Dude, you wanted to surprise us by showing up in Japan unannounced?

WTF?

Baggy mentioned that he'd be up for another visit in November...

can he see this forum?

no, I should fix that

I dont get, but I dont care about loyalty points either.

but you're not going to be a millionaire. Actually you probably will, but not a clever one

Hmm, that'll be the cleverest part... in assets I'm not that far off. Move slowly, but decisively.

I just want to say upfront, Kyle, that you don't seem like the type of person with whom I'd want to travel internationally.

I have a lot of evidence for my reasons, but it's all spread out on the boards and I'm about to quit for the night.

It comes down to this, though:  I like to travel prepared, and I like to travel under a consensus.  I'm not seeing a lot of those trails from the descriptions you're giving of your most recent trip, and I doubt they would surface whilst in the midst of the trip.

Don't get me wrong, I'm cool with hanging out with you in Austin, but that's because I don't feel responsible for your survival in this city.

That is totally fine, Lucas. Likewise.

I liked Tokyo so much, that I'd be perfectly happy going alone and exploring it some more, alone. I don't want to feel like I'm on a school field trip, with everything controlled - down to the times we are allowed to piss, unescorted. I know how to book a hotel room, a flight, and how to get there and back. I can navigate a metro station, and can switch between JR and the underground to get where I need to be. You sound just like my mother's husband - he is fairly overbearing and controlling when it comes to trip planning and preparation and takes some of the fun out of traveling. While I was there, I wish I could have done some more things I wanted to do, but ending up catering to him and my mom and doing many things they wanted to do instead. The trip is mine, not yours.

That being said, it would be fun to meet up with all of you at some point or another in Japan. But really, how close do you really want bagman to your hotel? A buffer zone is probably a good idea. Also, I absolutely do not want to be your responsibility. That puts stress on you, and that puts stress on me. We're all adults.

Not all who wander are lost...

You know there is room between good organisation and loose planning. A really well planned trip allows some slack.

I'm pretty sure Kyle learned a couple of lessons from his recent experiences....

Anyway, the deal with the November trip is that the majority of it's going to be closer to a guided tour than a "show up and see what happens" effort. There are several reasons for this:

• We'll be a group of 6, 7 if you join us, 8 when my wife hangs out.... without some sort of an itinerary nothing's going to happen. Same for cellphones. However the guide is me and I'll be handing out booze and cigarettes throughout the week...
• I can show people a lot more of Japan than they would figure out on their own. I feel a responsibility to show off this country as best I can... hence organizing trips, dinners. I'm pretty sure I can condense ten days of awesomeness into six
• Part of this is going to be hanging out with people who've known each other for ages yet have barely met, if at all. It's more fun to do that if we're going somewhere to do/eat/drink/see something rather than leaving it to fate to entertain. Random stuff is cool too so if you check the "stuff to do" thread you'll see I'm trying to find a balance
• If you're going to get drunk and make asses of yourself I want to be there to capture it on film

Long story short - if you come then please get a hotel near my place. Even if you want to wander off during the day and do your own thing it means we can have fun until much later in the night if we're all staying in the area because the train timetable won't matter.

The reason the trip is structured this way is because it's what Ian and I normally do when he's out here and it's a good format.

It fuckin works.

Cigarettes and booze have been a winner on previous tours....

oh hells yeah

oh hells yeah

oh yeah *adds lamb BBQ ala brewery to list of meals*

The trip is mine, not yours.

Actually, I would point out that, for the November trip, it is actually Ian & Nick's.

The reason the trip is structured this way is because it's what Ian and I normally do when he's out here and it's a good format.

You see, this November thing all came about because I asked Nick & Ian if I could be an interloper, and they agreed.
I made sure it was cool for me to come along ahead of time, rather than just injecting myself, since I know this is special Oceania time for those guys.

So, you can believe I'm a structure guy, or you can remember that I suggested a walk to the park and calling Sasha, even though we were just supposed to meet for a sandwich (you picked the place).
And I can think you're this totally hip wanderer, or I can remember that you got lost trying to find your hotel on your first night in Tokyo and that you have several stories about wandering around looking for ways to get money that you should have already had.

Mosh expressed my feelings perfectly (as he usually does  ):

You know there is room between good organisation and loose planning. A really well planned trip allows some slack.

I just injected myself into this trip, then asked Nick if I could come along. I'm very polite like that. oopsie. Luickily he said he had no problem with it...

Things to know about me:
#1. I get lost if left to my own devises, so I'm glad we have Nick to guide us. However if I did get seperated from the group somehow I'm sure I'd have no problem finding my way back to you guys.
#2. I'm very much a go with the flow kind of person, so I'm up for whatever, hopefully whatever includes eating a lot of sushi.
#3. bagman kind of scares me.

And I can think you're this totally hip wanderer, or I can remember that you got lost trying to find your hotel on your first night in Tokyo and that you have several stories about wandering around looking for ways to get money that you should have already had.

See, that kind of thing makes for times to rip hair out when it happens, but it makes a great story afterwards. And sometimes those things make a holiday.

Maybe not something as shitty as that happening, but randomly meeting Roller Derby chicks and Lucas snarfing one of their pins is a future great story kind of an experience.

Actually, I would point out that, for the November trip, it is actually Ian & Nick's.

it is our thing, and people are welcome to come along. I'm pretty confident the format Ian and I have can be extrapolated to give everyone a great time. If anyone wants to break off and do something that's totally cool, but please don't be offended when you call me and we're too busy raiding temples/panties/bars/castles to pic up the phone.

I guess that's the main point. You can make your own schedule, but if you do so then don't be upset if the love-train rolls by while you're trying to fit your credit card in the wrong slot.

Lucas, I do actually recall the spontaneity you showed when suggesting a hike through the park and I thought it sounded fun and like a great idea.

And yes, I did learn some lessons while in Japan. Some of my issues came about because I was torn between "Mr. World Traveller" (my mother's husband) who has been literally all over the planet and his advice, and Nick's advice. Before I went, Mr. WT, told me I shouldn't get a cell phone at Narita because he believed we could find cheaper ones in stores closer to the hotel. Nick had suggested getting one at Narita. Unfortunately, I took Mr. WT's advice. ERR. Game over. No cell phone for me. (No shops we found rented cell's). But, that's fine. You gotta adapt as well as you can. I used my hotel phone, and made sure I had enough change to use pay phones (which are fairly easy to find actually) and I carried Nick's phone number with me. It would have been much easier had I rented a cell phone, but I still managed.

Getting lost doesn't scare me a bit. I did get lost coming out of Shinjuku station the first night I got there. I wandered around for about 45 minutes and then just went up to a couple of kids and asked them to point me in the right direction. They looked at the map for a while and they just said they would personally escort me to the hotel. This was my first experience with how nice the Japanese can be/are. On the trek to the hotel, I ended up having a fairly fantastic conversation with them - asking them what their thoughts were on North Korea, what they were studying at university, what good clubs were around (they told me they were 19 and you can't get in under 20), and they dropped me off in front of the hotel. Awesome experience, that I would not have had if I found the hotel immediately after leaving the station. So I got lost... but I also met a cool Japanese couple.

You just need to know what to do if you are lost or need to contact somebody.

I didn't know this was originally just a Nick and Ian bromance trip... when I heard about it I thought it was a purposeful "meet-up" for all of us like we have in the states every few years. Then yes, it is your trip, and we would be just tagging along. *Bows*

Also Nick, thanks for the explanation and points on the reasoning behind the structure. Makes sense.

Also also, I was pissed to find out that an 8-bit Cafe was only like 2 blocks from the hotel I was at. Argh. (http://japanlive.blogspot.com/2008/02/little-lounge-little-twinkle-at-8-bit.html)

Bagman sent me a Facebook message asking me to give him info from this forum since he refuses to login (even though he does read the boards). bahahaha. Should I do it and be nice or not do it and be a bitch? hmm...

it's not that hard to log in to read this forum.

I reckon, be nice to him, then be a bitch, then be nice, then be a bitch...

Your reward will be rubber lovestick.

Your reward will be rubber lovestick.

donotwant

Bagman sent me a Facebook message asking me to give him info from this forum since he refuses to login (even though he does read the boards). bahahaha. Should I do it and be nice or not do it and be a bitch? hmm...

tell that fool to log in

done!

That's totally awesome!

By the way, can you walk me through how you expect to use your company cell phone in Japan?

I spoke with Nick about a similar idea (since I have a personal BB) several months ago, and we eventually determined that swapping SIMs in Japan would be impossible, since there's basically no carriers which use SIM cards and - besides - you need to be a Japanese citizen to *buy* anything that is used as a cellular device.  And if you're hoping to use the company BB internationally but with the same SIM, you'll need to make sure that you have international roaming added to the carrier's plan if you're using AT&T, since they require it (no matter what they say) when travelling internationally (at least, this is my experience in many Latin America & South America trips).

Anyway, just wanted to find out if you'd discovered something different from what Nick & I dug up, because I'd like to not have to rent if possible.