Today's my mother's birthday! Happy birthday, Mom!
I've spent the past few hours sorting out my photos from last year's Golden Week trip. Golden Week is a collection of three national holidays around the beginning of May. This year, my vacation starts on April 29 and goes through May 6th.
Last year, I went to the Kansai region, which includes Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Himeji, and Kobe. It turns out that I went to over 30 destinations in about nine days, taking over 1400 photos! It'll probably take me until the end of May to post all of my stops on this tour, after which I can bring you almost fully up-to-date!
Golden Week is in two weeks, and trust me when I say I'm ready for this vacation. I'm going to Seoul and elsewhere in South Korea for a full week, my second trip to Korea. I'm revisiting a couple places I went to in January of 2013, plus adding many new locations, including several baseball games. My last vacation was around New Years, and my last trip was all the way back in September when I went to Hokkaido!
I still need to upload photos from the Kansai trip, which I'm going to do this weekend. So for today (tonight; it's about midnight local time when I'm writing this post), I have my general feeling right now summed up in one photo:
Where my 2012 was about travel, 2013 seems to have been about experience. I did plenty of sightseeing, but I spent less time at museums and more time really getting to know a lot about Japan.
In my post about goals for 2013, I started by mentioning that I wanted to see more of Japan. Well, I did. I "did" Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe), Sapporo, Matsumoto and Nagano, Matsushima and the rest of the Tohoku region, and Nagoya again. I visited a bunch of new baseball stadiums, including the remaining seven home stadiums for the NPB teams. I went to many more amusement parks, and rode my 100th roller coaster in Japan.
I didn't take a trip every month. I still want to go to Okinawa, Shikoku, and Kanazawa. I want to return to Matsushima, Nagoya, Kansai, and Nikko. There are another 100 coasters in Japan to ride and lots of baseball to see.
In 2014, I expect to return to South Korea, hopefully take more overseas trips - Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are on my shortlist - and I plan to take some more long-weekend trips for more sightseeing around Japan. I also expect to go back to the US for New Years next year (I have a full week off).
My second goal for 2013 was to try more Japanese food. I did pretty good with this. I had my first real sushi and sashimi, tried more ramen variations, and sampled some of the local specialties. I ate fugu! Japanese food is fairly mild and I've liked almost everything I've tried, though I don't like seaweed, especially in nori form - the dark green paper-like wrapping found on sushi rolls and onigiri (rice balls). I might eventually develop a taste for it, though I don't see it happening anytime soon. I also don't care for the chewiness of octopus in takoyaki, though the taste is fantastic. I'll probably give it a third (final) try before dismissing it for good. The best food in Japan seems to be the unhealthy stuff - curry, sweets and fried food are fantastic! My favorite is kushikatsu, fried food, like chicken, beef, and cheese, on sticks served with a sauce, as seen in the photo above.
As for cooking more at home, I didn't do too well with this. Changing requirements at work has left me fairly tired and I get home later at night - both causing me to lose interest in doing anything more than putting something in the microwave. I am eating healthier though, as I'm paying more attention to my diet. I hope to cook more at home next year.
I wanted to post more this year. I had 124 posts in 2012, and only 89 (this will be number 90) in 2013. I had a good run while I posted about last year's Taiwan trip. But getting in a reliable posting rhythm has proven to be quite difficult. Again, I hope to post more next year, as I have plenty of travel and experiences to write about from 2013. I have noticed that I have readers - it seems that my travel posts are quite popular with people who must be researching for their vacations. (Thank you for reading!)
I renewed my contract for 2014, so I'm in Japan for at least another year. But again I have to decide what to do next. After being here for two years, I can even more confidently say that I enjoy living in Japan. I could certainly settle down here forever. There's also a lot that I really want to do and experience and that I miss in America. Again I face a big decision. I suppose it all depends on how things go for the next six months...
However, I have two resolutions for this year: lose weight (I have about 30 pounds to go - I've lost about 20 in the past 2 years including 10 in the past few months since changing my diet), and learn Japanese. I have a specific goal that I have already begun studying for: pass the JLPT N5 test. It's supposed to be pretty easy, and it's entirely possible I'll be ready for it in only a couple months. It involves knowing hiragana, katakana, about 100 kanji characters, and about 800 vocabulary words, in addition to some grammar, expressions, and listening skills.
Here's to another great year in the Land of the Rising Sun!
I booked my tickets tonight, and I'm off to Seoul (and the rest of South Korea) for the New Year. I'm actually leaving in the afternoon on Christmas, and I'll be back on the third. I hope to see and do all the touristy stuff on this trip. As you may know, I enjoy going to amusement parks, and I plan to visit all that the country has to offer. Plus, I'll be checking out the sights in and around Seoul and hunting down my usual baseball souvenirs. Korea has its own major baseball league and apparently there is a store in one of the Seoul stadiums that's opened year round and carries souvenirs from all the teams. Actually visiting the stadiums and seeing games will have to wait for some other time.
I got a great deal on tickets, more than half off the price I paid to go to Taiwan, and 10,000 yen less than I originally expected to pay. It seems that the current Senkaku Islands conflict might be affecting travel interests over the holidays. Plus, most Japanese stay home for New Years to visit temples with their families.
I've got a full itinerary already planned, but I'm always looking for ideas. I have not yet decided to visit the DMZ because that actually takes a long time and of course it isn't cheap. Who knows, I may end up changing my mind.
If you've been to Korea and have any suggestions for locations, food, entertainment, or budget sleeping ideas, please let me know! I expect to spend a couple days outside of Seoul too, so suggestions in Busan are welcome!
In about twelve hours, I'll board a plane to Japan. My life is about to change!
Koshigaya LakeTown Pond
Most of you will already know the details. I'm teaching English at an eikaiwa in Koshigaya. Koshigaya is about 30-40 minutes by train from Tokyo (just under one hour to Shinjuku Station). While I don't know much about the city itself other than the official website, I am excited to be so close to so many great tourist locations! I'm sure Koshigaya has some interesting places to explore on its own.
Generic eikaiwa photo.
As I said, I'm teaching English, and I believe my schedule is supposed to be Tuesday-Saturday approximately 12-9, with the occasional Sunday and some variation in that schedule. My training starts on Wednesday and will run for nearly two weeks! I have time to relax or sightsee on Wednesday afternoon, Sunday, and the following weekend. After training, I'll finally visit my actual school and meet my coworkers, see my school and students, and be able to get into my apartment. Then, the full-time teaching begins!
I have a ton of locations to visit, and I hope to tell you about every one! Plus, I'll bring you my thoughts on the culture and differences between my experiences living in America and Japan. If you're not familiar with my background, I taught high school science in Georgia for several years before moving to San Francisco, which has been my home since last September. I've traveled all over the United States and I've been to Europe and Australia, but this will be a big culture shock for me. I'm very excited and looking forward to the challenges a new country, new customs, and a completely foreign language will bring. (I know one word of Japanese: densha - train. I'm not supposed to use Japanese in the school at all, and I'll learn more once I arrive and get settled in my school.)
My friend Elizabeth will live near me - approximately 90 minutes by train. She's been there for several years and has helped me prepare for the move. I've been warned about bringing plenty of deodorant, toothpaste, and medicine (though some medicine isn't allowed in Japan that's commonplace here). I have extra pairs of shoes and enough clothes to last me well into the next several years (I hope!). I'm sure I'll miss some of the amenities (or, food, really) that I have in San Francisco. Some of the food items I've been sure to enjoy this past week:
pizza (both thin crust and Chicago style!)
cheeseburger, with bacon and egg on top
Chinese food (I'm going to miss kung pao)
chicken wings
tacos and nachos
clam chowder and fish and chips
banana split, cookies, cake, and pie
I know I can find some of those in Japan, but I'm told some of the food I'm used to tastes different (or bad, but not always) or is expensive. I'm bringing taco seasoning and some dry seasonings to make pretzel, vegetable or chip dips.
I am beyond excited and so ready to start my new life. I know Japan isn't perfect, but the culture and work ethic is admirable, and I know the next year will be an amazing adventure and experience.
How long will I stay? The commitment is one year, but I hope I enjoy it enough that I stay for a few years. Besides sightseeing in Japan, my first international vacation will be to Taiwan - with Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, China, and Korea soon to follow. In Asia alone, there are enough locations to visit and experiences to have that I can be busy for a few years. If I can find a full-time science teaching job at an International school after a year or two with the eikaiwa, I could make Japan my home for even longer. Right now, I have no set plans for my future. There are several different routes my life can take, and my life experiences have shown me that situations can change in an instant.
Since I'm not sure about my internet accessibility for the first month in Japan, my first posts might be sporadic. I can find free WiFi and upload pre-written posts as I can, as I'm sure most of my cultural thoughts will come quickly!
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