Start of a fabled trip!

Yes, it the first image is a drab view of a grey morning outside the window of a Polaris Lounge at Terminal 6: LAX on purpose! I find it ironic the amount of time I spend at different Polaris lounges. It reminds me of the Tom Hanks movie, Terminal. A low key movie that both my wife and I enjoy and watched it together and separately many times. I hope this upcoming trip goes smoothly.

Alright! I am heading to Japan. I have always wanted to visit since I started playing Pokemon but never did. There are so many various levels of connections I feel with Japan that it’s crazy that I haven’t visited Japan yet, especially considering the amount of travel that I do.

So, I have turned on some appropriate music while i write this quick post. Average Americans are loud, yes, especially considering Japanese people people, and yes even at a airport lounge. They are especially loud when they travel in a group. Yes, I know it is a broad generalization, but it’s true. So I needed headphones to write this post. :)

With that said, as I have seated comfortably, let us talk about the general plan. I will try to do this Japan trip following the same model of the recent Switzerland trip. I am again traveling with a backpack only, but I have taken a laptop. Although I will try to write as much as I can from my phone. Similar to what I did during the last trip.

I will be mostly traveling by train once I get there. I have purchased a 14-day JR pass which covers most of the trains. At 11,000 Yen, it is neither cheap nor convenient like the Swiss Travel Pass, but it is what it is. The most inconvenient part is that you still must get tickets for individual train journeys. Unlike the STP in Switzerland where you get a QR code and never have to purchase another ticket again. The ticket collector just scans your QR code. So right off the bat, Japan is a bit behind. :)

I plan to travel up and down the country quite a bit. That means there will be a lot of long days on Shinkansen, the bullet train, as I used to know them. Yes, I have seen the movie, both the recent Brad Pit one and the legacy one. I like the recent one better. :)

With that I am going to wrap up this post. My LAX-NRT flight is in 20 minutes and I better get to my gate! Next post will be from the land of the rising Sun!