Thursday, 6 November 2014
Why Japan?
I've always wanted to go to Japan ever since I was a little kid. I was very fascinated with the country, I use to watch lots of anime as a kid, which is 95% Japanese that has been dubbed into English. As I grew older, my interest in anime developed even further. Realizing that the episodes they showed on TV were 2 years out-dated to the episodes shown in Japan, I started watching numerous upon numerous hours of anime in Japanese with English subtitles online. I picked up a couple of words of the language as well as began to realize that I was being exposed to Japanese culture. The shows contained actual cities, sceneries and often issues that occurred in real-life Japan. From Edo Castle to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the famous Mt. Fuji. In world history class, we learned about the different periods in Japanese history, the feudal lords, the rebellions, things that made me dream about going to Japan. Well that time has finally arrived!
Who and When?
My younger brother and I would go together without our parents. My brother possesses similar interest in Japan as me and for very similar reasons. This would be our first trip this far away from home without our parents, which is a huge step. This means responsibility for both of us, especially me since I am the older one. It also means more freedom and enjoyment; the sights my brother and I are interested in may be very different in taste compared to what our parents would want to see. Our stamina and young age will definitely play a role in the difference of our experience rather than if it was our entire family. This will also give us a chance to bond in ways that would not have happened otherwise. Perhaps, we will learn new things about one another that we never knew, as we would definitely show sides to ourselves that we would shy away from showing had our parents come along.
(Me: left, my brother: right)
(Me: left, my brother: right)
This trip will happen for two weeks in July 2015, from July 5th-19th to be exact. This is peak season for travel, so air plane tickets will be expensive, but this is the optimal time for the both of us. I will finish undergrad this year at Western University and my brother will be finishing 12th grade. So it is a transitionary summer for both of us and seems like it would be the best time to go on vacation before we get busy with the next phase in our life.
Prelude to the Flight
A single round trip found through tripadvisor.ca comes to about $1 634. The WestJet airlines flight departs on Sunday July 5, 2015, from Pearson to Haneda airport in Tokyo. The return flight is from Narita airport, Tokyo back to Pearson leaving on Sunday July 19, 2015. So our stay will be two weeks long in total, and the total for 2 people comes to $3 268 for airfare alone.
Secondly, lets not forget the currency conversion: 1 Canadian Dollar = 100.86 Japanese Yen
This trip is thematic in the sense that 2 weeks is nowhere near enough time to experience a local perspective in a nation as vast as Japan. One can try, but it will not be complete, at least not the whole experience. Therefore, there are certain things that we will spend more time on and sight-see. As the tourist, our journey will be focused with a historical element as both of us originally became interested in Japan because of its history. So we will pay special attention to the palaces, castles, shrines, gardens, museums and sites of historical importance, as well as enjoy some of the local festivities, activities and cuisine.
Things to pack and bring along include:
- clothes for 2 weeks
- toothbrush, razor, basic hygiene supplies
- laptop and charger
- dictionary
- phone, can use wifi to call home if needed or buy a local calling card
- backpack and 1 suitcase
- camera
- dictionary
Secondly, lets not forget the currency conversion: 1 Canadian Dollar = 100.86 Japanese Yen
This trip is thematic in the sense that 2 weeks is nowhere near enough time to experience a local perspective in a nation as vast as Japan. One can try, but it will not be complete, at least not the whole experience. Therefore, there are certain things that we will spend more time on and sight-see. As the tourist, our journey will be focused with a historical element as both of us originally became interested in Japan because of its history. So we will pay special attention to the palaces, castles, shrines, gardens, museums and sites of historical importance, as well as enjoy some of the local festivities, activities and cuisine.
Things to pack and bring along include:
- clothes for 2 weeks
- toothbrush, razor, basic hygiene supplies
- laptop and charger
- dictionary
- phone, can use wifi to call home if needed or buy a local calling card
- backpack and 1 suitcase
- camera
- dictionary
Week 1: Castles and Palaces
Staying true to our cause, the first week will be devoted to mainly old Japanese castles.
The very first place we'll go to is the famous Edo castle (also called the Imperial Palace), the poster boy of Japanese palaces and architecture.
(Edo castle)
We'd spend about a day exploring Edo castle and gardens, learning about the Tokugawa shogunate that ran Japan from 16th-19th century. The weather is amazing at this time of the year, temperatures in the 20's and is mostly sunny.
At night we'd stay at a nearby hotel that is booked beforehand, enjoy some ramen or authentic Japanese street food most of the time.
(ramen)
Next day, we use the local buses or Japan Rail to get to Kumamoto Castle, another very historic land mark.
(Kumamoto Castle)
The next 5 days of the journey includes a similar process, travelling to Kyoto, Fukuoka and then finally Nagasaki via Japan Rail. Other castles we'll explore includes Osaka castle, Fushimi Moyoma castle and Shimbara Castle. We may take one day off in between to relax. We will most likely eat the cheaper street food, but may dine in proper restaurants such as the Sushi Bar Yasuda, to get a taste of authentic Japanese cuisine. Our over night stays will be in cheap hotels away from the main cities that we can get to by bus, that we will have booked prior to coming.
The very first place we'll go to is the famous Edo castle (also called the Imperial Palace), the poster boy of Japanese palaces and architecture.
(Edo castle)
We'd spend about a day exploring Edo castle and gardens, learning about the Tokugawa shogunate that ran Japan from 16th-19th century. The weather is amazing at this time of the year, temperatures in the 20's and is mostly sunny.
At night we'd stay at a nearby hotel that is booked beforehand, enjoy some ramen or authentic Japanese street food most of the time.
(ramen)
Next day, we use the local buses or Japan Rail to get to Kumamoto Castle, another very historic land mark.
(Kumamoto Castle)
The next 5 days of the journey includes a similar process, travelling to Kyoto, Fukuoka and then finally Nagasaki via Japan Rail. Other castles we'll explore includes Osaka castle, Fushimi Moyoma castle and Shimbara Castle. We may take one day off in between to relax. We will most likely eat the cheaper street food, but may dine in proper restaurants such as the Sushi Bar Yasuda, to get a taste of authentic Japanese cuisine. Our over night stays will be in cheap hotels away from the main cities that we can get to by bus, that we will have booked prior to coming.
Week 2: Exploring the Cities
Once we're at Nagasaki, the south end of Japan, we will pretty much retrace our steps except this time explore the cities, whilst still paying homage to our joint interest in Japanese history.
I've allocated 3 days in which we have to get back to Tokyo. In those 3 days our stops include Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nagoya. Among these sites, includes the symbolic torii gate and the Kinkaku-ji, also known as the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto.
(Left: the Golden Pavilion, right: the torii gate).
We will again be using the Japan Rail to travel back to Tokyo. Once back, we'll give ourselves 4 days to explore Tokyo and the surrounding area. One day will definitely be spent in Shibuya, a small ward in Tokyo, but is the fashion centre of Japan and night-life central hub. My brother and I are both into fashion, he is much more than me I'd say, so this would be an impassable opportunity for the both of us. We would happily spend all day browsing and shopping the different varieties of clothes among other things.
(Shibuya at night)
Another day will be spent at the National Tokyo Museum, which includes ancient Japanese relics and records of Japanese history pre-dating 2 thousand years! This will be the ultimate cherry on top to our love of historical sites and will hopefully satiate our hunger.
(National Tokyo Museum)
The following day, we will bus to Mt. Fuji (you haven't gone to Japan unless you've seen Mt. Fuji up close I hear). We will have previously bought a packaged one day tour to Mt Fuji and Hakone. The bus tours around Mt. Fuji with a guide explaining facts and the relevance of each point of importance around the large mountain. We will also ascend the mountain, climb about 2300 feet via the Fuji Subaru line. At cloud level, we'll get an amazing view of Tokyo and surrounding area and is a great place to get some awesome photos! Then we come back down and the bus takes us back into Tokyo.
(Mt. Fuji behind Tokyo skyline)
The last day we will use as a free day with nothing planned in particular. We may go sight-seeing some more, walking downtown and exploring the leviathan Tokyo or eating in nice restaurants. We may check-off last minute things on our to-do lists and do whatever we want depending on our mood.
Then finally, on July 19th, 2015, we catch our flight back to Toronto and our long awaited holiday comes to an end!
I've allocated 3 days in which we have to get back to Tokyo. In those 3 days our stops include Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nagoya. Among these sites, includes the symbolic torii gate and the Kinkaku-ji, also known as the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto.
(Left: the Golden Pavilion, right: the torii gate).
We will again be using the Japan Rail to travel back to Tokyo. Once back, we'll give ourselves 4 days to explore Tokyo and the surrounding area. One day will definitely be spent in Shibuya, a small ward in Tokyo, but is the fashion centre of Japan and night-life central hub. My brother and I are both into fashion, he is much more than me I'd say, so this would be an impassable opportunity for the both of us. We would happily spend all day browsing and shopping the different varieties of clothes among other things.
(Shibuya at night)
Another day will be spent at the National Tokyo Museum, which includes ancient Japanese relics and records of Japanese history pre-dating 2 thousand years! This will be the ultimate cherry on top to our love of historical sites and will hopefully satiate our hunger.
(National Tokyo Museum)
The following day, we will bus to Mt. Fuji (you haven't gone to Japan unless you've seen Mt. Fuji up close I hear). We will have previously bought a packaged one day tour to Mt Fuji and Hakone. The bus tours around Mt. Fuji with a guide explaining facts and the relevance of each point of importance around the large mountain. We will also ascend the mountain, climb about 2300 feet via the Fuji Subaru line. At cloud level, we'll get an amazing view of Tokyo and surrounding area and is a great place to get some awesome photos! Then we come back down and the bus takes us back into Tokyo.
(Mt. Fuji behind Tokyo skyline)
The last day we will use as a free day with nothing planned in particular. We may go sight-seeing some more, walking downtown and exploring the leviathan Tokyo or eating in nice restaurants. We may check-off last minute things on our to-do lists and do whatever we want depending on our mood.
Then finally, on July 19th, 2015, we catch our flight back to Toronto and our long awaited holiday comes to an end!
Budget Summary
No trip is cheap, especially to a country like Japan! Don't forget, 1 Canadian dollar = 100.86 yen.
Through the budgeting, I learned that historical site admissions are relatively cheap as are tourist sites in general in Japan. However, the basic cost of living is so high there that food and accommodations make up most of the price of the trip, along with the airfare of course. If only we had relatives there we could crash at for free, but o well!
Expense
|
Expense detail
|
Cost in Yen
|
Cost in Canadian Dollars
|
Airfare tickets
|
$1 634/person x 2
|
-
|
$3 268
|
Accommodations
|
Varies between where we stay, but a safe estimate comes to about 8000
yen/night for a room with a double bed that my brother and I can use
|
8000 yen/night x 13 nights= 104 000 yen
|
$1 032.15
|
Transportation
|
The Japan Rail Pass is the most convenient way to travel and a 14 day
pass is 46 390 yen/person which will cover the duration of the trip
|
92 780 yen
|
$920.80
|
Food
|
The average cheap meal there is about 800 yen/person and at a nice restaurant
is 2000 yen/person.
|
The 13 day stay means there’s 39 meals total per person. If
every other day we have one nice meal that is about 6 nice meals, so 2000 yen
x 6 = 12 000 yen. The remaining 33 meals is cheap, so 33 x 800= 26 400 yen.
So total is 38 400/person x 2 people= 76 800 yen.
|
$762.20
|
Castles attraction prices
|
This ranges, the Imperial palace is free whilst some aspects of Osaka
Palace have a small fee. To keep this estimate safe, use 500 yen/person per
castle
|
500 yen/person x 2 people x 5 castles= 5000 yen
|
$49.62
|
Golden Pavilion and other sites
|
400 yen/person, assume will go to two other places with similar prices.
|
400 yen/person x 2 people x 3 places= 2 400 yen
|
$23.82
|
Museum admission
|
620 yen/person
|
1 240 yen
|
$12.31
|
Mount Fuji tour
|
13 000 yen/person
|
26 000 yen
|
$258.04
|
Miscellaneous expenses
|
This includes shopping in Shibuya, souvenirs and just stuff we will
buy or spend money in the moment. I will allocate 500 dollar/person.
|
-
|
$1 000
|
TOTAL ($$)
|
$7 326.94
|
||
Through the budgeting, I learned that historical site admissions are relatively cheap as are tourist sites in general in Japan. However, the basic cost of living is so high there that food and accommodations make up most of the price of the trip, along with the airfare of course. If only we had relatives there we could crash at for free, but o well!
Reflection and Final Thoughts
Finally getting to take the trip of my life, I will have learned lots. I will have seen a completely new culture. I, as the tourist, will get a better, more holistic view of what is Japan and can then compare it to what Japan was in my head before I went. I can compare it to how I perceived the culture learned from anime and reading Japanese history. I can also see how I have developed as a tourist, the choices I will have made as to my sight-seeing destinations will play a part. This is the first time my parents are not there to tell me where we are going and me just accepting and following along. I get to choose where I want to go and what kind of tourist I want to be. I will have gained more experience as an independent adult, and thus have grown as a person.
It will also be interesting to see how things with my brother play out. As I mentioned before, our interest in Japan stems from very similar circumstances and reasons, however how this trip plays out may change our perception of Japan. By the end of the trip, mine and his perception could be totally different even though we went to the same places; this would depend on how much we enjoyed each thing and what we got out of it. I might learn that he has very different taste in the places he wanted to go and that would help me learn more about him, so that in future vacations, we can plan better so we encompass more things that both of us will enjoy. Thus, this experience could potentially shape how and what kind of vacations we take in the future and improve our brotherly bond and understanding.
In the end, both of us will have enjoyed the rich historic culture of Japan and we can compare and contrast to what we already knew. We can cement our knowledge of Japanese culture and history through vividly living the sights of the castles, palaces and gardens. We will also get a taste of the modern life in Japan through exploring major cities and eating Japanese cuisine. This would be an amazing learning and enjoyable experience for us, one that I cannot wait to take!
It will also be interesting to see how things with my brother play out. As I mentioned before, our interest in Japan stems from very similar circumstances and reasons, however how this trip plays out may change our perception of Japan. By the end of the trip, mine and his perception could be totally different even though we went to the same places; this would depend on how much we enjoyed each thing and what we got out of it. I might learn that he has very different taste in the places he wanted to go and that would help me learn more about him, so that in future vacations, we can plan better so we encompass more things that both of us will enjoy. Thus, this experience could potentially shape how and what kind of vacations we take in the future and improve our brotherly bond and understanding.
In the end, both of us will have enjoyed the rich historic culture of Japan and we can compare and contrast to what we already knew. We can cement our knowledge of Japanese culture and history through vividly living the sights of the castles, palaces and gardens. We will also get a taste of the modern life in Japan through exploring major cities and eating Japanese cuisine. This would be an amazing learning and enjoyable experience for us, one that I cannot wait to take!
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