Went to a local tulip festival over the weekend and it was wonderful ☀️🌷

Been a busy bee for a little bit, jumping into GRE prep and also this certification program starting soon (and Japanese study, and work, and just life stuff). Knowing grad school and my new home in Japan is on the horizon keeps me going though :)

Euphemistic language is a tool often used to sanitize grave injustices. When referring to the WWII incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry, it is important to use the correct terminology: concentration camps, not relocation centers; forced removal, not evacuation; citizens, not non aliens.

So fun fact, while I am pursuing grad school/moving to Japan I do have a completely unrelated day job in accounting that I really enjoy! My boss has approved the Japan move and I’ll be staying employed with them during grad school as well :)

Miyajima is a day trip (or more!) I’d suggest to anyone visiting Japan, especially if you have Hiroshima on your itinerary. Home to several beautiful shrines and temples, it’s also known for a torii gate which gets partially submerged at high tide.

#Japan #Miyajima #Itsukushima

Public history is one way to connect our classrooms to lived experiences. Revisit our #NCCSpotlight by Dr. Alan Christy to learn about The Okinawa Memories Initiative, an international collaboration on postwar Okinawan history, archives, and memory! 📸 guides.nccjapan.org/homepage/new...

Happy Lunar New Year! 🐍❤️ The Year of the Snake is said to be a transformative time. The snake is known for being wise, intuitive, clever, and mysterious.

These wooden bookends were carved out of pine by Minoru Fujita while incarcerated in Manzanar concentration camp, depicting a snake on a cactus.

I’m still figuring out what I’m doing with this account. I’ve wanted to have a more “professional” (I know, yuck) account that shared my love for Japan’s history and the topics I’ve studied for years now. But somehow, even here, I feel imposter syndrome. My goal is to push through it!

A very fond post for Kamakura 🩷 I lived pretty close so it holds a special place in my heart. Pictured: the fan-favorite Enoden train; view from my favorite temple, Hasedera, and the Jizo statues believed to protect children; and of course The Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in!

#japan #kamakura

My first major goal for going to grad school will be taking the GRE, but this has a few sub-goals like looking into lessons (maybe?) And also the studying for it. Please if there are heavenly beings out there in space I beg they help me with the math portion 🙏

Okunoshima, an island not far from Hiroshima, once housed top-secret poison gas manufacturing facilities that produced chemical weapons during WWII. Pictured are a cenotaph for the thousands who died producing such weapons (including child workers) and ruins of some of the facilities.

I think I should put out there that although I have grad school aspirations I feel SO intimidated by the thought of it. I also have to take the GRE before applications in the fall and that’s $220 yikes

A photo of the first time I saw Mt. Fuji in Japan, from my university campus. When I head back there I hope to share a pic from the top :)

As a sort of life goals update to accompany how I’m using this app, over the next 2 years I’ll be applying to grad schools in Japan and (hopefully) moving there. So perhaps I can share a bit of the process too!

Taking the Sagano Romantic Train through the Hozugawa River Valley. It was April so there were some highlights of purple wisteria throughout the trees. The sides of the train are open to the elements so we got to enjoy the breeze. A highly recommended train ride 🌳

An easy first photo from my time in Japan (though certainly not a unique shot) is this one at Kinkaku-ji. Expectedly, it was a bit crowded, but the path around offered plenty of chances for an unobstructed view.

I would like to focus this account on my Japan studies and networking in general (and keeping up w/ whatever friends find their way here). For a bit though I will likely just be posting photos photos/videos from my time studying in Japan :)