ever since i was a kid, i’ve been meaning to see japan.
in april 2010, i took a 22-day trip to japan. i spent the first two weeks visiting the country using the japan rail pass and the last 8 days in tokyo. i used couch surfing and also spent 5 nights in trains because i chose not to travel during daytime, as my time for each place i visited was limited. it was amazing and i’d do it again. and again. i think i underestimated the influence it was going to have on me.
i traveled with klm from bucharest to amsterdam and then to narita. the service was great: for instance, i got an immediate seat change when i requested it. the flight attendants were very prompt and attentive. the food was pleasant and i got offered snacks throughout the flight. the choice of entertainment was overwhelming. i slept for almost the entire duration of my trip. i arrived in tokyo refreshed and ready to go.
i managed to exchange my voucher for the jr pass fast and i found my way to the tokyo station. i got to the jr ticket office and got my ticket for sapporo. the japanese are nice, but, although english is not exactly their strong suit, they are doing their best to help you out so my 3-week trip was not at all difficult.
credits: little aesthete
2 comments
romeo says:
Feb 11, 2013
Hello,
do you still have the itinerary of this trip? I’m curious about the night trains you took. It’s a good idea that I applied in Europe, sleep in trains, have the full day for sightseeing.
little aesthete says:
Feb 12, 2013
i do have the itinerary but i didn’t use night trains every night. if memory serves, i remember taking one from aomori to sapporo and another one back, another night. and one from nagasaki to yokohama. a few more, i guess, but i think they were all slower trains. otherwise, the trains are too fast to take many hours to get you from point a to point b :)
the idea is in place in europe. it’s called interrail :)