Trip to Japan

There is a great deal of planning that goes into booking a vacation in a foreign country. Passports have to be taken care of, flights have to be scheduled, and accommodations have to be arranged for when the flight arrives. Also, it is important that some entertaining sites have been chosen ahead of time that would be nice to visit. By doing this, it will make the trip much easier to manage and much more enjoyable. Vacationing in a foreign country can be a great experience for family and friends, but it is important that travel arrangements, accommodations, and entertainment options are researched thoroughly before going.

Japan is where the vacation will take place, but before that can happen, some travel arrangements will have to be made. Before departing from home, every person must have a passport. A valid U.S. passport is required to enter and leave most foreign countries ("U.S. Department of State"). Acceptance facilities include courts, post offices, and some public libraries. There are also 13 regional passport agencies which require appointments. According to the U.S. Department of State:

To obtain a passport for the first time, you need to go in person to one of 6,000 passport acceptance facilities located throughout the United States with two photographs of yourself, proof of U.S. citizenship, and a valid form of photo identification such as a driver's license.

The closest place in Indiana to obtain a passport would be the Indiana Main Post Office on South 7th Street. Passport acceptance hours are from 9 am - 2 pm.

Now that the passport has been taken care of, its time to find a flight and hotel. Most places will have round trip air fare and the cost of the hotel as a package deal, which is the best way to go. It will cost less doing it this way then booking the flight and hotel separately. In General Tours Japan travel guide produced by the United States Tour Operators Association, there are different package deals to choose from. I chose a fully-escorted tour for nine days, two of which will be spend traveling to and from Japan. The problem is, the flight to Japan is leaving from New York, so another flight must be purchased from Indiana to New York. No flights were available from Indiana to New York City, so I selected Pittsburgh to New York City instead. The price is $292 round trip on United Airlines.

During the trip, there will be four stops from Tokyo to Hakone to Kyoto to Osaka. The price for this is $2,599 which includes round trip airfare and also the cost of the four different hotels that will be visited over the course of the week. This also includes a daily breakfast at the hotel restaurant. The trip is scheduled for April 2nd - 10th which is the heart of the spring season in Japan. Early April is a great time to visit Japan because it is cherry-blossom season there. A wave of pink and white blossoms travel across the island from the southern tip of the country to the north ("Tokyo 3"). "Tokyo Ð'- where the blooms