Pack Your Bags Again, Butlers!

Japan

Ancient, Formal, Closed

Modern, Eccentric, Dynamic

We will soon find out which epithets are most a propos, or whether we find new ones to describe Japan, a country comprising some 6,852 islands, although the vast majority of the population (127 million, more or less, in total) live on 4 of these. And the vast majority of that population (over 90%) live in cities. And the vast majority of those live in Greater Tokyo (over 36 million people!)

After we'd done some reading and made lists of everywhere we'd like to go, and plotted out the minimal amount of time to spend in each place, we found we were well over 2 months! We have decided to give ourselves 1 month, and so we will be visiting just 3 of the four main islands, and hopefully one or two of the smaller ones.

Those who know us well can't believe we have never been to Japan before, but it's pretty easy to explain why. For one thing, it's an expensive country to travel around in. It's also set apart from other Asian countries, being island-based, and so doesn't lend itself as easily to a long, multi-month backpacking trek. And it is a busy place, so our traditional nomadic method of just turning up somewhere and looking for a likely place to stay is not that practical, unless we had more time or went when it was too hot and humid, or too cold and clammy.

Of the two best times to visit, we agreed upon cherry blossom season, a particularly popular time for Japanese tourists as well as those from abroad. So we have done what we have never done before, and booked our accommodation ahead. We hope we have chosen a good selection of traditional ryokan, casual hostels, local guesthouses and "proper" hotels. We expect rain and cool temperatures at first, but hope to soon see the skies lighten, the sun shine, and the cherry blossoms open their furls and greet us with great boughs of pink happiness and springtime splendour.