Japan - Lili on the Loose

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:

7 02, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Sukiyaki

By Lili|February 7th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2004, Asia, Japan, music, music box, Sister Cities Japan 2004, song, souvenir, sukiyaki, Tokyo|0 Comments

Sometimes the best part of the souvenir is the memory about buying it. In high school I was studying Japanese and our teacher assigned us a project to go to a local university's Asian culture week. I was obsessed with all things Japan, and so had a great time. One of the panel sessions that I went to was on the history of the song Sukiyaki. In 1963 this song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US and is the only Japanese language song to do so. It is also one of the best selling singles

22 03, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: Daily Reminder

By Lili|March 22nd, 2014|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2004, Asia, daily, exchange program, Japan, kimono, prank, shower, silk, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, souvenir|0 Comments

When purchasing a souvenir an important part of the buying process is what you are going to do with it once you get it back home. Is it just for your collection? A gift for someone else? Are you going to display it? Or is it something you plan on using day to day? In 2004 when I purchased an expensive silk kimono I planned on using it as a display piece, probably hang it on a wall. But I was a poor college student and couldn’t afford to frame it yet, so it sat in a box in my

17 03, 2014

Travel Missteps: Left Over Right

By Lili|March 17th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, 7/11, Asia, exchange program, Japan, kimono, left, local culture, naked, prank, right, shopping, silk, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, souvenir, spirits, Tokyo, translation, yukata|0 Comments

In 2004, I was spending a few weeks in Japan as a cultural ambassador with my town's Sister Cities delegation of two chaperones and 9 other students. Beyond experiencing the sites of Tokyo for a few days, we all wanted to get some souvenir shopping done before we headed to the smaller, non-touristy town which was our sister city. I had read in a guide book that a store in Tokyo called "Oriental Bazaar" had a great selection of many typical Japanese souvenirs at cheaper prices. So I guided the group there. It was perfect, they had so many great

24 06, 2013

Travel Missteps: I’m on Fire!

By Lili|June 24th, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, Bon Odori, Chino, exchange program, fire, fireworks, hanabi, Japan, Lake Suwa, Nagano, Obon festival, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, spirits, Suwa, train, yukata|0 Comments

Fireworks while camping. As I've written before, in the summer of 2004 I went to Japan through a Sister Cities student exchange. The bulk of the trip was spent with a host family in Chino, Nagano Prefecture. This period in late August is during the Obon festival where Japanese honor the spirits of their ancestors. Its sort of like if you combine the American aspect of Thanksgiving where everyone goes home, Mexican Dia de los Muertos, and every possible firework related holiday. There are many components of the Obon festival. One key piece is the Bon Odori dance, that is danced by

4 02, 2013

Travel Missteps: Not Lost on Translation

By Lili|February 4th, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, cabins, camping, Chino, exchange program, ghost story, horror story, Japan, Japanese, language, local culture, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, slang, Tokyo, translation, Yen|0 Comments

I am in the center of the photo next to Chris and in the front left we have my host sister. In the summer of 2004 I participated in a student exchange through the Sister Cities program to Chino, Japan. I was the first person in 13 years of this exchange to speak some Japanese. This was great for me as I could talk to my host family and strangers and absorb more of the culture. For example, on our first day in Tokyo we went to a "one yen/one coin" store where everything was just 1 yen. We