When preparing your overseas research schedule, it is important to incorporate leeway into your planning. People tend to squeeze a lot of things into their schedules in an effort to visit many places efficiently, but once you are overseas, you will sometimes find yourself having unexpected encounters, or valuable opportunities to visit places that are not on your itinerary.

For example, in Lisbon, in addition to the meetings with people planned, there was an opportunity to speak with other curators and learn more about the local culture and artists. In Sydney, a string of coincidences resulted in the chance to hear directly from Japanese artists working there. And in Los Angeles, the director of the archives visited turned out to be proficient in Japanese, leading to a detailed explanation of the items in those archives.

These kinds of things provide perspectives and information that are not a part of the original plans, but allow you to broaden the scope of your research. And, if you exchange contact information, you can ask additional questions after returning to Japan, and get advice in preparation for your next visit.

It is also necessary to incorporate leeway into your travel time, because transportation systems and traffic conditions differ from city to city and country to country. Creating an itinerary that is not overly crammed with activities and incorporates some leeway will allow you to take advantage of unexpected opportunities and lead to more useful research.