Life in a Few Suitcases

Before we left lots of friends asked how we were going to pack for this trip. It was really overwhelming thinking about clothing in different climates and different geographies, as well as very different cultures. We've now moved from beach weather at San Agustinillo to a cloudy winter in Tokyo, so we have shifted our clothes from summer to winter.

We’ve been trying to consolidate so that as we move around a lot in these first two weeks in Japan, we can travel with even fewer suitcases— in total one large suitcase and one carry-on, plus a personal backpack. 

It’s really wild when I compare this to the boxes of clothes that I moved from my closet down into storage for the duration of this trip. I have with me only a handful of sweaters, a few pairs of pants and lots of socks, and with that, we are thinking less about style and more about function. I feel good about that generally, though I do look around at the super stylish people of Tokyo, and wish that I could upgrade my wardrobe (I may still make a few purchases)!

One ridiculous packing flaw — I helped the kids choose clothing that would be quickdrying and lightweight, and as a result they are walking advertisements for Nike, Adidas and Under Armor, which feels really ridiculous. I will try to trade out their shirts one by one with locally bought T-shirts as we move around!