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 Peter Van Bossche; other photos by Fyllis Hockman unless otherwise noted

How often do a toilet and a tea ceremony form perfect metaphors for the culture of a country? But so it is in the Land of the Rising Sun.

The toilet falls into the realm of delightful personal discoveries. First a warm toilet seat along with musical options with a variety of buttons that cleaned more areas with water spray than I have nether-region body parts, a portion of the large bathroom mirror that remained perfect

Established in 1993, this country´s largest and one of the most popular of its 29 national parks covers around 27,000 square kilometers (10,425 sq. miles), of the famous Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Mountains on the northern edge of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia´s north, an hour´s flight from capital Ulaanbaatar (formally romanized as Ulan Bator), and stretching around 380km (236 mi.) from east to west and just 80km (50 mi.) from north to south.

 
wonderful sand dunes, the mountain with chance, and ice

The Andaru Collection Niseko features only six private villas. Each villa unit has two exclusive-use floors, with personalized service to all guests from across the world. The sight of these villas standing side-by-side, like a kamakura, Japan's traditional snow hut, evokes the feeling of a fairy tale village.

They are located in Niseko, the most prominent ski resort region of Hokkaido, Japan's northern-most main island. It is a 2-hour drive Southwest from Sapporo, Hokkaido's capital and largest

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Officially the Republic of China, this island with a population of around 24 million – just a bit larger than the state of Maryland and just under half the size of Scotland – has been in the news lately both thanks to its controversial January 13 presidential elections and to its perennial potential (and especially in the context of other current crises in Ukraine and Gaza) as a world flashpoint due to mainland China´s obsession with eventually and forcibly annexing it. Taiwan is both o

Human nature drives us to seek experiences beyond our familiar surroundings in our desire to explore new destinations. To fulfill this desire and explore something new this time you should travel from Los Angeles to Tokyo. On your journey from Los Angeles to Tokyo, you will experience a rich tapestry of cultural experiences, combining the glitz of Hollywood with the cultural riches of Japan. Travel is not just moving from one place to another it's a complete experience of self-discovery and cult

Cherry blossoms at Himeji Castle (April 2023)

I’m writing today to tell you about another Japan Railways “rail pass,” in particular about my recent experiences using the Seishun 18 Ticket (青春１８きっぷ). As for why there have been some Japan-related posts lately, well– I’ve been in Tokyo for a couple of weeks.

What is the Seishun 18 Ticket? It´s essentially a cheaper version of the JR Pass that is only available during three different times in one calendar year:

Known as one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in China, Huangshan is situated in Huizhou region of the country's southeast-central province of Anhui. Millions of visitors make a trip each year to catch a sight of theses magnificent granite peaks cradled by beds of clouds and frequently depicted in traditional Chinese paintings. And named after the mountain, the area around Huangshan City (pop. 1.5 million, a 4½-hour drive west of Shanghai) is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: th

             David Paul Appell

China’s largest city is unquestionably an amazing, fun, and fascinating place to visit – a mix of ancient and cutting-edge culture/architecture, along with fabulous dining, shopping, and entertainment. But on weekends, many Shanghainese love nothing more than to ditch the Big Wonton and head out west into the countryside to reconnect with traditional Chinese culture and history in a handful of charming, historic towns, whose islands and canals make them feel like

Formerly a colony of Portugal until it was handed back to China in 1999, this city spread against a backdrop of green hills over several islands, with a population of just over 705,000, is a Chinese special administrative on the Pearl River, just 60 kilometres from Hong Kong (making it an easy day trip, by the way). One of world’s more densely populated areas, Macau is best known and is known as Asia´s biggest gambling mecca. Besides the casinos which dominate the skyline (top), it´s is also k