Japan 2014 Discussion

[Mike808]

@Mike808: I flew Osaka-HNL last summer on Hawaiian and it was 2-2-2 in business, so I'm not sure what's up with the three across on your flight. I have occasion flown to Europe and once to Japan awhile ago where the center business row is 3 across...highly annoying.

BTW, presume you know that Hawaiian business class can barely be called that, but it beats coach!

It was a user error on my part. I finally figured out that they are showing a sideways view on the seat selection screen, but only for the business/first cabin. It did result in me changing seats once I figured it out. I'm not sure why they show it sideways.

[HostDave]

JAL uses the same template for every plane with the seats blocked out that don't exist. Very confusing! I had to look at seatguru.com to finally figure out the seating for the domestic flight.

Unless there is some sort of mistake, it looks like we were given the penthouse credit for our milestone! Wow, what a deal!! We only owe $584 (already paid a 20% deposit) to be fully paid. I told the travel agent to pay in full before they figure it out If this is all correct, that means the entire cruise for two people in a penthouse will cost less than $4,000. Maybe they knew that today was my 60th birthday and I needed a boost?

[YFlower]

Congratulations AND Happy Birthday!! I'm really looking forward to reading about your travels to the tsunami areas. I just downloaded the book by the mayor of Rikuzentakata when I caught up with the entries yesterday...thanks for mentioning it.

[HostDave]

Thanks! Looks like we'll be exploring the tsunami towns on our own. I can't figure out why the PR woman keeps dropping me. She appears to be anxious to help us get the most out of the visit, then then she doesn't get back to me. I don't really CARE, but we would probably get more insight by being "introduced" before we get there. I will probably contact her again when we are closer to arriving in town and maybe she'll be more attentive. I don't think I have the balls to just drop in at city hall and say, "Here we are!"

[Marybeth]

I just wanted to jump in and say I am so looking forward to the reports of your travels. It sounds like an amazing adventure and I can't wait to read all about it.

[HostDave]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to sharing everything, too.

Looks like I've wrapped up all of the planning and plotting out train schedules and such. Took me a while to figure out the best use of our rail passes, but I think I've worked that out. Probably would have been more economical to just buy tickets, but at least this way there is no extra expense. We'll buy tickets until we get to Sendai, then it will all be covered by passes after that.

All that is left to do is choose which company to ship our cruise luggage to Tokyo. Even though we're cutting WAY back on the clothes for the cruise (no tux, for example), we don't want to haul around an extra bag of "fancy" clothing for a month. I'll probably use Luggage Forward. Anyone have any other suggestions? The company Crystal recommends, Luggage Concierge, is way more expensive and they haven't updated their website to include the Tokyo port, so I've crossed them off.

[Marybeth]

If I don't get back on here before you leave, have a wonderful trip. I can't wait to read of your adventures. Enjoy and stay well.

[YFlower]

Bon voyage! Can't wait to start reading about the big trip!

[HostDave]

Thanks for the encouragement! We're all set to go, I think. Packing is all done (I've been done for a week)...we each have two small wheeled bags that fit together so they should be easier to handle than one large one on the trains. I still might send one ahead with the takyubin service for the first leg when we have to trek through Tokyo station, but we'll see how it goes. I also have a computer bag with a bunch of paperwork, tickets, etc. The cruise bag is one big one that we're sending from home to the last hotel. I wasn't brave enough to risk sending it directly to the ship. I'm a bit nervous because it won't be picked up until April 14th, but the house sitters we have are VERY coherent, so if anyone can handle it, they can.

Of course, my desktop computer had to lose my password yesterday during a power failure, so I'm trying to restore it before we leave. Why does this kind of thing always happen on the way out the door??? Luckily I had just transferred my Quicken data to the laptop the night before! If history repeats itself, I'm sure I'll lose access to our site host during the trip, too

I'm going to start new threads in the Tokyo Disney Resort forum and the Crystal forum to keep the discussion manageable, but if you post in this thread, that's OK, too. I'll check all of them as often as I can.

[FeAudrey]

You may want to keep an eye out for anything designed by Shigeru Ban, who just won the (biggie!) Pritzker Architecture Prize:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... 946.column

He is known for "temporary housing for victims of natural disasters and refugees fleeing conflicts" and "is the most socially-conscious architect ever to win the Pritzker Prize ... and the first to win largely on the basis of structures that are temporary, not permanent."

Architecture is so important in Chicago that the Tribune carries a full-time architecture critic, and the guy is a big fan of Ban's work:

"... his simple but spirit-lifting buildings have lent shelter and dignity to people who have suffered from civil war, genocide, earthquakes and tsunamis."