It’s been too long since our last excursion to the land of the rising sun, and yet at it feels like we really were just here. Katie and I found ourselves constantly asking each other in the days before our flight, during our flight, and even after landing and arriving at our apartment in Osaka, “Has it hit you yet?”, and always it was met with a shrug or a smirk or some other nonchalant gesture. This isn’t to say we weren’t totally elated to be coming back or anything like that [quite the contrary], only that even like our first time walking out onto the streets of Tokyo, it just feels like home here. There’s something to the simplicity and ease of getting around and expressing yourself in this country, even as an outsider or ‘gaijin’, that draws you in like the open and waiting arms of a long-time friend.

We initially set up this site two years ago to write about our experiences on our first trip to Japan, and it started off easily enough. We had a post about packing up, another about our flight, and one that covered our first day milling around in Asakusa. That was as far as any of us got. For the two weeks we spent here and as much as we had to conquer, it was just too much. With the constant traveling, sightseeing, drinking, eating, and random hijinks, it was essentially a lost cause by day two. We spent every waking moment on the go, so by the time we ended up back at whatever hotel, hostel, ryokan, or house we were staying in, we were so beat that we were asleep as soon as we hit the bed. We wanted to tell everyone about everything. We really did. It simply was too much to take on, and rather than spending our meager two-week stint in front of a computer screen giving a half-assed synopsis of our day, we opted for the experience, relishing every moment we could. We’re sure anyone could appreciate and understand that, or at least we hope so.

That brings us to today.

Right now we’re sitting in our furnished apartment in Nanba, Osaka with glasses of excellent Nikka whiskey by our sides and the sounds of construction and traffic outside our window. It’s technically day seven of the eighty-four we have this time around, but we wanted to be settled and have something to say before taking on the task of writing a post here every other day or on whatever other schedule we set for ourselves.

So far we’ve visited some of our favorite stores, eaten amazing food, met great people, and taken a bunch of pictures for all of you wondering what hell happened to Terry and Katie, the kids who were supposed to be keeping this blog up to date with all the amazingness that is their time in Japan.

To all of our friends and family, we love you!! Thank you for being awesome and caring enough to want to hear about our lives here.

Here we go!! Keep an eye on this website because the posts and pictures are imminent. Be sure to also follow us on our twitter [@canandstring] as we’ve been keeping it up to date with all the haps in between posts.

Ja Mata!!