this GUY! hahha.. "PACHI PACHI!"

Went out to eat with my neighbour and pretty much my adopted 'big sister' Wyomia and her boyfriend Brett.. real cool folks..


[thats a massive fishbowl mixed drink]


and this is the funny cook that was right beside our booth.. who put on a funny exaggerated american accent... he was trying to explain these candy pop rock type of things on the bottom of the glass!!

update.. in hirosaki!! festivals and parties...!

Hello all!! It has been a hectic 3 weeks – almost a month now, here in hirosaki, aomori - japan… I have been very busy getting settled in, buying necessities for the apartment, getting into the grove of things at work, getting to know my city/surroundings – especially biking around my area.. (who bikes now-a-days)… well everyone in Hirosaki does.. lol..

I work for the board of education in my prefecture, I don’t have one stationary school.. I pretty much work in an office and I will be making visits to different elementary and jr.high schools.. I start teaching next week… should be pretty interesting!

About Hirosaki… So far so good! I was lucky enough to catch the “Neputa Festival” right when I got here… Neputa is the ancient samurai, he's one of the national symbols of my town.. It was my first time going to a festival in Japan… there were giant lantern floats and big taiko drummers… it was an amazing experience… the festivals here are very lively..

Ive met a ton of new people that have really helped Hirosaki feel like home… everyone that I have come across has been helpful, welcoming and friendly… I was really scared that I was coming to live in the boonies, surrounded by rice fields..but that’s FAR from what it is over here…

ive come across a lot of urban/eccentric spots like some chill coffee shops, jazz jam sessions, soulful bars (GUMBO! – owned by my newfound friends, ghina and kenji – w/wide variety of genres..from 70s soul -curtis mayfield, otis redding.. t0 80s and 90s r&b.. to african beats..)

[Kenji on an african finger piano? not too sure what its called]

and the clubs play similar stuff to what we hear at home... in conclusion, Hirosaki is an amazing place and im excited for this upcoming year... [btw, Dj Envy from HOT97 is gonna be here next month! And im looking forward to meeting hiM!]

One of the other teachers was leaving and he brought me out with his friends.. i met the main dj from hirosaki [DJ Hirokazu]

and the people that run the parties here - JAZZNATION.

This is a video of my first night going out in Hirosaki... This was a pretty trippy night... i didnt expect to hear people freestyling in japanese.. lol.. its funny..




"readyy..readdy..? ...whats gooood??" lol.

Hirosaki Castle

Today was amazing!! I was able to visit the famous HIROSAKI castle. It is an old castle built in the 1600s that housed the Emperor..its situated in the middle of Hirosaki park.. the castle is very historical, complete with a moat river (full of lily pads) and it is perched high on rocks.

As I walked around inside the castle and around the park, I couldn’t help but think that I was standing in the same spot that ancient samurai and warriors were.. that’s pretty dope

I can only imagine how this place would look during the cherry blossom festival..apparently.. WORD on the street is that this park, HIROSAKI park has THE BEST cherry blossoms in ALL OF JAPAN!

my place

Heres a quick video of my apartment in Japan. I live in Hirosaki City, which is in the prefecture of Aomori. My area is very central. I am a 5 min walk from the train station, grocery store and 2 or 3 different malls.