Is Japan One of Your Places To Love?

Are you ready to visit Japan?

I loved visiting Okinawa, Osaka and Kyoto when I traveled there by cruise ship. I cannot wait to return.

Have you planned your trip yet? What do you want to see?

We were the first people on the Dolby Stage since the Oscars!

Mr. Akira Chiba, the Honorable Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles, welcomed us to this incredible gathering and to the opening of Japan House. The 2020 Summer Olympics will be held 24 July to 9 August 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. Will we see you there?

Samantha Brown shared her travel philosophy. Brown said we want to go places where we belong and that feel authentic. Her advice was do not spend all your time in the past at monuments and cathedrals. She said get out, go for a walk and see every day life. She recommends you create your own daily travel ritual. It could be having a coffee at the same cafe each day or taking time to write in your journal with a glass of wine in the same bar each night. Make sure you find ways to connect with locals and be social. Brown said to “Go for comma; not the exclamation point.” The point is to enjoy where you are and not be in a rush to be somewhere else. Brown asked us, “Why is travel important?” She answered: “It is one of the few ways to mark a fresh start. We are all on a journey to be better.”

The event was moderated by KTLA’s Frank Buckley who shared about Japanese heritage, his love for Japan and his recent trip there with his family.

There was a traditional Kagami Biraki (鏡開き) or opening of the sake barrel. This ceremony happens to celebrate an event and the lid of the sake barrel is broken open by a wooden mallet.

Amy and I enjoyed all the festivities and

being on stage at the Dolby Theater!

Thank you to JNTO for a wonderful night of learning

about Japan and the new Japan House.

“Japan House is a project which aims to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of Japan in the international community, by creating a number of hubs from which to showcase and communicate Japan as a country of countless charms, able to enrich the rest of the world. These hubs, located in major global cities, are designed to function as platforms for people with passion and with talent who have been inspired to use JAPAN HOUSE to articulate, express, and reveal their experiences and interpretations of Japan. JAPAN HOUSE operates three such hubs, in London, Los Angeles, and Sao Paolo. 

The inaugural exhibit, ANREALAGE: A LIGHT UN LIGHT, at Japan House was an incredible display of style, light and full of fashion.

Are you ready to travel to Japan?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

*Art and Culture trip with EXO Travel

 

*Private Luxury Tour of the Contemporary Art of Japan with Artisans of Leisure

 

*Relax in Okinawa on Crystal-Clear Seas & White Sands with Boutique JTB