Final Japan/Guam thoughts!

So I know that I am a little slow on the Japan / Guam blogging. With the issues with the iPad and the moving directly after returning from Japan, then the holidays it has been literally crazytown here!  But I wanted to share some final thoughts on my fabulous 50^th birthday trip!

So the most difficult part of the trip for me was definitely the food. The shrimp/shellfish allergy makes food choices nearly impossible in an Asian country. I knew that. But I didn’t realize the extent of the language challenge would contribute to this. Explaining cross-contamination is difficult when there is a language barrier. I made do, but going forward any Asian trips that I take (and there WILL be more- looking at your South Korea) I will make sure to pack loads of snacks, granola bars, peanut butter crackers, etc. At least this gives me something to snack on while I walk around for two hours looking for a place to eat that won’t kill me!

The trip itself was harder due to the length of time it takes to get over there, and the jet lag. Jet lag is a real thing and although I have had multiple trips internationally before, Western Europe normally provides me with a one day jet lag and then I am good to go. Not so in Asia. It took weeks (literally) after I returned to the US before I slept through the night. Sigh….

There is also a difficulty with simply finding places. Often I find a shop or restaurant that I am interested in finding because it holds some interest to me (the chopstick store in Tokyo or perhaps the leather purse and shoe store in Rome). I want to visit these places and in Japan I found that the streets are more difficult to navigate. There may be street signs (sometimes) and if you find one, sometimes they are in Japanese only, or both English and Japanese. But I found it to be a bit more difficult; perhaps because many places are in the lower level or basement areas (due to the real estate shortage in Japan) and often times there are no signs pointing the way. Realize that going forward you would need more time to navigate.

All in all I loved the trip. Even with the food issues, my wonky back and my knee injury it was a great trip and I am so lucky to have been able to travel to Japan and to Guam to see family. Until next time (and I am looking at you, London)…….

November 30- Kyoto

November 30, my last day in Kyoto and my last full day in Japan.

Today there were two specific items that were on my list to see - Japan "must sees" if you will. So as normal I headed out early. 

First up? The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. This is a famous bamboo forest grove located in the outskirts of Kyoto. Thanks to my fabulous JR pass, I am able to take the JR train out there at no additional cost. I love that JR pass!  

Note- most of the trains in Japan have the announcements and signs in English as well as Japanese. Either in the verbal announcements or the signs on the train itself (often both). The JR train to the Saga- Arashiyama stop does not have that. The announcements and the signs are only in Japanese. You need to find a seat where you can watch out the window so you know what stop to get off on. Luckily I figured that out quickly!

The actual bamboo forest is about a 10-15 minute walk from the train stop. Easy to find, but you have to pay attention because you walk from the train station through some residential areas. It does give you a nice glimpse of the residential homes of the locals, which is always nice. 

Words cannot accurately describe the bamboo forest. It was short in total "walking time", but so peaceful, calm and well, Zen. I loved it. I could have stayed there all day. And as I was walking through the forest, who drives by on bicycles? The Couple My Age from yesterday! No kidding. As they drive by on their rented bikes, the man of The Couple My Age shouts out "Hey Boston!

 How you doing?". You can't make this stuff up, kids!   :)

After spending some time at the forest, I wanted to then travel to the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine. This is another famous "must see" in Japan and you might recognize the signature red shrine gates often seen in tourist guides. Again, the JR pass paid for itself, as I took the JR train from the Saga- Arashiyama stop back to Kyoto station, then changed trains to go to the Inari train stop. All under the Jr pass. Did I mention how glad I was to have this thing??

For as calm and peaceful as the Arashiyama bamboo grove was, that was the complete opposite of the Fushimi Inari shrine. But also, by that time it was well past the 10 am hour and people were out and about. Throngs of people. Many, many people. With children. And old folks. And children.  Sigh...

But again it was worth it. So very impressive, and the steps throughout the shrine leading up to Mt. Imari under those shrine gates really are amazing. Although crowded, I highly recommend that you visit here if you are able. I was so glad that I didn't miss this and even though it is outside of the city proper it is worth the trip. 

Yeah, I climbed those steps!

As this was my last day in Japan, and I was going to fly back home tomorrow I wanted to spend the remainder of the day just wandering. I headed back on the train to the Kyoto station and after a brief rest at the hotel went back to hang out around the hotel area. There is not really much around the Kyoto station area, but there is a huge mall in the station proper. I wanted to grab a few more trinkets (mostly some food /tea souvenirs). I had a few more gifts to buy and wanted to just wander around. Having the mall inside the station was great as by now it was getting quite cold outside and on and off cold rain sprinkles. I spent some time in the mall area shopping and people watching. 

And then this happened. I stopped at a cafe in the mall for a cup of tea and some kind of pastry. I figured that this of all things wouldn't kill me. As I was sitting down enjoying my meal, the elderly ladies in the next table struck up a conversation. Now, their English was good but still it was not their first language. So I was not getting everything that was said but we chatted on an off about them, me and where I was from. Boston? Harvard University!!  Sigh.....

So we chat on and on about things and the elderly lady (who I later find out is 83 years old- I would have guessed 65) wants to know where I was staying in Kyoto. I tell her across the street at the Kyoto Tower hotel (for it's convenience). She gets very animated and provides me with her name, address and local telephone number. She is going to write to me and if I come back to Japan I have to stay with her at her house as her guest. Because I shouldn't stay in a hotel!  Yeah, that really happened. Apparently this lady is a musician and has played some type of harp/guitar thing (I didn't catch that part) and she has traveled all over the world for 50 years. She insists that we keep in touch and that if I come back I am to let her know. She was adorable. And do I know if she will write to me or if she meant what she said? No idea. But that kids, is why we travel. For experiences like that!  

November 24 & 25

November 24 was Thanksgiving in Guam and I thought a short blog post about the wonderful day spent with family was in order.

Sabrina and James live in base housing on Guam and their neighborhood is similar to other base housing neighborhoods, the kids run rampant and the neighbors all know each other and have get together. One of their neighbors hosted Thanksgiving this year, with about 20 people (plus who knows how many kids!) all gathered at her house. I was invited by default!  :)

It was nice to hang out with the neighbors and visit/ meet new people. Most of these folks are around 30 or so, with young kids. I think that Andrew is the oldest one there and he is 11. I even got to hijack a 4 month old baby and held her/rocked her to sleep. It had been so long since I held a baby!

All in all it was good food, good company and the necessary food coma to put us all in the Thanksgiving spirit! I appreciate everyone inviting me and making me feel welcome!


November 25th in the morning was the day I left Guam to go back to Japan and do the Tokyo portion of my vacation. I had to leave super early in the morning, so James graciously agreed to get up at 3:30 and drive me to the airport! The check in and the majority of the flight was uneventful. I have TSA precheck and apparently I am the only person on the Island of Guam who does. First one ahead of everyone else. And I managed to get in front of the throngs of Japanese schoolboys in their uniforms. So it was a win-win!

The flight itself was mainly uneventful. I say mainly because although I got a great nap at the beginning of the flight, 3/4 of the way into the flight turned into a little bit of drama. Not my drama, however. The young 20-something couple in front of me (Japanese tourists to Guam, I imagine) had the drama. The female 20-something of the couple had got up out of her seat to head towards the restroom. I could tell that she wasn't feeling well, and 20-something male passenger was pushing the call button for the FA. Well as the FA come up the aisle, 20-something female got all wobbly on her knees and basically fainted. And when she fainted, on the way down she hit her head on the seat back (the aisle seat). Luckily she hit the padded part. That's when you see every FA on the aircraft come running with oxygen, blankets, cups of water, you name it. And the obligatory call on the PA for "is there a doctor in the house?". There wasn't.  20-something female was conscious and she was just laying in the aisle with all the FAs well, attending to her. 20-something male was a bit useless, but really they all are. And this is the point where I say to myself that I am glad I had got up about 20 minutes before to use the restroom. Because that's the bastard I am in a crisis. Yep, I went there.

All ends well. 20-something female gets up and re-joins 20-something useless male and they stay in their seats until we land. At which time I find out that there are no paramedics at Narita airport (at least today) and that they would send a "manager in a red jacket" to speak to them and I guess make arrangements from there. I didn't stick around because 20-somethings annoy me. I de-boarded the plane with the rest of the passengers and headed to passport control/ immigration and baggage pick up.

So there you go. Some drama that for once didn't involve me falling down some flight of stairs!  Yay for that!  My next post will be about my day in Tokyo and will include pictures. Maybe I should have taken pictures of 20-something couple?  Hmmm, next time....

November 20 & 21- Guam

**** So a little note about my blog. I found out when I got to Japan that there was a problem with the Blogger app for iPad that I use for my travel blog. Apparently Apple no longer supports the app, and it has gone rogue from the AppStore, nowhere to be found. A bit of Google-fu research told me that what I needed to do is utilize Google Crome to access my blog and blog posts from there. In order to get my pictures accessibly, I needed to use Google Pictures and import my pictures from my iPad so that I can post them to the blog post. That will explain the rather inconsistent posts (content and format) the last two days. Now that I figured everything out, the blog will make more sense. In order news, Google has announced it's latest SkyNet data center for opening 2018!!!  LOL

******

On to the blog post. 

Guam- November 20 and 21, 2016

Got up super early on Sunday the 20th for my flight from Narita to Guam. The actual flight time is about 3 hours long, but since it is still considered an international flight from Tokyo,  you have to get to the airport early. Easy check in, security line and customs processing and I am shopping at the duty free shop and waiting at the gate. The flight to Guam was uneventful. Guam is a holiday tourist spot for the Japanese (closer and cheaper than Hawaii), so the flight was filled with tourists. Landed a little early and made my way to immigration/ passport control. Since I have Global Entry and Guam is a US territory I was the only person to utilize the Gloabl Entry line and breeze right through. Welcome to the USA!

Sabrina and the kids were waiting outside for me and we piled into the SUV and headed toward their home on base housing. She had previously done the paperwork to get me a base pass (post divorce, I no longer have any base privileges). They have a nice 4 bedroom home in a cul-de-saq neighborhood and we settled in for a afternoon of relaxation. The kids were happy to have a visitor and we got caught up and had a great visit. Until 7:30 pm rolled around and I totally crashed. Jet lag is a bitch!!

After a good nights sleep Sabrina and I got the kids off to school and took off for the morning. We drove around a bit, did some errands on base, shopped at the Navy Exchange and went to the beach. The beaches here are lovely, with water as warm as bath water and clear water. Since it was a Monday, it was nearly empty and we spent some time walking around, talking and putting our feet in the water!

After a quick lunch we headed back to the Largest Kmart in the world. Yeah, it's a thing apparently. The Japanese tourists come here and stock up on whatever and bring it back to Japan. I am not really sure of the appeal, but I can check it off my list as "having seen it". We decided to go we plhead back to the house to rest (mostly rest my knee) and so I could write out some postcards. The kids get home from school around 3ish, so we hung out after that (homework, playtime, etc). I planned for this visit to be very relaxing and for Sabrina and I do to stuff mostly while the kids are at school. They are too young to be left alone (11, 6 & 5) so we are doing stuff during the day. It has been a lovely visit so far and the kids are thrilled that someone from family has come out to visit them!

Tomorrow we are planning to go drive the southern part of the island and take some pictures. I am sure there will be more beach time and sightseeing, albeit relaxing sightseeing! 

Guam/ Japan 2016- it's almost here!

Well it’s getting close! Tomorrow evening I start the great adventure known as Guam /Japan 2016!  After work tomorrow I will take a train up to Boston to spend the night near Logan airport. I have a super early flight Friday morning and spending the night near the airport made the most sense. The trains from Providence don’t run (or at least very frequently) that early in the morning and parking up at Logan is insane. So it ended up being easier and cheaper to just spend the night, order room service and take the free shuttle to the terminal in the morning!

My flight from Boston to Detroit will take slightly over 2 hours, then when I land I plan to have a lovely breakfast before boarding the flight straight from Detroit to Tokyo. And yes, it is a long, long, long flight!  Once I get to Tokyo (Saturday afternoon), I booked a room for the night at the only hotel in Tokyo Narita airport. You see, I am doing the Guam part of the trip first. Tokyo Narita (NRT) is approximately 45 minutes outside the city proper. It didn’t make sense to go into the city to just spend the night. There are limited flights to Guam so my flight leaves the next morning (Sunday). Now it sounds like a strange way to plan things, but there really is a method to my madness. You see, by spending the night in the Tokyo Narita hotel, I can acclimate to the time change, shower and rest at the hotel, get a good night’s sleep and a decent meal. And..because I have several hours when I get into Narita (land about 4pm local time) I can activate my JR pass, get some Yen out of an ATM, check out where the NEX train into the city boards, and all that logistical stuff that you need to do. This way, when I travel back to Tokyo, I will have some things taken care of and be more familiar with things and can hit the ground running!

Speaking of hitting the ground… To make things a little more interesting I managed to fall last Saturday down a flight of stairs at my newly purchased condo (don’t even ask). I managed to injure my knee and have been babying it all week in anticipation of my upcoming trip. I’ll live but it will make things a bit more slow moving. Good news is that the Guam part of the trip is going to be relaxation and hanging with the family.

So after more than 6 months of planning the trip is nearly here! Can’t wait to see Asia (or at least part of Asia)!  Stay tuned, more to come!!!

Information about the Japan Rail (JR) pass

Hello all!

Well it has been a while since the last travel blog post and since I am knee deep in planning for the upcoming Japan/Guam travel trip- thought I would provide some updates.  

I have been researching the Japan Rail (or JR) pass and wanted to share my findings. The JR is a rail pass that can be used on most of the regional Japan trains, even the bullet trains (note-not the city subway systems). It is a cost saving overall pass that has some restrictions you have to meet in order to purchase/use it.

Some of the restrictions include

            You have to not be a Japanese resident

            You must be a foreign traveler visiting on a travel visa (not work related)

The cost of course varies based on the length of the pass, adult or child, etc. Basically if you are traveling one way from Tokyo to Kyoto then you won’t save any money because the pass is more expensive than a one -way ticket. However, if you are doing a round trip Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo (or any other city) then the pass pretty much pays for itself. Add in the train to/from the airport and Tokyo proper and you are saving money. Not to mention that you simply don’t have to buy separate tickets every time you travel. And if you decide to change your itinerary and want to take a random trip to another city during your stay you don’t have to worry about buying a ticket at the station.

Note that there is a time limit for the pass. You can buy a 7 day, 14 day or 21 day pass and they are priced accordingly. Last update on the 7 day pass price is Green car (which is like business class) is 38,880 YEN and Ordinary (coach class) is 29,110 YEN (adult prices).  My handy conversion iPhone app says 38,880 is about $365.73 USD and 29,110 is $274.39 USD.  I’m ordinary, BTW. (note shameless Apple plug).

The process:

1.     You contact an agent (or certain Japanese airlines if your air tickets are booked with them) to purchase a voucher BEFORE you get to Japan. This is important

2.     They confirm that you meet the necessary eligibility requirements and issue you the pass.

a.     I contacted an agency listed on the website and they are based in NYC but have offices all over the country (one in Boston).

                                                                 i.     You can only order the voucher 3 months prior to your usage/activation of the pass

                                                                ii.     They can ship it to you if you live far from one of their offices (FedEx charge of $12USD).

3.     When you get to Japan you need to take the voucher to the JR pass desk. There are apparently ones in every major train station and at the airports –once you pass through customs and passport control.

4.     When you activate the pass at the JR pass desk, you need to tell them what day you want it activated on

a.     For example, I am traveling to Tokyo spending the night at an airport hotel and flying to Guam the next day. I will return to Japan on 11-25 and will use my pass then. Since I will be buying a 7 -day pass I will ask them to activate it for 11-25. See? Easy Peasy!

5.     Once the pass is activated I am told that if you know the train you will be traveling on, you can then reserve your seat. Not all trains have seat reservations-so that would be the point to ask the JR Pass desk representative to confirm. I know that the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto takes about 3 hours or so and I sure want to have a reserved seat (I do so love my window seats!).

6.     One other thing. There are several “bullet “trains in Japan. The JR pass is NOT valid for the fastest of the bullet trains (the NOZOMI and MIZUHO trains). My understanding is that these trains just make fewer stops and the other bullet trains are just as fast and IMO worth the price savings to add on 15 minutes or so of your time. Your mileage may vary.

Now for the Hamilton reference!

I called the agency to confirm most of this information and asked about the shipping charge instead of going to Boston to pick up the ticket. It is $12 and for me, it would cost that much to take a train/T to the location, find time to get off work for the only day I am in the city (Tuesday) and lug around my work laptop and crap while doing so. Just mail the bad boy. I did however, tell the agent that if he could somehow get me Hamilton tickets I would manage to pick up the JR pass in person in NYC. We both got a good laugh over that because everyone knows that it is probably easier to fly to the moon and open a Starbucks than to get Hamilton tickets.   (note shameless Hamilton plug).

So there you have it! All about how to buy and use the JR pass in Japan. Inquiring minds want to know!!!!!

http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/about_jrp.html

http://www.hisgo.com/us/contents/index.aspx?lang=en

Japan and Guam in November!!

Well dear readers, I know that it has been quite a while since I blogged about traveling (last trip was Italy in March 2015) but things have been a bit of a mess for a while. Well since things are looking up, it’s time to start traveling again!

Looks like a trip to Japan and Guam is happening!  I know, right????

Let the planning begin!

So I have some family members who are being stationed in Guam this spring. Conversations with them over the last 6 months or so resulted in me thinking that I could spend Thanksgiving with them as they will be so far away from family (and I love to travel over Thanksgiving)!

While thinking of this, I noticed that my airline of choice (Delta) stops in Tokyo in order to get to Guam. So…the rational and logical assumption is that if you have to change planes in Tokyo you might as well see Japan while you are at it! It is such a long trip to that side of the world and this December will be my 50^th birthday. It’s my big trip!!

So other than booking the actual flight from BOS to NRT (Tokyo) I will still have much more planning to do. I will have to book a separate flight to Guam as I used points to pay for the BOS to NRT flight. But still….Japan and Guam!!!!!

Oh and the points thing? Yeah, here’s the breakdown:

Total in USD= $1200.

Total Delta points = 130,00. 

Michelle’s cost  $51.00.

Yes, you read that right. $51 to fly round trip from Boston to Tokyo!!!!