CURRENT MISSION

to go as far away from home as possible to bring the world closer together

ABOUT ME

I'm a man with a traveler's spirit. You know what I'm talking about: the kind of feeling you get when you've been in a city too long, the edginess when you haven't gone out for a week, the habit of constantly looking at pictures of places you want to travel and always bringing up places you want to go everytime you're in a conversation with someone. I like unusual experiences. I never have a plan for what I'm going to do in whatever place I go. I love trains. I hate tourist destinations. I will stay in a world traveler's hostel even if I'm in a city in America just to have that feeling. I'd like to see as much of the world as possible, and maybe change it for the better. Japan and East Asia are my main interests, though of course I've seen the most cities in the United States. I'd like to visit every continent some day, especially because every time I meet someone from any other country, be it in Africa, Europe, South America, they turn about to be amazingly fun. If you'd like to share the traveler's spirit, come join me anywhere.

PHILOSOPHY

Carpe diem.

Try everything once.

Never be satisfied in complacency, but always be willing to go further.

Never judge a book by its cover, and always be prepared to change your mind.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Since I've started to travel, I've discovered that one of life's most fantastic pleasures is meeting people from another place in the world. I would love to have people from all over come and stay at my place so I find out what others have discovered is the way to learn, have fun, and discover themselves in this planet of ours. But of course, as a traveler I too would like to be that kind of person to anyone who is kind enough to host me.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm just now getting started, so please bear with me as I collect new experiences. I'll be sure to update my profile every time I meet someone new.

Interests

dancing, weightlifting, writing, music, clubs and night life, judo, art and motion, architecture, cooking, history, language and linguistics, law, logic, psychology, sociology and anthropology, off-the-beaten trail locations, wabi-sabi

• fish
• arts
• writing
• books
• architecture
• beauty
• dancing
• cooking
• clubbing
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• fishing
• sports
• anthropology
• history
• law
• logic
• psychology
• sociology
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

It's so hard to define what kind of music specifically I like, because I have amassed a giant collection just by grabbing every song and album that has ever caught my ear. I like music that is charged with emotion, and charges me with emotion. I like music that can fill me with energy before I go to the gym. I like music that shares my mood. I like music that can demonstrate an unusual way to express an emotion, like a violin that seems to cry or a synthesizer that seems to laugh. I love music that makes me want to just get up and move, dancing while no one can look at me or laugh. I love music that challenges my notion of what music is, be it from a different genre or country than one I've ever heard from before. I love it when art surprises me.

As for movies, I don't think I watch enough. I've watched a lot of cheesy comedies, corny romances, and action movies with overdone violence, and yet the best movies have a kind of wabi-sabi, that really make me think while not going overboard in really trying to deliver a message. My absolute favorite is Whisper of the Heart, which taught me that it's okay to be different, and pursuing happiness should always be first on my list, and that, of all things, it's okay to grow up.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I think the coolest thing I've ever seen was the hills of Gokayama. There's not a lot to it, but just to see the lush, green hills hidden way off where no one thinks to go, and just seeing the people living such a tranquil life around there made me feel oddly at peace. It's the kind of area where I feel like I could always clear my mind of everything and just relax.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have such a peculiar approach to some of the simplest things. I have many hobbies, but I would love to just talk about motion with people. That is, all kinds of motion, from the way a fish swings its body to the beauty of modern dance. I'd like to explain to people why it is I do weightlifting, and what the difference is between weightlifting (the olympic sport itself) and just lifting weights, and why I feel so inspired by doing it. To me, motion is a pure inspiration in driving my life forward, it is my "rhythm" and I would like to learn what others define as their "rhythm" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIwVACxsXiw)

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook you the best dinner you've had in your entire life.

Countries I’ve Visited

Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, United States