Going to Japan

So I'm going to Japan in nearly a week to visit my brother and explore a totally different and fascinating land. I'd also like to try and update this little outpost on the internet with my photos and findings.

I feel prepared. My brother has lived in Japan since April, and he had spent two years in the JET program a few years back. We've been communicating and planning via Skype very often, and I've done a lot of research on my own.

For preparation, I've used www.japan-guide.com, which is so informative and extensive if you're planning a Japan trip and you haven't been there just go now. The WikiTravel site for Japan is also very good. For travel accomodations, I've used Travelzoo and www.hotels.com, both good sites for travel deals, and we're staying in some really nice places so I'm excited. For travel accommodation reviews, I've mostly used the reviews at TripAdvisor, which also has a lively travel forum as well. For adventure planning in Tokyo, I highly recommend the book Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer by Rick Kennedy, and get a map too (I got the Tokyo City Atlas: A Bilingual Guide - which seems useful in case the person you're showing the map to doesn't speak English). For food(ie) reviews, I suggest Chowhound as well as Bento.

This is not to say that I've planned my whole trip out down to the minute. I have a lot of options, some of which I will do, and some of which I may do. We'll see where the day takes me.

I leave in just over a week. Looking forward to it.