Events 
Japan: Nagasaki’s Atomic Bomb Museum(0)
It is the two-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Japan today. We all know that it was not only the quake and the tsunami that followed that caused such devastating destruction, but also the damage to the atomic reactors in Fukushima. Before March 11, 2011, I dare say that no one knew about Fukushima. [...]
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Japan: Dolls everywhere – the Hina-Matsuri Festival
Dolls, dolls, dolls everywhere! From small and plain to very fancy, I kept seeing them everywhere. So I investigated: starting in February and up to March 3, families and businesses display their often handed-down-through-generations dolls in honor of “Hina Matsuri Festival” on March 3, also called the “Doll’s Festival” or “Girls’ Day”. The tradition goes [...]
Estonia: a frightening experience in Tallinn’s KUMU museum
The KUMU contemporary art museum in Tallinn, Estonia, is one of those iconic buildings you don’t forget: clean lines, generous spaces, windows that catch as much light as possible. No wonder Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori’s design won the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award in 2008. So whenever I visit Tallinn, I always make [...]
Japan: A visit to see the Snow Monkeys!
When the baby monkey gazed up at me from the safe folds of her mother’s warm embrace, well, who wouldn’t melt? Ever since seeing a report on TV about the red-faced Macaque monkeys enjoying the natural volcanic hot springs near Nagano, I had wanted to visit them. And now I was here, communing mutely with [...]