Solo Mission: Kyoto, Shikoku Island, & Hiroshima

I find myself writing constantly these days, mostly making a stream of mental notes about what's been an incredible experience. Through the past seven years, my mind became so cluttered with stress, agony, elation, confusion, and the whole gamut of highs and lows, that memories have started to easily escape me. If it's a non-essential, I don't retain it. I'm not really sure who - if anyone - is reading this blog, but for me it serves as a personal, albeit public, documentation of this journey, so I can remember it for years to come.

The next step in my travels is the most anticipated one. While I've enjoyed every second traveling with Rylynn and R.J. (and their navigation of the train system), I'm eager for my solo endeavor through Japan. This experience - liquidating my belongings, quitting an unfulfilling job, moving abroad - is all about personal independence. I've found nothing more liberating and freeing than traveling alone at my own pace in my own way. Maybe it's the anonymity - meeting strangers whose ignorance of your history frees you from certain behavioral patterns or assumptions of the past. Maybe it's experiencing a new place with fresh eyes and a single, solitary voice processing it all.

This isn't to say I want to travel alone forever - just that it's an apropos way of traveling for part of this trip. So here's the itinerary:

Four days in Kyoto, searching for the beauty of the old country - temples, shrines, gardens and a restaurant serving Kobe beef at a steal. Three days on Shikoku Island, inspired by a personal note from my most influential yoga instructor. I'll be in search of a specific pagoda, mostly significant to me and not the greater world at large. I'll also spend a day braving the country's wildest white water rapids. Finally, I move onto Hiroshima to learn about the atomic bombing from Japan's perspective.

I'm not lugging my laptop around to the hostels, so I'll have limited internet access and in some places, none. I'll update you on my journey when I get back next week.