Shibuya

Tokyo Daijingu

I visited a Shinto love shrine while in Kagurazaka. Before you can enter Tokyo Daijingu you must cleanse your hands and rinse out your mouth with holy water. Afterwards you can go in, pray, and receive a fortune. From what I recall mine seemed to be promising. Additionally, you can purchase charms or blessing tablets if you really want some extra help from the Gods. After I prayed I bought myself a charm and peacefully wandered around the grounds taking in the serenity. 

Gakugei-daigaku, Japan

My friend Mio in her small apartment in Gakugei-daigaku, Japan. 

Leavenworth

Canada Day

This summer I skipped out on celebrating the 4th of July here in The States in exchange to see what Canada Day had to offer. I went up for a night with some college friends to explore Vancouver B.C. We stayed in a hotel on Granville. We mostly ate good food, went clubbing, and explored the city for two days.

Hale aloha

Īao Valley State Monument

The distance to Īao Valley was fairly short from where we were staying. The peaceful drive offered lots of lush greenery to admire. I had stayed out in the sun too long the previous day and developed a really bad sun rash thus hiding away in the rainforest for the day seemed like the best decision. 

The hike was very lovely with many exotic plants to marvel at while bird songs and the sound of a running stream filled the air. The sun ruthlessly beat down on us as we trekked up the hill so we quickly decided to hide away in the dense jungle to find some relief from the heat.

Swimming in the Īao Stream was the best part of my day. The cold water eased some of the pain from my sun rash and it was just so nice to cool off within the humid jungle. 

sea foam

sugarcane plantation

After a long day of exploring we stopped on the roadside at a cute little coconut stand. We each had a young coconut which was filled with water. I can attest that it tastes much better when you drink coconut water fresh as opposed to from a box.

The Road to Hana

My most recent travel destination was about a month ago. My family and I flew to Maui and explored the island for 12 days. The Road to Hana took us the entire day but was so worth it. We started our journey at a local surf beach. 

 View from Hana Highway.

I was getting really restless and urged my parents to stop by this waterfall. It was so beautiful. A few other people had done the same and were swimming in the pool at the bottom of this waterfall.

The beginning of our hike at Haleakala National Park.

 The Bamboo Forest was enormous and went on for miles. Surprisingly, it was what took my breath away the most. With the wind blowing the trees would bump against one another making the most zen like sounds. It was so peaceful.

 At the end of the hike at Haleakala National Park is this gorgeous waterfall. We only got to admire it for a little before it began raining.

As we ran out of the jungle the downpour ceased and out came a rainbow.