Kyō watashi wa Nihon ni ikimasu

Yes, that's right: I'm going to Japan today. Although I have a few other travel plans in the pipeline, this trip will be my main adventure for the year and I can't wait. Japan has been on my travel to-do list for a while, and I'm looking forward to the food, the shopping and, of course, the culture that is Japan. I'll be spending a few days in Tokyo before exploring other parts of the country and wifi-permitting, I'll be blogging about some of my experiences along the way.

Although I could probably pack everything I need in my cabin-size Samsonite case, I was worried about the amount of retail therapy I would do (hello, Mr 12-storey Uniqlo; hello, amazing stationery stores), so I'm taking my slightly bigger but super-light Antler Revelation case, which worked out very well for my trip to Costa Rica last year. I'm also bringing my go-to holiday handbag — my medium Longchamp Le Pliage in slate grey — and a crossbody brushed leather bag I picked up on sale in Madewell in New York earlier this year, which functions as either a smaller handbag or as a carry case for my DLSR and spare lens.

I haven't flown this far west in over a decade and the east-bound jetlag will probably feel weird. But I'm hoping that the sights and sounds of Tokyo will be enough to tire me out and get me acclimatised pretty quickly. And of course, my inner linguist insisted that I learn some basic spoken Japanese. I feel like I have a fair grasp of the basic grammar, but am sorely lacking in vocabulary. With its three scripts, I didn't even bother with the written language, but I'm sure I'll manage.