Day 1 - Flight and Landing

Got up relatively early in the morning and made my way to Cairns. Once at the Airport I checked in with no issue but go pulled up at the Customs/Passport Check point because I don't have an Australian Passport.
The guy thought I had been on holiday and was going back home, when I told him I was a citizen he said he had to make sure because otherwise I was a resident and would need some sort of return/re-entry visa. It was kinda annoying. There really should be a citizenship card or something... there's no point in me buying an Australian Passport when my British one is still in date.
Got patted down and bomb checked after that. I finally got through to my Gate and boarded not long after.

The flight over wasn't that bad at all! I watched The Lorax and The Hunger games and had a nice business class meal that they had spare; chicken, vegetables and rice. I had a light nap and took some video.

Once I got off the plane in Narita is was very easy getting into Japan. Easier getting into Japan than it was getting out of Australia. I handed in my paperwork, had my fingerprints and photo taken and explained to the Quarantine lady that the 'items I have been asked to bring in for someone else' are just a pair of shoes and pants :P

Once I got my luggage and exited... Fuyu was there... I was meant to meet him at the Haneda Airport the next day... waaah~! I didn't recognise him at first... I wasn't expecting him and he's looking a lot healthier... it was weird and nice.

Together we caught the shuttle bus to the International Garden Hotel, checked in and RELAXED!

Later we became hungry, but the hotel's restaurant had already closed and we wouldn't have made it to the Aon Shopping Center in time. Lucky for us, there's a Konbini (Convinience Store) right outside the hotel. I was a little nervous about the food there and just got a King Noodle cup. When we got back Fuyu had me try the food that he had bought; yakisoba (Japanese stirfry), okonomiyaki (omlette) and takoyaki (deep fried octopus balls). I left my noodle cup too long and the flavour went :'D

We fell asleep not long aftwards!

The night before!

So it's the night before I go... I'm nervous and excited all at the same time :'3

Got mostly everything packed, obviously my laptop is still out :P
I don't know what else to say, really. I can't wait to see my mate and I'll miss Squeak. It's going to be an amazing trip. I'm just... very overwhelmed.

There isn't really much more to say! My next post should have a bit more to it... hopefully I'll be able to take some photos and maybe some video but it'll probably mostly be my hotel and room because it'll probably be too dark to see much else.

Yup! :D

Only a few days to go...

So there's not much time until I leave!

I had my Birthday and got a lot of awesome gifts and had a lot of fun! My parents and I went shopping and we bought me some new clothes and shoes and... wait for it... a camcorder! It's a cute, light little Samsung HD camcorder... I've had a few plays with it and it's awesome! This means that I'll be able to take HD footage of my trip and upload it instead of the SD videos I was going to take on my tablet! HD will do Japan much more justice!

Now all I've got to do is sort out what clothes I want to take and pack them into the bag my Dad bought be a little while ago. Fuyu's bag is great and may be a bit bigger but the one my Dad bought has wheels so it might be a bit easier! We'll just see how I got with packing :D

I'm both excited and anxious... it's going to be a long flight! I'm looking forward to it, though and Fuyu and I have loosely organised what days we'll be doing what on a Google Spreadsheet!

I can't wait :'D

Booking & Planning

So as you may or may not know, I'm going to Japan!

I'll be in Japan from the 8th to the 19th of August but I'll be visiting my parents next week for my birthday! I'm very excited!
I have my tickets booked & my accommodation in Tokyo booked, just have to book my accommodation in Narita! I've also got a rather big list of things I want to see! I'll be going over there for a Holiday, to see my mate and to visit a lot of amazing places in relation to... well, my desired career!

If there's anywhere you think I should try to visit, please tell me!
So far the [condensed] list is;

• Studio Ghibli Museum
• National Museum
• Museum of Contemporary Art
• WACOM HQ
• The Pokemon Center/Nintendo Store
• The Zoo
• Akihabara
• Ginza
• Harajuku
• Meiji Shrine
• Sony Building
• Skytree Tower
• Shibuya
• All of the temples & gardens :P

I'm so excited! I'm currently sorting through my clothes and making a huge checklist of what I've got to do before I go and what I've got to take!

I'm quite a nervous flyer and I remember Japan being quite a flight (flew there on route to the UK a fair few years ago)... but it'll be so worth it!

So stay tuned! I hope to blog here every day when I'm over there and every so often leading up to that!