Saturday, April 28, 2007

A Prelude ToThe Whirlwind Tour Of Japan

The time has come, Golden Week has arrived, and Jim will be here in about 35 hours.

As I type this, I am procrastinating packing for my journey. I have to go to a meeting for most of the day tomorrow but afterwards, I am on a train to Osaka to mess around for a few hours before getting on my bus, The Mega Dream, bound for Tokyo. The Mega Dream is a double decker wonder of wheeled transportation. The buses here are pretty big and when you combine that with small roadways of Japan, something has to give. What this means is that buses have their own roads and highways across Japan. These routes have several stops along the way toward the bus's final destination and from what I gather, the whole thing is pretty lavish for riding on a bus. The best part is a bus is 1/3 the price of a shinkansen ticket. I am looking forward to the bus ride.

Once I am in Tokyo, I have the morning and most if the afternoon to myself. Jim touches down in Narita airport around 4:30pm and I will meet him there, up until that time, I am left to my own devices. Once Jim touches down, the fun really begins.

For the first two days Jim is here, we will be in Tokyo. After that, we take a shinkansen to Hiroshima to spend a day and a night looking around at all that city has to offer. After that, we head back to my neck of the woods and Jim gets a look at Himeji castle, and then my town. The following days will be spent making trips into Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and most likely, Nara. If we are able, we are also going to stay in a capsule hotel in Osaka for a night, just to see what they are like.

Once the first week is out of the way, things will calm down a bit. I have to work again starting next Tuesday but Jim will be left to roam free and let nature take its course. I am very intrigued to see what Jim ends up thinking of everything. It was fun to have my family here and see what they thought was interesting about the whole trip, now I want Jim's take on everything. I also think I will make a better guide for Jim than I did my family. They came after I had only been here for six months, with Jim I will have had a year and a half to figure out what I want him to see and improve on my Japanese. By the time Ben comes in September, I will pretty much be a professional guide of Japan.

The other cool part about having Jim here is it will be just like we were roommates again. We can watch goofy movies, play games, and just hang out; I am looking forward to it.

Anywho, next time I post, it will probably be from Tokyo. I will definitely be off the grid tomorrow so don't expect to get emails or see me online for the next couple of days. Well, now I really do need to pack so I better get to it, I am just so stoked for Jim to come and to get a vacation.

Oh oh, one more thing before I forget. One of my pics on Flickr got me invited to join an invite only photo group on that site. The funny part is that wasn't the pic I expected many people to like. Either way, that made my night last night when I found out I got noticed by someone.

Ok, now it really is time to pack. See ya'll later!!

1 Comments:

At 11:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy Golden Week you bloody legend! I can't believe it's been a year already. Make sure you pick up a copy of 'Deathnote' manga series when you're in Tokyo town. Have an awesome time with you're mate, and when you're in the hotels, keep an eye out for Lupe. Rock on, Word up, Peace out. Ja mata.

 

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