Life, Travel, GRACE

I stayed at APA Hotel near the train station. The next morning, I explored the southern part of the town by jogging. Across the Hirose River, there is a park (Dainejiyama Park) that offers a city view from the hilltop. My run back and forth was peaceful. After breakfast, I headed to the Sendai Castle Honmaru Ruins, which I assume is the city's iconic landmark. Since I chose to walk, I passed by the city museum along the way. To my disappointment, the ruins were merely a platform. After the visit, I proceeded to Tohoku University for lunch and met my collaborator, and also to register for the conference. River view One of the walkway to the hill top at  Dainejiyama Park   Forest view of the park Sendai city view Sculpture in front of the city museum The castle ruins The castle ruins area also offer a city view The iconic statue at the castle ruins Tohoku University  

After spending the morning in Tokyo, I took a long-distance bus to Sendai. The journey took about 5–6 hours, with two stops along the way. I had never taken a long-distance bus in Japan before—on my previous trip, I traveled by high-speed train. Though it's faster, it's also more expensive. Taking the bus gave me time to catch up on my reading. I finally arrived in Sendai around 7:30 PM, checked into the hotel, then went out for a nice bowl of ramen, which I found based on Google reviews. Here's my bus to Sendai, departing from Tokyo main station First stop of the journey, somewhere in Saitama Scenery along the way Second stop of the journey, Motomiya, Fukushima Finally arrived in Sendai Ramen for dinner

On the second day of my trip, I decided to visit some of the public toilets under The Tokyo Toilet project. The idea was inspired by the film  Perfect Days . Since the public toilets under this project are scattered around western side of Tokyo, I visited a few in Shibuya area, which are quite close to each other. One notable location is Yoyogi Park.  One of the highlights of these designer toilets is the transparent toilet. Its transparent glass walls will turn opaque when the door is locked. This feature is based on the electrochromic effect. However, this feature is unavailable during late autumn and winter, which coincided my visit. The key takeaway from this visit: an eye opening experience about toilet culture and social inclusivity. Yoyogi Park The transparent toilet Another transparent toilet in community park The park in Yoyogi Hachimangu Shrine Another view of the park Mushroom design public toilet

Just returned from a solo trip to Japan end of last month. The trip coincided with a conference in Sendai. It was an 8-day trip, including 2 days of travel. Took a direct flight from KL to Tokyo on the afternoon of October 23rd (Wednesday), arriving that night. By the time I cleared immigration, it was almost midnight. Then took a train to downtown Shimbashi. Without detailed research on the location of my booked capsule hotel, I ended up walking in the wrong direction and almost being harassed by roadside pimps (lol). After getting free Wi-Fi at a convenience store, finally able to find the hotel. Once checked in, took a hot bath (it was an open bath). That was the end of the day.  In-flight meal of ANA airline Male-only capsule hotel with open hot spring You can browse manga for free after soaking

A visit to a few subway stations in Stockholm is a must for art lovers. Most of the stations are decorated with art, and they are close to the city center. Just get a metro map and plan a few stops—or explore every stop—to marvel at the art. There are three main lines: red, blue, and green, so it's quite easy to navigate. Here are some snapshots of a few of the stations. Elevator view of central station T-Centralen station Radhuset station Another view of the station Stadshagen station (I think :) ) Odenplan station Back to the central station T-Centralen station Mosaic art at T-Centralen station  Skârholmen Station - near to Ikea Stadion station - one of my favourite Stadion station Rainbow theme of Stadion station Another view at the Stadion station One corner at the Stadion station Tekniska högskolan station Falling apple? Tekniska högskolan station Inside the Tekniska högskolan station Universitetet station. The constrast of red wall with the stony surrounding. Knowledge and in...