Hunter Hayes at the Santa Barbara Bowl

Want to know a weird fact? Considering the amount of times I have seen Hunter Hayes live, I have only seen him in Los Angeles once. Yup. Once. That would be the first time I saw him on his Most Wanted tour at The Troubadour in West Hollywood. Every other time, I have had to drive at least an hour or so. So where else have I seen him? Well, here's the list in the order of where I have seen Hunter live: West Hollywood, San Bernardino, East Rutherford, NJ, San Diego, Fullerton, San Diego, Ontario, Las Vegas, Costa Mesa, and now, Santa Barbara.

I was originally going to the show with a friend, but she ended up not going because of work. When I told my mom this, she decided that she wanted to come along to SB, so we ended up spending a night there. The weirdest part of the whole thing was that she drove me to and from the concert, since we took one car up to Santa Barbara. It took me back to the times before I had a car and had to be driven to concerts. The great thing about my mom wanting to come along was that we got to spend a nice 1.5 days in Santa Barbara.

Yummy açai bowl from Brasil Arts Cafe.

The concert itself was amazing as always. Hunter always bring the highest amount of energy the moment he steps on stage, and the greatest thing about his shows are that he always wants to tell stories and connect with the crowd. This time was no different. As much as he labels himself as this shy, awkward geek that just loves music, the shyness and awkwardness is not really detected while he's on stage. Okay well, maybe a little of the awkwardness comes out such as when he laughs at his own jokes and stumbles over words on how to say the right thing to relay what is in his mind.

Dan + Shay opened up the show for Hunter- crazy to think that they almost didn't make the show because of flight delays, but made it in time because they drove down all the way from SF. 

It felt like it had been forever since I last saw him perform a new song (well, to be fair it had been 10 months since I last seen him) and it was so great to see and hear him perform songs from his new album, Storyline. I do wish that he had performed at least one of my two favorite songs- Cry With You and In A Song. I can only hope that one of those songs are in his set list for the next time he tours and is in Southern California. Also to hoping that the West Coast is included in his next tour, considering it has been excluded the past two times.

I hope you liked the pictures! The next show I'm going to is HAIM, then Sam Smith, and hopefully Ed Sheeran in between along with Bastille.

xx

Time in the Mother Land

The truth is, whenever I am back in Japan, I don't really do anything. I there to visit family and maybe, just maybe, do something interesting. The past few years, my grandma has booked bus trips for the two of us to go somewhere, which is nice. My dad rarely ever has time for me, usually only time for dinner. The one positive that comes out of dinner with my dad is that we usually go to a nicer sushi restaurant, meaning good sushi. This time, yet again, he only had time for dinner, but we went some place else, having a traditional Japanese dinner. The food was good, and the place is known for having good food, but to be honest, I couldn't really compare it to anything else to say that it was the best food ever.

Unlike other times, my mom bought my ticket 2 weeks before I left LA, which meant that there weren't any bus trips open for my grandma to book. The community she lives in had a day trip planned to Kyoto, so she booked us for that trip. We went to a temple in Kyoto, Byodoin, which was in the process of being re-furbished, and had a chance to see a bit of the neighborhood nearby. I am guessing they are known for their tea, because all the shops sold tea, with green tea ice cream being the flavor of choice. 

 Traditional Japanese bento lunch. It also came with green tea soba. 

This store had green tea ice cream, on which they put some green tea powder on top, and while the powder some times made me cough a bit, it was so so good. 

Since I didn't get to eat sushi with my dad, my grandma planned on taking me to eat some sushi. Because my cousin is busy with her part-time job, I had yet to see her, therefore my uncle proposed that we all go eat sushi so that I could see my cousins. While it was only for an hour or so, it was so nice to see both of my cousins and catch up. It's crazy to know that one of my cousins is now in college and the other is studying for high school. The great thing about Japan and its endless supply of fresh fish is the conveyer belt sushi restaurants that are $1 per plate.

Being as this is my last real summer break, I'm not exactly sure when I will be back in Japan again. I know I always say I don't like going back to Japan, but it's sad to think about not knowing when I will be back next. This winter, next summer, in a few years who knows. Hopefully my family can make a trip out to LA again in the near future.

Thanks for a good 1.5 weeks, Japan. 

xx

Home

Home: The place where one lives permanently.

The concept of home seems so easy, yet when I think about it, it is filled with uncertainty. Just like studying abroad changed my outlook on life and other ideas, it has also made me question where exactly home is to me. While the definition of home is a place where someone lives permanently, a home is more than that. You can have a home but not feel at home at the same time, while you can feel at home in a place that you do not live permanently.

The idea of home really struck me because I am currently in Japan, and when my grandma came to pick me up, she said “Welcome home.” That is the phrase she has always said to me when I return to Japan, but the truth is, Japan has never felt like home for me. I was born in Japan and spent six years of my life here, but I do not feel much connection to this country. There are aspects of me that make me stand out, showing that while I look Japanese, I am not from Japan; my beliefs and ideals are different from the Japanese, further creating a divide between myself and Japan. When it comes to the Olympics or the World Cup, I always root for the U.S. over Japan. I have never questioned it, and it has always been natural for me.

While the U.S. is home in the sense that it is where I live, that is not where my heart is. I dream of living in London, but I also dream of spending the rest of my life exploring the world, finding a home in each place I visit.

When I made a weekend trip to Lisbon, Portugal during my time studying abroad, the guy working the front desk of the hostel I stayed at asked to see my passport when I checked in and asked where I was coming from. I told him that I came from London because I was studying abroad there but lived Los Angeles, and that I was born in Japan, hence my passport. If I remember correctly, he said something along the lines of how I'm very worldly and must enjoy travelling. As I told him where I was from, I realized that a simple answer of home did not exist. I have called all three places home at one point or another, but it only emphasized my lack of a definite home and what it means to me.

One semester remains between myself and the “real world”, where I hope to find a job that I am passionate about in a place that I can call home. The idea is very hard to imagine, especially when the only certain thing for me is the uncertainty that lies ahead and where I eventually want to settle and call home. All I can hope is that I eventually will find a place that I can truly call home and feel at home.

xx,

Aya