A train ride away from downtown Kyoto is the small, quiet town of Arashiyama. Don't be daunted by its distance from the city center. It's definitely a trip worth taking if you ever find yourself in Kyoto. Get away from the buzz of city life and savor the zen-like calm you'll find in Arashiyama.

What I loved most about Kyoto was how deeply embedded it remains in Japan's rich cultural history. Despite being one of the busiest cities in West Japan, it still maintains its historical charm. You'll find temples and shrines sometimes a stone's throw away from train stations. One of these is FUSHIMI INARI-TAISHA shrine, which is LITERALLY a stone's throw away from the Inari station on the JR Nara line.

Even if you're not familiar with the name, I'm pretty sure you've seen photos of those huge torii gates and their distinctive bright red-orange color. THAT is Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine.

Nope. It's not what you think. This is not a heart-wrenching hugot post on apologies. Contrary to popular belief, I can apparently write normal-ish posts without it becoming one of my many, many, many ramblings on love and life.

So, yeah, I just wanted to apologize for the slow week this week on the blog. It's been crazy and exhausting this past week for me so I haven't really had much chance to prep posts to be published. But, yeah. We're back to regular programming so keep an eye out for the rest of the travel posts about my trip to Japan and Malaysia, CTC in Manila, MIBF, and the APCC. Whew! That's quite a handful. Better get back to work, then!

Keep reading, geeks. :)

You all know that I'm a voracious reader but what kickstarted this harmless hobby into an obsession is a book about a boy-wizard and his magical adventures. So imagine my first time as I stepped foot inside Universal Studios Japan's newest attraction: 
THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER