If you have the impression that I am doing nothing else in Sydney than preparing the rest of the trip around the world, you are (partially) right.

The thing is: I really need to get going and book. I was sometimes too lazy and indecisive to prepare, but it’s really better to do it earlier… more choice, lower prices.

On top, the weather is really grey in Sydney, it’s not really that I feel I’m missing out on a great, sunny day.

So, I found my place to stay for two weeks in Tokyo. By the way, this is the city seal, or flag…

I had asked a couple of friends about possible neighborhoods, as I have – again – read and prepared nada for this city so far…

My friend Inga recommended Nakameguro, close to a canal and apparently a bit quieter, smaller, but with restaurants and a few artsy shops and galleries…

Other choices were Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Roppongi. In the end, Nakameguro won, the other apartments were either too pricey or, if affordable, not available during the time I needed.

So, here we go, I’ll stay in Sugi’s apartment, a place all for myself again, which is also nice.

He has some good recommendations, it looks maybe small, minimalistic, but clean and central. I found a couple of pictures from Nakameguro on flickr. Looks good!

I will be there from 2-16 April. Funnily, my friend Brandon (with whom I will also go to Burning man) has planned his trip to Japan independently from mine, but we will be there during roughly the same time, at least for a couple of days. That’s really great.

Other that, I will travel around a bit. I guess, off the top of my hat: Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima…? And anything in between? We’ll see. Recommendations are welcome.

In parallel, I’m fine-tuning the trip through New Zealand, and have sat down with Nathan, my landlord in Sydney, who’s a Kiwi, to tell me where to go…