It had been a while now that I went away for a couple of
weeks and I am eager to leave. The anticipation for this trip is great and the
best feeling ever.
Not only do I feel the need for a holiday, but I also need
something new again; new memories and new adventures.
This time I planned to visit Japan. A few people have asked
me already why I chose Japan and not somewhere warm for this time of the year.
This is easily answered, because firstly I actually can now afford going to Japan
and secondly because it was my lucky draw from the travel pot .
I am still longing to only travel in my life and can’t quiet
grasps the idea of settling down, even though I have made the decision to
finally give it a go and start beginning of next year to save for my own home
instead of traveling. Not the easiest decision I have ever made, but I believe
it is the right way to go (I still have my weekend breaks!).
Here some information on how I started to plan the trip, still not finalized 1 day before departure date:
Research on Japan
Research on Japan
Based on the gathered information
I created my initial itinerary. This had changed a lot during my planning, only
just to realise that the original itinerary is pretty much the same as todays.
This only happened because I wanted to see everything, but had to priorities.
People on the TT are usually very very helpful!
Itinerary
Itinerary
This is now my final version; however
this is still open for changes as I go along. I just make sure I get again away
from Tokyo for my flight home:
Narita Airport to Tokyo
Tokyo
DAY TRIP Kamakura
Tokyo to Nagano
Nagano (Matsumoto)
Nagano to Takayama
Takayama to Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto to Osaka
Osaka
Osaka to Nagoya
Nagoya to Magome hike to Tsumago
Tsumago (Kiso Valley Region)
Mt. Fuji
Tokyo Narita Airport
Accommodation
Narita Airport to Tokyo
Tokyo
DAY TRIP Kamakura
Tokyo to Nagano
Nagano (Matsumoto)
Nagano to Takayama
Takayama to Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto to Osaka
Osaka
Osaka to Nagoya
Nagoya to Magome hike to Tsumago
Tsumago (Kiso Valley Region)
Mt. Fuji
Tokyo Narita Airport
Accommodation
I had started looking for people
to host and meet me already before I even had a proper plan. Certainly not the
best way to find hosts on couchsurfing, as you change your plan too often and
may annoy people. I was lucky this time and found some really nice people that
patiently waited for my final confirmation of days and dates. I still haven’t
booked accommodation for all the places I am going to, but might do that on the
way.
I also booked a few nights in between
www.hyperdia.com was used for all trip planning and I have
also bought the 14 days JR Pass on the following websites. It seemed like a
legit site, so I will let you know how that worked out: www.japan-rail-pass.com
Otherwise I have used Hyperdia only to know
how to get from one place to another.
Money
I still haven’t exchanged money; I tried to
do that during my lunch break and after work, but I was either too late or the
exchange rate was too expensive. Now I will do it just tomorrow on the way to
the Airport.
Phone
I have checked that my phone is working, however people will not be able to contact me on my English Number. After I had done some research, I found that you can't simply buy a sim card, like in other countries. It may come as a surprise to some that roaming with your existing mobile contract from your own country will actually work out to be even cheaper than using a Japanese SIM card!
I am not interested in dataplans, since most hostels/hosts have wifi, McDonalds/Starbucks etc. so I was only looking for calls and message options. In most forums you will find information on sim cards for iPhones and data plans:
Information to PAYG Sim cards
http://www.softbank-rental.jp/e/rental-plan-ib04.php
http://supermerlion.com/japan-sim-rental-and-prepaid-sim-cards/
I have now found the following for myself:
https://www.mobalnarita.com/
According to the offer, I am getting the handset and card for free and only pay when I make calls and send message, however I will only be using it to RECEIVE calls and messages from people I am going to meet and use my English Phone for outgoing calls and message, since that turns out to be the cheapest way. I will know more once I pick it up at the airport.
Insurance
Since it is going to be cold in Japan I have
prepared with some shopping and hope that I have all I need to stay warm. I have also stocked up on the some travel hygiene
products and other essentials such as a multi adapter, small torch etc.
So all in all I think I have quite a lot prepared already. I know that it is not as much as others would, but to be honest, most of the time it all comes together anyway in regards to the activities. I still remember the days when I used to plan every single day of trip, I am glad those are over.
Packing
Traveling light, so I tried my best and should be able to survive with my 25 liter backpack:
I will report again during my trip in Japan.
HAPPY TRAVELS :D
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