Where to next? Why Japan of course.

I came home with around 80,000Y, so I spent about 45,000Y over the 3 days, 15,000Y being for the Nozomi ride from Shinagawa to Kyoto. Worth every yen!

at the Great Bell, Todaiji Temple

Do I exchange the yen back for Aussie dollar? Nope, put it away for the next Japan excursion.

A couple of options come up. I think Tokyo will still be problematic for some months with the continuing rolling power outages. Thus transport around that part of the country will be disrupted for some time.

Notwithstanding my Jetstar experience, using Osaka as the entry point gives access to central Japan and southwards, where the impacts of the tsunami and the radiation issues will be minimal. Blue Mountains City Council has a sister-city relationship with Sanda City, about 50kms north-west of Osaka. Maybe Sanda can be used as a base.

In March next year, the Asian Champions League will be on again. This time Central Coast will be playing. The way the competition is structured, a team from Japan and a team from South Korea is in each group. With my brother Andrew and his mates already making plans for Japan (or Korea as a fall back), I know I will get to Japan again.

Look out for a Blog for the Central Coast Mariners 2012 trip.