I've been thinking a lot about all the past trips I've been on and what I'd like to get out of my time in Japan. There has been a progression since my first trip where I have been the driving and booking factor in more and more of what goes on and where I go.
Where the first time around was a package trip. Pay the tour company, they book your hotels, arrange flights, arrange tours, etc. And now Japan. Where I've booked my flights, picked where I'll go, spoken with people who are interested in meeting foreigners (and not just getting money), and everything in between. I've been doing research since roughly November. Nothing spectacular but looking at what I'd like to do. Thinking about it. Planning and making some goals.
A lot of what I want to do will hinge on me being able to get around on my own. Which, admittedly, might be difficult as I'm really not that great with the language. So what if I'm not able to? What if I can't get around much at all. Yesterday when I clocked out of work for the last time before this trip it really hit me that I'm going. The excitement has been building up but for whatever reason clocking out brought it home. When it hit home came a little bit of nerves. Those questions about "what if" surfacing. And it made me think.
Why over time have I chosen more and more to plan my own instead of finding a travel agent and having them do it for me? Well one, I don't really trust them, though that's another story. But more so, it's because of what you get. When you go on a tour, go on a cruise, go on a route scheduled by another it's them showing or telling you what to see. A packaged deal that someone else thought would be the best and looks the most interesting. Some of which is real and some of which is fabricated. A show put on by whatever area you're in to try and make a memory for you (and usually for a large sum of money). Seeing things seems to be so much of what people consider a vacation now. A reason why they go with people and why they bring pictures home.To see, to be seen there. Key word see. That's not what I want.
I really want to see a lot. But that's not the trip for me. I don't care if I don't see anything. I want to experience something. To be in a location and find something genuine. A part of this world that I didn't know about or had heard about. To be experiencing a moment not reproduced a thousand times. The more of these I can find that my journey led me to the better. I want that. I hope that is what I will find. Even if I end up only going to see 3-4 cities I will go out every day and walk for most of it. Taking it all in and using what Japanese I know to say hello and greet someone.
I already know that I will have some of that in other spots. From some research I found volunteers in Tokyo that want to meet foreigners and spend a day with them. In speaking with them I asked what they would like to show me, not what I wanted to see. Past that I was lucky enough to have a friend of mine introduce me to a kind woman she knows in Japan that will certainly create an experience. I feel very honored that I get to meet and spend time with her. It is one highlight I am really looking forward to.
Don't worry though, I will take a good amount of pictures! I like to take them to bring back for me. But this also allows me to share them with you. I've got a GoPro rig figured out to attach to my pack's strap which will be used for time lapse more often than video. GoPro does it a nice way where it takes an individual picture instead of a compiled video. Which will allow for a bit easier sharing and me not having to pull my camera out all the time. A better way to see through my eyes.
Anyways, I hope that made sense. The desire to experience and be than to only see. It's going to be a whole lot of fun and when you're looking for this, there's no way it can be bad.
Where the first time around was a package trip. Pay the tour company, they book your hotels, arrange flights, arrange tours, etc. And now Japan. Where I've booked my flights, picked where I'll go, spoken with people who are interested in meeting foreigners (and not just getting money), and everything in between. I've been doing research since roughly November. Nothing spectacular but looking at what I'd like to do. Thinking about it. Planning and making some goals.
A lot of what I want to do will hinge on me being able to get around on my own. Which, admittedly, might be difficult as I'm really not that great with the language. So what if I'm not able to? What if I can't get around much at all. Yesterday when I clocked out of work for the last time before this trip it really hit me that I'm going. The excitement has been building up but for whatever reason clocking out brought it home. When it hit home came a little bit of nerves. Those questions about "what if" surfacing. And it made me think.
Why over time have I chosen more and more to plan my own instead of finding a travel agent and having them do it for me? Well one, I don't really trust them, though that's another story. But more so, it's because of what you get. When you go on a tour, go on a cruise, go on a route scheduled by another it's them showing or telling you what to see. A packaged deal that someone else thought would be the best and looks the most interesting. Some of which is real and some of which is fabricated. A show put on by whatever area you're in to try and make a memory for you (and usually for a large sum of money). Seeing things seems to be so much of what people consider a vacation now. A reason why they go with people and why they bring pictures home.To see, to be seen there. Key word see. That's not what I want.
I really want to see a lot. But that's not the trip for me. I don't care if I don't see anything. I want to experience something. To be in a location and find something genuine. A part of this world that I didn't know about or had heard about. To be experiencing a moment not reproduced a thousand times. The more of these I can find that my journey led me to the better. I want that. I hope that is what I will find. Even if I end up only going to see 3-4 cities I will go out every day and walk for most of it. Taking it all in and using what Japanese I know to say hello and greet someone.
I already know that I will have some of that in other spots. From some research I found volunteers in Tokyo that want to meet foreigners and spend a day with them. In speaking with them I asked what they would like to show me, not what I wanted to see. Past that I was lucky enough to have a friend of mine introduce me to a kind woman she knows in Japan that will certainly create an experience. I feel very honored that I get to meet and spend time with her. It is one highlight I am really looking forward to.
Don't worry though, I will take a good amount of pictures! I like to take them to bring back for me. But this also allows me to share them with you. I've got a GoPro rig figured out to attach to my pack's strap which will be used for time lapse more often than video. GoPro does it a nice way where it takes an individual picture instead of a compiled video. Which will allow for a bit easier sharing and me not having to pull my camera out all the time. A better way to see through my eyes.
Anyways, I hope that made sense. The desire to experience and be than to only see. It's going to be a whole lot of fun and when you're looking for this, there's no way it can be bad.