Who has heard of Fukuoka? I know at least I sure hadn’t before coming to Japan. Japan is made up of many islands, but the main three islands are Hokkaido (where Sapporo is) in the …
Japan
Whale Sharks, Purikura and Okinomiyaki
Embracing being the classic Osaka tourist, I headed out to explore Osaka’s Aquarium: Kaiyukan. The aquarium borders the ocean and a shopping mall. Kaiyukan is famous for its whale sharks, and so there are countless …
Letting Go
For those of you that know me, one of the first descriptors that may come to mind for me is A-type personality. I love, and often need, every aspect of my life to be as …
Hello Kitty Restaurant
Japanese pop culture has many unusual quirks such as J-Pop (Japanese pop music), slapstick game shows and anime cosplay. But one facet of Japanese pop culture I was not expecting is this real, and some …
Koya-san
900 meters high, two and a half hours from Osaka, 2 trains a bus and a cable car away resides Mount Koya (in Japanese it is called Koya-san with the “san” referring to mountain). I …
Real Talk (Culture Shock)
I’ve waited a while to write this because every time I think I’m over culture shock, something strange happens and it hits me all over again. My first indicator that I may be finally getting …
Hanami
Cherry blossom season in Japan is incomparable with anywhere in the world (sorry, that includes you Washington DC) from sheer abundance to endless varieties to traditions of having parks dedicated to cherry blossom trees to …
Keeping Up With the Americans
I decided on this blog title after trying to explain who the Kardashians are to my coworkers last week. I do not watch “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” nor do I follow their lives on …
$1 Sushi? Yes Please!
(Before reading, don’t worry about the title; even cheap sushi is good sushi in Japan!) This weekend was a lot more laid back for me compared to other weekends because I have had so much …
Working Girl in a Whole New World
I spend every day of the work week in a lab, a science major’s dream. I get to work on a project for the BioChemical team of Osaka Gas and not only is it using …