To Do List~

I am not the best at keeping track of the things that I want to get done in any given period of time. (I make myself sound so incredibly organized, I know you are all jealous of my organizational prowess.) Thus, I decided to post a checklist of some of the things I want to experience/do/think about in Japan. That way, I can't lose it. Also, then I will be able to add things, or make sure I know what I want to do when I return, if I can't do them while abroad this semester. This is more for my own personal benefit than for the good of the blog, but what else can you expect? I haven't even left yet, silly person!

Some things that I HAVE done... I got my visa, have started my rounds of seeing all of my friends before I leave, have gotten some lovely travel books, and have begun to make a preliminary shopping list. I have yet to actually do any of the shopping (or packing for that matter), but I feel accomplished nonetheless. Besides, when have I ever done anything until right before it is due?

TO DO:

XGo shopping in Tokyo
XVisit harajuku again
XGo back to Nara and actually see the daibutsu (I went there once, but (long story) missed out on actually seeing the daibutsu)
XVisit a museum!
_Visit the famous Aquarium
_Learn how to make some sort of Japanese dessert (even though I'm not homestay, hopefully someone from homevisit can teach me)
Xeat as much takoyaki as possible (this is hard to judge, but as long as I eat a lot I will be pleased)
Xtry every interesting food that I can, and don't shy away from any new food (this probably is holding myself up to an impossible standard, though, haha)
_Find a tattoo friendly onsen and visit it
_Visit South Korea
_Visit Hong Kong
XGo to a shinto festival of some sort
XView the sakura blossoms
XSpeak with my Japanese homevisit family exclusively in Japanese (IF I get homevisit and unless they want to practice their English, as well) so I can work on my (horrible) conversation skills
XMake my conversation skills less horrid
XVisit Hiroshima
XKaraoke, of course
_Buy an obi to go with my kimono
_Decide if I would like to try to live in Japan after graduation
_learn how to practice and remember kanji more efficiently (I am very bad at remembering kanji from previous lessons, even if I study it and do well on the quizzes. I would like to fix that.)
_Buy a Murakami book in Japanese and (hopefully) read it.
_Buy as much J-Horror as I can find
_See a concert (does not have to be a Japanese band, any band I enjoy will do.)
_See Mount Fuji
XRide the shinkansen
XGo on a spontaneous trip to somewhere I have never been
XStay in a hostel

An introduction, of sorts

As a college student going abroad for the semester, I am pretty much obligated to make a travel blog (not that I have a very good track record for keeping up with blogs, but I suppose I should give it a valiant effort). As one might deduce from the title, I will be spending my spring in Japan. Kansai Gaidai University, to be precise. One might also deduce that I set my goals very high, but my determination will show all of you.

As I have previously stated, I am very bad at updating things like this regularly; I have never been able to keep a diary for more than three days, in fact. However, I will be doing a research project while in Japan (thrilling, to say the least), so I needed somewhere to keep track of my work, and also somewhere to vent my numerous (and quite witty) observations and thoughts. So, along with my research dates, I will probably be posting pictures, stories, and the like. To clarify, I don't plan on posting my actual research, I just needed something more than scraps of paper to keep track of when I do interviews. Hopefully, this blog will allow me to tag these posts accordingly, so I can sort through my thoughts more easily, and not bore anyone who bothers to read this.

So, if you are still reading and not completely offput by the mention of research (trust me, it will be more painful for me than you), enjoy any posts I actually make!