A year has passed and it is yet again time for me to embark on another journey. And yet again, my journey leads me to a familiar place that left such a big impression on me for the first time, that I have long wanted to revisit it as soon as possible.
The chirping sound of pedestrian crossings, the sound of clashing sea waves at the Kirara beach, relaxing in an onsen in the evening, reading manga in a capsule hotel, the feeling of the unknown and the chance to test your language skills against native speakers. These are the emotions, sounds and experiences I have dearly missed every day and am looking forward to on my next trip to Japan.
This time, however, it will not be a solo journey. My cousin, a cherished person who makes my day brighter every time I meet her, will accompany me. As such, my plans and itinerary will differ a bit. I will try to plan things a little bit more in advance. Usually, I would just go without a plan and travel solely based on what cities I find interesting, finding activities and attractions along the way. But since I am with another person I would rather we have things planned through and through to stay within our budget and not encounter any unexpected problems that might ruin our journey. As such I will also be reserving things a bit more in advance to save some money and not have to force my friend to stay in a hostel or anything like that. None of us are really fond of them – though I did meet a lot of new people by going to a hostel the last time.
The next big thing that I found interesting was the recent warning about a potential mega-earthquake in Japan sometime shortly. This warning follows the recent 7.1-strong earthquake hitting the Nankai region in Japan. The mentioned mega-earthquake is predicted to be even stronger and the 7.1-strong earthquake was just a shockwave before the real thing. However one thing has to be made clear – this is just a warning, not a prediction. This is a warning that is based on the fact that such an earthquake has statistically a higher chance of occurring after the mentioned shockwave. As such I am not worried. Besides, I will be spending most of my time out of the Nankai region and the farthest south I might go in Kyoto.* So as far as my planes go, nothing has really changed. But I do hope that such an earthquake does not happen as it would be a huge disaster causing the deaths of many people and destroying thousands of people’s homes and it certainly would not make for a great experience as a tourist either. Thus let us hope nothing bad comes out of this.
*After finishing the post, the plans changed a little bit and now I am also going to Hiroshima, but no worries regarding that.
With all this information in mind, here is my plan so far. The first thing on the list is of course Tokyo. There are so many things to see in Tokyo and around Tokyo that one could easily visit it every year and find something new and interesting. And even though I am visiting again I will be visiting many new places for the first time.
The first day will consist of just relaxing and trying not to fall asleep. Jet lag is a big problem for me since I am not able to get much sleep on the plane. As such, I am forced to stay awake for more than 30 hours until dawn, as going to sleep earlier would completely ruin my sleeping schedule while in Japan. I plan to take us to the nearby Senso-ji temple and explore the shopping stores and other things Japan is known for. Just a leisurely walk around the neighbourhood, nothing more, nothing less – for the first day should be kept simple.
There are many places that we intend to visit afterwards. I was especially looking forward to going to Tsukuba Space Center. Alas, I came across the fact that the space centre is currently closed due to renovations – how unlucky can I be. On the other hand, I have a reason to go to Japan again sometime in the future. But fret not; there are many other interesting places. For starters, we will be visiting Akihabara and Shinjuku – this time paying more attention to the Shinjuku nightlife by going to the famous Golden Gai, finding strange vending machines, going to a pachinko parlour and much more. Shinjuku is the center of nightlife in Tokyo and we plan to make the best of my time there. The next day I plan to buy a yukata in Harajuku, a place famous for eccentric and trendy fashion. After that some attractions such as the Shibuya crossing, the Tokyo tower and finally in the evening a boat ride – where yukata is an almost mandatory thing to wear (you get a 50% discount if you wear one!). So we get to experience Japanese fashion and have fun on the boat at the same time! After that, I was planning to visit the Tsukuba Space Center, but nothing will come out of that so I have yet to decide where to go for sure. For now, I have reserved a ticket for a Bunraku play at the Japanese National Theater. I look forward to this as well.
Then comes the last day in Tokyo, when I will be visiting the coast of Tokyo, exploring the Tsukiji Outer Market, taking a stroll across the Rainbow Bridge and visiting other nearby attractions. And after a fun day, it will be time for a night boat ride to the island of Izu Oshima. Izu Oshima is an island south of Tokyo with an active volcano at the centre of the island. Visiting an island was one of the items on my bucket list for a long time, so I will be able to tick the box this time. Avid readers of my blog might point out that I have been to an island before – the Miyajima island near Hiroshima. Well, let’s just say that was an exception (curse you torrential rains – I was not able to visit Tashirojima island because of this). Regarding Izu Oshima, my aim is to explore the island by bike and on foot. The first day explore Mt. Mihara (the active volcano) and the nearby nature and the next day explore the coast on an e-bike. In case of bad weather, well, no biking in that case, but that’s all. It would also be nice to go for a swim in the sea or in an onsen.
After that, the trip spans all the way from Aomori to Hiroshima. That might be quite the distance, but we will be utilizing bullet trains to cover such long distances. Here is the full list of cities and attractions that we plan to visit:
- The abandoned hotel complex in Nikko – there is also a really cool bridge right next to our accommodation,
- Explore the city of Nikko,
- Aomori (and perhaps a day trip to Hakodate),
- Explore the city of Kyoto,
- Fushimi Inari Shrine,
- Arashiyama Bamboo Forest,
- The cities of Nara and Osaka,
- One of the villages/towns near Kyoto (Asuka town, Kuruma village),
- The beautiful Himeji castle,
- Peace Memorial Park Hiroshima,
- Nagoya Castle.
And that is about it. I tried to make an itinerary that spans across the whole of Japan to get a taste of each region. I picked some cities recommended to me (Nikko and Himeji), some places that were on my bucket list (Izu Oshima and Aomori), some places to remind me of the trip last year (Hiroshima) and of course some of the must-see places that everyone who comes to Japan should see (Kyoto, Osaka and Nara). The itinerary is also very flexible about activities and weather. I hope this itinerary will provide a good mix of cultural experiences, exploring nature, pop culture, and everything else about Japan. The only thing that might derail the plan a little bit are typhoons – which I hope there won’t be any. At the time of writing, there was a huge typhoon heading towards Japan, but it should pass just the day before our arrival. So that is all for now, I will keep you up to date with regular posts while in Japan. Until then, it is time I pack my luggage and prepare myself for another unforgettable journey.
