Day before my Japan trip

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It is the day before my Japan trip and i am feeling mildly stressed; an improvement over yesterday. The last time i looked at my self-organized itinerary was in August 2010 before my exams and graduation when i finalized all my accommodation bookings and drew up a list of the places i intend to visit. Now, i am finally having a real look at what's going on in my itinerary, getting down into the smaller details, and i am realizing that this is incredibly last minute (mental note to self: no more such last minute plannings).

I have also bought a new travel bag. Initially i had decided to get my own travel luggage to mark the first of the many travel plans that i would like to undertake after i graduate. However, my mum had given me a brand new bright orange suitcase and i just thought i would be such a spendthrift to invest in another travel item. BUT, over the past few days, i started wondering if a bulky suitcase is the best way to travel on the Shinkansen. My worst fears were confirmed when my good friend (also the one whom i will be traveling to Japan with, and who i shall nickname P for convenience in subsequent entries) coincidentally asked if i would be bringing a backpack because a suitcase is very troublesome. I started googling and holy hell, discovered that it is advisable to travel with less bulky luggage. That started a tiny panic attack.

I swear, the lack of traveling over the past six years have make me unaccustomed to this madness. The stress i experienced from this is worse than when i am in an exam! So anyhow i did more googling and visited a luggage shop today where i purchased a red Antler Translite large trolley bag together with other smaller items such as TSA locks, luggage tags and an Aussie-Japan adaptor. I am excited now because i really like my new purchase.

I have successfully transferred the contents of my suitcase into my duffel bag and was amazed to find that not only do the contents fit comfortably, there was still plenty of space left over! Anyway, this will be probably be the only entry that i can fit in before i fly off to Japan.

Here's a brief preview of my itinerary:
1. Nagoya
2. Inuyama
3. Takayama
4. Toyama
5. Matsumoto
6. Nozawa Onsen
7. Tokyo

I think the highlights of the trip will be the snowboarding that i want to try out, the homestay family we will be living with in Japan and the many theme parks that we want to visit.

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Photos

My new travel companion.
My new Antler duffel bag.