[Japan Travel]: Drama, baby!

[chochajin]

Hey!

So, my short spring vacation of 6 days started as of today.
And I'm quite sure I don't have to explain this to you, but usually I'm out of here ASAP!

So far I left with pretty much the first / earliest train on my first day off on EVERY SINGLE VACATION I can think of in the past 5+ years here in Japan!
Sometimes I even extended my vacation so that I came back on the day where I had to be back at work (in the afternoon).

I always tried to use every single second, every single day - to the fullest!

There are / were several reasons for that:

1. I knew that I'm not going to stay in Japan forever, so I wanted to see as much as possible in my limited time.



2. In my first 4 years in Japan I only had 3 weeks of vacation per year (1 week in April, 1 in August, 1 in December / Jan), so my travel time was very limited. On top of that I lived so isolated that day trips were almost impossible. Thus I was always very happy to get OUT OF THERE as soon as I could. That's one reason why I eventually decided to move.



3. I just came to love traveling in Japan. When I first came here that was not my priority .... it just happened! ;)

But this time it's different. It's already my first day of vacation today and as you can see I'm home!
(Well, it was supposed to rain today anyways. In fact it's only cloudy and very windy, but whatever...)

You might have noticed that I was traveling a LOT this past year. It was really crazy! First of all I had much more vacation than before - almost 3 more weeks per year! And then I also have public holidays off, so that I sometimes am blessed with a 3-days' weekend - giving me a great chance to do some minor trips - and I did! A lot!
Because of moving to Kansai, I'm now very central and day trips (even to Kyoto, Osaka or Nara) are not a problem! And I've done a few of those day trips already.


On top of that I got sick before ALL of my previous vacations last year (I'm sure some of you remember). And I was also extremely unlucky with the weather every freaking single time!
Last April I was hit by a typhoon, in May again - followed by horrible weather for many days. And the top of it all was my vacation in Okinawa this winter! TWO WEEKS OF BAD WEATHER!!!!
I was really frustrated.
Of course I still enjoyed traveling, but now that I have achieved one of my goals (visiting all 47 prefectures), maybe it's time to calm down a bit.



This photo is from last week when I met amvn in Himeji, but that's a story for another time! ;)


I've not started planning my short vacation until a few days ago. I really didn't feel like planning (I never do, but recently it gets worse and worse). Since then I have changed plans several times.
For example, at first I wanted to go to Noto Peninsula and then maybe to Nagano. Then I thought that Noto is not interesting enough for me right now, so I cancelled again.
Then I planned to go to Kiso Valley and finally visit Tsumago, Magome, Narai and spend a few days in Nagano where still a few small castles are waiting for me (e.g. in Chikuma City).

I was motivated after that, but then I saw that half of the time it's (probably) going to rain.
Going all the way down to Nagano + the hotels = not really cheap. Cherry blossoms might also not be out yet. Not there.
Spending so much money just to stand in the rain yet again, doesn't sound right .... I probably would go if I knew I had good weather. I'm sure I would be a bit more motivated.


I'm not sure what's wrong with me recently.
You've noticed that I change my mind often - not only on travel-related things.
I'm a bit worried and I'm not sure what I should do.
I know that I think too much about it.

But maybe this time I should try a different approach and just see what happens / how I like it?
I was thinking that maybe instead I should just do a few day trips in the Kansai region (there are still a lot of castles on my list and they'll look nice with the cherry blossoms!) - and I'll only go on the days when it doesn't rain!
It will be cheaper and I can quickly change my plan and stay home if the weather is different from what they said the day before.
I could stay home on the rainy days and just relax / work on my blog and plan my longer Golden Week vacation (9 days) instead.


On the other hand I think I might regret staying home or "only" doing day trips.
It's so rare to have more than 3 consecutive days off, so it's worth going somewhere farther away. And I also already spent quite a few hours to plan out everything!!! -___-;
On the other hand my list of possible day trips is so long that it will be very difficult to do all of that on "normal" weekends. And if I spend half of my weekends doing those day trips, I'll be stressed again because I won't get other things done.



I know that this is not a big issue, but I just don't want to waste the bit of time I still have in Japan ....
Only now I have the chance to travel wherever I want in Japan!
Once I don't live here anymore, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to travel as freely as I do now.
And it's just the worst time to not feel like traveling as it's cherry blossom season! -___-;;

On the other hand, I'm not sure how much I still care!
I'm not even sure why I still travel so much? Is it for myself? Is it for my blog? Is it for others? Is it to break another stupid record? Or is it because it has just become my routine for my vacation time?

I'm just very blah with EVERYTHING in my life recently.
My job, my life here in Japan ... EVERYTHING!

And I hate being like that, but I don't know how to get out of it.

I thought getting out and traveling around a bit might clear my mind, but then again I'm always very busy rushing from one spot to another ... and I will just feel miserable if the weather is bad.

I guess, I'll try something else this year and do day trips instead.

After all I might have some MAJOR (and expensive) weekend trips ahead of me later in April (if the weather is good) because I want to visit the Takayama Festival OR go to Kawaguchiko and take photos of the cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji.
As both of them are far away, it's a bit crazy to put that into only one weekend, but it's possible.
And yes, those are things I really want to do opposed to right now where "I'm supposed to go somewhere because I have vacation time."


Sorry, I guess I just had to get this off of my soul! :/ ....

Comments

[weifrannie.livejournal.com]

I think you made a right decision of staying home than go up here in Nagano. It rained today and the cherry blossoms are not out yet. It will rain again on Tuesday and Wednesday according to the forecast.

For now, maybe it's good to save up (energy and money) for your GW vacation. You already have seen all of the country (almost) so you maybe you can take your traveling at a slower pace from now on.

[chochajin.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for letting me know how the weather was today! I kept my eyes on the weather forecast and the rain mark didn't appear, but from personal experience I know that those aren't always accurate! ^^; ....

Actually it was not too bad here where I live and the cherry blossoms are already open (not 100% yet, though).
Eventually I want to visit the sights in Nagano I mentioned (possibly during Golden Week) - but there might be bad weather at that time as well.
If I always had stayed home whenever it was raining, then I wouldn't have seen anything of Japan, I guess! XD ....

Thanks so much for your comment! It really feels good to hear what others have to say when you are so indecisive.

[ex-ninchu.livejournal.com]

Maybe you just need some off-time. However nice vacations are, almost everytime we go somewhere I'd like a day or two to just rest.

[chochajin.livejournal.com]

When I just started out, I also needed about 1 day to rest for a 1 week vacation.
You just get used to it and you want MOAR!!! *g*

So far it's going well, but I also fell I get much less done than I thought I would.
Well, things keep popping up that weren't planned (as you saw in my newest entry ... my hay fever, so I had to go to the hospital again etc.)

[moldypotatochip.livejournal.com]

I often take vacation time to chill out at home because it's just too expensive for me to travel. And honestly travel is nice but it's definitely tiring. I don't mind it every once in a while but I think it be overwhelming if you push too hard.

[chochajin.livejournal.com]

Usually I feel refreshed when I come back from my vacation, but recently I stress out so much before my vacation starts and a lot of things have gone wrong that also stressed me out while travelling, so I don't know.

I try and see how I feel after just doing a few day trips (1 so far as the weather has been really bad everywhere in Japan).

[mit-souko.livejournal.com]

Being a die hard traveler, yet feeling I need a rest when I get back, I understand your feelings.

My own trip to Kawaguchiko was a disaster: only one whole day there, and it rained hard the whole time. Of course the sun was out when I left, and as usual, I saw Fuji-san from the shinkansen. I have been to Takayama twice. Once in the fall: chilly but sunny; and once for the festival: it rained hard enough they canceled it and one had to go admire the floats in their depots....lol. That festival attracts a lot of people: get a room well in advance if you want to go.

You have seen so many castles! Frankly after a while there is a certain sameness about these Japanese castles. I have to admit that I much prefer the original ones, and hardly bother with the others. I mean, Europe is full of wonderful castles, all very different from one another, so it has made me pickier. Do you really need to see another?

I think Nagano would be better during GW. It's high and cold up there!

Anyway, I think a vacation at home can be beneficial and relaxing. You mentioned, to my surprise, that you don't like planning. Well, here's is your chance to seize a pretty day and go off for a day trip somewhere!

You have seen more of Japan than most Japanese! RELAX !!!

[kevinsensei.livejournal.com]

"You have seen more of Japan than most Japanese! RELAX !!!"

Quoted for truth. Seriously. It seems like you've got this "Pokemon: gotta catch em all" mentality towards traveling in Japan. I mean, if you truly enjoy it, then more power to you. However, I don't get the impression that you really really do.

[chochajin.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes! And I don't deny it! I guess for my castles I even used the phrase "gotta catch 'em all" a few times! ;P .....

Not always, that's right. It's hard to enjoy it when there's so much stressful planning involved and bad weather that makes re-scheduling necessary. Climbing Mt. Fuji during a typhoon wasn't really fun, but I'm still glad I did it ....
I guess one can cope with stuff like that a few times, but if it happens too often (like in my case) it can get super tiring.

I decided to stay home and do day trips instead. I went to Nara yesterday. Today I'm back home as it's a bit rainy again. :)

[chochajin.livejournal.com]

I usually feel refreshed after I come back from traveling and only need a lot of sleep for one night. That's all. I stress out a lot before I leave (planning and weather etc.) and recently also while traveling because bad things keep happening .. (typhoon while climbing Mt. Fuji, typhoon every single vacation despite the season, ferries and flights get cancelled, a lot of re-scheduling ...)

I'm sorry to hear you had such a hard time when visiting Kawaguchiko.
It was the same for me. 3 days of bad weather (and I stayed so long to make sure I'd get at least one good weather day ... and it was winter, too, when it's supposed to be clear there ....).
It finally was nice and sunny when I was about to leave, so I decided to stay a little longer and rushed to a few spots for the 3rd / 4th time! x___X

I love castles and I never really get sick of them - especially not now during the cherry blossom season. If you ask me I'd rather see them than some old houses / samurai residences etc.

I went to Nara yesterday. I've been there before, but never in spring. Not so many people there despite crowded trains and awesome weather. I suppose most went to Kyoto! ;)
The weather today was blah (a bit rainy) and tomorrow as well, so I guess I'll travel on Thu and Fri again. Need yet to plan.
Saturday I'm back to work, but I'll have Sun + Mon off again, planning to do a trip on Mon as Sun is supposed to be rainy again.
Timing-wise it's probably good as I'm forced to stay home every other day.

^___________________^;
I know, but as you know I'm a perfectionist with EVERYTHING it seems! (T__T) ....

Thanks so much!!! *hugs* :3

[mit-souko.livejournal.com]

I guess you are with castles as I am with gardens. I never tire of them.

I like to see old houses, but one or 2 in each country is enough to get an idea of how people lived there at a certain time.

I love Nara. It is usually not very crowded, which makes it agreeable. I have been there both in spring and fall. Just need to beat back the deer...

[chochajin.livejournal.com]

Hehe, probably! ^^

I also wanted to go there in autumn. I was there once (not in Nara City, though) but it was still a bit too early for autumn leaves. My problem with autumn is just that I never have more than a weekend off, so it's difficult to choose only ONE place to see! ^^;

My decision to cancel my original plan was good. There's a typhoon-like rainstorm going on in Tokyo and Nagano doesn't look much better.
It was sunny here until a few minutes ago, but now the wind has brought lots of clouds, so I guess I'll stay home again and plan my trip for the next two days. Then my vacation is over again anyways.

[asahifirsa.livejournal.com]

Just do the day trips, it's a change of pace and you can relax at home if the weather is bad. I'd recommend Magome and Kiso Valley in autumn. I think it's a lot prettier then! I've recently researched it for a customer, so now I really wanna go there as well :)

I've noticed that the weather is generally quite shitty this cherry blossom season (not as shitty as here in Austria though, we had snow today, mixed with rain...) in Japan.

Something that I can recommend to you though is staying for longer in once place. I know you like to move on to the next location, but usually if you stay longer in one spot you find the not so obvious places to visit and those are usually quite pretty. Also there's the possibility to make day trips from this one location so you don't have to worry about luggage and don't have a new hotel room every day as that can be quite stressful.

Enjoy your holiday!

[chochajin.livejournal.com]

The problem is that I don't have any vacation when it's autumn there. I also want to visit Kamikochi in autumn! T___T ....

Not in general, but definitely this year ... and last year was a bit blah as well, but not as bad as this year. As I'm always traveling around this time since 2008, I think it really does get worse every year! Not looking forward to spring 2014 then, but maybe I'm not in Japan anymore then.

I've been thinking about doing that. When I just started out that's actually what I did.
Knowing my "travel personality" I'm not sure if I could really enjoy it, but I guess I should at least try it! XD

Thank you! ^___^

[jimjamjenny.livejournal.com]

I think it sounds like a good idea to have a more relaxed holiday. You seem to drive yourself a bit crazy trying to get everything perfect, and you never seem to have time to rest, so take the chance to rest a bit and destress!!!

I kind of prefer daytrips anyway (maybe that's because I really really love being at home, hehe)

[chochajin.livejournal.com]

I'll try! The thing is as soon as I try to do that other things pop up keeping me away from my needed rest time. Oh, well ...

Thanks a lot! ^^

I like staying at home, too, but I also love exploring new things from time to time. Definitely couldn't do that every weekend, though! ;)

[angelbott.livejournal.com]

Cool photos. ^^
cherry blossom/sakura still beautiful.. ;w;

it's nice for relax in home to save some money and energy of yours before your mission of travel. xD