Going On An Adventure

This Thursday I'm hopping on a plane to Japan! I will be spending two weeks traveling a loop around the Ariake Sea on the island of Kyūshū, taking in the spring cherry blossoms, practicing my 日本語 and eating everything in sight (well, we'll see about the basashi--some sake may be required). I will be bringing myself, my trusty backpack, and my sense of adventure--and, of course, a camera. 

While I'm not going to be "that guy"--that guy that's too busy photo-blogging his vacation to actually enjoy it--I'm going to try to post some of what I see! So, this running blog will temporarily be a travel blog--please tune in for recountings of my adventures over the next two weeks. 

My itinerary: 

3/19-20: Tokyo (mainly to rest up from my flight, but I'll surely be visiting some of the tourist sites)

3/21-26: Fukuoka (and some day-trips). 

3/27-29: Nagasaki and surroundings

3/30: transit from Nagasaki to Kumamoto. I'm going to try to see Shimabara-jo on the way (and ride the ferry!)

3/31-1: Two days in Kumamoto

4/2: Ride the Shinkansen all the way north from Kumamoto to Narita, where I'll be staying my final night near the airport (no last-minute panics to catch my flight home this time). 

4/3: back to America!

I'm using airbnb for my stays in Fukuoka and Kumamoto. I've never used it before, but both my hosts seem super-nice, and my host in Fukuoka even offered to match me up with some locals who would be interested in showing me around in exchange for 英語 practice. Very excited!