traveling here and there and everywhere
Despite my resolution to travel to Hokkaido this summer, I still haven't made plans.
I know that I desperately need to, and that even now it might be too late, but it's so daunting. I start looking at the guidebooks and trying to plan how long to spend in each place, or even where to go, or where to stay the night, or how I'll take money with me, and it's so overwhelming. I swear, by the time you actually plan a vacation, you need it more than you did before. Calling up the hotels and asking about rooms alone seems daunting, especially since my Japanese just goes out the window when I'm nervous. And then how do I get there? Train, plane, ferry? Which is cheap? Which is fast? Do I rent a car when I go up there? Because I'm still scared spitless of driving in a foreign country. And is it too expensive? (The guidebook I have quotes 7000 yen a day on car rental, so I'm thinking it might be too expensive.) And how much do I want to spend on a trip in general? How do you plan a vacation in a country where you're not even sure how to communicate what you need?!
I just get so stressed up and worked out trying to figure out what to do about it. Not to mention that this summer is really the only block of time I have for major in-Japan traveling, and if I don't use it to get out and explore, I'll feel like I have (to a small extent) wasted my time here. *sigh*
I wonder if going through a travel agency like JTB would be a good idea. Paying someone else to set up the whole deal for me sounds increasingly attractive.
I don't suppose any of you with previous travel experience in the country would have suggestions on how to start with this? Or any travel/planning advice at all?
I know that I desperately need to, and that even now it might be too late, but it's so daunting. I start looking at the guidebooks and trying to plan how long to spend in each place, or even where to go, or where to stay the night, or how I'll take money with me, and it's so overwhelming. I swear, by the time you actually plan a vacation, you need it more than you did before. Calling up the hotels and asking about rooms alone seems daunting, especially since my Japanese just goes out the window when I'm nervous. And then how do I get there? Train, plane, ferry? Which is cheap? Which is fast? Do I rent a car when I go up there? Because I'm still scared spitless of driving in a foreign country. And is it too expensive? (The guidebook I have quotes 7000 yen a day on car rental, so I'm thinking it might be too expensive.) And how much do I want to spend on a trip in general? How do you plan a vacation in a country where you're not even sure how to communicate what you need?!
I just get so stressed up and worked out trying to figure out what to do about it. Not to mention that this summer is really the only block of time I have for major in-Japan traveling, and if I don't use it to get out and explore, I'll feel like I have (to a small extent) wasted my time here. *sigh*
I wonder if going through a travel agency like JTB would be a good idea. Paying someone else to set up the whole deal for me sounds increasingly attractive.
I don't suppose any of you with previous travel experience in the country would have suggestions on how to start with this? Or any travel/planning advice at all?