にほんにひっこします！ I am moving to Japan!

U Cultivating plants!!

Indoor herbs like shiso, basil, maybe some western herbs like thyme? Maybe succulents and other indoor plants as well. If I'm in the countryside, I hope I have space to cultivate a vibrant outdoor garden with local wildflowers and some fruits + vegetables!

I am considering composting with LFC Compost, but that depends on how my veranda is set up. It may be better to set up my own compost bin. Maybe I could even try vermicomposting if I can get worms! Whatever I do, I'll be searching for ways to reduce food waste.

w Decor

Very minimal: I don't know how long or short I'll be there, and anyways I don't like having lots of things. I'm the opposite of Howl! So I'll keep my home very simply adorned.

bedroom: cozy!

Assuming I have a 1K instead of a studio... a plant or two in the bedroom, with fresh flowers in warmer months (flower shop...?!). I hope I can also have a diffuser or incense for good wintertime scents. The photo here has a couch but I dunno about that, since I will mostly sit on the floor. I'd love to have a futon, actually, instead of a bed, since they seem easier to move in and out of the space. I'm cool with sleeping on the floor, so that's chill. I suppose it all comes down to what sort of furniture stores are available near me.

Kitchen

I hope to cook a lot Sk Luckily Japan's food landscape is much healthier than the U.S., so although I may have to concede defeat on the vegan front and be pescetarian (my relatives won't abide it www) I will still get plenty of greenery! The kitchen is where most of my "stuff" will be: ingredients and cooking appliances.

I anticipate a pretty small kitchen. Tiny spaces often lead to innovation, so I am excited to see how I organize my kitchen. Maximizing storage and counter space with shelves? Kneading bread on my kitchen table if I don't have counter space? It'll be my little nest! ... I just have to make sure I take plenty of walks outside jn

While I will be working, I also want to maintain a sense of relaxed alertness throughout my day. I want to keep my stress level low by leading an active but deliberately paced lifestyle.

d Weekdays

Mornings

I am a morning person! I want to wake before 7:30 to do morning exercises and journal if I feel up to it. I can also take this time to read, prepare my lunch if need be, and review any tasks I need to do.

The workday

I dunno what it'll be like yet! Hoping for nice coworkers and a welcoming environment.

After work

If I get my wish, my work won't come home with me too often, or if it does, it'll be manageable. I want to get it done as soon as I can. Once it's done, I hope I will have the time/energy to meet friends (safely!), tend my garden (if I have space for one), read, study, go to karaoke, or otherwise chill out.

X Weekends

So open! I want to do all kinds of things after a slow, early morning. Catching up on housework for one; a clean space is very important, so cleaning will be done little by little throughout the week with a big cleaning spree over the weekend. Maybe chatting with friends overseas, or meeting up with local ones. Gardening d Shopping? A Maybe short trips?? See Travel/Sightseeing for trip ideas!

v Cooking

I will be pescetarian for practicality's sake, but when cooking for myself I will make vegan dishes.r The popularity of iHerb makes it easier to get specialty groceries, like various vegan substitutes, but I've been vegan long enough that I genuinely enjoy plant-based foods without pretending to eat meat or dairy for the most part. But I need to make my vegan butter for toast!

q Dining Out

My favorite ramen shop, Akutagawa Ramen in Kyoto! Nk It's a tiny place with only about seven seats (there's an upper floor they open on the busiest days). The line is always long around lunch and dinner time, usually comprising students from the presitigious Doshisha University across the street. Inside are wooden cards with the names of regulars and their rank in the "ramen club"; higher ranks get you free toppings, but you have to eat a LOT of ramen even to get on the list.(lowkey not a problem chief)

Kaiseki ryouri is a high-end multi-course meal reserved for special occasions. It's known for seasonal ingredients prepared with refined techniques and plated to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible to all your senses.

Kushikatsu! If you've ever had katsu (fried cutlet), this is that but crunchier and skewered. And they have all kinds of stuff, not just meat: veggies, seafood, you name it. I even had wagyu beef kushikatsu once~ Some more popular places even serve them to you on little trains that come to your table Popular around Osaka, especially spots like Shinsaibashi that do food.

Onsen tamago!! Eggs that are cooked slowly in the hot waters of an onsen for over a half hour. They come out custardy with a semi-firm yolk that's somehow also creamy???

Listening/Speaking

The easy part. I want to get better at the Kansai dialect to better connect with my relatives (and because it's just so much fun to speak). I already try to watch Kansai TV, even though I don't really like watching television op But more than simply passively taking in the language, I want to take lots of opportunities to go into society and practice Japanese, whether through language exchange events and parties, meetup groups, or clubs (see Experiences for more).

Reading

This will comprise two parts: kanji and content.

Kanji

Studying kanji (Chinese characters) through an old textbook I have, using flashcards for spaced repetition. When I was using it for class, we'd basically have to memorize about 24-30 new words every day; the next day, we'd be quizzed on their meaning, and the day after on their reading. For instance, on Monday I learn 納得. On Tuesday I have to remember it means "consent." On Wednesday, I have to remember it's read 「なっとく」(nattoku). Every couple weeks we'd have a big quiz over just meanings.

This system will be modified for more thorough recall: I'll memorize a set of words and add them to an Anki deck. To really make them stick, I'll compose sentences with them, maybe even keep a journal (more below).

Content

I love reading! Novels, non-fiction, memoir, all of it. I am so excited that a whole new world of literature is open to me through language. I want to read both for pleasure and education: as such, I will probably have a pencil in hand when I read for marking unfamiliar words and phrases. After each chapter or relevant subdivision, go back and review markings with a dictionary, writing completely new things in my language notebook and adding them to my flashcards.

Outside of books, I want to read blogs relevant to my interests; there are certainly people who pursue their love of jazz or urban gardening in Japan, and their insight will be invaluable. Through these sources, I'll be able to learn niche vocabulary while finding new ways to engage with my hobbies in a new country.

and of course karaoke covers all of the above www

Links

Writing

Everyone tells me I don't need to know how to write like, super well. Maybe I don't, since I'll be able to type most things. But! That won't always be the case. Official documents, mailing slips, all sorts of things require writing. So in conjunction with reading practice, my flashcards will also be used for writing practice. Each card has the word in kanji, its reading, and its meaning. If its meaning or reading appears, I'll write it down and mark the card depending on my recall.

But flashcards are useless without context! I'm hoping to write more and more in Japanese, from journal or blog entries to my Daily tasks. I want to have a little notebook where I keep track of Home projects, and of course it'll be so much easier to just note down brands or plants or stores in Japanese. Much of my extended writing experience in Japanese is academic, so I'm excited to read blogs and learn more about casual written Japanese!

J Hiking

There are soooo many hikes I want to go on AHHH I found a pair of gently used hiking boots (Timberland #95354) on eBay several months ago for only $30 and have fallen in love with solo hiking since then :) I like rocky hikes with scrambles, but scenic ones with views are great too! Autumn hikes also mean mushrooms~ I love foraging for edible mushrooms and am hoping to learn more about edible plants too! U

X Hanami (Flower Viewing)

April is cherry blossom season! 🌸 Usually folks will have picnics under the cherry blossom trees with family and/or friends (or solo!), eating and drinking and sometimes singing karaoke. It's a wonderful time to appreciate the beauty and transience of nature.

G Olympic Torch?

The Olympic Torch will be making its way through all 47 prefectures from the end of March to the beginning of July. Wouldn't it be great to catch it once or twice?

o Onsen

Big public baths! The outdoors ones are often geothermally heated so they're warm year-round. They're also found in traditional inns (ryokan) and in dedicated bath houses. They're often part of a whole bath experience that includes certain foods and sometimes massages.

s Live Music

I love live music, but especially jazz. The quiet, intimate atmosphere of a jazz club naturally lends itself to a relaxing experience where you can get to know others in the scene. My regular jazz club, Crescent in Osaka, is a small joint that seats maybe 15? And they have different folks every night. I got to know a handful of musicians and patrons who invited me to other musical events around the area; it was a fantastic opportunity to expand my social circle and have some fun!

i Mixin', Minglin' etc.

When I lived in Japan before, I went to random language exchanges and bar crawls to meet people. I met some interesting folks, including a woman who tried to convert me to a radical sect of Buddhism and someone who tried to tell me racism doesn't exist in Japan As weird as those experiences were, they make for great stories. I want to meet more folks in random places!

誰か読んでるの？ハロー　これから来日していくなーp楽しみにしてるけどなかなか怖いでしょう。でももう日本に住んだことあるし、日本出来るし、大丈夫ちゃう！それでも力、または勇気を望む。何か月後これを読むかな～「日本語下手やった！」って言うかも！（下手なの？ならよう行ってくれませんか？）

日本でおもろい経験や人はいっぱいと間違いない。この世界の明るいところ見るのはもとより、なりたいと思う。それで毎日笑顔を！熱心を！とりわけ、器の大きさを！B

神様、お守りになってありがたいです。おばあちゃん、おじいちゃん、掃苔するように応援してください。何に逢っても親切心をなくさないように頑張りますので、よろしくお願いします！

• Bird icons: mococo
• Tigers: 今日もワンパグ
• Japan maps: Wikimedia Commons