Quite possibly the most overrused title for visitors to Seoul, yet I feel this title perfectly describes my experience in Korea. My 'soul' was rejuvenated a) because I got a break from the monotony of my job (all July and August I sit at my desk and do NOTHING- good way to spend my time...thank god for sudoku!) and b) I met up with some old friends from Berkeley, which was a nice slice of home. Given the short time I was alloted for summer vacation, it was a quick trip into Seoul and the DMZ, then back to Japan. The organization of the trip itself is noteworthy. My friend Naomi , a fellow Cal alum, is living in Tokyo and her and I were planning an escape from Japan. A month earlier than our estimated ... read more

I have had a bit of "blog lag" so pardon for not writing the past 2 months. I have been thoroughly enjoying my summer thus far...only now is it becoming extremely humid and hot! This weekend adventure (back in June!) took us to Tottori. Every year there is a beach party in Tottori Prefecture. Tottori prefecture (guess its not a major tourist spot, not even listed on the blog location list above!) is northeast of Hiroshima. Japan is roughly the same size as California. Knowing this, it shouldn't talk too long to go anywhere in Japan. On the contrary- due to huge mountain all over the place and rather inefficient road systems (all the R&D spent on that shinkansen gig) it took as a good 4 hours to drive to Tottori prefecture. There was Nikki behind ... read more

This weekend I participated in one of the funnest things I have done since coming to Japan. Yeah its not cultural and yeah there are a lot of gaijin-still it was soooo much fun! It was the 10th Annual Rice Patty Mud Volleyball Tournament held up in the countryside of Hiroshima-Ken. For more info see the website www.mudvollyeballjapan.com. There were numerous teams composed of foreigners, Japanese kids, families...anyone who wanted to play and brave the mud. Clearly the point of the event was not to necessarily play volleyball, but to throw each other in the mud AFTER the game. I ended up playing on 2 different teams- neither advancing to any of the final rounds. I felt like I was famous while playing. There was a whole 'papparazi' section. There must have been 20 or so ... read more

Philippines: Definitely the most underrated Southeast Asian country. I myself did not have a burning desire to go to the Philippines. But last January Lisa said "Let's go to the Philippines for Golden Week." I thought, sure...beach, sand, fun....let's book it! So for Golden Week this year (I guess you could say the Japanese Spring Break. There are three national holidays in one week so many people take the time to travel travel travel = expensive prices!) Lisa and I, with two late additions Misha and Ryan, headed out to the Philippines! What an incredible, beautiful, and wonderful country. I hope that my entries about our trip and the photos can do it justice. I seriously can't wait to return someday, and I hope it is in the near future. Fukuoka: Never a Dull Moment! So ... read more

So how do I start to explain my trip to Hong Kong....I guess my best explanation/justification for my random/last minute trip to Hong Kong would be that "I am young, I only live once." and to abide by my quote of life "Carpe Diem." You see, mid March these 2 guys from Cal happened to be in Hiroshima visiting fellow JET/Cal grad/fellow traveler partner (see past photos) Jeff. There names are Ryan and Misha. This guy Misha, well we hit it off pretty well. I may have even found a bigger Cal fan than myself, only being rivaled by mic woman Kate. After a fun night/day spent together carousing around Hiroshima and Miyajima, I thought it was over as he took off on his 5 months trek from Japan to Spain, and well I would be ... read more