tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55515777294065744542012-01-29T01:38:52.473+09:00Welcome all....thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.comBlogger481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-24628057001993387212010-02-16T13:10:00.007+09:002010-02-16T13:25:52.088+09:00

Okay, so this isn't really STAR WARS, but I think it's just as geeky if not more so. After a 12 year break, I've made my way back into the world of RC cars! Ahahaa, I'm laughing with you.This was once a passion I had when I started it as a freshman in high school. After h.s. I graduated and then moved to Seattle for a good ol' proper UNI education. Shortly after that, I had moved to Japan and

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-71176753209466994122009-04-09T12:08:00.003+09:002009-04-09T12:13:54.579+09:00

Welcome the new banner! I figured since I was no longer in Japan, I should change the banner from my favorite surfing town to a pic of PDX. Have a look at the old banner down below.New topic I've decided to do is food. The wacky foods I eat will now be documented.....don't forget the chicken feet and intestines! oh boy.....

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-18748313618122794382008-12-02T17:20:00.007+09:002008-12-02T20:23:38.292+09:00

I had to say goodbye to a friend today and this friend I met when I was just 22. I was still a student trying to figure out my ways. You helped me greatly, you taught me never to be afraid. I will remember your face...it is not something so forgettable. I wish there was more time. But, I will never forget the times we shared. Thank you.....Okay, so enough dorkin around. Today, I had to say

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-79828216677894042732008-11-29T10:42:00.004+09:002008-11-29T11:09:54.542+09:00

Being away for college and living in Japan has stolen quite a chunk out of my family time away from me. It was like everyone back home just grew up all at once in a blink of an eye. Culturally speaking, there wasn't a big huge adjustment for me moving back here. Reverse cultural shock never even set foot upon my door. Life just smoothly continues without any sort of abrupt interjections. It was

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-72843800013604745082008-11-19T13:32:00.006+09:002008-11-19T21:37:13.907+09:00

Being back home here in Vancouver, WA is a lot different than being in the countryside of Japan. There is a lot to adjust to and some of the wacky American cultural differences can get to you after awhile.....just like some of the wacky Japanese cultural differences can also drive you plain loco!Some of the bonuses about being in the States are the roads. I don't know if you have ever been to

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-88759807661250044322008-10-08T17:24:00.001+09:002008-10-08T17:26:07.091+09:00

Hi everyone.....Just wanted to say that I'm back home in the United States and got my computer up and running so I'll be backlogging stories for a bit here. Had to catch up and get re-acquainted with home. It's good to be home, but of course I really miss Japan too.

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-73685127266099097302008-07-08T08:24:00.005+09:002008-09-07T08:59:04.827+09:00

Saturday marked the first day that my good friends Mitsuru and Reiko would actually try surfing. They've talked about it for a long time and things just kinda keep poppin' up ...... like for instance, a baby. Brian met them during his first season at Hakkoda Mt. and we've been friends with them ever since. Mitsuru and Reiko are amazing snowboarders. If you have ever seen them snowboard in real

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-39262609641017856072008-07-08T08:23:00.008+09:002008-07-22T11:09:49.081+09:00

My boss, Yuya, is a good friend of mine and over the course the last 2 years I've become close to his family as well. He has a cute little 5 year old son by the cool ass name of, Yuzen. I like the name cause it's got the word, zen in it ;).Anyways... Starting from March I've been teaching English at Yuzen's kindergarten. But before my first trip to osh-kosh-land, I remember a time when Yuya and I

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-89200202910247482832008-06-26T08:16:00.011+09:002008-07-13T23:19:30.665+09:00

A buddy of mine, aka Carlo...but in the world of photoshop power gurus ....some know him as c-lo, asked me for a photographic favor. Since he was designing my web page of course I couldn't say no. Actually I was pretty stoked he asked me to shoot something for him. I'm always up for a challenge and took it kind of like a shooting assignment. If I recall, the conversation went sorta like this."Hey

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-27780543342643501162008-06-24T09:01:00.009+09:002008-07-03T17:07:58.084+09:00

I'm a big fan of live shows. Every once in a while a friend invites me along and to check out a live venue and I never hesitate. Sometimes I just feel like I'm kook'd up in a small box when I don't get out of Tohoku every now and then. Don't get me wrong, I love Tohoku for the chill isolated laid back lifestyle, but new adventures to other remote spots are always interesting.This time around, the

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-66256416042249456842008-06-24T09:00:00.007+09:002008-07-03T17:10:39.169+09:00

Let the games begin! On June 19th, 2008, Tohoku Town had their annual elementary school track and field competition. The competitors were 4th, 5th, and 6th graders from all 7 elem. schools competing in 3 events....running, ball toss, and long jumping. Yah, that's it..... The athletes were separated by grades and also by gender. The leggers were able to choose from the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m,

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-56011095398416032782008-06-24T08:59:00.008+09:002008-06-24T18:02:22.874+09:00

If you didn't know previously.... I teach at 7 elementary schools in Tohoku Town, but this year I got lucky enough to fill a few days of "Office Days" with kindergarten school visits! OMG it's so fun! The kindergarten groups the 4 and 5 year olds together and I get to have them for 30 minutes. Basically my lessons are very similar to 1st grader lessons. This consists of the basic, "My name is ___

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-32396188047118054602008-06-09T08:37:00.010+09:002008-06-24T16:38:42.368+09:00

What kind of picture does your mind paint when you hear the word...... Hawaii? Tropical paradise, blue ocean, hot weather, beautiful beaches, tourists everywhere... are only a few, but probably the most common images thanks to the ever-so influencial media. You could probably throw in a few hula dancers and a roasted pig for safe measure and you still probably wouldn't stray too far from the

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-87133013874050808622008-06-03T08:47:00.017+09:002008-07-15T09:57:57.023+09:00

In continuing with off camera flash...I took my work to the streets. Okay well not the streets really but to the rice patty fields. I saw a couple of photos that had a cool sunset or sky in the bg, black foreground, but with a lit subject that really tickled my interest. I wanted to mimic this and practice a bit so I gathered up my gear and drove out to the fields and set up my lights and tripod.

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-36946457672235953822008-05-13T17:56:00.008+09:002008-07-15T09:57:09.093+09:00

Slowly, all the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together and this off camera strobing has started to get really interesting. At the time I shot these photos, I shooting with my 40D, a Nikon SB-26 attached with a really long sync cord. I think the flash ran me about $60 bucks and the cord $10 so all in all I have 1 off camera strobe for about $110 with a light stand...not bad I'd

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-49358731482099935572008-05-07T08:22:00.008+09:002008-07-15T09:54:18.385+09:00

May 3rd, of 2008 marked my final day at Hakkoda. The sun was out, the sky was blue...perfect right? The only problem was that it was about 20 degrees Celsius! OMG the snow was definitely melting and unfortunately for my two friends who came all the way from Tokyo to check out Hakkoda was misinformed with a 2 week old Hakkoda snow report. It said 105cm at the base...when we got there, there was no

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-40199780773950366172008-04-28T18:55:00.006+09:002008-07-15T09:52:29.833+09:00

The next day, I was able to witness "Yabusame" live and in action and wow...I was super stoked to see such coolness all in one weekend. This was an all women's event that had about 30 riders. The tournament was ran in tradition style with the best riders moving to the next round with quarter, semi, and finals. Each round consisted of 3 riders with 2 passes each attempting to nail 4 targets. If

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-2351023139163161082008-04-28T18:54:00.026+09:002008-07-15T09:51:36.640+09:00

Dance dance dance the night away! What a cool way to end an evening and watch the magnificent tradition jazz'd up dancing of Towada's Yosakoi Yume festival. This was held on the main strip in Towada City after the towns people all gathered to witness this live dance off. I was stoked to observe and take pictures. Awesome!There was a cool vibe in the air that night and I think it was mostly

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-13884713751675128372008-04-28T18:54:00.025+09:002008-07-15T09:48:39.855+09:00

I wasn't really content with my photos in Hirosaki. I felt like I needed to add a little more or find something better to shoot.... just didn't feel satisfied with the pictures I came home with. Yah some were okay and others were not bad, but nothing stood out like, "Damn, that's a nice photo." So what other choice did I have? Settle for mediocre or try my luck again. The weather was forcasted to

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-24215867468946104812008-04-28T18:53:00.012+09:002008-07-15T09:49:53.056+09:00

One of the biggest events in Japan is the blooming of sakura. Japanese people love sakura! And they should be cause it really is beautiful and only lasts for about a two weeks. Two weeks isn't bad, but maximum bloomage is probably for 2 days! Traditionally, it symbolizes cyclic nature of well..........you guessed it, Nature! As the flowers bloom, it marks the essence of spring and symbolically...

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-55355787459685596742008-04-28T18:52:00.010+09:002008-05-01T18:00:27.859+09:00

Lately, I've been fixated on learning everything I can about lighting and how it affects the camera. There is so much you can do with available light that it's so confusing. This isn't an easy task because no one around me is able to teach me any of this. Everything that I have learned is from what I have read off the internet. I look at people's photos and try and dissect them and figure out how

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-47535483303443748122008-04-28T18:51:00.009+09:002008-05-01T16:47:38.860+09:00

The surf was huge and out of control and so Brian and I decided to go shoot pictures in a small fishing town called Tomari. It's really really small, but there is something special about this town and you know what? I'm really not sure what it is. I've always been attracted to the simple beauty of the town's layout....on a hill over looking the ocean with one major road that stitches the town

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-75494354329192538582008-04-22T17:24:00.011+09:002008-04-23T08:17:57.843+09:00

Background:Okay, so for a while now I've been wanting to get a 35mm film camera to learn film. I really was against this idea because it would mean a whole new thing to learn. I had my hands full with just learning digital photography. You know....the gear, the settings, the WB, the ISO, the aperature, AE bracketing, Av mode, Tv mode, Full M mode and so on and so on. I mean it doesn't stop. On

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-23677046835432667612008-04-14T11:30:00.012+09:002008-04-16T11:13:18.302+09:00

Yesterday was pleasantly warm. The sun blessed its rays on the Aomori surfers as the spring breeze touched the land of the blue forest for yet another day. "Takeshi, today's so warm huh?"He looked over to me with a wrinkle above his left eye and said, "Yes, but the ocean is freezing and I'm getting cold!". He was right. The ocean was icey but the temperature was indeed pleasant. As I sat in the

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-10224488762422654932008-04-09T11:58:00.008+09:002008-04-16T11:13:51.297+09:00

"Sir, if you're free I would like to have a word with you."Mumbles from across the room, "ffmmm baahmm, yes."I approached the Education Superintendent with my hands holding 3 picture frames."Bahahhum taahee this?"I replied with, "This?? Well these are pictures I took and I wanted to give the Community Center and the Town of Tohoku a present.""Bummzihe de really?"I opened the first picture and the

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-56911970836821126062008-04-08T15:44:00.011+09:002008-05-01T18:02:40.461+09:00

Before I spent 2 full seasons at Hakkoda, I cruised around Aomori and Iwate prefecture hitting up the parks and groomers and that was fun for me. It was challenging to hit boxes, rails, hand rails, kickers, rainbows, halfpipes.....anything that had to do with freestyle snowboarding. This season, I haven't had the drive to practice this anymore and I just thought it was because riding Hakkoda

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-49791787984821240172008-04-04T11:54:00.008+09:002008-05-01T18:03:15.704+09:00

A while ago, after I got my 40D I sold Brian my Rebel XT (Digital Kiss N, 350D) for cheap and really happy he decided to buy it. I've been a fan of Brian's photos from way back and this was when he knew little about photography. He just has a natural eye for cool things and now that he's got a dslr, I can't wait to see the photos he takes with it. It's gonna be awesome.Here we are playing with

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-34131984365124610522008-03-31T19:45:00.003+09:002008-04-16T11:12:46.569+09:00

Haha, the title is not what it seems.....Today I celebrated my 1st framed photo. Yah that's it. Nothing exciting. It was a picture I took over by Rokkasho and it's a picture I'm really stoked on. I was lucky. It was just one of those pictures where everything worked out perfectly and I just happen to be at the right place at the right time...with my camera of course. Since I have my own printer,

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-55855346015865767132008-03-31T19:41:00.009+09:002008-05-01T18:04:15.610+09:00

Rise and shine! After a few hours of shut eye, we woke up and got ready for a day at Ajigasawa ski resort. Toshi came over and picked us up and we headed off for the mountain. I was definitely looking forward to today because it was the first ever Ajigasawa Slopestyle Jam 2008 and all the park riders from near and far came out to play. Of course, I would be there...camera in hand taking

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-71159446155790856132008-03-31T15:18:00.006+09:002008-05-01T18:04:51.737+09:00

Saturday...the weekend has come and the bad new is.........no waves! So what does this mean? Another weekend at the mountains, but this weekend turned into something really cool and definitely on my "awesome" and "different" kind of weekend adventure.I got a phone call from one of my snowboard buddies (now also a surfing hommie as well) and he invited me to go adventure down to Iwate prefecture

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-16549551968676698572008-03-31T15:17:00.008+09:002008-04-16T11:17:30.432+09:00

Lucky for me, this year I was able to attend 2 graduation ceremonies because more often than not, school related ceremonies in Japan are all usually on the same day. I don't know if it really means much to the kids for me to show up in a suit and attend their graduation, but to me...teaching a class with 10 kids for almost 2 years and knowing after they graduate, I would probably never going to

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-34269726519676013212008-03-31T15:16:00.007+09:002008-05-01T18:05:31.052+09:00

I've been blessed with the opportunity to teach English in Japan for almost 5 years now and over the years the number of students that have had my English class(es) is probably over 10,000. While I was in Hachinohe, I circulated to 48 elementary schools and 4 jr. high schools for 3 wonderful years. Now in Tohoku Town, my rounds consists of only 7 elementary schools for a tour of 2 years.Over the

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-26128008045721913232008-03-31T15:15:00.009+09:002008-04-16T11:21:59.811+09:00

After back to back SBX events, the next day (March 10th) I packed for a little vacation off to visit Ken and Casey in Nara. Phew! This month has been one of the busiest months of my life. Crazy busy but still a lot of fun. I wanted to travel cheap so I bought Hach-Tokyo shinkansen ticket and then a $40 overnight bus to Nara. I really hate overnight buses though. The cheap ones are so crammed,

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-74056626432220916812008-03-31T15:14:00.007+09:002008-05-01T18:06:02.709+09:00

The next weekend after Hyakuzawa was the Moya Hills SBX Championship. Back to back race weekends this year and all my friends from Hakkoda entered the race so it was so much fun. This included riders like Brian Y., Mitsuru, Eiko, Kazuo, Ichiko, Takachan, Hiishi, and myself.Again thanks goes out to Abe-san for putting in hard work and creating a course that was fun and chill. There were two sets

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-59692059256407258782008-03-31T15:13:00.005+09:002008-05-01T18:06:44.430+09:00

This year, the Hyakuzawa SBX Championships fell on March 2nd of 2008. I was looking forward to this event because last year I tied for 1st place because of some photo finish b.s. Really it wasn't a photo finish because the guy crashed out and never crossed the finish line. I was less than a meter away and saw it with my own eyes (great view of the crash!). Yah, that's another tainted story I'd

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-57019703101901282812008-03-31T15:12:00.008+09:002008-04-16T11:25:43.268+09:00

Living in Aomori and having Hakkoda in our backyard is a wonderful blessing. Before coming to Japan, I knew absolutely nothing about northern Japan's snow condition and when I arrived I knew I landed in heaven. POWDER HEAVEN!This year's highlight has to be the hike up Takada Odake. The weather was pristine, the snow was fantastic, and the time...just perfect. All of us, Nao, Eiko, Mitsuru, Brian,

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-6558428388925620092008-03-31T15:10:00.005+09:002008-04-16T11:27:06.656+09:00

This was a Sunday usually spent at Hakkoda...however the winds were too extreme at 30 km/hr which stopped all gondola activity. Instead of just packing up and going home, Brian and I decided to build beds in our cars. YES!!!! This means we are gonna sleep in our cars at -10 to -15 degrees Celsius all winter long!Unfortunately, we were no longer able to stay at Mitsuru and Reiko's house because

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-54111611812108526032008-03-31T11:24:00.004+09:002008-04-16T11:27:58.132+09:00

In the past 2 years, I just had this tiny itch to send my photos to photo contests here in Japan and to my surprise, I've had really good luck with them. Last year in the Tohoku regional worker's photo Contest, one of my photos took 2nd and I won about $300 in travel coupons. The following year, in 2007, 2 of my photos placed and I received a total of $150 in visa check coupons.You know what?

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-19741137233815254262008-03-31T09:57:00.006+09:002008-04-16T11:28:52.941+09:00

This was my very first wedding where two of my snowboarder friends would tie the knot. Of course, that meant a lot of snowboarding hommies getting together and having an all day 'n night fiesta! Crazy fun!!Ichiko and Kazuo make a wonderful couple. I've known them for almost 4 years, but more exclusively in the past 2 years because of Hakkoda. Previous seasons, I went to ski resorts like Appi,

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-33915380470631651312007-11-15T10:23:00.001+09:002008-04-16T11:29:43.602+09:00

I returned home from work around 4:30pm on Thursday, October 26th. I kicked off my shoes, set my backpack in it's familiar corner and proceeded to open the door to my living room. I remember thinking to myself, "Damn, I need to tidy up the place a bit." My futon floor bed wasn't put away and yesterday's clothes had yet to find the hamper. I walked over to my computer, sat in my computer stool,

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-24161996808732420792007-10-11T08:14:00.016+09:002008-05-01T18:23:32.910+09:00

"I found it! Here you go. You should be set with this," said Maureen.I reached out my hand and accepted the brochure from Ken's mother like a field trip kid, "This is perfect! I think this is all I need, thanks."The brochure was colorful and full of exciting images that were naturally many shades of blue. I thought about it for a minute and wondered when the last time I was at an aquarium. I

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-74751039803381892752007-09-18T15:02:00.002+09:002008-05-01T18:15:53.438+09:00

When people go on vacation, they tend to do usually 1 of 2 things.... get lost or spend a lot of money. Sometimes, when you're luck pisses on you, you do both. Since this wasn't my first time around Nara/Osaka, I didn't get pissed on, but had troubles spending an insane amount of money on something that I really didn't need. I'm not sure what it is, but when you're on vacation you justify every

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-34159725401539267142007-09-06T09:43:00.001+09:002008-04-16T11:32:55.537+09:00

Ken came home around 9pm that evening which gave us about 2hrs to lounge before our night out. Prior to my arrival, I distinctly remember asking Ken over the phone, "So what are we going to do Friday night?" (Which was my first night in Nara)"Club dong," he said.My eyebrows were raised. It has been sometime since I was at a "real" club. I emphasize "real" because Aomori has a few clubs, but with

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-70138829033274628322007-09-04T08:17:00.002+09:002008-05-01T18:17:24.079+09:00

Ken's house was a very nostalgic sight to see. A great mix between Japanese traditional housing and western style decor all tastefully juxtaposed together into a lovely place I call my second home. It was nice to Ken's mother, Maureen, who hasn't changed one bit. I guess some things never change and for once this is a good thing. Maureen's warm smile instantly drew me to give her a big hug. It's

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-13322953458116514102007-08-22T10:59:00.002+09:002008-05-01T18:17:57.167+09:00

It had been almost 2 years since the last time I visited Osaka. My memories of the city still felt crystal clear, but I felt it was time to stop living in memories and booked a flight ticket from Misawa airport. My boss was kind enough to drop me off at the airport and surprisingly the flight only took an hour and 40 minutes. I had completely forgotten about the heat in Osaka until the moment I

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-1535043597342502632007-08-17T08:06:00.003+09:002008-05-01T18:16:42.718+09:00

demonsOriginally uploaded by notegra This the first time in 4 years that I was able to attend the Kuroishi Festival. For those who are unfamiliar, Kuroishi literally means "black stone". Kuroishi is what I would call a medium sized town for Aomori prefecture with 38,733 people and sits beneath the Hakkoda mountain and borders Hirosaki City. From Tohoku Town, it took a little over 2 hours by car

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-33319437104136076262007-08-15T09:55:00.002+09:002008-04-16T11:18:18.835+09:00

When work finished at 4pm, I had a small chat with Yumez on msn after I got home and suddenly got the itch to go shoot photos in Aomori city. When I told her my plan, she responded with, "What? You're going to go all the way to Aomori to shoot pics?"From where I live, Aomori city is only a stone throw away which equates to about an hour by car. The driving never has bothered me, but it was the

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5551577729406574454.post-79520028883964821612007-08-15T08:40:00.000+09:002007-09-18T14:59:29.308+09:00

So it starts here....Hahaha yes, I know I'm not the first person to ever make a photo blog site, but for me, this is my first real blog. This is my chance to share with my friends and future friends my story.August 15th, 2007 marks the beginning.thomas

thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18124442243336112451noreply@blogger.com0