We have never spent so much time and effort in planning a trip, and that is despite most of it is through an Odysseys Unlimited tour entitled Insider’s Japan. The actual tour starts on November 9th in Tokyo, but Dan and I will arrive in Japan on November 5th. This will allow us a few days to become accustomed to the time change and take in more of Tokyo than our tour will allow. We also added another 2 days to the end of our tour so we could visit Nara, Japan’s first capital city, and Osaka.
Japan is a very popular travel destination these days, and everyone I’ve spoken to that traveled there, loved their visit. I’ve taken advantage of tapping the brains of a few people to help in our planning. Kacie Leviton, is our daughter Jessica’s friend. Kacie grew up in Tokyo, but spent her summers visiting her grandmother who lived in Beachwood. Kacie is married and is now raising her own family in Tokyo. We hope to spend an evening with them. I’ve also spoken to Jill Murdoch (daughter of good friends Eileen and Jim) who has traveled to Japan several times, and Ben Krasney (son of my friend Helene). He and his family lived there several years when his wife was a psychiatrist with the Navy. Then there were the notes from Harrison Killefer, the son of our good friends Maddy and Campbell. The amount of information is overwhelming, especially when you add all the information I’ve collected from the internet/AI. I also made a rather futile attempt at learning a little Japanese using Duolingo. As
I am currently sitting in the Detroit airport waiting for our flight to Tokyo. The flight is 13-1/2 hours LONG!! It’s a lot of sitting. One thing good, however, is that the mid-term election was yesterday and we know that the Dems took back the House and Senate. We also know that Amy Acton is our next governor and that Sherrod Brown is back in the Senate. What a relief that is.
I’m hoping to write a blog during our travels, but as I’m sure you understand enjoying the trip and getting enough rest (vs staying up late and writing) is more important than this blog. I also anticipate that there will be a lot of explaining involved because the Japanese culture is so different from ours. I’m really looking forward to learning a lot.
So stay tuned. Hope you enjoy the ride
Wendy and Dan
