Yokohama Christmas Market

Since the pandemic, it’s been more difficult to visit the many European-styled Christmas markets that used to populate Japan. Cancellations and reservation systems kept many people out but this year, after opening its borders once more, Japanese Christmas markets are back!

Shibuya Blue Cave (Ao No Dokutsu)

Winter illuminations (light displays) are very popular in the winter months in Japan, with most starting in November and going through January. One particularly popular and unique display is in Shibuya ward in Tokyo, where they take a piece of Yoyogi park and a drag of the city and line it with over 600,000 blue […]

Tokyo Christmas Market

I had asked the student what they were up to during the weekend and she replied that she was going to a German Christmas market deep in the heart of Tokyo. Intrigued, I asked her about the details and she showed me the website, replete with images of quaint cottages, cooked sausages, and a variety […]

Best Nine of 2016

A big thing to do on Instagram is the top nine most-liked pictures from the year (you can follow me @ajgarnica). Since the new year is here, I thought I’d do a retrospective and examine my top nine photos and explain them a little more in detail.

Mongolian New Year’s

There are some interesting parallels between how Mongolians celebrate the New Year and how most in the “West” celebrate Christmas. There are trees all over the city. There are trees in each of my schools. All of them are decorated with ornaments, lights, and tinsel. I never really received a straightforward answer as to why […]