A confirmed itinerary at last!

Planning for this Japan trip has been a series of one step forward, two steps back. I was almost beginning to think that someone up there does not want me to go on this trip!

First, my plan to book accomodation at the Tokyo International Youth Hostel was scuttled when they announced re-building plans right smack in the middle of my proposed stay. So got to look elsewhere for a roof over our heads. I finally settled on House Ikebukuro, and was told to book only on the first of September for a November stay. When I dutifully logged on on 1 Sept, the system announced that the annex room I wanted was fully booked! Bang head against wall and try again. Finally, I got a place at a small budget hotel nearer Disneyland. Things were looking up when I managed to get a room at the very cute Ryokan Kangetsu. Then when I planned to book my shinkansen+hotel arrangements in Hakone/Kyoto, I came up against a wall. The dates that I wanted were all, yes, fully booked. It was, the email informed me, the height of the autumn-leaf viewing season. sigh. Okay, so there went Hakone. When I tried to book just the Kyoto component, the budget range of accomodation was also fully booked, so no choice but to book the next grade.

But finally, I think I've nailed it. Got all the confirmations already.

To add to the excitement, last Friday at the Staff Communication Session, Chee Yong shared with the School his experiences bringing the students on a study trip to Japan. Showed gorgeous slides of Kyoto and Tokyo. One of the students had found out by chance, where the geishas (usually very hard to see in Kyoto!) hide out, so the group staked out the building and were able to get lovely pictures of the maikos and geikos all made up and dressed up in their glorious kimonos, teetering on their getas and heading out for a night's work in the early evening. I was so thrilled to see this and made Chee Yong promise to draw me a map of the place, which is somewhere in Pontocho. Can't wait!

So my confirmed itinerary is:

Saturday Nov 17 - arrive in Tokyo. KH and Team A heads into Tokyo city first and will check in at our hotel, the Family Resort Fifty's At Maihama. Team B and I arrive later in the evening.

Sunday Nov 18 - we will go to Asakusa, shopping for sembei at Nakamise Dori, perfume ourselves with incense at Sensoji, then break for lunch, take the Suijo bus down the Sumida-gawa to the lovely Hama Rikyu-koen, once a daimyo's garden, now complete with strolling paths, bridges, pavilions and tea houses. From there, walk in to the nearby Ginza area, take the Yurikamome line (the elevated driverless train) to the futuristic enclave of Odaiba. We will visit Miraikan (the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation), eat Ramen at the Decks' Ramen 'theme park', check out the lovely views and then head back to the hotel.

Monday Nov 19 - Disneyland!

Tuesday Nov 20 - DisneySea!

Wednesday Nov 21 - Take the shinkansen, zoom past Mt Fuji and be in the ancient capital Kyoto by 9.30am! We will be staying at the New Miyako Hotel, just behind the JR Kyoto Station, so it will be very convenient. Once we leave our bags, we will go east to Higashiyama region and see the Kiyomizudera Temple, Nanzen-ji and check out the pedestrian shopping streets nearby so typical of Kyoto. If we have time, we will go further north to the Philosopher's Walk to see Ginkakuji - the Silver Pavilion. Dinner nearby, checking out Pontocho in the evening.

Thursday Nov 22 - Osaka-jo to take the pictures KH wants (he was there in 1984 while sailing on the high seas as part of his industrial attachment). Then to the Kaiyukan, the Osaka Aquarium, to see the famous whale sharks. Back in the mid afternoon to see Nijo-jo (to check out the shogun's home and his famous nightingale floors - they squeak to warn the shogun of enemies)

Friday, Nov 23 - Tofukuji in the morning (this is a known koyo spot famed for its autumn leaves, so the place will be packed), Ryoanji (famous for its Zen rock garden) and if time permits, Kinkakuji in the late morning/lunch, Arashiyama and its bamboo groves, moss gardens, Togetsukyo bridge and the Sagano train in the late afternoon/evening.

Saturday Nov 24 - Fushimi Inari shrine in the morning. Leave Kyoto by 2pm on the shinkansen and arrive in Tokyo 2.5hrs later. Check into the lovely Ryokan Kangetsu, soak in the rotenburo! Hit Shinjuku for the night scene (lots of people and neon!) and TMG Observation Tower 1 for the lovely evening/sunset over Tokyo scene - a fitting end to our Japan trip.

Sunday Nov 25 - Meiji-jingu shrine in Yoyogi Park. See the fascinating cosplay at Harajuku. Shop at Takeshita-dori - must check out Oriental Bazaar and Uniqlo for cheap n good yukatas and clothes. Be at the airport by 4pm. We fly at 7pm and arrive in Singapore at 1.20am - conked!! KH and Team A will leave first (15min ahead of us) on NW. My SQ flight arrives 25min later than they would, so the difference is negligible.

Can foresee that I will be dead tired after this vacation! And dead broke too! It feels like a go-go-go kind of itinerary and just reading it makes me feel really exhausted. I am open to tweaking it or deleting some parts of it as we go - a lot will depend on the kids and if/when they (or I!) have meltdowns.