Tentative Plans for Japan

So, there are a lot of places but the husband and I would like to visit. I'm going to dedicate this entry to the places I would like to go. Maybe he'll be inspired to do a guest entry.

Tokyo:

First off, we are definitely going to the Ghibli Museum; this was a joint decision. I already have the ticket voucher and part of the schedule blocked out. You are not allowed to take photos in most of the museum but you can still find some pics of certain parts online. I like two Ghibli movies a lot, Mononoke Hime and Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä. They're both kind of the same film, as they have similar underlying themes. I have admired the art for a lot of the other movies, though. (I hate almost everything about Porco Rosso, just being honest.)

The first trailer I ever saw for Mononoke Hime

Wards I want to visit: Shibuya for pretty much every reason, Ikebukuro for girly reasons, Akihabara for geek-ery, Nakano for Mandarake. 

In Ikebukuro I want to visit Otome road to visit Milky Way for parfaits, go to Swallowtail Butler Cafe to be pampered, show my husband a Tokyu Hands, visit a cat cafe and many other things. It's the ward I am most excited about, followed by Akihabara and then Shibuya.

There are other things of course; where we are staying has a some great history (One of the oldest wards, previous red-light district, and other fun things.) It is also the main area to get many traditional crafts. Finally it has Kaminarimon and a real Onsen. 

Day Trips: I have been trying to decided between Nikko and Kamakura. Nikko would be a day trip and might be very cold, but it has a lot of awesome history. (Ieyasu Tokugawa is entombed there.) Kamakura is not as far away, and also has a ton of cool history. (Kamakura has the Daibustu, Amida Buddha). And in that vein, there's also a daytrip to Yokohama, where I stayed in 2000. I'd like to show my Husband the area and maybe go to Minato Mirai 21.

Kyoto:

This is simple; I want to visit as many temples and shrines as possible, I want to have Kaiseki, I want to walk through the gates at Fushimi Inari, I want to celebrate Hatsumode and eat all of the things. Last time I went to Kyoto it was on a very strict schedule; we visited places I wanted to visit and some I didn't. (Fureaikan, I am looking at you. T_T) We will be staying in Gion, which is pretty sweet. I hope I can find an affordable  kanzashi and some of the famous incense. 

Day Trip: Nara, of course. Need to be mauled by tiny deer and show my husband around the park.

Narita:

I have no clue. We will have half of a day there on the second to last day, and half of a day on the last day. Frantic last minute packing and repacking? A post office visit? Who knows! I hear there are some things to do!