i've decided not to take the vegan shoes i bought to japan and just wear my brother's shoes that i have been borrowing afterall. i bought the vegan shoes because i felt like my brother's shoes just weren't comfortable anymore, that i couldn't walk around as much before getting tired like i used to. to help put back that comfortable bounce in the shoes, i bought some insoles. we'll see how they work out. also, i've been trying to figure out what will be the best clothes to pack for the trip. something that i can layer up for mainland japan and strip down when i'm in okinawa as the two have different climates. i also want to have light clothes in general that won't take up much room in my lugguage. i thought maybe i should do pretty much the same thing as i did in new zealand, which was to only have about 2 pairs of clothes and thermals and wear the hell out of them. twiddle thumbs joked that if i wear the exact same clothes, my pictures from both countries will look very similar! but that's not the reason why we went clothes shopping today for the trip. it's more that both of us just need to get a couple items to be sure we have the most comfortable and versatile 2-3 sets of clothes.

for example, one of the shirts i bought in new zealand and wore the heck out of has a hole and a bleach stain in the front. i don't think it's a good idea to wear such a worn out shirt in japan. plus, it is from a new zealand company and if i am going to wear a t-shirt all over japan, i'd kind of rather it be from a japanese company. basically the idea is that when i travel from now on to buy a shirt from the place i go to and wear the hell out of it. only, i don't really have time to pick a shirt in japan. funny enough, i rant about a shirt but i bought a pair of pants today!