(Top) GinzaUhm, it’s kinda overdue… but I promised my travel mates to blog about our trip… Since I was the only one religiously taking notes on where & what we do (*hee* occupational hazard 职业病 ), I 身负重任 to put up our travel diary. Apologies for the delay… had to clear work after the 2 weeks trip and had to recuperate from sprained feet…
Although it's my 2nd trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, I was still quite excited about my Japan trip from 10 to 22 Aug 2007. The 1st trip in 2004 was for a cultural exchange programme, so the highlight was homestay with a wonderful Japanese family in Yonezawa.
Having heard "horror stories" of how tourists were shepherded from one tourist attraction to the next to shoot a few pictures without having much time to fully enjoy the sights, we opted to do a totally "free & easy" tour. Didn’t like the 走马看花 style of travel packages where visits to many attractions are squeezed into a couple of days. Heard how 2 colleagues had to switch hotels everyday so they don't remember the names of the hotels they stayed in!
Being a totally free & easy flight, we have to do everything from scratch: from booking our plane tickets & accommodations at the 4 cities to figuring out where & how to go to the various destinations. Once our annual leaves are approved, planning starts! For three weeks before the trip, we decided on the airline to take, cities we are visiting, type of accommodation in each place (the cheapest possible so we can splurge on a ryokan), places of attractions, train schedule and how to get to each place. We gathered for after-work “reconnaissance” sessions to compare notes & confirm the itinerary. Finding a meeting place that provides both wireless Internet access (for us to book online accommodation) & have electric power-points (note: extra laptop or battery will be useful) in the witching hours proves rather challenging – we have to keep changing the venue & drag our bags from a library’s al fresco café, Macdonalds’ café, Hong Kong tea café to hotel lounge. Apparently, some places switch off their wireless networks when they close at midnight.
While information is readily available from print and electronic travel guides & from the preponderance of websites on travel in Japan, synthesising the information literally takes time. As my 3 travel companions & I were busy with work, we would discuss from 7pm to as late as 2am! We were super impressed with this 35-page pdf itinerary that was created by two people who travelled to the same cities. Complete with colourful graphics & exact timings, it sure beats the travel itineraries from tour agencies hands down!
Finally, the big day arrives for our flight!
Our general itinerary is as follows:
9 Aug 23.40 hrs: Depart from Changi Airport T2, Singapore on SQ 638
10 Aug 7.30 hrs: Reach Narita Airport Terminal 1, Tokyo
10-13 Aug: Tokyo
14-15 Aug: Osaka
16-18 Aug: Kyoto
19 Aug: Hakone
20-22 Aug: Tokyo
21 Aug (morning): Yokohama
22 Aug 11.30hrs: Depart from Narita Airport on SQ 637
22 Aug 17.35hrs: Reach Changi Airport T2
Other than SSEAYP, this was my longest vacation ever (shortest was the weekend jaunt to Batam in 2006). I also experienced the worst turbulence during the flights. Although turbulences are expected at night, the flight to Tokyo encountered lotsa rocky turbulences. Was surprised that we experienced more frequent turbulences during the afternoon flight home. The turbulence was so bad at one point that I had to hold on to my lunch tray & quickly finish the drinks to avoid spillage.
Although it's my 2nd trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, I was still quite excited about my Japan trip from 10 to 22 Aug 2007. The 1st trip in 2004 was for a cultural exchange programme, so the highlight was homestay with a wonderful Japanese family in Yonezawa.
Having heard "horror stories" of how tourists were shepherded from one tourist attraction to the next to shoot a few pictures without having much time to fully enjoy the sights, we opted to do a totally "free & easy" tour. Didn’t like the 走马看花 style of travel packages where visits to many attractions are squeezed into a couple of days. Heard how 2 colleagues had to switch hotels everyday so they don't remember the names of the hotels they stayed in!
Being a totally free & easy flight, we have to do everything from scratch: from booking our plane tickets & accommodations at the 4 cities to figuring out where & how to go to the various destinations. Once our annual leaves are approved, planning starts! For three weeks before the trip, we decided on the airline to take, cities we are visiting, type of accommodation in each place (the cheapest possible so we can splurge on a ryokan), places of attractions, train schedule and how to get to each place. We gathered for after-work “reconnaissance” sessions to compare notes & confirm the itinerary. Finding a meeting place that provides both wireless Internet access (for us to book online accommodation) & have electric power-points (note: extra laptop or battery will be useful) in the witching hours proves rather challenging – we have to keep changing the venue & drag our bags from a library’s al fresco café, Macdonalds’ café, Hong Kong tea café to hotel lounge. Apparently, some places switch off their wireless networks when they close at midnight.
While information is readily available from print and electronic travel guides & from the preponderance of websites on travel in Japan, synthesising the information literally takes time. As my 3 travel companions & I were busy with work, we would discuss from 7pm to as late as 2am! We were super impressed with this 35-page pdf itinerary that was created by two people who travelled to the same cities. Complete with colourful graphics & exact timings, it sure beats the travel itineraries from tour agencies hands down!
Finally, the big day arrives for our flight!
Our general itinerary is as follows:
9 Aug 23.40 hrs: Depart from Changi Airport T2, Singapore on SQ 638
10 Aug 7.30 hrs: Reach Narita Airport Terminal 1, Tokyo
10-13 Aug: Tokyo
14-15 Aug: Osaka
16-18 Aug: Kyoto
19 Aug: Hakone
20-22 Aug: Tokyo
21 Aug (morning): Yokohama
22 Aug 11.30hrs: Depart from Narita Airport on SQ 637
22 Aug 17.35hrs: Reach Changi Airport T2
Other than SSEAYP, this was my longest vacation ever (shortest was the weekend jaunt to Batam in 2006). I also experienced the worst turbulence during the flights. Although turbulences are expected at night, the flight to Tokyo encountered lotsa rocky turbulences. Was surprised that we experienced more frequent turbulences during the afternoon flight home. The turbulence was so bad at one point that I had to hold on to my lunch tray & quickly finish the drinks to avoid spillage.
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