The "butterflies in the stomach", "nervousness", "too excited to fall asleep" doesn't seem to apply to me and wilson.
But now, since I've maniacally planned for AGES for this upcoming Japan trip, researched through wee hours, obsessively hand-written all my itineary and whipped (almost) the three boys into doing their homework to contribute to our trip planning... we're finally moving into the countdown period!!! LESS THAN A MONTH TO GO! *gasp*
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| Handwritten Itineary |
change money - checked!
book air tickets - checked!
book all hotels - checked!
plan itineary - almost there!
pack bag - not yet!
Now my No. 1 priority is to get Wilson excited too so that we can be in the same psychotic state once we step onto the land of the rising sun. Mr Ho takes time to warm up. I secretly downloaded a countdown widget and placed it rather prominently in his moblie phone. It has minimal effect. Perhaps it will take a week or two to work it's magic.I must find alternative methods in the mean time. Maybe I'll sing him a song every day. Plant the idea like INCEPTION. woo! If this method fails,I will show him daily pictures of food we'll get to eat in Japan. Mr Ho is more receptive when it comes to food. This plan might work.
Just to commerate the moment and also to remind myself how obsessive compulsive I can get when it comes to planning, here's the milestone:
- My first email out to the boys was titled "Japanese Ryokan (traditional Inn) in Tokyo". This email was send on 18/10/2010!! This email was sent post-research so we probably started planning in September 2010!?
wahahahaha one entire year of planning. insane.
- Sept - Dec 2010: Research planning on accomodation and transportation related information
- Dec 2010 - current: On-going research to improve itineary
- January 2011: Initial trip costing drafted
- February 2011: Homeikan (ryokan) room reservation made.
- April 2011: revised trip costing
- June 2011: revised trip costing
- July 2011: Super Hotel (hotel) and Khaosan Kabuki (budget hotel) room reservation made.
- August 2011: Air tickets and Willer Express bus pass purchased. Senkei Plaza Inn (Hakone hotel) room reservation made.
- September 2011: Ghibli museum tickets purchased.
[photos to be posted here]
What were some of the challenges I faced during planning? I recall several occasions when I felt absolutely frustrated, baffled and confused. But with the help and strength garnered from Mr Ho, I pulled through!
Danlin-the-great and khim khim helped a lot too with the information they freely shared.I am blessed to have friends like that who shared my anticipation and were enthusiastic about keeping me informed.
MAKING SENSE OF INFORMATION THAT IS NOT STRAIGHT-FORWARD
Trying to figure out how on earth to get to Hakone and to do an accurate calculation of the cost can be such a pain in the ass. Having a lot of "one-day" pass or similar in Japan is good for saving cost but it can likewise be utterly baffling if one is not sure what to look out for. planning what to do in Hakone is just as confusing but luckily I have Danlin's previous trip's itineary to use as a gauge and from there I searched out bits and pieces of information. The last thing I need is to lose our way and waste precious time. I've gotten a few "I think so..." answers from various people, even those at NATAS fair but seriously? "I think so..." is almost as good as "I don't know". I cannot tahan ambiguous answers!! RAWR!
Arashiyama in Kyoto is another Hakone-like maze for information. Thank god I understand a little bit of Japanese. Frankly speaking, one can find loads of information when planning for trips to Japan but what's ironic is that a lot of information are also not readily available in Japanese especially discount coupon printouts or when the Japanese websites are more sophisticated and detailed than their English sites.
There's a lot of 1 + 1 = 2 involved!!
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| Example of a Japanese website offering better info. |
DECIDING ON THE DAILY ITINEARY
Had to ask myself this question. Do I want to cover many parts of Japan or do I want to have ample time to know each part of Japan? I dislike rushing for places and constantly re-packing my stuff to get to the next train/bus/flight to the next place. I like leisure walks and discovery of a neighbourhood. Bearing this idea in mind, this was how I planned our itineary. Of course, I had to seek confirmation from the others to see if we share the same thoughts. There was a wee bit of brainwashing involved. *rub hands*
SO,waking up early and returning late to maximise our day is a must. Seriously. Saving time in certain area (e.g. lazing in hotel, over-sleeping) means giving ourselves more time for other activities (longer leisure walk). This also explain why I'm so obsessive about the need to get our homework done and facts right so that we don't waste time getting lost. Half an hour getting frustrated and lost is better spent in a deliberate choice to wander about in a particular neighbourhood. It's about cultivating good and positive energy which heals the soul.
One more thing, having incompatible travel partners... kills the spirit. RAWR!
GATHERING MAPS
One thing I've learnt is that maps are sometimes deceiving. What looks like a breeze to walk is potentially a damn long one... hah! Other than that, maps are damn useful and Japan have a lot of nicely done maps or subway route in PDF format. I now have a new found hobby of gathering maps and there are really all sorts of maps that can be gathered.
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| Left to right: Kyoto bus map, Osaka Subway Map, Directions to Kabuki Khaosan, Hakone Map |
PLANNING CAN BE DAMN FUN
I think when I got past the initial stage of "what the heck am I supposed to look out for" state, I start to enjoy researching online and planning. Well, either I'm sick in the head or something... Otherwise, I feel seriously happy when I finally figure out pieces of information that didn't make sense before or discover new places or interesting facts etc. This is cooler than doing math.
My brain becomes sharper I think. I have to look out for fine prints (which I kinda always do) or invisible prints (means things that don't make sense and I have to start doing the 1+1 thing again). Reading Engrish is also a very painful process.
With the language barrier, I have to learn to ask the RIGHT questions. More importantly, to also ask the questions in a way the recipient can understand. It kinda trained me to think through what I answers am I seeking for before I even proceed to ask.
I get a deeper understanding of places, perhaps a little bit of its history and definitely a better idea of the geographical landscape of that country. My internal north-south-east-west radar is not very good. heh With the amount of pre-trip homework I've amassed, I intend to be a full-fledge airhead when I'm in Japan. I will switch on my auto-pilot mode. Maybe my itineary will have stuff like "walk 10 steps to the left and see tofu shop" or something.
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