Mansouan: The Secret Awamori Cellar and Playground to Learn Handcrafts

Hidden in the forest in Tenniya district, Nago, there is a shop named Mansouan (蔓草庵). Seibin-san, who is a former-director of the museum of Nago-city, built the shop literally by himself. Inside the shop is a HUGE collection of bottles of awamori, the Okinawan traditional rice liquor.

SF City

Which photo do you like the more?

Death Valley Road Trip

Because she said she wants to go to Death Valley for a starry nights' photoshoot, like, next weekend.

Oyama, Tateyama (2009)

So it's throwback Thursday! I don't remember what exactly brought me there, but at the sophomore year of college I made a decision to take a summer job at a shrine (雄山神社 at 立山, 富山) that let me live on a top of a scarily beautiful Mt. Tateyama for good one month, and experienced unforgettable moments for life.  I found the photos of my stay on my facebook album that I posted on 2009. My photography skill back then wasn't so great, and actually many of the photos were not even taken by myself, but thanks to factbook's 'download album' feature I decided to re-post them on my blog so that I (and others!) will see them more often. 

A Visit to Santa Cruz

Three years in Bay Area and first time visiting Santa Cruz. It was a lot more prettier that I'd expected. There are still some other places that I missed this time in Santa Cruz so I will definitely revisit there hopefully soon. 

Sakagura: Visiting a Local Sake Brewery

A several minutes walk away from Koga (古河) station, Ibaraki-prefecture, there is a local sake brewery called Aoki-shuzo (青木酒造). This sake brewery, called “Saka-gura (酒蔵)” in Japanese, has a long history starting from 1831, and is still providing the finest awarded-winning sake to the local community and across Japan. 

Casablanca, Morocco

In the city of Casablanca, every day at around 3-4am in the morning, local mosques play the Koran real loud to let the residents know the beginning of the first worship of the day, that woke us up sleeping at a hostel every morning. Ok, it was exotic.

Visiting a Cool Sister in a Cool City is the Best :D

When my sister told me she was going to a grad school in Barcelona, I thought it was super cool. And at that same moment I knew that I had to visit her while she was there and that it would be awesome-- and it sure was :)

Okinawa Photos #1: Beaches

This super-blue ocean-- I will remember this scenery for the rest of my life.

Flying Around the World

I took my first (and maybe the last) long vacation (40 days!) after I graduated my collage 4 years ago. I traveled to Tokyo, Okinawa, Barcelona, Casablanca, and Paris, trying to get the most of this opportunity. I plan to post more photos from the trip in the later posts.

Random Japan Photos-- Mostly Food

Okay, to start off, this is a photo of a lady frying tempuras at Marukame-seimen, my beloved udon shop. lol

Phish Concert at Shoreline Amphitheater

I like going to the concerts at the outdoor concert hall Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. They have a nice picnic area on the lawn to enjoy the show, and a pretty good PA system. Its location is fairly close from Mountain View downtown (where I live), so I can ride my bike to get there and avoid traffic jams entering the parking area. That day I went to a show of the world-famous  improvisation band, Phish.

Izakaya: My Favorite Way to Enjoy a Friday Night

Since I have a job in the US, I only visit my home country a.k.a Japan once or twice a year. Every time I am there, I have a list of several things I must do, and hanging out with my Tokyo friends at an izakaya is one of the most important and pleasing things that I cannot miss. Tonight I hit an old and cheap yet very popular izakaya with one of my best friends and it was very satisfying... as always.

Minpaku: Experiencing the Local Life in Okinawa

Have you ever wished to experience the traditional Japanese culture? Or, are you a travel enthusiastic who finds pleasure in experiencing the local lifestyle in foreign countries? … If yes, you might find "minpaku" interesting.