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The Open Road Before Me

Giving in to wanderlust

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You are here: Home / Archives for Japan

Japan

My Grandfather's Coins

My Grandfather’s Coins

Travel is many things to many people.  It is many things to me.  But perhaps the thing I cherish most about travel is its ability to imbue meaning into other things.  For memories of it to link to those of people and experiences, for it to entwine itself around the roots of who we are. …

My Grandfather’s CoinsRead More

Category: Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, The World, Washington, WritingTag: history, Japan, korea, New Zealand, philippines, thailand, The World, travel tales, USA, washington, writing

Doing a Visa Run from South Korea to Fukuoka

Doing a Visa Run from South Korea to Fukuoka

Sometimes, getting all your paperwork together to teach English in South Korea can take just a little too long.  Or, you may already be in the country when you secure a job and need to head overseas to swap your visa over to an E2.  Whatever the reason, visa runs are an inconvenience, but luckily …

Doing a Visa Run from South Korea to FukuokaRead More

Category: Japan, KoreaTag: Japan, korea, teaching, travel tips

The Hungry Ghost of Xingping

The Hungry Ghost of Xingping

For a more complete experience, read the first in this series: The Haunting at Jangsa Beach. This story jumps the Yellow Sea from the Korean Peninsula to the karst-studded plains of Southern China. While the area now is beautiful and calm, dark secrets lie buried beneath its placid surface. That brings us to this story: …

The Hungry Ghost of XingpingRead More

Category: ChinaTag: China, hike, history, Japan, travel tales

Riding a Motorcycle across the Mongolian steppes from Tsetserleg to Tariat

Top 10 Memories: Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

I treat the camera like a person – I gaze into it. Photos are a flat thing, and you need to put life into them.” – Cara Delevingne Sometimes travel is dangerous.  I know it as well as anyone.  From being jumped on a cobblestone street in France to battling altitude sickness while crossing a pass …

Top 10 Memories: Saying Goodbye to an Old FriendRead More

Category: WritingTag: architecture, desert, epic, great view, history, iran, Japan, korea, kyrgyzstan, lake, mongolia, motorcycle ride, national park, pohang, river, road trip, roadtrip, sunset, tajikistan, The World, tour, USA, writing

Christmas Letter 2014

This year, Christmas is going to be weird.  Not because I’m spending it in a flat near the outskirts of Pohang or in a Korean beach-side pension with many of my dear friends.  Not even because I’m spending it on a beach in Thailand belting Johnny Cash tunes out across the waves.  No, this year is weird …

Christmas Letter 2014Read More

Category: The World, WritingTag: christmas, iran, Japan, korea, kyrgyzstan, sweden, tajikistan, Turkey, USA, uzbekistan, washington, writing

Tsumago: a Walk through the Past

The rain started as we walked along the final stretch of the Nakasendo–the ancient Japanese postal road–between the restored Edo-era towns of Magome and Tsumago.  Clouds gathered overhead and the air grew thick with the smell of petrichor (thanks for the word, Bijoy!) as the earth prepared to be inundated by the sky.

Tsumago: a Walk through the PastRead More

Category: JapanTag: architecture, fortress, great view, hike, history, Japan

Five Things to Do in Kyoto

Five Things to Do in Kyoto

Beautiful Kyoto is the city most people familiar with Japan will recommend to the first time visitor.  Having been the former capital of Japan for a span of over 1000 years and being spared the devastation of bombing raids in WWII, Kyoto is one of the cities in Japan where a wealth of historical architecture …

Five Things to Do in KyotoRead More

Category: JapanTag: architecture, favorite, great view, hike, history, Japan, lake, river, temples, travel tips

Five Things to Do in Nara

Let’s go back to 8th century Japan.  The imperial infrastructure of the country had been growing for quite some time, causing the empress to choose a permanent location for the capital.  She picked a spot on the Yamato plain and the construction of Nara began. At the time, Buddhism was becoming more and more deeply …

Five Things to Do in NaraRead More

Category: JapanTag: architecture, history, Japan, lake, temples, travel tips

Rambling the Nakasendo

“If one walks, a road is made.” So reads the cover of the walking map for the Nakasendo I brought back with me from Japan–a sentiment which perfectly encapsulates the origins and spirit of the Nakasendo.  An ancient postal road connecting Kyoto (Kyo) and Tokyo (Edo), the Nakasendo was built over 400 years ago in the Edo period. …

Rambling the NakasendoRead More

Category: JapanTag: architecture, favorite, great view, hike, history, Japan, travel tips

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Spring in Mongolia
Hello, my name's Nathan. I've been living a life on the road since October 2011, and have no plans of slowing down. Come along for the ride!

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