Now on Joachim Kennedy

August 12, 2026

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:21:00 +0300

As per my MO, I am intentionally writing about the past during what I expected to be a break but is actually when things are changing the most. That means that I started writing this in the Athens airport, and I’m (fingers crossed) finishing it in my hostel in Edinburgh.

I decided to stop in Athens because it takes at least 2 stops to get from Osaka to Edinburgh, and I wanted to break it up. I didn’t think about relaxation enough to remember the Greek islands which is just as well. It was relaxing enough to not travel for a few days. To make up for it, I ran to beach and took a little dip there. The water was so clear it had that unsettling effect where the bottom looks close even though it’s out of reach. I ran back along a road that seemed to just be miles and miles of car dealerships.

August 6, 2026

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 03:03:48 +0900

I am now in Singapore’s Changi Airport on the way to the next leg of the trip. This is way too long already, so I’ll get right into it.

Mt Fuji

Summiting Mt Fuji at sunrise was one of the coolest parts of the whole trip. I had to to download an app, take a safety quiz, pay a trail fee, reserve a seat on a bus to and from the trailhead, get a train from Tokyo to the bus, and reserve a hut to stay in on the mountain which was a lot more than the trip baseline of zero planning. I would have given up at multiple stages if it hadn’t come highly recommended from a trusted friend. I’m so glad I stuck it out. The views were incredible, and the whole experience ranks among the best slightly underprepared Joa adventures, up there with The Enchantments and the Gooseberry Trail in Canyonlands.

July 31, 2026

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:08:55 +0900

So as to not totally abuse the concept of “now”, I’m currently in Osaka. I’ll get to that, but first: Tokyo, the first leg of my trip (after a brief Seattle stopover to see friends). I stayed there for 5 nights.

Neighborhoods

My favorite neighborhood was Shimokitazawa. I went there for the thrift shops, but they were a little too cool / expensive for me. Luckily, I was delirious from walking way too much in the heat that day, and I found myself in the residential area which had a lot of stylish homes which were expensive based on the cars (and the presence of driveways) but still packed together tightly.

July 22, 2026

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 10:03:50 -0700

I’m writing this on a new laptop which is smaller, lighter, and less broken than my old laptop (and a little smaller than I expected). Actually as I write this I realize they’ve sent me a Dell Latitude 7330 instead of a Dell XPS 13 9310. Oh well. I’ve been hurting for a new laptop for a while, but the impetus was an international trip that I wanted to be able to blog without lugging a heavy laptop with me.