Once I leave Tokyo I'll be heading south. Covering as many locations as I can on the way toward Fukuoka. The route shown isn't an exact route as I plan to visit the Shikoku area and south of Fukuoka. More so these plotted points are where I must be at certain times. Landing in Tokyo I'll go south towards Fukuoka. Once I reach Fukuoka I'll fly to Okinawa. Then after spending that week in Okinawa I will once again fly to Sapporo in the north. Where I'll then make my way south again towards Tokyo.
This is one reason why I chose to go with a backpack over a suitcase. Most of the journey will be done on the Japan Rail using the JR rail pass. The rail system in Japan is truly all encompassing and this pass will allow me to use it at my leisure. And since I'll not be staying in one spot for huge amounts of time, walking around a lot, getting on and off trains. A backpack seemed the way to go.
So what are you going to do while there?
Easy enough, explore! As I'll be arriving in the middle of March and staying till the end of April. It's the perfect time to see Japan in the spring. In particular I'll be visiting many Shrines, Temples, and Gardens. Catching as many cherry tree's in blossom as is possible. My route will serve this goal well. As the temperature will rise from south to north, so will the flowers bloom. It should make for an easy time finding them.
What about communication? Deciding what to do and where to go?
I've been practicing my Japanese. It isn't great... but I think I'll be able to communicate at a basic level at least (or I hope). Much of my navigation and translation will be done through the use of my phone. Using Google Translate and Google Maps respectively I hope to be able to navigate my way south. Choose a location the day before I go there and booking a hotel at the same time so I'll have a place to stay and a destination I know I'm heading towards.
I've created spreadsheets for each region of Japan that have a sheet for each of the major cities in that region. For each of those sheets I have looked up hotels, their price, and location all around the rail lines. So it should be an easy time knowing where to stay there. I'll use some as Head Quarters since the rail system is so extensive and I can use it for day trips.
So... you're crazy?
Am I nervous about it? Maybe a little if any, but not a whole lot really. I think it will be a wonderful way to travel. At my own pace for my own reasons. Too many tours push you to one spot right after the other. This way I'll get to spend as much time in a location that I want before moving on. Of course this also means there is a really big chance that it could be horrible.. It will fall to me to make it enjoyable and work. Which I believe I can.
I hope to meet people along the way and even make some new friends. That in particular would be quite enjoyable. My Japanese is definitely going to need to improve while I'm there to achieve that and I hope it will.
So crazy? Maybe. But maybe that's just me!
