jukebox333
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What was, if you ask my 23 year old son, an eternity ago, I promised my three kids "our last family holiday". They were at the time (2019) M19, M17 and F12. I had been divorced 6 years, and was just finding my feet financially. Both my younger son and I were in 2-year old relationships, but I wanted One Last Dance, an o/s trip with just the four of us. We settled on Japan, and had a three week trip booked for April 2020...
In those heady early days of Covid, we held out for as long as we could, believing that the trip was still do-able. There were contingencies planned, and my ex-wife pacified that we could extract ourselves if one or some of us got ill. But the world began to close down, and the stake through the heart finally happened when Cathay stopped flying Hong Kong-Japan. Four weeks before the departure date, our holiday was officially cancelled. By something close to a miracle, I had taken out travel insurance a mere 48 hrs before Covid became an excluded event. As it turned out, only one of the hotels I'd prepaid would not refund me - the other two I actually made Money on the refunds, because the AUD-YEN rate had shifted about 15%. Cathay eventually refunded me too, but that took quite some time, probably because of the sheer numbers of people affected.
Over the next five years, we wondered what might have been. My younger son in particular was devastated - we'd been so close to leaving, and it was a dream destination for him. As the world opened up, and travel became more stable, we peered into the future, and agreed that Spring 2025 would be our target to finally do this thing. There were some fundamental changes, though. My son and I still had the same partners, and it felt wrong excluding them. Sadly, in the interim, my teenage daughter and I have become estranged, so she would not be part of the mix. And of course, Japan has now become the Aussie tourist destination de jour, which does take the edge of things a little.
I went back to my 2019 plans, and was embarrassed how unprepared I would have been. Japan Mk.II would be a bit longer, a bit more adventurous, and much better thought out. With my daughter out of the picture, we would be five adults. I have not been on an all-adult holiday since I visited Europe and proposed to my ex-wife in 1996, so this felt very different: no self imposed curfews, night tourism and photography would be the norm not the exception, and the need to placate under 18's with kid attractions vanished (cat temples and hedgehog cafes replaced by the need to placate four other adults, two of who have never been to Japan, and one of those who has never left the country!). There's also some wonderful surprises planned...
The Japan portion looks something like this (we'll also stop in Hong Kong for five days on the way home):
Changes to rail pass rules, rail pass prices, and niggles securing some accommodation, shaped the route, as did an increase in my own confidence to push myself and my travel companions a little outside their comfort zones. Having said that, this won't be a trip report for hard-core Japan enthusiasts - I'm sure you'll have done all this stuff years ago! If you want real inspiration, go back an read *all* of @rbjhan's brilliant love letters to the Land of the Rising Sun - she's an inspiration for anyone who enjoys travel.
Hopefully, this tale of ours pans out like the first TR I did here over a decade ago, to Lapland - accessible, memorable, and with some takes that might encourage others to also venture a little off the beaten track. This time out, I'm going to try and report in as I go, not in real time, but certainly within a day or two - because I like the idea of challenging myself.
So move your seat backs forward, put your tray tables in the upright position, and prepare for take-off later next week...
In those heady early days of Covid, we held out for as long as we could, believing that the trip was still do-able. There were contingencies planned, and my ex-wife pacified that we could extract ourselves if one or some of us got ill. But the world began to close down, and the stake through the heart finally happened when Cathay stopped flying Hong Kong-Japan. Four weeks before the departure date, our holiday was officially cancelled. By something close to a miracle, I had taken out travel insurance a mere 48 hrs before Covid became an excluded event. As it turned out, only one of the hotels I'd prepaid would not refund me - the other two I actually made Money on the refunds, because the AUD-YEN rate had shifted about 15%. Cathay eventually refunded me too, but that took quite some time, probably because of the sheer numbers of people affected.
Over the next five years, we wondered what might have been. My younger son in particular was devastated - we'd been so close to leaving, and it was a dream destination for him. As the world opened up, and travel became more stable, we peered into the future, and agreed that Spring 2025 would be our target to finally do this thing. There were some fundamental changes, though. My son and I still had the same partners, and it felt wrong excluding them. Sadly, in the interim, my teenage daughter and I have become estranged, so she would not be part of the mix. And of course, Japan has now become the Aussie tourist destination de jour, which does take the edge of things a little.
I went back to my 2019 plans, and was embarrassed how unprepared I would have been. Japan Mk.II would be a bit longer, a bit more adventurous, and much better thought out. With my daughter out of the picture, we would be five adults. I have not been on an all-adult holiday since I visited Europe and proposed to my ex-wife in 1996, so this felt very different: no self imposed curfews, night tourism and photography would be the norm not the exception, and the need to placate under 18's with kid attractions vanished (cat temples and hedgehog cafes replaced by the need to placate four other adults, two of who have never been to Japan, and one of those who has never left the country!). There's also some wonderful surprises planned...
The Japan portion looks something like this (we'll also stop in Hong Kong for five days on the way home):
Changes to rail pass rules, rail pass prices, and niggles securing some accommodation, shaped the route, as did an increase in my own confidence to push myself and my travel companions a little outside their comfort zones. Having said that, this won't be a trip report for hard-core Japan enthusiasts - I'm sure you'll have done all this stuff years ago! If you want real inspiration, go back an read *all* of @rbjhan's brilliant love letters to the Land of the Rising Sun - she's an inspiration for anyone who enjoys travel.
Hopefully, this tale of ours pans out like the first TR I did here over a decade ago, to Lapland - accessible, memorable, and with some takes that might encourage others to also venture a little off the beaten track. This time out, I'm going to try and report in as I go, not in real time, but certainly within a day or two - because I like the idea of challenging myself.
So move your seat backs forward, put your tray tables in the upright position, and prepare for take-off later next week...
