Since starting the countdown to my journey to Japan 104 days ago I’ve started, or continued, some healthy habits that I hope will make my journey better.
Exercise in the morning (and sometimes evening). Even if it is just a couple miles, I have done some exercise every morning ranging from light runs to marathons to Peloton. I’ve done a Peloton session for 80 weeks in a row, and I would imagine I’ve taken at least one run every week, often several, for the past six years. In the last 108 days, I’ve run a marathon and a half marathon and walked 10,000 or more steps every day.
Duolingo, drops, and rocket. I am now nearly ten years on the Duolingo app, with a streak of nearly two years without missing a day. It is a fun companion to drops, which I have been doing since I started writing daily about Japan. Rocket languages, which the library has for free, is a ten-module conversational language app that I used on my commute.
Reading. I’ve reread some of my favorite Murakami books, some books about the places I will travel, a number of Yukio Mishima books, and the necessary guides to areas I will travel, which has left me feeling prepared.
It is a lot of preparation for a trip that will go by quickly, but the preparation was fun and interesting regardless of what happens on the road.