Preparing for a Trip to Japan

September 10, 2017

Where shall we go?

When it occurred to me that all five of us have the same Spring Break in 2018, I jumped at this unusual opportunity to travel together without the kids missing work or school.  For our destination, I was hoping for something foreign yet easy and familiar.  To choose where to go, I looked for spring’s lowest airfares – and had all but booked a trip – until two kids squeaked out:  How about Japan?  I’m passionate about taking my kids on an adventure, but Asia is still not quite in my comfort zone … definitely not “easy and familiar”!  I was hesitant, but I’ll admit, baited by a cohort’s promise to plan the trip for us.  Our trip to Asia last year competes with the best of all of our travels, and I would love to expose the kids to that amazing experience … sure, let’s go!

Oh Crap!  Did I make a mistake?

Fast forward to today, 4 months later and no word from the person I hoped was planning our trip.  I am wondering … what was I thinking?  Today was not the best planning day; I was overwhelmed, to say the least.  It takes a LOT to deter me from an adventure, but Greg’s words echoed in my head, “We can back-out now and eat the cost of airfare.”  My goal was to close all my Japan internet tabs but instead I kept opening more and more tabs.  With each click, I saw more dollar signs.  Not only was the lack of affordability a growing concern, but with less than 7 months to go and a lot to figure out, I’m starting to feel pressured. I know this sounds completely silly and ridiculous to most people – but that’s me, ridiculous and overzealous when it comes to planning.  Trying to figure out how to travel through Japan has been mentally exhausting.  It is like learning a different travel “language.”  There is so much to try to grasp – the religion, the huge variety of food, the culture, the sights to see, the trains and transportation, and of course the language (how do they keep track of three types of character sets?!).  I think one of the most difficult aspects has been the exposure to places I have never heard of, and trying to keep them straight – like Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji or Otagi Nenbutsuji and Adashino Nenbutsuji.  Try this tongue-twister ten times fast: Yakiniku at Nakahara!  Oh wait, try to pronounce this shopping street in Osaka:  Tenjinbashisuji Shotengai!

Multiple times today I’ve read that traveling around Japan (on the trains) is “easy” (Ha!  Compared to what?!) but once you get to the city, it gets much tougher because so many people don’t speak English.  Wow, really?  I am very surprised to read that as a general practice, English is not spoken in Japan especially outside of Tokyo.  Don’t get me wrong … it’s not that I expect other countries to conform to me and my lack of ability to speak anything other than English – exposure to other languages and the communication charades game is half the fun of traveling!  Planning trips, I rely almost entirely on websites for information.  But I’m really struggling here.  Most times I click on a Japanese website and unlike other countries, there is often no English option, and often google translate isn’t effective (it doesn’t translate Kanji images).  When I email questions to businesses, at least half do not reply, which is unusual for a county.  Not a video or vlog watcher, I am surprised by my new-found reliance on YouTube videos for trip planning to Japan.  Obviously I’ve still got my research cut out for me. 

Beautiful Sakura Season!

By delightful happenchance, our trip may coincide with Japan’s infamous sakura season, when their sea of cherry trees explode with perfect pink blossoms.  A symbol of renewal and hope, cherry blossom season has been a highly anticipated event in Japan since at least the 3^rd century.  The exact dates are unpredictable this far in advance; generally they appear in Kyoto and Tokyo in late March and early April.  I never gave any thought to the fact that there are over 200 varieties of cherry blossoms in Japan, but if we’re lucky enough to time it right, I suspect I’ll be caught up in the excitement and festivities of celebrating the little pink blooms, take a few (hundred) photos, and maybe even try Starbuck’s seasonal “sakura frappe”!

Foods We Must Try

Before I booked this trip, particularly because I am not a fan of sushi (or fish in general), it never occurred to me that Japan is a top challenger as center of the gastronomic universe!  Tokyo actually has more Michelin stars than any other city in the world, and therefore, is a hot spot for foodies (which clearly I am not). 

Sushi/sashimi, Kobe steak, ramen, tempura, kare raisu, okonomiyaki, yakitori, onigiri, udon, gyudon, matcha, etc. … so much to try, so little time!  Normally we don’t budget much for food on our travels, but this trip is an exception since eating our way through Japan is a focus for us – a significant amount of our expenses will be on food.

For fun, I sent the boys an email titled, “Osaka Sucks:  Look at all this gross food” – total sarcasm for the food they love.  I sent them a YouTube link to a foodie tour through Osaka, otherwise known as “Japan’s Kitchen,” and as I expected, Jeremy was drooling.  “That meatball (dipped in raw egg yolk) looks so freaking good.”  (Check out Mark Wiens’ YouTube videos and website:  migrationology.com)

Our Itinerary

With only 8 days in Japan, we can’t possibly see all its incredible cities and places.  When a colleague discovered that we will not be visiting Nara (the capital of Japan back in the 8^th century and therefore packed with ancient temples and shrines), she exclaimed, “Who is planning your trip?!  You have to go to Nara!” 

For the 8 nights of our trip, we are spending the first night in Osaka (where we land), the next 5 nights in Kyoto, and the last 2 nights in Tokyo (where we depart).  The advice I received was to pick a home-base and take day trips everywhere on the bullet train (using the Shinkansen’s tourist-only affordable train pass).  However, training across Japan every day is not the goal of this trip.  Instead I’ve chosen to spend most of our days exploring Kyoto, the quintessential place to experience historic and ancient Japan.  As the old capital, Kyoto offers so much variety and is packed full of interesting sites to see. 

Despite my initial concerns and the challenges of handling all the planning details, I love that we are going to experience this amazing country!