• 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 Japan isn’t ready for the Olympics

    Coronavirus aside, Japan isn’t ready for the Olympics. Sure, Japan has hosted the Olympics before but that was back in the 90’s. The 90’s were a time when people didn’t invest in traveling so much. It was also a time when barely anyone had the internet (super slow, btw) so they were limited in what they could learn about a country. They were restricted in learning about what they could do/see and needed to rely on travel agencies. Visiting Japan in those days, especially for the Olympics was truly for the privileged.

  • Nature,  Travel

    Naminoue Beach

    Naha’s Naminoue Beach is empty of that stereotypical beach scene that most people crave. In a way, it’s a good thing because you can just enjoy this relatively small beach for what it is. Just don’t bother to sport a cute bikini, let alone a swimsuit here because despite Okinawa being more laid back than the rest of Japan, Okinawa is still in Asia and bikini clad women are still not a norm here.

  • Nature,  Travel

    Naha’s Yogi Park

    I visited Yogi Park when they were holding a festival and all I can say is that I am clueless as to why it was called a festival.

    Hardly anyone was there. There weren’t really any vendors. I didn’t see a stage nor did I see anyone performing anything. It was weird.

  • 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.