My dream:
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been in love with Asian culture. Perhaps I was inspired first by my love of sushi or panda bears. Whatever it was, I was hooked on this beautiful culture, specifically Japan. It has always been my dream to visit Japan. When I was 10 years old, my dad promised that by the time I was 15, he would take me to Japan. Unfortunately, that never happened and now I am trying to become responsible for taking the trip of my dreams! I want to go to Japan to eat the amazing cuisine (sushi being my favorite food), see all the amazing buildings and crazy artwork, and to just bask in the beautiful, modern culture of Japan. My dad manages a music company and one of his clients, a beautiful jazz singer from Eugene, is very popular in Asia, specifically Japan. They have traveled there for her shows 4 or 5 different times and my dad always sends me pictures and brings back the weirdest, but coolest gifts. Below is a picture of a box of gifts my dad sent me from his most recent trip to Japan in February.

Gifts from Japan © 2015 – Molly Altomare

This package included Pocky which is a chocolate covered breadstick-type snack, other Japanese candies and snacks, a pair of Japanese chopsticks, a Hello Kitty flashdrive, a beautiful Japanese makeup bag, and a few other random souvenirs. I love receiving these gifts from my dad because it makes me feel like I am one step closer to actually being in Japan. I want to finally experience this with my dad since it has been a plan of ours for about 10 years and I am determined to make it happen.

How others have accomplished this dream:

It was difficult finding articles on people fulfilling their dreams of traveling to Japan but I found plenty of articles and websites that were helpful for budgeting and getting the most out of the trip for the least amount of money. These were helpful because they make my dream more realistic by knowing the ways I can save money.

This article Japan – Lonely Planet had vast information on Japan such as Highlights, Places, Things to do, Hotels, Essential Information, Tips & Articles, and an Image gallery. There are so many pieces of information on this website that are important to know before a trip to Japan! A lot of the pages show approximate costs for each activity or thing you might spend money on, which is very helpful when trying to budget. There’s also tons of information on places to stay and how to get the most out of your Japanese experience.

20 Ways to Visit Japan on the Cheap is an article showing twenty different ways to make your trip to Japan nice & cheap but still full of memories. Some of the tips include: Travel off-peak, find free sights to visit, shop at Japanese “dollar stores” for souvenirs, don’t leave tips. The last one caught me off guard. I would feel horrible if I didn’t leave a tip somewhere simply because I was cheap or trying to save my money, but as it turns out, tipping is not a custom in Japan and is often taken as an insult. However, it’s a good way to save your money!

I’m lucky that my dad has been to Japan a few times so he knows his way around, as well as tips to save money there. If I do end up traveling there with my dad, he will be able to show me around and take me to places that will fulfill my experience for cheap.

Barriers / Support Systems:

I know my parents will always support me. Whether or not I go with my dad, I know that he would still be willing to pitch in to my Japan fund to help me out and make my dream come true. I think the only thing holding me back is money. I am a college student who is currently not working here in Corvallis and a trip to a foreign country is rather spendy. However, someday I hope to come up with the money and make it happen. Perhaps I will start a Japan fund right now to get myself on the right track!

Analyzing needs & desires:

Since my only barrier seems to be money, the only thing I really need to do to overcome that barrier is to come up with the money! I could start working here in Corvallis to try and make enough money to at least get me started and truly plan my trip to Japan. I could also potentially start up a GoFundMe or Kickstarter account online to have people donate to my trip. I have seen many people do that before and it seems to work really well! Lastly, if I was desperate I could take out a loan or borrow money to take my trip and pay it back when I come back.

Current Finances:

Below is a chart of the approximate expenses in order to travel to Japan. This is based on a month-long trip. I have supplied a cheap option as well as a more expensive option for all of the things within my budget. Of course the goal is to be able to travel luxuriously and spend money on expensive things, but unfortunately that might not be the case for a poor college student!

Overall, once I’ve made/saved enough money I think I will be able to make my dream come true. This dream has been very close to my heart, as it is one I’ve always wanted to share with my dad. I really hope that someday I can make it come true!