Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

A Belgian street scene

Around any corner - great depth on this image. 

Meiji Jingu in Tokyo

Here is a massive Torii, or gate, that serves as an opening to the Shinto shrine and park of Meiji Jingu. This is a peaceful park just steps away from the street cat walk of Harajuku.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Shibuya Crossing

Busiest Crossing in the world - Shibuya, Japan 

Some great Soba and Tempura in Tokyo - Yabu Soba

 One of my favorite Japanese meals 

 Entry to Yabu Soba 

 Udon

Kristin enjoying

The heart of Tokyo - Tokyo Imperial Palace


Tokyo is like an octopus. It has many hearts. At its heart of hearts though is the Imperial Palace, covering a massive expanse of open space and shaded paths on perhaps the most valuable land in the world. During the peak of the Japanese boom in the 1980's, the Imperial Palace grounds were valued higher than all of the real estate in California, combined. That was a bubble, but still, fucking crazy.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Nakagin Capsule Tower


The old school new school. The future stillborn in the past. Much of Tokyo has this sort of retro futurism that is cool and disarming. One of the icons that represent this aesthete is the classic Nakagin Capsule Tower, which you can Airbnb now. I will definitely stay there next time I am in Japan. I always pass by it and wonder what the hell is inside. It is very very curious looking.

Akihabra in Tokyo - the digital jungle

A bored maid 

Street Art Amsterdam

I like this pink guy - great pop

Delirium Cafe in Brussels

 Lost of these places are worth skipping, one is definitely not - Delirium Cafe is one of the best spots for beer

Saturday, August 8, 2015

A Street Llama in Santiago, Chile

 This guy was just hanging out apparently

Of course as soon as I took the picture, an errant Chilean hopped out to collect, so we made the most of it

The old Delta 747 - second floor business class


It seems like a distant memory now, but working for Delta was pretty cool. As an employee, I would just look for open seats to interesting places, call Kristin from work, and say something like, "The business class seats upstairs are open on the 747 to Tokyo later today, you want to go to Japan?"

Of course everything has a cost and sometimes it is not a number. Traveling completely freely with Delta for about two years will always be something I look back at fondly, no matter how many companies I build or places I go. I took about eight weeks of vacation in a year there, and nobody really gave a shit. That is pretty cool. I got paid great to do pretty cool work that was not hard; that is pretty awesome. But in the end I could do my daily job in about 40 minutes and its impact on the grand scheme was dubious at best. Everything has a cost, time above all else. Don't settle. Even if it comes with free business class flights anywhere in the world.

Kristin enjoying a trip to Japan in the old business class seats upstairs on the 747