I just wanted to share some shots from the Team Lab exhibits I got to visit in Tokyo and Kyoto. If you have the chance to see some of their work I highly recommend the experience! The one in Kyoto was hosted at a world heritage site, and I was super lucky to get into the… Read More Can You Code With All the Colors of the Wind
I have to be honest, I have been super fortunate to have had countless opportunities this year to do some amazing things, big and small. One that is definitely near the top of that list is climbing Japan’s tallest mountain: Mt. Fuji. I’m quite surprised that I have yet to make a Japanese friend who has… Read More F*ck me up Fuji-san
I had two more stops before I finally made it back to my home in Kyoto: Kumamoto and Beppu. Being the busy body that I am, I constantly forget to schedule time for self care. In Kumamoto I stayed in a capsule hotel for the second time. I allowed myself to relax by taking full… Read More To Hell and Back: Bathing and Beppu
For anyone reading, I’m back! I have basically been on the move for four weeks straight and I am down to my last two weeks in Japan. Though thoroughly exhausted, I hope to spend them catching up on lots of stories here and enjoying the last bits of this sweltering Kyoto summer. After walking the… Read More Ni Hao Nagasaki
After a literally perfect week in Okinawa, I head out early to go to Kyushu for the first time! I landed in Fukuoka, get my Seishun 18 Kippu, and set out for my first stop just outside the city: Nanzo-in Temple. The daibutsu (big buddha) was truly a sight to behold (as all of Japan’s… Read More Fireworks in Fukuoka
Haisai! That’s hello in the Okinawan dialect. As you may or may not know, back in Seattle I’ve been an active member of the Okinawan Kenjin Kai of Washington State’s eisa taiko group for over six years. Needless to say I’ve been hoping to make it to this little island for a while, and it… Read More Swimming with the Fishes
It’s summer in Kyoto! That means yukata, kakigori, sweating in puddles, deafening cicadas, and most importantly: MASTURI. I had the opportunity to attend all three of Kyoto’s major festivals, Jidai Matsuri, Aoi Matsuri, and finally Gion Matsuri. I am so used to my precious quarter system in Washington that my overloaded semesters at Kyoto University have been utterly… Read More Gaggles in Gion
I may not be living on a coast right now, but when it’s summer I need to be on a beach. This last weekend a group of us took advantage of our university’s rental house in the remote coastal city of Shirahama. It was an effort to get to and from the area, but it was… Read More Let’s Go to the Beach
The heat and humidity are in full swing here and it basically feels like I ended up in Iowa like usually do in the summer. It is also the rainy season, so when it happens to be clear outside we need to take advantage of the opportunity. I used my day off to head to the… Read More Summer Loving, Loving Summer
No matter what, when you live somewhere you’re going to procrastinate certain activities and convince yourself that you have enough time. Classes and my own lack of coordination skills have recently gotten the best of me. I live just a stone’s throw from the largest lake in Japan and just this last weekend found time… Read More Camp While You Can
Gaijin Guranto 