Bringing Travel Information To Japan

I travelled to South Korea in 2011 and 2012. On both trips I carried a Lonely Planet Guide and a Rough Guide Book on South Korea. The Lonely Planet book was best for city and point of interest information. The Rough Guide was best for transportation information. I also picked up a few brochures and maps at the tourist information booths. Along with those, I was able to travel all over the country. I saw and experienced everything that I wanted. I did get lost a few times but only briefly.

Now, technology has greatly decreased the need for the travel guide books. That's not necessarily a good thing. Since I rented a wifi device to take on this Japan trip, I will storing the information that I need on my Ipad. Everything else I need is readily available online. The information that is stored on my Ipad is backed up to Microsoft's One Note. So, even if I lose my Ipad, I can still access my trip information.

I shop at an online photography store and check their website a couple times a week. Every day they have the Deal Of The Day. One day this past Summer they had a special $350 Ipad Air 128 gb on sale. I saw the deal with only 9 minutes left. Fortunately, I was able to finish the transaction in time. It was even better that I had a big rebate coupon from a camera purchase earlier in the year. So the my price was close to $250. The only downside to the deal was that it was a Sprint cellular  model. Even though I only use it in wifi mode, it periodically asks me to set up a cellular account.

With the Ipad Air having 128 gb of storage I am able to take lots of music, movies, and television shows that I can use on the plane. I don't plan on watching any television, other than the weather, while I am in Japan. Though I am curious about those strange Japanese television game show clips that you see on Youtube.

There is so much travel information on the internet that no one should have much trouble travelling to a foreign country, even if you don't speak the language. I've watched Youtube videos about how to order at the sushi conveyor belt restaurant, how to go through the ticket stile at the train station, to just about everything that I could possible need to know before I get there. Even though you can watch it on Youtube, your actual experience may vary. Some of your best travel memories will be when you figured things out on your own and when you get a little lost. So don't take that away from yourself by planning too much.