Tabi: Traditional Japanese Socks

Are you a person who shudders at the sight of someone wearing socks with sandals? Well, I have some bad news for you: That is pretty common in Japan, but it isn’t a new development. Socks have been worn with sandals for hundreds of years, and Japanese socks have been honed and perfected by craftsmen […]

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Traditional Ainu Clothing

The Ainu are the indigenous people of the Japanese and Russian isles, mainly in northeastern Honshu (the main island) and Hokkaido, the northern island. While visiting Sapporo, I happend to stumble upon an Ainu exhibit in the lobby of a fancy hotel. Not one to pass up the opportunity to learn something new about history, […]

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Kawagoe Antique Market

Once a month on the 28th, next to the County Government Office, the city of Kawagoe allows vendors to set up shop to sell various antiques. I’ve been lucky enough to visit it a few times and wanted to share some of the pictures I’ve taken of some of the incredible goods they have for […]

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Bola & Bolo Ties

Not too many people know, but Arizona has an official state neckwear, and that is the fabled Bola tie (often referred to as the Bolo Tie). If you picture any stereotypical cowboy and imagine anything other than a bandana around their neck, you probably know what the Bola tie looks like. Being in Arizona, I […]

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Dia De Los Muertos Festival

This year, being busy Halloween weekend, I wanted to check out Phoenix’s Dia De Los Muertos Festival. It’s part of my cultural heritage that I never really did much with growing up nor as an adult up until this point and I wanted to change that. From the description of the festival on their website, […]

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Indigenous People’s Day

There is a very large Native American presence here in Arizona, so it was no surprise to hear that Phoenix is the largest US city that observes Indigenous People’s Day in place of Columbus Day (this year, October 10th), which was first celebrated in Colorado in 1909. There has been a popular movement in recent […]

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