Things To Know

There are a few important things to know about how I’m laying out this guide / post:

The Route

As I mentioned before, it’s much harder to come up with an itinerary for someone visiting for the second time. This particular route is one that I personally like because it gets you to some places that the regular Japan tourist probably wouldn’t venture. It gets you outside of the regular Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto circuit, and you have a chance to see a big change in weather / temperature.

There is one problem with this route, though: You’re missing out on all of Western Japan in favor of the North / Northeast. So, keep that in mind when you’re deciding your second trip. Personally I like the North over the West, though, so that’s the whole reason why we’re focusing our time there during round two!

JR Pass

Just like with your first trip to Japan, you’re going to want to get a JR Pass. I’ve always used JRpass.com in the past, but I’m sure any of the JR Pass websites should get you what you need at a reasonable rate. For this trip, getting a JR Pass is 100% necessary. It may seem like a lot to spend ~$500 on a two-week ticket, but it’s going to save you so much in the long run. We’re going to be covering more distance via Japan Rail compared to last time, so don’t forget to order one of these!

Finding Places To Stay

Also like last time, I’m not going to go into much detail on where to stay. That’s going to be up to you. I’ll give you information on the general area, you find a hotel / ryokan / hostel inside that area.

Packing

I’d recommend packing a small rolling suitcase or backpacking it. You’ll be on the train a lot, so big luggage is just going to cause trouble. Pack light, wash your clothes often, and enjoy the ease of smaller luggage. If you have anything that you want to take back with you (and you will), I’d recommend sending it to yourself via postage, or just waiting until you’re in Tokyo / the airport to do your shopping.

Day 1: Fly Into Narita, Transfer And Fly To Sapporo

This time around, we’re just going to fly into Narita and then leave right after to go to Sapporo. Due to potential delays and all that, there are a couple of options here.

1. You could just do a direct flight to Sapporo, if that’s something you’re able to do.
2. You could schedule a transfer for soon after you get in.
3. You could schedule a transfer for later in the evening (if you arrive in the morning) or the early next morning.

I like “the next morning” personally, but it’s up to you. Point is, we’re flying into Narita (because I’m assuming that most people fly into Narita – if you’re not, then adjust accordingly) then getting on another plane to Sapporo. Note that this flight to Sapporo should be ONE-WAY.

Sidenote: If you have the time, and you should, be sure to go pick up your JR Pass at the airport station. You can get them in Sapporo too, but it’s easier if you just get it out of the way.

Days 2-4: Sapporo, Otaru, Nikka Whiskey

Welcome to Sapporo! I hope you found a nice place to stay. Depending on when you visit, it may be very cold and snowy or it may be moderately warm and sunny. Whichever it is, there’s fun things to do in both situations! I’d recommend spending your days doing something like this:

1. Explore Sapporo: There’s a lot to see and do in Sapporo, though most of them have to do with food. Be sure to eat some Jingisu Khan, go to the fish market and have some of the best seafood / seafood donburi you’ve ever tasted, go up the TV tower, visit Ramen Republic AND Ramen Alley, go to the Sapporo brewery, eat some melon, some soft serve, and some melon soft serve, and see the “Boys, Be Ambitious” statue (there are sheep and stuff too).
2. Otaru: Once you’ve gotten Sapporo out of your system, be sure to go to Otaru. It’s a moderately short train ride to the North and you get some awesome ocean views as your train rides right along the coast. If it’s winter and stormy out… the waves crash up against a wall just feet from the train. It’s awesome. In Otaru, at least in the summer, there are tons of shops. The place is pretty famous for its seafood, its various sweets companies (like, ridiculously famous and crowded), and canal. There’s plenty to do here and you can easily spend most of a day walking around.
3. Nikka Whiskey: If you don’t spend your whole day at Otaru, or you have priorities more in line with mine, you’ll want to keep riding the train to Nikka Whiskey Distillery in Yoichi. You will be able to taste some of the best whiskey you’ve ever had, and the tour/story of the place is pretty interesting too. Be sure to go to the bar and sample everything in the book. Don’t be tempted to buy any alcohol-related souvenirs (unless you’re planning to drink it while in Japan), though. You can’t mail alcohol in Japan, and carrying these bottles around will be a pain. You can buy pretty much everything Nikka at the duty free stores in the airport, and they’re often cheaper too.

There’s more to do in and around Hokkaido, depending on when you’re visiting. If you’re there during the winter, things like skiing and snowboarding will be options. If you’re there during the summer you might want to explore the outer reaches of this Northern Island, or go to Showa Shinzan for some hot spring time.

Days 5-6: Travel Day / Hakodate / Aomori / Sendai

Since we’re taking the train from Sapporo, you’ll have a lot of time to stop, look around, and then get back on (thank you JR Pass!). Do keep in mind that during the winter trains are often delayed, so make sure you’re flexible! Whatever you do, I’d recommend stopping and staying in one of these places for one or two of the nights, otherwise you’re in for a 12ish hour train ride back to Tokyo.

1. Hakodate: This city was the first in Japan to open its ports to foreign trade back in 1854 so it has some interesting architecture and influences going on. That being said, there was a huge fire in 1934 that wiped out a lot of it, so keep that in mind. It also has the Goryoukaku Fort, which is an awesome star-shaped fort (hard to see from the ground, though). The history of this fort is pretty interesting too, but I’ll leave that to your own curiosity should you choose to follow it.
2. Aomori: Probably my favorite place of the three, this city is at the Northern edge of Honshu (the main island) and also where the shinkansen starts and ends, depending on which direction you’re going. If you can get to Aomori, the rest of the ride back towards Tokyo should be pretty fast and easy. I don’t think you could spend several days here (at least on a 2-week trip), but if you do be sure to check out the Modern Art Museum, the Jomon Museum, and anything you can find that’s apple related. Basically, Aomori = Apples, so if you’re here during apple season then… good for you! Also be sure to try the vinegar, black garlic, and whatever other foods you can get your hands on. Aomori food is pretty awesome, and will be a nice refresher after all the Jingis Khan, beer, and seafood that you ate in Sapporo.
3. Sendai: Of course there’s Sendai as well, which is very close to where the Tohoku Earthquake of 2011 hit. The city itself is pretty much business as usual, though if you go outside the city to try to visit places like Ishinomaki (to go to Cat Island?) you’ll still see a lot of cleared land from where the tsunami hit. There’s plenty to do in Sendai, though when I’m there it’s usually to go to Cat Island, so… there you go. Sendai is also a good spot to stop for the night if it’s getting late and trains are running out.

Days 7-10: Travel, Tokyo, Mt. Fuji

Days 7-10 are going to depend on how long you spent in Northeast Japan. First you should spend some of it traveling to Tokyo. If it’s early enough, keep going to Mt. Fuji. If not, stay the night and then leave again in the morning. Don’t worry, we’ll be back.

In terms of “Mt. Fuji”, though, there are a lot of options. There are so many places on and around Mt. Fuji that are worth visiting that I’d need an entire other article or two to go through them. So, you’ll need to do the research for that on your own. It’s going to depend on things like whether or not you want onsen, whether or not you want to climb it, or whether or not you want to ride roller coasters. If it’s the last option, then be sure to go to Fuji-Q highland. There’s onsen there as well. Two of my favorite roller coasters are at Fuji-Q, and I don’t say that lightly.

Anyways, spend a couple days in and around Fuji. If you run out of things to do here you can always move on to the next section early and then go back to Tokyo a little early too.

Days 10-12: Things You Missed

These days are for things that you missed last time. What did you want to do that you couldn’t? Snow monkeys? Nikko? What else? There had to have been something, even if it’s just going back to Tokyo to sit in an arcade all day to play Gundam Extreme.

Alternatively, you could also head West for a day or two. I wouldn’t go too far (as that will be another trip… let’s say your third one), but feel free to look around and see the things you want. These are free days after all, and Mt. Fuji provides a nice “middle ground” between Tokyo and the West.

Days 13-14: Tokyo, Shopping, Going Home

Once again there has to be some time for shopping / Tokyo touristing. There’s always a lot to do in Tokyo, though I tend to avoid the city as much as possible. Come back, get your omiyage done, and head on out. Don’t forget to pick up your Nikka Whiskey at the duty free shop in Narita (and leave some space in your suitcase as well).

For A 1-Week Trip

To turn this into a 1-week trip instead of a two, you’ll want to cut out the Fuji part, the “things you missed” part, and then shorten up your time during days 5-6 to just one day if you can. Of course, you can now adjust more appropriately on your own since you’ve been to Japan before and know what you like and don’t like, but that’s where I’d use the ol’ trip razor.

I hope this helps some of you to plan your second trips to Japan! Let me know in the comments what kind of second trips you’d plan if it were you. Surely it will help out some other people planning second trips who don’t have the same tastes as me :)

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Not all of their festivals are conceptually odd.

It may surprise some of you that not all Japanese activities are way out there. Take for example, the さっぽろ雪祭り (さっぽろゆきまつり, Sapporo Snow Festival). The name itself sounds innocent enough, right? Innocent enough to be able to take the family or date to, at least.

What is the Snow Festival?

The Sapporo Snow Festival is held annually every February for a week in the Hokkaido city that brings you the oldest Japanese brand of premium beers, *drum roll* Sapporo.

Sapporo hanging out in Hokkaido. Japan’s fourth largest city.

If you have read my YukiGassen article, then you may have come to the conclusion that the Hokkaido area receives a hefty amount of snow every winter. You, sir and/or madam, are correct. With all the snow, art such as these are born.

Can you guess who this is?

Why settle for a commoner’s igloo when you can have a palace?

Check out the level of detail!

Before we dive into the details, let’s go through a brief history lesson of the festival.

When and how did it originate?

There must be something about Japanese high school students being very proactive. Similar to how YukiGassen started, the origins of the Sapporo Snow Festival began at Sapporo’s Odori Park, where in 1950, several high school students built snow statues.

Five years later, the festival’s first massive snow structure was built (by none other than the Japanese Self Defense Force). JSDF is Japan’s national military, for those who are unaware.

The festival began to see it’s international popularity skyrocket when the Winter Olympics came to town in 1972. Responding to the international recognition of the event, in 1974, the International Snow Sculpture Contest was born. Many teams of many nationalities joined the yearly festivities. Sapporo’s sister cities, Portland (OR, USA), Munich (Germany), Shenyang (China), Novosibirsk (Russia), and Daejeon (South Korea), are consistent participants of the contest.

63rd Annual Sapporo Snow Festival Poster

This year makes the Sapporo’s 63rd Snow Festival. And guess what? It’s happening this week!

Sapporo Snow Festival: Would you like to know more?

On average for the last five years, the event brings in over two million visitors. The last two years, numbers were nearing two-and-a-half million. This is quite an achievement, if you compare the number against Sapporo’s population of 1.9 million. That’s a paltry ~125% of the city’s population.

This year, 228 snow sculptures are expected to be on display. You may be asking yourself, “Is there even enough snow to go around? It can’t snow THAT much in one area out in boondocks Hokkaido.” Dear reader, thank you for asking the relevant questions.

Indeed, there is usually not enough snow in the event area to supply sculptures the needed snow. So what is the solution? Have the JSDF truck in the snow from outside the city.

Japanese Self Defense Force: Professional snow sculptures?

While it may seem to be not a good use of military resources, the JSDF does consider it a training exercise. So it’s a win-win for civilians and the military. Just how much snow is hauled into the city annually? Numbers for this year are estimated to be 6,500 five-ton truck loads. In other words, 32,500 metric tons of snow (29,500 tons, for our North American friends).

Personally, I would hire dekotoras to haul in the snow. Do it in style, am I right?

Dressed for the festivities!

The process of building a massive snow sculpture takes months of planning. To build the framework, haul the snow, and do the sculpting is usually done a month leading to the event. Click on the image below to see an animated timeline of the construction of one of these sculptures.

Click on Chopper to see an animated timeline of the construction of this sculpture.

This year, sixteen international teams are competing in the international snow sculpture event. The teams and their sculpture ideas are listed below.

India	Indonesia
Singapore	Sweden
Thailand	Chile
Daejeon (South Korea; Sister City)	New Zealand
Novosibirsk (Russia; Sister City)	Hawaii (USA)
Portland (Oregon, USA; Sister City)	Malaysia
Finland	Hong Kong
Lithuania

Additional details about each concept can be found on Sapporo’s Snow Festival event website.

Unlike the non-competition massive sculptures, the international teams only have four days to complete their creations. It’s great to see a lot of hot climate nations participating the event, especially Hawaii. Didn’t expect to see them on the list, but I guess Hawaiians can do sand sculptures, right?

Who are you all rooting for? There are a lot of interesting sculpture concepts, but I’ll be rooting for Tofugu’s home city, Portland. I have to say, Sweden’s concept got a chuckle out of me. It reminds me of the Trojan Horse, but in moose form. Better watch out Sapporo!

Hokkaido’s Food

MMMmmm, scary, hairy, and delicious.  For Japanese and foreign travelers alike, a main draw for coming to Hokkaido is the seafood.  The cold, pure waters surrounding Hokkaido provide superb locations for harvesting seafood of all varieties.  Above is the Horse Hair Crab 毛蟹『kegani』, which is one of many kinds of crab that can be enjoyed in Hokkaido.  Other dishes famous to Hokkaido are sushi made from 海胆『uni』sea urchin, and ホタテ『hotate』scallop, which are best eaten absolutely as fresh as possible.  Both sea urchin and scallops are typically difficult for foreign visitors to eat raw, but when served in Hokkaido, the often off putting smell is lessened because of the superb freshness.  One of the best cities to eat seafood in is Hakodate because of its location on surrounded by water on the southern peninsula of Hokkaido, so you can jump off the train as soon as you arrive and eat some delicious sea food.  Be sure to bring your wallet!  It’s worth it!

For those of you rugged travelers who do not have money to throw down for expensive seafood cuisine, or for those who just do not like seafood, there is always one amazing alternative…..

RAMEN!!!!!!!

This is Sapporo Ramen.  The REAL Sapporo Ramen, not to be confused with the crappy instant ramen brand found in most Costcos.  If you read my Shikoku article, then you know my strong feelings for Ramen already.  It is truly the friend of the traveler and must be utilized, especially in Hokkaido where many agree that it is the best you can find in Japan.  The ramen in Sapporo is typically a sweet miso ramen designed to fill and warm you up on a wickedly cold night.  There are different variations of what goes inside, but generally seafood, meat, egg, and corn are the most common.  If you become a ramen fanatic like I am, you MUST have some if you visit Hokkaido.

Ainu Language

In all likelihood you will never be in a situation where you will only be able to use the Ainu language.  Please PROVE ME WRONG AND TELL ME WHERE YOU WENT!!!

In a quick history overview, the Ainu are an indigenous group of people in Japan with rather mysterious origins.  While they initially inhabited a large part of northern Japan, they were gradually pushed north by the Japanese, eventually limited exclusively to Hokkaido.  After the Meiji Restoration (1867), Hokkaido was annexed by the Japanese and the Ainu were forcefully assimilated and their language and culture was largely destroyed.  Only very recently, beginning in the early 1990s, have the remaining descendants of the Ainu gained significant ground in the revival of their language and culture.  Here is a great resource for learning more about the Ainu language.  If you want first hand experience learning the language, a good place to start are Ainu villages called “Kotan.”  Most are more like tourist destinations rather than places where people actually live a traditional lifestyle, but if you go to either and show interest in the language, I’m sure you’ll get on the right track.

Music = Language

One of the best ways to understand how the Ainu language sounds is to listen to the music because music is one of the main methods that has been used to preserve this language as well as other similar “lost languages.”  The following are a couple of samples of Ainu music, one traditional and one modern.

First is a very traditional piece that show cases how music might have actually sounded before the Japanese assimilation:

Iuta Upopo (Husking Song)

The piece is a functional work song for husking, as the name implies.  Originally, Ainu songs were not performance pieces, but served specific purposes in everyday life.  The key when listening to the language is to notice how different the pronunciation is from Japanese.

Second is a great duo who did a great deal to popularize the Ainu cultural revival through modern interpretation of traditional Ainu music – Oki Kano, and the late Umeko Ando:

Battaki

The stringed instrument played by Oki Kano is called a “Tonkori” and while it is a traditional Ainu instrument, it is being played with a modern pop music flair.  The chanting by Umeko Ando, is very similar to traditional Ainu music, and the drummer is playing rhythms from modern popular music.  This music is a fantastic way to become introduced to how beautiful the Ainu language sounds!

Hokkaido’s Festivals

Ainu Festivals

Speaking of Ainu, some of the best festivals in Hokkaido are ones that display Ainu language and culture like the Ainu Music Festival in Sapporo.  Look at the picture above with Oki Kano rocking out on amplified Ainu tonkori.  EPIC! Other Ainu festivals can be found in Sapporo as well as Ainu villages (kotan) throughout Hokkaido, so go check some out!

The most famous (or infamous) Ainu festival is called the Iomante Festival, but I have a feeling most of you won’t want to go.  It is a religious ceremony where a bear is sacrificed to the bear god in order to encourage more bears to come to the earth.  The festival is very rare, mostly because the practice of slowly killing a bear is seen by many as inhumane to animals.  The practice looks very similar to bull fighting, except the young bear is tied to a rope nailed to a peg in the ground, so it’s even more unfair.  This festival is an opportunity to see Ainu culture in a way that most people never can, but it is not for the faint of heart.

Ice Festivals

The real big attraction to Hokkaido, as many of you know, are the ice festivals most famously the Sapporo Ice Festival, pictured above.  The festival attracts over 2 million people and is one of the best ice festivals in the world with huge structures that push the boundaries of the human imagination.  That being said, there will be crowds, so here’s one of many other Ice Festival options for those of you wanting to get further off the beaten track.

Sounkyo Ice Festival

The Sounkyo Ice Festival is located in the beautiful Sounkyo Gorge, southeast of Asahikawa.  The region itself is worth going to any time of year to appreciate nature, get away from tourist traps, and to get in on the many opportunities to have adventures in any of the four seasons.  The festival takes place from January-March and is illuminated by beautiful colored lights covering the many ice sculptures, caves, and pathways, which cover an extensive area for walking around for viewing it all under a large weekly fireworks display.  You won’t see quite the same level of massive structures like at the Sapporo Ice Festival, but the Sounkyo Ice Festival makes up for it in spades with a great location, beautiful illumination, and smaller crowds.

There are many ice festivals in the Asahikawa area, some with other cool features like hot air ballooning, so please find one that suits you, bring some warm clothes, and have a good time!  Here’s a link for the Asahikawa Tourism website to get you started!

Hokkaido’s Adventures

For adventures in nature, Hokkaido is hard to beat.  It is filled with world class national parks, pristine hiking trails, light powder snow for winter sports, and spectacular view points of waterfalls, mountains, and rivers.  Heck, you can even go dog sledding! Hokkaido is such a large island that you really could write a whole book about exploring what it has to offer.  I hope I can provide you with material to start your first chapter!

Daisetsuzan National Park 大雪山国立公園 is a great place to get started exploring Hokkaido because it offers so much opportunity for great hiking, skiing, onsens, scenery, and meeting interesting people.  Above is Asahidake 旭岳, the tallest mountain in Hokkaido at 2291 meters and one of the centerpieces for the national park.  The climb to the summit in the summer is filled with stunning 360 degree scenery, smoldering geysers, and uneasy footing on the path up the side of the mountain due to deposits of volcanic rock. Thanks to a gondola, however, getting as far as where this picture was taken is only a short ride away, and in the winter skiing or boarding down is highly encouraged to experience Hokkaido POW.  The types of people who choose to continue the journey to the very top are surprisingly diverse from professional level climbers who spend all summer carrying packs nearly twice their size to camp and hike around the region, to elderly couples and their toddler grandchildren.  The origins of the visitors are spread out as well from salary men from Tokyo and Osaka seeking to get away from the fast paced stress of their work to tour groups from Western Europe and the United States as well as Japanese families on vacation.

The start of the gondola is located in a very small mountain town with the same name as the mountain, Asahidake.  There, you can find a youth hostel just a short walk away from the gondola with pretty reasonable prices for rooms that include breakfast, and even a small lunch if you pay a little bit extra.  There is a wonderful complimentary outdoor onsen 露天風呂 「rotenburo」included in the price, with water flowing from the natural hot spring creek that runs right past the hostel.  From there, it is easy to access the many nature trails and the hike from the hostel to the nearby Tenninkyo Onsen 天人峡温泉 requires a little bushwhacking but provides great vistas of gorges and waterfalls (below).

The great thing about Hokkaido is that this is just one of the countless locations where you can get off the beaten track, experience beautiful scenery, and interact with interesting people from Japan and around the world who are on similar journeys for adventure.

Hokkaido’s Transportation

For being such a massive, rugged island, it really is not that hard to get around with public transportation.  The JR Hokkaido Railway Company crisscrosses the island pretty well to get you at least in the general vicinity of where you want to go.  From there, there are lots of buses available to get you to a specific destination that does not have a train station.

Most people fly to Sapporo and then take a bus or train, but if you are hardcore and happen to have a JR Pass (basically an all-you-can-ride pass for increments of 1-3 weeks if you’re on a tourist visa) you might try taking the train all the way up.  It’s a LONG ride, and not real comfortable if you aren’t in a sleeping car, so if you don’t have a JR pass, it’s just about the same price to fly so I would do that unless you have lots of time on your hands and want to see some of northern Honshu before getting into Hokkaido.

With that, good luck in Hokkaido!  Go out and try to get lost!  Make sure to wear bells on your backpack to ward off bears and have a good time!

いろいろな地域を探検してみてください！(iroirona chiikiwo tanken shitemite kudasai) “GO EXPLORE!”

P.S.  If you have a place in Japan you love that’s off the beaten track and want to share it on Tofugu.com, send a short summary of your experience to nick@tofugu.com.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen a Japanese address written down somewhere before, but if you have, you’ll know that they’re about as long as writing an essay, and perhaps take an equal amount of analytical thinking. If you’ve never run into the concept of a Japanese address, it’s about as opposite as you can get from an American address. I’m not saying that’s bad… just completely different. Thank goodness for GPS, on both accounts. I can barely get around San Francisco, let alone Tokyo.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1zh49J5rsg']

Watch the first half (or so) of this video. Derek Sivers (hoopy frood who knows where his towel’s at) does a great job explaining the idea of Japanese addresses and how they work, on a basic level. On a more complicated level, it goes something like this.

The first thing to know: Japanese address system is based on areas. These areas are divided from big to small, which go something like this. It’s a lot like a funnel, really.

1. Prefecture (県)

• There are exceptions to this, though. 都 (to) for Tokyo,  道 (dō) for Hokkaidō and 府 (fu) for the two urban prefectures of Osaka and Kyoto.

2. Municipality.

• Large cities use 市 (shi)
• Special wards can use 区 (ku)
• Smaller municipalities include the district 郡 (gun) followed by the town 町 (chō / machi) or village 村 (mura / son).

3. Location within the municipality

• Many cities have wards 区 (ku)
• Wards can be divided up into 町 (chō / machi) or village 村 (mura / son)
• Towns may be subdivided into even smaller parts too.

4. City District: 丁目 (chōme)

• Usually assigned based on the order or proximity to the center of the municipality.

5. City block: 番地 (banchi)

• Also assigned based on the order or proximity to the center of the municipality.

6. House Number: 号 (gō)

• Based on when the house / building was built or assigned in clockwise order around the city block.

7. Apartment number may be added if the house number refers to an apartment building.

The postal code, which is indicated by a 〒 symbol, goes on top of the address. If you see this symbol on a metal box, it’s a good bet you can put your mail in there.

Here’s an example of an address ripped right off of the good folks at Wikipedia.

〒100-8799
東京都千代田区丸の内二丁目7番2号
東京中央郵便局

〒100-8799 (postal code)
Tōkyō-to (prefecture exception “to” for Tokyo)
Chiyoda-ku (the ward)
Marunouchi ni-chōme (city district)
nana-ban (city block)
ni-gō (house number)
Tōkyō Chūō Yūbin-kyoku(name of the place, in this case the “Tokyo Central Post Office”)

Kyoto and Sapporo, The Postal Rebels

Kyoto and Sapporo (up in Hokkaido) do something a little different, though the “official” addressing systems still work. Kyoto has many little chōs going on, often with the same names within the same Ward (which makes it tough on the postal folk). So, to combat this, they have an unofficial (though it is supported by the post office) system that’s based off of street names. This system takes an intersection (two crossing streets) and then additional information on whether the building is north, south, east, or west of this intersection. Yes, this does mean that buildings can have multiple addresses, depending on which intersection was chosen. Sapporo’s system is based on a quadrants set up in the center by two intersecting roads. Blocks are then named based off of how far away they are from the center, which can get kind of weird the farther you are away from the sweet spot.

In the end, the Japanese address system totally makes sense, despite being nearly our complete opposite. Personally, I’d just get a GPS and have it tell me where to go. Or, better yet, get lost. So much more potential for adventure. Well, if you ever get yourself a Japanese pen pal or long-distance language partner (and not one of those new-fangled e-mail ones), hopefully this’ll come in handy!

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