Sayonara Japan

At the time of this posting, we're on a plane en route to America.  We've said all of our "see you later"s and checked everything off our Japan to do list.  All that's left to do is cherish the memories we made and embrace the adventure ahead of us.  We had a great last few days in Japan, just enjoying time with friend and visiting some of our favorite restaurants/bars one last time.

I have fallen in love with the sushi here and I know I'm going to miss it.  Some of it I can make at home myself but it just won't be the same, I'm certain.

We were exhausted from cleaning for 3 days straight but happy to be eating sushi!

 I received an award from Jason's battalion commander for my dedication to the unit.  It was the first time I've received an award like this so I was very appreciative.

We ate/drank at our favorite bar one last time.

When we told the owner (I never did learn his name) that we were leaving Japan in a couple days he ran off and came back with this bottle of sake for us.  I'm so badly going to miss that place!

We spent our last full day at the pool on post.  We've done everything we could possibly want to do here (and more) so we just wanted to relax and spend time with our friends.

For our last "non airport food meal", Jason chose ramen.  I was totally OK with that, although, it's so much better on cold winter days than it is on blazing hot summer days.

Jason is obsessed with their chahan (fried rice) and I must admit, it's pretty darn good.

They veggie gyoza and they're some of the best I've ever had!

I had to add another shirt because I cannot eat ramen without making a huge mess!

We are going to miss Japan more than I can express in words.  The past 3 years have been some of the best of my life.  I'm so happy Jason convinced me to accept this assignment.  The people I have met and the things I have experienced have made me a better person and will stay with me forever.

Just like I say with friends, it's not goodbye but see you later.  Japan, I will return.  One day, I will be back!

Sakura + Models + Camera = a fun day!

A year and a half ago I attended a photography workshop in Yokohama (you can read about that here) and met a phenomenal local photographer by the name of Alfie.  Since then I've been able to attend a few workshops/photo walks he's hosted and learned a ton!  This weekend he hosted a very informal walk with a few models along a river that was full of sakura trees.  I had to rearrange my schedule and drag my butt out of bed after a long night of pub crawling but it was totally worth it.  I had a great day, met some great new photographers, and came home with some images I'm pretty happy with!

The scenery was breathtaking!

Hanami is a Japanese tradition of enjoying the sakura dating back to the 700's and usually includes friends/family, food and booze.  They even sell specialty sakura sake and snack for the occasion.

There were people of all walks of life out enjoying the day.

These women were adorable and so incredibly friendly

These little girls were trying to catch sakura that the wind was blowing off the trees.

The models were great.

Shinyong was stunning as usual.  These are two of my favorites from the day!

Spring Blossoms

The unseasonably warm weather we've been having (hallelujah, winter is finally over in this part of the world) has resulted in an early sakura (cherry blossom) season.  I'm not 100% on the difference between cherry blossoms and plum blossoms so I won't even try to guess which is which but I went out today with Buster searching for some of the first blossoms.  I'm trying to soak in every ounce of them this year since this is my last sakura season here in Japan so you will probably see lots of these in the upcoming weeks.

Mom's visit {Sakura}

In an attempt to not overwhelm you with photos in my last 2 posts, I decided to do a separate post about the Japanese cherry blossoms, or sakura.  The blooming of the sakura is a very important time of the year in Japan.  It is seen as a new beginning, a time to celebrate new life and new opportunities.  The school year in Japan begins at the beginning of April, not in August like it does in the US.  Also, many people move and start new jobs at the end of March/beginning of April, when the cherry blossoms are blooming.  Last year I was not here for cherry blossom season so I was very excited to see them this year.  The fact that my mom's trip timed perfectly with their blooming made it even more exciting!

Here are a few of my favorite cherry blossom photos from the past few weeks