5 things to do in Japan!

1. Eat a Japanese style breakfast! I've actually gotten to do this before, but that was years ago under the supervision of a tour group. Last time I had the breakfast at a traditional ryokan. This time, I could either go to/stay at a local hotel since they usually include breakfast and dinner or, go to point 2 on my list. From what I've looked up, a lot of hotels around Akita are pretty cheap though I'm not sure how far they are from Akita's campus. That goes on my to do list of stuff to figure out.

2. Go to an onsen/ryokan! Although I was at a ryokan, I never actually went into the hot springs the night we were there. My friends and I went to a local festival and July is really hot and humid. Hot water didn't really appeal at the time since we were far more interested in cooling. Since I'll have the winter semester, that shouldn't be a problem this time around. Akita of course, has its own hot springs and getting there shouldn't be too difficult. Maybe we Akita students can go as group together since I know other people are interested.

3. I would love to check out a cat cafe, but not sure if there are any in Akita. Every time I search for Akita cat cafe, all I get are videos of Akita Inu and cats.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080316x2.html
I love animals, but the apartment sizes (and that most forbid cats or dogs) can make pets hard to keep in Japan so wasn't sure if I would see them much.I won't spend my entire stay inside Akita so maybe I find one elsewhere, like visiting Kendra in Tokyo.

4. http://www.city.akita.akita.jp/en/sightseeing/park/default.htm Akita has a ton of parks and I would like to visit multiple. I want to do picnics and explore the parks, Japanese gardens, and go hiking. Better yet, most of the ones listed are within a half an hour to Akita station so they should be fairly easy to get to. I better get a bento.

5. Definitely attend some local matsuri. Fall semester means harvest festivals. I'm not sure what kind of activities they'll have on campus, but I wouldn't surprised if there was something around.

Part 2 I'm still debating about. I would do something about the wildlife, but being fall semester, I would have the first half of the semester to do research before everything dies for the winter. I'll finish this post later today.

(Several hours later)
OK, wildlife it is! I will take note of all the kind of critters they have around campus (both insects and animals). If it's something we have like a squirrel, is the color or appearance significantly different and things like that. I plan of taking lots of photos and visiting various parks to increase my chances of seeing different animals and whatnot. I'll still have a couple months from August to work with. I'm hoping to make a detour to Nara or Hokkaido (ideally Okinawa as well, but that's... chotto tooi desu ne?) I also plan on taking a survey of pet names for the few I do run into and what kind of dogs/cats.