Amazing. I don’t know if this qualifies as racist. Anyway, peace out Japan! I’m off to Bali. Posts on Osaka and Hiroshima/Miyajima to come.
My day in Kyoto
Kyoto is a city of temples, greenery, hushed alleyways, and refinement. A holy-feeling city all mixed in with everyday modern life in pockets. It has the air of an old capital. In the spirit of not overdoing it, I actually didn’t see a ton of the city. I didn’t research every temple or shrine. I just tried to pick off a few things and enjoy the experience of being there rather than of knowing it all.
Some highlights: Continue reading My day in Kyoto
Some foods I’ve eaten in Japan (minus the McDonalds cheeseburgers)
Interviewing blows
That’s why I’m going to stop doing it. At least for now. Until I’m ready. The best way to stop doing it and to create distance (typically) is to leave the country. Yes, to just run away. The only problem is that now there are things like international plans and with easy internet access, email, and everything cooperating with you other than the time zone, it’s really actually quite easy to interview from afar. I suppose it’s also easier to use the excuse, “I’m sorry I sound like such a dumbass right now. It’s the jet lag.” That works well. Everyone understands jet lag. Continue reading Interviewing blows
Remembering Tokyo
My 34-ish hours in Tokyo consisted of uneducated meanderings and some down time. I landed at Haneda airport (much closer to the city than Narita) at 10:30pm without a hotel reservation and convinced someone at an airport information desk to call one of the hotels in my Lonely Planet guide. Luckily, I got the last room!
This information desk person then convinced me to navigate the insanity of the Tokyo public transit system instead of taking a taxi. The interesting thing about Japanese people is that they generally don’t give you a flat-out no, but when they pause uncomfortably and look at you askance, you get the feeling that you’re about to make a bad decision. So against all my seemingly sane instincts to take a taxi, I decided to navigate my way by train. Which looks like this crazy mess:
I stayed in a super cute Japanese inn called Kimi Ryokan. Picture a Japanese zen garden with sliding shoji paper doors, tatami flooring all around you, and a comfortable white fluffy bed-like cocoon on the floor. Continue reading Remembering Tokyo
2am trip-planning neuroses
I need to stop waking up at 2am. And if I’m going to wake up at 2am, I should consider doing something other than spending 3 hours agonizing over travel itineraries and scenarios. Some decisions have been made at least. Osaka tonight. Kobe tomorrow night (most likely). Kuta in Bali on Thursday. And then…maybe I’ll stay there and surf or head to Ubud and the Gili Islands, which are less run down by tourists.
Ya think this could have taken me less than 2.5 hours? Continue reading 2am trip-planning neuroses
Welcome to my blog!
I may even share a link to this to people I know. It’s a big step. Oh, and thank you, Lily.
I’m writing this blog to chronicle some of the randomness and serendipity of my life at this moment, share it with my friends, and hopefully, have it be a structure for expression, meaning, and useful new realizations.
It’s unintentional but somehow fitting that I’m starting this blog my first morning in Tokyo. After two weeks of loafing in San Francisco and a one-day stopover in LA (a sort of hiding out period for me), I’m in Asia. In a way, this feels like a return to the homeland and a reconnection with my roots…it’s close enough without being too close (i.e., it’s not Korea).
Traveling alone is euphoric, freeing, self-affirming, and expansive. Continue reading Welcome to my blog!