The blog is very useful.

lucky you, enjoying Japan. I lived there for a couple of years on assigniment in the automotive industry. caught onto the power of the internet while there, and the amazing ability to read the NY Times online for free instead of paying $25US for a hard copy of the Sunday New York Times at the hotel in tokyo. My site http://www.japaninyourpalm.com may be helpful during your stay in Japan. The site is focused on Hiroshima a bit, but helpful for any travel throughout Japan.. comes with an Avantgo channel for your pda. ps. I read your Web Publishing while living in Japan

Phil,

If you can, check out the Aikido Hombu Dojo and try to see a demonstration.

Phil takes pride in how little he spends, but how much did your 1st class plane ticket to Japan cost you?

“Japan is less expensive than Manhattan and other parts of the US that are similarly crowded.”

Narita is on the far side of Chiba Prefecture from Tokyo in the middle of an agricultural region. This accounts for the hotel cost: there isn’t a large demand for lodging near the airport. I stayed there one time when accompanying my elderly parents to the airport. It was actually pretty relaxing and nice, but not to be confused with Manhattan (or Tokyo). More like staying in Kansas.

In general, the myth that Japan is expensive seems to be driven by various rankings of how expensive cities are that are prepared by expat relocation companies. If you adjust your life somewhat to the local circumstances, it’s very cheap.

Certainly, $20 would be expensive for most people eating dinner out even in Tokyo, and about three times what you’d spend for lunch. When you spend more than that, you are spending it not for food and basic atmosphere, but for impressing a business client or “renting a table” in a crowded neighborhood of central Tokyo. Of course, with the a la carte menus of many Japanese restaurants, many U.S. visitors probably end up ordering 4,000 calories worth of food, which could drive up the cost, I suppose.

I should have noted that I did all of the above activities without using any form of transport other than the Narita Hilton shuttle bus (free).

Marty: The hotel was about $100 plus $25 for use of the spa/pool. The temple was free. The tea ceremony was at the city’s welcome center and was free. The koi ponds are in the (free) public garden. Lunch was about $20. Japan is less expensive than Manhattan and other parts of the US that are similarly crowded.

For those of us who don’t get out much, what was the tab for those first 24 hours?

Hi, Philip. Did you have to drive to any of the delights in Narita? When we spoke last week you were wondering about reading street signs. . .

Where’d you find a 25-yard pool?!

I’ve swum in 25-meter pools, 50-meter pools, and the 18m or 20m width of some off-sized 50-meter pools, but I’ve never run across a 25-yard pool in Japan.

So Phillip are you going to post hi-resolution pics of your time in the public bath? lol