On another thread I was complaining about how some posters were making me feel aggravated when I realized it is much more likely that my grumpiness is coming from the fact that my next trip is so far away. It was suggested that I share the details of my upcoming travel. It will "keep me off the streets", so to say. Here goes.
At the beginning of this year, I decided to move Japan up my list of where to go next. I originally decided to go on a guided tour due to my anxiety of a new culture, new area of the world and a new language/alphabets. I posted on the forum and many told me that traveling indedpendently in Japan with the assistance of a "travel agent" was completely doable. Tammy kindly shared with me some of her email communications with Karin from Inside Japan. I contacted Karin. I sent her detailed information about who was traveling, what cities were high on our list and what type of sites we wanted to see. Karin sent me a questionnaire to round out the information. Three weeks later she sent me an itinerary. We tweaked it a bit. I have been pleased with our interaction. I have learned that I was completely capable of arranging this trip on my own and I will do that if/when I go back to Japan. It is reassuring, though to have someone available by email and phone to help out if something goes wrong. I will share my itinerary here and then some of the resources I have been using for trip preparation.
Day 1: S2 and I will fly from CLE to MSP at 7 am. S1 will fly from PDX to MSP at 1 am. S1 works the night shift so this won't be a problem for him and I wanted to arrive in Tokyo all together. We will arrive at HND at 2:20 pm.
We will have a driver to transport us to our hotel in Asakusa. Hotel Gracery Asakusa. We have decided to have 2 rooms and we can rotate who gets their own space for the night. The driver will have our preloaded ICA cards (this is in flux due to chip supply problems) and a mobile wifi device. After check in, the plan is to walk the neighborhood and then eat and have drinks on Hoppy Street. Will try Hoppy with Sochu.
DAY 2 We will have a private guide from 9 am to 5 pm. We will use taxi, bus or metro depending on where we go. Our day will be determined after speaking one on one with the guide that morning. We haven't chosen any further dining options in Tokyo as of yet. S1 wants to research some choices. On the top of my list is to travel three streets over from the main drag and go into a small shop in a neighborhood. I want to try out some of my Japanese and have some "local" food. (what an over used term that is!). I am developing a list of things that are musts for me and we will organize each day the night before.
DAY 3 We have the morning and early afternoon to do what we want. I am thinking of Teamlab Planets, Akihabara, Shinjuku and Shibuya as possibilites. I know S2 wants to go to a Pokemon center. We will hopefully have Sumo tickets provided by Inside Japan. The tournament is all day, but we will likely just go in the afternoon as the top dogs start at 4:00 pm.
DAY 4 We have a one hour bonsai class scheduled followed by a visit to the Shunkaen Bonsai Museum. Enjoy some Tokyo neighborhoods.
DAY 5 Get on our first Shinkansen and arrive in Kanazawa at 1:30 pm. Visit Omicho market. Sleep at Hotel Intergate Kanazawa.
DAY 6 Private guide from 9 am to 5 pm. Visit the castle complex and the gardens. Visit the Nagamachi samurai district.
DAY 7 Day trip to Eihei-ji Temple, a working Buddist temple complex. I am planning on reading "Eat, Sleep, Sit" by Kaoru Nonomura prior to this visit. He was a salaryman that quit his job and spent a year training at the monastery.
DAY 8 Travel by Shinkansen to Kyoto, arrive just after 1:00 pm. We will have a 30 minute Kenbu (traditional sword dance) performance followed by a 30 minute class with katana sword techniques and sensu folding fan. Sleep at Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station. ....continued.