Heading to Japan: a lifetime bucket list trip

Heading to Japan: a lifetime bucket list trip - 2

Just a few days before we leave for Japan. The travel plans are mostly set.

We fly into Osaka. We will be met by a guide who will help us convert currency and buy train tickets. First stop is Kyoto.

The next day will be a light day to allow us to get our bearings in Japan and see a little of Kyoto. I discovered that there's a Kato store in the Kyoto train station. I'm hoping to go there. If I don't make it, I'll hit hobby stores in Tokyo.

Then we go to Hiroshima. To see the site of the dropping of the first atomic bomb and Peace Garden. Then back to Kyoto. All transport will be on the Shinkansen. That's the bullet train. The next day to Nara on a Kyoto to Nara direct train. Nara is the location of lots of tame deer. I'm looking forward to seeing them.

At the end of the week we will again take the bullet train -- this time to Yamagata (via Tokyo) to visit a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn). We will also go to the hot baths (onsen) and experience a Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Then back to Tokyo. The Tokyo segment is somewhat open. I'd like to see the gardens at the Imperial Palace.

Then there's a day of Tokyo trains. On the agenda -- a ride on the Yamanote Line. A stop at Takadanobaba. (We will be at Shinjuku a day earlier to meet a guide who will take us on a ramen and izakaya tour.) The afternoon will be browsing hobby shops in Akihabara. Dinner will be at Restaurant Platinum Fish. The restaurant is located in an old JR station. The patrons sit on the platform dining while the JR Chuo line trains zip by.

The last day, we will have a friend of my cousin take us to sushi breakfast.

I'll take lots of photos. I hope to share some. I will see if I can update this blog while overseas.

Cheers.

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