skarmorer

For my first photo post, I'm sharing... my avatar!

On some weekends I'd travel as far as the Kansai region. By day I'd explore the historical regions, and at night I'd catch a show at Hokage in Osaka or any number of random live venues.

One late spring weekend I set out for Nara. My goal was to see an old analog flipboard sign still in use at Kintetsu Sakurai Station (I'll hyperlink to that once I post it). I arrived at JR Nara Station, then started walking in what I thought was the direction of the nearest Kintetsu Nara Line station. Well, 2KM later, I found the line, but no station in sight, so instead of backtracking to my intended station, I continued walking alongside the rail to the next one.

And this random journey led me to the site of this photo: The Kintetsu Nara Line passing Suzakumon (朱雀門) on the grounds of Heijō-kyū (平城宮). Heijō-kyū was the imperial residence and the administrative center for most of the Nara period from 710 to 794 AD. After the capital moved to Kyoto, the imperial residence was completely abandoned. It wasn't until 1952 that the former palace was designated a Special Historic Site and work began to restore it. When I visited, many of the gates were rebuilt, but the main hall and other buildings were still under construction.

Of course what struck me when I arrived was the railroad infiltrating what appeared to be a former palace. Even with only a few walls and gates standing, the juxtaposition spoke of a culture that pushes ahead, but doesn't hesitate to stop and re-evaluate either. The rail engineers surely knew they were passing through once-royal territory; and the historians surely knew they might disrupt civil services with their designation; but in the end, co-existence is possible. It's a theme you'll find across Japan: the old and the new coexisting harmoniously, where beyond economics or nationalism, they personally benefit the present-day person.

This photo also highlights one of my favorite transportation tips: get off the train one station early and walk! There's usually beautiful scenes from everyday life awaiting you alongside the track. Chances are slim that you'll stumble upon a reconstructed ancient ruin, but they're not zero!

Thanks for reading. More posts to come with advice, stories, and photos!

Let's Drift Together – A Japan Travel Blog

Welcome to my blog! If you're like me, you fell in love with Japan because of this very site. Now, after living there for 2 years, I want to share my experience and everything I learned about truly immersing yourself in Japanese culture.

The internet has endless advice for traveling to Japan. Most officially published guides are aimed at foreign tourists who still think of Japan as an exotic, alien society that's totally different from the rest of the world. Other guides – especially ones on social media – are more practical, but also more focused on engagement and ad revenue. We also face an ever-increasing amount of misinformation and misrepresentation, which only gets worse as Japanese tourism gets more popular.

But Tumblr is different. You're different! You know Japan isn't a utopia, but it's a great place full of people who love to celebrate its rich culture. And if you ever travel there, you want to experience it the same way they do, right?

The goal of this blog is simple: to help you realize that experience! Whether your stay is 2 weeks or 2 months, I hope my advice and anecdotes will help immerse you as deep as possible in Japanese culture. The goal of this blog is not to help you "get your money's worth" or take photos that'll impress your coworkers; though you may get some of it along the way.