TsukuBlog

All the way gloomy days during the 4th till the 6th of July were all worth it by threading the way to and around Tohoku, Japan. Tōhoku (東北), which literally means “East-North” is the northeastern region of Japan’s Honshu (mainland) island. Tohoku is a host to many museums and temples and it has over a dozen of listed tourist attractions, ranging from parks to rivers and mountains.

The trip was organized by the International Students Center of the University of Tsukuba. It was a 3-days hop to the three (3) prefectures of Tohoku namely, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata.

The first prefecture we went to was Iwate. Take a peek at the photos I took. (1. Inside a restaurant 2. One of the temples in Chusonji compund 3. Miyazawa Kenji Museum)

Next destination was Matsushima, Miyagi prefecture. (1. Akiu Ootaki 2. Inside a museum 3. During the bay cruise)

And the last one was Yamagata prefecture. (1. Inside a museum 2. Yamagata ken souvenir shop 3. Cherry fuits)

Although the trip was a little bit tiresome by just sitting inside the bus, the tour guide’s efforts were worth mentioning, trying to be awake and genki (energetic and lively) all the time while all of us are dead tired slumbering in our seats.

The full of memorable stories museums in Iwate, the wonderful splashing waters of the Ootaki in Miyagi, and the tasteful cherries in Yamagata, all made the 3 days trip worth treasuring.

For the rest of the photos in bigger resolution, you may view them in my Zooomr album.

There used to be an official English schedule for the Tsukuba to Narita Airport bus on the Kantetsu website, but it seems to have been removed. A kind person in Tsukuba (Yuka) has translated the schedule for us.

Tsukuba to Narita Airport Bus Schedule

Tsukuba to Narita Airport Bus Schedule (after November 20, 2008)

Please keep in mind that the bus schedule is subject to change, so keep an eye on the Japanese page for the updated schedules.

I found the following information in Metropolis magazine (#699):

HIS Experience Japan is offering tourists and residents of Japan a chance to experience “real Japanese culture,” in addition to the usual tourist spots. The company has nearly a dozen programs that allow participants to learn directly from professionals. Activities include sushi-making, yuzen silk-dying, calligraphy, karate and ninja lessons, taiko drumming and lantern-making, among others. Guides who speak English, Chinese, Korean and Spanish are available, and reservations can be made online at www.j-experience.com. Further info is available in English by calling 03-5328-4030 or emailing info-en[at]j-experience.com.

The Ministry of the Environment has published two brochures about the natural environment in Japan. The first is called “National Parks of Japan” and the second is the equally blandly named “The Nature of Japan”. They are both available in Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean.

They are not particularly well written (they didn’t bother to have the translations checked by a native English speaker), but they may give you some ideas about where to travel to experience the natural beauty of the Japanese archipelago.

I am planning an exciting trip to Mozambique this summer. This is my first time travelling to Africa, so I am both excited and a little nervous. I figured that one of my priorities should be to figure out which vaccinations I should get, since I will be staying with a friend in an “off-the-beaten-path” city in the north of Mozambique.

There is a lot of information about vaccinations on the internet, but some of the advice you get is conflicting, so I decided to try to find a travel health clinic to consult here in Japan. The Japanese Society of Travel Medicine lists a doctor at Tsukuba Soai Hospital (029-873-2511, Takasaki 1245) as a member amongst other doctors in the Kanto Region. There is also a major travel health clinic in Tokyo called the Travel Clinic at the International Medical Center of Japan. I decided to go to the Tokyo clinic to get some advice, as I was not certain that the people at the Soai Clinic would have as much experience with travel medicine specifically for trips to Africa.

It is quite easy to get to the Travel Clinic from Tsukuba. Take any train into Akihabara and get off at Shin Okachimachi, the stop just before Akihabara. Switch to the Toei Oedo line and take a train heading to Tocho Mae (都庁前). Get off at Wakamatsu Kawada (若松河田) and take the Wakamatsu Chou Exit (若松町). When you get up the stairs, look for the Lawson’s on your right. Walk towards the Lawson’s and turn right again onto the road after the Lawson’s. Follow that little road until it ends and then turn left. You should see the hospital right in front of you. Some parts of the hospital are under construction, so you might have to wander around some pedestrian paths before you actually get to the front door.

You must make an appointment before you go, so once you arrive at the hospital, check in at the desk near the front entrance. They will hand you your chart and send you upstairs to the Travel Clinic on the second floor. Once there, you will be asked to fill out some forms that detail your medical history, your travel plans, and your current state. After all that is done, you will be able to talk to the doctor.

The doctor was able to give me good advice about the vaccinations that I could receive there, which ones were applicable to my trip, which ones were obligatory and which were optional (in my case, all were optional), the schedule that I would need to follow for getting the vaccinations, and how long they would be effective. I had my consultation in Japanese, but they say on their website that they do have doctors who can speak English. (You may have to come on a particular day to be able to see an English-speaking doctor.) The doctor was extremely knowledgeable and was very happy to answer all of my questions.

Vaccinations are not covered by regular health insurance, so they can be really pricey. My bill for the consultation and the three shots that I ended up getting came to about 20,000 yen (16,600 yen for the shots and 2700 yen for the consultation). I didn’t see any information about being able to pay by credit card, so it is probably better to bring a big wadge of cash with you, just in case. (By the way, the shots are cheaper at the Travel Clinic than they are at Soai in Tsukuba.)

As it turned out, I decided to get my first shots at the Travel Clinic and then have my follow-up shots at Soai Hospital in Tsukuba. I am glad that I went to the Travel Clinic in Tokyo for my first consultation because I felt like they would have more experience in dealing with this kind of information. Also, as an added bonus, while you wait to pay your exorbitant bill, you can spend your time looking up at the intricate overhead paths of rails from which dangle briefcase-sized boxes of documents that the office staff send around to each other. It is one of those things that looks like it could have been really futuristic in the 1960s, but now it just looks messy. Still, it’s surprisingly captivating to watch the boxes scurry about like little automated trains along the rails.

It is quite easy to take the bus to Narita airport, but some people prefer to drive, either because they don’t want to wait for the bus or because they need to get to the airport before 8am (when the earliest bus arrives) or they are likely to miss the last bus from the airport (which leaves at 8pm) on the way home.

There are lots of parking lots on the drive up to Narita, so you won’t have a problem finding a place to park. If you want to be certain to get a spot, though, you should probably make a reservation. I generally use one of the USA Parking lots as they seem to be located closest to the airport. They have a number of different options, and the price depends on how much pampering you want. Types A, B, C, and D will have you park your car at a lot and take courtesy buses to and from the airport. Type E will have you park your car at the lot on the way there, and then have the car brought to you on the way home. Type F is the most luxurious, and it will let you drop your car off at the airport and have it brought to the airport on the way home. Of course, the price increases as you add more bells and whistles. Reservations can be made through the USA Parking website.

Once you have made your reservation, you might want to have a look at Prima Cabina’s empirically determined faster route from Tsukuba to Narita.

If you can speak Japanese and at least one other language and you are looking for something to do between April 8th and 15th, read on:

This is Matt Topping, CIR for Ishigaki City in Okinawa, announcing the start of the Interpreter Volunteer Program for the 2008 Ishigaki World Cup Triathlon. The triathlon is a world-class competition with athletes from over 30 countries in attendance. We are looking for volunteers that have a strong command of Japanese as well as another language. Many of the international athletes can speak English, but it is highly likely that we will also need translation/interpretation in languages such as Chinese and Russian. Come down to subtropical Okinawa in April and participate in a great exchange opportunity.

The triathlon will be held April 13th, and the volunteer program April 8th-15th. For more information, please visit http://triathlonvolunteer.blogspot.com.