Editing Travel Plans/August 2023

== Tokyo Planning ==

* Fireworks festival at Meiji Jingu https://jinguhanabi.com; requires tickets that go on sale on July 15th; paid seats, which is weird, but the cheapest seats are ¥6000 and are in the rugby stadium; mika can buy
* Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri 11-15th in Tokyo [https://fukagawa-web.com/wpfuka02/2023/06/29/2023fukagawa-hachiman_matsuri272-1-2/#:~:text=%E5%AF%8C%E5%B2%A1%E5%85%AB%E5%B9%A1%E5%AE%AE%E4%BE%8B%E5%A4%A7%E7%A5%AD%E8%A1%8C%E4%BA%8B%E6%97%A5%E7%A8%8B,-2023%E6%B7%B1%E5%B7%9D%E5%85%AB%E5%B9%A1&text=%EF%BC%96%E5%B9%B4%E3%81%B6%E3%82%8A%E3%81%AE%E6%B7%B1%E5%B7%9D]; the main thing is at about 13:30-15:30pm on August 13th. We should be there!
** Schedule and maps are online here: http://www.tomiokahachimangu.or.jp/shahoNew/pdf/tomigaoka109_reisai.pdf#page=1
* August 15th evening fireworks in Ota (7:30pm): [https://en.japantravel.com/tokyo/ota-fireworks-festival-by-tama-river/46095] [https://www.city.ota.tokyo.jp/event/event_kankou/hanabi.html]

Other things:

* garlic restaurants

=== Fujisan Climb ===

Plan is to start in Fujinomiya in a hotel near the station.

;Both Options: 635am get bus Fujinomiya Station → Fujinomiya 5th Station [https://www.japan-guide.com/bus/fuji_season.html] (Mika should verify this information on the bus website)
;Both Options: 755am: arrive at Fujinomiya 5th Station and start climb to the top (should take "up to 5 hours" to make the climb)[ https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/climbing-mount-fuji]
;Option 1: Descend back down the Fujinomiya train (which could take Up to 2 hours and 45 minutes [https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/climbing-mount-fuji]) for a total of 7h45m to make the last bus back at 7pm [https://www.japan-guide.com/bus/fuji_season.html]; one concern is that this route might be congested; we then proceed back in more-or-less the same way (we'd have 11h from arriving to make this)
;Option 2: Descend down the Yoshida Trail (the most popular route with a separate descent route) 8to Fuji Subaru 5th Station (should take "up to 3.5h" for a total of 8.5h to get the last bus at 6:40 [[https://www.japan-guide.com/bus/fuji_season.html]] to Kawaguchiko (we'd have 10h45m from arrival to make this) 
;Option 3: Descent down the Subashiri trail although we'd need to make the last bus at 17:45 (because the 18:45 only runs on Sat/Sun, holidays and 8/14-16); that path down should take "up to 3 hours" though and we'd have 9h50m from when we leave; if we've made good time up to the time we should consider this because it should be the least crowded route down, by far; should be much more in the woods


==== Resources ====

* Japanese Bus schedule: https://bus.fujikyu.co.jp/rosen/fujitozan
* PDF for Fujinomiya schedule: https://bus.fujikyu.co.jp/pdf/rosen/fujitozan/fujinomiyatozan_fare_eng.pdf
* PDF for the Subaru (Yoshida Trail) schedule: https://bus.fujikyu.co.jp/pdf/rosen/fujitozan/subari_line_202307.pdf
* Very nice pamphlet from 2018 with lots of maps and stuff in English. That said, all the timetables are wrong! http://bus-en.fujikyu.co.jp/mtpass/_file/climbersbus_en.pdf
* Very nice train map/PDF https://www.fujisan-climb.jp/en/kjhqgg0000002r95-att/Fujinomiya_info2018_en.pdf
* Comparison of trails: https://www.fujisan-climb.jp/en/trails/index.html
* Toilet map (including a PDF we can download): https://www.fujisan-climb.jp/en/mountain_huts_and_toilets.html

== Thailand Diving trip planning ==

Date suggestions would be arriving to Ko Tao on '''August 20, 2023''' and leaving on '''August 27th'''. We could then to visit Bangkok for a couple days arriving on the '''August 27''' and leaving on '''August 30'''.

Resources:

* [[:wikivoyage:Ko Tao|Wikivoyage page for Ko Tao]]
* [https://www.agoda.com/search?city=17389&locale=en-us&ckuid=ae995151-5703-42ef-98f4-dbb3dbf9cc65&prid=0&currency=USD&correlationId=35bf2b8e-eaa7-43ef-87dc-05dffc958e2f&analyticsSessionId=-2470980653307526451&pageTypeId=103&realLanguageId=1&languageId=1&origin=US&cid=1606957&userId=ae995151-5703-42ef-98f4-dbb3dbf9cc65&whitelabelid=1&loginLvl=0&storefrontId=3&currencyId=7&currencyCode=USD&htmlLanguage=en-us&cultureInfoName=en-us&machineName=as-pc-3g-acm-web-user-6fdf6d96bd-dp54q&trafficGroupId=2&sessionId=tvpdbbdpkjxqlgwkug2pldw1&trafficSubGroupId=2&aid=139090&useFullPageLogin=true&cttp=4&isRealUser=true&mode=production&browserFamily=Firefox&checkIn=2023-08-20&checkOut=2023-08-27&rooms=1&adults=2&children=0&priceCur=USD&los=7&textToSearch=Ko%20Tao&productType=-1&selectedProperty=296302&travellerType=1&familyMode=off Agoda Search]
* [https://thaiest.com/blog/luggage-storage-delivery-at-bangkok-suvarnabhumi-airport-bkk luggage storage at BKK options]

Potential dive shops:

Sairee beach places in order that I should contact them:

* '''[Contacted 2023-07-09]''' [good choice for combo diving/place to stay] Sairee Cottage diving seems to have extremely cheap package deals w/ diving trips [https://www.saireecottagediving.com/diving-courses-koh-tao/] and places as little as $15/night; some have wifi and the Sail Rock trip is on Saturdays
* Mojo Diving goes to Sail Rock every Wednesday and Saturday (6am-1pm) w/ 1.5k reviews on TA: https://mojodiverskohtao.com/
* Shop that runs very early morning trips (6am) but seems to mostly beat the crowds as a result with 1.5k reviews on TA: https://newwaydiving.com/en/fun-diving/
* Bigger newer shop seems to be run entirely by foreigners w/ lots of options (3k reviews on TA): https://www.roctopusdive.com/
* Run by Austrian's with a website in German (200 reviews on TA): https://www.divepoint-kohtao.com/index.php/en/

* [more of a school] Big Bubble which seems to be one of the bigger options: https://www.divingatkohtao.com/
* Hobo-ya (Japanese Dive shop): http://www.hobo-ya.com/kohtao/

Other places:

* Mae Haad dive shop with built in accommodations and some upgrade options: https://www.crystaldive.com/accommodation-at-crystal-dive/

Places to stay: 

* Splurge place to stay (~5000 TBH for the cheaper ones) https://www.kohtaocabana.com/
* Just a place to stay but like 1000 baht/night: https://www.summerguesthousekohtao.com/

=== Mako's Plans for getting in/out  ===

When leaving, it probably makes most sense to fly to Koh Samui. There are direct flights, which are reasonably priced:

There is also the option to take Singapore Airlines (SQ706) leaving at 7:10am, changing in BKK, and arriving at 11:40am in Ko Samui (USM).

Two high speed boats go from Ko Samui to Ko Tao:

* https://www.lomprayah.com/timetable
* https://songserm.com/time-table

The closest pier to the airport is the [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bangrak+Seatran+Pier/@9.5601584,100.0609287,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x3054f01268b0c5e3:0x57edcdd2c7a21c3a!8m2!3d9.5644591!4d100.061905!16s%2Fg%2F11h_66xrrc?entry=ttu Ko Samui Bangrak SeaTran Pier] and departure are at 12:00 (arriving at 14:15) and 14:30 (arriving 17:00).

An alternative plan would be to fly to Bangkok, which is MUCH cheaper and there are many many options. From there, there are a bunch of options including a sort of bus + high speed boat options. These leave at 6am (arriving at 2:45p) or at 9pm (w/ VIP bus option that costs a little more) arriving a 8:35a the next day.

Bus location in Bangkok for the Lomprayah bus is: 154 Rambuttri rd., Banglumpoo, Bangkok 10200

== Request to Sairee Cottages ==

<pre>
Greetings!

I am interested in arranging for a stay in late August for myself and my wife Mika. It will just be the two of us. We are both PADI Rescue Divers with 100+ dives. Here are the details:

- Arriving on Sunday August 20th
- Leaving on the morning of Sunday August 27th

I think we'd want to plan to dive on all those days:

- Monday 21, Tuesday 22, Wednesday 23, Thursday 24, Friday 25 (so 10 dives?)
- PLUS a Sail Rock trip on Saturday August 26 

In the interest of taking a day off, maybe we can just register for 6 or 8 dives with the idea that we can add one or two based on how we are feeling when we arrive?

I think we're flexible in terms of accommodations although a double/queen bed would be fine and we'd love to stay in a place with Wifi. In that sense, the Yellow or Green rooms look most attractive.

You can reply to us at: team@leastsquar.es

Regards,
Mako
</pre>