Big Milestone Birthday

[dk168]

My next birthday is a big one ending in a "0" in February 2025 and I shall spend it in Japan, one of my bucket list destinations, for nearly 3 weeks!

Return flights (paid for) and hotels in 3 hubs (Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka) provisionally booked over the weekend.

I have the following activities already on the list, no doubt more will be added (please feel free to suggest activities/ideas), in no particular order:

• Attend a sumo match
• Attend a kabuki show
• Attend a tea ceremony
• Attend a whisky tasting
• Attend a sake tasting
• Visit the grounds of the Imperial Palace
• Visit shrines
• Visit gardens for the cherry blossoms
• Experience a hot tub in a traditional setting
• Dine at a 3-star restaurant on my birthday (I reckon there will be another 3-star meal during my stay)
• Ride the Shinkansen Bullet Train from Fukuoka to Tokyo
• Day trip to visit Mikimoto Pearl Island
• Day trips to Kobe including a visit to Takahashi
• Day trip to visit Nagasaki
• Day trips to visit Hiroshima
• Participate in a tea ceremony
• Eat/snack my way around Japan (I have planned to ride the Shinkansen for the longest journey so that I could try their onboard snacks )

I decided against staying at a traditional Ryokan inn due to restricted mobility to get up from the floor; also, reviews cited noise being an issue due to paper thin walls!

I decided to choose 3 hubs and do day trips to Toba and Kobe from Kyoto; and to Nagasaki and Hiroshima from Fukuoka. This way, I don't have to drag my luggage and change hotels that often.

I need to start saving soon as currently the pearl shopping budget would probably buy a single-pearl Akoya pendant!

My aim is to get a nice single or double strand of blue or grey baroque Akoyas.

I started planning this trip over a year ago as I prefer to travel independently on my own, and it is finally coming together, woo hoo!

Thanks for reading.

DK

 

[missy]

Happy birthday to be! Sounds like a wonderful birthday trip

 

[Begonia]

H*ll yeah.
If I'm ever fortunate enough to go on a big holiday, will you plan it for me?

 

[Dreamer_D]

This sounds amazing. When I was 14 I was so lucky to travel wit Japan with a youth theatre. We did home stay and performed a play a few times. But we also did a lot of travel. It was such a great trip and I have so many memories! The best memories were the sumo wrestling match and the hot springs and our visit to the tech area downtown.

 

[dk168]

H*ll yeah.
If I'm ever fortunate enough to go on a big holiday, will you plan it for me?

Not really, for the reason that everyone's perception of risk is very different.

However, I would not say no to having a go.

There are destinations where I would not dream of travelling on my own, and would definitely opt for organised escorted tours.

However, Japan is largely a safe country, hence I am happy to go solo and arrange my own itinerary to visit places like Toba/Mikimoto Pearl Island and Nagasaki that are not usually covered by tour operators.

DK

 

[lala646]

DK, I loved Japan! 2 side trips from Kyoto that I really enjoyed were Nara and Arashiyama. Arashiyama has a beautiful bamboo forest, as well as a monkey park where you can hike up a hilltop and feed the macaques. Nara is famous for its deer, who will pester you for deer biscuits, and is stuffed full of gorgeous temples, and is generally gorgeous to walk around.

 

[Inked]

My next birthday is a big one ending in a "0" in February 2025 and I shall spend it in Japan, one of my bucket list destinations, for nearly 3 weeks!

Return flights (paid for) and hotels in 3 hubs (Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka) provisionally booked over the weekend.

I have the following activities already on the list, no doubt more will be added (please feel free to suggest activities/ideas), in no particular order:

• Attend a sumo match
• Attend a kabuki show
• Attend a tea ceremony
• Attend a whisky tasting
• Attend a sake tasting
• Visit the grounds of the Imperial Palace
• Visit shrines
• Visit gardens for the cherry blossoms
• Experience a hot tub in a traditional setting
• Dine at a 3-star restaurant on my birthday (I reckon there will be another 3-star meal during my stay)
• Ride the Shinkansen Bullet Train from Fukuoka to Tokyo
• Day trip to visit Mikimoto Pearl Island
• Day trips to Kobe including a visit to Takahashi
• Day trip to visit Nagasaki
• Day trips to visit Hiroshima
• Participate in a tea ceremony
• Eat/snack my way around Japan (I have planned to ride the Shinkansen for the longest journey so that I could try their onboard snacks )

I decided against staying at a traditional Ryokan inn due to restricted mobility to get up from the floor; also, reviews cited noise being an issue due to paper thin walls!

I decided to choose 3 hubs and do day trips to Toba and Kobe from Kyoto; and to Nagasaki and Hiroshima from Fukuoka. This way, I don't have to drag my luggage and change hotels that often.

I need to start saving soon as currently the pearl shopping budget would probably buy a single-pearl Akoya pendant!

My aim is to get a nice single or double strand of blue or grey baroque Akoyas.

I started planning this trip over a year ago as I prefer to travel independently on my own, and it is finally coming together, woo hoo!

Thanks for reading.

DK

This sounds amazing! Happy early birthday! Japan is on my list of places i would love to visit!

 

[stracci2000]

This sounds wonderful!
I've wanted to visit Japan since I was a child!
I'm very excited for you!

 

[Ally T]

What a fabulous trip!

 

[MMtwo]

Happy Birthday,
Sounds like a whirlwind of fun and exciting new experiences. What a great way to turn over a year!

 

[dk168]

DK, I loved Japan! 2 side trips from Kyoto that I really enjoyed were Nara and Arashiyama. Arashiyama has a beautiful bamboo forest, as well as a monkey park where you can hike up a hilltop and feed the macaques. Nara is famous for its deer, who will pester you for deer biscuits, and is stuffed full of gorgeous temples, and is generally gorgeous to walk around.

Thanks for the recommendations and I shall bear them in mind.

DK

 

[monarch64]

Love this for you!

 

[qubitasaurus]

I'd leave time to just walk arround, and to visit the gardens in various cities. The thing I like best about Japan is that they have individually shaped the plants and composed the flowers and other shrubs (even just the ones on random street corners are nice coiffered). Also the shrines in Kyoto especially fushimi inari and kiyomizu are a bit out of this world to visit.

 

[Austina]

We visited Japan a few years ago @dk168, during Cherry blossom season, and it was stunning. We also visited Hiroshima, Kyoto and Okinawa. You’ll have a great time, it was such an interesting trip, I can’t remember all the places we visited, but we went Nara where we got mugged by deer

 

[dk168]

I'd leave time to just walk arround, and to visit the gardens in various cities. The thing I like best about Japan is that they have individually shaped the plants and composed the flowers and other shrubs (even just the ones on random street corners are nice coiffered). Also the shrines in Kyoto especially fushimi inari and kiyomizu are a bit out of this world to visit.

Thanks for the suggestions and I shall bear them in mind.

DK

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

wow that's a lot to pack into a trip
do you have any easy/rest/unplanned days penciled into your itinarary
will you be there at cheery blossom time ?
im very excitted about the pearl shopping

 

[dk168]

wow that's a lot to pack into a trip
do you have any easy/rest/unplanned days penciled into your itinarary
will you be there at cheery blossom time ?
im very excitted about the pearl shopping

Yup, there will be periods of rest and do nothing.

In addition, for the longest train journey via the Shinkansen Bullet Train from Fukuoka to Tokyo, I intend to rest in between eating at least two Ekibens as in train bento boxes.

I believe I am likely to see some cherry blossoms as I shall be in Japan in February.

It is more likely to be pearl (window)shopping at this rate!

DK

 

[dk168]

I bite the bullet and bought a new suitcase today, a 4-wheel hard shell one in red with no zipper, similar in size as my current one, intended to be checked in for the longer intercontinental trips.

The current one is 2-wheel, and I have to drag it behind me. Putting a bag on it and drag both behind me means there is a risk of the bag being tampered with while I focus on walking ahead.

With a 4-wheel one, the wheels rotate 360deg and I can put a bag on top and push both by my side.

It is my third hard case since I came over to UK from HK in 1979. The second one can retire gracefully after being well-used over the years!

DK

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Yup, there will be periods of rest and do nothing.

In addition, for the longest train journey via the Shinkansen Bullet Train from Fukuoka to Tokyo, I intend to rest in between eating at least two Ekibens as in train bento boxes.

I believe I am likely to see some cherry blossoms as I shall be in Japan in February.

It is more likely to be pearl (window)shopping at this rate!

DK

those bento boxes look so yummy
Gary's sis and her hubbie did the bullet train a few years back but didnt really do their research so missed a lot
a young boy i worked with had seen the cherry blossoms on a school exchange and thought they were magnificent
maybe you will find spectucular earrings or a pendant that wont break the bank (compaired to a full necklace)

 

[dk168]

maybe you will find spectucular earrings or a pendant that wont break the bank (compaired to a full necklace)

A full strand of nice blue-grey baroque Akoyas would be nice, however, I quite like the idea of a nice brooch pendent or two with pearls.

DK