I Missed My Bed

Well, I'm back from my trip to Japan and Hong Kong! I got back on Thursdsay and slept for 16 hours that night (and next day... hehe). There's too much to write about my trip, but in short, Japan was a beautiful country full of gracious, sweet and kawaii (cute) people, yet it was so RAINY and FREAKIN' EXPENSIVE. It rained practically every day, so when we went to Mt. Fuji and Mt. Aso (an active smoking volcano) all we could see was fog, which I was quite bitter about. Although the rain made us miserable at times, we still had a great time in Tokyo and backpacking around the rest of Japan. The very last night we were caught in a typhoon, which soaked my shoes, my jeans up to my thighs, and my umbrella to the point where it started to leak. But good times trying to find our way back to the hostel! As for the expenses, I was hoping to just spend $1000 CDN for the 2 weeks in Japan, but it ballooned to $1500. My poor wallet.

On the other hand, Hong Kong was warm, sunny, and CHEAP! Did some sightseeing at night of the gorgeous buildings all lit up in a multitude of colour. Oh and of course, shopping!

Since it was my first time in Japan, here are some things that I noticed when I was there:
Fruits and vegetables are a luxury (it was killing me) :: no one talks on their cell phones... they text message instead, while they walk, ride the subway, and even biking :: there are umbrella locks but no bicycle locks :: the toilets have heated seats, along with buttons for a spray and to play music/waterfall sounds :: people really do bow all the time :: shopping bags are bagged to protect them from the rain :: stores have umbrella bagging contraptions for people before they enter :: girls would rather walk/hike in their stiletto heels and trip and fall than be caught dead not being dressed up :: department stores have really great food :: people really don't speak English!

Trip overview
May 6-7: Toronto-Narita-Tokyo
May 8: Tokyo
May 9: Tokyo-Mt. Fuji-Tokyo
May 10:Tokyo-Kyoto
May 11: Kyoto
May 12: Kyoto-Nara-Osaka-Kyoto
May 13: Kyoto-Himeji-Kyoto
May 14: Kyoto-Fukuoka
May 15: Fukuoka-Aso
May 16: Aso-Tokyo
May 17: Tokyo
May 18-20: Tokyo
May 21: Tokyo-Narita-Hong Kong
May 22-26: Hong Kong
May 27: Hong Kong-Toronto

I'll be developing my pictures soon so I'll write more about specific places later!

Sayonara!

Wooo, the big day is finally drawing near... JAPAN TRIP! I'm getting excited. I'm still barely packed but I still have all of today to go shopping and get everything together. Unfortunately, I'll be missing the series finale of Friends, the season finales of Alias and Survivor All-Stars as well as the Jason Mraz concert :( But those can't compare to travelling! Better get back to packing.

Trip to Japan
Airplane ticket: $1300
Japan Rail Pass: $350
Travel backpack: $140
18 rolls of film: $45
Playing charades with the locals: Priceless