Finally, something interesting to report.
I'm sure I've mentioned before that my sister is currently in Japan, teaching english as a JET "ALT" (Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme Assistant Language Teacher).
I'll be traveling to visit her!
Of course, I'll be on a budget so I won't be able to do everything I'd like, but if I can swing the cost I'd like to rent a motorcycle and ride around a bit. There are some really great country roads that are ideal for motorcycle riding, and compared to what I'm used to in North America, distances are relatively short.
There will be challenges. First among them, despite several aborted attempts over the years, I don't speak or read a lick of Japanese. Most road signs and many shop signs have Romanji or English, so I shouldn't get terribly lost. However, I don't think I'll survive alone on "Biru, kudasai." One solution is a smart device with a translator app. Some have become fairly sophisticated. The problem there is that I don't own a smart device, and like I said, I'm on a budget. I can't get a phone in Japan which might be subsidised by a contract, because standard contract leangths are longer than one can stay in Japan without a work visa (they're not going to start a contract if it's unlikely that you'll be around to pay for it). I can rent a visitor's sim card, but that would require that I have an unlocked G3/G4 phone. Buying a phone outright here isn't cheap, and a contracted phone would be locked.
Another problem is somewhat health related: Commercial airline seating wasn't designed for me. If the person in front of me doesn't lean their seat back, I can _just_ wedge my femur in, jamming my knee into the space between the seats infront of me. I might be able to tolerate this for shorter trips, but a transpacific flight? Jammed in an uncomfortable position with little ability to move, especially with my back issues, may well be debilitating. My understanding is that I can request bulkhead seating at the time of boarding, but it's not a garauntee. Alaska Airlines, to Seattle, is probably more likely to be accommodating, less so Asiana, which will provide the bulk of the travel. Hopefully, they won't lose my plane.
On a tangent: The Hub System is stupid. I'll be covering a lot more distance, and taking much more time, than a sensible route would take. In fact, the Great Circle route between Japan and Seattle takes you right past the Aleutian islands. Also, I'll have to change planes at Incheon (only a 70 minute layover, so no time to check out Korea). So, I'll fly over Japan. I get to wait at an airport for longer than the flight time to get to Osaka. Sheesh. I could have used United Airlines straight from Seattle to Osaka, but the tickets were something like $500+ more, and the layover in Seattle was ridiculous (I'm already slated to wait nearly 10 hours, both ways).
Once upon a time, JAL had direct flight tourist packages for Japanese tourists wanting to see the aurora. I remember looking into it then, but it wasn't available to go the other way... Um, huh? The planes are going here and back, why couldn't I take them in reverse order?