Three days in Tokyo... what would you do?

2009-07-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

With just over 5 weeks to go, we're getting a leeeeeeeeeeedle bit excited!!

Kicking off with the Japan leg, or rather, 3.5 days in Tokyo, this is our basic plan:

Arr Sat 5 Sep, negotiate the metro to our ryokan. Chill for the night, venture out for a nibble/local wander if we've any energy left and have made it to our ryokan at a suitable hour!

On Sunday 6 Sep (our first wedding anniversary!), we will be shown around Tokyo by Sonomi, a '36 yo single mom', from this neat little set-up. Seeing as we're limited for time, we thought we best have an initial orientation, etc, and a tour by an 'insider'/local/professional...

It's a pretty cool arrangement - free, and we just pay for the tour guide's lunch/entrance fees, etc... She's asked us what we'd like to do/see (so she can research, plan an itinerary, etc), and while we really have no clue, these are some of the things we're keen to check out:

Old traditional area

A bit of market action

Or these ones

Time-pending (or perhaps do this ourselves), some pretty gardens, temples, museums, etc...

While the fast trains are indeed, fast, it makes sense to focus on Tokyo! If we had more time, we'd love to do this or a bit closer, this.

This festival will be on, so we may check that out at some stage...

Or perhaps pop up here for a gander...

Shopping will of course be a priorty at some point...

That night we'll venture down to Yokohama to hang with Luke, "expecting" Em and Harry...

Then for our belated anniversary, on Monday 7 Sep, we are going to partake in a traditional tea ceremony, and be all kimono-ed up. We're not doing the group tour thing, but we'll have our own private room/ceremony and I asked if they could incorporate some kind of traditional marriage blessing/wishes of hope, prosperity, love, etc... So, they are going to:

"prepare special settings such as a hanging scroll and sweets which represent blessing/good health/love/happiness. During the tea ceremony you will share a cup of tea which will be prepared in ritual procedures to strengthen the bonds of your partnership and your feelings of togetherness. Attending the tea ceremony in Kimono would be a great idea to make it very special. The tea ceremony will include souvenir (a folding fan on which 4 principles of the tea ceremony, harmony, respect, purity and tranquility are written in Kanji characters)."

Cool!

And, seeing as the traditional first anniversary gift is paper, what better place to be than Tokyo(home of origami, calligraphy, etc), to nab a little 'joint gift to ourselves'...

The rest of that afternoon and evening, we'll explore some more... perhaps do some of the above that we obviously won't have time for on the Sunday...

Then Tues 8 Sep, is pretty much a write-off, as we rise, shine, head to le aeroporto where we'll fly out to Portland, OR...

Just over 50 days 'til departure...

2009-07-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

Due to popular demand ;), I've been asked to set up a blog for our forthcoming 'round the world in 33 days'-trip...

The 'primary' reason for the trip is a wedding near Eugene/Vida, Oregon... in which JB is a 'groommate' for Anthony and Jodie...

But, as always, rather than fly 'all that way' for one (albeit important) event, we decided to turn it into a bit of an adventure...

Rather than have to fly via LAX (yuk!), the flight we got direct to PDX (yay!) 'just happened' to go via TKO, where we 'just happen' to have some friends in nearby Yokohama, so it seemed too good to refuse...

Also, it has always been my DREAM to climb Machu Picchu (albeit easier in my earlier years, when the 'dodgy knee' was, er, less dodgy...), so after much research and toing/froing of ideas, we decided to 'tack on' a South American side-trip and settled on this tour...

So, the basics... The itinerary:

Fly from BNE-TKO, 5 Sep

3.5 day stopover, including special wedding anniversary/kimono experience/tea ceremony

Fly TKO-PDX, 8 Sep

Hang out with Chrisso for a couple of days...

Train to hippy, greenie, microbrewery capital, EUG... (is that a fair assumption?), 10 Sep

Drive to wedding venue..., 11 Sep

3 days pre-post wedding...

Drive back to EUG and catch overnight train to SFC..., 14 Sep

Relive my hippy days and hang out in Haight Ashbury..., 15-17 Sep

Fly to Lima... via Mexico City (airport only)..., 17 Sep

Begin 2-week trip, 19 Sep

Fly back to SFC... for 'one night only' and for the sheer amusement factor, stay in "Brisbane"... here...

Fly back to Brisbane, Australia, via TKO...

The end...

Peace, love, sushi and the Incas...

Three days in Tokyo... what would you do?

Just over 50 days 'til departure...