pre-flight thoughts

As I prepare for my study abroad in Japan, I reminisce of my last visit six years ago. I was only fifteen, and only there for about ten days, but my memories are still so vivid. I can still remember the sense of wonder while exploring Asakusa my first night, or the thrill of biking through Ueno Park as cicadas fell from the trees. The small streets lit by glowing, red lanterns felt like I had been transported into a Studio Ghibli film. I felt like a child ready to jump onto every ride in an amusement park.

Carefully I'm choosing which clothes to pack, knowing that I will accumulate more when I come back. My first suitcase looks too full already. It's difficult to choose. I want to show off my sense of style that has evolved through the years from my early google searches of "decora" and "oshare kei". 

I have a lot of mementos I've kept from my first trip. Movie tickets, train passes, receipts - it's a bit cheesy how sentimental I am with these things. But I hold onto them for their memories. I will be documenting my trip more thoroughly this time around, but I still think I'll accumulate similar keepsakes again.

More than anything, I'm looking forward to that sense of excitement and adventure I felt when I first stepped foot in Japan. Still, it seems surreal that I will be moving into Tokyo in just a few days. I really can't wait for this journey to start, and I'm curious to see how I will come out on the other side.