a tale of three cities

I have returned from Japan.

I concluded the lovely month of July at home with my family, packed up, said my goodbyes, and hopped on a jet plane for Tokyo on July 31, there to spend eight days touring the country. As of August 8, I'm back in Seoul, wallowing in the heat and humidity and cat hair, reunited with Miss H and loving it. (And the best part is, my vacation's only half over.)

But I need to tell you about the jaunt through Japan, don't I? This is a travel blog, after all. So here goes. First, a few short words to set the scene:

I planned the whole affair out in advance, which is unusual for me. Usually I just go and pants it. When I went to the British Isles in 2010, I had only the vaguest idea of what I'd be doing and seeing, and where I'd be staying. I knew I wanted to hit Newcastle, Edinburgh and Dublin, but that was as specific as it got. My train tickets, flight tickets and hostels were all booked after I got there. It was somewhat slapdash, but it worked out.

Knowing, as I did, that I had only a limited amount of time to see Japan, and not wanting to spend a fortune there, I did some advance planning this time around. I chose to focus my vacation on three cities. Tokyo was an obvious choice, and Kyoto was acknowledged by many to be a must-see; but the third one was a curve ball. I picked Kumamoto. I won't go into details here about why I chose it; I'll let you know that when I get to those specific days. For now, I'm simply going to give you my route and the timing.

This was the plan, and a damn good one: July 31 through August 3, I'd be in Tokyo. Miss H and Miss J (from Bucheon) would meet me there late on the 31st and stay until the 2nd. Then they'd go home and I'd be on my own again for two days. August 4-5, I'd be in Kyoto, and August 6-7 I'd be in Kumamoto.

I've provided a map for your consideration. You can clearly see all three cities on this map (Kumamoto is down on Kyushu, the southernmost of the three big Home Islands):

Now, one of the things on my バケット list ("バケット" is Japanese for "bucket") was to ride the Shinkansen. Literally, that word means "new trunk line." It's synonymous with "Japanese bullet train." What better way to see the country (and get from Point A to Points B and C quickly) than by high-speed rail? With that in mind, I booked a seven-day Japan Rail Pass for $283 before I left the U.S. (Due to some regulation or other, you can't get the pass in Japan; you have to buy it and have it shipped to you outside the country.) This was a costly purchase, yes, but it was worth it. With the route I had imagined, I'd be making three separate rail journeys: Tokyo to Kyoto on August 4; Kyoto to Kumamoto on August 6; and Kumamoto to Fukuoka on August 8. A seven-day pass seemed like a wise decision, and it was, as I'd discover later.

Why was I taking the train to Fukuoka? Well, that's because the international ferry port was there. And not just any ferry port, either: Fukuoka is the jumping-off point for the high-speed ferries, the Boeing 929 Jetfoils. This, I determined, would be my conveyance from Kyushu back to Korea. I didn't want to fly (too expensive), so a ship was the only avenue left to me. Moreover I'd never traveled on an international ferry before, nor a hydrofoil. It seemed too good to pass up for the old baketto list.

I had a lot of difficulties threading my way through the Japanese webpages and phone numbers, but I finally managed to make a reservation with the Miraejet company. That turned out to be unnecessary...but you'll find that out later.

So there you go. From my old bedroom in my parents' house in the California desert, thanks to Google, Hotels.com, and Korea's English tourism website, I was able to book my entire Japan trip: the plane to Narita Airport, the capsule hotel in Tokyo, my standard hotels in Kyoto and Kumamoto, my bullet train pass and my Jetfoil ferry ticket. Too regimented a plan? Some might say so, but this was good for me: it meant I would have a schedule to keep and a goal to shoot for, and I wouldn't get waylaid in some city or other and spend all my hard-earned cash. And it would induce me to get off my duff and go out and see stuff despite the inevitable heat and humidity. So there you go: this plan was as much incentive as insurance.

Everything was set. Tokyo to Kyoto to Kumamoto by way of the bullet train, and then home on the international ferry. Eight days. The capital and the entire western half of Japan. A pilgrimage.

And...there was something else I intended to do in Japan. Something that could only take place once Miss H and our friend Miss J from Bucheon had met me in Tokyo. But you'll find out about that in due time.

It all began on July 31. And this is how it all fell out...

(Hey kids! Check back on Saturday for the first installment of the Vaunter's stay in Tokyo: THE SUMIDA RIVER CRUISE. He brought photos!)