Well, we're almost there.  In exactly 10 days, Jes and I will be landing at Terminal 2 of Narita International Airport in Tokyo.  This blog aims to fill two purposes.  First, to document what is surely to be an amazing trip with my son and share that experience with our family and friends. And second, to serve as a guide for any future trips to Japan or for future travelers to Japan.

Our trip will begin with a quick jaunt leaving from Toronto at 10:21 am for Chicago, followed by a two and half hour wait and a 13 hour flight to Tokyo.

Upon touching down in the world's largest city we'll need to make our way by train for about an hour into Tokyo to the Remm Akihabara Hotel in the Akihabara district where we'll be spending our first four nights.  This is also where I'll be picking up my pocket wifi that I ordered last week from Global Advanced Communications. This is a company that rents SIM cards, phones, and Pocket Wifi access points for travellers to Japan.  Remember the days when we went on vacation and no once could get a hold of us while we were gone?  I miss those days, but at the same time I'm spending hours on research to make sure I don't spend 2 seconds without instant access to the internet.  Go figure.

The train seems to be the absolute best mode of transportation in Japan.  Although Japan boasts one of the most efficient rail systems in the world, I'm really glad that there's an app for that.

Anyway, our itinerary for the rest of the week will look roughly like the following.  Click on the links for more information on the sites listed:

Saturday, April 18
Explore Akihabara

Sunday, April 19
Suginami Animation Museum
Nakano Broadway
Robot Restaurant

Monday, April 20
Gundam Front
Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

Tuesday, April 21
Imperial Palace
Ikebukuro
J-World

Wednesday, April 22
Train to Fujikyu Highland and Mount Fuji
Spend the night at a traditional Japanese Ryokan (Inn) - Hotel Konansou Ryokan

Thursday, April 23
Train to Kyoto
International Manga Museum
Golden Pavilion
Kiyomizu Temple
Kyoto Toei Movie Land
Spend the night at Daiwa Roynet Hotel

Friday, April 24
Bus to Osaka
Dotonburi Street
America-Mura
Umeda Sky Building
Train to Takarazuka for the Osamu Tezuka Museum
Head back to Kyoto around 10pm

Saturday, April 25
Take the Shinkansen for a 300km/h+ trip back to Tokyo for one last day and night to explore Shibuya.
Meiji Shrine
Harajuku
Shinjuku
Spend last night at Cerulean Tower

Sunday, April 26
Fly Home


So, I'm very well aware that this itinerary may seem a little full but the nice thing about just being a couple of guys is that we're pretty much 100% flexible in our schedule.  You know?  As opposed to .... I'll just leave it at that.  The list is just so we have a base to go on and things we know we wanna do so that we don't spend hours trying to decide.

Anyway, as I said earlier, it's my hope that I'll be able to keep this updated on a daily basis.  As an interesting experiment, I'll also be wearing my Microsoft Band with the GPS enabled throughout so that I can log the entire trip.  Will be interesting to see how long the battery lasts in that thing.

Next post - April 17th.. Heading to Sheraton Gateway at Pearson International