I have never been on such a long trio via Airplane. I would love to hear from anyone regarding flights this long and their personal observations that might make the trip more comfortable. Also, if you have ever been to Japan and have any suggestions on how to make the most of it, or save money in certain areas I am very interested also. A large portion of this trip will be devoted to shakuhachi study but I will also be doing the tourist thing and visiting temples. Like I said, please feel free to share any observations with me either on the blog or at my email at: brian@floridashakuhachi.com . I will be posting pictures and stories as I can find wifi in Japan so stay tuned :)
4:42 AM |
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Japan Trip
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Comments (4)
Long flights are not as bad as you might think. Bring three or four things to read, and make sure they are sufficiently different to keep you interested no matter what kind of mood you're in. So, bring a novel, maybe some comic books, some history, some philosophy. Stay away from coffee and alcohol, and drink maybe some tea and lots and lots of water. Definitely bring stuff to eat, as you could easily get stranded. Energy-dense stuff like unsalted nuts, cheese, some good fruit. Walk around once every hour or two. Get an eyeshade for sleeping, and sealed headphones such as Shures for music. For people going to Japan, I always recommend getting the Earworms Learning mp3 and (if you have an iPhone) the uTalk app for Japanese, and spending a couple hours of your transit actually studying Japanese. You'll be surprised at how much you can pick up if you apply yourself.
Finally, while you're in Japan, be sure to eat four meals a day, because it has the best food in the entire world.
How was that for comprehensive?
That was awesome. Thanks for taking the time to write that. I will definitely be better prepared.
Hi Brian, I concur with everything A Feng said with a couple of new entries. I travel between North America and Japan every year and have found that it's a good idea to set your watch to the destination time before you leave the U.S. and try to adjust yourself to that time in-flight. You don't necessarily have to follow the schedule that the airline wants you to. Sleep when you should sleep in Japan (or try to anyway.)
By the way, wifi is available in any Starbucks of which there are many.
I wish you all the best on your trip and might suggest that you use disgression when choosing your '4 meals a day' of Japanese food. You may have to pay an overweight fee on your return flight.
No problem. Thanks for maintaining this blog. I am not very good at practicing, and your writing is often a big inspiration. Just a couple more tips. Hit all the temples and gardens you can. Also, I don't know if you have any taste for matcha (powdered green tea), but when you are in temples and other sort of traditional tourist areas you'll see signs for it generally in Japanese only. Follow those signs and have a bowl of tea. You will get to sit and relax in a clean, sparse tatami room with a beautiful view that you otherwise (as a tourist) would not see, plus you'll get a nice dose of caffeine and anti-oxidants and a little cookie or candy, all for about $5. Here is the kanji for matcha: 抹茶 Write that down and keep an eye out for the signs. Have a great time in Japan!