Itinerary

Departing from the airport:

12:45PM 4/14

Leaving Japan:

5:30PM 4/22

Hotel:

Hotel Monterey Hanzomon

Places to visit:

Studio Ghibli Museum

Akihibara

Shibuya

Kobe

Kyoto

Kamakura

Tickets Purchased

Tickets were purchased on March 10th.

On a much more sour note, news struck that massive earthquakes and a tsunami hit Japan… I really hope everyone is okay. I remembered my friend was in Hawaii and was worried for her with regards to the incoming tsunami. She was able to contact me through facebook before everything and I’m more than happy that she’s ok.  You’ll get through this, Japan. You’re one REALLY tough nut.

Moving About

From the information I gathered…

JR Rail pass is a great way to travel within Japan; ANYWHERE the railway can go, you can too which is pretty expansive. But, it’s ~340 bucks for a 7 day pass. And since we plan on staying mainly in Tokyo and do not want to spend a decent size of our time traveling on a (bullet) train, no matter how cool it is, we are looking at the Kodama Puratto Economy Plan.

The Kodama Puratto Economy Plan is ~119 one way, you can only purchase it at certain locales(JR Tours Office in Tokyo Station or Shinagawa Station). It is essentially a discounted bullet train ticket. For a Tokyo-Kyoto and back trip, it seems like our cheapest option if we plan on mainly staying in Tokyo.

More details about Kodama Puratto Economy Plan here: http://tokyoexpert.blogspot.com/2009/02/kodama-puratto-economy-plan-discount.html

Can’t Wait Can’t Wait Can’t Wait

I’ll be going to Japan, god willing, on the 16th of April, Saturday evening. First time out of the country; with all of it’s anxiety and issues, I can’t wait.

Tensions are high, what with the immediacy of the trip and the constraints that time puts on us. The week of April 18th will be Spring Break and a hefty week in-between jobs, so timing will be everything if spending more than 3 days in Tokyo are in the plans.

However! The planning and research has been going well and nothing seems to have changed yet, so things are looking good.

Nitty gritty of packing:

• Plane tickets
• Passport
• Awesome sweet camera
• Travel notebook
• one roll of toilet paper
• Comb
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Floss
• Towel
• BC Pills
• 6 pairs of pants
• 5 shirts
• 3 jackets/sweaters
• Nice skirt/dress
• 7 underoos
• 7 pairs of socks
• Extra hairbands
• Cell phone charger
• hat
• Tennis shoes for walking
• Casual dress shoes for struttin’
• MP3 player and charger
• Bring one laptop to charge phones off of and to exploit free wifi and plan day trips off of
• Exchange money in Japan at 711 or post office (NOT AT AIRPORT: RIDIC RATES).
• Have some yen ready at or before landing?

More to add…

And while looking through info links about Japan and Tokyo, I came across some amazing articles about top notch sushi in areas we plan on visiting.

Tsukiji fish market, you so interesting: http://www.ededition.com/sushi-dai-tsukiji-fish-market/
Sukiyabashi Jiro, you so out of my reach:  http://www.alifewortheating.com/tokyo/sukiyabashi-jiro

Photo from the A Life Worth Eating blog