October 10, 2009 Today was a day of rest and relaxation. You may wonder why four people who have been on an endless vacation would need rest…but the truth is that after days of 8-10 hours of driving, we are all exhausted. We’re staying at the Sheraton in Sunnyvale California which is about 40 miles south of San Francisco. We tried to position ourselves between San Fran and the coast of Big Sur. So today we slept late, ran a few errands and then lay in the sun by the pool. The temperature is in the 70’s. It was wonderful. We [View Full Entry]

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Some people have been asking what my car looks like and such so I decided to upload some pictures because I have free time now. I hope that mom and dad, you are taking care of it while I am away and not letting it get too dirty :) [View Full Entry]

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So, after having to go twice to the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco, I was finally able to get my student visa that will allow me to study in Japan for a year. It took a while for my new university to get me the required paperwork to even apply for the visa, so I am lucky that I got it this early (*If you can call this early*). 10 days before I ship out, I can finally cross out one of the many important things left to do before going off my checklist. At this point, I still feel exited [View Full Entry]

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Well, I finally received some information from KGU about my host family. It appears that I will be staying in Takarazuka (which is 20km north of Osaka) and will be living with (文男 Fumio, 70) and (千鶴子 Chizuko, 67) 松本 Matsumoto. Takarazuka is known for it's theater and onsen. An added plus is that to get to Osaka's Umeda Station, it takes less than 30 minutes and costs about three dollars. As for the distance to KGU, I don't know if it will be a long commute or not. My host family did not list an e-mail address, so I won't [View Full Entry]

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Dawn, one of my classmates who will attend the same school in Japan as I will, is headed off to Kansai Gakuin University soon. I want to wish her and Lexi, another one of my friends who is studying in Japan, the best of luck as they begin their new journeys. I can't wait to hear about their experiences, hopefully more good than bad, and I can't wait to join them in a few short weeks (8 to be exact). 二人共、いってらしゃい (Both of you, have a safe trip) So, I just bought my plane ticket for Japan and it turns out [View Full Entry]

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My name is Bryan Zen Hiraki and I grew up in Sunnyvale, California. I am currently 20 years old and am double majoring in Global Economic Relations and Japanese at the University of the Pacific. So far, I have visited Japan twice and have loved every second I was there. That is why I plan to study abroad in Osaka for a year. It is official now that I will be studying at a school called 関西学院大学 (Kwansei Gakuin Daigaku) or just KGU for short, and I will start in the beginning of April 2006. The school is located in a [View Full Entry]

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