Scott Haas 
Often compared with Tokyo, Kyoto is Japan’s most manageable city, one of the world’s greatest walking cities, and perfect for biking, too. It’s laid out on a grid so getting lost is a choice rather than the inevitability like in Tokyo. Walk, rent bicycles, or even take public transportation which … Read more
Outside of New York City, the jazz scene in Tokyo is better than any city on earth, with first rate clubs, hotel lounges, and local hangouts attracting up and coming as well as international acts. New acts, both Japanese and foreign, have eager and sophisticated audiences before them who sit … Read more
I first went to Prague ages ago, in 1977, motivated by a desire to see the birthplace of the first serious writers whose work meant the world to me as a young adult. Although Franz Kafka and Rainer Maria Rilke never wrote explicitly about Prague, the city’s literal darkness, Gothic … Read more
I was reluctant to visit Thailand thanks to its reputation as a haven for sexpats – old geezers with their drooping, chicken skin arms around the shoulders of girls and boys forty years younger. But when I realized how much I loved the spices of Southeast Asia, and legitimate massages, I … Read more
Japan remains for me “the trip of a lifetime” and even though I am there frequently, its magic makes each visit memorable and instructive. I learn something new every time. On a personal level, my time there has led me to think more about the group than myself; to be … Read more
Cities, restaurants, temples, shops, markets? Cultural experiences? Museums? Bars, late night jazz clubs? Dancing? Drinking? Who needs any of it? Japan offers, instead, a unique and magical one of a kind opportunity to explore the depths of your soul, and live to tell the tale. Ryokans, a type of … Read more
I landed in Saigon a few minutes past midnight exhausted and wired but excited to be in Vietnam, a country that had occupied my imagination for decades. I’d had just enough time at Narita airport to pick up a liter of Yamazaki Single Malt 12 year old Japanese whiskey, my … Read more
Samurai Central On the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, lies the serene, mountainous region known as Ishikawa. With its pristine coast and remote villages, Ishikawa offers a respite from life’s stressors. Ishikawa is easily reached by plane or car, but the most romantic way to get there is on … Read more
Although I travel on average two months each year outside the country, ironically I still consider myself a homebody. Few things on the road beat my dull, daily routine here in Harvard Square … walking Bello, my Bernese mountain dog along the Charles River, writing in my study, reading at … Read more
Weasel Coffee and Bowls of Pho I landed in Saigon a few minutes past midnight exhausted and wired but excited to be in Vietnam, a country that had occupied my imagination for decades. I’d had just enough time at Narita airport to pick up a liter of Yamazaki Single … Read more
Burritos in Burgundy? Let Me Start with Mexico The closest California comes to Burgundy, where the overriding French sensibility towards wine and food permeates the consciousness of just about everyone, is Napa Valley. How ironic then that this famed wine producing region with its exquisite Cabernets and world-class restaurants is … Read more
Eating in India – The Spice Trade Saying you like Indian food is the same as saying you like European food. Within Europe, you have French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, and Scandinavian cuisines. Within India, the range of cuisines is enormous and includes, but is not limited … Read more
Less is More You’ve had sushi, tempura, yakitori, and udon, but if you really want to eat like the Japanese, it’s time you tried kaiseki. Kaiseki is a kanji word that means, “stone in the bosom,” and refers to a centuries old practice that the Buddhist monks followed in the … Read more
Eating in New York City Daniel Hype in New York often trumps reality. No place on earth can brainwash people into thinking that the show, the art, the exhibit, the performance, or…the food is better than what you sense. It’s like Harpo Marx and Richard Pryor said: “Who you … Read more
It’s the Top – Banking on Swiss Cuisine Fondue, raclette, and cured, air-dried meats … to outsiders Switzerland might seem to be a backwater place when it comes to culinary matters. Way off the mark because it’s not just about the meat and the cheese. In terms of quality, … Read more