I have a busy few weeks ahead of me. This Friday I’ll be leaving for Seoul for a long weekend in kimchi country. It’ll be my first time over, despite the fact that it’s the closest neighboring country to here, and trips there are actually cheaper than similar trips within Japan. With Spring vacation starting this week (for the kids at any rate), I figured it was the perfect opportunity to make us this grievance, and plan on taking in as much of the sites as possible on my limited time frame.

The weekend after I get back I’ll be heading down to Kyoto for a day trip to do a little cherry blossom viewing in the old capital. I haven’t been to Kyoto since 2001, and the thought of seeing the old place again decked out in its finest colors has me pretty excited. A very sweet way to spend my last hanami for a while I think. As you would imagine, I plan on going photo crazy while I’m down there, so stay tuned for lots of sakura magic after I get back.

And finally, a few days after my trip down I’ll be visited by two very special guests who’ll be staying with me for a week. Joshua and Sachi will be coming to Japan, splitting their time between visiting relatives in Hiroshima, and spending time with me and members of Sekiyado Chapel here in Saitama. It will be fantastic seeing both of them again, and I can’t wait to run around Tokyo again with them (the last time both me and Joshua were here together was 2003…wow!).

Check back with updates on each of the three exciting events coming up, and wish me luck actually getting some sleep over the next few weeks. Excelsior!