The Plan: Japan

Having returned to Osaka (a.k.a. "The Big O") from the Philippines, Jenn and I were now ready to begin the Plan proper.  We agreed that, though Japan is one of the more expensive countries on our quaint little planet, it becomes much cheaper when a traveler is sleeping in a tent and traveling by bicycle.  Besides, after three years of Japanese study, we felt Japan would be a good starter country for our Asian tour.

So, having paid lots of paper rectangles to have our various possessions shipped to us here in Osaka or back to the States, we were set to give everything a test ride.  After strenuous preparation and route-planning, of course.

Here, we confer with some locals about what is or is not shakin'.

We were blessed by the immigration officials with a standard 90-day tourist visa, which gives us enough time to see a good chunk of the country before having to make a border run to Korea.  Then, assuming our limbs haven't gotten so muscular that we can no longer get out of bed, we intend to come back to Japan just in time for the rainy season to bike a bit more.  Hopefully, we will be working in Seoul again come July, so we'll be filling as much time as we can until then with biking, camping, and assorted shenanigans.

First, like all good adventurers, we thought it would be wisest to take our long-mothballed equipment on a test ride, just a short four-day ramble from Osaka to Nara, then to Kyoto, then back to Osaka.  See illustration.  SEE IT.


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As of writing this post, we've already completed this leg of the trip, so it has made the transition from "Tentative" to "Good Job!"  What is still tentative, however, is the rest of our trip in Japan, which is approximated below:



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Apart from biking, which does tend to get tiresome after a little bit, we've made plans to WWOOF, and have already joined WWOOF Japan.  Essentially, WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) allows us to volunteer at various organic farms (and possibly cafes, artists' communes, hotels, who knows what else) in exchange for food and lodging.  We've been told that it's an excellent way to meet interesting people, learn new skills, see a side of the country that would otherwise be hidden to us, and get free food and lodging.  In addition, we may be stopping at a couple of Zen monasteries to participate in meditation retreats.

So, that about brings us up to speed.  If you'd just gotten used to hi-larious jokes about exotic fruits and dangerous animals, well...too bad.  Hopefully you'll be just as thrilled to hear of such exciting tales of flat tires, rain, and rice farming.  They do have monkeys here, too, so watch out for that.