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 …
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 …
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 …
Bamboo Forest and Monkey Park
I am obsessed with Kyoto. This has been my third trip to Kyoto and I still haven’t seen everything! Kyoto boasts over 1600 temples and old fashioned Japanese roads lined with temples, restaurants, food shops, …
6 Cities in 12 Days
I was super duper excited for my family to come, and I took the hour long express train to the international Osaka airport to meet them! We had a very busy 12 days, packed with …
A White Western Woman’s Take on Japan
I love Japan and being here is an incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity. All of this aside, however, this experience is filtered through a different lense than most other Asians because I am a …
350 Meters High in the Sky
On yet another Tokyo adventure, I stayed in the Wise Owl Hostels, featuring capsule beds! They are like your own little private room; I immediately fell in love. Probably it also helped that the mattress …