To Toyooka City

So, my new home will be somewhere in Toyooka City in Hyogo Prefecture

Here are some pictures from the city's website:

I will be southwest of Tokyo (about 4 hours away via train) in the Kansai region - home to the Kansai dialect! This will be something I will have to get used to considering I have been learning standard Japanese. Of course, people in Kansai know standard Japanese too but the dialect is still used. I have plenty of friends who grew up there that can speak it, so I'll probably be bugging them about how it works :D . The Sea of Japan is pretty close to me. How cool is that? I can go to the beach. Four seasons, apparently, with lots of snow and monsoons. A very wet place. It makes me a little concerned about my hair (I know that sounds vain, but such is the life of a black women with with a perm). We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Anyway, I'm terribly excited. It sure is nice to actually know where I'll be living! I've been reading more about the area to get at least a little more familiar with it. I wonder whether I will be living in a house or an apartment. I wonder what my neighbors will be like. I wonder what age my students will be! The contracting organization that I will be working for should be contacting me soon, sometime after the 20th, according to JET.

I still have lots to do before I leave - making time with family and friends, finding things I want to bring with me but keeping my suitcase light at the same time, making some money...July 30th is sure going to get here fast the way that the summer is going!