Asia - Lili on the Loose

4 01, 2016

Travel Missteps: Like a Turtle

By Lili|January 4th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, airport, Asia, baggage, bags, Chino, exchange program, fall, Japan, manga, Nagano, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, souvenir, Tokyo, turtle|0 Comments

Saying goodbyes to the friends you’ve made while traveling is one of the hardest things to do. In 2004 I was part of the Sister Cities exchange program and stayed in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. I made great friends and had a great time. But getting up early to say our goodbyes before heading out on a 37 hour travel day was hard. There were lots of hugs, tears, and photos. And then...there were a lot of times I just keeled over. Farewell to Kana, note the 3 bags on my person and the 4 bags on the ground.

12 10, 2015

Travel Missteps: Clearing out Starbucks

By Lili|October 12th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, 7-11, 7/11, Asia, Breakfast, caffeine, coffee, exchange program, Frappuccino, Japan, Japanese, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Starbucks, Tokyo|0 Comments

I had never been to a Starbucks prior to my trip to Japan. Crazy right!? The key reason was that I didn't drink coffee, as I'm highly sensitive to caffeine. I also was a bit intimidated by ordering, as I had no idea what to order (or in fact what I would be ordering.) That hesitation was thrown out the window when the other students in my exchange group insisted they get their morning coffee. It was much easier to ask questions when the entire group had no idea how to order what they wanted in Japanese. So I could

5 09, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Omamori

By Lili|September 5th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2004, Ai, Amelia Earhart, amulet, Anime, Asakusa, Asakusa Temple, Asia, Buddhist, charm, college, deity, en-musubi, evil, exchange program, Final Destination, gakugyō-jōju, good luck, Harajuku, Japan, kōtsū-anzen, Love, Love Charm, luck, manga, Meiji Jingu, Meiji Shrine, Movie, Nagano, omamori, prayer, protect, protection, Rei Hino, Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon, Sensō-ji, Shinto, Shrine, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, studying, Suwa, Suwa Grand Shrine, Suwa Shrine, Suwa Taisha, talisman, Temple, Tokyo, travel, TV Show|0 Comments

In Sailor Moon, one of the main characters Rei Hino (Sailor Mars), is a Shrine Maiden, and in some of the episodes she sells amulets. I remember watching this episode when I was young and I was very excited to go to Japan and purchase one of these charms! The Hikawa Shrine in Sailor Moon Called Omamori, these talismans are sold at Shinto and Buddhist shrines and temples and provide different protection or luck. They contain a prayer written on paper or wood and are contained within a cloth bag. The shrine or temple sell these in return

31 08, 2015

Travel Missteps: The Early Shuttle

By Lili|August 31st, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, 2012, Asia, Bath, button, Central America, Colorado, Costa Rica, Japan, North America, packing, pants, sewing, shuttle, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Super Shuttle, USA|0 Comments

I use to be a horrible packer, waiting until the last minute. This lead to many sleepless trips such as the time I finished packed at 4AM for my trip to Japan. Unfortunately my shuttle was picking me up at 4:30 AM so there was no point in sleeping. But one day that changed in me. I started to have everything packed and ready in advanced. And then I started cleaning my entire home and having it ready for when I returned. That was always nice as now when I get home, no matter how tired I am, I unpack

17 08, 2015

Travel Missteps: Lost in Japan

By Lili|August 17th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, exchange program, Girl Scout, Japan, lost, shopping, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Tokyo|0 Comments

View of Tokyo from the observation deck. As I've written before, in the summer of 2004 I went to Japan through a Sister Cities student exchange. We first spent a couple of days in Tokyo before heading over to Chino in Nagano prefecture. On our first day in Tokyo we decided to take a tour of various parts of Tokyo. While on the tour we met a young Japanese guy who said he wanted to work on his English with native speakers, so he got a ticket for this tour and said he would be happy to work

6 07, 2015

Travel Missteps: The Fish Bet

By Lili|July 6th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, baywatch, bet, fish, Japan, koi fish, koi pond, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Tokyo|0 Comments

When you have 10 high schoolers on a trip abroad, things can get weird. Clicks form, arguments occur, and silly childish bets occur. While we were still in Tokyo, one of our chaperones bet us that no one would stick our head in the hotel's massive lake, filled with Koi fish. The idea was that once you put your hair in, you'd need to flip it back "baywatch style" and stroll back into the hotel like nothing happened. Like all bets, it involved money and for high schoolers who had already blew a lot of money shopping Tokyo, earning extra

24 06, 2015

Snack Bento Box

By Lili|June 24th, 2015|Categories: Food, Food & Drink|Tags: Asia, Bento, bento box, box, Japan, snack|0 Comments

Japanese Bento Box with flower motif. I love how cute Japanese Bento Boxes are! I always have grand plans to make elaborate and cute lunches, but sometimes just have to settle for snacks. This box I have the bottom section of crackers, almonds, and different types of cheeses. The top section is two types of hummus (one spicy black bean, the other garlic) with different types of peas (snap & snow) and carrots. It was a nice snack box and lasted me a few days at work.

30 05, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Totoro!

By Lili|May 30th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2004, Anime, Asia, Chino, film, Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, Keychain, My Neighbor Totoro, Nagano, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Tonari no Totoro, Totoro|0 Comments

Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro) is one of my favorite Hayao Miyazaki film. So when I was out shopping in Chino, Japan and saw this delightfully detailed Totoro keychain I had to get him! Totoro! Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

30 03, 2015

Travel Missteps: I Swear its Not Porn

By Lili|March 30th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Akiba, Akihabara, Anime, Asia, Electric Town, exchange program, Gundam Wing, Japan, manga, Otaku, porn, Sailor Moon, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Tokyo|0 Comments

I became a Japanese Anime and Manga fan in 1998 when Sailor Moon (and later Gundam Wing) were aired on Toonami. I loved the artistic style and would brave dial-up internet to research other anime, how to draw the big eye style, and start teaching myself Japanese. It was hard being a fan back then as it was so new to America that most people didn’t know what it was. The Original Anime Sailor Moon I remember that most bookstores didn’t carry manga. I once asked for the “Graphic Novel” section, and a confused shop keeper took me

8 03, 2015

The Sounds that Travel with Us

By Lili|March 8th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Asia, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Backpacking it in England and Scotland, Belize, BuzzFeed, California, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, Christmas in Germany, christmas music, Costa Rica, drinking song, England, Europe, Germany, Good Food in San Francisco, Guatemala, House of Cards, Ireland, Italy, Japan, ke$ha, kesha, Las Vegas, Linkin Park, Mattafix, Mayan Encounter 2013, memories, Mexico, Nevada, North America, paradise, Robert Post, Sailor Moon, San Diego, San Francisco, Scotland, Sister Cities Japan 2004, song, songs, sound, sounds, St. John, St. John 2010, Toronto, USA, USVI, wild rover, Yea! Sports|0 Comments

BuzzFeed recently had an article about the sounds from Italy that will fill you with Wanderlust. And it reminded me of all the sounds I associate with certain trips. Here are some of my top highlights that will instantly take me back in time: Toronto: Theme from House of Cards Google Play and Amazon had the first episode of House of Cars for free. I figured, sure why not, lets see what the hype is all about. I watched the first episode on my flights out...and got hooked. At night I'd watch House of Card before falling asleep. San Diego: