VANCOUVER
17-18th Nov, 2018
The first in AS A BIRD's travel journal series.
We will look back on the memories of our travels around the world in four chapters.
This time, I will introduce a trip I took in 2018, traveling down the west coast of Canada and the United States from Vancouver to Portland to San Francisco.
[Vancouver - Portland - San Francisco 2018: Chapter 1]
Around 2018, I was thinking about going abroad to reexamine my career.
At that time, the first thing that came to mind was San Francisco, my first overseas trip with my family when I was in the fifth grade. If I was going to go, I decided to go south from Canada and end up in San Francisco, so I grabbed my suitcase and set off on a trip like that.
"When in doubt, travel"
One of the reasons I travel is that I am often guided by something when I travel. I never imagined that this trip in 2018 would become the roots of " AS A BIRD " and the source of ideas for the brand.
The first city I visited was Vancouver, Canada. Located in British Columbia, Canada, the city is known for its beautiful nature and multiculturalism. While there is a large mix of cultures, especially the Asian community, I felt that they valued their own culture very much. For example, even in the airport, there were tapestries with traditional public patterns and totem poles, and I got the impression that they were coexisting with new cultures while still retaining their local roots. I was strongly attracted to the well-balanced harmony between tradition and modernization.
The city itself is very compact, with mountains surrounding the urban area. You can experience Canadian nature in the vast Stanley Park, which is close to downtown, and watch the sunset from the coast at Third Beach. It is a city that coexists with nature despite being an urban area. Because it faces the sea, the seafood is fresh, and when I tried the local clam chowder, even I, who don't like it, finished it in one go. The soup, made with rich seafood soup stock, warmed me to the core. Because it was a very compact city, I was able to fully enjoy everything from the urban area to areas where you can feel nature, even in a one- day stay.
That's right, when traveling, choosing shoes that suit your destination is key.
Vancouver is a city where city and nature coexist, and we had the idea that there would be a pair of shoes that could be worn in any situation, whether in the city, at the beach, or in the mountains. This idea became the source of inspiration for the Vancouver series of sneakers, which is AS A BIRD's flagship item.
Everyone wants to reduce the amount of luggage they bring on a trip. AS A BIRD's sneakers " Vancouver" are suitable for a wide range of surfaces, from urban asphalt to light off-roading. In terms of design, there is no large brand logo on the side, but rather it is left blank and features turquoise from Arizona. If you are traveling and have many opportunities to walk around the city during the day and go to restaurants at night, a pair of Vancouver2 will suit all occasions, both casual and formal.
In the first chapter of our 2018 journey down the west coast of Canada and the United States, from Vancouver to Portland to San Francisco , we looked back on our trip to Vancouver , where we were inspired to create shoes that would blend in naturally with any city and that would be suitable for any situation while traveling.
In the next chapter, we will look back on our journey to Portland, a little south of Vancouver .