This is the first time I’ve needed to get a ticket in well over a month and a half. I last purchased tickets way back in Guam. No longer island hopping like I was in the Pacific has reduced my costs dramatically. (That is why I did the Pacific countries first actually. I wanted to get the most difficult, expensive part of the trip out of the way first) I currently only have tickets booked to Kagoshima. I think I’ll take a ferry to South Korea from Japan. I have found that there is a ferry that goes from Japan and South Korea to Vladivostok. I’d be very interested in going, but the problem will be getting the visa from the Russians. I’d have to do it in either Seoul or Tokyo and the application process would probably take longer than the length of time I’d be in Vladivostok. I think a visit to Vladivostok would be very cool, but I’m not going to do it if the visa is too big of a pain in the ass.
My reason for going to Kagoshima is to visit Yakushima island, a World Heritage Site. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in Japan, and the forest that inspired Princess Mononoke.
If anyone has suggestions for what to do, where to go, things to see in Japan, don’t hesitate to make suggestions. The suggestions I’ve gotten from this website have proven more valuable that the information I get from guidebooks.