I’ve decided to blow all of my vacation time at once, and I’m headed to Japan for a month from late November to late December. I’ll manage to be home for both holidays, but gone for most of the time in between. I’m pretty stoked. It looks like I’ll be able to spend quite a bit of time in Kyoto, including a few days at the Tekishinjuku international Zendo. Through a friend mine, I may also be able to visit the Shokoku-ji Zen Monastery in Kyoto. It sounds like an intense and amazing place.
I’ll also be doing a bunch of usual tourist stuff. I’m hoping to stay at some small Minshukus (which are inns, somewhat like B&Bs are here). I’d like to see something of Japan past the Anime and Hello Kitty which don’t do anything for me. As usual, I don’t really know what to expect, but that’s probably why I travel in the first place. I’ll try to put up a bunch of photos while I’m over there.