One: Learn enough Japanese cooking vocabulary and kanji to be able to use all the amazing cookbooks and cooking magazines (a.k.a. food porn) that surround me. In pursuit of this, I bought a cookbook of 15-minute meals to get started and, as a future goal, a more complicated book of recipes from a bakery called "Ouchie Cafe." I bought it specifically for the goma (black sesame) cookies and the kabocha (pumpkin)-filled cakes. Yum!

Two: Start making quilted things. I noticed when I got to Japan that quilted bags, tablecloths, curtains, etc. are popular in the world of zakka (the Japanese name for household goods and accessories -- I love zakka!). I thought it was a modern development, but when I visited the Hida Folk Art Museum on New Year's Day, I saw tons of quilted bags and hats from at least a hundred years ago. Quilted drawstring bags have been a kimono accompaniment for ages, apparently. This explains the proliferation of incredibly cute quilting fabric at craft stores, as well as all the remains of kimono fabric sold cheaply here. The only problem I face is the lack of a table of normal height, which will make it difficult to use the foot pedal of my sewing machine. What did the Japanese women of olden days use -- their knees?

Three: Take more pictures of the things I eat. (This was inspired by this book: Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth.) I'm kicking myself now for not taking a picture of the amazing breakfast I ate at the minshuku (B & B) in Takayama, where I spent New Year's Eve and Day. It included many elements of osechi ryori, the food traditionally eaten on New Year's: gomame (small dried sardines in a sweet sauce of sugar, mirin, soy sauce and sake); kamaboko (pink and white fish cake -- red and white are traditional New Year's colors); namasu (daikon radish and carrot pickled in vinegar, also considered a red and white food); a small piece of omelette; and a thin chicken and vegetable soup with a giant piece of sticky mochi at the bottom, one of the most delicious soups I have ever tasted.

And after writing all that, I'm kicking myself even harder.