Thursday, July 5, 2007

Maps and Outline of my trip


So, my journey will start in Kingston, and I'll fly to Toronto, and then catch a plane to fly directly to Narita Japan. I'll be met at the airport by a friend that works there, and then I'll stay with her for the beginning of my trip. I'll visit around Tokyo and meet friends from that area.

I will make my way next to the Mt. Fuji area. I'm not sure I'll be able to see such a lovely mountain as this! If it is a nice day I want to try to climb up to the top to see the sun rise. I will need to find a good place to stay because I'll be exhausted after that!

After the Fuji area I'll go to Nagoya to see the sights and meet some wonderful friends. This picture is of Nagoya Castle.
After Nagoya I'll meet more friends in Osaka. Last time I was in Osaka we ate okonomiyaki (they claim it is like a pancake or a pizza, but really it isn't! It's good though)

After Osaka I'll take the train to Hakata (Fukuouka) a fairly long way, and then I'll take the Beetle (a hydrofoil ferry) to Busan South Korea. This boat takes only 3 hours to cross, where the other ferries take 14-15 hours to make the same journey.
Next I'll take a train to Seoul to meet more of my friends.
Just to give you some idea of how big and complicated the city of Seoul is, here's the subway map (luckily it is in English!)
I'll stay in Korea a few days, and then head back to Japan the same way that I came. I'm going to stay in Hiroshima that night at a hostel pretty near the Peace Park and atomic bomb dome.Next I will head to Kyoto to see the sights of OBON (the festival where dead ancestors return). Fires are lit on the mountains to guide the ancestors. Lanterns are also floated along the river. I plan to be there that night to see this happening.
After Kyoto I will spend time in Okayama with more friends hopefully many of them will have returned home for obon. After Okayama I'll travel back to Narita and then fly home and sleep for a week!
I'm going to use a rail pass for 3 weeks (that covers most of my long distance travels) Here is a map of where the shinkansen (bullet train) goes.

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