I am finally ready to start posting some pictures and stories of my trip.  First off what trip?  Since I have a milestone trip this year, I decided to take 2 larger trips and to make one of them a bigger one, or one that I have listed as a dream trip.  Japan it was then.  

Why Japan?

I think when I first started to dream about traveling a bunch, I listed Japan as one of those dream trips.  Yes, I truly enjoy every trip I take, but there are a few on my list that take a little extra effort or are a little more exotic.  I had not been to Asia and over the last several years I second thought what I always thought would be my first choice, but ultimately it was Japan.  

How long did I plan?

Well, the airplane ticket was bought as a x-mas gift to myself and my family started me off with some travel books.  It was easy to settle in that half the trip would be Tokyo and half would be Kyoto, with several little trips from each as a possibility.  I guess travel planning comes easy now and I kept a lot of flexibility in my schedule.  

What did I think I was going to experience?

I knew it was a very reverent and respectful society, but I honestly didn't know what to expect and tried to place it in a context of my travels to Europe and elsewhere.  I didn't anticipate just how massive Tokyo was going to be.  Heck, I lived in one of the world's largest cities and traveled through several, but Tokyo is a beast all to it's own.  I have mentioned to a couple people that I felt some anxiety a few weeks before.  I was going to be all the way around the world, but in the end the adventurer in me won out and I am grateful. Sounds dumb, but I was expecting it to be really foreign and I think that caused a little anxiety.  I didn't struggle anymore than I have anywhere else and that was calming.

What was I looking forward to?

Definitely the shrines and temples, plus the old world of Kyoto.  It exceeded expectations.  The food, which ended up being more familiar than I really thought it was going to be.  Hiroshima, which I knew would be a tough and potentially overwhelming day.  The bullet trains, which I never realized that I am train fan until I had the opportunity to travel on them more.  Overall, I was just looking forward to really getting away.

The result?

Out of the 12 days I was gone, I bet I didn't have an hour of problems outside of my start at the CLT airport.  The trip really held its own to other trips and was really worthy of being in that dream category of trips that I have planned.  Hopefully the pictures will start to share my excitement.  Is it somewhere I would return?  Yes, someday, but I managed to really see a lot this go around.