Events 
Estonia: a frightening experience in Tallinn’s KUMU museum(0)
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 [...]
Japan: Asahikawa’s Ice Festival
Asahikawa in central Hokkaido will not win the “prettiest town” prize by a long shot, neither in summer nor in winter. Its main claim to fame is being a rail hub for the northern Japanese island, about 80 minutes by train from Sapporo. It also boasts an “Ice Festival” with snow figures and ice sculptures, [...]
Japan: Otaru’s lights and lanterns
Once a flourishing port specializing in the herring trade, Otaru, on Hokkaido’s west coast and about an hour’s train ride from Sapporo, has found out that the tourist trade is far more profitable these days. Since Otaru has a picturesque canal lined with old warehouses, why not make an “Illuminated Night Path” with lanterns on [...]