I woke up after a fair night of sleep considering I had crossed half a world the previous day. Thus I came face to face with the difference of Japanese and American bathrooms. All of the hotels I stayed at on my tour had Western style toilets, which I was thankful for (for more on Japanese style toilets, stay tuned for more blog entries). However, the Western style toilets in the hotel had a lot of extra "washing" features that the average American may not be use...

After being lectured by our tour guide (apparently every minute wasted waiting us costs everyone $30, however he seemed to forget this fact on the multiple occasions he was late), we were on the move again, this time to Hiroshima. I learned that it is pronounced Her-o-shima rather than Hero-shima and every since feel so much cooler and cultured saying it that way. Again, we were lead to an outdoor/indoor shopping mall light up like a Christmas tree. One o...

My first flight was just a hop from Milwaukee to Chicago. Though I got to the airport around 3:30am with my father, the ticket lines did not open till 4:00. My flight began boarding at 4:30 so I had no time to get breakfast in before I got on the plan. I sat next to a lovely woman who was headed to San Francisco for a wedding. It turned out we were on the same flight to San Francisco so we walked together to our gate and barely had a chance to grab my last Americ...

Why Japan? I have been interested in Asian culture for a good part of my life. I am currantly minoring in Asian American studies. I've taken courses and read books on a number of Asian cultures and topics and I felt I was ready to get some first hand experience abroad. Though, I had been to European, Latin, and Caribbean countries before, this would be my first trip to Asia and it would be my first trip traveling alone. This trip means a lot to me. First, it is...