Yesterday, the TwoToTokyo countdown clock said ‘One Month to go’. And we were OK with that – if not a tiny bit wishful that time would speed up and take us from today to October 29th. But, at the stroke of midnight, that same clock changed and the word ‘month’ became ‘days’, meaning only one thing – we are now just DAYS away from going to Japan. Time to make lists…
The TwoToTokyo Travel List – stage one.
1. Jappy-Appy
As well as being given a full fool-proof guide to get us round about Japan safely, InsideJapan tours will also be providing us with a personal tour guide to welcome the Two of us To Tokyo. To ensure we have something to talk about other than the weather, or the fact we’ve not slept for 30 nights thanks to our excitement, it’s a good idea TwoToTokyo make a note of all the things we want to see, ensuring we make the most out of our new found, expert friend.
This is where the Triposo iPad app comes in…. Full of tourist ideas, local knowledge and photos of Japan, this free app is only adding flames to the fire of excitement which started on finding out we won. Want to feel what we’re feeling? You can download it on the app store.
2.Tripod
To catch stunning footage from Japan, we need something to rest our cameras on and reduce the risk of over-excitement shakes. We’ve invested in a baby one for our iPhones just to make sure there’s no wobbly shots or unintentional walk-on parts from our little fingers when taking video on the go. Now that’s sorted, we’re on the hunt for a ‘travel-size’ Tripod for our camera. Ideas to @TwoToTokyo….
3. Learning the Lingo
As they say, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’. But we’re going to Japan so that travel tip is a bit useless right now. Plus, we need to learn Japanese, not Italian. And that’s what we’ll do. We’ve downloaded various apps and will begin to test each other this week on who can say ‘Konnichiwa’ the most authentically. Whoever wins gets a tin of beans from Lidl.
4. Packing for Action
This trip of a lifetime is going to be as varied as TwoToTokyo’s music collection, and with that in mind, we’re going to pack for all seasons. InsideJapan Tours said this about the climate:
“The weather is a favourite topic of conversation in Japan. This is unsurprising given the complexity of the climate in a country spanning 20 degrees of latitude.
From the harsh winters and mild summers of Hokkaido to the sub-tropical Okinawan climate there is a great variety in Japanese weather. Even in the same city both extremes of weather can be experienced in a year – Sapporo in Hokkaido can experience temperatures of minus 10 in the winter but heat waves of 30 degrees in the summer are not a rare occurrence.
On the mainland, summer temperatures are generally between 20 and 30 degree centigrade. In the early part of summer (mid-June to mid-July) there is a rainy season lasting a few weeks, this is however broken up by days of fine weather. Rains come again in late summer thanks to typhoons, although these usually blow over in a day.”
Don’t worry reader – I’m going to list every thing we’re taking in the suitcases but it’s quite clear we need: warm things, cold things, wet things and something to carry around our collection of Japanese candy in. A bucket of some sort.
5. Travel Tech
TwoToTokyo will be taking a wealth of technology with us including iPhones, an iPad, laptop, camera and a portable shower with reusable shower cap. The laptop is an absolute must for blogging and the iPad is needed for trains, flights and early nights. Plus it’s great for eating noodles from if the table is dirty. Now all we need is wi-fi….
TwoToTokyo 
I love the shower cap.