Hii everyone! 👋 So AOGS 2026 in Fukuoka has officially wrapped up. A lot of the "official" conference stories have already been shared by my colleagues in the earlier posts on this blog, so I figured — why not tell the story of my own perspective version? Less about the science this time, more about the little moments in between.
It’s my second time in Kyushu area of Japan. And it was boiling HOT! It is a secret mission to hide from the sun and find shades everytime we went outside. Haha.. I forgot to bring umbrella from Tokyo ;( , so here is what I do everytime we went outside.
🌻 That Sunflower Wall
Do you notice that the previous blog has been started with yellowed sunflower vibe picture? It was literally built out of hundreds of sunflowers with "AOGS" spelled out in red blooms. I felt like it was a nice conference entrance.
Walking into the convention center every morning past that wall genuinely became our little ritual before diving into sessions. Something about starting the day surrounded by sunflowers just hits different.
Conferences are intense, so a few of us snuck off for an evening in Dazaifu — this cute little town just outside the city with an old-school shopping street, wooden shopfronts, lanterns, the whole nostalgic vibe. Sometimes the best parts of a work trip are these random 10-minute detours where you're just... vibing. It was also told that this is the shrine of god of learning, so for student like us, a good place for us to ask for a bit luck for a smooth research journey. hehe
REALLY Big Buddha
This was the highlight for me — Nanzoin Temple, home to one of the biggest reclining Buddha statues. And I mean BIGGG.
You can see how tiny I am in the picture. 10/10 would recommend if you're ever near Fukuoka.
No trip post is complete without a food tangent right? We stumbled on this fruit juice counter — Fruits Shop Aoki, apparently running since 1924?? — and got freshly blended watermelon and peach juice straight from the counter.
The watermelon one was ice-cold and so refreshing after walking around in Fukuoka humidity. The peach was smoother, almost creamy. Perfect little reward after sessions honestly. Good beverage after eating ramen whole week ;p
Beyond all the papers, posters, and new research ideas I'm bringing home for my flood-impact and wealth modeling work, honestly what I'll remember most are these small things — sunflower walls, giant sleeping Buddhas, old shopping streets, and cold fruit juice in the summer heat.
Conferences really are as much about the place and the people as they are about the science. Fukuoka gave me both in full.
Until the next one! ✌️
-Leon
No comments:
Post a Comment