Just like the last time I was here, the first big event is a Kyoto walking tour. It was like a walk down memory lane, and it’s kind of fun seeing everything again. Of course, in a city thousands of years old it’s not like a lot really changes. But still, there were some new sites and things I’d forgotten.

I once again got to make a first shrine visit, drink the water at Kiyomizudera (this time, I drank from the “Long Life” waterfall rather than the “Successful Studies” one—somehow I think I need long life more) and stroll through the fascinating shopping arcades. We stuffed our faces at the same conveyor-belt sushi restaurant and it was pretty cool being able to understand how to order special items on the screen and ask the waitress for things I needed—so much different from the first time when I didn’t know anything. Having a green tea soft ice cream after climbing lots of steps in the humid weather was also a nice treat.

I didn’t end up taking as many photos this time, because it did seem a bit redundant, I’m still a little jet-lagged and it did rain a bit. I promise that there will soon be tons of photos, though!

I was even able to strike out on my own to do some shopping on the way home. I went to the trusty Vivre store in Kitaoji to buy an ethernet cable, manga volume, house slippers and the all important green tea to keep in the fridge. I think I’m probably in for the night now to get things put away and have a look at my new textbook (which is actually a bit frightening—it’s been way too long since I’ve done any real studying). If it’s not pouring rain tomorrow, I may make the trip up to Kurama since that was such a fascinating and beautiful place last time.

It was, as to be expected, a harrowing day of travel and excitement getting to Japan. Considering that the whole event had me essentially awake for 27 hours, I’m actually writing this on Saturday…

Anyway, up at 3:00 AM to get ready for a 4:00 AM airport shuttle. I was surprised at how concerned I was about my two cats but since I’ve basically been home with them all day every day for a year, I think they’re gonna miss me. The trip to LAX was uneventful, the hassle getting to the plane typical but not too bad and the flight to SFO smooth and quick.

But the SFO airport is a big pain. I couldn’t believe there are no Starbucks shops in the airport—so much for using my 100% attendance $10 gift card reward from Korean class for a free breakfast. The layover was a few hours and then onto the plane for the long flight. When I checked in online yesterday, I spent the extra $119 to move into “Economy Plus” which gave me an extra 5” of legroom which was totally worth it. Sadly, since I am essentially unable to sleep on any plane, I spent the whole time listening to music on my iPhone.

When we landed at Kansai International Airport, the adventure began. I’m back in Japan! I breezed through the customs and immigration formalities (you get your photo taken along with electronic fingerprinting of both your index fingers), found a Citibank ATM machine to get some cash, bought a ticket and boarded the Haruka express train to Kyoto, then the subway and finally a taxi. By the time I got to the dorms, there was only half an hour left for the welcome party which was being held on campus. It was all a bit hectic…

But again—I’m back in Japan! It was almost like coming home again and the memories started coming back (as best they can after 27 hours of no sleep) and it was great. This time I was actually able to converse with, understand and react to people right off the bat. I still feel like my Japanese is a little bit “caveman-like”, but it’ll get better.

The one thing I’d forgotten was the weird feeling of how the weather works here. It wasn’t raining at the airport, but did from the time I got on the train and all the way to Kyoto. As a Southern Californian who lives in a virtually rainless desert, my body and mind are hard-wired to believe that when you look out the window and see rain and gray, that it’s going to be cold and wintertime. The shock is that once you step off the train into that outside world here in Japan in the summer, it’s actually 90 degrees and extremely humid. The first time, it’s quite a psychological shock.

Anyway, after the party all I could do was make a feeble first attempt at unpacking and then fall right into bed (and I slept for a solid 10 hours, too.)

I’m glad to be back.

Well, the time has come!

I’ve just finished my packing and preparations so all things are “go”. I worked really hard to not haul so much stuff with me this time—I forced myself to limit my packing by bringing 1 carry-on and 1 carry-on sized bag that I’m going to check. Even with that limitation, there were several things I had to take out of my pile. Sigh. It’s a never-ending struggle, but then again I’m going somewhere for a month and that takes more stuff. I’m a pretty efficient traveler, but then again I usually don’t go for such long stays, nor do I take along a big stack of reference books and dictionaries!

The shuttle comes to pick me up at 4:00 AM tomorrow morning (YIKES!!!), whisking me to LAX for my first flight to SFO and from there to KIX (Kansai International, Osaka). I’m actually getting there a day later than I should be due to a communications snafu, but it’s no big deal. Unlike last time, I’m traveling alone and will need to make my own way to Kyoto after arriving (a pretty easy thing to do in a country known for its extremely efficient public transportation).

So hopefully you’ll see another journal entry on the 20th after I arrive. I can’t wait!

Hi there!

So, I’d better begin getting myself habituated to writing in my journal here. It’s almost impossible to believe that I leave in less than a week.

What happened to all those good intentions for studying and brushing up? Where did the time go to lose a little more weight and get in slightly better shape? How come there’s still so much on my “To-Do” list that hasn’t been done?

Sigh…

Well, there’s not much time left to cry about it, I’ll just have to get on with it. I am going to try to do an audio podcast this weekend to get things started since I haven’t done one in a while—in fact, I haven’t done one using my MacBook Air yet. I also need to test out my new Blue Snowflake microphone, which promises really high quality but in a very small package.

I’m off to have lunch with Alia-san today to talk about old times, and of course anime. She may be coming to Japan later this summer under a different program, and I wish her luck on getting accepted!

So get ready for the new adventures of Doug in Japan!

That’s Korean for “Hello”…

Not content with just six foreign languages and in conjunction with a thought I’ve had to visit South Korea following the IJP program, I’ve signed up for a 10-week basic Korean class at the Sejong Institute in Los Angeles. I started last Tuesday night and will finish up 2 days before I leave for Japan.

At first I was mildly concerned about taking on another language both so close to the time I’m going back to Japan and because it’s another asian language—I don’t want to get confused. But what I’ve seen and heard so far is that Korean is very different from Japanese and I don’t think it’ll be a problem. All I want to do anyway is get a few words and phrases down so that I can travel there and not be completely in the dark. I’m hoping to learn to read Korean writing (which is not as daunting as it looks) so that I can figure out where I am and what I want to do.

So in addition to sprucing up my Japanese before I go (I want to review both Genki books and all my kanji before I leave in 10 weeks—yikes!!!), I’m going to be “moonlighting” at the Korean Cultural Center.

I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment!

Today I took the train to Little Tokyo, had a nice lunch at Mako Sushi, then purchased my plane tickets at H.I.S. Travel. I opted for the most expensive itinerary on United Airlines flying directly into Kansai on June 19 and back home again from Tokyo Narita on July 29. I say “most expensive”, but it was only $133 more than the Northwest itinerary I was thinking of purchasing that would have brought me to Nagoya. I figured an overnight stay and train trip would work out to be about the same, so chickened out and took the no-hassle option.

Now I’m going to put my trip planning into full swing. The KSU portion is, of course, pretty much all set except for the free weekends—but I’ll probably leave those for spur-of-the-moment trips, though I already have a few ideas like a definite day trip to Osaka and one to the Sekigahara battlefield that I never got to in ’06. I’m sure there are other nearby things I will want to see and will be researching that shortly. There’s also plenty to see in Kyoto itself and I’ll certainly want to make another pilgrimage to Kurama—one of the most beautiful, peaceful and spiritual places I’ve ever been.

So the real work is my 10 day post-school vacation, beginning when I depart the I-house dorms on Saturday, July 19. Right now, believe it or not, I’ve been thinking very seriously of taking the first three days, hopping the “Beetle” hydrofoil from Hakata to Busan and spending three days in South Korea. It’s so close—and will add to the collection of “Red Dots” on my world map! It seems less expensive than Japan and quite interesting in its own right. A 3-day train pass is only about $75, and will get me all around the country. I’d definitely visit Seoul and as many interesting places as I can.

Of course, there seems to have been a recent outbreak of Bird Flu there, and a strain that easily transfers to humans to boot—so the whole trip may be a “no thanks”. If that happens, another option would be a night train from Osaka to Hokkaido for a few days in Japan’s unspoiled wilds with visits to Sapporo and Hakodate. I don’t actually need to confirm any of this until I’m already there, so we’ll see how it goes. Just in case, I’ve bought a book/CD on Korean for Beginners (!!!) and a couple of guidebooks.

Finally, I’ll once again rent that same apartment in Tokyo like I did in ’06 and use it as my secret base from which to explore the city and day trip to other places for the final week of my stay. I definitely have Hakone and Nikko on the itinerary and would also like to see Matsumoto and its castle and probably also spend more time in Nagano—maybe even get to the Kawanakajima battlefield which I unwittingly passed right through last time. So many places, so little time…

This is gonna be GREAT and I can’t wait!