So, I’ve started thinking about all the interesting things I want to do while I’m in Japan. I’m going to get to study some very interesting subjects, but at the same time, I’m looking forward to exploring the culture in Japan.
Here are some things I am planning to do while in Japan…
Ghibli Museum
Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli has put out some amazing movies over the years, and I’d really like to be able to visit the museum while I’m there. I think David and I will go when he is there in February, and then Amey and I may go again in March. You can only get tickets outside of Japan, through the JTB. It does say on their site you can’t be a resident of Japan. Hopefully, they won’t actually check my passport. I may call the JTB and ask them.
Sapporo Snow Festival
This is an amazing festival in Hokkaido (Sopporo, Hokkaido to be exact). You can check out Flickr for some of the amazing photos of past festivals. I should be getting the opportunity to go to this through the university, and I’m totally willing to pay a few hundred dollars to participate, which is what it seems like it will be.
Ryokan Experience
David is flying to Tokyo the week of Valentine’s day, and I’m really interesting in booking a local Tokyo ryokan for Valentine’s Day. In Japan, the tradition is that the ladies make/buy chocolate for the guy that they like, and the guys don’t even have to reciprocate until White Day, which is in March. However, I think since David won’t be here in March, we’ll probably end up celebrating American-style. A ryokan with a keiseki dinner would be a really great experience though. I found a reasonably priced ryokan in Tokyo here with what looks to be a nice dinner. So, I guess that’s a possibility. I may keep looking though. And then we might check out the National Museum of Modern Art the next day.
Visit to Kyoto
I have not gotten far into the Kyoto planning process, but Amey and I definitely want to travel down there some time during spring break. If anyone has any tips about where to stay or what to see, please let me know. We’ll be going down there in mid-march, so there may not be cherry blossoms yet, and the geisha festivals will not have started yet.
Well, that’s all I’ve come up with concretely so far… I will have to keep looking around, planning, etc.