Posts Tagged ‘travel’
Osaka 2011 – Day 4
And here we are, the final post of my Osaka trip!
My fourth and final day in Japan began with a new sampling of canned cold coffee, as usual, and then a quick morning walk around Dōtonbori for some street photos. Some of my stops included the Shouchikuza, a kabuki theater, and the Dōtonbori Don Quijote location.
Osaka 2011 – Day 3
Sorry for the delay in this post! I returned from Japan on Saturday, and spent most of the weekend catching up on sleep before shooting a wedding yesterday evening. I do have my ‘Scenes from Japan’ collection up on Nonstop Honolulu right now, which features some images from the previous days, as well as previews of the not-yet-posted Day 4, but let’s get on with Day 3!
My day started with walking across the street from our hotel, the Dōtonbori Hotel, to grab a coffee from the Lawsons convenience store. I’ve never seen such a wide selection of canned coffee and tea – for me, it’s heaven. After settling on my coffee of the day, I joined Burt and Mari for a quick stroll around the area. I even stumbled across a Lush, which I’ve also been to in Florence, Dublin, Vancouver, and Auckland, besides the American locations. It’s now on my travel checklist to always try to find an international Lush!
Osaka 2011 – Day 1
I apologize for the tardiness of this post, but this has been the first chance I’ve had to grab a few hours before rushing off to another adventure!
My first day in Osaka began in Honolulu with a chants, song, and dance at Gate 34 as Hawaiian Airlines and the community came together to celebrate the first departure of their inaugural route to Kansai Airport. After the speeches, hula, and traditional Japanese fan dance, a blessing was made and the maile leaf was untied, and our trip was officially underway. The crew gathered for some final photos, and then we all boarded to settle in for the eight hour flight to Japan.
A Yonsei’s First Trip To Japan
I am honored, humbled, and excited beyond belief to have been invited by Hawaiian Airlines for their inaugural flight for their new route to Osaka, Japan. I’m a fourth-generation Japanese-American, or yonsei, and it’s taken me 24 years of life before venturing to what my hapa friends and I refer to as “the fatherland” (as most of us have Japanese fathers and Caucasian mothers!). Though I’m only staying for a few nights, I’m going with one goal in mind: Don’t feel like I didn’t take enough photos.
Okay, maybe a goal-and-a-half: Don’t feel like I didn’t take enough photos, and feel good about the ones I do take.
It’s my photography that got me invited in the first place, which has been a greatly validating feeling. I can’t complain – I’m going somewhere I’ve always wanted to go because of (and for the purpose of doing) what I love most! With fashion as my second passion in life, I admit to having muddled over what clothes to bring, but with Japan having incredibly hot summers, at least much of my Hawaii wardrobe will translate. That’s left me with fussing over what gear to bring and carry on my own, since the husband is sitting this one out.
I’m also lucky enough to be traveling with some of Hawaii’s social media giants:
- Toby Tamaye, @atmarketing, of AT Marketing
- Esme Infante Nii, @esmeinfantenii, of Moms in Hawaii
- Burt Lum, @Bytemarks, of Bytemarks.Org/BytemarksCafe.Org
- Mari Taketa, @NonStopMari, of NonstopHonolulu.Com
Follow any of us on Twitter (I’m @dallasnagata, of course!) or the hastage #HAOsaka to follow our adventures over the next week! I will also be blogging my personal impressions and photos here on this blog, while posting photo galleries of my more artistic scene captures on my Nonstop Honolulu blog, Moments Around.
I got a haircut so I don’t look too unruly, I’ve gained 5lbs in the last week in preparation of eating my way through Osaka, had my dollars exchanged for yen, and I think I’ve decided what camera lenses to bring. I should probably start packing.
Europe, Revisited, and More
As inspiration/research for my NaNoWriMo endeavors, I’ve been going through a lot of my old photos from my Europe study abroad in 2006. Here are a few that I decided to re-process, and most of them have never been posted, aside from my old study abroad blog, which is no longer in existence.
“Burano” – The island near Venice, famous for its brightly-painted houses.
“Remember Venice” – Gondolas on the Grand Canal.
“Meet Me At Como” – A cafe on the shores of Lake Como.
“Switzerland” – Somewhere near Interlaken.
The best part of these photographs is that while the first picture, “Burano”, was taken with my old Canon Digital Rebel/kit lens, the last three were taken with my old Canon Powershot SD400…and that last shot in Switzerland was out of a moving bus window! It’s looking back on photos like these, when I was still very new to the art of photography and had the most basic of equipment, that remind me I can be more than my equipment. There have been many times where I have taken a photo, and people’s only comment is “Wow, you are so lucky you have such a nice camera!”, without any credit given to me as the eye behind the lens. A few of my photographer peers have had similar experiences, so I know I’m not alone in noticing this.
In other news, there’s apparently a Wildlife Photography Contest going on over at deviantART, and it’s the first photography contest in ages that has interested me. Luckily, zoo photography is allowed, so maybe I’ll be able to figure something out before December 15th. Of course, it’d be much more impressive to go back to Maui’s rainforest looking for honeycreepers, but if I do that I’ll be wanting to rent a super-telephoto from Hawaii Photo Rental, and didn’t I just say I want to be more than my equipment? Plus, I’m a very small girl, and hiking one of those monster lenses into a rainforest is rather daunting. Where’s my entourage when I need one?
I also might be posting more fashion-related entries as time goes on and my interest in fashion grows. Check out this shot of Sarah Jessica Parker from Elle:
I’m in love with the styling here! (Matte jersey crepe top with cage shoulder, $295, leather vest, $1,190, both, Alexander Wang, at Barneys New York. Cotton tank top, Michael Stars, $38. Stretch briefs, Chanel, $900. Leather boots, Bess, $385.)
Finally, I wanted to promote my dear friend and travel partner, Cameron, and her new blog, Eyes on Etsy!
As a huge Etsy fan, like myself, Cameron puts together awesome themed collections made up of the best handmade and vintage items she finds! In her own words:
Etsy is a magical, bountiful land of online creativity and commerce, specializing in handmade and vintage goods. I discovered it one day while wandering along (virtually), and fell head-over-heels in love. Now, just like any realistic love interest, Etsy is not 100% awesome 100% of the time. However, with a little patience, you can find some true gems… and I have.
So, seeing as I spend at least some part of every day browsing Etsy – and seeing as my list of Favorite items is approaching 300 – I thought I’d share my finds with the world. Maybe you can afford to actually purchase something…
Happy browsing,
Cameron
So there you have it! You can follow her on Twitter too, for all the great finds she doesn’t post on her blog!
There, I’ve been a good blogger now. May I have a cookie? 
Photo of the Day – Packing the Essentials
Gone to Maui until Wednesday!
(Also, don’t worry, I’m not checking any cameras etc. through luggage!)
© 2010-2012 Dallas Nagata White
