travelling allrite

We submitted the application for baby Alex's first passport today. In his passport photo he is just about to cry! Hopefully that won't represent him when he's actually travelling. So far he's been very good in cars, trains and walking. Even survived art galleries ! B also had to submit an application for a visa to Japan. It's a pity they can't just waive it for frequent travellers. It's recommended that Malaysian passport holders obtain a visa, but fortunately it's not necessary for Australians on holiday. I also began learning Japanese again on Sunday with a private tutor. I need to learn the things they don't teach you in standard Japanese textbooks aimed at business travellers. Phrases like "where's the baby changeroom?" and "is there somewhere we can feed him?".

I've realised what my problem is when it comes to planning trips around Japan. It's railway lines. There are so many of them! Whenever I see a railway line I want to travel on it. The more minor the line, the better. I love going down a slow branch line that runs right behind the suburbs and where tree branches flick against the outside of the carriages. I loathe a railway line without a passenger service, or even worse, a disused line. When you look at a railway map of Japan you realise that you can travel hundreds of kilometres in only a few hours. It makes me feel almost guilty that I want to spend time on the slower lines through the countryside to small towns. But that's what I want to do!

Eight days after baby Alex was born I booked his first trip overseas - to Japan with Jetstar - for when he's 4 months old. It was a cheap deal, I couldn't help myself! I asked Alex today whether he wanted to fly on a jet. He vocalised "yeah". Well, that's what it sounded like to me. It's so nice to be back thinking about travel plans. It's almost as if life is going back to normal! Despite our six trips to Japan, there is so much left to see. I was thinking of going back south to Kyushu, but we also haven't seen Hokkaido either. The cold during March is a bit of turn off, but then I saw the sleeper train Cassiopeia between Tokyo and Sapporo. The berths include split level accommodation! So tempting!