Hi. My name's Dan, and I'm a 29-year-old American who just returned to the States after a year abroad in Japan. I was teaching in Hakodate, a port city on the southern tip of Hokkaido, Japan with my girlfriend. I was a full-time high school English teacher, but before that, I worked for ten years as a graphic / web designer.

I set up this site to keep up with my family and friends back home, and to share some of my experiences with those who might be interested. Hakodate is actually a pretty fantastic place. It's located on the Oshima Penninsula, on the southern tip of Hokkaido, the northern-most island in Japan. It's three hours south of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, and a fantastic beer mecca. While many tourists hit Sapporo, Hakodate features more historically significant landmarks in a more condensed space, and is utterly gorgeous on good days.

The center-piece of Hakodate is Hakodateyama, a mountain at the very tip of the penninsula that an average person can ascend in about 45 minutes. From the top, you can view a bustling downtown, the occasional temple, and the distant glare of the squid boats. (The locals joke that you can see them from space, and I`m not sure how much of that is hyperbole honestly.)

Hakodate's also the site of the last stand of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which cemented the collapse of feudalism in Japan. 700 years of the samurai and shogunate ended in the pretty walking park (Goryokaku-koen) 20 minutes from my apartment. Not to gloat, but I think that's pretty goddamn cool.

As you can guess, I am really enjoying Hakodate, and I`m eager to share. I hope to update this site pretty frequently with photos and stories. I'm also planning on putting up some art projects as well. Hope you enjoy it.

I can be reached at danhenrick@yahoo.com