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[side_show]

Damn you wombat.  Now all I can think about is Japan!  It is so inexpensive, that I feel like I'm going crazy.  If we were to fly out next week (which we can't for a number of reasons) it would be less than $4000 for both of us for two weeks, and that's if we were to stay at the fancy four star hotel they filmed "Lost in Translation" in.

It would be more expensive to spend two weeks in Montreal in a Super 8 for god sake.

One thing though, I'm starting to think two weeks will be too long.  Last time I was away from home for two weeks, at around day 10 I was just done - not that I didn't love being on vacation, but 10 days of being super stimulated and glassy-eyed was about enough for me when it comes to my capacity to process new environments before getting worn out.  So I'm starting to re-think the time frame.  Maybe 10 days instead?  Then again, this sort of a trip of a life time, so I'm not sure. 

[wombat]

Not sure how this would affect your decision about the length of the trip, and I guess it's a couple hours less bad for you, but it takes a LONG time to get over the jet lag and acclimate to the time in Japan. I don't remember exactly how long but I know it was quite a few days. Personally I would go for two weeks if I could to make sure I was, like, awake on a normal time schedule for ten days of it.

Damn, I wish I could convince someone to go with me. None of my friends want to go to Japan and I am too much of a wimp to go alone. And my former student who lives in Tokyo and could be convinced to shepherd me around a lot is on a two year sabbatical in BOSTON. I need to find out when she goes back.

[AugustWest]

the vegans are going to be pissed!

Especially when they find out that they hunt them by stampeding a herd of the poor little creatures over the nearest cliff. 

Of course, they bounce right back up when they hit the ground because they're made of tofu, but nevertheless...

[side_show]

It's true about the jetlag, although in an odd way I sort of enjoyed it when I was in Indonesia.  Being somewhere so very different from home, it seems to me that things really should feel upside down and inside out for a few days.  The jetlag was much harsher coming home though, but mostly be cause there was a total swing from one extreme of the temperature scale to another, which was super violent on my body. 

[Nabubrush]

That's what happens to me when I work nights every other hitch. The plus is that I'm only actually on a plane for maybe six hours, broken up into a couple of flights. This time of year, though, it's a hundred degree temperature swing combined with a complete flip-flop of waking hours.

[dejavroom]

*Reads thread, dies from wanting to go to Japan too much*

[side_show]

Oh man.  See, I am dying from wanting to go to Japan while knowing I will go, which is so very rad.  I sometimes lose sleep over thinking about Japan.  Fuck yeah! 

Bandai Museum: We open daily basically but close for certain reasons.

[Nabubrush]

I'd like to point out here that the Tokyo police department have a cartoon mascot.

[wombat]

Everything in Japan has a cartoon mascot. This excessively long article talks about a whole lot of weird mascots for government departments, for example:

The Okayama Bar Association recently rolled out Tasuppi, a slightly bizarre-looking creature with a peach-shaped head (Okayama being famous for peaches), atop which are perched the scales of justice. Tasuppi's name effectively means "Help Peach," derived from the Japanese for "help" and the English for "peach." The Kyoto Bar Association also just introduced a character devoted to lobbying for greater transparency in the criminal justice system, specifically the full recording of police interrogations.

And earthquake evacuation routes have a catgiraffe mascot because catgiraffe are associated in folklore with earthquakes.  And here is a fascinating post about adorable tsunami characters. You should read that guy's whole book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811856747/httpaltjapant-20

[Nabubrush]

I guess you could always relax on the beach at St. Maarten.

[miles]

Tofutti Break!

Oh man, that's good shit.

[Nabubrush]

Can I put this here?

Would it make sense to go to Hawaii and just lie on the beach, drink, eat sushi, and have sex? I mean, and not go check out volcanoes and Pearl Harbor and shit? Because I'm leaning very much toward the first option.

[jay-ell]

My philosophy on vacations is, if it feels good, do it. If you need a lyin'-on-the-sand, drinkin'-eatin'-and-fuckin' vacation right now, by all means, do those things in the best place you can afford to go.

But have all the info you'd need to take those side trips if you want. 'Cause in my experience, when it's neither dinner time nor happy hour nor business time, sitting around waiting for a recharge can get mighty boring.

Then again, I'm one of those can't-sit-still types who overplans everything. But just 'cause you do the pre-vacation information gathering and print out a list of sights to see if the spirit moves you doesn't mean you gotta actually get out of the sand and see them, you know?

[miles]

My philosophy on vacations is, if it feels good, do it.

It's so hard for some people to get this.

I've never been to Hawaii, and I have to admit that while I'd like to go someday, it's pretty far down on the list. But at the risk of sounding like an asshole, I have no desire to visit Pearl Harbor. Or even spend time on Oahu. I'm fairly certain I would spend most of the trip on Maui. And that I'd almost exclusively lie on the beach, drink, eat sushi, have sex and smoke weed. So, I endorse the first option.

[wombat]

You really don't want to see just one volcano? I mean, how often do you get to see a volcano?