i'm right on top of that rose!

So, I've been pretty blaise about planning this trip. Which probably isn't a good thing considering I'm going by myself to a country I've never been and will not be able to speak or understand any of the language. After I bought my ticket and booked a hotel room, about 7 weeks out, I researched books I wanted for planning,bought them, and then just stared at em. The laziness had set in. I was having more fun just playing on google looking at random sites with kawaii (cute) food, alpaca plushie vending machines, and crazy nails than actually taking note of places I might want to go and where they are located. So I finally decided last week I had to get it together. Decide how much money to get before I go and go to the bank and get it (although I haven't really done that yet I promise I will look into it more now!), get a legal pad and start lists of everything I think I might be interested in seeing (I'll narrow it down later), figure out the Japan Rail Pass thing (check!),and finally crack open the books and start the hilighting and flagging. Sidenote: just figured out this week that I had to go through an agency to get my pass. Why was I under the assumtion that it was through the rail co and I could just buy it and have something e-mailed to me to show to the ticket counter at the station? Brain fart I suppose. Ahhhhh the type A in me is a little calmer now seeing the flags and lists and e-mails confirming my rail pass has been bought.