It’s with great excitement that I’m off to Japan on May 14th! I’ll be going from Tokyo and making my way slowly across Japan to Kyoto and then swiftly back to Tokyo for 2 days and I’m home by 1st June. It’s a guided tour with a group of about 12 other people so it should be fun. I’ll be arriving on my own and I’ve booked 2 nights extra in Tokyo at the start and end so I can meet a penfriend and do a bit of adventuring myself.
I’m also a little anxious as this will be my first time abroad on my own. It should be a good experience and I’m looking forward to meeting the others on the tour. I have so much to prepare! So far I have a massive backpack, my japan rail card, flights and hotel/tour all sorted out. I need to get money exchanged, make sure everything can fit in my backpack, check if my phone will work in japan, make plans to meet people in Japan aaaand buy lots of little things that I need whilst there. Phew! I usually forget something..
Also, I’ve decided to change the aims of this blog. I’ll be posting more often but the posts will be smaller. The reason for my silence recently was mainly a backlog of post ideas that required a lot of work and I just couldn’t find the time to do them. I also don’t yet have the experience with Japanese to really write any tutorials of great use to other learners. So I decided updates on my learning experiences would be a better idea than tutorials on how to learn.
This blog also seems a bit lifeless to me at the moment. I want this blog to be more personal, rather than a tutorial site. So I’ll be making posts on other things I find interesting about Japan.
The Awa Odori festival looks like great fun. I hope to see...
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:55 am
Have a great time in Japan! I hope your trip will be as exciting as you are anticipating! As for your blog focus, go with whatever motivates you to write. Don’t worry about your audience, just write about what you want to.
Have fun in Japan, and if you go to Kyoto, make a trek to Nanzenji (a temple in east Kyoto). It has a cool aqueduct and if you can hike up in the mountains behind it (Daimoji-yama). Also, a trip to Mt. Hiei is worth it. There’s a really old Tendai temple on top called Enryaku-ji. It’s a really cool feeling to climb an old mountain like Hiei-zan and reach the temple at the top.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Thanks for the suggestions Thomas!
The tour is packed with things so I might not get time but if/when I visit again on my own I will be sure to check them out.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:37 am
How exciting! I can’t wait to hear about your trip! I’m going to Japan in November, and it can’t come quick enough.
I would also love to hear about your journey in learning Japanese. That is one this I would like to record at my blog - my own journey. And as I get better, I would love to help others learn too.
April 24th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Hi Carlie, your site looks full of some great posts. I’ll check out a few of those dramas (if I can find them online). They should help me with my Japanese listening.
Where abouts in Japan are you visiting in November?
April 25th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Congrats!!!
I was just looking at guided tour packages the other day. Still can’t afford it unfortunately. Hope you have an awesome time!
April 26th, 2008 at 3:01 am
As to where I’m going, well everywhere I hope! Mainly Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Nara. I’m only going for two weeks, and it’s my first time there. I hope I will get the chance to go back for a longer trip one day!