Getting Ready

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It's just under two weeks until we leave for Japan, and I thought I should find a website that I can use for my blog which will then become a book/photo album. I'll give this one a try. I hope someone will read it...

The preparations so far: I have bought a new suitcase. A nice hard one, that rolls on four wheels. We have an old soft one that has two wheels, but I think it's been repaired once already, and I don't trust it any more. (Stephen can use that one!) Also, we have put pieces of paper on the wall to remind ourselves of a) things to get done before we go; b) things we must do in the final week; c) things to remember to take, d) things to do over there; e) things to buy over there; and f) things to ask Giang when we see him.

Giang is my old Vietnamese teacher, and he is now working in Japan, at a university in Chiba. Before he left, he offered us his apartment while he comes back home for his summer vacation. At first I said no, because we had already planned to take a trip to Italy this year, but then I realised what a fantastic chance this would be, so I called him to ask if I could change my mind. Luckily that was ok (it only having taken an hour or two to realise my idiocy) so now, here we are. I asked him for his address so that we could look it up in Google Maps' Street View, so I've now found his neighbourhood and checked out the route to the nearest station. From there I fitted his train line into the greater Tokyo rail system, so I have an idea in my mind of where we will be.

Chiba, by the way, is a prefecture that neighbours Tokyo. A lot of people who work in Tokyo live in Chiba, so we're hoping not to have to take the train too early in the mornings, to avoid the rush of salary-men who will be taking that line, especially as the line joins the Tokyo system at Tokyo Station itself. Although, in my five trips to Japan since 1983, I have never seen those white-gloved "pushers" who apparently squash commuters into the trains so the doors can close. Now I have to consider, how desperately do I want to see them? I have to say, not greatly, but if we end up with a schedule that takes us into Tokyo Station at 8am or so, at least we'll have something to look forward to seeing.

Our plan for the trip is one we have taken from Stephen's parents: alternating excursions and local trips. Although we don't intend to go outside the Kanto area (that is, the prefectures surrounding Tokyo) we'll go to different places in Chiba, while going into Tokyo only every other day or less. Yokohama and Kamakura are on the far side of Tokyo, but should be an easy enough train trip; still, they would count as full day-trips. And my current Vietnamese teacher, a friend of Giang's, who has also lived and worked there, recommended visiting the Izu Peninsula. We might even stay overnight somewhere there. When I first looked up Chiba on Trip Advisor, it only showed seven attractions! (Later investigation turned up more.) But long days interspersed with easier local trips should be doable.

Another pre-trip piece of organisation has been contacting the hotel I used to work at. In 1983 I was working at Noahs Hotel in Christchurch, and a work-exchange programme was set up between Noahs and Shiba Park Hotel in Tokyo. Through that, I worked at Shiba Park for four months, living in an apartment they provided for me. A couple of weeks ago I wrote to them, hoping that there might still be people working there who remembered me and wanted to meet up again. We've had quite an exchange of emails, because there are still people there who knew me, but we're still trying to work out when to meet - they will be away, or working night-shift, or whatever. Now I have left it up to them, because we have no firm plans, and can build our schedule around what suits them.

So that's where we are at the moment. Thirteen days to lift-off. Yay!

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Comments

[Craig Brown]

testing one two.
Sounds great. Have a good trip.