My Personal Bucket List!

Here’s what the bucket list of someone with 20 years of traveling back and forth to Japan looks like. Something about me that I haven’t shared on this blog yet is that I’ll be studying in Japan for a full year starting September of this year! I know that some enjoy going to an unfamiliar place when studying abroad to experience completely new experiences, but studying a year in Japan has been a part of my plan since I was 10 years old! Aside from that, despite having gone to Japan so many times, I’ve never actually lived there before, so it’ll still be a super new experience for me. With all that being said, I plan to do an incredible amount of traveling while I’m there, so I’ve already come up with a huge bucket list to try to chip away at during my year! 

One thing about Japan is that they have the most beautiful aquariums ever! I’m a huge Japanese aquarium nerd, but an even bigger jellyfish nerd. Something about watching jellyfish peacefully float around in their tanks is so relaxing and mesmerizing, I can spend my entire day just watching jellyfish. The aquarium above, is called Kyoto Aquarium and they have around 5,000 different jellyfish of 20 different species, according to this source. I seriously can’t wait to visit this aquarium I know that it’s going to be even better than it looks in the pictures! 

My only food item to share today is called 五代目花山うどん銀座屋 (Godaime Hanayama Udon Ginza) located in Tokyo. This restaurant’s udon has gone viral and has become really well known in Japan because if you’re familiar with udon noodles, it is usually a thick and chewy noodle. Whereas, this udon is flat and wide, not similar to the traditional form at all! It’s apparently very good because they regularly have a two hour wait, so you know when people are willing to wait hours for something, it’s definitely worth it! Because I’ll be in Tokyo for a year, I will 100 percent visit and give it a try. 

Last, is a place called Huis Ten Bosch! Now, you may be thinking, that doesn’t sound like Japan… but it is! Huis Ten Bosch is a Netherlands themed park based in Nagasaki on the Kyushu island. I know that I said I’d be focusing on the Honshu island, but I recently discovered this theme park and I didn’t wait a second to put it on my bucket list. Not only do they have incredible flowers blooming in the spring and absolutely beautiful lights (referred to as イルミネーション [illuminations] in Japanese) but they have so many activities to do there. You can be taken around the area on a gondola, zip-line, ride the world’s largest carousel, explore a chocolate entertainment house, and so much more! You can see everything they have to offer here. Of course a Netherlands themed park couldn’t beat the actual Netherlands, but for those like me who wish to travel Europe, but may never be able to, it’s like a fairytale place to visit.