I called our dog sitter today and she told me she was going to take care of my overweight Chihuahua. Right after getting off from the phone with her, a flush of excitement went through my body.  It was quite strong. I am leaving for Kyoto exactly in three weeks. My parents and my brother’s family still live in Tokyo and I am not telling them that I am coming to visit Japan. This is a huge deal. Please don’t get me wrong, I enjoy visiting my family every time I go back. I have to admit however, I don’t feel like I “travel” when I visit my family. I enjoy the food, hanging out and catching up with them but it is visiting my family, not a travel experience. Kyoto’s history starts in year of 794 when Emperor Komu stated Kyoto as the capitol city.  It is 1200 years old and there are over 3,000 temples in the city.  Millions of old buildings are still intact. Not like in Seattle (ugh! Ugly new developments!), …