19 Weeks in Japan

6 years after our first long trip, we’re about to embark on another one – and a longer one this time for 19 weeks! Woohoo! I can’t wait!

What Brought About This Trip

Well, we’re suckers for travelling, as you can probably tell by our blog devoted to our travels. But it was difficult to explore more deeply while having to take only short breaks while working full-time.

We wanted to explore and experience a country longer, deeper and slower. And especially visit areas that would be difficult on a short holiday. And let’s be honest, taking a sabbatical? Who would say no to that given the opportunity?

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Where to?

While we had a whole list of countries we planned to visit during our 2-month trip in 2018, this time, we only have one country in mind.

Japan!

Japan has long been one of our favourite countries to visit. I’ve been there 8 times, and WJ has been there 7 times. We’ve also been learning Japanese on and off for a few months now, so we’re hoping that immersing ourselves in Japan would also improve our language skills exponentially.

We’re also huge lovers of ramen, and WJ’s goal is to eat as many bowls of delicious ramen as he can and find the best one. Check out his blog, Ah Boy Like Ramen, if you don’t believe me!

What will Happen to our Place in Singapore?

When we went off back in 2018, we’d only had our flat for about a year. Fast forward to 2024, and we’ve accumulated more things, including many plants. And we’ll have to have a plant (and house) nanny, AKA my mother when we’re away this time.

She’ll drop by sporadically when she has the time, and hopefully, that will be enough to keep our 40 plants alive till we’re back!

And as always, with the extremely humid weather in Singapore, another concern we have is mould. So we’ll crack open the top windows and my mum will air the house whenever she drops by. And I’ve also already begun placing dehumidifiers in the cupboards, some drawers and the storeroom.

Our Packing List

Seeing as we’ll be spending 19 weeks in Japan over the end of spring, summer, and the start of autumn, we have to keep the changing seasons in mind. Luckily, Japan is home to Uniqlo, Muji and countless local brands that we can easily pop in to get extra clothes whenever we need them in the cities!

And this time, we’ll also be bringing our foldable bicycles. It’s our very first time travelling with them and we hope it won’t be too difficult lugging them when we move around Japan along with our backpacks!

Here’s what we’ll be bringing, including what we’ll be wearing:

Bags	Qty		Bicycle Stuff	Qty		Toiletries	Qty
CabinZero backpack			CarryMe Luggage	2		Lip balm	1
Peak Design sling bag			CarryMe bicycle	2		Face & body wash	1
PacSafe crossbody bag			Multi-tool accessory	1		Shampoo	2
Peak Design packable tote			Bicycle lock	1		Concealer	1
Decalthon backpack (small)			Bicycle bag	2		Face & body moisturiser	1
						Sunblock	1
My Clothing	Qty		WJ’s Clothing	Qty		Makeup remover	1
Marmot Gortex jacket	1		Montbell Gortex jacket	1		Electric Toothbrush Charger	1
Uniqlo packable light down jacket	1		Uniqlo packable light down jacket	1		Toothbrush	2
Short-sleeved top	5		Uniqlo Heattech long-sleeved top	2		Toothpaste	2
Thin long-sleeved top	4		T-Shirt	8		Invisalgin cleaner (box; 48 pcs)	1
Jogger pants	1		PJ tops	2		Invisalign case	1
Long pants	2		Long pants	4		Mouthwash (250ml) in luggage	1
Levi’s jeans	1		Waterproof long pants	1		Water flosser; incl. charger	1
Shorts	2		Uniqlo Cargo Shorts	2		Comb	1
Heattech leggings	2		Boxers	8		Nail clippers	1
Scarf	1		Toe socks	8		Tweezer	1
PJ tops	2		Swimming trunks	1		Ear digger	2
Rashguard	1		Sketchers shoes	1		Spectacle cloth	2
Bikini top	1		Birkins	1		Hair tie / pin	2
Swim bottom	1		Decathlon hat	1		Pantyliners	55
Bra	7		Clip-on sunglasses	1		Pads (day)	20
Undies	8					Pads (night)	11
Night undies	7		Electronics	Qty
High toe socks	4		Mogics Bagel	1		Miscellaneous	Qty
Ankle toe socks	3		USB-C to USB-C phone cable + charger	1		Wet wipes packet	2
Sketchers shoes	1		USB-C to Lightning Apple iphone cable	1		Tissue packet	6
Birkens	1		Atago	1		Water bottle	2
Decathlon cap	1		iPad Pro	1		Eye mask	2
Montbell hat	1		Fujifilm GFX 50sii + Lens	1		Heated eye mask	4
			Fujifilm GFX charger and cable	1		Go-Shuin (separately for Buddhist & Shinto temples)	2
Creative stuff	Qty					Notebook for stamps	1
Travel watercolour paint set	1		Essentials	Qty		Food bag clipper	3
Pentel Aquash Water Brush	1		Passport	2		Disposable face masks	16
Micron pens	4		Travel wallet & coin pouch	3		Plasters
Food diary sketchbook	1		Kicata card	2
			Money & credit cards

Our Budget

Last but not least, and possibly the most important factor of our plans – how much expenditure are we budgeting? If you’ve read our post on our 3-month trip in 2018, you’ll know that we spent about S$16,000 in total.

And for our upcoming trip, we plan to spend about S$1,000 more per month (a total of S$29,000 for both of us):

Category	Amount per Month	No. of Months	Subtotal
Flight to Starting City (redeem miles)	$150		$150
Flight from End City (redeem miles)	$150		$150
Flights / Transport Across Cities	$800.00	4.5	$3,600.00
Accommodation	$2,400.00	4.5	$10,800.00
Food	$1,680.00	4.5	$7,560.00
Transportation	$400.00	4.5	$1,800.00
Tours / Admission	$640.00	4.5	$2,880.00
eSIM (Ubigi / Airalo / ByteSim)	$20.00	4.5	$90.00
Travel insurance	$800		$800
Buffer / Miscellaneous	$200.00	4.5	$900.00
		Total Budget	S$29,000.00

Follow along our journey as we update the blog with our adventures in Japan! I’ll also be updating this post at the end of the trip with the actual expenditure.