Vacay time...what to do?

I have two sets of holidays thorughout my time here in Japan. A week at the end of March and three weeks in August. In terms of being a teacher, it's not that much annual leave. That being said, I want to make the most of it.

My plan from the beginning was the fly to New York during the longer break. I would see the sites, wander around the MOMA and hopefully met some authors and bloggers that I know quite well. I would still love to but cash wise it seems a little bit of a stretch. Fingers crossed that an exceedingly cheap flight pops up and a clean but affordable hostel is free. Who knows?

I have also flirted with the idea of flying to China or another nearby Asian country and doing a tour. All ideas at this point.

However, it is the March break that is giving me fruit for thought. It will be a solo trip as both colleagues are out of commission so I will be on my lonesome navigating foreign cities and even foreigner transportation. I have decided that Kyoto will be the destination, thinking that a week there might be nice. But I have been assured that a week would be too long and that I could do it well in three days.

Okay then, what to do with the rest of the week?

Osaka isn't that far away from Kyoto and I was planning on visiting it anyway. This just saves me from paying for the Shinkansen (bullet train with expensive fare) an additional time. So I am currently checking out Shinkansen, train (normal) and bus times/fares for my week. It's all coming together quite well.

Kyoto is lots of walking, temples and other cultural marvels. Osaka's considerably more cosmopolitan in terms of tourism. I do want to visit Osaka Castle and the History Museum but Universal Studios (yes I know I am lame) is calling my name. I will be visiting Osaka again later in the year with a colleague who's very culturally tuned so I could reason that a visit to US won't be an option with her so I should go in March. Who knows?

I also yearn to visit Disneyland in Tokyo.

I am currently compiling a list of places I want to visit before my time here is over. I am five weeks in and haven't done that much. Tokyo to a small degree but that's about it.

The Hiroshima trip is three weeks away and is costing me a bundle. The transport alone is well into the hundreds and then there's accommodation, etc. Ugh.

But it's all worth it. I am stretching my wings and becoming a global citizen. I am expanding my outlook and learning to say penis in different languages. How cool am I? :)