It's almost been a year, and I'm starting to feel my travel bug getting antsy. Luckily, I have a trip to Japan coming up in short order, and like my Europe trip, I will try my best to capture as much of it as possible on this blog.
Japan is the target destination because I've always been fascinated by the country and its people. They embrace tradition and family, while pushing the bounds of technology with elegant determination. Besides their contributions to advancing science, it is no secret that they value beauty - I'm looking forward to showers of cherry blossoms, serene landscapes, and handcrafted masterpieces.
Since I love cycling and heard about tours in Japan, I'll be kicking off my trip with a cycling tour that will start in Fukuoka and end in Kagoshima. From there, it'll be a crazy rush through Hiroshima, Kyoto, Takayama, Toyama, and Tokyo.
Research
Compared to Europe, I took a much more laid back approach to this trip, partly because I knew that joining a tour would alleviate a lot of planning effort. Therefore, picking the right tour was important - I looked for credibility, an interesting itinerary, cherry blossoms, hot springs, and affordability. After combing through many websites and emailing a few different companies, I finally decided on Japan Cycling Tours. Why? Prompt communication, the tour group leader hails from Portland and is an avid cyclist, the itinerary is packed with local culture and food, and it was within budget.
For the rest of the trip, I did end up going to the library again and grabbing "Discover Japan", which is part of the Lonely Planet series. What I learned from Europe is that reading guidebooks is great to get a general idea of what tourists do; but for me, I was much more fond of living like the locals. Therefore, the majority of my notes for Japan came from advice given by people who had previously travelled to Japan or lived in Japan. The vast amount of enticing recommendations made my mouth water and my heart beat faster in anticipation!
Based on my friend's suggestions, I planned sample itineraries for each day, and listed all the places to fill my tummy!
Reservations
Unfortunately, despite tracking flight costs, I was unable to take advantage of any seat sales due to my firm travel dates. I did see a lot of great deals for flights in March and April, but the dates just didn't work with my schedule. For future reference, I'd keep flexibility in mind and try to take advantage of amazing deals (I think I would have been able to fly from Vancouver to Tokyo for around $1000).
I did book my Japan Rail pass - keep in mind that you must obtain the pass prior to arriving in Japan. They ship the documents pretty quickly - I received mine within a few days of placing the order online.
Since I did my research a bit late (within a month of the trip), I was also unable to secure tickets to some of the museums (e.g. Ghibli Museum). I didn't realize how popular some of the attractions are (they limit the number of visitors per country) - so my advice would be to look up what you want to do as early as possible and make the necessary reservations before you find yourself empty handed.
One other reservation I made was for a Pocket Wi-Fi device, that would connect to the mobile network in Japan, and provide me with unlimited Wi-Fi for the duration of the trip. For about $6 a day, this was definitely worth it!
Accommodations
Luckily, this time around, I had great help with accommodations! The tour company took care of all the reservations for the cycling portion, and my travelling companion was gracious enough to take the responsibility of booking hotels for the remainder of the trip. Booking months in advance turned out to be required, especially for the cherry blossom festivals, since Japan is a mecca for tourists during the spring season.
More Preparation
As for everything else, I am thankful I was so diligent with noting everything down for Europe because it became a checklist for this trip. The only other thing that I purposely sought out was a decent backpack - lightweight, conducive to cycling, with waterproofing.
More to come!
Japan is the target destination because I've always been fascinated by the country and its people. They embrace tradition and family, while pushing the bounds of technology with elegant determination. Besides their contributions to advancing science, it is no secret that they value beauty - I'm looking forward to showers of cherry blossoms, serene landscapes, and handcrafted masterpieces.
Since I love cycling and heard about tours in Japan, I'll be kicking off my trip with a cycling tour that will start in Fukuoka and end in Kagoshima. From there, it'll be a crazy rush through Hiroshima, Kyoto, Takayama, Toyama, and Tokyo.
Research
Compared to Europe, I took a much more laid back approach to this trip, partly because I knew that joining a tour would alleviate a lot of planning effort. Therefore, picking the right tour was important - I looked for credibility, an interesting itinerary, cherry blossoms, hot springs, and affordability. After combing through many websites and emailing a few different companies, I finally decided on Japan Cycling Tours. Why? Prompt communication, the tour group leader hails from Portland and is an avid cyclist, the itinerary is packed with local culture and food, and it was within budget.
For the rest of the trip, I did end up going to the library again and grabbing "Discover Japan", which is part of the Lonely Planet series. What I learned from Europe is that reading guidebooks is great to get a general idea of what tourists do; but for me, I was much more fond of living like the locals. Therefore, the majority of my notes for Japan came from advice given by people who had previously travelled to Japan or lived in Japan. The vast amount of enticing recommendations made my mouth water and my heart beat faster in anticipation!
Based on my friend's suggestions, I planned sample itineraries for each day, and listed all the places to fill my tummy!
Reservations
Unfortunately, despite tracking flight costs, I was unable to take advantage of any seat sales due to my firm travel dates. I did see a lot of great deals for flights in March and April, but the dates just didn't work with my schedule. For future reference, I'd keep flexibility in mind and try to take advantage of amazing deals (I think I would have been able to fly from Vancouver to Tokyo for around $1000).
I did book my Japan Rail pass - keep in mind that you must obtain the pass prior to arriving in Japan. They ship the documents pretty quickly - I received mine within a few days of placing the order online.
Since I did my research a bit late (within a month of the trip), I was also unable to secure tickets to some of the museums (e.g. Ghibli Museum). I didn't realize how popular some of the attractions are (they limit the number of visitors per country) - so my advice would be to look up what you want to do as early as possible and make the necessary reservations before you find yourself empty handed.
One other reservation I made was for a Pocket Wi-Fi device, that would connect to the mobile network in Japan, and provide me with unlimited Wi-Fi for the duration of the trip. For about $6 a day, this was definitely worth it!
Accommodations
Luckily, this time around, I had great help with accommodations! The tour company took care of all the reservations for the cycling portion, and my travelling companion was gracious enough to take the responsibility of booking hotels for the remainder of the trip. Booking months in advance turned out to be required, especially for the cherry blossom festivals, since Japan is a mecca for tourists during the spring season.
More Preparation
As for everything else, I am thankful I was so diligent with noting everything down for Europe because it became a checklist for this trip. The only other thing that I purposely sought out was a decent backpack - lightweight, conducive to cycling, with waterproofing.
More to come!
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