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Mitsuwa Marketplace I've been craving Japanese food lately. Ever since leaving Okinawa I haven't eaten good sushi or been able to find sesame seed salad dressing and my favorite drinks (melon soda, apple tea, Aquarius). After lamenting to a fellow co-worker who had also lived on Okinawa, he suggested I go to Mitsuwa Marketplace. It's the largest Japanese supermarket chain in the U.S. I figured if anyone would have the items I was looking for, it'd be these guys. To my surprise, when I walked into the San Diego Mitsuwa Marketplace there was a bookstore, two restaurants, and a clothing and craft section. I plan to go back and try the restaurants as they were both very busy (so it must be good, right?) and they served soba. Somehow I managed to miss the sushi counter ... read more

New Seoul BBQ After purchasing some Asian food at Mitsuwa Marketplace, I went to New Seoul BBQ to meet up with an old friend. Going to this restaurant was a spur of the moment decision but the experience did not disappoint. The service was fast and the food was delicious. For dinner we ate Bulgogi with a varied assortment of Kimchi. It was fun cooking the meat on the BBQ on the center of the table and Information about bulgogi from Wikipedia: Bulgogi, meaning fire meat, is made from thin slices of sirloin or other prime cuts of beef. The beef is cooked over an open flame; hence, it's name (it is not a spicy dish). The meat is marinated with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and other ingredients such as scallions, ... read more

Old Town, Shanghai, China So apparently the Chinese also have a denoted "Chinatown" within their cities. I found that to be pretty hilarious considering the fact that...well...we're in China! Anyways, our next spot to tour around was Old Town. This was a pretty fun spot to take pictures and wander around in. There were narrow streets, lots of people, and people trying to sell just about anything you could imagine (all for a "good price" mind you). James, my parents and I decided to wander around and snap some photos. The main attractions in Old Town were the Yu Garden built in the southern Chinese style, the famous old Town Golden Temple, Xiaotayuan Mosque, Lotus Flower Garden, Zigzag Bridge (Bridge of Nine Turnings), Mid-Lake Pavilion, Lignaloes Pavilion, and the former residence of Dr. Sun Yetsen. Because ... read more

Shanghai Acrobatics Troupe After a full day of touring Shanghai, my tour group attended a performance by the Shanghai Acrobatics Troupe on Gonghexin Road. These men and women were incredible with their strength, flexibility, and gracefulness. Since it's hard to explain the many different stunts they did, I have only included some pictures in this post. Here's what Destination360 has to say about the troupe: Though the Shanghai Acrobatics Troupe has been around for years, they started playing their most famous shows in September of 1999, as the main event in the newly constructed Shanghai Circus World. The new building would be used primarily for shows by the famous troupe, who had grown tired of travelling around the world without a home theater to call their own. Found on Gonghexin Road in the northern section of ... read more

Welcome to Shanghai! Before departing Okinawa I wanted to take one more vacation in Asia. After much research to find what country would be the best to visit during mid April to early May, it became apparent that China would be my final destination. Now to choose some travel companions??? That was easy! I invited my parents, sister & brother-in-law, and James. Unfortunately my sister and her husband were busy, but James and my parents accepted. After arriving in Shanghai, James and I were met by our tour guide Gao (rhymes with "cow") and were escorted to our hotel along with some other Americans, several Canadians, and a South Korean couple. I was stunned by the modernity of the roadway and housing I saw on the hour long ride into the city. To my surprise, I ... read more

Scuba Diving - Tengan Pier For my second dive I went to Tengan Pier. This was the first time I dove here so I wasn't sure what to expect. It took about 30 minutes to reach the end of the pier. We were fighting against the tide so it took quite a bit of energy. It's not usual for my calves to cramp up on me after swimming strenuously but today my quads cramped up a few times. No big deal...I was too excited about trying a new site to have some cramped muscles stop me! Once we reached the end of the pier we dropped down and the current actually carried us off the pier. Because the visibility was about 7 feet my dive group and I didn't realize this. We searched around for a ... read more