Man this month has been tough. It took me almost a month to get to level 8.  Work has been busy.  Started class again.  However, the class description and listing is not what it turned out to be.  The class started 5 chapters ahead of what it had in the description.  We’re 3 weeks in and I’m still not caught up yet.  Almost.  I’ll push through.

Oh, and I’m going back to Japan this summer!

Here’s some pictures from my the last night in April.  It was a great time.  Great food, great company.  A great cap on a great trip.

 

 

Got into level 7 on wanikani last night.  I also found out about this site https://www.satorireader.com/.  It seems pretty awesome.  I may subscribe after my trial period.

The first lesson I had after I returned from Japan was a little rough for me. After a couple weeks in Japan and then coming back and getting situated into life – I feel a little slow in my Japanese then before I left. I won’t be taking the N4 test in Japan in July however it’s a possibility that I will still go to Japan. The registration process in Japan required me to enter a Japan address so it was a little challenging for me to register. I tried to register for a test in Canada however the cutoff date for the July test is earlier than the cutoff date in Japan.

I’ve reviewed and adjusted my pledges on Patreon for some of the Japan related channels that I follow. I truly enjoy the content these creators put time and effort into. However, I adjusted my pledges to the channels where I actually learn something and/or they actually deliver on the rewards that they promise.  If they placed conditionals on pledges if they don’t deliver I would totally continute to pledge but most do not.

After I hit level 4 in WaniKani (which is where the free trial stops), I seem to be getting through levels at an average of 2 weeks.

Here are my current critical kanji items under a 74% success rate are:
* 東方
* 生活
* 走行
* 土地
* 安全
* 大作
* 世
* 次
* 他

I bought the following books in Japan to help with my studying. I have quite a number of books for studying. I hope to pass the N4 with flying colors.

I do plan to blog more and share some more of my experience in Japan.  It’s been a busy week and a half.  I have a relay run coming up next weekend and I hope to get more time back once that is completed.

It’s been a whirlwind the last couple days. I woke up at 4am in Japan on Tuesday morning in attempt to adjust my schedule back to what it normally is. My limousine bus to the airport(I don’t know why it’s called a limousine bus) was scheduled to leave at 11:40 to the airport and my flight was at 3:45 in the afternoon. I figured I’d go to sleep around 430 -5:00ish Japan time which would put at about the normal time I go to bed. I had some time to kill. It took me a while to wake up. I had some coffee and studied some kanji. Then I took a walk to the konbini for more coffee and a donut. In crossing, I saw Yamachan, who is one of the commentators on Terrace House. I tried to catch up to him but couldn’t. Anyway, the plane was taxing out for takeoff when a sensor went off and we had to turn back around. A tired needed to be changed. We were delayed somewhere between 3-4 hours. I slept on the plane but it was broken sleep. Got home, took a shower and went to the office for an hour. Then it was a team event. After that, I got a haircut and hung out with my nieces and nephews until I got tired.

I’ll make an effort to write about my trip more over the next week.  I’ll post some pictures too.

I’m a couple days behind on blogging about my trip but I’ll have time later today during the train ride back into Tokyo (city).

I had a memorable first (full) day yesterday.  I met a new friend and we went to Kamakura and Enoshima. I believe the first place went to was Myohonji temple and then we went to Enoshima Island.  On the way to Enoshima Island we stopped for a meal since we were hungry and have been walking all day.  I was really surprised that my friend was so thoughtful and unselfish she was.  We went to a restaurant to eat and she doesn’t even eat shellfish.  She said she wanted me to enjoy since I’m a visitor.  What a surprise it was.  I’m so lucky to have met a great person. I woke up early again, well super super early at first, but I went back to sleep since I have a run later this afternoon.  I’m currently hanging out at a Starbucks in Shinjuku.  Completed my kanji lesson and was waiting for the JR Travel center to open up at 8 and it’s now 8:41.  I better get going.

Yesterday and today was a great reminder to be greatful for what I have and to count my blessings.  I’ll login later and post a bunch of photos.

On the plane to Japan, I realized the a lot of my Netflix downloads for a few shows failed.  I ended up rewatching a couple episodes of Terrace house, a Japanese movie called Sakura Guardian in the North from the in-flight entertainment, and an english movie – that for some reason I can’t remember the name right now.   I tried practicing some kanji but during the time it was a little challenging due to the little turbulance.  So I ended up watching a few things on my never ending youtube playlist, which, I can now cross off.

I think it was my first time in a while that I rode on ANA.  It was great.  I sat in premium economy so I had extra leg room.  The gave a few meals and plenty of snacks.  Also, they gave us a face mask, toothbrush, etc..it was prety cool.

It’s now Monday morning April 2nd in Japan.  I woke up super early at 4:30am. My host family is still asleep. I decided to get up and get ready. Then I took a stroll down the street to family mart to pick up a few things. Of course I bought mentaiko onigiri, canned coffee, and a egg salad sandwhich.  I was looking forward to it when I went to bed lol.  I also picked up a few toiletries that I forgot to bring.  Here’s a few shots I took on the walk this morning on the way to the konbini (aka Family Mart).