Before leaving Japan, I picked up a diary so I could write about my travels. At first, I was definitely uncomfortable with the whole journal-writing practice. I wasn’t sure if I had to write an entry every day, track all the details, or just summarize. Did I need to write in complete sentences? If you think I was overthinking this–you’re right–and I even wrote in my journal about my struggle to figure out “how” to journal several times. I am definitely glad I forced myself to write at least something, as even today as I read what amounts to a laundry list of chicken scratches, it triggers a number of long-forgotten memories.
Below are a few pics of my journal (forgive the handwriting, it was meant for my eyes only.)
Inside cover. 
My first entry… probably written in Kansai Airport 
“Oozing out serenity” 
Bug poem 
The Cockroach