Heading for the Motherland
Jun 19th, 2008 by msdanielle
In less than two weeks I’ll be on a plane headed for Tokyo! What a crazy thought. I’ve never been to Japan before, surprisingly, since about 90% of my friends have (and I don’t have many Japanese friends). It’ll be mid-summer and I can’t wait for the hot, humid climate that awaits. I won’t mind the approximately 14 hour flight from Los Angeles, seeing as how the trek to Bali was an excruciatingly disorienting 22 hours.
What do I plan to do on my trip, you ask? First and foremost, eat. I plan to eat my way all the way through Japan, from Tokyo to Osaka. I have two weeks to consume as many delectable delights as my stomach can manage. I’m also going to try to document as much as I can, since well, who cares if I look like a tourist. I am a tourist, and I’m Japanese so it’s OK if I take my camera everywhere. 
Gives me something to post here on my blog.
I’m also looking forward to visiting the amazing temples and beautiful scenery of the countryside. While I plan to do these things, I really have no idea what to expect. Each time I travel it’s such a huge learning experience. It’s humbling, educating, motivating, and just fun!
But I have a question - do you think I should bring my laptop? I know, pretty lame question right? Well, I’m not sure I want to carry it with me, or worry about it. But you never know when it might come in handy, plus I could put all of my pictures onto my hard drive. Again, I know, lame, but let me know what you think. I’m not always going to be in the city, so I don’t know if I’ll have access to communication. The flip argument is that I’m on vacation, and I shouldn’t worry about the rest of the world. LOL
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I’d take the laptop along - although I am sure you could leave it and not miss it too much. Putting your pictures onto the HD could be convenient, but just purchasing a few large memory cards would be even easier to carry around. Plus, I have to imagine that there will be places where you can use a machine to connect to the Interweb.
So what I am trying to say is that I would take the laptop but probably realize that I would have been fine with leaving it at home.
Enjoy the trip!
hey derek, yea that’s what i was thinking. i can just get another memory card. i double checked my itinerary and we’re going to be on the road a lot and there prob won’t be much time for me to do anything online anyway. i’m sure i’d be fine without it. i’m like 75% leaning toward leaving it at home
When I went on my China trip a few years ago, I brought a laptop with me to offload pictures daily. I thought about doing a travel / picture blog, but it never happened because it would take too much time. Instead, spend your time exploring and taking in as much as you can.
Do you like to take a ton of pictures? How many do you think you would take per day? Calculate how much space you would need and determine if you want to purchase more memory cards, or just bring the laptop for storage. While memory cards are cheap, they do fail and having the laptop there as a backup is a good option. If I had to space to take the laptop with me, I would take it.
Have fun in Japan and take good notes… I might be out there in October.
thanks garrett, you have some good points. the memory card i have now in my camera has never failed me so i guess if i get a couple more, or one more larger one, that might be sufficient. i shot about 550 pics when i went to bali on my 1GB card, but that didn’t include any video… i’ll prob pick up a couple more gigs. thanks!
Danielle, I picked up an 8GB card for my wife’s digicam for about $30. I posted about it here and so far the card has worked great.
hey derek…i picked up a 3-pack of 2GB sticks for $44 and i used a $30 best buy gift card. 6GB for $16!! WOOHOO!
Osaka and Tokyo? That’ll be fun. I’ve never had the chance to explore those cities, but many say that they’ll never forget the journey.
When it comes to the notebook, I would bring it if you plan on using the net a bit at a hotel or friends’ place. Open wifi is a rare thing here, though.
If you happen to stop by Nagoya and you’d like to have a coffee, let me know and I can meet you somewhere. I work less than a kilometer from the Nagoya Shinkasen terminal
i don’t see nagoya on my itinerary. booo… how are things over there with you anyway??
woot! You can come hang with me in Tokyo!
I found some awesome restaurants…you can take your pick lol.
If you’re going to Osaka, a friend recommends this ridiculously awesome unagi place where a 70-year old master unagi chef makes the best eel ever.
the best eel ever sounds great
yea let’s hit up a restaurant, or maybe the fish market. you down? still waiting to hear from my other friend in tokyo…
What? You’re going to start updating your blog again? SWEET!
Seriously though, I would probably bring the laptop along with the realization that I might not use it much. You say you don’t want to carry it around and such, so maybe just leave it at the hotel or wherever you are staying. Then you have it if you need/want it but if not, it’s not like it is that much of an added inconvienience to have it along.
yea i was thinking that too but there’s a stretch for a week where we’re like in a different city everyday. which means lugging it back and forth, on top of my other luggage. it would be convenient though in case there’s that one rare occasion where i actually need it. hmmm…
I just got back. Harakuju is great..shinjuku is great…shibuya is for the young crowd.. akasakusa is awesome for the old style temples.. so convenient. How is your nihongo?
no hablo ningun japones
well you will certainly have a good time ! bringing a laptop is a nice idea, you can use it at night and stuff to chat or upload a few pics … while you are at the hotel and all
that’s true. i’ve gotta have SOME down time
The best part I love of travelling to other country is no one knows who we are…Yeah, as you said I’m a tourist
. Even when you go to your motherland.
and hopefully when we leave they will know who we are
That’s the part about traveling that I love too. You wouldn’t believe how many places, events and restaurants I’ve gotten into (restaurants without reservation…) by convincing managers, etc that I’m a big shot journalist from America. It helps that I’m carrying around 30 pounds of camera equipment but in general, being a decent actor is good enough.
Have fun! I haven’t gone back there in almost 10 years now. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go back before I file for my US citizenship.
I would personally take the laptop, but it’s pain in the ass to take it out of the bag when you go through the airport security. Looking forward to the pictures.
thanks, yea i’m really looking forward to it. leaving tomorrow morning… i’ve decided to take the darn thing. u never know when you might really need it for something useful. rather not be kicking myself for not taking it…
cool! u should try to make your up to one of those traditional ryokans + hot springs in hokkaido. those are a unique experience.
haven’t talked to you for a long time. i hope PD are going well! stuff on my side has been going crazy lately.
hey johns! glad to hear things are going well. let’s get together soon. tacos??
gonna try to hit up hokkaido for sure on my next trip. this trip we’re going south of tokyo…hiroshima, kobe, osaka, kyoto, etc…
It’s getting warmer here and summer is almost upon us.
Don’t be shy looking me up when you’re in Tokyo … always heading out … ping me on facebook if you want.
hey neil - i’m only going to be in tokyo for one day.
looks like we’ll have to connect next time…or if you’re ever out here in LA!
Great! Actually I am living in Tokyo, and I work for a search marketing firm in Shibuya(near Harajuku, Omotesando). I think you should not bring your laptop if it is hard because there are tons internet cafe in Tokyo and Osaka. Anyway you can contact me if you want to have great foods in Tokyo.
Where are you now? Still in Japan? Waiting to read you post about your travelling story.
You can see one day of the story on my blog.
enjoy.. your trip.. hope your having fun..
Hope you have a wonderful holiday.
Have a great trip. I am planning a trip to Korea next year with a couple of my kids– we are really looking forward to it.
Mary, mom to many
Nice to be on our blog. It was great. Hope you have a nice holiday and come back refreshed.
Btw, congrats on being featured on http://northxeast.com/general/nxe%E2%80%99s-fifty-most-influential-female-bloggers for being the second most influential female blogger.
best of luck.