I’ve been on my trip for 30 days.

It’s gone fast, but I’m grateful for what I’ve been privileged to do and see and the people I’ve met so far.

I’m reminded lately of the motivation of my youth – when life was more black & white, and the great, big world was sitting out there untouched, unspoiled and unbroken, waiting for me to explore it

30-day checkpoint / update…

My initial, very ambitious budget doesn’t work! I’m changing it to $70/day. Check out the page I updated where I talk about that here.

As far as overall experience, I feel satisfied with the things that I’ve done and seen. I’ve kept really busy, walked a lot (see below), but also at times when I just wanted to relax, I’ve done that too. It’s weird, traveling and staying in hostels, I haven’t had much time where I’ve been alone. I think that’s a good thing, but for the introvert in me, there have been days where I didn’t want to be around huge crowds the entire day, or tour the city with other people, so I just went to smaller, less popular places alone😄

A couple of other tidbits…

• My capsule hostel. I was bummed that I maybe wasn’t going to get to stay in a capsule hotel while in Japan, but when I got to my Kyoto hostel, I realized that’s basically what it is!

capsules from outside

view from my futon

my capsule room. it’s not as messy as it looks😂

It’s cozy, semi-private, secure (can lock things in desk drawer), and the only way to go!  L-O-V-E it.

• Walking distances. I was talking to someone, and he told me about the health app on the newer iPhones that records different activities, kind of like a fitbit. It has miles walked, flights climbed, and steps taken (obviously, only records what you do when you’re carrying your phone). When I looked at it for the first time, I was amazed at how much I’ve walked since I’ve been on my trip – it’s really cool data to see. My average miles walked per day this past month is 6.28 miles! The most I walked in one day was 8.96 miles😅 Does this make up for not working out😝?

miles walked per day

• Thank you, Mother and Father. For helping so much with the dogs and the house and the sending me stuff… everything. I am so grateful to have you as my parents.

Next up: Hiroshima, Fukuoka (sumo???), & Osaka