Travel plans/Winter 2014

This page lists to the schedule, plan, and options for the trip. For other ideas we couldn't do this time, check out Travel plans/Winter 2014/Ideas.

Schedule

• 2/8-2/11 Tokyo
• 2/11 Tokyo → Tsuyazaki
• 2/12 Kurokawa onsen → Kurokawa onsen
• 2/13 Tsuyazaki → Naoshima
• 2/14 Naoshima → Takamatsu
• 2/15 Takamatsu → Hakone?
• 2/16 Hakone → Yokote
• 2/17 Yokote → Tokyo
• 2/17-2/20 Tokyo

Tokyo

Staying in an AirBnB place.

2/11 Tokyo → Tsuyazaki

• Travel: Tokyo → Tsuyazaki which includes: JR Tokaido / Sanyo Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hakata; JR Train to Futuma Station (the 鹿児島本線 train); Then #5 Bus to Tsuyazaki-bashi (14 mins, 13 stops)run by Nishitetsu Bus. The bus and trains run until midnight.
• Day: Travel mostly but maybe stop for food/activity on the way?
• Evening: Stay in Tsuyazaki

If we leave on a 6am train on the fastest train, we can be in Tsuyazaki before 1pm. We should try to leave on an early train and then try to spend a big chunk of the day in a stop along the way. Hiroshima for some bomb tourism and okonomiyaki?

In Tsuyazaki, we'll stay in an amazing guest house run by friends of Mika's college friend Takara who now lives in the US and won't be there.

Vaughn will leave Tokyo around noon and should be able to arrive in Tsuyazaki by 7.

Dinner and an onsen or similar in Tsuyazaki?

2/12 Tsuyazaki → Kurokawa onsen

• Day: Visit shochu distellery in Tsuyazaki
• Travel: #5 Bus to Futuma; Train Futuma → Hakata; Train Hakata → Aso; Bus Aso → Kurokawa-onsen
• Evening: Onsen and stay in Kurokawa

Bus from Aso to Kurokawa onsen leaves Aso: 10:28, 11:28, 12:28, 14:40, 17:12. We must leave Tsuyazaki by 12:50 to arrive in Aso at 16:35 to make the last bus.

• Stay in this ryokan?

2/13 Kurokawa Onsen → Naoshima

• Travel: Kurokawa onsen → Naoshima (6h?)
• Day: Onsen in the morning and, if there's time, maybe stop along the way?
• Night: Hostel on Naoshima and bath at I ♥ Yu

Naoshima (WV) is an incredible island with wonderful contemporary art. We'll spend the whole day of the 14th there.

I ♥ Yu is open until 21:00. We should try to make the 18:53 ferry in order to go there.

Afternoon and evening ferries leave Uno at: 20:25, 18:53, 17:10, etc.

We'll plan to stay in Dormitory in Kowloon (ドミトリーin九龍) right in front of Miyanoura port, behind a 'snack' bar, ☎ +81 87-892-2424.

Useful links for the day:

• Naoshima ferry schedule
• Naoshima bus schedule

2/14 Naoshima → Takamatsu

• Travel: Boat trip to Takamatsu (1-2h)
• Day: Exploring Naoshima
• Evening: Udon and Staying in Takamatsu

The last slow boat from the main Naoshima port to Takamatsu leaves at 17:00, costs ¥510, and takes ~1h. The last faster boat leaves at 19:25, takes 25 minutes, and costs ¥1200.

Takamatsu (WV | WP) is major port city in Shikoku and the udon capital of the planet. Gird your loins fellow travelers.

This public bath in Takamatsu looks interesting.

There are many famous udon places but recommendations include:

• Tsurumaru (手打ちうどん 鶴丸), 古馬場町9-34 (About halfway between Kataharamachi Station and Kawaramachi Station on the road running along the Kotoden Line.)
• Kawafuku at 2-1 Daiku-machi
• Waraya (91 Yashima-nakamachi, Yashima), a 19th-century farmhouse-turned udon-ya that's popular
• Ichidai (12-3 Nishinomaru-cho, Takamatsu), a bright, bustling lunch spot near the main train station

Maybe stay at Takamatsu Century Hotel (¥2200/night)?

2/15 Takamatsu → Hakone/Ito

• Travel: Takamatsu → Hakone: Train Takamatsu to Shin-Osaka (3h); Shin-Osaka → Hakone (~3.5h)
• Day: Stop in Osaka for Umeshu Convention
• Evening: Onsen in Hakone

En route from Takamatsu, we'll stop in Osaka for much of the day to visit The 8th Tenmatenjin Umeshu Convention. The address for the convention is:

2-1-8, Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi 530-0041

Places to stay include: This Ryokan

2/16 Hakone → Yokote

• Travel: Hakone → Yokote, Akita (WV | WP) (5-6h) (Vaughn to Tokyo)
• Day: Onsen
• Evening: Yokote snow festival with kamakura and bonden (Akita February 15-17) Kamakura festival in Akita!]

In the morning, lets visit one of onsen resorts in Hakone. Particularly attractive seems Yunessun for a wine, sake, coffee, and green tea onsen. It costs extra to enter the naked zone.

According to the official festival website, the igloos are in action 18:00 to 21:00 so we should plan to be there before the igloos are shut down.

The two nearest trains along the railroad are: Yuzawa (Akita) and Omagari.

• A potential place to stay (business hotel): http://rurubu.travel/A02/05/0508/050801/0520301/2216008/list.html?ref=regular

2/17 Day 7: Travel: Yokote → Tokyo

• Day : More snow festival in Yokote
• Travel: Yokote → Tokyo
• Night: Back in Tokyo

2/18-20 Tokyo

• Maybe we can go to this Kabuki performance (ordering details are here).
• Wave Artists at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum (Tokyo February 19-March 7)
• Natto factory in many places including Chiba?
• the Mona Satoimo Festival (茂名の里芋祭) which is a kind of potato festival in Chiba on February 19-22

Regions in Japan

• There are 8 main regions in Japan. In general, it's cold everywhere in Feb but it's colder in Chubu, Tohoku, and Hokkaido. There's a mountain range in the middle of Tohoku/Chubu region; west of the mountain range is very snowy.

• There are onsen, temples/shrines, good food, sesame, and vending machines pretty much everywhere. The whole country is made of volcanoes.

Accounting

• Mika: 166GBP for Tokyo Airbnb Feb 8-12.
• Mika: 480GBP for 3 JR pass.