True North Strong

First off… yes, I know. It has been over a month since my last Asia adventure post. I’m alive. I’m doing great now. But shortly after this leg of the trip I got absolutely obliterated by what I can only describe as the Flu Boss Fight DLC. Fever, headaches, dehydration, chills, exhaustion… just an all-around terrible time for about 10 straight days. There were moments where my greatest ambition in life was successfully consuming half a piece of toast without collapsing into an

Hi Everyone! I had never even heard of Chongqing until it popped up while I was searching for visually insane places in China—somewhere with glowing skylines and that full-on cyberpunk vibe. Turns out, I had wildly underestimated what I was about to walk into. Chongqing isn’t just a big city—it’s one of the largest in the world. The municipality has a population of over 30 million people, making it more like a province-sized mega-region than a traditional city. The dense urba

Hi Everyone! Rolling into Xi’an by train, one thing immediately stood out—nuclear power plants… everywhere. I’m not exaggerating when I say it felt like I passed 20 of them on the way in and out. China is going all in on nuclear. They already have over 50 reactors operating and dozens more under construction, with plans to keep scaling hard over the next decade. The goal is to reduce reliance on coal and push toward long-term carbon neutrality. Whether you’re for it or agains

Hi Everyone. I arrived in Beijing from Gimpo International Airport (still sounds like a joke name to my ears…) and landed at Beijing Capital International Airport feeling prepared, confident… and immediately humbled. I had a Holafly eSIM that very clearly claimed it worked across 15+ Asian countries, including China. Spoiler: it did not. The second I landed—no data. Dead. Gone. Welcome to China. Now here’s where things got fun. I had done my homework. I had Alipay and WeCh

Hi Everyone! I checked into my hostel, the Blue Dot Poshtel — because apparently it was… posh. Now, I don’t want to come in hot, but if this place was “posh,” then I’m basically royalty at this point. It wasn’t awful — let’s be fair — but it felt like a place that was designed with really good intentions and then somewhere along the line got handed off to someone whose main KPI became “spend less, charge the same.” Case in point: there’s a full-on restaurant lounge in the bu

Gyeongju feels like stepping into a completely different version of Korea. After the coastal buzz of Busan, I arrived here and immediately slowed things down — starting with renting a bike for ₩15,000 and setting off to explore what is essentially an open-air museum of ancient Korea . And I mean that literally. Hills… That Aren’t Just Hills One of the first things you notice in Gyeongju is the landscape — these big, smooth, rolling grassy mounds scattered all over the city.

Hi Everyone! After Japan, I hopped on a ferry from Hakata Port in Fukuoka straight across the water to Busan. The trip takes about six hours , which is just enough time to settle into the ship and begin questioning your life choices when you discover what they call a “10-person cabin.” Cabin is… generous. Picture an empty room with ten paper-thin futons folded along the wall like emergency floor nap kits. It’s essentially a minimalist slumber-party staging area. I never actu

Hi Everyone! Fukuoka itself is a fantastic city — lively, modern, and full of amazing food — but for me the highlight of my time there was getting out of the city and seeing the wild heart of Kyushu island. So I signed up for a bus tour that promised volcanoes, ancient shrines, and dramatic gorges. Naturally I said yes before even finishing my Pepsi BIG ZERO . Our first stop was Mount Aso , one of the largest active volcano systems on Earth. Not just “big volcano big” — we’re

Hi Everyone. Hiroshima, for obvious reasons, is going to be a little different than the others. Before things turn heavy, there’s a stretch in the video of me wandering through the streets — bright lights, sizzling grills, and the comforting smell of things being fried that probably shouldn’t be fried but absolutely should be eaten. It’s lively, noisy, and full of energy. If you dropped into the footage without context, you’d think it was just another vibrant Japanese city d

Hello Everyone! After a few days in Osaka I jumped on the Shinkansen and made a quick stop at Himeji Castle , which might be the single most “yep… that would have been impossible to attack” castle I’ve ever seen. First off, the thing looks exactly like what you imagine when someone says feudal Japanese castle . White walls, layered rooftops, towering above the city like it’s still expecting an army to show up any minute. The nickname is “The White Heron Castle” because the b

Hello Everyone! My first night in Osaka followed a very simple plan: arrive → find food → regret how much food I ate. Naturally, this meant heading straight to Dotonbori Street , Osaka’s neon-lit food carnival. If Tokyo feels like the polished global capital and Kyoto feels like a living museum, Osaka feels like the friend who says, “Let’s go eat something ridiculous at 1 a.m.” and somehow convinces you it’s a good idea. Osaka is famously nicknamed “Japan’s Kitchen” ( tenka

Hello Everyone! After Tokyo, I hopped on a train to Kawaguchiko with visions of postcard-perfect lake shots and Mount Fuji looming dramatically in the background. Reality check: rain. Overcast. Moody clouds doing everything they could to protect Fuji’s privacy. I wasn’t alone—there were plenty of other tourists standing around with expensive cameras, all collectively pretending this was “atmospheric” and “intentional.” Honestly though? Blessing in disguise. After absolutel

Asia Adventure 2026 — Tokyo: Transit Systems, Neon, and Koi Fish Hello Everyone! I finally got some downtime to put together the first video and this blog post! - hope you all are doing well. Enjoy!!! Tokyo didn’t ease me into Asia. Tokyo grabbed me by the shoulders, handed me a transit card, and said “keep up.” And honestly? I loved every second of it. Let’s start with the trains — because if you can figure out Tokyo’s rail system, you unlock a new life skill and +10 confi