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For those interested, we had a meeting a few days ago for more details about out trip to Japan... Here's what I'll be doing!
Itinerary for Japan 2014 Obviously I'm not gonna tell you the times of everything, my hotels, or anything else too specific, but here you'll be able to see the (cautionary, 'cause in a year and a half of might change,) itinerary. Some fun facts: This trip includes 40 different students ranging from the ages of 15-18 (grades 10-12), 4 teachers will be accompanying and chaperoning, we'll be staying at some very fancy hotels, it's 2 to a room, every morning we get an all-you-can-eat Japanese cuisine buffet and while we're in Japan it'll be peak cherry blossom season. Think about that. Finally, Japan has a service called くろい ねこ (Kuroi Neko) Black Cat, which is a ground transportation service. Basically, we keep our day packs with us and then everything else, whether it's the stuff we buy or our 50 bazillion suitcases, goes in a truck and is transported worry-free from city to city. Yay! March 26th 2014 Depart from Canada over to Japan March 27th As a result of the international dateline, we will have a late afternoon arrival at the Narita airport, and we'll head over to our hotel to get settled in for the next few days. March 28th WARNING: Today is day where you will probably explode from the most jealousy. Asakusa Kannon Temple - A buddhist temple which happens to be Tokyo's oldest temple as well. Nakamise Shopping Arcade - This place is about 250 meters long and includes over 89 shops. It's a narrow street where my shopping in Japan will begin. I won't buy much if anything here though. I have a budget. Sumida River Cruise - Just a simple river cruise around the shore to get a good view of the area from the water. National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation - I LOVE science! This is going to be so exciting for me to see, nobody could even understand! Plus, I'll be meeting Asimo! I'll be able to see Japan's newest stuff, which for us is waaay in the future. Studio Ghibli - The place where some of the best animated movies in the world come from, such as Ponyo, Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle and The Secret World of Arietty Pokémon Center Tokyo - U mad, bro? Panasonic Center (Nintendo Game Front) - This is Nintendo's showroom. It's also as close as you can get to the inner secrets of the company without breeching security. We'll be able to play on every Nintendo system from the past, as well as certain prototype games/consoles that are coming up! March 29th Imperial Palace Plaza - I won't be able to meet the emperor for obvious reasons, but I will be able to see a real-life palace. What ISN'T cool about that? Harajuku Shopping District - This is where teenagers of all fashion styles come to socilize and buy things. It's a large area that sells it's own brands and international brands at fairly affordable prices. Omotesando Street - The place where if I was a girly fashion girl, my head would explode. But I'm not, so it won't. Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and many other stores like them will be found in this upscale shopping area. Meiji Jingu Shrine - Shinto shrine dedicated to the spirit of emperor Meiji (1852-1912) Takeshita Dori Street - A street lined with fashion boutiques, cafés and restaurants (some of which are of the international type). There's also some cool here that I learnt about. "Antenna shops", which manufacturers seed with prototypes for test-marketing. Oooo. March 30th WARNING: More minor jealousy may occur today. Edo Tokyo Museum - A massive museum with life-sized dioramas of ancient Tokyo. Awesome, right? Akihabara Shopping District - This is the best place for animé shopping, and it's also highly focused on electronics, so this is a dream area for me. You can find cosplayers here, and I'll be sure to have many pictures! We're spending the entire afternoon here. Shibuya District - If you've ever seen Tokyo Drift, they drive through the famous pedestrian intersection in this area. We're going in the evening, which means all of the neon signs will be beautiful and blinding. March 31st Bullet train to Kyoto. If it's a clear day, we will have a beautiful view as we race by Mt. Fuji in the distance at 290 km/h. We'll check into our new hotel. Nijo Castle - Beautiful castle, but not much to say. Kiyomizu Temple - Buddhist temple with some beautiful views. April 1st Gion geisha district - We'll learn about what it's like to be a geisha! Jinjya shrine - Another Shinto shrine, I believe. Maruyama Park - This place is SUPER well-known for it's cherry blossoms, and because it'll be cherry blossoms season, this'll be a crowded place. Kinkakuji Temple - Do you have an Apple OS X computer operating system? This is the temple used for the desktop picture art "Golden Palace". The top two stories are made of pure gold leaf. April 2nd Kyoto handicraft center - This place is really special. It's a duty-free shopping center. Now, for those of you who unlike me aren't familier with traveling, everything you buy while in a foreign country has duty on it, and depending how long you stay there's a limit to how much you're allowed to spend (which varies from country to country). If you go over that limit, you have to pay duty, which can be a LOT of money. The good part about this is that it only counts things you're bringing back, from clothing to jewelry to souvenirs. So back to the shopping. This place has traditional Japanese cultural items, and modern cultural items. I'm gonna buy a few samurai swords, and since it's duty-free, I get the paperwork and everything to be able to bring it back with me. Teramachi Dori - We'll walk along the Shimogamo river to this shopping arcade. Like the others, it's a place for plenty of shopping and exploring. On one side are all the shops, and directly on the other side are many historical temples. Cool, right? April 3rd Bullet train to Hiroshima. Peace Memorial Park - A park littered with origami paper cranes. A beautiful park too. Peace Memorial Museum - The museum with details of the impact of the atomic bomb. It's also geared towards the abolishment of nuclear weapons around the world. The museum collects and displays belongings left by the victims, photos, and other materials that convey the horror of that event. A-dome - Basically the "ground zero" of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. The bank it blew up above was the only thing left standing in the entire area. Statue of Sadako chan - Yes, that Sadako. The one who was told that if she folded 1000 paper cranes the gods would grant her a wish and make her leukemia go away. She died before that happened. Read the entire story if you haven't, it's a classic. Travel by bullet train all the way back to Tokyo and check into the hotel once again. April 4th Ueno Park - This is probably one of the most beautiful places in all of Japan for cherry blossoms. They're like a blanket able your head, and people often have picnics there and party all day long. The last thing we're doing is splitting into two groups. One of them will go to the Ueno Park Zoo, and the other will go tie up any loose ends of shopping they may have. April 5th Back to Narita airport and return to Canada. The funniest part of returning home is that the trip over all will take about 13 hours plus or minus. Now, what's so funny about that, Hillary/Lux? Well, because where I live is 13 hours behind, I'll be returning home and it'll be nearly the exact same time at home as it was in Japan when I left Japan! I'M A REAL TIME TRAVELER, WOW. Last edited by Luxray13579; December 1, 2012 at 06:41:47 PM. |
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