Yes I was a bit anxious about our first travel to Japan; and if you read one or more of the famous books narrating people's lives in Japan, be it nowadays or few hundreds years ago, I’m sure you will understand me!
I mean take for instance “Shogun” by James Clavell and then “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas: two different worlds, so unsimilar it seems almost like a planet away from each other!
So yes, sounds silly but a I was getting all emotional thinking to my holiday in Japan!
Maybe this is why we choose to book an “independent travel” package holiday; we found a travel agency on-line, tell them what we would like to visit and to do and they customised
the perfect holiday for us. And man, it was such a good idea!
the perfect holiday for us. And man, it was such a good idea!
Now, few things about the simplicity of this perfect trip: you can make one decision, one transaction, and you have your holiday nicely organised for you.
They will make all the bookings and they will issue you with tickets, vouchers and instructions so you can navigate Japan on your own like a local and concentrate yourself on getting the very most out of your trip!
We were collected from the Narita airport and travel to our hotel in Tokyo with a comfy bus which made few stops for different hotels; there we were handed this large envelope wrapping in our entire holiday:
- bus/train tickets and suggested schedules (including schedules for 4 hours prior and 4 hours after the suggested time to allow you to choose your own times)
- detailed, easy-to-follow directions on how to travel between all those different locations
- vouchers, bi-lingual maps, addresses and phone numbers for all our lodging
Plus, a mini dictionary English/Japanese - so we can learn how to say please / (Onegaishimasu) and thank you (Arigato) - in the local language. Nice touch this one!
For all those stunningly beautiful locations along the way in the Japanese Alps, we also had breakfast daily - an excellent way to start a busy day when on travelling, plus -most of the time, lunches and dinners; and those were, of course - the best and most exquisite meals we had in Japan!
Now few things we learn on the way:
Laundry: travelling light as I always do - you are definitely going to need to do laundry. But instead of get panicked and use the rather expensive hotels laundry service (like I did…) better check your next destination/s: some of those resorts, minshuku and ryokans on your tour will have a facility room with coin laundry and dryer. So while you are indulging one luxury hot spring bath, your clothes are getting clean. Handy, inexpensive and efficient!
Free internet: as the majority of hotels in Japan offer free internet in their guest rooms we did have free internet in the room in both Tokyo and Kyoto hotels.
The ryokan also provide wireless internet or a public computer in their lobby. However, there maybe also some hotels, ryokan and minshuku that do not have internet access of any kind, especially in remote places, such as national parks or rural hot spring resorts. We had two stops with no internet, not a problem at all.
So bring a book with you!
Luggage: travelling light or not, on and off the bus and trains with your baggage can be tiring. And this is where the incredible considerate and outstandingly efficient Japanese services shine again: if you wish, they will be able to transfer your main baggage ahead, allowing you the freedom of traveling light.
As me, I kept the one small luggage with us with all the necessities for few days and sent the big one two stops further away. How perfect is that?
To finish, we loved it and hope to visit again: so many civilised people all together, such beautiful and unique blend of traditional and modern, spectacular scenic landscape and the best food ever!
All these said, no matter if you are travelling on your own or enjoying package vacation like we did, you will have your perfect trip to Japan.
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| Fuji-san, view from Kawaguchiko |
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| wedding ceremony, Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park, in the beautiful Harajuku neighbourhood of Tokyo |
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| our minshuku in Sirakawa-go: we spent a wonderful afternoon on that sunny porch reading and chatting with all passer by while waiting for dinner |
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| Shirakawa-go |
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| Kamicochi: Hokata mountain range on the background |
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| a street in Takayama |
thanks for passing by!
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