T-4 days and counting....

Are we there yet?

It seems both fortunate and unfortunate that there's as much going on right now as there is.  On the one hand, I can't do a lot of toe-tapping/impatient clock-watching on the countdown (although, YES, I have packed the bag once already).  On the other hand, running around like a nut does prevent me from getting some of the planning done that I should be doing.  An important lesson on letting things go, perhaps.  Or, The Zen of Visiting Japan...that will almost certainly be a blog title.

But, I AM very excited to go.  I've got my railpass vouchers.  I just bought a bunch of cash from my friend Naomi.  I've been practicing my Japanese on people who have no idea what I'm talking about, which, now that I think about it, is a scene I expect to repeat all over Japan.  I've broken in my new walking shoes (I hope).  All I need to do is finish this 6-page paper for class and I'll be...oh, who am I  kidding?  I have lists of lists of things I still need to do before I'm ready to go.

One thing that still needs polishing is the itinerary.  And since you asked, here's the working draft:

Tokyo [6/16-6/18]
At some point, everyone's passing through Tokyo.  There are 10 of us in the class, plus our two faculty (Dr. Mishishiba and Dr. Ito) plus two coordinators from the office (Josh and Alayna).  I'm getting in Friday afternoon;  Sunday afternoon we're all off to Sendai.

Sendai [6/18-6/21]
Sounds like Sendai is the largest city in Tohoku (the northern portion of the island of Honshu).  Within Tohoku, there are eight prefectures:  we'll be hanging out in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures.  All are coastal and affected by the tsunami and the earthquake.  Fukushima, of course, also drew the short straw on their nuclear reactor.  In Sendai, we'll be in lectures and doing a bit of touring.

Ishinomaki & Rikuzentakata [6/21-24]
These two coastal towns had their own particular issues with the tsunami.  Rikuzentakata, in the aftermath, is raising its downtown 12 meters.  The entire downtown has been covered with an extra 35-ish feet of soil.  Stay tuned...

Sendai [6/25]
The program returns to Sendai en route to Tokyo for most folks, but for me.....

Hachinohe [6/25-27]
A small coastal city almost to the end of Honshu.  Home to a pair of torii which became linked to Oregon and Portland through the tsunami.  More on this later...

Matsumoto [6/27-28]
A transit day south to Tokyo, then west into the Japan Alps and Matsumoto.

Nagano [6/28]
A day hike up into the mountains, maybe.  This day seems somewhat negotiable....

Kanazawa [6/28-7/1]
A couple days on the Sea of Japan, looking at gardens and checking out hot springs (onsen).  They specialize in seafood, so....we'll see what that actually entails!

Kyoto [7/1-7/4]
Kyoto is the old imperial capital, so the temple and castle-watching here is practically unlimited.  I hope to chill a bit here, but also do a day trip to the fortress at Himeji, and/or a day trip to another nearby onsen.

Tokyo [7/4-7/6]
A couple more days before the flight out.  Recompression/decompression?  Packing of newly-purchased suitcase to check for the flight?  We'll see.....