Garbage Cans and Eating on the Go: You will not see public garbage cans in Japan. Sometimes a vending machine will have a slot for recycling your drink bottles (like the one in the picture above to the right of the machine), but that is about it. It is socially expected that people will take their garbage home with them. One thing you'll notice in Japan is just how clean the country is. Litter is super rare to see, so this expectation is generally followed by Japanese citizens. If every you see litter, it is very likely from some disgruntled tourist just tossing their garbage, frustrated that Japan is not like their country. Also, it is not exactly taboo to eat while walking on a sidewalk, but it kind of is actually. You'll notice that when someone gets a snack in a Family Mart or Seven Eleven, they stand outside the door and eat it while standing there. They won't eat it while walking. And you definitely don't eat food on a train. The only exception to that is a train where you have your own assigned seat with a food tray, the kind you find on the Shinkansen.

Awesome Food and Snacks: One of the best things about Japan is the food. But not just the obvious things like real sushi and ramen. Their snacks are so awesome and unique! This ice cream waffle shown below is one of my favorites. Be aware, you want the one that shows the chocolate in the middle, there is another one just like it with just the vanilla ice cream. I love the crispness of the thin frozen layer of chocolate in this one. Other perennial favorites for me are Cheese Mushy Cake and also Melon Pan. 

Take the time to try new foods in Japan. Be adventurous, and enjoy! If you get a chance to buy food from a vendor, do it! From filled crepes to sweat potato or melon soft serve ice cream, tako yaki, yakitori, fresh baked pastries, pulled pork inside a Melon Pan bun, and more--the open air vendors are where it's at!

Things to do: This is actually going to be a hard section to write because there is sooooo much to do in Japan when you aren't training. Do you plan to stay in Tokyo, visit rural areas, or visit other tourist destination cities like Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagano, Osaka? That would change my advice. I'm going to assume that you are staying near Tokyo since you are planning to do some training in Noda. So, my list of suggestions of things to do will mostly be things in and around Tokyo. And there are more things than this, this is just what I've done or what friends of mine have done on their trips: Tokyo Dome adventure park in Suidobashi (this is also where the sword shop is located I speak often about and where the Gi shop is we frequent), Tokyo Disney, hike Nokogiri, aquariums, Uedo Zoo, museums, Samurai castles, Imperial Palace grounds, Shinshoji Temple and open air market in Asakusa, and so much more! Just be sure to plan enough time for your visits with train ride time to make sure you make the training classes in the dojo you intend to make.

Fighting Jetlag: First, let me say to ask your doctor before trying this, or any other, trick to fight Jetlag. I am not a doctor, this is just something I figured out and I am simply sharing my personal story with Jetlag. This is not a suggestion for you to try it. Jetlag is a very real thing when you travel to Japan from the USA. It's not just the time spent away and traveling. It is the drastically different time zone. When it's night in Japan, it is daytime in the USA and visa-versa. I travel a lot for my day job and I've never had jetlag flying in the USA so I wasn't too concerned my first trip to Japan, especially since I didn't sleep on the plane ride over. I figured I'd be so tired that I would sleep great that night. I fell asleep right away in my hotel room, but my body treated it like a nice afternoon nap. I was awake again in two hours and not sleepy. I took a Unisom I had brought with me and 40 minutes later I was asleep again, but woke up in the morning feeling like crap. The next year, I had a new system figured out. I still stay away during the flight to Japan. That night, 30 minutes before I want to be asleep I take a low dose melatonin pill, then I take half a Unisom when I lay down. The Melatonin helps to reset my circadian rhythm, the Unisom helps keep me asleep for eight hours, otherwise I wake up after four hours with just the Melatonin by itself. The second night I take a smaller Unisom portion, full Melatonin. Third night half a Melatonin, and a smaller Unisom. On the fourth night I may not need anything more, I base it on how I'm feeling that night. This has drastically reduced the effects of jetlag. I do the same thing coming home from Japan. The return trip is the hardest, even with my trick. But the trick does help immensely. Again, I am just sharing my story, not giving advice. Please speak with your doctor before trying my, or any other, trick to fight jetlag.

Happy travels!

Continue reading this series with part 5, etiquette

This is a continuation from Training in Japan Part 1: Flights

​Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for use as a reference. It is based on my personal experiences. No part of this blog can be or should be taken as legal, medical, or other advice.

Your second biggest expense will be your lodging. There are a few options available to you, depending on how much you are willing to spend and what level of convenience you hope to experience. The nice thing about flights and lodging is you can see those prices online very easily in most cases, so you can get a realistic expectation of the two biggest costs for your trip. Then you can follow my recommendations in Part 4 of this blog series of Training in Japan to know exactly how much to set aside for you trip as you plan ahead of time.

I'll repeat this next point from Part 1: Flights. Be aware of your departure date and arrival date! Japan's time zone is far ahead of ours in the USA. When flighting into Japan, you will arrive a day later than you left the USA. So, if you get on a plane in Seattle, Portland, or any airport flying directly to Japan, on Monday, you will arrive in Japan on Tuesday. This is important when planning your hotel stay, don't reserve a room for the date you leave the USA, reserve your room starting the date you actually arrive in Japan.

Hotels: Staying in a hotel will be highly convenient, but a little more expensive than some of the other options below. Not by a whole lot though, depending on what deals you can find/negotiate. Most hotels will have a mini fridge and an electric kettle for boiling water (instant ramen in Japan is amazing! See more in Part 4 of this Blog series). However, you will likely find yourself eating out more often when staying in a hotel. When I go to Japan, more often than not, I stay in the Kashiwa Plaza Annex. In Kashiwa, there is also Kashiwa Plaza Hotel, and Sotetsu Fresa Inn. All three are good options. The Annex is newer than the Plaza Hotel. Fresa Inn is the newest of the three. If you decide to call to make your reservation, ask if Bujinkan members get a discount. Often times, you'll get a better rate than if you reserved online because of being in the Bujinkan. You can also choose to stay in a hotel closer to the Hombu Dojo. The Hombu Dojo is in Noda, near the Atago train station. While Kashiwa is further away, there are some benefits to staying in Kashiwa. It has better rail access to Tokyo, so if you want to split your time between training and doing tourist stuff in Tokyo, Kashiwa is a good bet. Also, sometimes we travel to another city for training, our direct Sensei in Japan taught at another location in addition to the Hombu Dojo. This location was much easier to get to from Kashiwa than Noda using the trains. The hotels in Kashiwa also feel newer. I personally have never stayed in any Noda hotels, but from what I've been told from others, they definitely feel older. However, looking at pictures and reviews online, they don't look too terrible, and might save you a bit of money in hotel stay costs and train fare for training at the Hombu Dojo. If you stay in Kashiwa, you just take one train line to get to Noda. Take the Tobu Urban Park Line to Atago Station in Noda. 
If you want to try a hotel in Noda, I would suggest based on pricing and reviews the Business Hotel Noda. It is only one train station away from Atago, though you will need to walk a few blocks from the hotel to get to the train station. No big deal most days, it might just be tedious with luggage (though I've walked further with luggage before using AirBNB, so it's very doable). If you want something very close to the Hombu Dojo, the Azusa Ryokan is the closest. See below under Hostels/Ryokan.

It takes about 20 minutes to get from Kashiwa to Noda using the Tobu Urban Park Line. I always give myself at least 30 minutes just to be safe. You also need to factor in walking time. It takes about five minutes to walk from the hotel to Kashiwa Station, then about  seven or eight minutes to walk from Atago Station to the Hombu Dojo. If you stay at the Business Hotel Noda, this is going to be much shorter since it is one train station away from Atago (the hotel is between Umesato Station and Nodashi Station, so I would suggest walking to Nodashi since the next stop is Atago). Ask if they have bicycles to rent, if so, this could be a great option. Always get to the dojo early well before class time begins.

Laundry Tip: Whether you are staying at a hotel or Vrbo/AirBNB, you will have access to laundry machines. Even some Ryokan will have one or two on premises. If you are planning to stay in Japan long enough to need to do laundry, here is my tip: take a couple of Tide Pods or equivalents and dryer sheets with you in your luggage. I put two Tide Pods in a snack sized zip top baggie, and put that in a sandwich sized zip top baggie with the dryer sheets. I put the Tide Pods in the snack bag so if one leaks (which has never actually happened) it is contained in two bags, and won't get on the dryer sheets so they may still be useable. This way you don't have to buy the single use soap and dryer sheets from the hotel laundromat's vending machine. Do keep in mind, the dryers use heat pumps rather than heating elements, so they don't do a great job at drying your clothes. I put a whole bunch of 100 yen coins in the dryers to have them run for over an hour each, the clothes still come out damp. That's just how heat pump dryers work. Plan to lay your clothes out on the bed to finish air drying, or some actually have clothes hanging lines for air drying.

This is a continuation from Training in Japan Part 2: Hotels/Lodging

​Budo training in Japan! This is the main reason for going to Japan, it is a little like a pilgrimage to Mecca for members of the Bujinkan. Not only do we get to experience being in Japan, one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, we get to train with and learn from some of the greatest martial arts masters alive. All of my previous trips to Japan, I had the extreme blessing to be able to attend classes taught by Masaaki Hatsumi, the Soke of the Bujinkan. Now that he is essentially retired and has passed on the succession of the Bujinkan to the next generation of Soke, you may not get the chance to train with him, but you can certainly train with the Soke that have been chosen to replace him. 
​
Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for use as a reference. It is based on my personal experiences. No part of this blog can be or should be taken as legal, medical, or other advice.

In this post, I'm going to cover how to find the dojo if you are not traveling with me, the cost of training, what it's like to train in Japan, what to expect, and things you should know before ever stepping into the dojo. But first, let's get an uncomfortable topic out of the way first. The politics of going to Japan without your sensei with you.

As stated in the very first blog post in this series, Part 1: Flights, it is not wrong to visit the dojo without your sensei. However, there will be some questions likely asked by whomever is leading the class you are attending. If you attend the class of our Sensei in Japan, who is one of the newly promoted Soke to inherit the Bujinkan from Hatsumi Soke, and he asks who your sensei is that you train with in the US, and you give him my name, he may grill you further about why you have visited his dojo without me. As I said in the first post in this series, just say that you are visiting Japan for vacation, and wanted to hit a few classes while you are there. That will be the end of it. Maybe.

Keep in mind that weird things have happened in the past, like people going to Japan and trying to get ranked up equal to or beyond their sensei back home. So, they are sometimes warry of such attempts. I know of some instances where a sensei in Japan realized a person was doing just this, trying to get promoted in Japan. This person had his own dojo, but was a lower rank than his teacher in the USA that he trained with. The Japanese sensei promoted him to the highest rank in the Bujinkan, not because he deserved it, but because he wanted to save the other sensei from having to deal with such a poor student. As expected, this person stopped training with their sensei in the USA, believing they had arrived at the end! As a result, in a very short period of time, their dojo fell apart because the training went down hill quickly and that person has passed into obscurity.

However, they do sometimes offer genuine promotions while in Japan. You have to be very careful about accepting these promotions while attending on your own. Sometimes rank is given as a genuine gift, sometimes as a test to see how you will react (as in the story from earlier), and sometimes it is to gain new students for themselves. There are a lot of politics involved with this and I don't want to dive too deep into this. Just look at it this way. If you know who your sensei at home is connected with in Japan, and that sensei promotes you, in all likelihood your sensei back home with honor that rank and congratulate you, after all, his/her sensei promoted you. However, if you attend a class with a sensei in Japan not directly connected to your sensei, and the sensei in Japan offers you a promotion, you need to be careful. If you accept that rank and return home expecting to keep training under your sensei, you might find yourself in the wind. After all, you just accepted a rank from a different sensei not directly above your own sensei. So, you will need to make frequent trips to Japan to train under your new sensei, or find another sensei in your home country directly under the sensei in Japan you accepted rank from. So, with that in mind, decide whether will you accept the rank, if one is even offered in Japan, or if you will turn it down. If you are one of my Deshi and you are promoted by my sensei in Japan (you know who that is, no need to name drop) then I will congratulate you and we'll all celebrate your promotion. If you are offered rank by another Sensei not connected to our dojo, you can politely decline, or you can accept the rank and you've found yourself a new sensei, Omedeto! (congratulations) You can certainly keep training with our dojo, but I will no longer issue you rank advancements. That will be the decision of your new sensei in Japan. There is more to all of this, but not that I'm willing to write about in this blog. I kind of despise the politics involved with all of this. You can ask me in person for further insight into the politics and how to avoid making mistakes. 

Finding the dojo: Okay, with those internal politics out of the way, lets talk the fun part of training. But first, let's help you find the dojo! If you need to take the train to the dojo each day, get off the train at Atago Station in Noda. It is a short five minute walk from the train station. I've provided a map below using Google Maps. For some reason, the map has you leaving through the West Exit. It is much easier/faster to leave through the East Exit. Head straight out from the East Exit, turn left at the road, walk a couple blocks, turn left again down the second street on your left, walk to the end of the short street and you have arrived at the dojo. I've included pictures of what the dojo looks like when you turn down the street so you know what it looks like. The entrance to the dojo faces the train tracks, so you need to walk around the building to get to the entrance.

Entering the dojo: Once inside, (and if you want to be polite, bow once you enter the dojo through the front door, many foreigners do not do this so if you forget, you won't stand out) you'll immediately be in the Genkan, the lower area for shoes. You will see many small cubbies to your right to store your shoes in. Do not step up onto the wood flooring with your shoes. Take one foot out of your shoe and step your stockinged foot onto the wood floor, remove the other shoes and step that foot onto the wood floor. Pick up your shoes and put them into a cubby (on busy days plan to share a cubby with other shoes). Walk along the wood floored plank to the next area of the dojo. Do NOT step with your socks back onto the tiled floor of the Genkan! Once you are onto the next level of the dojo, you will see cubbies for back packs. This is the men's changing area. Yes, men change openly in this area. For women, there is a changing room with a door to change in and leave your backpack in. There is also a small changing area just for the Sensei of the class to change in (it sometimes also gets used as a storage closet! LOL), then there is a kitchen and the restroom. If you have to use the restroom, you must wear the sandals provided before walking into the bathroom. To the left is the main dojo training area. You may enter here, again, it is polite to bow towards the Kamidana when you first enter. If you don't you won't really stand out because many foreigners don't. Even the Japanese don't always do this.

Class Pricing: In Japan, you need to pay for class. For each and every class. Since the Hombu dojo experiences so many people coming and going, it is best for them to have a per-class price policy. The prices may have changed since I have not been back to Japan since before COVID-19. My last trip was 2019, then COVID hit and Japan shut its borders until essentially this year. Even though they opened their borders, there have been many restrictions for travelers. The last of those are supposed to be lifted this year in May! This is how the normal pricing goes:
Hatsumi Sokes Classes at Hombu: ¥3,500 (roughly $35)
Other Classes at Hombu: ¥3,000 (roughly $30)
Other Classes not at Hombu: ¥2,500 (roughly $25)
You will pay to whomever is collecting the dues for the class that day. This will not be the sensei teaching. The sensei never collects the class dues. Either look for a person sitting behind a small low table on the wood floor, or a person sitting on the mats with a pile of cash and a sign in paper in front of them. If you arrive early, before someone is collecting money, please be sure to pay as soon as they are ready to accept payment. Do not be that person who tries to get away training without paying.

Training: Training in Japan is awesome. You will get to experience a lot of awesome things, listen to great discussions, meet people from all over the world, and participate in a martial art nearly 1,000 years old. It is literally like participating in a living history. And, because there is no competition in the Bujinkan, the people you meet are usually awesome because they are like family, not your competition. However, do realize that not all practitioners are the same in the Bujinkan. If you go with me, you will always have plenty of people to train with because I usually go with a group of other people in our group of dojos under the Pacific Northwest Bujinkan Dojo Association. If you go on your own, you will need to find a training partner and hopefully it is a good experience. Sometimes, you might get stuck with someone you don't enjoy training with for one reason or another. Try to make the best of it, and find a new person the next class. If I'm ever training with someone I would normally rather not train with (that usually means someone doing their own thing and not training in what the Sensei of the class is modeling) I try to look at it as an opportunity to grow in one area or another. Even if that area is to grow in patience.

Training in Japan can differ depending on who is teaching class. Just be prepared to go with the flow of the class, Shizen Kon Ryu Sui! There are some things to note though no matter whose class you attend (and really, these kind of go with dojo classes even in your home country). Do what the sensei showed. Sometimes they will show something with different variations. Try to do what was shown, do the variations that were shown. Try to do what was said by the sensei and not only what you saw them do. Train relaxed. Training in Japan should be relaxed, copy the flow and movement of the sensei teaching. I've been in classes when the sensei specifically said to train relaxed, when you are the tori, play like a cat with a mouse. Then there is one set of people in the dojo who go crazy just sparring with each other. There is a time and place for Randori, Japan classes are not the time or place. Unless the sensei specifically says we are doing Randori, but I don't see that happening. I have never attended a class in Japan where that was said. The Japanese Sensei and Soke are trying to convey very specific concepts and techniques in their classes so we can learn them and take them back to our home dojos to train them further. It is at our home dojos when Randori can come into play. So, do not do anything resembling Randori in class. It is a clear way to ensure that the sensei will not come around to help you.

If you are really trying to do what the sensei showed, and doing it wrong, the sensei will come around and provide help to you. Try to do what he is correcting in your movement. I have been in class when the sensei went up to a pair of individuals training and showed them what they were doing wrong. One of those times, one of the individuals explained to the sensei why he was doing the technique the way he was doing it. Sensei walked away and never interacted with them again. That person's action essentially said, I am going to do my own thing, I don't need to do what you are showing. It doesn't matter if that wasn't the person's intention, he may have just been defensive for not doing what sensei showed. The sensei in Japan will not help you further if you don't act like you want to learn from them. Their classes are usually too full and the students too varied to waste any time further with someone like that. Another instance, sensei stopped class and said not enough people were trying to do the important points he explained in his first demonstration. He said we needed to be trying to do those things, even though they are difficult, because that was the focus of the day's class. Those who kept training the way they had been before, didn't get further help from him. Those of us who tried what he was showing, even if we kept failing at doing it, go the direct help from him as he walked around. So, train relaxed, do what the sensei showed, do the Gokui the sensei explained, and have fun. 

Some of the sensei in Japan like to do a sit down conversation in the middle of class to give students a chance to cool down and learn from the sensei. If the sensei doesn't open class up to questions, DO NOT ask questions. Sometimes, the sensei will open it up to questions, if so, be very Japanese in how you ask questions. It will be appreciated by the sensei. What does that mean? Japanese people do not typically like direct questions, it is awkward for them. Essentially, if you ask an open ended question, that will generally be okay, because you allow the sensei to answer how they want to. But even open ended questions can be too direct. This is a hard balance. Let me give an example: in one class a person asked how to do a technique, but asked it quite directly. "Sensei, you showed the technique in one way, and in another. When is it appropriate to do which version?" Sensei responded in this instance, "I don't know. Next question?" And looked around for other questions. The person asking the question looked dumbfounded, like, how can you not know??? But, it was the way the question was asked that caused that answer. Do you see the problem with the question? Think for a second about it. The question implied that the sensei didn't teach it properly. A very Japanese way of interpreting the question he asked would be: You showed the technique two different ways. You didn't explain it well enough before, can you explain it better now? 

In another class, a different person asked a similar question in a different way. "Sensei, you demonstrated this technique in different ways. I didn't understand at the time what the differences were. Can you expand a little more on them?" The sensei responded, "It is a case by case basis. You need to feel how the Uke is responding, and fit in the method that works best like fitting in a puzzle piece." Very different way of asking, very different response. Why the difference? The second student put the error on himself for not understanding.

Also, do not act like this is a conversation between you and the sensei. If questions are allowed, and you ask one, allow the sensei to respond however they choose. If you don't understand their answer, it is your job to figure it out. I've been in seminars here in the USA where a student asks the head sensei leading the seminar a question, then keeps asking for clarifications. I've not seen this in Japan, but it might happen sometimes. This is considered rude. Don't do it in Japan, don't do it in any dojo. Also rude is arguing a point with the sensei. You might disagree with the sensei on a point they are expressing, in class is not the time or place to hold that argument, especially trying to make sure you get in the last word on the point being discussed. And obviously talking to someone else when the sensei is talking is extremely rude so don't do it. One particular sensei in Japan will hold a lighthearted chat with some people in the dojo, this is okay to talk during if he isn't addressing the class as a whole. As soon as he addressed the class, you need to finish your conversation with your friend another time.

Other things to note: How does one know when classes are held? This is the funny thing about training in Japan. The class schedule can differ week to week, and the class times are only posted on a black board inside the dojo itself. This can make it difficult to plan ahead of time when to hit classes, and when to do tourist stuff. If you are going with people you know, and some of them arrived in Japan before you, they can message you a picture of the black board to see the classes for that week. If you are going on your own, join one of the many Facebook groups for Bujinkan students and ask if someone has a picture of the schedule for that week. No, it is not posted on the dojo's website. I think the Bujinkan official website is unchanged since I first saw it in 1998.

I am frequently asked about training in Japan from those interested in visiting the country for training themselves. I'm going to write a series of blog posts here to help those plan for their upcoming trip, how much to save for, navigating in Japan, training in Japan, and any other pertinent information I feel people will be interested to know. I hope this information is useful for Bujinkan deshi as well as anyone interested in visiting the country and what to expect. If you are a deshi in a different form of Budo, much of this will still be applicable to you and training in your art's dojos in Japan. If you are one of my deshi, you are always welcome to travel with me when I go to train in Japan. However, sometimes schedules may conflict and you can't travel when I do, so I hope this helps in your planning. So, let's start briefly with things to be aware of when traveling without your sensei.

Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for use as a reference. It is based on my personal experiences. No part of this blog can be or should be taken as legal, medical, or other advice.

If you plan to go on your own, there is no prohibition in the Bujinkan to training in the Hombu (headquarters dojo) without your sensei. This may not be the case with other Koryu, some are more strict about such things. But most Gendai Budo schools don't have a prohibition against showing up without your sensei. Do be aware, if you show up to the Hombu, the sensei teaching class will likely try to get to know you because they won't recognize you. They will ask who your sensei is and where he/she is. Your best bet to answer is to say you are visiting Japan for vacation and wanted to also get in some training. Keep in mind that weird things have happened in the past, like people going to Japan and trying to get ranked up equal to or beyond their sensei back home. So, they are sometimes warry of such attempts. There are some other politics involved with this, which I will cover in more detail in another post about attending training classes in Japan. Just know, by saying you are doing a vacation to Japan and doing some budo while there will avoid most political taboos.

So, let's talk flying: Flying to Japan will be your single largest expense, by far! Especially at the time of this posting, I've never seen flights to Japan as expensive as they are right now. The second largest single expense will be your lodging (that will be another blog post). If you want to be on the same flight as me, we'll work that out in advance ahead of one of my trips. If you are going on your own, here are some tips how to get the best fare, what to expect from the flight, and how to stave off flight boredom. When planning your budget (and I'll go into much more detail in future posts) think of your flight cost and in-country costs as two separate items. Figure out your flight cost (see below), and then use the next post to plan for the rest of your expenses to get a real sense of how much to have saved for your trip.

Picking your flight: I use Google Flights to choose my round trip tickets. It is a great service that can show you the best flight prices in a given range. So, if you don't have specific dates in mind for your flight and can be flexible, it will help you find the best prices for a variety of airlines. I usually have a specific month or months I intend to be in Japan, so I enter those dates, click on Date Grid, and then it shows me a calendar with prices on the other days in the month so I can find the best one (see image below). Sometimes just flying a day or two earlier or later will save you hundreds of dollars. You can also click on Price Graph and scroll through the months of the year to see when prices drop the most on flights if you can be that flexible and don't care what month you travel in. Usually October through March has the best pricing for flights because that is off the peak season for touring Japan.

What to expect from your flight: I'm going to approach this with the assumption you have not done a lot of flying, especially international flying, that way I can hit on more details you might need to know. If you don't live in a major city along the west coast (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles) you can expect to have a layover in one of these airports. So, plan accordingly. The flight time will also differ quite a bit based on which of those airports you fly to Japan from. They all follow the same path, along the Aleutian Islands, then down to Japan. So, Seattle is going to have the shortest flight time, Los Angeles is going to have the longest flight time. So, you could have a flight time from 10 hours to 13 or more hours. That is a long time to be cramped in an economy seat. So, bring plenty to keep you entertained. Luckily, most, if not all, international flights have some form of media to keep you entertained also. I personally have found I enjoy Delta flights the most. Other airlines I've flown on to Japan have not been as consistent in their offerings. Delta will usually have a power outlet for charging your devices (A/C outlet, USB, or both) and your own personal TV screen with Netflix-styled offerings you can choose to watch (I try to get caught up on movies I've not yet seen but wanted to). I've flown other airlines that had the same movie playing for everyone to watch. If another airling is your cheapest/best option for your trip, bring plenty of things to keep you entertained.

Staving off Boredom: No matter what airline I fly, I bring a book or two, my Nintendo Switch, and DJ style over the ear corded headphones. I know bluetooth is where it's at these days, but planes typically won't have a way to listen to your movie with a blue tooth device. They will give you some free earbuds, but trust me, you don't want to rely on those. They aren't loud enough and they don't block out any of the engine noise. So, I have corded over the ear head phones I bought from Amazon that I love. These ones. They are intended for DJs (they are entry level DJ head phones) so they have great passive noise reduction, are plenty loud, have great sound, and they swivel and fold flat so they are comfortable when just worn around my neck. And they take a long time before they become uncomfortable when worn. Typically I switch between entertainment, watching a movie provided on the plane, read my book, play some Nintendo, watch another movie, read some more. You get the idea. Also, the airline is going to feed you a full meal, sometimes two, plus several snacks. Typically, I can expect Delta to give me a snack and beverage like any flight, then dinner (you'll have your choice between two main entre options or a third vegetarian option), then a snack like an ice cream sandwich or cookie, then a bottle of water, then breakfast (usually something like a fruit or fruit cup, an egg ham and cheese croissant sandwich, and a yogurt). So, you'll have plenty of food, so bringing snacks is completely optional on the plane.

Other pertinent details: For first-time international travelers, be aware of your departure date and arrival date! Japan's time zone is far ahead of ours in the USA. When flighting into Japan, you will arrive a day later than you left the USA. So, if you get on a plane in Seattle, Portland, or any airport flying directly to Japan, on Monday, you will arrive in Japan on Tuesday. This is important when planning your hotel stay, don't reserve a room for the date you leave the USA, reserve your room starting the date you actually arrive in Japan.

This probably goes without saying, but you will need a passport to fly to Japan. Be sure to apply for one early! You don't want to get stuck with non-transferable tickets when your passport doesn't arrive in time. Typically, give yourself about two months lead time. However, I have heard that passports have been super slow right now, sometimes taking four months to arrive. So, plan ahead!

TSA PreCheck. I Love TSA PreCheck. It is so worth it to me to pay the fee (I think it is $80 for five years right now) to breeze through security in the USA (obviously TSA PreCheck doesn't apply at the airports in Japan when you fly home), not have to remove ANYTHING from your luggage for the X-ray, not removing ANY clothing or shoes, and just going through a metal detector instead of the X-Ray scatter imagining that doses you with low levels of radiation. If you are only going to be flying the one time in those five years, it might not be worth it. If you will fly at least once per year, think of it this way: Would you pay $16 not to wait in long security lines? I fly several times per year, not just to Japan, so paying the fee is a no brainer for me.

Picking your seats. As stated before, it is going to be a long flight. Try to get a good seat. The least amount of turbulence will be experienced in seats at the wings of the plane. Also, try to not sit in a center seat, you will hate life during the flight, LOL. Think about your personal needs. Will you need to use the restroom frequently during the flight? Then and aisle seat is your best bet. If you don't need to use the restroom often, and don't want to be bothered by the window seat person asking you to move so they can use the restroom, then pick a window seat. Most airlines offer an upgrade that is still in coach, but with more leg room. On Delta flights it is called Comfort+. Sometimes the price isn't worth the added leg room. I always check just in case because if it is only going to be $100 or $200 more for all flights to be Comfort+, that is totally worth it to me. If it's more than that, I skip it and just deal with being cramped. Hey, I'm about to be in Japan, I really have no reason to complain even being a bit cramped.

Immigration and customs declarations: Towards the end of the flight, the flight attendants will hand out a Declarations card. This is for you to fill out on the plane to make it quicker getting through immigration. You will certify that you are not bringing in any contraband to the country such as drugs or pornography. They take this pretty seriously. I have a friend who had some workout supplements: protein powder and liquid vitamins in unmarked containers (he didn't want to lug the full sized containers with him, only what he needed for the trip). They detained him for a long LONG time. They almost deported him rather than take the time to test the substances for drugs. He was actually pretty lucky to have gotten into the country. A security person found a picture of him online with our Soke of the Bujinkan, Masaaki Hatsumi. Our Soke is famous enough in Japan that they trusted my friend to be a good person since he was known to our Soke. Otherwise, he would have been sent back to the USA. I've flown with protein powder and supplements before, but I put them in marked containers and I never get hassled. I have taken training swords into Japan, if you are asked about them, just say they are for Kendo. Everyone in Japan knows what Kendo is, not everyone knows what Bujinkan is. And yes, even though I had bokken, and bokken aren't used in Kendo, they still accept my Kendo explanation without blinking. Flying out of Japan with swords is another experience altogether. Expect another blog post to cover that topic later in this series.

Click here to continue to Part 2.