Japan Adventure

Before we head out on our next Japan Adventure, I thought I'd share some interesting trip planning sites that I found useful...

First off, I just found this cool site by Marceline Smith. She posts about Japan and all things Kawaii!  Bonus links on this site for shopping in Japan- including craft stores.  She even has a zine (Tokyo shopping guide) you can purchase through amazon.com.  Thanks Marceline!
http://blog.askingfortrouble.org/tokyo-shopping-guide/

Another good resource is the Japan-guide.com.  They have so much information about Japan and you can search by almost anything...
http://www.japan-guide.com/

If you are winging it on your own.. you will also want to get this subway route map for the Tokyo area.
http://www.livingasian.com/2007/07/japan-tokyo-subway-and-train-lines-with-maps/.  We also found an app for it in the app store.

Other trip planning recommendations:
When it comes to food, I don't think we had one bad meal, so don't worry about it! I can't even tell you where we ate on our last trip except that the food was good at each stop.

Also, no one tips in Japan, so we bring extra omiyage to give out to hotel staff and others that help us out along the way.  Everyone is so happy when we give them mac nuts or other goodies.

We also recommend turning on your data plan for international use.  Last time we didn't do that, but we did this time around.  I think it will be much easier for us to get around and communicate with each other.

Oki doki... we are off so see you in Japan!