I would like to immerse myself in the Japanese culture. I have had small glimpses of their culture in the past but I would like to learn more about it. If I go to Japan I would definitely take my camera because I never go anywhere without it. I would also take my computer and a notebook for recording and writing down my experiences and thoughts. I would also take a lot of money and exchange it to local currency so that I could shop my butt off and go to restaurants and experience the local food. Other than that I would take the normal stuff people take on trips like clothes and toiletries.

I think that while I am in Japan exploring and experiencing the culture will sustain me. Going to tea houses, restaurants, stores, museums, shrines, etc. I would also still have my usual things to keep me busy like music on my computer, photography and editing my photos, reading manga which is Japanese comic books, watching anime which is Japanese cartoons, and e-mailing and chatting online with my friends and family. These things are also comforting to me so if I get homesick it will hopefully help me though it. I think that chatting with my family and friends will help me not get so frustrated about the language barrier and reading manga and watching anime will help me understand the Japanese language better.

I think that everything I like can be understood by this culture since the Japanese are fairly close to Americans culture wise. There may not understand my taste in food because that is one area in which our two cultures differ but other than that, that's all I can think of.