• The Mega Trip Part 9 (The Great Wall)

    The Mega Trip Part 9 (The Great Wall)

    With the land-based portion of my adventure through China nearly over, I realized that I was still missing a significant piece of what I wanted to see before returning to Japan. Kung Fu. So, after […]

  • A Different World

    A Different World

    Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce that this post officially marks the first time in almost two years that I’m actually writing about the country I’m in! Welcome, at long last, to Cambodia 😀

  • Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Warning This post contains some graphic images. If blood makes you queasy, you may want to skip it. I’ve mentioned a few times how, although I do travel mostly without plans, I also do so […]

  • Mostar

    Mostar

    Although I’d suspect that most people have never even heard the name “Mostar,” a relatively small town in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it turned to be one of the most intriguing places I’ve ever […]

  • Golden Week 2: Archery

    Golden Week 2: Archery

    Picture yourself looking up at a blue sky peeking through a huge canopy of leaves on a perfectly clear day in Kyoto. As the faint sound of Japanese flutes recedes softly into the background, it’s […]

  • An Average Night Out

    An Average Night Out

    The following is not actually a single narrative of one continuous evening, but a composite of many. It’s written as a representative summary of my average night out in Kyoto. Nothing is exaggerated. It’s Saturday […]

I was last seen 5 months ago in Los Angeles, .

Dean’s Trip, Part 2: Ibusuki

 Japan, Public  5 Responses »
Mar 172006
 
Very….Zen Very….Zen

Few things in life are more calming than a nice stroll through a quiet beachfront town in Southern Japan. Thankfully, after several weeks of intense travel, this is exactly what Ibusuki had to offer. A short 45-minute ride on the one-car diesel train from Kagoshima and I was soon making my way on foot through the tiny town of only 30,000.

A scene right out of Shenmue A scene right out of Shenmue

You may be asking why I decided to spend my free day before meeting up with Dean in such a seemingly random spot. Well, it’s tough to explain, but those of you who’ve played the old Dreamcast game “Shenmue” will probably have a better idea of the type of vibe I’m talking about.

And if that’s not enough, there’s always the volcanic beachfront sand baths to draw in the crowds.
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Complete Website Overhaul

 Public, USA  4 Responses »
Mar 162006
 

When I first started getting ready to leave for Japan, I thought to myself “Hey, you know what would be cool? I should get myself one of them Internet blogs to keep in touch with everyone back home!”

So with literally no knowledge of web programming, I took a couple of Dreamweaver examples and started hacking up the code to make it look how I wanted. I knew even then that I was doing a terrible job – nothing validated and there were browser conflicts/bugs left and right. At the time, I was okay with it. All I wanted was a place where I could jot down my adventures, and what I ended up with served that purpose well enough.

But as my reader-base grew over the past year I found myself applying Band-Aid after Band-Aid to keep things running. Now that I’m back in the US without spectacular temples and hyperactive Tokyos to divert my attention, I’ve decided that it’s time to sit down and teach myself php, css, and html…and re-code this entire site from the ground up. Continue reading »

Dean’s Trip, Part 1: Kagoshima

 Japan, Public  5 Responses »
Mar 022006
 
Ancient Awesomeness in GyeongJu, South Korea. Ancient Awesomeness in GyeongJu, South Korea.

Sorry for that long delay, everyone. It’s been getting more and more difficult to find the time to write these updates since returning from Japan, and with the impending job hunt I can’t imagine that it’ll get much easier. But I’ll continue to do my best.

Rooftops of Bulguksa in GyeongJu, South Korea. Rooftops of Bulguksa in GyeongJu, South Korea.

Before starting to write about my trip to Kyushu, I’d like to mention something that I’ve been thinking about for some time now. Since my year in Japan is finally over, what will become of this blog? I’ve put so much time and energy into it that it would really be a shame to just let it go, especially with the surprisingly high hit count that has developed over the past year.

Guardian of Bulguksa in GyeongJu, South Korea. Guardian of Bulguksa in GyeongJu, South Korea.

Yet I’m well aware that many of you read my posts simply due to an interest in Japan or traveling in general. At this point I don’t know if my life in America will be permanent or temporary, but in either case the frequency and content of these posts will almost certainly be changing in the near future.

That being said, I’ll try to keep the new posts interesting to all you Japanophiles out there in two ways:
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Korea, Part 9: GyeongJu, Korea’s Kyoto

 Korea, Public  1 Response »
Feb 192006
 
The hotel that our DMZ tour dropped us off at was apparently hosting some sort of robotics convention. Cool! The hotel that our DMZ tour dropped us off at was apparently hosting some sort of robotics convention. Cool!

Betty and I returned from the North Korea/South Korea Demilitarized Zone earlier in the day than expected, so I had around four hours to kill until my train back South to Busan. But rather than meeting up with Ming-Kyeong and Yun-Yeong, I decided to head out on my own for the first time since coming to Korea. It’s been nice to have travel companions for so long, but I wanted to do just a small bit of traveling at my own pace as well.

Here you go, Mr. Noz. Here you go, Mr. Noz.

So I took a two-hour round trip across town to see the World Tae Kwon Do Federation as a personal favor to Noz. Remember that comment he posted nearly three weeks ago asking that I go and take some pictures for him? That’s how behind these posts are 🙂
Continue reading »

Korea, Part 8: The Demilitarized Zone

 Korea, Public  5 Responses »
Feb 172006
 
My next stop My next stop

Even though Betty and I left Ming-Kyeong’s apartment well over an hour before our tour was scheduled to begin, the Seoul morning traffic almost caused us to miss its departure. Although in Asia, you have to keep in mind that traffic doesn’t mean jammed freeways – it means jammed subways. I was surprised to find that just like Tokyo, the Seoul subway system employs white-gloved employees to cram as many people into each train as possible. No matter how many times I see it I can never help but laugh as those guys smash the last arm or leg into the door as it closes. Every inch of space must be filled with person.

The Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. The Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

Fortunately we just managed make it to our bus in time, and were soon on our way to the Demilitarized Zone dividing North from South Korea. The border through the world’s only remaining divided country.

During the ride there our guide proceeded to explain the whole history of the two countries since World War 2, the Japanese Occupation, the Korean War, and so forth. Because the bus was 90% full of Japanese tourists, Betty and I got the pleasure of hearing the whole history in both languages.
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