Still Going?

Are you still planning on going: Yes (made the "official" decision yesterday)
Original travel dates: April 7-26
Have you had to reschedule & to when: No
What areas: Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Fuji Five Lakes
Concerns you have/had: Radiation, attractions being open, blackouts, general feeling of people there.
Benefits of still going: Finally getting to see Japan (we were going to go last year but had to postpone), doing research for a book I want to write soon, helping support Japan's economy via tourism.
Other key decision factors: No convenient time to reschedule to in the next year, radiation levels in Tokyo well within safe range, rolling blackouts mostly being canceled but won't be later when it gets hotter, pretty much all the attractions we want to see have reopened. (I am a little sad we'll miss Edo-Tokyo.)
If you're undecided, when will you decide: N/A
Where will you be updating us of your time, if at all: No sure how much internet access I'll have.

i was in arashiyama in kyoto yesterday. the cherry blossoms are abloom, the boys are in suits or hakama, and the girls are wearing their kimono, smiles abound. the mood is very light and festive. i think only CNN and the western media are in a state of panic.

the shops are well-stocked with water and food supplies. the only problem i'm seeing is that i'm running out of yen.

Japan is extraordinarily lucky to have escaped a visit from Poppy, condolences to Hong Kong this time round.

Really kudos to those with patience to try and refute her arguments, HATS OFF TO YOU ALL!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-01/hong-kong-radiation-exceeds-t...

I would read NHK world, because the radiation has been decreasing and Tokyo water has been back to safe levels since the 27th March.

Well Fuji-q was great! It was hardest finding the bus station. We were in the basement level and it was on ground level. Also some how we missed our bus. We were sitting at the stop and even asked every bus if it was our bus. So it was a strange little blooper. We had to pay ane xtra 200yen for both our tickets to change it for the next time. This time I flagged one of the bus announcer gentleman and he told us when to get on so we wouldn't have some random phantom bus happening. After that total smooth sailing. Remember fuji-q is only open from 0900 to 1700 ( not till 2000). We went on a weekday and the lines were probably half as long as they could of been, which was good. The Haunted labyrinth is SO SCARY. Also it was amazing to see Fuji-sama!! It was misty but we could see it! What a wonderful day!!! :) Getting the Fuji-q pack is good!

Have fun all ~ Signing off from Tokyo, Japan.
Oyasumi!

yeah i went to fujiQ 3 years ago, it's great, the day we went is big rain, so the entire park has less than 10 visitors???
we don't need to queue on anything, it's too scary to play the resident evil ghost mansion if there's no one in the park, you felt like it's a ghost theme park.

Quick update - the sakura are bursting out all over Kyoto. Weather is clear and cold and the locals are out having a great time, wondering where all the tourists are.

Yah there were still quite a few people about. The Scary hospital labyrinth is new :) But it was SUPER scary! The haunted mansion was closed. There were a few thing closed for conservation. Even then we didn't get through most of the attractions. Very fun though and so great to see Mt. Fuji!!

Are you still planning on going: Definitely YES.
Original travel dates: April 11
Have you had to reschedule & to when: I planned on going on April 11 but had it changed on the 14th. But now, my fiance asked if I could go on the 9th.
What areas: Mainly in Atsugi near the US Navy base, Central Tokyo, Akihabara, Yokohoma, Shibuya, Ayase and Ebina
Concerns you have/had: I don't worry much about the radiation as it does not poses any serious risk to human health at the moment. My greatest concern is by going there and that my fiance my leave because of short notice deployments with the Navy.
Benefits of still going: Cherry Blossoms and some quality time with my fiance and his friends.
Other key decision factors: Been to Japan 3 months ago and I really miss it. Plus, I may be able to go help and support them as my fiance is with the help and rescue.
If you're undecided, when will you decide: I have already decided on going since I have booked my ticket. No plans on backing out.
Where will you be updating us of your time, if at all: Here :)

We are booked and planned for January 2012. We are definitely not cancelling: we have family to visit in Osaka, AND Sendai......
BUT
our travel insurance will not cover us if the Australian Government still has a "Do Not Travel" advice on the DFAT website..hopefully 9 months will change that....

Hi I don't know if people still want to hear about it. But I'm still in Japan. Today was a lazy day where we needed to get our laundry done and such. Since we were sticking close to home we went about in our neighborhood and the area in general! I found a great pen store and we found a calmer but very well stocked grocery store. Seiyu appears to be a very very busy and well known grocery store and they have a hard time keeping things on the shelf. The smaller grocery store had a variety and no sell out stuff. I loved the hot sweet potato on heated rocks in the front :) I love sweet potatoes that way!

Anyways Just thought I'd drop a note at least once very day. If people find this unuseful let me know and I'll just update my blog instead of posts here.

Also people were enjoying night life off from work this evening. It's amazing the difference in Karaoke prices! 60yen for afternoon weekdays and 300yen for weekday nights. ( 30min increments). Also ask for juice bar! Same price as a regular drink and you drink all you want ( around 360yen ).

just came back from ueno park in tokyo after taking the shinkansen in the morning. the cherry blossoms are fully abloom, the mood is very festive. with people taking out their picnic mats, bringing out their food and drinking their beer. the kiosks are present, there's lots of food, ueno zoo is open, lots of kids playing around. there's also a lot of street performers :) i really enjoyed it. shibuya is also very noisy and festive, there was a band playing at the station when i left, same with shinjuku. so yeh, cancel your trip now because this is like chernobyl.

Hi there,

I work for a Japan travel specialist and would say that the current FCO advice for Tokyo is wrong and out-of-date. I would also say that Tokyo is safe and pretty much normal. You will love the place!
South of Tokyo (Kyoto, Hiroshima, Takayama etc) are all unaffected by events in the far north.
We have a number of customers in Tokyo at the moment and they are really happy that they decided to go. You will love Japan and the welcome towards you as a foreigner will be bigger than normal.
You might like to look at a couple of blog posts http://insidejapanblog.com/2011/04/04/more-messgaes-from-tokyo/
Go to Japan, enjoy it and spread the word!

Yes, I've made my decision and I'm still going. Travel dates: April 16th to May 8th. Mainly going to the southwest, like Kyoto, Hiroshima, Kyushu.
I feel good and safe about it and I'm ready for it!
So, who else is going and interested of meeting at some point?

I hope I have that name right. Unfortunately I totally forgot that the aquarium was closed today. So wandered around the park there and enjoyed the pond with Koi ( wild kind ) and took a walk near the bay enjoying the fresh sea air. Quiet type of day.

I was already mostly sure I would go, only a complete disaster at Fukushima would stop me from going ahead with my travel plans.
So tomorrow is the day, I will fly directly from Amsterdam to Tokyo!
Going for 2,5 weeks: 4 days Tokyo, 2 days Nagoya, 4 days Kyoto/Nara, 1 day Koyasan, 1 day Hiroshima, 2 days Osaka, 2 days Narita/Nikko/Tokyo.
I can't wait to get there,also as it looks like I will be arrving in the middle of cherry blossom season! :-)

I will post some updates of my trip here, for those of you still on the fence about going to Japan.

I have been using Japan Guide extensively in my trip planning for months but silly me, I have only just discovered the forums. I'm glad that I found this thread because it is incredibly informative, reassuring, and even entertaining at times. I may be 'naive' (hahaha) but I am still going!

Are you still planning on going: No question about it.
Original travel dates: April 16 to May 3
Have you had to reschedule & to when: No.
What areas: Hiroshima, Osaka, Koyasan, Kyoto, Takayama, maybe Tokyo
Concerns you have/had: (none are current concerns) radiation, aftershocks, blackouts, food supply, being disrespectful by being a tourist in a tough time
Benefits of still going: a multitude of obvious personal benefits. Stimulating the economy and showing all the fearful people that life is returning to normal there.
Other key decision factors: Originally, we were going to stay the last 5 nights in Tokyo and then fly out of Narita. When the disaster happened, we moved that portion of the trip to add 2 more nights in Kyoto and a 2 night stop in Takayama. Then, we would stay the last night in Narita before flying out. Now that things are returning to normal, I am thinking again about spending some time in Tokyo. On the other hand, I am happy with spending more time in Kyoto and Takayama. I may just spend the last night in central Tokyo and save the greater Tokyo area for another trip.
If you're undecided, when will you decide: N/A
Where will you be updating us of your time, if at all: Maybe after the trip. I will be very busy enjoying myself while there. :)

I am going to be a study abroad student at Hirosaki University and though some of my relatives and friends are wary, only a complete meltdown at Fukushima could stop me from going! I've been planning this trip for a year. I will be there from April 23rd to August 22nd and am counting down the days until I leave!

Are you still planning on going: yes
Original travel dates: today 4/6-4/17
Have you had to reschedule & to when: no
What areas: tokyo&kyoto
Concerns you have/had: family & friends are wary due to radiation...we're not too concerned after doing
Benefits of still going: cherry blossoms, we've always wanted to visit but never had the chance. We decided this spring is a must since we plan to start a family in a near future.
Other key decision factors:
If you're undecided, when will you decide: decided. We're at the airport right now...unfortunately we just had to deplane because of electrical problem. Our flight was suppose to take off 4 hours ago. Sigh...
Where will you be updating us of your time, if at all: