So! We are going back to Japan in a little less than two weeks.*
I feel lucky and happy that we get to visit again, this time during cherry blossom season in Tokyo and Kyoto and also our nephews' spring break in Okinawa.
Last time was a blast, but we were--or at least I was--so overwhelmed that it felt like a practice round. There is just so much stuff there, and it is all equally interesting, from the ancient shrines to the way they package baked goods, and you will never see it all, never ever. It's a lot like New York that way, except even more vast and also confusing, and the whole thing kind of broke me. In a good way, but still, I felt kind of short-circuited the whole time time. Then as soon as we got home, I couldn't wait to go back.
Plus, and this is kind of embarrassing to admit, last time I was really, really anxious ahead of time about not being able to read the language, and therefore navigate, so I spent far too much of my planning time alternating between worrying about contracting H1N1 and obsessively trying to figure out how to get around--studying train-station exits and walking routes to the hotel in Google Street View. This is not a very good travel strategy, as it turns out!
So anyway, this time I am far more relaxed and since I now know all the signs are in English and that I can figure almost anything out if I just give myself a minute, I've been able to spend lots of time ferreting out interesting sights, shops, and food. Oh, and beer. As in many places, there is a craft beer revolution going on in Japan right now.
Holy Christ, I am so excited. But I'm sure you can't tell.
Here's our preliminary map for our time on the mainland. If anyone knows of anything cool you think we should try, please send it along.
View Japan trip 2012 in a larger map
This time we're also going to fewer places (Tokyo, Okinawa, Kyoto, and a one-night stay in a traditional inn in Nara) so we can spend more time in each and less time traveling around. It's a lot cheaper that way, too, with fewer tickets to buy and discounts for longer hotel stays.
You can rent little wifi gadgets there, so I'll be a walking hotspot--many hotels in Japan don't have wifi because, as I understand it, wifi is for chumps because they have a much more efficient, comprehensive way of delivering access to everyone there. Anyway, I plan on blogging and posting pictures as we go this time, so I hope you will stop by a few times while we're there, just to make sure we haven't gotten lost in the bowels of a train station somewhere.
*I always feel I should add when I write about going out of town on the internet: Friends always stay at our house when we're away. We also have a barky dog now. And a cat who is pretty hard to resist petting but then will use his exquisitely sharpened claws to make painful biscuits on your legs. Ok.