I love being surprised by a city. Usually I have a strong mental picture about what a place is going to look like. Over active imagination is a must in being a teacher and it has spilled into other areas of my life. Kanazawa was a city where I really didn't have any real expectations and I ended up having the best time there! Wednesday morning I set out for the long 5 hour train ride to Kanazawa. I passed through wide farms, beautiful mountains, and little cities that dotted the train tracks. Mostly, I tried to keep to myself, watch some Anothony Bourdain that I had downloaded on my iPod, and relax on my first day of vacation. I got into Kanazawa station around 3pm and I had to find my way to my hotel. ... read more

If there is one thing to be said about Tokyo, it's that it's one hectic and crazy place. The sheer mix of people and tourists that run around are confounding and mind boggling. Even with Sendai being a large city, I always get a little amazed seeing so many foreigners whenever I'm in Tokyo. Who knew that seeing people who looked like you would be slightly unsettling? Anyway, I spent my weekend with friends and seeing my friend Raven for the first time in over a year. She just got into Tokyo this last weekend and I wanted to see her while she had free time before starting classes. So I went down on Saturday night and hung out with Ridwan and Amy. We got a quick pint at an Irish Pub and then headed out ... read more

There is one thing that the Japanese understand and celebrate more than anything, and that's food. Nothing is more appreciated and enjoyed more than a day sitting with friends, surrounded by food, and having a good time. In every town, there is a famous food or preparation of food. Omiyage, or souvenirs, are brought back from a business of family trip for the day or weekend; it's all food. This culture is so rich with such a strong and complex food tradition that it's not surprising that food is something that would be celebrated with weekend long festivals for the masses. This weekend, it was oysters. I had already made plans to meet Chikako at the station and we got a quick breakfast of bread from the bakery before getting on the crowded train to Matsushima. ... read more

Ah New Years, the 3 times a year that I have a week off to explore and indulge my travel hobby. This New Years vacation though, would prove to be one of my more interesting travel tales. It will also take a couple blogs to fill all of it onto the screen. Monday Let's begin the holiday vacation at 5:00am on the morning of the 29th, because that when I got myself out of bed to get the 6:00am shinkansen out of Sendai. After going through my morning routine and making sure I had all my needed things in my backpack, I set out in the dark to the station. Having bought my tickets the day before I headed up to the shinkansen tracks to find a problem. The conductor was explaining to a bunch of ... read more

Let's begin "get out of Sendai" weekend with the 1st first visit yesterday. I headed out to big and wide Tono Valley yesterday. Tono is famous for folklore and having a very easily accessible rural scene. There are wide ride fields here and many different places to ride a rented bike or car. When I left Sendai yesterday morning it didn't look cloudy at all. By the time I got into Shin-Hanamaki station it was pouring a cold and bitter rain. I asked the lady at the information desk if she thought I should even try to go into Tono today and she told me that I should be ok if I stick to the museums. I got into Tono after about 2 hours and found myself in Kappa land. Kappa are a piece of japanese ... read more