tokyo? TOKYO!!!!!!

our trip is nice and fresh, so i might actually blog regularly for a few days.

our flight made it in, which is always a surprise to me. stupid airplanes. the trip was just as exhausting as i thought it would be, until we got into the subway system. the thing requires so damn much attention the first time around that you just kinda have to wake up. so four hours of bopping around looking lost in subway stations, and we somehow made it to rich+joan's place. four hours, btw, of having our first glance of japan. the trains we took happened to all be JR trains - all above ground. so i soaked in all the eye candy, from tokyo's far west to far east, past downtown, past all the solar panel-covered rooftops in the suburbs, intersperced with rice paddies and busy streets. past the jam-packed beast that is downtown tokyo, past the bright lights and all the things that draw everyone to big cities.

anyways! it was love at first sight. i wanted to take billions of pictures, but decided instead to just stare (it wasn't really a decision; i couldn't take my eyes off the city, i didn't have a chance to take the camera out).

today was good times. we had six hours of walking around and checking out shinjuku and shibuyu. saw a shrine. neat stuff. i was too bright-eyed and star-struck to be able to come up with any sort of plan for the day, so i stared and was awed for six hours straight. beautiful! mum and are are slowly figuring out how to travel together, maybe by the time we part ways, we'll have it all under control. *fingers crossed*

oh! and our hosts are absolutely choice! beautiful, fantastic couple, i don't even know how to begin describing how thankful i am to have met such amazing people here. what are the chances!?

it's only 8pm now, and i'm heading to bed - we're totally whiped.

maybe you'll hear from me tomorrow!!

the day before

tomorrow, mum and i leave for japan. 730am wake-up to shove food in our faces and bust our asses to the ferry. our last few hours in canada are going to be a mad dash to the airport from the ferry terminal in vancouver, then the typical getting to the airport early enough to sit around and catch our breath.
a twelve hour flight, then touchdown in Narita international airport, an hour east of Tokyo. if i'm expecting the dash to the airport in vancouver to be stressful, which i am, i'm thinking we have something entirely different in store for the train/subway ride to our couchsurfer's house. he's 45mins west of Tokyo.

i'm expecting to get slapped in the face with the realization that HOLY SHIT WE'RE IN JAPAN, and then another huge slap in the face while we try to figure out how on earth to get train tickets to get anywhere. everyone's been pshyching me up for the impossibility in finding someone who's willing to speak english, so we'll be on the search for a such person and any english signage to make our way to Ueno station - stop one along the way.

the most exciting thing about day one in japan: we'll be riding the subway during rush hour, with suitcases. there was no chance of packing a light bag for me, since this is my big move to korea... so i've got all of my worldly possessions in a big fat suitcase. hot damn.
and i'm sure everyone has seen those utube videos of those guys who work in the japanese subway... the guys whose job it is to shove hundreds of people onto the trains. i'm definitely expecting that!!! fuck yeah!!

anyways, i'm finishing up my work with Louisa (last minute, as anticipated), spending my last day with dad isolated in my bedroom. as is life.
i'll try to find the internet as often as possible to keep you and myself updated on what i'm up to during this trip, and trips to come.

the plan so far is:
touchdown in Japan on July9th. check that awfully gigantic city out before heading to shinosaka on the 12th to hang out with Jamie during the festival for the dead (the one where a gazillion lanterns are put into rivers, streams, and the ocean). then we've got a little while in Kyoto, which is the place i'm looking forward to the most, before i embark on the adventure to Fukuoka to catch my Beetle-ferry to Korea and be reunited at last with beautiful ssebs. FINALLY!!! sixteen days from now, we'll be together again, minus a day because we're crossing the date-line. awwwwwww yeahhhhhhhhh.

EXCITED!!!!!!!!
i'm gonna have to figure out how to put pictures on this blog. otherwise, facecrack will do the trick. i suppose that's it's only function: pictures.