Japlan

I leave for Japan in five days.

Japan. A country where I’ve never been. A country where I cannot speak or understand even one word of the language. A country where I’m pretty much illiterate. Should be quite an experience.

In my usual travel style, I haven’t spend any time preparing for this trip – making an itinerary, or, as I like to call it, a “Japlan” (I’ve trademarked this term. You can use it, but you’d have to pay me).

I did buy a guidebook and I’ve been carrying it around with me, hoping the information will seep through my hand, up my arm and into my brain. When I do thumb through it, it’s confusing – all the city names sound the same. Plus, the truth is that I feel like I won’t know where I want to go until I get there and survey the scene.

Luckily for me, I have travel buddies who are much more organized. Cate and Jolanka have spent the last week Japlanning and already have reservations for hotels, activities and the like. This means that I’ll actually have a Japlan for the first ten days I’m there (thanks, Cate) and then I’ll spend the last ten days on my own, wandering around Nagasaki, staring blindly at Japanese characters and wondering if what I’m eating is beef or sea urchin.

If anyone would like to volunteer to teach me a rush-course on Japanese, feel free.