Posted in life, architecture, art and photography, business, news on Apr 20th, 2007 No Comments »
With sadness we note the passing of Clifton Karhu on March 24 at age 79, the great American-born blockprint artist who made Kyoto his home. Karhu’s prints are known for their strong lines and vivid colors and his themes pay tribute to the beauty of Japan’s old capital. Norman Tolman, founder of the Tolman Collection […]
Posted in life, business, intercultural on Nov 25th, 2006 No Comments »
Is Japan expensive? Not if you know where to go.
Of course, rents and the price of houses are outrageous (considering the often low quality of what you get), but for the rest it is not so bad at all.
On the contrary, I find Japan often much cheaper than my home country, the Netherlands. That is […]
Posted in life, business on Jul 29th, 2006 1 Comment »
“100 yen shops” were a typical phenomenon of the long economic crisis in Japan. In the nineties, they mushroomed all over the country, and even reared their heads in upperscale shopping districts.
You now find them everywhere in Japan. Their stock consists of a variety of items from clothing to stationery, housewares to food, with each […]
Posted in history, travel and places, museums, business, intercultural on Jun 16th, 2006 No Comments »
Shibusawa Eiichi, the man behind Oji paper, was an early proponent of free market enterprise in Japan. He played a central role in the establishment of modern industry in Japan and is honored with a beautiful, new museum in Asukayama Park, the Shibusawa Memorial Museum.
[Seien Bunko Library in the Old Shibusawa Garden. Photo © Ad […]