Woohoo! In less than 2 months, we'll be on our way to Japan again. I think it will be a slightly longer haul over since we will be flying ANA our of IAD. I guess I should review the itinerary. You could say I'm a little anal about planning this trip. I will say that I have not planned this trip down to the last hour! I think my boyfriend would kill me if I did that. I think more or less destination to destination planning should be a enough. I am trying to avoid day-to-day planning of the itinerary.

So.. where are we going again?

Arrive in Tokyo (and overnight). Shinkansen to Kyoto . Kyoto for 12 nights. Kanazawa for 2 nights. Takayama for 3 nights. Magome one night. Tsumago one night. Matsumoto 2 nights. Tokyo 5 nights. Then home.

Some things we plan on doing/seeing:

• Visit Expo2005 in Aichi
  
• Toji Shrine Flea Market
• Nakasendo Highway
• Takayama Spring Matsuri
• See Yomiuri Giants baseball game
• Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum

The list is ever growing. I don't know how much we will actually get to see/do in both Kyoto and Tokyo. For the smaller destinations, there should be just enough for us to see without feeling short on time. We shall see. :-)

Well, all lodging has been booked finally for the trip. Almost had a panic attack when our first choice Tour Club in Kyoto was all booked up! We did manage to get 4 nights at their sister place, Budget Inn and booked the remaining 8 nights at the Crossroads Inn. The inn is a little further removed from Kyoto Station but I don't think that will kill us.

The Japan Rail Pass vouchers have been purchased and received. We decided on getting both the 21-day and 7-day passes to cover the entire trip. I think by the end of it all we should either break even or come out ahead as far as train fare is concerned.

So what's left to do? I guess we could put together a list of things we want to see or do. Make sure we've got activities to cover both sunny and rain days. One thing for sure, rain or shine, we have that nice hike on the Naaksendo Highway between Magome and Tsumago! PLEASE let there be nice spring weather! O:-)

In other news.... It's been f* cold here all week! Friday was probably the coldest day of the week. I guess it's been too cold for the weather thingy on the right to show anything useful. On top of that I couldn't start my car up this morning. :-p I think the battery just needs a boost.

Anyway, I think the temps are suppose to slowly climb by Monday. Hopefully enough so I can start my car? We'll see.

Food Network Canada: Recipes: The Surreal Gourmet: Peanut Ginger Soba Noodles With Ponzu Shrimp
Yum.... This is one tasty recipe. :-)

Didn't have enough soba for tonight's dinner, so we substituted with some udon we had. I overcooked the udon just a tad, but it was still tasty! :)

Updated Japan Itinerary!

Well, we did some more research and this is what we have:

Kyoto - 12 nights
Kanazawa - 2 nights
Takayama - 3 nights
Magome/Tsumago - 1 night each
Matsumoto - 2 nights
Tokyo - 6 nights

Lodgings have been booked for Kyoto, Takayama and Tokyo. Just waiting for confirmation for the remaining destinations. Still haven't decided on where to stay in Kanazawa. Suggestions?

OK, so it's been a while since I last posted. Maybe I just don't have much to say? Who am I kidding. I've just been a bit lazy about blogging.

Well, the holiday season has come and gone. I think most people are still recovering from the binging and indulging during this period. Some might still be regretting it all. Other folks might be anxious about their next credit card bills. Me? I think I behaved for the most part, stomach and wallet-wise.

Over the weekend, we went to do some cross-country skiing since the temps were mild (-3C) and it wasn't windy. So off we went to Cap-St-Jacques nature park. The parking price went up to $5 from $4. We strapped on the skis and away we went. Since we didn't get to ski at all last year I was a bit rusty. I had to re-learn how to herringbone up the slopes. Coming down the slopes was still tricky. Never realized just how difficult to steer in these things! On one downhill slope, I was headed towards some low-lying shrubs. Not want to crash to deep into the shrubbery, I wrapped an arm around a signpost to stop myself. Needless to say this is not recommended! Thankfully, I did not pull my arm out of its socket.

By the end of it all (I think we covered 6-8km), I was pretty pooped! I was sore and stiff for the next couple of days. I feel alright today. Hoo boy! That was quite the workout. I think I will make more of an effort to do more x-country skiing. :-)