…… in August! As some of you have noticed I’ve been mentioning it for quite some time but it’s all coming to fruition. I paid for my airfare and accommodation last Saturday along with 3 of 4 other friends, and we’re all as pumped as ever. Of course one of those friends is my dearest Roobar, and it has been 2.5 years since we last went to Japan. This time, it’ll be a much more epic trip for us.
Although there are many differences in the upcoming trip compared to the one in 2005:
- Last time, we went for 18 days and ended up wasting a lot of days doing nothing, this time we’re going for the entire month of August. That’s right, from the 1st August straight till the 31st August.
- Instead of 3 people all together, it’s 5 people. More people means more fun, or more people to help you carry all the otaku goods that will be bought.
- I have a shiny camera. One regret I had last time was not taking enough photos with my somewhat crappy point and shoot. But now that I have a DSLR and most of the equipment I want, I’ll be able to take many many awesome photos. This would have to be the main reason for me to return to Japan, and that’s to do a photo expedition.
- My expenditure last time was only a measly $3500 to use for transport, meals, otaku goods, and covering the cost of shipping said otaku goods. Now that I have a job with a steady income, I will leave with an amount much greater than $3500. How much exactly I can’t say, but it certainly won’t be as much as my fellow companions as they have many reserves of gold. Not to mention they earn more than me, lol.
- Meeting people. Last time I had the pleasure of meeting Shingo of Heisei Democracy, this time I would like to meet him again and many others such as Danny Choo and Hector and any other bloggers who will be in Japan at the time or even Japanese readers of my blog. Going to Japan to do the otaku thing is great and all, but meeting people who share the same interest from different parts of the world make it even better.
The entire trip including airfare, accommodation, taxes etc add up to about $3863 AUD, and this is staying in 3 different places. You’d think I’d be staying to Tokyo for an entire month? No way. The current itinerary is as follows, including some of the things planned during those times:
1st August - 3rd August - Tokyo
- 3rd August - Summer Wonderfest: Straight away of the the 3 major events that we had planned to attend is right at the beginning of our trip. Keep an eye on my blog as I’ll be going around taking photos of what will be there.
4th August - 6th August - Osaka
- Visit places like Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, and Umeda.
7th August - 9th August - Kyoto
- Visit Kinkakuji, Kiyomizudera, and various places around Nara.
- Visit Kyoto Animation and take a picture just like the one below:
10th August - 31st August - Tokyo
- 15th - 17th August - Comiket 74: Having enjoyed the first time I went, I’m totally excited about heading back but this time with a vengeance! I’m more aware of what to do, I’ll have more money, and not to mention I have 4 other people with me. And this means only one thing, EPIC COMIKET BATTLE PLAN, Konata style! I plan to gather the stalls that all 5 of us will visit and work out who should go where and get what for who.
- 30th August - 31st August - Chara Hobby: Two weeks after Comiket and it’s another otaku event to attend. Another one I look forward to however……
- 30th August - 31st August - Animelo 2008: This is also on the same weekend as Chara Hobby, so quite a dilemma here. But the issue I face for this event is acquiring the tickets themselves as regular tickets go on sale in May. The other problem is getting to the airport in time from Saitama. Well the concert finishes at 4pm, and my return flight is 8:20pm so I may be cutting it close, lol.
- Lucky Star venture: Ever since I read Zyl’s pilgrimage, I want to do the exact same thing. Thanks to him documenting his trip, I can easily find my way there.
- Byousoku 5cm venture: Windbell has go this covered already, twice. First time here and second time here.
There are also a bunch of other things I want to do throughout the trip but these are in the planning phase of things. I’ll have to work out an itinerary for what i want to do on what days as I don’t want to waste any of the days that I’m over in Japan. Not to mention there will also be plenty of drinking done whilst I’m there thanks to one of my fellow companions. Here are some things that are currently in the deciding phase:
- Hire a car and drive around - Now some people may think this is weird but cars is like a 2nd hobby to me, and just cruising around is one of the things I like to do. Just seeing whether it’s feasible hiring a car for two days and just drive around parts of the Wangan or areas outside the Tokyo metro area. Seriously I can spend hours driving and not get bored, assuming I get the right type of car.
- Shirakawa-go - This small village is the place that Higurashi is based on but this is a trip that will take a good part of a day to reach. It would be quicker to go from Kyoto, but with only 3 days in Kyoto, I don’t want to waste a day’s worth of traveling, so it may be worth doing it whilst in Tokyo.
- Mt Fuji - Just like Shirakawa-go, a better part of half a day to get there from Tokyo. Also whether to go up Mt Fuji is also on the plate.
- Hello Kitty Land - I originally wanted to go to this with another friend for an earlier trip to Japan before she bailed out. But I would still love to visit it anyway.
- Ghibli Museum - Something I’d definitely have to visit as I missed the chance last time.
- Bandai Museum - Well technically the Bandai Museum was closed in 2006, but there is another place similar north of Tokyo. This requires some research.
This is only a small list of things I want to do personally. Some of my fellow companions will follow me to some of these places, but we all have some of our own things to do as well. So far it seems I’m the only one organizing my own itinerary, lol. Well this is simply a prelude of things listed as I’ll find more places to go to, I’ll update the list. If you have been to Japan before, or currently living in Japan, by all means recommend me some places that I haven’t mentioned here already.
In regards to meeting people, it’s a little early, but I like to plan things ahead. If you are planning to be in Japan any time during August, I would love to meet you whether you be a blogger or even a reader of my blog. Just fire off an email to adunATmoemoerabuDOTnet to let me know.
Holy cow!!! One month?! That’s awesome!
Man that sounods pretty exciting
I’m jealous I’ve never even been once to Japan T_T
I can’t even take a month off for vacation to go haha, I’d only be able to go MAX 2 weeks ^^;;
Have fun and keep us updated with photos! 8D
Sounds megas EXCITIIIIING! Looking forward to all your trip posts and sweet loot reports!
I’m going to japan too this August, we can meet up there
I’m going to stay in Tokyo from 14 August - 1 September, for comiket and animelo. not enough annual leave for wonfesu..
going to book flight tickets this week (or next week latest)
Nice..
I never went to Japan before and I sure want to go there..(yea, every otaku wants to go there)
But it’ll bee a long time before that will come true…
Anyway, looking forward to your trip posts and photos..
And most importantly, Have fun!
Uh oh! Have fun
What? You are not going there forever?! :p
Do take more pictures please and also pictures of the lens you have gotten since. More pictures of pretty/cute Japanese girls and hope you get at least 6 months worth of exercise with all the walking you’ll be doing
And keep us updated with those photos. Would definitely keep me sane while I am in national service.
Enjoy your trip Adun, I expect to see live blogs from Japan!
That’s awesome! I would definitely get a car and drive around on your own for a few days. It’s much more convenient. The one other thing I can think of atm is Himeji castle if you’ve never been before…it’s a little under an hour train ride from Kyoto.
Oh WOW!!! Many bloggers going to Japan in August!!! This includes me. Some of my blogging friends are also going too. Maybe we can see each other at Comiket!!! Sadly, I can’t go for the whole month of August. I’ll be in Japan for 9 days. I really should plan better for my next trip to Japan a lot better. A lot of friends ditched me because of budget problems. The ever problem for everyone.
Your a lucky person to go for a whole month. Expecting coverage of Animelo and Wonder Festival!!!
Hinano: I had to sacrifice a lot of my Xmas and New Year holidays so I could go for a month, but it’ll be so worth it.
ron~: That’s awesome to hear. I’ll keep the dates in mind and see when we can meet up. How are you going to acquire tickets for Animelo as that is my current issue for that event right now.
Windbell: Forever will be later down the track, lol. Lets just hope I can take some really ncie pictures as I’m getting a little rusty with my photography skills, and yes, I’ll take plenty of pictures of girls. Just need to brush up on my Japanese speaking skills.
Caitlin: Thanks for the info, I’ll note that down and do some research on it. I had a look at your blog and notice that you currently reside in Japan, it’d be awesome if we met up. But yeah, driving would be something I would love to do.
Rin: Awesome, another blogger going to Japan. Definitely would love to meet up when you’re there. Friends ditching is the worse thing but luckily the ones I’m going with were dead serious about going for a month.
Very nice, planned out schedule you have there, just blow out your money in the first 2 weeks =P. But I must say… Hello Kitty Land? Going up Mt. Fuji would be awesome, I suggest you go just for the sake of taking more photos =).
O and driving around for the sake of driving is fun, especially at night.
Cool schedule. I hope to someday make it to the Kyoto area as well. Looks like alot of fun.
Areas in Japan to visit. I’m mostly limited to the Tokyo area for now. The temple outside the Asakusa station is very impressive (lots of souvenir shops too) and is on the way to the Washinomiya shrine. Also a side trip on the same line is the Nikko area. I haven’t been there yet but I heard good things. Kamakura has some of the most beautiful shrines in the area and a very large Buddha statue as well (Hase station via Enoden line transfer at Kamakura station). Tokyo Tower is always good to visit at least once. I went on a perfectly clear day and could see Mt. Fuji.
For anime goods (I’m sure you know (; ) I mostly go to Nakano for rare items. Sometimes I get lucky and find some really rare items. I once found two Air the Movie poster originals there.
Hope you have fun at the conventions and I look forward to reading more of your blog.
My sis is getting an exchange student thingy and I’m going Japan next yr! Muahaha!
The 3 days that you planned to spend in Kyoto is really short, even with 4 days I only managed to visit about 7 shrines? But unless you only intend to visit those 3 locations, it’s okay. Kyoto is really a very nice place to explore, should try to spend more time there. Since you’ll be making the trip to “visit” Kyoani, you might want to visit the town of Uji (2 stops from Kyoani), and they have great green tea food there (Green tea Ice cream, Cha Soba etc).
I also did the LS Kyoani pic on my trip, but sadly it didn’t come out well and didn’t post it up in the end. To aid in finding the place: The main Kyoani building is located just to the left once you exit Kohata station, along Kyoto - Uji JR line (Take the local line and not rapid), and if you intend to find their 2nd building, just turn right once out of Kohata station, turn left at the following junction and walk all the way straight to another railway line, the building is just there. Had to ask direction to find this though.
Argh, I’m envious of all you people who are heading to Japan in August, especially those attending Comiket. Too bad my school term would have just started else I would had tried to arrange a August trip too. And yea… Make the hike up Mt. Fuji, I’m sure it’s worth the effort.
That’d be awesome but at this moment, I’m actually thinking about going back to the US for most of August. Or staying up north and going to the major festivals in this region. Still not sure…mostly depends on which will be cheaper. ^^;
Anyway, your trip sounds fantastic and I may attempt something like it after I return to the US for good. I hope you have fun and I’m looking forward to any pictures or write up you do. ^_^
Hiji: I plan not to spend so much in the first two weeks. Most of the spending will happening during the conventions and towards the end of the trip. Hello Kitty Land is technically Sanrio Land, but man, it’s Hello Kitty! Can’t resist that.
Punynari: Ah thanks for the info. Those are some places I never considered going to but I’ll note those on my list. No need for the otaku related sites since I got most of those covered from my last trip.
Hirito: 3 days in Kyoto really is short, but since we are using the Shinakansen to travel between major cities, the JR pass will only last us a week and that’s howe worked it out. Personally I would’ve loved to stay longer in Osaka and Kyoto, but that’s how the cookie crumbles. Thanks for the directions to KyoAni, I read on another blog that had directions as well and I’ll probably go by Uiji when I’m on my way to Nara. Really though, I’ll be making the most of it by leaving early and coming back late.
Caitlin: That’s cool, but if you do decide to stick around in Japan in August, let me know.
Awesome! You’re lucky man.
you lucky bastard. i envy you.
Then again, no soap lands?! Blasphemy!
You know, there are rail passes that can last for 21 days. Which rail pass did you get? More me, since I’m only going to be there for a short amount of time, I’m going to get the 7 day rail pass…
Rin: Well I haven’t actually bought the JR pass just yet, but the way we originally planned the trip was to work around the conventions. Unfortunately for us at the time we found out the date of Wonderfest after we made most of the major arrangements and we were only going to get the 7 day JR pass. But if I plan to visit Shirakawa-go or Mt Fuji, I’ll have to consider getting a 14 day pass.
@adun: I asked my friend help to get me animelo ticket
But it’s the fact that it’s Hello Kitty!!! D=
Err… ya, take that hike up Mt. Fuji =). Looking forward to those photos (and you better take lots).
Wow, around Japan in 31 days. It’ll be fun!
You know what? If I wasn’t getting hitched, I’d invest into a trip such as yours (or even have joined you guys). But sadly, interest rates, Sydney being one of the most expensive cities to live in, saving up as much as I can, means I’m stuck here (and just a few interstate trips for work) until my honeymoon.
Good times :3
Oh and remember to bring a souvenir back for me
I still remember my 21st. Be more creative because I was half expecting you and roobies to give me a futa doujin 
Orion is going wif you guys, right? If so, take care of him. He is a baby <3
hey do you have like a sign were it says love/rabu in japaneese words if you do can you send it to my email i really need it THANK YOU