http://www.teamliquid.net/blog/Etter en-us Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:41:20 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=267590 DJEtterStyle I leave for Korea in a few days, so I figured it was time to come up with a basic travel plan. I spent about an hour with Lonely Planet Korea and developed a tentative itinerary, but I was hoping to solicit feedback from the knowledgeable people on Team Liquid. I'm sure there are some great destinations I'm missing. I'll be in Korea for three weeks, so keep that in mind. My Current Plan... Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:32:16 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=267590 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=251531 DJEtterStyle Greetings, everyone. As a handful of you know, I work for a software company in California. Among other things, my job is to teach classes on our software. Our primary customer is the good ol' United States government, so I do a lot of travelling to military bases. Well, I've been tasked to teach a class in Daegu, Korea. I'll be spending one week there for work in late September. Then I'm ta... Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:59:51 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=251531 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103759 DJEtterStyle Your much-adored Manifesto7 was kind enough to host the PDF file for my Japan blog. For those of you who are interested in the Authoritative Edition -- the entire blog with extra photos and cleaned up writing within a single, easy-to-read file -- it's available for download. Get it here! Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:00:48 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103759 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103521 DJEtterStyle Disclaimer: I was not in Japan for a year. I was there for 17 days, from September 1st through the 18th of 2008. I understand that most of the people who enjoyed this blog ceased to care about eight months ago, when I basically gave up on it. So this is mostly for me; I'd like to be able to read about this trip when I'm older. These are the last two days of the blog. Thanks to everyone who ... Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:21:03 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103521 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103453 DJEtterStyle Disclaimer: I was not in Japan for a year. I was there for 17 days, from September 1st through the 18th of 2008. I understand that most of the people who enjoyed this blog ceased to care about eight months ago, when I basically gave up on it. So this is mostly for me; I'd like to be able to read about this trip when I'm older. I finished each of the remaining days of the blog before posting ... Sun, 11 Oct 2009 02:06:36 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103453 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103386 DJEtterStyle Disclaimer: I was not in Japan for a year. I was there for 17 days, from September 1st through the 18th of 2008. I understand that most of the people who enjoyed this blog ceased to care about eight months ago, when I basically gave up on it. So this is mostly for me; I'd like to be able to read about this trip when I'm older. I finished each of the remaining days of the blog before posting ... Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:14:37 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103386 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103325 DJEtterStyle Disclaimer: I was not in Japan for a year. I was there for 17 days, from September 1st through the 18th of 2008. I understand that most of the people who enjoyed this blog ceased to care about eight months ago, when I basically gave up on it. So this is mostly for me; I'd like to be able to read about this trip when I'm older. I finished each of the remaining days of the blog before posting ... Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:27:10 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103325 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103254 DJEtterStyle Disclaimer: I was not in Japan for a year. I was there for 17 days, from September 1st through the 18th of 2008. I understand that most of the people who enjoyed this blog ceased to care about eight months ago, when I basically gave up on it. So this is mostly for me; I'd like to be able to read about this trip when I'm older. I finished each of the remaining days of the blog before posting ... Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:29:01 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103254 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103206 DJEtterStyle Disclaimer: I was not in Japan for a year. I was there for 17 days, from September 1st through the 18th of 2008. I understand that most of the people who enjoyed this blog ceased to care about eight months ago, when I basically gave up on it. So this is mostly for me; I'd like to be able to read about this trip when I'm older. I finished each of the remaining days of the blog before posti... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:15:18 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=103206 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=90930 DJEtterStyle Dogo Onsen. A bit of history. In the film You Only Live Twice, James Bond is treated to what his Japanese contact calls “your first civilized bath.” A trio of scantily-clad females scrub and massage Bond's chest and back until, utterly relaxed, he retires to bed with his love interest du jour. My experience at Dogo Onsen was pretty much identical. No, just kidding! Unlike ... Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:43:40 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=90930 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=86779 DJEtterStyle Stopping halfway up the lengthy climb to Matsuyama Castle to dab my forehead with a hand towel, I asked myself whether all this trouble was really worth it. There are so many other things I could be doing, I thought to myself. I could be soaking in the natural hot springs at Dogo Onsen, quaffing draft beer at the local brewery, or simply resting in the shade with a bottle of mugicha (barley t... Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:08:56 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=86779 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=86161 DJEtterStyle A short ferry ride from Hiroshima, Miyajima represents the idyllic image of Japan that so many tourists seek. And tourists do seek it. Plush, green hills and blue sea flank the main road, which runs between a Shinto shrine and a squat, heavily-wooded mountain. Miniature deer roam freely, sticking their noses into purses and prodding pockets in search of handouts. I'm ashamed to confess th... Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:43:56 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=86161 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=85612 DJEtterStyle 7 Up Yours Truly After such a relaxing evening the night prior, I awoke refreshed on my eighth day in Japan. I strode down to the hotel lobby and gorged myself at the western style breakfast buffet. After a week of dining on miso soup and rice balls each morning, even clumsily-prepared scrambled eggs, boiled potatoes, and sausage links were something to celebrate. The buffet was include... Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:17:02 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=85612 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=84925 DJEtterStyle A few innings into the baseball game between Yokohama and Hiroshima, I concluded that the Japanese know how to play ball. And it was the kind of baseball I love. After a single to opposite field, the next batter would dutifully bunt the runner into scoring position—or the team would attempt a stolen base. Even after tapping an easy ground ball to the shortstop, players sprinted towards fir... Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:27:00 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=84925 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=84475 DJEtterStyle I awoke early the next morning, my determination renewed. One bad experience was not going to taint my trip—not a chance. I tried to scrub out my frustrations under the shower's ample water pressure. On my way to the Hiroshima Museum of Art, I passed the local baseball stadium. A long line of people wound around the circular structure. I asked a uniformed man if there was a game that eveni... Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:11:21 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=84475 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81821 DJEtterStyle “The easiest way to get to Hiroshima is bus,” the bartender at Filaments had told me. “It takes maybe four hours, but you know, you just….” He had leaned his head back and closed his eyes, indicating that the ride was as simple as leaning back and relaxing. As I watched the bus driver navigate the route to Hiroshima, I knew things were not so simple. White-knuckled near the fron... Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:39:22 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81821 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81743 DJEtterStyle Years ago, the American humorist Dave Barry wrote of international travel, “The major problem here is that foreign destinations tend to contain enormous quantities of foreigners (in the form of Japanese tourists).” This made me smile when I read it at the time of publication, but it was only after I did some sightseeing in Japan that I realized the greatest concentration of Japanese touris... Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:09:18 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81743 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81564 DJEtterStyle http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019849&l=ecb93&id=64200053 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:28:38 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81564 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81495 DJEtterStyle Day 5 is when it all caught up to me. The drinking, the late nights, the early mornings, the long days, the heat, the humidity—I awoke feeling like I had been struck by a bus. It seemed like no matter how much water I drank, I never needed to use the restroom. With all my walking, I was burning a lot of energy, and Japanese food is anything but calorie-laden. I felt awful. I was determ... Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:13:05 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81495 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81437 DJEtterStyle My continuing quest to find "rural" Japan led me to choose Matsue as my next destination. A city of around 150,000 people, Matsue seemed as close as I was going to get to rural without going too far out of my way. I shouldered my backpack and boarded the northbound "limited express" train out of Okayama. Though the name suggests otherwise, limited express trains departed ... Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:40:25 +0900 http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=81437