In case some of you observant people have noticed, I have been a bit AFK in the past few weeks. That’s because I’ve been travelling quite a bit… Miami for my friend’s amazing bachelorette, Vegas for my second round of EDC, and recently Japan — because it’s Japan and everyone loves it — plus I was able to nab a round trip flight for less than $400 (which is unheard of) 🇯🇵

Side note: I went on a group study to Japan back in 2017. It was one of the best experiences of my life… and you can read why here. This experience opened up my eyes and led me to study abroad in Singapore for my last semester, and became another one of the best experiences of my life. After my exchange, I went to Japan again with my friend and cousin in the winter!

How did I find such cheap tickets to Japan?

On LinkedIn… of all places!

It was a fine cloudy, chilly December morning. I was scrolling through LinkedIn and saw a post from WestJet sharing the amazing news that they were now flying directly to Tokyo from Calgary.

Out of curiosity, I decided to check out how much the flights were… and could not believe my eyes 👀 Typically, flights to Japan are well over $1,000. But now I had the opportunity to revisit one of my favourite places in the world and indulge in sushi, ramen, and udon — for less than $400! I simply couldn’t resist and booked my ticket. When I checked a few hours later, the prices went up to around $600 (which is still really good).

So, how was my trip to Japan?

Japan is and always will be an amazing place for me to visit. My partner and I visited Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo in the span of 10 days. While I was abroad, I received the sad news that my beloved family dog, Apple, passed away after 15 years with us 💔 This news took a really hard hit on me, and I found it very hard to fully enjoy the wonders of being abroad once again while grieving the loss of my cutest family member… and not being physically by her side during the the final moments. With some effort, I tried my best to be present and enjoy the little moments while I was in Japan. Overall, I still had a great time eating and shopping my heart out — and I will admit that the USD to JPY conversion rate really helped make everything seem more affordable.

What’s next?

Because of how busy the past few weeks have been, I am now feeling quite overwhelmed by the need to catch up on life and all things #kkarenism! Now that my life is kinda returning to normal, I need to figure some things out with Resume Rescue and my newsletter.

For those of you who are travelling to Japan sometime, I am also planning to write a mini blog series with my best tips and recommendations for food and exploration… so stay tuned for that 🇯🇵

Thanks for reading this blog post and checking out kkarenism.com! My personal philosophy is growing 1% everyday through finding inspiration to share with the world. You can learn more about job hunting and career development here and connect with me on LinkedIn 🌻