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Author: John

Bocas Background – A Short History of Bocas del Toro

Bocas Background – A Short History of Bocas del Toro

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For thousands of years before Christopher Columbus set foot on the islands of Bocas del Toro, they were inhabited by Indians of the Guaymi, Teribe and Bokota tribes. The Ngäbe (or Ngöbe) and Buglé are subgroups of the Guaymi. They are often grouped together and referred to as the largest indigenous group in Panama even though they speak separate languages. When Columbus arrived, his ships were in need of repair and the calm waters and fertile ground of the archipelago…

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Bocas del Toro, Panama

Bocas del Toro, Panama

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Now we move on to Bocas del Toro. This group of nine main islands and dozens of smaller ones, is located off the Caribbean coast of Panama near the Costa Rican border. Bocas del Toro means “mouths of the bull” and is also the name of the province that the islands are located in. The Capital and main town is Bocas Town, located on the tip of Isla Colon, the most touristy of the islands. An Afro-Caribbean culture dominates in…

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Hungry in Honshu – Japanese Food and Drink

Hungry in Honshu – Japanese Food and Drink

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The Japanese have a real passion for food. More and more, this passion is spreading to all parts of the world. Most major cities around the world have sushi bars and restaurants. In some places, such as New York, they are practically on every corner. The popularity of Japanese cuisine could be partly due to the fact that, more than most any other national cuisine, it is considered an art form, where presentation, esthetic and ritual are as much a…

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Noh, Kabuki and J-pop – Music and theater of Japan

Noh, Kabuki and J-pop – Music and theater of Japan

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Today’s Japan boasts the second largest music market in the world. The music scene has exploded to include Japanese styles of rock, heavy metal, hip hop, punk, and whatever else you can think of. A lot of today’s music from Japan would seem to be an adaptation of these styles, using the Japanese language. Yet there are also genres that mix western influences with Japanese traditions and structures such as Japanese Pop, or ‘J-pop. There are also many important classical…

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Temples, Shrines and Geishas – Kyoto

Temples, Shrines and Geishas – Kyoto

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Next we take a look around the ancient capital city of Kyoto. Kyoto, in fact, means capital city. It was Japan’s capital for over a thousand years and was originally the country’s largest city. Located in a valley of the Tamba Highlands in central Honshu, Kyoto, with a population of around 1.5 million, is part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. The city, which was originally built using principles of Feng Shui, was destroyed in large part during the Onin War,…

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Honshu History

Honshu History

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The history of the island of Honshu is basically the history of the country of Japan. It is the largest and most central of the Japanese islands and is where its current and historic capital cities are located. Before 300 BC, the early Japanese were for the most part, hunters, gatherers and fishers. Things changed quite a bit when around that time, rice cultivation was introduced. This caused a rapid evolution in the formation of social structures. One result of…

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Tokyo – The Eastern Capital

Tokyo – The Eastern Capital

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For much of its history, Tokyo was known as Edo. Like so many island cities, it started out as a small fishing village. Today, however, it has grown to mind blowing proportions. It is the largest metropolitan area in the world and is actually much more a conglomeration of cities than just a city in the usual sense. Japan is divided into 47 ‘prefectures’ or districts. The ‘metropolitan prefecture’ of Tokyo makes up only a part of the  Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan…

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Honshu – Japan’s Main Island

Honshu – Japan’s Main Island

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Our next destination is Japan. And, more specifically, since Japan is made up of four main islands as well as several chains of smaller islands, we will focus only on the main island of Honshu this time around. Honshu is the seventh largest island in the world and second only to the Indonesian island of Java in population. It makes up sixty percent of Japan’s land area and is home to 104 million people. It is where most of the…

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Wild Boar, Chestnuts and Corsica Cola – An Exploration of Corsican Food and Drink

Wild Boar, Chestnuts and Corsica Cola – An Exploration of Corsican Food and Drink

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Corsica’s shared history and proximity to Italy is evident in the country’s cuisine. The common use of the chestnut goes back to a decree issued in the year 1548 during the Genoese Republic that each Corsican landowner must plant at least one chestnut, mulberry, olive and fig tree. A later decree, in 1619, upped the planting requirement to ten chestnut trees every year. This resulted in quite a number of chestnut groves and forests and secured the chestnut’s place in…

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Things to See and Do in Corsica

Things to See and Do in Corsica

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With over 1200 miles of nature trails, over 600 miles of stunning coastal scenery, including long stretches of white sand beaches, glitzy seaside towns, fortified cities built atop cliffs and hills and ancient villages dotting the mountains of the interior, Corsica promises to deliver much to the visitor or adventurer. From the sea to the snowcapped mountains, Corsica’s wide variety of landscapes knows few rivals. Almost half of the island is part of a nature preserve – the Parc Naturel…

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