best avoided Read More »