After this, we continued planning by e-mail, and all of a sudden we were ready for take-off! As we more or less take off at the same time,
but from different airports, I can imagine our planes flying parallelly. Preliminary route, September 15th - October 1st
When I went to London in May, Robin first introduced his thought of coming with me to Japan. But it was not until
Robin was watching The Untouchables that he decided to go along!
All of sudden a close-up on a calendar had filled his screen, and guess which
date he could see: September 15th! "This is it", he wrote me, "I am coming - that had to be a sign!"
In August Robin came to see me in Trondheim where we planned the last details of this journey, both having our Lonely
Planet guides. Of course, we quickly agreed on the route, so we had
plenty of time to socialize and have a goooood time in Trondheim. It
was a nice experience eating lunch at a sushi bar called Kyoto, and
planning what to do in Kyoto! Amazing!
I got an iPod for picture storage, and Robin tried out his new Nikon D70 which we knew, along with my own camera, would work overload in
Japan.
(You can also see this page for ideas and early thoughts (Norwegian - see menu on the right there for English))
Tokyo - Hakone - Kyoto - Takayama - Chubu Sangaku National Park - Matsumoto - Nagano - Nikko - Tokyo
PS! I also got a Nikon D70...
Once upon a time, a student came to see a Zen
master. He said,
"Honorable master, I have studied for many
years, and I have learned so much of the martial arts and Zen theory
already that I have reached a very high level. I heard that you are
a great master, and I have therefore come to see if you can teach me
anything more."
The master didn't reply. Instead, he picked up a
teacup and placed it in front of the student. He then picked up the
teapot and poured until the tea reached the rim of the cup, and then
he kept on pouring until the tea overflowed onto the table.
The
student stared at the master in total confusion and said,
"No,
no, Master! The cup is overflowing!"
The master stopped pouring,
looked at him and smiled. He said,
"Young man, this is you. I am
sorry that I cannot accept you as a student. Like this cup, your
mind is filled up and I cannot teach you any more.
If you want to
learn, you must first empty your cup.
Before embarking on a relatively short trip as this, put some effort into planning. You will save time (in Japan), gain understanding and
learn. Also, booking some accomodation ahead is necessary. The most popular ryokans and guesthouses fill up early.
I considered bringing my computer for
storing my pictures, but an i-Pod has to be a fabulous investment when you plan to take a huge amount of pictures. In addition to storage, you also have music
for a loooong flight.