Awami https://awami.blog/ 2026-08-31T03:45:25Z Nobody Was Cheering Together https://awami.blog/stories/dodger-stadium/ 2026-08-21T09:00:00Z I watch baseball at Koshien and my MLB team is the Astros — but I'll always turn up for the two Japanese players. What I found was fifty thousand people all enjoying the same game separately. Nothing Special Here https://awami.blog/stories/lake-biwa-nothing-special/ 2026-08-15T09:00:00Z Shiga is the prefecture everyone drives past on the way to Kyoto. No headline temple, no neon. It's also where I'm from, and every time I come back I think the same thing. The Night Hawaii Felt Like Japan https://awami.blog/stories/honolulu-foodwalk/ 2026-08-14T09:00:00Z No tours, no hikes, no must-see list. A loco moco in Ala Moana, a twenty-minute walk to the lagoon, and free fireworks at eight on a warm Friday night that somehow felt like a Japanese summer. The Kid Who Couldn't Even Fly Straight https://awami.blog/stories/for-future-pilots/ 2026-07-30T09:00:00Z I've landed a plane about five thousand times. Two, maybe three of those were genuinely good. This is how a kid who couldn't hold a straight line ended up in the left seat. Hello There https://awami.blog/stories/hello-there/ 2026-07-26T09:00:00Z An introduction. Two kinds of trip end up in the same notebook, and I think they belong together. An Hour in Minato Mirai https://awami.blog/stories/minato-mirai-walk/ 2026-07-20T09:00:00Z A tower, a sailing ship, some bricks, and a really good bowl of wonton noodles. One hour, no itinerary — the in-between hour is where the good stuff lives. I Just Wanted to Sleep in a Round House https://awami.blog/stories/awaji-glamping/ 2026-07-17T09:00:00Z No bucket list, no itinerary. Somebody said they wanted to sleep in a round house, so we drove across the bridge. Best travel decisions are the dumb ones. A Quiet Day in Hagi https://awami.blog/stories/hagi-bakumatsu/ 2026-05-12T09:00:00Z The school that produced the men who designed modern Japan looks like an old farmhouse. That's the whole point of it. Two Glass Panels and a Plate of Green Noodles https://awami.blog/stories/yuda-onsen-chuya/ 2026-05-12T09:00:00Z Read a sad poem in the morning. Get absurdly hungry by noon. Eat green noodles off a sizzling tile. That's the whole trip, and it was perfect. My Parents' Diner https://awami.blog/stories/asahi-menruiten/ 2026-05-06T09:00:00Z Ten seats, a noren that has faded to exactly the right colour, and a bowl of chuka soba for 600 yen. I am not a neutral reviewer here. The Coffee at Tarumae https://awami.blog/stories/tarumae-coffee/ 2026-04-05T09:00:00Z A rare day off, a small camp stove and a bag of instant coffee. Six hundred metres up a Hokkaido mountain, an ordinary cup tastes like something else. I Just Wanted Houtou https://awami.blog/stories/houtou-yamanashi/ 2026-03-15T09:00:00Z Some weekends you don't plan a trip — a craving plans it for you. Mine started with a Mt. Fuji tumbler at Starbucks and ended at the top of a very steep staircase. I Didn't Know a Place Like This Existed https://awami.blog/stories/aizu-yanaizu/ 2026-02-10T09:00:00Z In January I drove north with no destination, got off the expressway in a town of five thousand people, and spent two days saying the same thing to myself.