77th

Two years ago, I planned to surprise my mom on her diamond year but it didn't push through since I had problems with my passport. This year, however, I saw to it that I can go back to the Philippines to celebrate her 77th.

Villages

It is still winter in Japan and you still have the time to visit the the Shirakawa-go and Gokayama villages in Gifu and Toyama prefectures. These two villages were listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. I have been to Shirakawa-go last summer of 2012. I made a promise that if I can get a chance to visit it again in winter, I definitely will. That day came just two weeks ago, after joining a photography club bus tour.

Thirteen

Today is the last day of the first month of 2014. Allow me to share my 13 moments from last year. It’s a bit late but I’ve been pretty loaded with workloads, I can barely check my blog and other social media accounts. But, I still shoot, mostly with my mobile phone though.

Minimailism

New Year. New website. Today, I am launching my tumblr account - MINIMAILISM.

Santa

When I was growing up, Santa was always the first one to greet me "Advanced Happy Birthday!" On his gifts, he always included Christmas and birthday wishes. I thought, aside from being generous, he seemed to be very thoughtful human being. But that was more than 30 years ago.

Illumination

Are you planning to visit Japan this holiday season? You may think that there’s nothing to see in Japan at this time since it is a non-Christian country. You are wrong. Japan still found ways to celebrate the Christmas season. One of the things that you can look forward to is the lavish, colorful and vibrant illuminations. These illuminations are all over Japan. Get ready with your camera! Take it from a hobbyist who is afraid of night shots or long exposure photography! (Tripods are most of the times discouraged). 

It must be noted though that December 25 is not a special holiday here, it is a regular working day. That would be mean less crowd on Christmas day!