Japan

[Drunk Monk]

After Tara completes the bar, she'll have a two month break. She's planning to travel and we're supporting this as part of her graduation present. We've been discussing plans for a few months now, and we're on the cusp of buying airline tickets. The plan so far is for me and her to got to Japan for two weeks - Tokyo & Kyoto - then I return home because two weeks is as much as I can get off. Tara really wants to travel on her own for a bit, so she's planning to go onward to Okinawa, and then to South Korea. She''l spend almost a month on the road. 

Needless to say, we're both excited for it. Tara is too focused on graduating and switching to Bar prep mode. For me, it's a major bucket list box to check off. I've been in Narita airport in transit but that's it for Japan. Stacy has already been and won't be joining us (one of us has to tend to Yuki and his meds). 

More to come...

[Greg]

Cool beans.

[thatguy]

Are you aware of ZipAir? They are a budget airline that flies direct SJ -> Tokyo
  
SJ -> Narita, Tokyo, Japan ~$300-500 Std (not flat - "full-flat" is much more $$) - Luggage extra, no stewardesses; order food/drink via some app: https://www.zipair.net/en/about_zipair

https://www.zipair.net/en/booking/calendar/outbound

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

The reviews on zip air are so negative. We both explored it and decided against it.

[Drunk Monk]

Air tickets purchased. Hotels are getting lined up (including the Godzilla hotel in Shinjuku). 

Now the plan has evolved to a week in Tokyo, almost a week in Kyoto, two days in Osaka, then I come home. Tara continues to Okinawa for another two weeks.

[Drunk Monk]

Got reservations here for a few nights
https://gracery.com/shinjuku/

[Drunk Monk]

Next week I'll be landing in Japan. Trying to sort all the apps and such. The JAL app kinda works but Tara is having issues (might be her phone operating system is too old). I got my tickets lined up on my JAL app, but I can't sort meals and the website doesn't acknowledge my flights so I can't change meals. I got the Rail Ninja (luv dat name) app to work for the bullet train. It's all so weirdly convoluted.

[Drunk Monk]

Wait! Are you going on some sort of trip? You've been pretty cagey about that....

Mostly because I've been doing so much other stuff - SDCC > Days Between > OSL plus remember I'm still working a full-time job plus a side hustle as a publisher. Tara has had Bar > OSL > moving from the rabbit hutch to Hendon. We're just getting to the part where we're figuring out what we're doing. Stacy set up our itinerary, which was so generous of her. It's a week in Tokyo, a week in Kyoto, and a few days in Osaka, then I come home and Tara travels on to Okinawa for another week. 

I've only been in transit in Narita for several hours on the way to China. This will be my first time to actually set foot outside of the airport.

[Greg]

I was being facetious.

[Drunk Monk]

Honestly, I don't know wth we're doing in Japan. We've got flights, hotels, and one bullet train reservation booked, and a list of odd things we might like to see. Kinda figuring that out now which feels late to me. Usually I plan my international trips better.

[Greg]

You are screwed. I'm guessing Japan isn't for beginners.

But you will have a great time. My jealousy burns deep green.

[Drunk Monk]

I'm guessing Japan isn't for beginners.

I'm not a beginner, but my Japanese is pretty weak. 

And then there's this:

'Unprecedented' rain in Japan kills eight people
6 hours ago

Kelly Ngand
Kurumi Mori,Tokyo correspondent

At least eight people have died as record rainfall pummelled eastern Japan and left thousands stranded at Tokyo's Narita Airport.
The rains, which authorities have described as "unprecedented", cut power to more than 20,000 households in Chiba prefecture.
Local authorities issued a level five emergency warning, its highest alert, on Thursday. This was downgraded to a level four by Friday morning, but they continue to warn of landslide and flooding risks.
The deluge comes after a series of storms swept through Japan and neighbouring countries this week, in what meteorologists forecast to be an unusually active typhoon season.
Reuters
Cars were left abandoned in the streets of Oamishirasato, in Chiba
Japan's Meteorological Agency said the most recent deluge was brought by warm, humid air flowing into the country's east that combined with cold air above to make atmospheric conditions extremely unstable.
The rains are expected to last through late on Friday.
"This case was an extremely unusual situation, even by Japan's historical weather standards," Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on Friday morning.
"I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this."
Chiba, which sits right next to Tokyo, has logged more than 100mm of rain per hour since Thursday afternoon, authorities say.
This is about three times the average rainfall in August, and the highest volume of precipitation ever recorded in the country.
Authorities would prioritise saving lives and persist with rescue efforts, Kumagai added.
At least eight people have died, according to reports from public broadcaster NHK, Kyodo news agency and Asahi newspaper.
Among those killed was a woman who died inside her car submerged on a flooded road, authorities said. Two others collapsed along the streets and later died.
The Japan Meteorological Agency earlier described the situation as an "unprecedented level of heavy rain".
Several rail services remain suspended on Friday morning while some major highways are also shut.
More than 100,000 households have been asked to evacuate on Thursday after the rain triggered landslides and power outages.
Reuters
Thousands were stranded overnight at Narita as the storm disrupted transportation to and from the airport
All flights were scheduled to operate normally on Friday, a spokesperson from Narita airport said. Flag carrier Japan Airlines said some of its flights may be delayed but that it does not expect any cancellations.
Passengers were stranded at metro stations, while around 1,800 people spent the night at the Chiba Prefectural Government building.
A woman in Chiba's Ichikawa city told NHK the rain "happened all of a sudden so it was a complete surprise".
"The power is out so I'm worried whether I can open my business in the next couple of days," she said.
Meanwhile in the Philippines, authorities have again shut schools and government offices are again shut in most of the country's north, citing the threat of floods.
Earlier this week, Japan, the Philippines and China were hit by back-to-back storms – Dolphin, Chan-Hom and Peilou – churning across the region at the same time.
Dolphin brought heavy rain to Japan's Okinawa island, cutting power to tens of thousands of buildings, toppling trees and cancelling flights.
Over the weekend, Chinese authorities evacuated more than a million people from their homes as Dolphin, the strongest typhoon to hit China so far this year, made landfall in the country's east.
Additional reporting by Julie Masuda

Fortunately we're not flying into Narita. We enter in Haneda.

[Greg]

I meant in general. Some countries are easier to travel to than others. It's pretty simple to travel to London without too much bother. Japan, next level. Maybe the level after that.

[Drunk Monk]

The language is the trick, but I'm planning to invest in one of those better translator apps. 

I just used google trans for China in 2024, but I can almost get around on my broken Chinese so that was more for some in depth convos I had privately. It was wonderful when having tea with my master in Luohe.

What gives me pause is that my broken Japanese keeps defaulting to Chinese when I can't find a word. That's bad because my surname is Chinese and there's no love lost between the two nations of my bloodlines. I always made an effort to not be Japanese in China. It'll be harder going the other way. 

I've gotten a lot of travel advice from friends, including one wasian, and one Chinese. They all say it's fine. 

My biggest worry is that there will be a kaiju attack. But our second hotel is the Godzilla hotel in Shinjuku, which I'm very excited about. Our first hotel is in a historic district. The first big challenge will be navigating from the airport to that hotel after a long journey there.

[thatguy]

Is Gojira the protector or the destroyer of Tokyo? I'm guessing if it's a different kaiju, Gojira will save you...but if it's just Gojira alone, you better have a plan B

--tg