The trip.

10 days left until we leave... Hard not to get in 'count-down mode'.  It hasn't hit me yet that we're going, despite having had pretty much all the essentials mapped out 2 to 3 months in advance (plane tickets, hotels, etc).  It still feels like I have been planning a fictional trip...

My boyfriend, Andy, and I will spend 23 days in South Korea and Japan.  South Korea (Seoul and Busan) August 4 - 11, and Japan (Fukuoka, Okinawa, Kansai area (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe), Nikko, and Tokyo) until the 26th.  This is my 1st time visiting South Korea and fifth time in Japan, and for Andy, his first time going to either locale.

I speak Japanese so communication-wise Japan's not an issue, but neither of us speak any Korean. When we first planned this trip I was all like, 'I'm going to learn all sorts of Korean in 3 months' but.... that certainly didn't materialize.   Both of us have mastered the Korean alphabet in the meantime, which may prove handy in deciphering place names and train stops.  Other than that, I still only have "Hello" (anneyong-haseyo) under my belt, but I'm hoping to add "Thank you" "Where is the restroom?" "Can I try this on?" and "Present me with all of your most delicious cuisines!!!" by the time we arrive!

Clearly looking forward to shopping and eating, but also just wandering around and enjoying vacation :)