Packing.

Packing to go to Japan is turning out to be an adventure in itself. I don't know if you have ever packed for something like this, but it can be verrrry tricky! I get two 50lb checked suitcases, a 40lb carry on, and a personal item. Seems somewhat reasonable, right? NOT! I am not in full pack mode yet, but I have been doing some shopping/planning/organizing, and I realized that just my clothes are going to weigh 100lbs. When you need suits and nice clothes on top of the usual, it really complicates things. I have not really even thought about the toiletries or other things I will need. I will have to pack another box or two and send them to myself. (I already sent 3 and my pred was fantastic enough to pick them up for me)

One good thing is that I do not need to take a bajillion pairs of shoes (I LOVE shoes... if you have never seen my closet, well, I have a lot of shoes). Anyway, since I pretty much will wear the same pair of shoes at work every day (i.e. my "indoor shoes"), no matter my outfit, that makes packing shoes a lot easier. Also, anytime I go into an apartment or house, I will take my shoes off and wear slippers, so, again, cute shoes are hardly worth while most of the time. I still need a nice pair of heels just in case, and then a few pairs of fun going out shoes, and hiking/walking shoes, but I do not need to take as many shoes to match every suit and outfit. I am also taking tennis shoes and another pair or two to be indoor shoes. If I am running around with small Japanese children, tennies might be better, but most days, the other flats will be great. I might get by with around 10 pairs. By my standards, that is packing light in the shoe department.

So shoes are easy, yay, I just have to figure everything else out! How fun this will be. The rest of the problem, once I get the weight figured out, is dividing everything correctly between the suitcase I will take to Tokyo and the one that will get sent straight from the airport to Iiyama. That is a whole other challenge, and it will probably take a few tries to get everything right.