• Nature,  Travel

    Fukushuen

    Having been to a number of East Asian gardens, Fukushuen or Fuzhou Garden of Naha, Okinawa appeared less impressive to me than it actually was.

  • Ponderings,  Travel

    Why I Hate Hotels

    I don’t like hotels. In fact, I think I hate hotels. Sure, I’ve never had the opportunity to stay at the Ritz Carlton or even The Four Seasons but I have a funny feeling that even if I had such an opportunity, my feelings toward hotels would remain unchanged.

  • Travel

    The Cat with Okinawan Vibes

    Not far from Naminoue Shrine is a park called Asahigaoka Park. It was at this park that I encountered a gorgeous cat. He seemed so at home in this park. So peaceful. So warm. And so chill.

  • Travel

    Naminoue Shrine

    Just a short walk from Naminoue Beach is Naminoue Shrine. It’s a Shinto shrine that has history. But what attracts the average visitor to this shrine is probably not so much its history but more so the epic pictures they’ve come across online.

  • Travel

    Aoba Castle

    The grounds of Aoba Castle are peaceful, pretty and rather vast. Although there isn’t exactly much of a castle left, you do get to see remnants of it and I found it rather enjoyable to wander the grounds.

    For those of you that have awareness of Japan’s samurais, Aoba Castle was built by Date Masamune. Yes, the “one eyed dragon”. The interesting thing about Date Masamune is that he’s often portrayed in popular media as someone sporting an eyepatch, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw a statue of him, sans eyepatch in Sendai.