This is the trip budget before leaving for the trip. I have a feeling that once we get back, we probably would have extra yen. And if the yen keeps rising, with the ringgit at a low, we would make money. Haha!
Anyway, check out the budget below. I tried to make it as comprehensive as possible.
10 Days, 11 Nights in Japan
*At time of conversion: RM30.40 = 1000 yen.
Airfare: RM1028.67 KL
to Tokyo: RM477.50 Osaka to KL: RM551.17
Transportation: 27,000 yen (RM820)
Narita Airport Bus Shuttle: 1000 yen
Kansai Airport Rapid Train: 1100 yen
Miscellaneous
Estimated: 6000 yen
*Nakasendo
Transport
Tokyo to Nagoya: 10,360 yen
Nagoya to Nakatsugawa: 1500 yen
Nakatsugawa to Nagoya: 1500 yen
Nagoya to Kyoto: 5600 yen
Entry Fees: 25,300 yen (RM847.65)
Osaka Aquarium: 2300 yen
Miscellaneous Estimated: 2700 yen
*In-hand:
5000 yen (RM152)
Disney Sea: 6900 yen (RM221.33)
Universal Studios + Express Pass 5: 7200 yen + 6200 yen (RM474.32)
*Paid in advance: 20,300, subject to bank exchange rate at time of purchase.
Accommodation: RM1435.25
Includes Tokyo, Ena, Kyoto and Osaka.
View itinerary for number of nights spent in each place.
Food: 33,000 yen (RM1003)
Total Per Person: RM 5134.57
The 'priciest' part is the entry fees, especially to the theme parks and the additional Express Pass. Most people wouldn't go for both Disney Sea and Universal Studios. I, on the other hand, am a big Harry Potter buff, so USJ is a must on my list. Should you wish to remove one of those two places from your own trip, the whole budget goes below RM5000.
So there you have it! Who said going to Japan is expensive?
By the grace of God, (dear God, I hope this doesn't count as using your name in vain), someone told my mother about Airbnb.
At first, she brushed it aside and began checking hotel prices. When she told me they costed around RM200 a night, I decided to check out Airbnb. And lo and behold, I found so many wonderful places at a much cheaper price.
(Btw, click HEREto sign up and get 25$ off your first Airbnb stay. Yes, it's a referral link. I benefit from you signing up and booking a stay. Just being honest.)
So, where will I be staying in Japan? Here are my chosen (and already booked) places:
*No pictures because you can see them all on the listing's page.
Tokyo: 2 Bedroom Apartment in Shinjuku
My first booking went unlisted a month ago, so I had to look for another place to stay. Airbnb gave extra credits and I managed to find this place. Ena (for Nakasendo trail): Bed and Breakfast
You should check this one out. The design is so unique! Kyoto: Family Apartment
The best I could find. Finding a nice and cheap place to stay in Kyoto was quite a challenge, since I wanted one near the station. Osaka: Namba Colourful House
Looks small, but mother says it looks nice. Best I could find too. There weren't many choices in Osaka for separate bedrooms, which is something I really wanted.
On average, it is RM130 a night. That's RM70 cheaper than hotels!
Yes, no free breakfast (except for the one in Ena). But we get a whole apartment to ourselves with portable wifi.
The host for my stay at Ena offered free rides from the train station to lodge (and back) and to the Nakasendo trail (and back).
Kyoto host is waiving the rental fee for the portable wifi. Which is awesome. (He's the only host that actually charges for rental. The rest don't. But hey, he ended up offering it for free anyway.)
Even though all hosts stated a late check-in time, they allow to leave the luggage first if needed. The only problem I foresee is the little hunt for each lodging location upon arrival. Since they are not hotels, they provided me with instructions on where to find their apartments and how to retrieve the keys. You need to punch in secret codes and all that, just to access the place. A new experience, I guess.
Honestly, I wished someone told me about Airbnb last year. Holidaying is S.Korea could have been so much cheaper (not that it wasn't cheap already). This year's Japan trip is definitely way more expensive, but I'm glad I manage to save on accommodation.
Anyway, I'll write another post on these places once I get back. That's when we'll see if my expectations were met. Till then, I'm quite happy with my choices and I'm looking forward to my stay :)
There is no such thing as being too early to plan for a holiday. Planning itself gives you something to look forward to, and I'm excited as ever about my 11 days in Japan this coming Autumn.
So, for those who have wanderlust and would like to leech off my itinerary, which I worked on for days, you can find it below. You're most welcome :)
*This is not the complete itinerary. Maps and accommodation were removed. A separate post on accommodation will be published later on.
What hallways will make jaws drop? I don't know, perhaps the hallways of an international school?
If you follow me on social media, you would've known that I was invited to an international school during their book week. I had a great time with the students and I would love to do it again. But that's not the topic of this post. The topic of this post is how glorious that school is.
I grew up attending a government school and I've never been or seen an international school during my schooling years. So you can imagine how in awe I was when my friend showed me around after I was done with my session.
Firstly, they have a swimming pool... And a basketball court, and a tennis court, and a badminton court, and a table tennis room. A sport subject is a must. There's no need to teach your child how to swim, because they'll learn it in school.
Secondly, they have a design room with machines I've never seen before. And I bet they'll add a 3D printer to their collection soon.
Thirdly, they have a dance room, a gym with Pilates classes, and a theater room. Apparently, they are practicing for their upcoming performance of Macbeth. Freaking Macbeth. In high school, I directed plays and the most literary one was Phantom of the Opera. Even that was because I pulled the team together and wrote the script.
Fourthly, drama is a compulsory subject, along with French and Chinese. Is this an art school? No, it's an international school.
Fifthly (who on earth uses fifthly?), year 3 students are loaned iPads. It's an Apple school with tons of Macs just waiting to be used. I hate Macs by the way, but I'm forced to use one at work. Yay.
Sixthly, the fees. I'm not saying they're cheap. The fees are more expensive than my entire film degree. If I could afford a school year, I will be sending myself there. Sorry kids, mommy will be going back to school.
To some of you, this seems normal. To most of us Malaysian government school graduates, it's a resort. I'm not joking. Let me know the check-in time.
I get why parents are sending their children to private and international schools these days. I wish it was cheaper though. What I attended and what I visited were two worlds apart. Question is, will I send my children to one? I don't know. Maybe a place less pricey, since I'll have to send them both at the same time. Hey, I'm hoping to have twins. Everything is double with twins, including school fees.
*This will be a long read, but it's a faith journey I want to share.
Last year, I ran a 3 month crowd-funding project for my novel, The Battle For Oz. Those 3 months... were quite a journey. One that required a lot of faith.
I first discovered Inkshares (a crowd-funded publishing platform) from an email sent to me by the co-founder, Larry. After contemplating whether I should give it a shot, I decided to try it out. I chose The Battle For Oz for the project because it was the only complete title that I had no plans for.
Quick story on The Battle For Oz:
This book first started when an artist approached me to collaborate. He had an idea to marry two fictional worlds and wondered if I was interested in partnering with him on the project. Feeling flattered by the offer, I agreed.
Being someone who has never read the literature involved, I did a lot of research before plotting and writing three novelettes for The Battle For Oz. Once I was done, the artist took the first novelette and illustrated it. But after the first novelette was released as an e-book, the artist decided he did not want to continue the project any longer.
If you were me, you probably would have felt the unfairness of the situation. Honestly, I was really upset. I delivered my end of the bargain only to be bailed out on. Knowing I could not do anything, I let the artist go.
I will admit that we did struggle as a team. Our ideas clashed a lot and we were in arguments on and off. We did manage to marry some of our concepts together, so I won't say everything in The Battle For Oz was originally my idea. The plot however, was. Knowing that I put a lot of effort into this book, I wasn't going to let it go to waste.
*That being said, the artist has been more than supportive of my decision to publish the novel on my own.
So, when Inkshares approached me, I decided it would be a good move to take The Battle For Oz to another level. What felt like a great injustice when the collaboration did not work out, turned into a stepping stone for me to move forward as an author. Maybe, it happened for a reason.
Anyway, upon starting the crowd-funding project, I decided that it would be a project that I do with God. Despite the fact that the book was not inspired by Him, I still wanted Him to partner with me. So every night, I prayed and asked God for His help. And I believe He delivered.
Within the first 10 days of the project, I managed to raised 45% of the funds needed. I was so happy, thinking that it would complete in no time. But after the 10 days, I realised that all contacts have been exhausted. There was no one else to ask for support... and that was when a bible story came to mind; the story of Jesus asking Peter to cast his nets into the water, where he then pulled out tons of fishes.
After a few nights of praying over that bible story, believing that God will tell me where to cast my nets for funds, I decided to read the story again. Upon finding it, I discovered something new.
In Luke 5 verse 2, it states that Peter and his gang had left their boats unattended as they washed their nets, in which I assume they were done for the day. They were ready to go home without a single catch, but after Jesus told them to give it another shot, they ended up with too many to carry.
The key point I got out of this was the fact that Peter was ready to throw in the towel when God decided to show Himself to him.
So for the next 80 days of the crowd-funding project, where the fundraising graph had hit a plateau, I challenged my faith by believing that God will show Himself at the very end, when I myself felt like throwing in the towel. He will do something to help me complete the project at the eleventh hour. It was definitely not easy, especially when I see the deadline crawl closer and closer, but I tried my best.
True enough on 31st December, a few days before the end of the project, I received enough funds to cover the remaining balance. It was not a small sum, mind you, but a huge one from a backer who, too, prayed and asked God on how much to support me. Now that... that just shows how awesome God is.
But that is just one part of my faith journey. The biggest climb was how my concept of faith morphed in the 80 days. Faith was no longer believing that God will help me, faith was believing that whatever happens, God knows best.
I told God my heart and how much I wanted the project to be a success, but I also told Him that if it is not His will, I will accept it. I'm willing to walk in His direction, even if it means a failed project. Declaring that was quite a challenge, cause I know God will take those words seriously.
After having that mindset, my approach to God in regards to the project changed. My dad told me that he was willing to financially support my project if needed, but deep down, I did not want his help. I wanted to walk in God's direction and having my dad's support was sort of cheating. So, I began telling God that I no longer needed His help for the project, instead, I wanted it.
There's a difference between need and want. Need is a necessity, want is a desire, and I desired for Him in the project. I wanted Him to be with me. I wanted. I didn't just need His help, I wanted Him. What will make me different from other writers? Having Him by my side, not just His helping hand.
I guess, after making that request and seeing Him pull through, I know His reply. God said yes, and He is on board. He is willing to pick up a book I wrote not inspired by Him, a book someone bailed out on, and partner with me in seeing it through. Now, I have nothing to worry about.
Everyday, I pray that He will continue to anchor the publication of the book and I find myself not stressing about it. If there's a delay or a complication, I know God is in control and He would only do what's best for the book. After all, He's my partner now, and I know He's one partner that will never leave me hanging.
If you have read this far, I hope my story inspires you to seek God more. Desiring Him versus needing Him makes a lot of difference. God wants us to want Him, and when we do that, we will experience more of Him in our lives.
I'm really thankful I got to experience such a faith journey in 2014. And I'm looking forward to a better and closer relationship with Him this year :)
Every adventure needs a soundtrack. Here's mine for the 3 months.
