Japan was an amazing adventure. Here, all in one place, are my recaps from each day of the trip: Day 1 (Tokyo) Day 2 (Tokyo) Day 3 (Star Wars Celebration Japan) Day 4 (Star Wars Celebration Japan) Day 5 (Star Wars Celebration Japan) Day 6 (Tokyo to Kyoto) Day 7 (Kyoto) Day 8 (Kyoto to... Continue Reading →

Got to ride the monorail today! Unlike at our American parks, the monorail here is not free. You have to use your subway card. This would have been nice to know before I left the room, but it meant I had to buy a day pass with Duffy on it. Tokyo DisneySea had been hyped... Continue Reading →

I didn't even clock the thin layer of underlying anxiety I've had this whole trip until I got here. Am I going the right way? Am I gonna be able to figure out how to order food from this restaurant? Are people staring at me? Why are people staring at me? There's a problem, do... Continue Reading →

There was mist on the mountains of Kyoto when I woke up this morning. It had rained overnight and everything was still very wet and drippy. This was kind of a bummer, because my plan for today was to go wander around Arashiyama, a bamboo forest up on the mountainside. Seemed like a gross day... Continue Reading →

BEST. DAY. EVER. I woke to sunlight streaming into my little guesthouse and had some tea by the window. I was brave enough to order the full Japanese breakfast this morning. There were eggs and fruit, yes, but that's about where the similarities end to any kind of breakfast I recognize. There was miso soup... Continue Reading →

First of all, if I could ride the Shinkansen green car to work every day instead of the Metra...I mean, I'd quickly be broke, but I'd complain a lot less about going in to the office. The Shinkansen is the Japanese bullet train, and the green car is the fanciest section, where you have to... Continue Reading →

At the closing ceremony of Star Wars Celebration, they always show a big montage of everything we experienced this weekend. One of the people they interviewed said, "I'm halfway around the world from home, but I feel like I'm with my family." Same, dude, same. Preshow hype guy DJ Elliott said, "There's nothing like being... Continue Reading →

The ensemble was Imperial today. Although I didn't get any compliments on my outfit, Atticus the AT-AT ALWAYS does. The first panel of the day was the much-anticipated Andor panel, and in the time leading up the the panel's start, our beloved pre-show/hype guy DJ Elliott invited some guests up to the stage. I may... Continue Reading →

Allow me one quick moment to be totally sappy: I have never before felt so strongly that Star Wars is a universal language. Obviously, not everyone here speaks English, and it didn't matter: we all love Star Wars. Today the little stuff impressed strongly upon me, like standing at an art booth and hearing a... Continue Reading →

Being an unabashed theater nerd, one of the things I wanted to do while I was in Tokyo was see a Kabuki performance. Kabuki-Za, the theater here in Tokyo, does matinee performances that consist of a single act of a longer Kabuki work, averaging about 45 minutes long, with English synopses available. The first one... Continue Reading →