1-Year in Japan. Done.

Sprawling Tokyo

My very first meal in Tokyo. Store bought tsukemen and ginger ale with a side of jet lag. 

One of our first out of Tokyo trips to Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula. 

Lots of adorable things with animals and sake along the way...

A lot of Buddhas

And my own personal deity, Hello Kitty.

This post is a little late, but August 5th marked my official 1-year in Japan milestone. It's not really that interesting of a milestone but it did make me think back on the year. It seemed to go by very fast and where I am today is very different than 365 days ago. Well...I guess in just some aspects of my life, that's not necessarily true.

A quick recap on year 1: I taught English to middle schoolers in Asakusa for 6 months, I became good friends with 1 Japanese person, I became good friends with 1 German person, I got a new job as a marketing director in an office, I know how to use all the appliances in my home, I went to Vietnam, I know how to cook more Japanese dishes and have really improved as a home chef, I became a runner, Squidward and I still like each other a lot and we saw a lot of different kinds of Buddha statues together.

Looking on year two, my plans are to improve upon year 1. My Japanese hasn't really progressed as rapidly as I would have liked and I only have myself to blame. I got pretty lazy with studying and practicing. I also wish I had been more social and really forced myself to make some friends. There are a lot of moments I look back on and regret not seizing the moment. I also regret not doing a better job of keeping in touch with my family and friends from home. This blog was sort of a way to do that, but I don't know... I guess I'm a little old fashioned. Don't worry millions of readers! I'm keeping the blog, but don't be surprised if you a get more phone calls and postcards.

So my tentative plans at the moment is to sign up for a 10K this fall, talk to as many Japanese people in Japanese as possible, buy a book of stamps, renew my Magic Jack and also take the easiest level of the Japan Language Proficiency Exam in December. To be continued...