Itinerary & Budget Breakdown

Changing the font to Arial for superior reading...

I have the general outline of the trip planned with flexibility to wander a freely a bit.  I'll land in Osaka on March 16th.  Just writing this had in a small panic because I was double checking my flight itinerary and it showed ARRIVAL as 3:35pm Fri March 15th.  I have a hotel reserved for the 16th.  I reassured myself by noting that if I leave San Francisco at 11:25am March 15th, Osaka is 17 hours ahead, so they are most definitely already on the 16th, and no amount of time zone crossing will change that.

So after probably sleeping the first day/night at the hotel, I'll be in Osaka for 2 days.  I don't have any sleep plans for those 2 days, so I'll be winging it.  On the 19th I'm planning on going to Nara.  They have regular trains going there.  After spending a night in Nara and maybe part of the next day I'll head to Kyoto on 20th.  I have a hostile reserved there for 7 days/nights (under $30 a night).  On the 27th I'll spend the full day in Kyoto unless I want to do something else nearby.  I have a night bus booked to Odawara station.  It leaves at 11:50 and gets there at 5:50, so 6 hours of sleep if I can fall asleep on the bus.  There's a regular bus that goes from there to Hakone, which I should only have to wait like 30 minutes for.  I'll spend a day and night in Hakone.  After Hakone I'll take the bus back to Odawara, and from there go to Kamakura, Yokohama, or skip right to Tokyo.  I'm not sure if I want to go to Kamakura or Yokohama yet.  Kamakura is called the "Kyoto of the East" and is known for its shrines, temples, and large bronze Buddha.  Since I'll be coming from Kyoto, not sure I want to spend time there.  Yokohama is a big city, but should be more toned down from Tokyo and might be a good way to transition.  On the 30th I have to be ready at noon at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, which is in the western part of Tokyo.  My next destination is Shinjuku and from there I have a winding path around Tokyo for the next 6 days.  On April 6th my flight leaves Tokyo Haneda airport at 10:40am, layover in Chicago, and lands in Minneapolis on April 6th at 11:48am. 

Itinerary

Mar 15:                 Leave MN via United Airlines

Mar 16:                 Sleep in Osaka hotel

Mar 17-18:            Osaka

Mar 19:                 Nara

Mar 20-27:            Kyoto

Mar 28:                 Hakone

Mar 29:                 Kamakura, Yokohama, Tokyo?

Mar 30-April 5:     Tokyo

April 6:                 Leave JP via United Airlines

Trip Cost & Budget:   $3151.86

Airfare
1419.63
 Paid in advance
Insurance
106
 Paid in advance
Osaka Hotel Day 1
56.07
 Paid in advance
Hitsuji-an Kyoto Hostile
208.58
 Cash during visit
20 days food 
600
 Cash during visit
Misc expenses
600
 Cash during visit
Currency conversion fee
80
 Paid in advance
Ghibli Museum Ticket
9.05
 Paid in advance
Bus Kyoto to Odawara
72.53
 Paid in advance

I estimated a daily cost of $60 with an even split between food and miscellaneous costs. I'm thinking around $6 for breakfast, $9 for lunch, $9 for dinner. The misc category would be entry fees for sites, transportation fees not already accounted for, souvenirs, any hotels or internet cafes I'll be staying at, and laundry. I'll be tracking my money each day. Tokyo in particular is where there are some things I want to throw a little more money at, so hopefully I'll be enough in the green to do them.

The Pack

I just got my travel pants back from the tailor (short people problems) and was ready to test my pack and make sure everything fit.

Backpack is an Osprey Farpoint 40.  Has a lot of space, lots of compression straps, reasonably priced, and is the maximum allowable size for carry-on luggage.  That won't matter quite as much as I have to check my tent due to a change in TSA rules a couple years back :(  This picture is the final product after everything was packed.  It doesn't even look particularly bulky.

These are all the wearables I plan on taking (except my watch, earbuds, and sunglasses because I forgot to include them).  Some of them I don't have to pack as I'll be wearing them.  A lot is from Uniqlo because they're cheap but good quality.  Starting from top left, going clockwise:

• Cheap-o rain poncho I got off Amazon.  It's a little more durable than the disposable ones.  It also fits over my body and the backpack so if I get stuck in a big downpour it should keep my stuff dry as well.
• 5 pairs of undies.  1 long wool for chilly nights, 2 smartwool merino briefs, 2 lame cotton ones.  I'll probably get 2 more wool ones beforehand to replace the cotton ones.
• Beanie
• Hidden stash, non-metal belt.  This is for carrying around my cash or anything else I decide to hide.  It has a zipper that runs along the inside.  Everything is plastic on it so its fine going through metal detectors.
• Button down shirt for layering/having slightly elevated casual shirt.
• Uniqlo Thick long-sleeve yellow shirt
• Uniqlo Maroon non-cotton shirt for warmer days.  I'll probably get one more of these.
• Uniqlo Black cotton shirt
• Prana Brion hiking pants (Nylon).  I spent time looking for the right pair of pants since it'll be my only pair.  Being Nylon they dry quick and are lightweight.  They also don't look like hiking pants which is nice.
• Nike RN Flyknits.  Another piece of equipment I spent some time thinking about since I'd be using them the entire time.  I needed shoes that were comfy over long distances, would hold up, were lightweight, and would dry quickly.  These ticked all the boxes
• Uniqlo down jacket for warmth and compactness.
• 2 Uniqlo mesh undershirts for keeping my other shirts fresh and 1 Uniqlo heattech undershirt for cold days.
• 3 Darn Tough wool no-show socks.  1 Darn Tough wool crew socks

Here's the actual camp gear I plan on using. I made sure to get their measurements before ordering anything as space in the bag was a concern...

• Lynx 1 backpacking tent.  This tent had really good reviews on Amazon.  It fits with a few inches to spare.  
• The big bag on the left and the yellow compressed bag on the right have the same contents: my down sleeping bag.  It came with its own compression bag which broke the first time I used it.  The larger bag is for long term storage as keeping it compressed with wreck the fluffiness of the down.  It claims to have a temperature rating of around 32F which I don't believe.  Some reviewers said they were chilly at 50F.  
• Klymit Insulated Static V Lite sleeping pad.  Having hammock camped at freezing temps, I know one of the most important thing in keeping is warm is having a good pad/layer underneath.  This one had good reviews and felt pretty comfy when I tested it.  Its fairly small and light. 
• Sea to Summit Thermolite Exreme sleeping bag liner.  This is a precaution and reflects how little I trust the sketchy sleeping bag.  This liner claims to add up to 25 degrees F of warmth to a sleeping bag and can be used on its own in warmer temps.  Its a reputable brand and has good reviews, so if it gets too chilly I'll be ready.

Toiletries and knick-knacks

• 10k mAh usb charger.  Good for several 0 to 100 phone charges and is lightweight.
• Passport
• Pocket-Sprite mini gameboy.  A Game Boy for ants!  This thing weighs very little and I can play games without worrying about draining my cell phone battery.  Plus I figured it would only be right to play a little Pokemon at least while in Japan.
• 3 Mini-LED flashlights.  These were in a pack of 5 off Amazon for like $8.  I took off the keychains because I didn't need them.  They have on/off switches as well as a push-and-hold button which is nice.  They weigh almost nothing and seemed like a good idea.
• 1 Mini compass
• Shaving cream
• Toothpaste
• Sunscreen for my porcelain skin
• Earplugs.  Figured these might be a good idea as noise level could be pretty variable between parks, capsule hotels, and internet cafes.  Better at blocking noise than my earbuds.
• Deodorant
• Hair product
• Razor
• Toothbrush
• Comb
• Body wash
• My super cool Midori Journal for taking notes and drawing pictures (thanks Mom and Dad!)

Finally I packed my gear.  This backpack has extra compression straps, which helps a lot.  My first attempt I had my clothes in its own bag.  It turned out to be too bulky so I moved the undies and socks to a bag, and kept the shirts loose.  I put the other stuff in a front pocket.  In all the entire pack is only 16.8 Lbs.  Not too bad!

I have my Yen ready to go for the trip and a breakdown of the costs so far and what I'm expecting.  In the next post I'll have pics of money, the budget breakdown, and general trip plan.