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On Location: Sketching a Serene Spot in the Middle of Bustling Tokyo
Going on an urban adventure at dawn was definitely something different for me and my family. After we observed sumo training at a local stable, we arrived early to our next stop, the Edo-Tokyo Museum in the Sumida district. Unfortunately, it had not yet opened for the day and we were stuck trying to decide how to cope with the unbearable humidity as we waited. We chose to walk around the block, and amazingly found a little slice of paradise in the middle of sweltering Tokyo, a serene Japanese garden. Our Japanese friend who was taking us around for the day mentioned this garden was privately owned, but free to the public to explore. We…
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Culture: Fresh Dungeness Crab in San Francisco
There are those who methodically create a stock pile and then there are those who dig and devour every morsel they find. There are leg men vs. body people, garlic butter dunkers vs. lemon mayonnaise dippers. Head to most restaurants during the Winter and early Spring months in San Francisco and you are sure to spot this motley group of people. Who are they? They are devoted dungeness crab eaters. Crab is not only a meal, but also a ritual for San Franciscans. Ask most seafood loving locals, and they will tell you a story or two of long nights with friends gathered around a table filled with cooked crab. A dungeness…