The route is set. The request are send to the hotels and ryokans in Oosaka, Kyoto and Kisodani.  The JRP is ordered and the money has been wired. No it is waiting. Waiting for feedback. There is nothing new to report.

A good time to write some lines about the upcoming blog: If nothing happens I will try to write a small report at the end of every day. And I will also try to post some pictures. The end of the day means 10pm local time or 2pm in Germany. The blogs will not win a Pulitzer Price. And the pictures are raw. I will take of this when I am back. I want to discover Japan and not sit in front of my notebook.

There will be some „blackouts“. There is no internet access in Ainokura/Shirakawa. I am happy if I have electricity. The house I stay is a world heritage. It even doesn’t have central heating. Looks like some reports will be online delayed. The same goes for Kisodani. There I will also be offline. But I will arrive Tokyo two days later.

I am waiting for snow, too. The last report is not that good. The red line is my travel route. At the moment there is only snow at the mountain tops. Only Hokkaido is covered in snow. Asahikawa reports 1m of snow (the two yellow spots).

I am excited how much snow I will see. Because it is the plan to soak in an onsen in the middle of nowhere covered in snow. I hope it will change within the next days. Today there was a weather warning for the northern coast with keywords like storm surge, high waves, gale and snow and thunderstorn. That reminds me, that I didn’t plan any backup days. This time there is now time for that. I stay not long enough in a hotel for that. Looks like all I can do is WAITING.

The actual weather forecast can be found under http://www.jma.go.jp/en/yoho/.

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The Yen exchange rate doesn’t like me. it is rising. It will be the worst rate since the beginning of my trips in 2004. Meaning: This will be the most expensive journey ever.

Here is the history of the exchange rate of the last 14 years. Low means good. I usually use the 10.000yen hotel room for example. On my first trip is costs $100 (75€). On my third trip it was $80 (60€). Therefore the hotels on this trip were from the high price section. I even booked the Deluxe Suite in Hotel Edoya or a room in the Nikko Kanaya. Sadly, I got used to this luxury.

On my last trip I got some trouble. The yen went up twice very steep. Thanks to Leman Brothers in 2008 and Greece in 2010. The displayed ratesin bank were 100:1 The highest rate ever for me. The reference hotel room was now at $130 (100€). An increase of 60% from the trip before.

Just to think about it. A deposit at your account will give you 2% p.a. If you had some yen in 2008 they would have made over 25% p.a. for 2 years. And if you had waited until today you would still have got 12% p.a. Better not think about it.

And this time the exchange rate will be worse. No more Spa & Resort Hotels. Since 2010 the rate is still rising. The worst vaule was in July with a 107:1. But I have a little bit of luck. Since July the rate is falling slowly. It doesn’t look that big of a deal, but we are talking about 10%. On a $4500 trip it will save me $450.

I have to do something. Specially at the hotels. My plan was a night in Minakami. But 24000 yen for a night is not possible this time. We are talking about $320. In 2008 it were only $190 and a different story. Maybe I would have booked it then, just because it is theee onsen. But I placed my limit at 7000yen, and only want to go above it, if I have to, if there is no other room available. And I will change money as late as possible, to get the best exhange rate possible.

If I think about it: My 2008 trip cost me $5300. Today I would have to over $8500 for the same trip. Wow. In the other direction: My actual hotel cost calculation of $4000 in the old 2008-rate would shrink the cost to $2400. No, I don’t want to think about it. But there may be one positive aspect: Less annoying gaijins running around.

BTW … In two weeks I will be in Japan.

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I wrote many big tables and checked them several times. The 2 week-JRP in combination with the 3-day nonJR-Kansai-Pass is the best option. I never expected this outcome; not with all this non-JR-trips. Therefore the advantage to single tickets is small. $130 only. It is a question of luxuary, reserved seats and fast connections, but also spontaneous changes in plan.

Who wants to get some information about my destinations on this tour will find some useful information here:

• japan-guide – A very good webpage that also lists bus connection to single attractions. Busses are not listed in Hyerdia. I believe that this webpage is better for non-backpackers than the Lonely Planet. The website lists the attraction of „only“ 154 cities. This even is a lot if sort out ski resorts and hiking places.
• JNTO – The official tourism information page
• JPRail -A webpage that focus on train connections in Japan. Two years ago I found here all the information about the Hokutosei. The webpage has useful information about how to get from A to B.
• wikitravel – I didn’t used it, but it looks quiet intersting.
• specially for Toyama: www.info-toyama.com

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I found this website by accident: Visiting Japan During New Year. I saw the list that you can call „Closed during New Year“. Lucky for me. Because I planned to visit the Castle in Matsumoto on my way from Kiso valley to Tokyo. But the castle is closed during that time. I still have Inuyama and Nagano for plan B. Last one is only a good idea if I decide for the big JRP.

The fish market is closed until January 4th, too. It was on my list for the 2nd. Getting up at 4am for nothing would have ruin my day. Maybe I move it to the 6th. The market is half way to Big Sight, where the Dezome Shiki takes place.

Also to mention that many shops and restaurants will be closed until the 4th. This explains all the trouble with booking a hotel during New Year. Everyone is on vacation. But it looks like all temples and shrines are open; because of New Year.  Maybe I should double check all  train connection with the real date. Maybe there is a special time table for these days, a canceled connection or a train leaving 10 minutes earlier.

btw:To calculate the fare, you can use google maps. This is pertty handy. The route planning function also has an option for walking from A to B. To get a better information about train connection you can use Hyperdia; like I will do in a few minutes.

From dawn till dusk

There is another factor I have to put into my calculations: Daylight. How much do I have. All last trips took place in September, during autumn equinox. Tokyo is closer to the equator. Therefore the days in summer are shorter than in Lübeck. But in winter they are longer. How big is the difference? Will it affect my plans (taking pictures at 5pm)?

The charts above are created with Kompf.de and show the problem. The the plots are not looking symmetrical is the result of the time equatian. But I will skip the physical background. The result for the trip is simple:

All 4 times before I had 12,75 hours of day light (5:15-18:00).
This time I have 3 hours less.

In the evening I will miss the 1,5 hours of light. My visit to two cities in one day (Asuka + Yoshino and Hikone + Eihei-ji) will need a tighter schedule. At 5pm the light is gone. At 4pm I have to increase the ASA sensitivity. Looks like i have to get up early and skip breakfast.

The next problem are the red and the dark blue areas in the charts. Dusk is come very quick. In the red area a picture is still possible with a tripod. After that you need a flash. The red area really is small. I recognized that before. It is dark in an instant. Not like in Lübeck where the dusk last forever in summer time. In June dusk and dawn become one. Midsummer. In a clear night you can see all the colours of the sunset during the whole night at the horizon, even 2am in morning. I had a picture on the title page of the local news paper.

I should double check the departure time of all trains too. On my first holiday I lost 3 days because of bad train connections. On my second trip there were two days ruined by badly planned day trips. On my last trip I checked a few connection before, but only because there was a ferry involved between Wakkanai and Rishiri and only two train to Wakkanai at the day.

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The tour plan is set. I don’t have all the ryokans by now. But for all missing places there is a plan B available by bus within half an hour.  And I think we have a winner or the first day: Wakayama. Castle and japanese garden win over old houses and Chinatown. The last thing is also better at night.

The tour can be splitted into 3 parts plus Tokyo, that is always not really a part ofthe journey but the bracket that surrounds the trip at the beginning and the end. A trip to Japan is not thinkable without Tokyo.

Part I .. ancient temple (shrines and castles)
lodging in Oosaka, Kyoto and Kanazawa

• 19 .. Flight with KLM via Amsterdam; incl. airport lounge
• 20 .. Arrival in Kansai; Wakayama
• 21 .. Koyasan
• 22 .. Amanohashidate
• 23 .. Yoshino and Asuka [move to Kyoto]
• 24 .. Kyoto
• 25 .. Hikone and Eihei-ji [move to Kanazawa]
• 26 .. Kanazawa

Part II .. lonesome valeys
lodging in Shirakawa and Tsumago

• 27 .. Shirakawa-go [with hotel change]
• 28 .. Inuyama [and hotel change to Tsumago]
• 29 .. Hiking along the Nakasendo thru the Kiso valley
• 30 .. Matsumoto [and hotel change to Tokyo]

Part III .. relaxing onsen
lodging in Bessho Onsen and Kusatsu Onsen

• 03 .. Bessho Onsen [and hotel change to Kusatsu Onsen]
• 04 .. Kusatsu Onsen
• 05 .. (Kawagoe) [and hotel change back to Tokyo]

Part IV .. Tokyo
lodging in Tokyo and Narita

• 31 .. visiting some temples; Sky Tree and than preparing from New Year
• 01 .. visiting a temple for New Year; Tokyo Jissha pilgramage
• 02 .. new year speach of the emperor in the inner palace area,  [move to Bessho Onsen] …
• 06 .. Tokyo Jissha, temple of the 47 ronin
• 07 .. Tokyo (no plan for now)
• 08 .. Narita [with hotel change]
• 09 .. flight back with KLM, with airport longe

I have put in some links to the japan-guide website. This site really is helpul. Koyasan and Einhei-ji were on my wish list for quiet a time (I think since 2004). But I never was able to visit. There was even the idea to spend a night at Koyasan, but I will save this for a summer vacation.

The Kiso Valley came onto the list in 2006. Peter put a hardcoy of a website on my desk one day. There was a report about old post towns not far away from Tokyo but in the middle of nowhere. The pictures looked like the time has stopped in this places. The best time to visit is during autumn colors but I don’t want to wait another 4 years. *)

If you compare this trip to all other before, you will recognize that this one is planned differently. This times there is nearly the twice as many hotels booked. In 2004 there were 7 hotels in 4 weeks. This time there are 10 in 3 weeks. My points of interest or on a line, there is no central place I can use as a base camp (except in Kansai).

Also the number of cities on the list is impressive. 14 cities plus Tokyo and Kyoto. In Kyoto I will try to visit the places I missed in 2004: Kiyomizudera, Higashiyama, Gion, Fushima Inari Shrine and Tofoku-ji. With a little bit of luck I can do a brief stop at the Kokedera or the big eastern and western temple. They were a construction site in 2004.

In Tokyo there are three big events on my list: (1) New Year. Maybe I can ring the temple bell. (2) The visit of the emperor palace. I wrote about it a few days ago. (3) The Dezome Shiki fire fighter parade. I wrote a post about this too.

*) The equation behind the 4 years is a journey every 4 years and the already planned trip for 2014, called „2004 reloaded“.

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