2020-What up

We are already several days into the new year.  A nice round number, 2020.  Double 20's.  Several years since the start of my blog.  In the beginning, I tried to post something, on average, everyday.  Frequency later dropped to once a week and once a month.  Eventually it came down to my yearly post when I would travel abroad.  Looking to change it up a bit.  I will still be posting about my trip, more on that later.  But I will also try to upload other musings or observances that cross my path.  Daily?  Weekly?  Monthly?  Who knows? 

2020, a leap year, indicates a summer Olympic year.  Tokyo is where its all going to be happening this summer.  And, I will be there...in April.  Summer has always been a tough time for me to get to my favorite place in this world.  Hot humid weather, soaring airline prices, staggering crowds keep me away during the busy travel season.  I hope to get a glimpse of the preperations for the games in the months leading up to it.  I had already noticed some of the changes from last year and year before.  Small as they were but more noticable as it draws near.

After the Olympics in London, I went to see what was still standing.  Unfortunately, the Olympic village was closed to the public and there was little left to see.  I hope things will be different for this pre-Olympic jaunt.  Expect to see alot of cherry blossoms as well as castles.  Some you've seen before and some I havent been to before.  Always a mix of things Ive done before with a sprinkling of new places and things to do.  A departure from my usual routine is to fly into KIX in Osaka.  HND, Haneda, is my preferred airport due to its close vicinity to Tokyo.  Not to mention its one train ride to my lodgings.  Narita is nice but its an hour train ride.  While I dont usually have to transfer, there was a time where the Narita Express didnt stop at Shinagawa.  So I had to transfer at Tokyo station.  I will hit some sites in the area before going back to Tokyo via Nagoya.  A weekend in Nagoya coincides with a festival in Gifu.

Direct flights are a bit pricey at the moment.  So, I will have to spend some time in a layover before final at KIX.  Return flight is much the same.  I am contemplating an extended layover in Hawaii.  If I could get some sleep on the plane, I would have enough time to grab a meal and do a bit of souvenir shopping before hopping home.  Otherwise, I may find myself passing out on a bench in Ala Moana shopping center and suddenly wake to find Im late for my flight home!!!!

This counts as 1!!!!!