In 8 days, we will officially be on holiday. HOLY SHIT. 

I’ve been preoccupied with bullshit work and life since Joel surprised me with the trip back in February, and it has totally snuck up on me. But it’s the best kind of thing to sneak up on you. Like HELLO HEY REMEMBER THAT YOU’LL SOON HAVE 8 DAYS OFF OF WORK AND YOU’RE GOING TO VISIT ANOTHER COUNTRY! Usually the only things that sneak up on me are my credit card bill or adult acne or gaining 10lbs in one weekend (don’t bake a cake when you’re home alone and sad ok). So this is most exciting.

What have we done to prepare? Goooooood question.

Joel’s been busy doing the practical stuff, like find our accomodation and buying us travellers insurance. I’ve been doing things like Googling the nearest Owl Cafe to our apartment. I need to touch an owl while I drink coffee in Japan. I’ve forgotten the Japanese vowels I learned (surprise), so I went back to my post in February to see what else I’ve forgotten to do:

FEBRUARY:
We have 5 months to:
– book Air B+B accomodation staying in an awesome place above a noodle bar in Shibuya. It has a/c and I am highly excited for that.
– figure out what’s on our MUST SEE/MUST DO list. Need to get on this. Beyond owl cafe and shrines and every ramen stand in Tokyo, I’m not sure what I need to see/do. Like, there has to be a dinosaur museum. That would be the best.
– learn survival Japanese (me) whooooooops
– buy a good pair of walking sneakers (ok, I’m old and I love my Chucks but they are not good for hours of walking) yassssss, I’m just doin’ it in my Nikes. 
– get in good enough shape to climb Mt. Fuji (perchance to dream) I’ve walked the 28 mins to work 3 times last week, so I’m totally ready to climb Mt Fuji.
– get in good enough shape to walk around a city in August without dying (more feasible) Nothing good will ever come from me trying to be fit, so I’ve decided that Joel should just get used to carrying around my oxygen tank. And maybe a bench for when I get tired. #delicate
– save every penny for the trip and for the expenses waiting for us when we get home I haven’t saved every penny, but dang if I haven’t saved more in 3 months than I was able to for all of 2016.

Some important shit that I did do:
– confirmed with the bureau of immigration that I’ll be let back in if I leave (yay!)
– bought some sweet mirror shades

I’ve never been one to plan anything when it comes to travelling. I sat down last night and made an attempt to make a packing/shit to do list, but my Packing Anxiety cannot be soothed by a list. What’s going to happen is next weekend, I’ll pick out all the clothes I’m taking with me, a list I’ve been narrowing down in my head since May (you know, really important stuff), and when I’m doing my final packing on Tuesday night, I’ll end up bringing 46 shirts, 4 pairs of shoes, 1 pair of socks, and no phone charger. C’est la vie.

Unless there’s a certain event I’m involved in or have tickets for, I’m definitely more a fly by the seat of my pants/hang around and see what interesting shit comes up type. I think if you’re lucky enough to book a vacation, then relaxing should be the #1 goal. And nothing kills relaxation quicker than Organised Fun Agenda Town.

Thankfully, Joel is basically the same. Our trip to New York included a lot of hanging out, street exploring, Googling things as they came up, making dinners at home, and one fun adventure of getting my car out of the impound lot (hahaaaa…). I think we had one or two concrete plans, and the trip was still the most fun. So when people ask me what I’m looking forward to most, I’d say I’m looking forward to 10 days of good food and no work interruptions with my most favourite person.

That, and maybe visiting a Japanese sex museum.

Hey look at that, something to add to the Must See List.

Who’s been to Tokyo? What should we see/do/eat/avoid?

xo