Not everyone gets the awesome opportunity to live in a foreign country for two years. Mixed in with living and working in Japan...we also want to spend some time exploring. So, we thought making (and revising and adding to) a "To Do" List would be a fun idea!
Here's our list!
UPDATE: While we've accomplished many, many items - there are still a lot of things we want to see and do in Japan! I guess we'll have to visit again soon!
Within Japan
*Summit Mt. Hiei in Kyoto
*Watch the Mikimoto Pearl divers in Ise - CHECK!
*Act like...and be one with...the monkeys at Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nagano - CHECK!
*Witness a spectacular sunrise from the top of Fujisan (Mt. Fuji) - CHECK!
*Visit an animal cafe - CHECK!
*Take a picture with Mickey and Minnie dressed in kimonos at Tokyo Disneyland and/or Disney Sea theme parks - CHECK!
*Eat/drink hot corn soup out of a vending machine
*Hear Harry Potter speak Japanese at Hogwarts at Osaka - USJ - CHECK!
*Bow to the bowing deer in Nara - CHECK!
*Run at least one half marathon somewhere in Japan - CHECK!
*Witness Hatsuhinode (the first sunrise of the New Year) in Japan and experience omiya-maeri (make New Year's wishes at a nearby shrine)
*Check out as many coffee shops/cafes as we can - CHECK!
*Experience fall foliage - illumination style - at Korankei - CHECK!
*Summit Mt. Misen in Miyajima - CHECK!
*Eat GOLD ice cream in Kanazawa - CHECK!
*Visit the original Tsukiji Market (in Tokyo) before it relocates at the end of 2016 - CHECK!
*Drink a Sapporo beer and have miso ramen in Sapporo - CHECK!
*Enjoy the snow in Hokkaido - CHECK!
*Kuidaore (eat 'til we drop) in Osaka - CHECK!
*Appreciate two sides of the same story in Hiroshima - CHECK!
*Stroll the village streets of Takayama - CHECK!
*Stroll through the illuminated town of Shirakawa-go - CHECK!
*Bow to the Giant Buddha in Kamakura - CHECK!
*Enjoy the fall colors and shrines in Kyoto - CHECK!
*Hanami our way through sakura "season" - CHECK!
*Eat Kobe beef in Kobe - CHECK!
*Bike across Shimanami Kaido
*Enjoy one of Japan's most famous night views in Yokohama - CHECK!
*Stand under the Great Tori Gate during low tide in Miyajima - CHECK!
*Visit as many of the 21 World Heritage Sites in Japan as we can - (12/21 in Japan; 1/1 in Singapore; 1/8 in Indonesia; 3/19 in Australia; 4/50 in China; 1/5 in Thailand; 1/2 in Cambodia; 2/12 in Korea) - CHECK!
*Attend Gion Festival in Kyoto (one of the three most famous festivals in Japan) - CHECK!
*Spend the night in a capsule hotel
*Spend the night in a love hotel
*Go to the fertility (aka - penis festival) in Nagoya - CHECK!
*Sample more than 10 flavors of soft serve - CHECK!
*Try at least 30 different types of Japanese Kit Kats - CHECK!
*Sing karaoke in a private karaoke "bokkusu" (box) - CHECK!
*Feel small and weak at a Sumo match - CHECK!
*Spend the night in a Buddhist Temple - CHECK!
*Hike the Magome-Tsumago Trail - CHECK!
*Make some pottery in Seto - CHECK!
*Get up the guts to soak and relax in a public onsen - CHECK!
*Get dressed up and wear a kimono - CHECK!
*See the famous view of Nachi Falls and the pagoda in person - CHECK!
*Bury ourselves in the sand in Beppu - CHECK!
*Eat ふぐ (blowfish) - CHECK!
*Stand on a completely deserted island - CHECK!
*Be able to speak at least a bit of Japanese - CHECK!
*Become an SLP in Japan - CHECK!
*See what Japanese sports fans are like at baseball, soccer, or rugby game - CHECK!
*Make some great friends - CHECK!
*Connect with family - CHECK!
Outside of Japan
*Walk with the elephants in Thailand - CHECK!
*Develop an understanding of the word ancient in Cambodia - CHECK!
*See what those Taiwanese foot massages are all about - CHECK!
*Celebrate New Year's Eve in Sydney (Australia) - CHECK!
*Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef - CHECK!
*Walk a portion of the Great Wall in China - CHECK!
*View North Korea...from South Korea - CHECK!
*Eat Dim Sum in Hong Kong - CHECK!
*Stay in the rainforest in Bali - CHECK!
*Find the Merlion in Singapore - CHECK!
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