OK jerk, what did it cost?

Hullo - I have been back from Japan for about 3 months now, and just getting around to sharing this post so sorry for the wait.

So, what did it cost to go to Japan? Is it as expensive as everyone says it is? Of course it depends on what you are interested in and where you want to splurge. I found this other person's blog about her experience which was good to hear before I left, so I thought it would be helpful to give my full breakdown. 

NOTE: I went with one other person, so we split costs on everything. 

Our itinerary was:

Day 0 - stay overnight in Chicago

Day 1 - leave car in Chicago, fly to Tokyo, Japan (Narita Airport)

- Take train to Shinjuku in Tokyo

- Check into Hotel in Shinjuku (Kabukicho) (click here to see a video tour)

Day 2 - Tokyo

Day 3 - Tokyo

Day 4 - Train to Nartia Airport

Fly to Hokkaido

Rental car - drive to Sapporo

Check into hotel in Sapporo

(Because of the deal we got for the package of hotel+flight in Tokyo, it was cheaper to keep the hotel in Shinjuku as opposed to checking out for two days and checking back in - go figure! Plus, we could leave most of our stuff there.) 

Day 5 - Drive to Ski Hill

Rent snowboard and get lift tickets

Back to Sapporo hotel at night

Day 6 - Check out of hotel

Drive to airport - return car

Fly to Haneda airport

Train to Shinjuku

Day 7 - Tokyo

Day 8 - Tokyo

Day 9 - Check out of hotel

Train to Narita

Fly back to Chicago

Pick up car

Drive home!

We took our trip in March of 2019.

High level = 

Chicago portion (overnight+parking*) = $203.36

Expedia Tokyo portion (flight+hotel, 2ppl.) = $3675.01

Expedia Sapporo portion (flight+hotel)- $659.30+ $130.62(car) = $789.92

TOT. = $4,668.29 ($2,334.15 per person)

*Parking alone would have cost $90-153 and the timing would have sucked so doing the park and stay and fly thing was perfect. 

Since we had been planning for this trip for a number of years (5-10 depending on how you look at it), we were able to bank miles on two different credit cards. We used Visa miles on the Sapporo portion, so we ended up just paying for the car. We used Discover card miles on the Tokyo portion so it ended up reducing down to $2747. 

(I just checked Expedia and the hotel right now (July) is booking for $79 / night for 2 ppl. ANA flight is $1477 per person.)                

N'EX (high speed rail from Narita to Shinjuku) $40 per person round trip – totally worth it. Portal wi-fi for the whole trip = $116. Again - completely worth it.  

I estimate total, for souvenirs, food, and other train rides, we probably spent less than $2000 total. Granted, we mostly ate out of 7-11s and we walked most places (very easy and safe), and we shopped at the 100 yen store, but it didn’t detract from our overall experience, at least not on this first trip (I could have spent the whole time visiting shrines which costs next to nothing). The ski hill we went to in Sapporo was only like $70 for the both of us. 

Grand total per person works out to $2700. Without our credit card discounts, it would have been closer to $3500.

I can't wait to go back!

ア, イ, オ of Nihongo (the A,B, Cs of Japanese)

So. I am entranced by the fact that there are three main alphabets at use in Japan. Hiragana, Katakana (sometimes collectively referred to as "kana"), and the Chinese character system Kanji. The first two are syllablistic - where the character represents a sound, and the latter is logographic - characters represent a word. Although there are rules as to when to use one versus the other, you will often see all three used in words and on signs.

This word contains katakana, kanji and hiragana symbols.
Some of the hard-to-translate puns in Japanese come from the fact that certain definitions are given different meanings depending on what system is used. The title of this post, for example, says literally "the A, I, O of Japanese" but I took some liberties and wrote out the katakana for the vowels, and then the "Romanization" (using Latin characters to phonetically spell a Japanese word) of Japanese to get a rhyming phrase much comparable to "the A,B, Cs of Japanese."

You can see how things get complicated quickly. However, there are many games and puzzles that are JUST as complicated, and it is my opinion that, if I am going to struggle to find a solution to some sticky brainteaser, the prize at the end better be me ecstatically reading a "do not litter" sign.


Hm. Maybe it's just me...


The first thing to wrap your brain around is that two of the alphabets are phonic based, that is, sounds - not letters. Instead of learning the letters h-o-t-e and l, and how to pronounce them, and then putting them together to spell "hotel" you learn the phonics "ho" "te" and "ru" (ホテル).

Much of the information in this post starts from Japanese Hiragana & Katakana for Beginners by Timothy G. Stout. It's a book I bought ages ago that came with a CD Rom that contained flash cards to print off and practice with. Once I figured out that many "loan words" (words like "hotel" that are technically English words adopted into Japanese) were written in the katakana alphabet, and once I sounded them out I could reasonably understand them, I decided to learn that system first. Many suggest learning hiragana first, and I don't really think it matters much - once you learn one, there are a number of characters that overlap and look similar (eg. "ya" = や, in hiragana, or ヤ in katakana) so you can pretty much learn the second alphabet (OK so it's technically not an alphabet but whatever) pretty easily.

The book uses a tried-and-true learning system where a new symbol (for example, ホ) is compared with a mnemonic device to connect it with the sound and the shape (this looks like a "HOly cross" and is pronounced HO). It was great for quick lookups, but I wanted something more streamlined than a book or a bunch of flashcards as I continued to learn.

Enter the apps.

I downloaded three free apps on my phone, and they all work offline:

- Kana Mind, a quiz game which filled the role of the flashcards
- Memory Hint Katakana
and
- Memory Hint Hiragana, which both had very nice mnemonic charts that were easy to open and flip back and forth while one was doing the quizzes with Kana Mind. 

Whenever I had a moment, I was flipping around between the quiz to the memory hints, and once my phone died, I tried to write out kana charts (vowels across the top, consonants down the side, with the phonics filling in the center), annoying everyone around me as I filled napkins full of Japanese characters. 

Another set of apps I found particularity useful, especially as I was on say, and exercise bike and couldn't flip back and forth between my apps but could watch videos, is the 2 Hour series. Granted, it takes WAY longer than "two hours" but the hints, although somewhat stupid ("imagine し is a hook hooking a sheep and is pronounced "shi"), really do work.


As I mentioned in my previous post, I really know nothing, but with practice I think I can improve. When I booked a hotel in Sapporo, where the sign looked like this, I was able to sound out the kana at the very top - RO - TO I-N, which when pronounced out loud, sound like "Route Inn" -- the name of the hotel. Looking at the menu for our flight, I saw a word that, when sounded out, said "coffee". Granted, both of these had English translations right next to them, and there is always Google Translate to fall back on, but I'm still pleased with myself.

There is nothing quite as fun and gratifying as realizing that, in the fourth decade of your existence, and after feeling you were bad at language all your life, that you are actually teaching yourself something useful.

DISCLAIMER I don't know what I'm doing

To steal from one of my favorite podcasts: "WARNING: the following web log may contain material that is inappropriate for viewers that are under the age of 18, are easily offended, or get annoyed by holier-than-thou know-it-alls that are... anything but." 

Side note - Anime World Order podcast, that has been going since 2005 and so has been around almost as long as I've had this blogspot account (heh. back when it was blogspot), and therefore nearly predates the phrase "podcast", is a great way to listen to people who are absolutely obsessed and enamored with anime rattle off Japanese names (people and shows) with wild abandoned and talk (from an older, US fandom based perspective) on the history, culture, and intricacies of the genere. The episodes are almost always 2 hours +  and I cannot fully express the depth of knowledge and passion that they exude -- and I like it even IF it is from know-it-alls who are... anything but. 

Back to me...(/◕ヮ◕)/

I am going to make a post about learning kana - that is, katakana and hiragana, two of the written Japanese languages. 

I do not actually know kana. 

I want to make that very clear. I have never taken a class, I have not signed up for any online tutoring, I haven't even read the Manga Guide to Learning Japanese. 

I'm still going to write about it. In part, yes, I acknowledge I am a lousy gaijin ( 外人 ) and there is a lot of historical baggage that comes from me being a privileged, white, US citizen that affects my belief in myself.

But... in the same breath... I am having SO MUCH GODDAMN FUN learning kana I HAVE to share it! I have ALWAYS been bad at memorization, but I held out that maybe some day, I could attempt to "learn Japanese" and it would be like a game or like learning the list of Pokemons, and it WOULDN'T be hard, or at least if it was it would be fun AND IT IS AND I AM VERY JAZZED WHEN I LOOK AT A WORD LIKE ファンシー and realize that I can sound it out (hu-ah-n-shi --- fhuan-shi --faancy-- OMG IT SAYS FANCY!)!!!

I just think that if there are other people out there who are hesitant but passionate about at least trying to learn something as overwhelming as a foreign language that has a totally different sentence structure than English and three main alphabets, I want to say GO FOR IT because I did and I want to explain what worked for me.

Oh sure why not? Packing list.

I am packed already. There are a number of things I still need to get, but for the most part I'm all set. Here is a run down:

Backpack -
- Microsoft Surface Pro3
- Charger
- Magic envelope with itinerary
- International Driving Permit
-  20000 yen
- Phrase book
- 2 magazines (Bon Appetite & Country Living) that I already subscribe to but am saving
- Steno pad + Uni-ball Vision Elite pen 
- Tiny umbrella (like, not a cocktail umbrella but small!)
- Inflatable neck pillow for plane
- Hairbrush
- Makeup kit (Mary Kay foundation, brown and black eye shadow, mascara, eyelash curler, lip gloss and stick, blush and brush, tattoo concealer)
- Some medication and vitamins
- Bandaids
- Quart liquid bag (serum, SPF moisturizer, hairspray, toothpaste, eyeglass cleaner)
- Hair tie bag (plus tweezers, mirror, bobby pins, and earplugs for sleeping)
- Toothbrush
- Cell charger
- Fitbit charger
- Snacks
- Collapsible duffel bag (to bring back souvenirs)
- Water bottle, travel mug  

Rolly bag -
Only clothes. I laid out for each day, theming the first part of my trip around baseball and the color blue, the mid-part on the fact that I'll be in the snow, and the final portion with red and the sakura. I'm bringing 3 pairs of shoes - black, red and some grey walking shoes.

Both of our hotels have onsens (not swimming pools) so I am not packing any swim suits or goggles etc.

Small handbag -
- headphones
- chapstick
- a pen
- business card holder with credit cards and driver's license
- calling cards
- passport
- cellphone
 
I'll do a separate post of the apps I have on my phone, and possibly the apps I have used (along with some books) to at least partially learn Japanese.

LOL This is the first time I saw the curvature of the globe on Google Maps

Was trying to search for a train from my hotel to Capcom Cafe, and accidentally did "home" to Capcom Cafe. Whoops haha!

Preparing for Japan - lesson 2

3. Transport - so transport from home to Chicago (drive), place to park car (got a package through drive and park and ride and fly and sleep or something like that - my parents do it all the time), then shuttle to airport. ANA to Narita (which is about an hour from downtown Tokyo) -- oh and by the way, the in-flight food looks like a lot of fun!

So then we're there -- in a Japanese airport -- midday on a weekend. There are a multitude of transport options to get to Tokyo. We will probably choose to go with the least complicated, yet most expensive, train option, which appears to be the Narita Express.

The touchiest transport is going to be getting from our hotel in Shinjuku BACK to Narita in order to fly to Sapporo fairly early in the morning during a weekday (rush hour at the busiest train station in the world anyone?). I'm just hoping someone gives us some tips.

From the airport in Hokkaido we are renting a car. I have it reserved but have not yet paid, so hoping the Seinfeld car rental scenario doesn't happen. We did get a hotel in Sapporo that includes parking, so hopefully it all works out.

We therefore can drive to Kokusai Ski Resort, where DMV plans to rent a snowboard, and I plan on sledding and taking the gondola up to the summit and having tea at the café.

After we drive back to the airport and return the car the next day, we'll actually be flying into a different Tokyo airport - Haneda. We then need to get back to our original hotel - again - hoping for help here.

After that, pretty comfortable with the rest of the transport issues. At the airport when we first arrive, it appears that we purchase a card that then let's us pass through train gates and deducts payment. We've watched a few videos on it and it looks like the machines are in English. So we'll do that once we get there.

BONUS More than you ever were curious about the two Tokyo airports: 

Haneda is the older airport, built in the 30s. Before that, people landed planes on the beach at Tokyo Bay. The airport was taken over by the USA after WWII and returned to Japan in the 1950s. As the airport grew, noise from increasing jet traffic lead to the creation of Narita airport. Haneda is still the busier of the two, and slightly closer to Tokyo.

In 1966, a strange string of air accidents ended with the destruction of (British) BOAC Flight 911 which crashed into Mt. Fuji after a wind gust in excess of what the plane was designed to withstand took it down, leaving a 10 mile debris trail and killing all aboard. A 8mm video was found in the wreckage and helped determine what had happened. A group of people who had decided not to board the plane, and there for lived to see another day, included a group of film scouts for the James Bond movie "You only live twice", one of who's names was Cubby Broccoli.

Narita airport was built in the 60s and 70s amid turmoil. A strong resistance group including local residents, unions, and political groups objected to the building of a second airport and the eminent domain rules used to size land to build it. Through many years, building was slowed due to this, and a police presence persisted through the airports eventual opening. At points, both police and protesters were killed in violent incidents. At one point, two towers  of 100-200 feet tall were built by protesters to impede the landing of planes. Eventually, judicial decisions intervened and  allowed for the destruction of the towers without compensation.

In a more modern incident, Sir Paul McCartney was caught with over 200 grams (almost 1/2 a pound) of marijuana when trying to enter Japan in 1980, and was subsequently arrested and jailed for 10 days. “When the fellow pulled it out of the suitcase, he looked more embarrassed than me,” he said in 2004. “I think he just wanted to put it back in and forget the whole thing, you know, but there it was.” His explanation as to why he had so much pot "for personal use": “We were about to fly to Japan and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get anything to smoke over there, this stuff was too good to flush down the toilet, so I thought I’d take it with me.”

(P.S. as of this writing, it is illegal to bring any stimulant medication into Japan, including some sold over the counter in the USA. Some notable mentions are:
・Viagra and other sexual enhancers.
・Adderall
・Dexedrine
・Prozac
・some inhalers and some allergy and sinus medications. Specifically, products that contain stimulants (medicines that contain Pseudoephedrine, such as Actifed, Sudafed, and Vicks inhalers), or Codeine are prohibited if it contains more than allowed quantity of stimulant raw materials.

And um yeah, still illegal to bring in marijuana.)

Preparing for Japan - lesson 1

Here is some stuff I have learned so far, in no particular order:

1. The household power outlets in Japan are close-to, but not exactly the same as, power in the USA. After some research, and reading a comment on I believe TripAdvisor where someone said they have never had any problems except for hair dryers and curling irons (neither of which I am traveling with), I have decided I will be OK. The only things we will be bringing to charge would be two-prong (non grounded) plugs like for cellular phones, so I am not going to worry about it.

2. Money belt, fanny pack, small purse, etc. - general luggage. A short time ago, I purchased a three piece luggage set since I'd been using the same luggage from Target since I became a "grown up", and after taking the backpack and the rolly-bag for a few spins around the country, I decided it was best to leave the biggie at home and just go with those two, along with a small purse to carry around when I get there. The rolly-bag in fact is pretty large for a roller - close to 24" with the wheels vs. 22" which is standard for airlines to allow as carry on. I haven't had much of a problem up until now, so I think I'm going to hope for the best.  

I have a small purse, but it's mostly brown, and I'm planning to go with a mostly black color scheme, so I'm hoping to get two that I ordered online delivered before I leave. We'll see.

Is it too early to start packing?

GOING TO JAPAN

After a valliant search (again... when will my nearly-middleaged self learn?) I've decided to create my travelogue here on my weblogue. It's the closest, most accessible online thing I have to creating a zine on the go, which is teally what i want to do.

SO...without further adieu, I'm going to Japan! I can't tell you how long I've seriously wanted to go, but DMV and I have been planning nearly as long as we've been looking for a new house, so like 3 years. Still havent found a house so decided we had to do something we felt in control of, so over the New Year, I found a pretty good package deal on Expedia so I snagged it.