Ready or not?

We'll be flying out in 4 days time. Tick, tack, tick, tack...

Time frame: 

4 weeks.

Inbound flight: 

Fukuoka, Kyushu island.

Itinerary: 

1 week driving around Kyushu and 3 weeks interrail around Shikoku, Honshu and Hokkaido, with an overnight ferry trip between Honshu and Hokkaido.

Outbound flight: 

Sapporo, Hokkaido island

Goal: 

Intake as much Japanese culture and sights as possible, with the main focus on onsen (hot springs), food and architectural/natural beauty.

Added seasonal benefit: 

We'll be travelling bang on Cherry Blossom season. Hurray!

We've decided to make this trip 10 years ago. It has been a long wait! Partially due to work commitments (how easy is it to get 4 weeks off work?) and partially due to budget (this is not going to be a cheap trip!). 

First of all I have prepared our basic kits:

LEGAL PAPERWORK KIT

• Passport (no visa needed).
• Travel insurance (we upgraded our European cover to Worldwide cover).
• Driving License and International Driving License (we bought ours from RAC for £8).
• Japan Rail Pass for the 3 weeks of interrail (I shopped around for the cheaper and bought ours from H.I.S. Europe Ltd, a Japanese travel agents in London for £308 each).

WHERE TO GO/WHAT TO DO/HOW TO SURVIVE KIT

• 2 (very good) Japan guides.
• Phrasebook: it will probably have a huge amount of use!

FIRST AID KIT

• Wound management: gauze swabs, antiseptic, tape, steri-strips, plasters, dressings.
• Analgesia: paracetamol and ibuprofen.
• Allergy relief: cetirizine and stop itching fast cream.
• Seasickness prevention: dimenhydrinate (vomidrine).
• Anti-diarrhoea: loperamide, no space for rehydration salts so we'll rely on plenty of water and nourishing food.
• Anti-abdominal cramps: buscopan.
• Cystitis treatment (just in case!).

ENERGY KIT

• Ginseng tablets: I am not taking any chances and will be taking a couple of these every day. No talking of tired legs or tiredness! This is a one in a lifetime trip!
• Caffeine tablets: where am I going to find an expresso in Japan, apart from Tokyo and possibly Kyoto? A caffeine addict like me will surely need this to avoid headaches.

FLIGHT SURVIVAL KIT

• Neck pillow: I intend to sleep all the way through!
• Eye mask: can't sleep with lights on.
• Ear plugs: noise isn't always a problem but I am dreading the potential babies/children on board.
• Compression stockings: to avoid getting to Japan with swollen legs.

POWER KIT

• 2 batteries to keep the mobiles/tablet going.
• Plug with 2 USB ports to charge pretty much everything.
• USB car charger to use on the first week of the trip.
• We decided to buy a Japanese plug adapter in Japan.

Next task will be packing the backpacks... Oh boy...