I am in Japan

So I have made it to Japan. The internet is a little tricky and my laptop is low on battery. I have to buy an adapter and I will hopefully have a post up by tomorrow. I have been writing, but I have to sort through a zillion pics and edit before you lovely people get to know of my adventures. But know that there are adventures taking place.

Ayumi Hamasaki makes me wanna pack

As I type this I am listening to my Pandora under the artist Ayumi Hamasaki. I freaking love Ayumi Hamasaki. Seriously, I once spent $60 on a special edition album. I love her that much. Anyway, I have done a lot of errands and such getting ready and then procrastinated the actual packing until now. The only way I could get myself into the mundane task was by listening to as much J-pop and J-rock as possible. Oh and I totally had a break watching Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Inuyasha. My anime fandom has become slightly less since I graduated high school, but there are the classics and the new ones that remind you of why you ever fell in love.
Confession time. I was totally going to take pictures of my packing process and may still...using my crappy iPhone camera, but because my camera is weird it doesn't take SD cards larger than 2 gigs...I only have 4 gigs. Good thing I'm doing this blog otherwise I'd get to Japan and be pissed, "What do you mean you can't read 4 gigs? Stupid camera!" And then I would have to go on a long search to find an SD card that can be read and isn't an arm and a leg...and with exchange rate I'd be screwed. But luckily I still have one more day to remedy the situation
So what did I do today to get ready? Well, I got my nails did. It was awesome getting all pampered. I accidentally ended up with rounded nails, so I'm just pulling a '60s retro-chic look which with Mad Men being all the rage and showing in places like Banana Republic I can be the super fashionable American who is ahead of the trends....right...

I also got my toes done in blue which according to Instyle is the color to do for the summer. (Because you all really cared about how exactly I got my nails done right?) But I'm really excited about this whole shellac nails thing. We'll see if it can withstand backpacking.

Walmart is a time sucker as always. I went in there to get the mini-travel toiletries and ended up looking at shoes and a hostess gift for my big sis. I ended up getting some salsa made in San Antonio and I will also be giving her a jar of jelly my family canned. According to everything I read a hostess gift should be food or small. Something that would not impose on the household or take up space because of how small spaces tend to be in Japan. They should also be unique to your area. I figured you couldn't get more Texan than salsa and I couldn't be more unique than jelly canned from the farm with wild berries.
Now, if you are traveling outside of the country you have to take some precautions with your money. I went to the bank and discussed the best options with my banker, who is awesome by the way. She set up an identity theft protection, which is $1 for the first month at Wells Fargo and you can cancel any time. Considering I'll only be gone a two weeks it's not a bad gig. I also decided to use a combo of cash and debit card. I did consider traveler's checks but when I went to Europe it was a huge pain to find a place to exchange them into cash. It was also better exchange rate to use the atm. The fees were much smaller than the kiosks. This is my personal preference I know some people prefer the traveler's checks.
Anyway, tomorrow I get my precious yen and finish getting all packed up. O-O craziness yo!

 PS I did end up taking pics with my iPhone...in case you didn't notice.

Itinerary, huh?

So I leave for Japan on Wednesday...I LEAVE FOR JAPAN IN TWO DAYS?!! When did this happen? I bought my ticket back in March, my backpack in May and now all of a sudden I gotta do things like pack! Holy Toledo Batman!
So, I have a lot of friends in Japan thanks to a nifty exchange program with my college. I will be staying with my 'older sister' from my Freshman year. And like a good big sis she is ready to take care of me and has planned out a lot. I will also be in care of one of my best friends Satoshi, who I met one drunk night at a bar....another story for another time.

So here is my rough itinerary for Japan, you folks ready?

Wednesday, August 24th
Fly out from DFW Internation Airport on All Nippon Airways at 7:20 am. (sleep on flight because that's crazy early)
Land in Washington DC 11:29 (wait a second did I just get further away from Japan?)
Eat some food in the Airport because it's better than scary airline food.
Leave Washingon DC 12:20 and fly straight to Japan. That is 14 hours of sitting the same spot...cramped...tiny spot...with tasteless food...I'm pretty sure there are laws against this.

Thursday, August 25th
Land in Narita at 3:20pm.
Meet my big sis, Kayo. Drive to Tokyo and go see a baseball game at Tokyo Dome
SLEEP!

Friday, August 26th
Go Shopping!! Goal of the day: Buy a Yukata (summer kimono)
Go do Karaoke

Saturday, August 27th
Go to a fireworks festival wearing brand new Yukata!

The rest of the itinerary was e-mailed to me by Kayo.
28 Sendai ship matsushima
29 sendai to Tokyo
30 free shopping harajuku?
31 free. Odaiba?
1 free asakusa?
2 Disney see with everyone
3 Japanese Fashion Show with Satoshi
4 Fuji mt and p/l
5 Fuji mt to tokyo good bye party night club or gay club??
6 narita airport


And that is it. That is the plan and it is very exciting!!


So as the trip gets nearer there is a lot for me to do. 
TO DO:
Get nails done
Decide outfits and the accessories that go with them
Pack all that
Pack toiletries (this includes: shampoo, conditioner, styling product, make up, tooth brush, toothpaste, razor, lotion)
Make copies of Passport, debit cards, drivers license.
Exchange Dollars into Yens and get travelers checks 
Establish Power of Attorney (you never know what could happen, so Sis you're in charge if something happens to me)
Check, double check and triple check everything. 
Read some travel sites to make sure you have absolutely everything


And that is it. That is what I have to do...I think...there may be more.


So two whole days left to get everything done. I think I can be ready. 

My start into backpacking

I had my first trip backpacking when I was 18 traveling to three different countries in Europe. I got a Eu-rail pass and stayed in Hostels it was amazing. I met so many cool people while staying hostels and even cooler places. I became addicted to traveling. Amsterdam taught me about freedom and gluttony, Spain taught me to slow down, enjoy life and enjoy beauty. And France...food. Oh god was there beautiful, wonderful food.

So now I am getting ready to go to a whole different world. I am going east. To Japan. I will spend two weeks in Japan backpacking. Originally it was going to be a month hitting the entire island but because of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami I shortened my trip and changed my itinerary.Safety first ya'll!