JAPAN 2011

Jules here with a travel update. Since 99% of what Becky writes is bullshit, you can take comfort in knowing you're getting the real deal from me.

Truth be told, Becks & I didn't know each other very well when she decided to join me on my tour of Europe. We hit it off so well we decided to plan another trip. Because Becky is a Disney-aholic and I like to photograph anything anywhere, Japan seemed like the perfect destination.

In Fall of 2009, Jules and Becks took a Japanese class to better communicate while in Japan. By Christmas 2009, we had forgotten almost all of it. We still throw around a word or two in front of coworkers to look sophisticated, but we're probably just telling the other, "It's 9:00am. I am a third year student." Or something else REALLY useful.

Anyway we're at the point where we're trying to save up like crazy! We plan to open a pre-paid Yen Visa through TravelEx. The more photo jobs I get, the more useless crap I get to buy just like in Europe. Did I really need Michaelanglo anatomy screen-printed boxer briefs from Italy? No, but the irony of them being sold at the Rialto Fruit Market in Venice and the strange spike I get in testosterone when I wear them & look in the mirror is priceless.

So far, the rough outline of the trip is one week in Tokyo so Becks can bask for a whole week in Disneyland tengoku. I plan on taking tons of pictures around the city. So far I'm excited about LOTS of light-filled nighttime shots, early morning fish market sorting, and TONS of Harajuku district shots. Thanks to Becks pretty much being a Rockefeller, the first week we'll stay FREE at the Disneyland hotel in Tokyo. In Paris, it was $1000 a night there. It's good to have friends, but even better when they're Becks :)

The next two weeks will be spent traveling around the country by train. I'm hoping to bribe some fishermen to take us to Hashima Island. If we are detained while over there, it will most likely be a result of this excursion. The photography opportunities are worth it though. We're also going to hit Kyoto & all the other touristy places, because, well, we're just cool like that.

We're hoping to go up North a bit & work in a bit of a food tour & eat kobe beef in Kobe, drink a Sapporro in Sapporro, etc. The Northern country is beautiful, and who knows, we might hop the pond & go party with the Russians for a day...at least that's my hope. Becks lives out near Citrus Heights, so she pretty much lives in Little Russia. The appeal is just not there for her...oh well I'm not leaving Russia without a big fur hat.

Then we will meander back down to Tokyo and come home. In the meantime, we will be much better prepared to update our blog with better technology than when we were traveling around EU. There, we relied on internet cafes. THIS TIME, we will each have our own netbooks and will be better prepared to upload pictures & videos.

STAY TUNED!

-Jules & Becks