Weren't you just there?

[rkold]

For those who don't know, I'm returning to Japan on the 22nd. Originally I was thinking of going to Doll Show, but given a choice between Doll Show and traveling with ee970 travel always wins out. For one thing, she is willing to go to Hanamaki onsen with me! ♥ I am excited to go back to Tohoku since it's a good way to catch more sakura. I might miss peak again but I am hoping to get something in Morioka, Kakunodate, Hirosaki and Hiraizumi. I would sort of love to go Hokkaido and the Shimokita peninsula but I am not sure if that is going to work out. I did book my nights in Ariake for SCC+Dolpa.

I'm also attempting to get things worked on for Passover, that is not going as well. lol At least the basement is now clean and smelling of bleach.

For those who don't know, I am completely in love with the movies Departures (Okuribito) and The Professor and His Beloved Equation (Hakase no Aishita Sushiki). I would highly recommend both if you get a chance to watch them, though both of them were handkerchief movies. Since I flew ANA back from Japan I got to enjoy their amazing entertainment system and watched 5 different subbed movies. :D (The other 3 I saw were Ichi (VERY skippable), Bluebird or Aoi Tori (Thoughtful but sort of ponderous at times) and Suspect X or Yogisha no Kenshin (which I couldn't help but slash and what is up with the Japanese and their love of math geniuses and the Physicists was way more attractive than one should ever be. And now I am seeing it won some awards which is just very... surprising, it was not in the league of Okuribito.

Comments

[ad-exia.livejournal.com]

You do seem to go to Japan an awful lot, you know. XD Not that there's anything wrong with it~!

[winter]

One day my goal is to go to Japan just as often, though right now I'll be happy with my three weeks :) I just booked a hostel 1 subway station away from Ueno... now to get my final sets of theatre tickets and all that'll be left to do is pack.

And I just got your postcard! Thank you ^_^

[spiderlace.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, I'm envious ♥ Do be careful and keep your health up!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Yes, I do. lol I think it can be rather off putting, but more than anything else, I think it is my hobby. I love to see things! :D

[rkold.livejournal.com]

So 3x a year? =D or do you mean all my trips together?

3 weeks is a good amount of time and really there is so much you can see and do during that period.

Yeah the Ueno/Asakusa area is full of cheap hostels. I tend to splurge now and stay in business hotels. I like the luxury of my own private bathroom :P

And I'm glad it made it to you safely. I feel like the last bunch I sent did not do as well.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Awwww I am sure you will get to go back at some point and hopefully you will get to see more than Tokyo!

Luckily, since I did not karaoke this trip, I didn't come back sick :D

[ad-exia.livejournal.com]

Hey, it's a cool hobby! And awesome that you get to do it! :D

[winter]

General amount of your trips ;) My work may frown on so much travelling per year...

That's the good news :) We managed to find a hostel that, for a very reasonable price, has triple rooms with private bathrooms. I think we can rough it in Osaka if we have that to look forward to :)

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I think I'm pretty lucky in general. I am grateful that my husband doesn't mind that I love to travel.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Some have better prices for doubles and triples than they do for singles, it varies. Sometimes a double==twice the single rate and sometimes it is only 1000 yen more.

Did you book Osaka yet? I don't know how sketchy it really is, since it is Japan, but I've been warned there are some areas of Osaka that are sort of sketchy at night because its where all the homeless/day laborers/hopeful day laborers are.

I was pretty surprised I ended up staying at a hotel in Namba for like 5000 yen for a single in January and I managed a tiny double in Shinsaibashi for 9000 yen with breakfast. :3 Though the bed was hard as a rock, the futons at the place in Hakone were nicer.

Actually, in certain respects if you want to go to Hakone that place was a true bargain. It was 7000 or so yen a person for a triple, but it was a small apartment with actual kitchen, so you could cook your own meals! Plus you get to use the hotel's onsen for free. XD;;;

[winter]

I'll keep it in mind for the next time :) For now in Osaka, we're staying in Fukushima, which is supposed to be upscale. And since it's 2500 yen per night per person before some discounts we qualify for, I can't complain :)

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I've never been to Fukushima, usually when I am in Osaka it is to shop, and the places one goes for that are Namba/Shinsaibashi.

You're in Japan for 3 weeks right? Where were you traveling to again?

[winter]

I'm letting fyrie do the planning, but it looks like something like ten days in Osaka (with daytrips all over Kansai), two nights in Hiroshima (with a daytrip to Miyajima), then a day in Nagoya to see Cirque du Soleil and off to Tokyo and environs for a week before coming back to Osaka for two final nights before flying out :) We have to do a lot of work around schedules for various shows we're attending, and we're trying not to kill ourselves with exhaustion as well, since it's going to be June/July.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Will you make it to Koya? I assume some of those 10 days worth of day trips will be: Kyoto, Nara and Himeji?

If you go to Himeji get a combined ticket with the garden, the garden is really spectacular and much larger than I expected.

You should totally go to Kamakura when you're in Tokyo to see the hydrangea. ♥

Are you going to any onsen?

[winter]

Koya's on the list :) We had to give up on Ise for financial reasons, alas (not feasible on the kind of rail pass we're wanting), and of course we're going to Takarazuka as well, possibly twice if we get the tickets.

And my companions, alas, vetoed the onsen idea. Something about a shared Scottish-Australian dislike for bathing ;)

[rkold.livejournal.com]

That's so sad! ;;_;; If you have time from Tokyo, it's not so expensive/time consuming to get to Yunessun in Hakone and they have a large area that is swimsuit. (You take a shink to Odawara and then change for a private line and then just take a bus, if you arrive after 1 pm there are special discount tickets at Yunessun. Odawara is only about 30 mins by shink from Tokyo via the Kodama) It can be a little too popular but it is a good stepping stone for people who don't want to do the whole naked thing.

Well, yes I assume you have a JR pass. I only paid 1000 yen+buses when I went w/mine. You just are more limited because there is only one JR train an hour from Nagoya to Ise. Koya is all private lines also if I remember correctly.

I've just been through Takarazuka, we never got off the train lol

I'm plotting my next trip now. We're hoping to get some sakura in and enjoy some onsens. I'm completely in love with this one ryokan. lol

[winter]

We're not planning to spend a night in Nagoya (just passing through to see the circus), so the Ise trip would have to be from Osaka - I think fyrie calculated it'd be over four hours one way with JR trains, or close to 5000 yen for private-rail tickets if we used these. Our schedule is packed even without it :)

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes it is much more expensive and time consuming trying to get to Ise from Osaka. It's why I waited until I was overnighting in Nagoya to go.

What time does your circus end and are you trying to get back to Osaka or Tokyo? I hope it is day time. I discovered when considering going to see On/Off that the last trains can be earlier than one would think.

[winter]

I'm letting my friends handle that, too, but I recall it's a morning performance - definitely over by 4 :) A weekday, too, so I hope that trains to Tokyo will be running.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Ah morning is good. In general, if you're trying to get 2-3 hours or so from your final destination your last train will be between 19-20:00.

The shinks tend to have a similar schedule on week ends/week days, other train lines that's not true for.

If you're planning on staying out late you sort of always need to think about last trains. They can be super packed and if you're really unfortunate salariman puke ~.~ Though I guess if you get stuck there is always all night karaoke. lol

[winter]

Karaoke is another thing my friends said they Will Not Do ;) They're no fun at all!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Wow, they're really not :P

But no, if you miss the last train, all night-karaoke is one of the cheaper alternatives of someplace to sleep. >>;; The rooms are quite large and have couches and you just ummm sleep until the trains run again, no one forces you to sing. :P It's not the most comfortable, but when you miss the last train sometimes it is your only choice.

[ad-exia.livejournal.com]

Hee, it's definitely good he's cool with it~ He seems pretty awesome all around. :D (And good luck with all your cleaning, BTW! <3)