Communication
07 February 2007
Maybe I've been getting ahead of myself a little bit but I've begun to plan out the trip to Japan that's scheduled for this year. I have the tentative dates of 10th May until the 31st, or 1st August until the 22nd. I think those would be the most ideal times to go in respect to the weather, the price of hotels and the price of airline tickets. In any case I would ideally like to stay there for 3 weeks, or failing that a minimum of 2 weeks. I feel that you need that amount of time to really start to get a feeling for the country. I've done a little bit of research on the internet and I've found a decent place to stay in Yokohama. The great thing is that Yokohama is not far from Tokyo so travelling to and from the hotel won't be too much of a hassle. Also the prices are very reasonable - about £80 a week for a single person. Much better than the £30 a night places you'll find located in the middle of Tokyo. My plan is to spend the first week travelling down to the south of the country - Hiroshima, Kyoto and Mount Fuji are planned destinations - where I'll stay in a traditional ryokan. They will cost a bit more per night but since it's only for a few days at a time it won't be too bad. Then for the remainder of the trip head back to the Kanto region and explore the places in and around Tokyo while staying in cheaper accommodation.
That's basically a rough itinerary that I've planned out. I will be fine tuning it over the next few weeks as I work out what I want to be doing from day to day. I will of course allow for unexpected detours should I need to. One thing is for certain, I will spend a single day just sitting in the hotel watching TV and reviewing my purchases. To many people this may sound like an odd thing to do while on holiday but to me it's a dream. I love Japan TV so having it on for the whole day is going to be awesome. Plus it will give me chance to look over what I've bought and see what else I can afford to get. /laugh And trust me, there'll be a lot of buying! I might even have to send the home via airmail to avoid the luggage restrictions.
Of course all this is going to need money. I've estimated I can get away with a bare minimum of £1,500 for 3 weeks:
£600 airline ticket;
£150 for cheap hotel;
£250 for ryokan;
£200 for food;
£100 travelling expenses;
£200 spending money.
That's a very strict budget that won't really allow me to do much. If I were to increase it to a £2,000 budget I would have a lot more flexibility so that's what I'm going to do. Another option would be to compromise by only staying the 2 weeks instead of the 3. I could manage a fairly comfortable trip with only £1,500 then. While that sounds simple enough on paper in reality it's going to take a little bit of saving. That means getting myself a full time job pretty soon. I'd also need to clear some of my credit card debt so that's maybe £1,000 on top of everything. Despite all this I'm feeling very confident though. The dream of visiting Japan is almost within my grasp. I will make it happen!
Posted byHocchan at 4:32 am
I would like to go to Japan next year. Michael and I have talked about going for our honeymoon if we ever get married. My sister goes occasionally for work and she thought about going with me just for fun. Another friend of mine wanted to plan a trip as well, so hopefully I'll be able to go with someone. I don't like travelling alone. I like to talk about the things I see or places I go. It just seems more fun if you can enjoy the trip with someone. A friend of mine is considering moving there this year, so if I do have to go all by myself, at least I'd have someone there to hang out with. Wish I could come with you! But I can't afford it right now, ugh!
It'd be unbelievable if we could go together but I guess it's pretty tough to plan out. You should get your sister to pay for your expenses the next time she goes. /laugh
Personally I like the idea of travelling alone. Just something about seeing new places with no one but yourself. I guess it's the lone wolf in me. Of course it's also great to share those experiences with another person too. I guess there are good and bad things about both situations.
I'm kind of short of money myself too. Or should that be have NO money. /laugh If I win the lottery I'll send you over a plane ticket.