I want to travel to Japan.
Visit Zenkoji Temple, sit under the cherry blossoms, celebrate the festivals of Funatama and Bon, walk through the busy streets of Tokyo, enjoy ancient traditions in Gion, poke the wild deer in Nara park, eat authentic okonomiyaki, look upon the numerous o-torii, pay my respects at Peace Memorial Park, see the famous bronze Hachiko statue, observe the lifestyles of samurai during the Edo period, shop at the Akihabara Electric Town, soak in Japan's oldest spa, and experience the wonder of Chirimen Craft Museum. Of course, not to mention the shopping, eating, drinking green tea, taking millions of pictures, and gawking at traditional kimonos.
Visit Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City, which is believed to be mandatory to visit in order to go to
gokuraku, paradise.
Sit under the beautiful cherry trees in Takato Town, all 1500 in full bloom, and enjoy good food during the
hanami, cherry blossom viewing season.
Float in a boat brightly lit by
chochin,
Japanese rice paper lamps with a candle inside, across Ara River in Saitama on the night of Funatama Festival.
Dance all night in late summer in Gujo during the Bon festival, honoring the long lineage of ancestors.
Push my way past 13 million other people living, visiting, or working in Tokyo within its 23 wards, 26 cities, 5 townships, and 8 villages.
Enjoy the singing and dancing of beautiful geisha in old teahouses and restaurants dating back to the early Edo period in Gion.
Chase and be chased by the 1000 wild deer roaming freely in Nara park, who are protected as divine messengers of the Gods.
Eat delicious
okonomiyaki (flour-based pancake containing such ingredients as lettuce, octopus, and fish flakes) in Osaka, Japan's second metropolis.
See Itsukushima Shrine's most symbolic feature, the red
o-torii, shrine gate, which is used to express that Gods dwell within the area.
Make a paper crane to place among the thousands of others at the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima to commemorate the 200,000 people killed by the nuclear bombs during World War II.
Meet the most loyal dog in the world, Hachiko, who waited every day for his owner to return for nine years, and is remembered by a bronze statue of himself outside Shibuya train station.
Glimpse the lifestyles of samurai in Aki City by visiting the samurai houses and gardens open to the public.
Walk along the streets of Akihabara, the world-renowned centre for all things electric, and a major shopping area for electronics, computers, games, and anime and otaku goods.
Rejuvenate myself in the oldest hot springs of Japan in Dogo Hot Springs, Matsuyama City.
Take a trip to the Chirimen Craft Museum in Kyoto and squeal at the adorable mini chirimen toys on display.
Of course, not to mention the shopping, eating, drinking green tea, taking millions of pictures, and gawking at traditional kimonos.
I need to travel to Japan.
Well, this is the last post of this blog. I thought it was time to move on to bigger, better things, so I created a WordPress. Please follow me on there - with your own account or through email! This old blog will stay up, but I will no longer post anything here. Thanks for reading, until next time :)
I picked up this novel by complete accident, and decided to go ahead and read it as I wasn't getting anywhere with my then-current book, The Dream of Water by Kyoko Mori. I was really excited to read Mori's memoir, and kept waiting for the pace to pick up. Half way through, I abandoned it for the promise of a much more shocking story. I figured life's too short to read bad books.
There is only so far you can scroll on Tumblr before you come across an artfully sun-bleached photo with a quote by Stephen Chbosky slapped across its face. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has become somewhat of an unofficial badge of hipsterism. And yesterday, I discovered that I really wasn't into the new generation style.
1. Felicity
Why are so many people counting calories these days?.. Isn't it easier to listen to your own body and make alterations to your lifestyle depending on what it tells you? Even concerning vitamins and minerals, there are special logbooks to calculate how much you are consuming. Quite simply, those are a rip-off, because the answer is always the same - not enough. Unless you eat carrots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, your body will always need more vitamin A simply because it is impossible to keep consuming a sufficient amount at all times. Your body naturally craves the foods that will keep you alive and healthy; and yes, sugars and fats are also essential. The part most people find difficult is finding balance between consumption and cravings. If you would kill for a piece of chocolate right about now, just eat it. Your body will tell you when it's enough, whether it's after the first square or after four. Trust it, it will take care of you.
More appropriately, renewed obsession. After nearly 2 years of having an on-and-off relationship, Japanese cartoons have pulled me back into their murky depths with characteristic drawings and ridiculous overreactions. Currently, I am more than halfway through Soul Eater, a pretty decent anime, but not nearly as good as Code Geass or Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.
Sigh. Sometimes we all feel a little... meh. The reasons are different for everyone - perhaps it's because of work overload, relationship lull, the grey skies that never seem to clear up, or simply just because we've had too many good days in a row. What goes up must come down, and the same applies to the states of the human mind. It is unrealistic and even rude to expect a person to have a genuine smile on their face all day, every day. Sometimes, there isn't even a good reason to feel like this - like you're simply going through the motions, not serving any purpose or moving toward a goal. But the important thing to do is to wait. The exams will pass, something exciting will come up, and the sun will return. In the meantime, you can practice your virtue of patience!
