Thoughts
Kagoshima
Kagoshima is a moderately famous Japanese city at the southern end of the island of Kyushu. Originally famous for the Sakurajima volcano and the Satsuma family that ruled it. Recently it has become famous via Hollywood - as the main plot of the movie "The Last Samurai" revolves around the civil war against the Satsuma clan headed by Saigo - the last samurai of fiction. …
Yasakuni Shrine
This is a very controversial place - a simple visit by a Japanese politician to the shrine will elicit howls of protest from the Chinese and South Korean Governments. So why does a midium sized shrine, in the middle of Tokyo being on the wrath of other governments in the region? It is the shrine dedicated to those who have given their life in service of the country (or the Emperor depending on how you look at it) - a sort of war memorial for all the battles fought in the name of Japan. …
Hong Kong Store Fronts
Hong Kong is all business - and the most obvious result is that Hong Kong is actually a city of millions of store fronts. You can buy anything in Hong Kong, and you will usually find it behind a store front not unlike I show here. The challenge for these stores now is the huge increases in rent driven by the "greedy HK landlord syndrome" - a common issue now that a 100% rent increase at lease renewal seems to be considered a normal thing. …