HAPPY NEW YEARS

hey all!!!

as my title states, i am present to wish everybody a wonderful NEW YEAR!!!! woot woot!!!

as to flights and other such matters, my father, who used to run a travel agency, is able to get me tickets to Japan on JAL or ANA for like $1,090 or so. i'm not sure if this is absolute or true yet because he tried to fax me the papers and my black ink cartridge is a bit wasted. i will see dem papers wen'z i hippity hop'z it hoooome'z. hahaha.

also, in referall to Natalie's question about visas and applications and all that. to my knowledge, we were all required to fill out the Certificate of Eligibility when we turned in our documents to accept our admission in Sophia. what follows next is lost to me, but supposedly they're supposed to contact us or something when we are able to retrieve our visas.

furthermore, greg, it seems like you'll be flying out of dulles. well, i find that prices and offerings are slightly better at reagan. also, a hint to all those who are flying, DO NOT PICK NEWARK AS A TRANSFER STOP!!!! EVER!!!!

Newark is like hell for transfers. All the people there are overworked and underpaid. They are also extremely short tempered due to the massive amounts of people passing through the airport. Construction is also a pain. Their security people are also muchos touchy. Pick ANYWHERE ELSE to transfer flights. I personally recommend Atlanta. I just like the airport there, it's really big and really clean.

Those are my two cents. *drops a couple pennies*

Oh yeah, Natalie, my picture of the post selection last time was actually about Saiunkoku. A more recent anime than Fushigi Yuugi. I recently got back into Fushigi and realized how freakin' old school it was. *sigh* Saiunkoku is my most recent addiction. It's about court life and the trials and tribulations of a poor high-blooded noble lady by the name of Kou Shuurei.

Jikan ga attara, zettai ni mitemite! Hontou ni omoshiroi kara!

Now, my next selection is.... *DUN DUN DUN*

This wonderful anime goes by Heroic Age. At first, it seems like another boring ole descendent of the whole Neogenesis Evangelion and Gundam ilk, but upon further viewing, it SUCKS YOU IN. Really good fun. I didn't watch all of it, mostly the beginning and end, but it's good times for all.

About buying tickets

Hey all,

So here's what I know about buying plane tickets; it's not much but I hope it'll help you all schedule your flights.

1. Buy on a Wednesday: For some reason buying your plane tickets on a Wednesday gets you cheaper flights.
2. Check out studentuniverse.com: I got my ticket there for $1091 so it was kind of a steal.
3. ...It seems I only know two things about buying plane tickets, so....

Also, a quick question, do we need to worry about visas? And is anyone planning on getting a job in Japan? I think it might be fun/a good way to practice one's Japanese.

Flight

Hey guys... I've been looking at some flights today and have found out that they're all DAMN EXPENSIVE. Being told that Japanese airlines are better in general, I first checked out ANA (All Nippon Airlines) and then I checked out United to see if there was much of a price difference. There's not. Here's what I did:


Depart: Dulles (IAD) March 24, 2008
Arrive: Narita, Tokyo (TYO) March 25, 2008
Depart: Narita August 2, 2008
Arrive: Dulles August 2, 2008


ANA Economy Class Roundtrip: $2,867.40
United Economy Class Roundtrip: $1,916.50
ANA Business Class Roundtrip: $10,171.40
United Business Class Roundtrip: $10,368.50


As you can see, there's an absurd difference between the economy and business class. My parents told me that they recommended business for some reason, but I definitely agree with them when they say that flying business isn't worth a semester of school. Dulles does have a few other airlines departing for Japan that day including Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways International, but I didn't check their prices or anything.


Thus, I'll be doing an economy class flight. If you all are down with that, let's schedule our flights together. Otherwise, I guess I'll be flying out of Norfolk International by my lonesome =(:::


Soshite, there's about a $200 difference in leaving/arriving on a Thursday compared to a Friday, and an even larger difference compared to a Saturday. August 2nd is unfortunately a Saturday, so we could get cheaper rates leaving on the 1st and even CHEAPER leaving on the 31st. The 31st is in fact the start of break, but would it be too much of a hassle to end exams on the 30th and go straight home right afterwards? We could always leave on Monday, too...


I'm about to call them and see what their carry-on size is and if they have any instrument protection policies or something... although I'm 95% positive they don't since neither of my teachers have told me about ANY airlines that do...


Update: ... and indeed! No one supports instruments larger than 22 inches (my saxophone is a whopping 32... even the alto is 26 or so), so I guess I'm going to buy that $400 case and hope for the best for my poor wittle horn : ( (the agony...!) So, I'm game for any airline... especially ANA.

Sayonara! For now...

So to echo Greg a bit, hope everyone's holiday has been and continues to be great! Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year as well!

I'm heading out in a few hours (catching an early flight) for my eagerly-anticipated and much-awaited Korea/Japan trip! I'll be gone until the 14th of the new year, and needless to say, I'm sorely going to miss this blog for that time period (though I'll probably be able to get online a few times...) It's tradition now for me to pack everything the night before (even when I head to college! though I feel I'll probably start packing for Sophia a biiiiit earlier. At least I should...) Right now I'm in the stage where I'm trying to figure out what I can actually leave behind to free up some room in my suitcase. Packing in winter STINKS because clothes take up so much more space. I'll just warn my fellow travelers that they will see me wearing the same stuff...

My goal is to not buy too much. According to mother, I really don't need so much clothing. I plan to spend my money mainly on experiences, like Disneyland (woohoo!) and seeing places and going out with friends. Let's see how this goes!

So goodbye for a while, keep up the blog! And now I leave you with...Detective Conan! What a cutie.

CAAAANDLES BURNIN' LOW...!!!

I just wanted to say that I hope everyone has had a absolutely fantastic Christmas.


And that I think I'm going to buy a DS... what's that game? "Kanji no shou" or something?


And! Sorry that I wasn't on chat last night XD XD XD I tried to nap and wake myself up, buuuut I had an AWESOME Christmas sleep instead, waking up to the smell of breakfast. It was fantastic! Despite all of the feelings that it wasn't Christmas up until today, it was TOTALLY Christmas on Christmas day. The only thing was that I didn't go to mass (shame on meeeeee!!!!!!!!!!) ACTUALLY the truth is I was going to go to midnight mass and then I was like CRAP I HAVE TO CHAT WITH THE SOPHIA PEOPLE AT MIDNIGHT CAUSE I SET IT UP AAAAGGGHHHHH IguessI'llgoto7ammass. Wellll my parents didn't get up for mass, so guess who else didn't? Blarggg.


I thought I'd get some pretty harassing e-mails/comments, but actually I just got nice phone messages from Jen. It was very Christmas-y of her to be very pleasant as I dreamt of sugar plums and candy canes (... or at least I probably did... I don't remember my dreams from last night).


Anyway, hope it was awesome for everyone.


P.S.: Anyone get anything cool?


P.P.S.: Listen to the Stevie Wonder Christmas song before the night is over because it's SOOOOOOOO HOT!!!!

All Alone.. UNDECIDED

i'm feelin' all alone now. it seems like everybody is headin' over to stoopid donkey kong house. stoopid dinky kurl house. booo.


i'm sick at the moment. and it sucks. apparently, i'm feverish and coldy-like. i am also deeply in charge of christmas dinner tomorrow. i am making tons of food. here's my yummy nummy menu:

• cheese-stuffed mushrooms
• garlic roasted potato skins
• velvety mashed potatoes
• smashed sweet potatoes
• emiril's big bird
• giblet gravy
• mac 'n cheese with bacon
• sauteed green beans with pancetta and mushrooms
  

i also bought a pie so i didn't have to bake that damn shit.


stoopid brother won't go and buy my ingredients while i wallow and rest. stoopid brother.


i hope everyone's holiday funs perks up like craziness. also, i hope that we will all be able to meet in an AIM box soon enough. it's midnight or noon or something yeah?

hahaha. i am following natalie's rec of posting random pictures. this is from my favorite anime at this time. full of yummy bishies and complicated plot twists. fun.

update. made everyone an admin. go crazy!

The Christmas Spirit

      Tonight was excellent. I have been kind of down in the dumps with Christmas spirit this year... there were only two things that I can point out that really have brought it out so far, and they are Chris Plietz playing Christmas songs on the Steel Drum while standing on the steps of Old Cabell on the last day of exams, and then tonight. It was probably because I wasn't able to really "adjust" to Christmas time... or to my return to the real world where I'm not living in a box. Exams ending so late should be a religious AND just outright social offense. BUT...


      Tonight I went out and caroled with a bunch of my friends. Nothing big; all I did was print out the lyrics to a handful of Christmas songs, we sang through them once, and then at 9:00 headed out to sing. You'd think people would be more angry than anything since it was so late and since some football game was on. But nope! We went to the houses with lights on and probably sang for a good ten people. Not much, it seems, but we didn't really hit up that many houses. THAT'S the way to get into the "musical" side of the holiday spirit. The radio sure plays some awful versions of Christmas songs... But yeah, after that we came back to my house and watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas", which is not only about the REAL meaning of Christmas, but also about how corporate America's attempt at commercializing Christmas just sucks (did anyone else catch that in the movie? this was my first time realizing it). Also, egg nog and cider was passed around...


     With the weather being as warm and rainy as it is right now, you may not feel up to spirit. But, I guarantee you that singing to complete strangers-who-are-actually-neighbors with friends is a great way to lift your spirits.



     Oh, and mistletoe's a good way to celebrate, too. You all missed out... I had it last year ; ) I guess I'll just have to pretend me whoring myself can only take place every OTHER year (as I did it senior year, then 2nd year), so we both have a year to prep ourselves +]



See you all innnn 23 hours!

Isn't Natalie the Best?

The answer is: yes.




Ooo, check out these random images from high school, all having to do with THUMBS UP!!!



I still support this campaign... just to let you know.











So much for being useful. IIIIIIII'm going caroling.

DK House Get!

Hey gang. It sounds like the fine folks at the DK House are gonna let me in! =) But they want a copy of my visa, which apparently Sophia has to initiate with that Certificate of Eligibility.. so I asked if they could wait til I get that.

After talking with Mia and Jeannette about the scholarship, I've learned that they're apparently pretty laid back about the deadlines, so I'm just going to send them a tentative itinerary so we don't have to try and organize it over the holidays. Speaking of which, I hope you're all having a great break! I'm trying to see what of this scholarship app and Sophia app I need to take with me as my family leaves for Missouri after Christmas to see other family =)

I finally got a chance to see that site you posted, Jeannette. I really liked the one about Japanese husbands, cause that's something I've always thought is way messed up about Japanese society and is one of the big reasons I can't see myself living permanently in Japan and raising kids there or anything.

Is anyone on Verizon? We should all exchange cell numbers XD I just got a new phone and it takes pictures, and if anyone else has unlimited sending/receiving, we should totally start sending pointless pics back and forth. I mostly just want an excuse to play with my new phone...

Speaking of pictures, I've decided this blog needs more of it. No wonder Mia and Jeannette joined so late, this blog is booooorrriiiing to look at, aside from our icons. So here's another pic:
(She's saying "Super Lucky!" It's from my favorite anime, about the circus, Kaleido Star)

So I highly encourage the posting of random images in your next posts. Although it does look pretty classy right now with it's text and icons.. (well, not anymore, thanks to me).

I guess I don't have anything else to say right now except what I said early on in the post... so keep on having a great break minna, and don't forget to blog!

AIM

EVERYONE LET'S MAKE AN AIM CHATROOM DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post your AIMS.

Mine is: DreamWeaver6x9

(don't tell anyone else, it's my SECRET one)

Kids these days!

So, this may come across as...random...but Britney's sis Jamie Lynn Spears is freaking pregnant. Let me just say that she was born in 1991. And I'll add that if numbers could be written in caps, that right there would be.

On another note, how about for the holidays we all wish for a better dollar-yen exchange rate. More bang for our buck, if you will.

Anyone got New Year's Resolutions?

Anyone thinking of getting a job in Japan?

Happy 1st Friday of break! Look how prolific our blog is!

Tokyo Stories

Hey all,

One of my friends sent this link to me. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/interactives/tokyostories/

Hello All-

I hope you are enjoying your time at home.
I'm very new to this whole blog thing so bear with me.
I will be going to Korea previous to Japan and therefore will be flying into Japan from Inchon/Seoul.
Good luck on plane tickets and such.
And have a productive three months before Sophia.
And.. enough of single sentence lines.. Happy holidays!!

Of Scholarships and Flight Itineraries

Hello friends. I, too, am home sweet home again! My computer's not set up yet, so Greg I can't make your avatar for a few days, and I have to use my old one for now.. I hope everyone is totally relaxed by now, and grades are shaping up nicely!

I'm in a bit of a dilemma here. I got a scholarship for spring, but they need to have all the acceptance materials back by January 2nd (LAME), and one of the things they need is flight itinerary. I really super want to fly with the rest of you guys, and I'm not sure how soon we all think we should try and get our flight set up. If, and only if, everyone thinks that soon is good, and very soon is not too soon, then maybe we could go ahead and try and set up our flights? The earlier we decide, the cheaper it will be, but it may be too early for some people to know what they're schedules will be and such, and we might want longer to do research on airlines and prices.

The thing with this scholarship is that since I'm already getting need-based grants from UVA for financial aid, every time I get a scholarship I have to report it, and they subtract the same amount from my grants. So basically, I don't see any of the scholarship money (it's a "wash", as my mom called it) and the only real reason to accept it is so I can say on a resume "I got this scholarship, I'm way cool." (But I feel like I could still say that even if I didn't accept it).

So basically, I'd be totally cool to not accept the scholarship so we can wait on making flight arrangements (we'd basically need to have it done by the time between Christmas and New Year's so I could get it there by Jan 2nd.. and I'm gonna be out of town for the bowl game that week!) because this scholarship really isn't helping me at all. But if everyone's ready and really really want to go ahead and get the flight planning out of the way and all, then maybe we could. I'm going to email Mary Jo Bateman and see what she thinks, cause she's way cool.

Anyway, comment back about what y'all think. Haaapppppy Holidays!!!

Home

Finals done and whatnot, will this be the beginning of a new era for our blog!?!? Will our mysterious other compadres show their faces................?!?!?



I don't care how awesome school is, I love it here. It's going to be weird when I finally move out permanently... but I suppose that will make the holidays all that much more sweeter when I return for them...

(time to bag all of those comics that were in my room!!!)

SAYOONARA YOOOBEEAYYYYYYY~

ohayoo! la la la... i have 15 minutes to kill before i get dressed and drag myself off to my LAST FINAL, and i wanted to mark this incredible moment by blogging, sad, but true. hahaha.

think on it guys! this is our LAST DAY as STUDENTS at UVA pre-Sophian era. when we come back, we'll be all internationally-linked/globally-awarized. we will never get back this last few tortorous days of finals, quietly biding our time until we can hop on a plane and go to a country where we have to speak in a foreign language or else be lost. *sigh*

i think all of us will be coming back as 4th years, so... yeah... i feel like this is a very "special" day for all of us. end of finals. end of 3rd year. beginning of the Sophian-era. beginning of 4th year. whooooooooot!!!

kk, that's all i wanted to say! good luck today everybody!!! *CHEERS*

love love

- T

Success!

Coooooool!
So I really just wanted to try the icon thing...

But, good job to us for organizing and seeing to fruition a little gathering of future Sophians! I had fun, so thanks for all coming out! And I am now a proud owner of an ISIC!

Well, I hope everyone does amazingly on their papers and exams! Good luck!!
And then of course, have a fantastic and relaxing and fun winter break! ...er...3 month break.
I'm sad because I will be returning home to the land of dial-up Internet, meaning I probably won't be checking this or whatever as often as I can here, starting the night of the 18th. But we should definitely start keeping an eye on tickets! ...And start saving up $money$...

See yall, keep in touch!

Don't eat burritos right before playing a wind instrument

     Hey guys! Just wanted to post on the blog and remind everyone about CHIPOTLE this evening. I'm going to drive Jen to Peace Frogs so she can get there before five and we'll meet up at the place after that... hopefully you all don't mind an early dinner...


... I wish I had something awesome to post for you guys today, buuuuut circumstances being how they are...


OH WAIT! I have a story about my travel problems. So, the most exciting thing for me in Japan will be me doing my own field research for a comparative study on attitudes towards jazz between Americans and the Japanese. In short, this will require me to go to shows, do interviews, and, best of all, I plan to find some circles to play in around Tokyo! (sorry if I've mentioned this already to you all) Well, doing this is going to be somewhat of a pain on the plane, unfortunately, because I have to bring my horn and as you all know, airport staff isn't too with even the most fragile luggage. So that means I'd have to either buy this $395 saxophone case or join the Musicians Union (gag) or kick some ass until they let me take it on as a carry-on. Or all three.

RATS!

Assignments?!?!

my brain has officially gone to muck sometime between 4am this morning and 11:30am, when my freaking chem final ended. i paid 4.50 for parking!!! 4.50 that could have bought me four freaking hamburgers, or a bunch of candy, or even a pair of those really ghetto headphones they sometimes make you pay for on airplanes. blahhhhh... yeah! this post is absolutely, completely and utterly RANDOM. pay it no mind if you don wanna. i won't chase you around with a firecracker or nothing if you don't. i just need to empty all that science from my mind until mcat season rolls around. btw, Jen, what assignments? you mean the internet stuff only right? there's nothing more that i need to do or anything that's do early is there? please say no so that my life doesn't get inexplicably shorter due to random stress caused by a foreign language spoken in a foreign country where i am due to go to sometime between snow and rain.

oh yesss... for all those who don't read our lovely comments section!!!

CHIPOTLE!!! SUNDAY OR MONDAY!!! sometime...
me have car. me can drive. me drive berry goot. 'cept when dropping people off from my movin' car. yep yep. no accidents. none. whoop whoop!

let's all go kk? we need to communicate and deepen our everlasting bonds of friendship, yeah? hahaha... like spongebob and patrick! ahhh... patrick, why is your tummy so fluffy and nice to lounge on?

oooh yeah. im a geek. i found an old copy of photoshop and decided to battle it out 'moticon wise with natalie. hahahaha. i was going to beg her to makes me a pretty pretty one like hers, but then... i was high as a kite this morning and needed to burn off my caffeine buzz, so that joyous lil flop of a tofu is what remains.

and yet, another transition,

does anybody know what that e-mail from Chris entails? are we supposed to be doing more? are we actually supposed to go to the nearest Japanese Embassy and get our visas from them? i don't really get's it. nope.

oh yeah! sad news! i may not be going to china this lovely break because my momma has to train new people at the restaurant. i could go alone but... frankly, i just ain't that brave. i have no clue what i am to do now. i do want to travel before japan time comes around, but if everything falls through, i may just be chillin' in charlottesville for a long long while, playing games and vegging like there's no tomorrow.

hmmm... i wonder if the last part of our group *cough* sehyun *cough* reads his e-mails. oh well, i hope he joins up soon. i also hope jeannette and mia write something soon.

la la la.... off to see a wizard. the wonderful wizard of england. the boy with the scar and can drive a flying car. i'm off to see a wizard! yes... i know...

inner monologue of all who reads this post: "omg... poor teresa!!! what happened to that girl? she's all... whonky..."

^________________^
*glomp* *chew chew chew*

bye bye for now!!!

love love
T

oooh yeah... here's a picture of the rest of my tofus. i had trouble picking one for me but i think sweating is a good summary of how i am right now.

Enoki Nun's Dorm?!

First of all, if anybody wants a sweet icon for their posts, lemme know and I'll make you one. That way it's easier to tell who's writing right off the bat (I'm too lazy to scroll all the way down). Or if you think mine sucks you can make your own! I might change the size, it doesn't seem to be letting the text wrap very nicely.

Anyway, I was reminded that the Enoki Women's Dorm might be the one run by nuns... and it is! And it has a curfew! And it's closed on holidays! All of these things would probably = suck. Plus it's way more expensive than the DK House. Hopefully my application materials will get here soon and I can see what my options are... DK House is lookin' miiiighty fine. My mom's a super chef too, so I'd be really excited to harness the power of my cooking genes and learn to cook for reals in Japan.

I already asked Mia this one, but what are you all doing on your three month winter vacation? I'm gonna look for a job as soon as I get home and make some serious Japan money. And study Japanese I suppose.

Now I've almost run myself out of time to run to O'Hill for some Carved Ham and Macaroni & Cheese (not sarcastic, actually one of my very favorite O'Meals, if you will). But before I go, lemme throw a little math* at you:
This blog = my favorite distraction


Talk to you all later,
Natalie

*Natalie got a C- in Calc 131. Any supposed "math" may be nothing more than two terms with an equals sign between them. Don't be deceived.

Tacos

Well, I just picked a random title, but now that I think about it, I'm sure going to miss tacos while I'm in Japan........ Let's eat at Chipotle for our friendly get together, ne? XD

I just wanted to add a useless post and tell you all that I'll be driving tonight until ONE THIRTY A.M. so come keep me company and study to your heart's content. You can ask the other drivers to track me. Hm? No? Egh...

Also... don't forget about your ISIC cards... they're really fast and easy to get at Peace Frogs.



DK House 2008 fo' life, suckas.

I'm in!

Well, unofficially. My number's on the list of numbers accepted on the website, so hooray! I guess I should introduce myself first!

I'm Natalie, 3rd year Japanese/Media Studies major. I applied through direct enrollment instead of the exchange, so that's why I just found out that I'm going. It's been such a long wait, I'm glad I can switch over to I'm-really-going-now mode!

I think my housing info and everything will be coming in the mail with my acceptance letter sometime this week, and I'll start looking at travel options then. Flying over together would be amaaazziing and I know my parents would feel a lot better about it that way =) I'd seen some of the guesthouse sites before and it looks pretty cool, but my concern would be that we would only need it for like a week, but it looks like they mostly want people staying for at least a month. Maybe there are different ones that are more hotel-like that you can just check in and out of pretty quick.

As for what Jen asked about housing and meal plan contracts, I emailed housing last month about this, and they said that when I found out if I was going to be abroad to just e-mail them and they would release me from my contract (you still get your room next year if you did the housing contract last month though).

As for dining, I think maybe it's at this site. It says the deadline was September 4th, but I think that only means if it was changes for the Fall semester. I have written down somewhere that January 23rd is the deadline. It'd probably be wise to e-mail them too just to be safe.

This blog looks like it's going to be a good place to share resources and concerns and excitement, hooray! I'm asking for the kanji dictionary "game" for DS for Christmas. =D

One last thing! According to the site, since I'm non-degree, I'll be placed in:
Sophia Enoki Women's Dormitory
54-1 Minamienoki-cho,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0852

I think this is the website of the company in charge of the dorm? Does anyone have the address for the DK dorms? I wanna find out how close/far away they are from each other! I hope they're not too far away from campus. Eep, now I'm too excited to study for finals!

Awesome

First off, thanks to Teresa for organizing this (and Natalie for the blog idea)! Now we can still keep in touch over winter break and that off-time we have before heading to Japan.

Ah right, introduction. I'm Jen.

I was also going to wait for more information from Sophia before purchasing a plane ticket. We also need to find out when the placement test is, or if we schedule it ourselves or whatever. I remember Daniel Andreano-san taking off September 17th and I think his placement test was the 18th. And he did mention wishing he had had more time to un-jetlag and adjust to Japan before he had to take it. So that would definitely be a big determinant in when to go. But I'm definitely all for getting tickets and flying over there together. But we'll see how it works out.

In terms of what to do, it'd be awesome if we all just traveled all around, but logistics with all our belongings might get a little taihen. Issamu, who studied abroad at Sophia last semester, introduced me to these 'guest houses' that you can find pretty cheap and if we all roomed together we could probably have a whole house to ourselves. So we could find a place in Tokyo and then take small suitcases to travel with us. Even better, they let us in these homestays/dorms early so we can just drop stuff off and ride the rails around Japan, visit the campus, get used to Tokyo, etc.

Super excited! We should definitely do a dinner or some sort of get-together before winter break just to familiarize ourselves with one another. As with Greg, I'm also not leaving until the 18th.

Oh, for those in on-grounds housing and with meal plans, have you canceled the plans for next semester? Is there some official way to do this?

[Edit: I forgot to include the sites Issamu gave me about guesthouses...
http://www.sakura-house.com/ and http://www.oakhouse.jp/eng/ And now back to my paper!]

Off to Japan to PLAY

hello friends and fellow journey makers,

i am Teresa and am one of the potential 7 heading off to Japan this spring semester from UVA to study at Sophia University in Tokyo. i have met everybody invited to see this blog at one point or another and you have been invited to either blog here as well or comment if you're part of the huge group running off to J-land.

i'll essentially restate what i put into my earlier e-mail.

i am very excited that such a large group of us are going together. that makes it major fun! i am pre-planning to arrive in Japan on March 25th, a week before we are due at campus. this is pre-planned because i seriously don't want to be in japan all by myself for a week. i could do it if necessary, but company always makes me feel more reassured.

please post your plans for Japan on this lovely lovely blog, kay? you can also do it through that earlier e-mail, but i figure if we do it here it'd be much much less crowded.

some fun websites i have found to help you plan flights and book hotels in japan:
http://www.bookingbuddy.com/
http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/

feel free to drop any comments ya want.

take care now,
T