It took over two weeks to finally finish packing... I filled my hiking backpack to perfectly 50 lbs and managed to squeeze 13 bundles of nori into my tiny carry on. Hopefully, I haven't forgotten anything, but *spoiler* I arrived in Japan and I'm quickly realizing that I could've bought half the things I packed over here!
Here are a few pictures of the process. Yes, I know how messy it looks. It was VERY messy, but now it's sparkling clean and that's what matters!
I ended up using vaccuum bags to seal up all my packed clothes, and I used the leftover bags for storage to clear out my closet and drawers.