I have neglected my little space in the world. But I will write in more detail when I have a bit more time. Last month my brother and I got to spend two amazing weeks in Japan. Admittedly, it was the most memorable trip I have ever made; it was comparatively better than other overseas travels I have done thus far. We visited many places, namely Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. We also made little side trips to Hakone, Fuji-san, and Kobe. There are so many things I wanted to do that we didn’t have time to go and do. Kyoto was so impressive with so many temples and shrines. I could not keep up with all the names of the ones we visited.
We did see a lot of interesting things and ate delicious food all the time. I remember we got to visit a Pachinko parlor and we tried playing a game, but in the end we could not figure out the object of the game and winning. It was lost in the noisiness of the machines.
All I have to say it is all about the ramen, udon, soba, and don. It’s affordable, relatively healthy, and cheap “fast food.” We did eat sushi too and it was the most delicious we have ever had because of freshness… but it can be costly to eat like that every day. 
Of course on top of it all, my resolve was broken. I initially had no intention of doing any personal shopping (clothing) other than gifts for others, but we both caved in. We discovered a burgeoning love for the inexpensive Uniqlo chain.
The Japanese language courses I had taken over the years did really help to an extent. I had to spend a lot of time using my kana and small bits of kanji for reading signs and menus.
I definitely want to go back and stay much, much longer next time…
