My Birthday!

Today is my birthday. It also marks the beginning of the 5 day countdown until I leave the United States for the first time! This spring I'm going to be a foreign exchange student at Waseda University in Tokyo. I'm excited but also scared as hell. I've never been abroad. I'm going to be living with a family that I will know nothing about until I get there. I have been thinking about a lot of places that I want to go but I will be on a really really tight budget. Aside from transportation which is expensive, food in Tokyo isn't too cheap either. I have no idea what admission to museums and the like will be. I know I am going to do a lot of window shopping and would love to go to at least one ryokan in an onsen spot.

The main goal of this blog is to chronicle the stuff I do, where I go and the pictures I take. In the days before I leave I will probably post a lot about what I want do. Starting now! And while I know I won't be able to do most of what I want on this trip I will be able to get my feet wet. Here is my starting list:

Japan

• Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
• Himeji-jo
• Shirakami-Sanchi
• Yakushima
• Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)
• Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)
• Itsukushima Shinto Shrine
• Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
• Shrines and Temples of Nikko
• Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu
• Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
• Shiretoko
• Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape
• Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land
• Ogasawara Islands

Fuji-San and Aokigahara are also on my list. I would love to go to Hokkaido for the crabs but it just isn't feasible right now because of expenses. 

This is all I can really thing of for now. Back to Finals prepping!