So this week was a week of many firsts. I cooked one of my favorite dishes {tortilla de patatas} for the first time since living in Hawai'i. I went to my first Turbo Kick-boxing class...I'm not so sure I can survive a second. I even took my first island hot tub dip...but what really made my week special was ending it with an impromptu girls' weekend to Japan! My first trip to the country and the continent!
I consider myself fairly well traveled, but my heart keeps leading me back to some of my greatest loves; Paris, Milan, Vienna...Hawai'i!...so it's time to mix things up! So after a nearly 11-hour flight, I landed in Fukuoka, Japan...consider my mind blown! I knew I would like Japan, but didn't expect to out right LOVE it. Since we only had 26 hours until we needed to catch our flight back, we set our sights in the Hataka city of Fukuoka. Great shopping, wonderful people - a city perfectly mixed with tradition and modernism...and did I mention that the food is awesome?!
It's a city that made me feel right at home and I had no trouble diving in head first. And so what do you do in a city you've never been and time is quickly ticking by?! Shop and eat! I hear Tokyo is a shopper's dream, but let me tell you - Hakata was not short of stores, boutiques and 100 yen shops to help me add to my wardrobe and home. In fact, I had to buy two suitcases to carry everything back...not sure what I was thinking when I only brought a carry-on backpack with me - #ThisDivaWasHopingToStayOnABudget!
Luckily, we also stumbled across a group of Taiko drummers and dancers - stunning and a definite highlight to our day. To see any type of art form in the place of its origin is always something truly special to experience and this was a treat!
But by 9pm, it was time to board the plane back to Honolulu. I was exhausted, my feet were sore and my bank account nearly depleted, but I had the biggest grin from ear to ear because we had thrown caution to the wind and spent a day uncovering this cool little city in Japan. These are the things I'll look back at and know that I've tried to live life as best as I could.
A hui hou!
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