Top 5 To Do List

[Akichi_Ren]

Mine is a bit boring, but here goes:

1. See the sights. A lot of them were mentioned already. I thought I'd make a list once I know if I'm accepted (I don't want to torture myself by checking all the fascinating places beforehand in case it turns out I have to wait another year or longer to get there).
2. Eat the food. I'm a picky eater, but I've decided I want to try new things AND learn how to eat foods even if I might find them a bit suspicious at first. :'D
3. Go visit Tenshi no Sato (in Kyoto) and some BJD-related shops. Go to Dollpa. Meet others who know what BJDs are.
4. Do some shopping. Mainly books <3 and little items I can send home as gifts.
5. Learn the rest of the jōyō kanji (unfortunately that's like half of them because I've forgotten some over the years. T_T But maybe they'll be easier to learn the second time...). I'd also like to learn to speak Japanese "fluently" (and by this I mean that I'd like to be able to form sentences more quickly so I can take part in casual conversations more easily... Right now I'm painfully slow. D:).

[Kirari]

Mine is a bit boring, but here goes:

1. See the sights. A lot of them were mentioned already. I thought I'd make a list once I know if I'm accepted (I don't want to torture myself by checking all the fascinating places beforehand in case it turns out I have to wait another year or longer to get there).
2. Eat the food. I'm a picky eater, but I've decided I want to try new things AND learn how to eat foods even if I might find them a bit suspicious at first. :'D
3. Go visit Tenshi no Sato (in Kyoto) and some BJD-related shops. Go to Dollpa. Meet others who know what BJDs are.
4. Do some shopping. Mainly books <3 and little items I can send home as gifts.
5. Learn the rest of the jōyō kanji (unfortunately that's like half of them because I've forgotten some over the years. T_T But maybe they'll be easier to learn the second time...). I'd also like to learn to speak Japanese "fluently" (and by this I mean that I'd like to be able to form sentences more quickly so I can take part in casual conversations more easily... Right now I'm painfully slow. D:).

None of that is boring! Think how fun it's all going to be! Also: I know what you mean by BJD, though I don't follow everything about it. They're creepy and beautiful. I'd go with you to the shops!

[Akichi_Ren]

None of that is boring! Think how fun it's all going to be! Also: I know what you mean by BJD, though I don't follow everything about it. They're creepy and beautiful. I'd go with you to the shops!

Aww thanks, that's nice of you to say. =) I have 10+ at home. Unfortunately none of them are Japanese. I'd like to maybe remedy that if I happen to find something suitable while there. I'm thinking I'll bring one of the tiny ones with me and go for a weekend trip to buy some of the awesome fabrics at Marunan (Shibuya) or some place closer by (I don't know that many places yet since I've never actually been myself. I'm sure there are many fabric stores closer by, but that's the only one I know of right now ...Oh, I say closer by because if I get picked, I'll be placed somewhere in Fukui). I'd like to make mini kimonos and such for them, but we'll see if I'll have the time.

EDIT: I forgot to mention I might try to do some geocaching too while I'm there. It'd be fun to do that as a group some time...

[darlo]

My latest to do list:
1. Bring the washing in (it's started raining).
2. Pay the bills (would you believe my phone/internet, gas & electricity bill all came on the same day ... kind of convenient I suppose).
3. Pop to that small eatery on the way to Tsunoshima that I often drive past but have yet to stop in.
4. Buy more poison (I've been fighting an insect war on home turf since moving in).
5. Buy some more post-its.

[Kirari]

My latest to do list:
1. Bring the washing in (it's started raining).
2. Pay the bills (would you believe my phone/internet, gas & electricity bill all came on the same day ... kind of convenient I suppose).
3. Pop to that small eatery on the way to Tsunoshima that I often drive past but have yet to stop in.
4. Buy more poison (I've been fighting an insect war on home turf since moving in).
5. Buy some more post-its.

I guess because it's all so new, I love seeing the mundane things current JETs are doing, hehe. I looked up your area - your are just surrounded by lovely water! Do you get to the beach much?

EDIT: I forgot to mention I might try to do some geocaching too while I'm there. It'd be fun to do that as a group some time...

I looked up geocaching - looks like fun! There's even people in my town who do it. Might be a great way to explore Japan.

[Akichi_Ren]

I looked up geocaching - looks like fun! There's even people in my town who do it. Might be a great way to explore Japan.

Eah, that's exactly what I thought. And it's fun to do with people and get to know them while you're travelling and searching. I haven't done it for long, but I've found some caches near me and then some when I visited Stockholm last year. It was a fun way to see the place. =) Also, it doesn't cost anything in itself, which is a plus. A GPS would be nice, but I've done fine with just a map thus far.

[darlo]

I guess because it's all so new, I love seeing the mundane things current JETs are doing, hehe. I looked up your area - your are just surrounded by lovely water! Do you get to the beach much?

Not often, it's difficult convincing other ALTs to head over this way and I'm not much of a solo-beacher, lol.

[misc.illusions]

Ohh, what an interesting thread. Now I have many ideas for the future! : D

Mine... are a little weird maybe. >.>

1. Find the bad part of Shinjuku and explore all the shops (doll brothel anyone?)
2. Visit Aokigahara. (someone already mentioned this~ *_* We are the same!)
3. Find some yankee to talk to and party with for an afternoon!
4. Visit the Harujuku area where lots of people dress up on weekends.
5. Take pictures of the sunset from the tallest building in every town I go to!

BONUS: Take part in all the school clubs, even just once. And I want to go out for a night of karaoke with my co-workers! And go hiking! And find some waterfalls! And visit the ocean! Andandand -explodes- XD So, much~

[Patryn]

not entirely sure why that's the "bad part" of Shinjuku... I think the only bad part about that is the slight hills and perhaps getting lost in the crazy big station over and over and over again! >_< hahaha.

[nicklar]

No, there are some dodgy parts (for Japan at least). I accidentally found myself around there exploring during orientation. I was offered 'favours' by touts at least twice.

[coop52]

The "bad" part is Kabukicho. They warn people at orientation every year to stay away from there, mostly because it's really easy to get roped into paying a 200,000 yen bill just for walking into a bar. I recommend not going there unless you have money to burn and are willing to take that chance.

[Kirari]

Ohh, what an interesting thread. Now I have many ideas for the future! : D

Mine... are a little weird maybe. >.>

Everyone's got weird ones - they're just not writing them in this thread.

3. Find some yankee to talk to and party with for an afternoon!

Sounds fun and/or scary~ More fun if they were like the really nice, heart o' gold yankees that are in j-dramas, lol. Gokusen or My Boss, My Hero, anyone?

I wish I could roll my R's. I wanna be able to say なんじゃこりゃ!?!? and sound really cool.

[Cliodhna]

The "bad" part is Kabukicho. They warn people at orientation every year to stay away from there, mostly because it's really easy to get roped into paying a 200,000 yen bill just for walking into a bar. I recommend not going there unless you have money to burn and are willing to take that chance.

Sounds like Roppongi. Don't go to Roppongi, guys, day or night. Just don't go. There's nothing to see there anyway, and anything they do have can be found elsewhere, and better, in other parts of the city. Roppongi is an ideal place to get drugged, robbed, and thrown into an alley. Roppongi's probably the only truly unsafe place in the city. Otherwise, even the back alleys of Tokyo (and there are a ton) are pretty safe. The closest you should get is Tokyo Tower, and even then Tokyo tower's a rip off when the public ward offices have the same view for free.

I wish I could roll my R's. I wanna be able to say なんじゃこりゃ!?!? and sound really cool.

You find that sort of thing mostly in western Japan. People tend to be more colorful out that way compared to Tokyo.

[misc.illusions]

I wish I could roll my R's. I wanna be able to say なんじゃこりゃ!?!? and sound really cool.

I've been practicing the R rolling for years~ All for this moment! XD

Also, I think Miyazaki slang is super cool, can't wait to visit there. (That's where I wanna find the yankee guys. XD)

[sooky]

Mine is a bit boring, but here goes:
3. Go visit Tenshi no Sato (in Kyoto) and some BJD-related shops. Go to Dollpa. Meet others who know what BJDs are.

XD and I see you again in this thread!
Oh goodness!

My top 5:
1: Sumo match
2: Baseball match
3: Volunteer for the community!
4: Watch and cheer on at a Naked man festival
5: Learn an art i.e. Sumi-e or Ikebana

I'm going to be sneaky and add one more:
6: Sightseeing and fishing somewhere!