Planning Summer 2018: New Brunswick to Nova Scotia via Prince Edward Island

In the past, we've only blogged trips on Little Rabbit's Planning. After a couple of days of migraine-inducing marathon planning for Summer 2018, I set myself a limit of 1 hour/day and decided to blog the process.

What we really need to do on Monday the 30th of July is drive from Moncton in New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. Originally, we were heading for Cape Breton, which is about 500 km away. In practical terms, this is a very long day's drive and I started looking for interesting places that might make it fun. To be honest, there is a lot of long, flat highway around this part of the world.

And then, something strange happened and it turned out we were going to Prince Edward Island for the day. Perhaps I should explain. The first - no, almost the only - 'interesting place' I discovered was the 12.9 km long Confederation Bridge, which I thought could be viewed quite nicely from the Cape Jourimain Nature Centre. 

From Wikipedia: Confederation Bridge from the New Brunswick side

Of course it was a little bit out of the way, and there would certainly be the temptation to drive across once we got there. And then we'd be on Prince Edward Island.

Well, no matter. We'd just have to figure out how to leave, and it turns out there is a ferry at the other end. At this point, crossing PEI to the ferry would be as good a route as any (though of course, it comes at the cost of a ferry ticket).

As I realized how different the landscapes of PEI are from those of New Brunswick, and above all, once I realized that Charlottetown would be an interesting place to visit, I became increasingly keen on this solution.

From Google Maps: the area around the Confederation Bridge shows the striking difference between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. PEI is densely farmed, but it's small field farming, not quite like in Europe, but perhaps a more similar feel. This difference runs through the whole of these two provinces.

There was just one problem: the distance wouldn't be significantly greater, but the time taken, what with the ferry and all, would be much longer. It would be a lot of fun, but I just didn't see how we would have time to do all that touring in the morning AND make Cape Breton the same evening.

Then a few nights ago, I woke up at about 3 am in possession of a brainwave. Once I accepted that we wouldn't be going all the way to Cape Breton on the 30th, I not only got a very nice day in PEI out of it, I was able to rationalize several parts of the next few days' driving and sight-seeing which had been bothering me.

Let me explain why I was bothered. This itinerary of ours is based on one offered by a tour company which we liked but found we could DIY for less than half the price. And it's only when you begin figuring out for yourself where the rubber hits the road (literally, in this case) that you realize all the things that tour operators don't quite tell you. In this case, I realized that when they said they were going to show you Nova Scotia, they meant from the window of a moving vehicle, with very little stopping time. I already added a day to this part of the trip, and now I realize that it's barely enough. But I think I've made it work.

Extra note: Prince Edward Island is where Anne of Green Gables is from. I have never read Anne of Green Gables, but of course I've heard of it. Maybe I'll watch the anime version!

The road trip segment through Prince Edward Island, with approximate times.

From Wikipedia: Wood Islands Lighthouse. Maybe we'll find out what the tiny village in the foreground is???

• 7.00 - Our breakfast at the hotel is included, then we pack and check out.
• 8.30 - 9.30 - Drive from the hotel to Cape Jourimain Nature Centre: allow 1 hour, 89 km 
• 9.30 - 10.30 - Short walk and bridge viewing at Cape Jourimain Nature Centre
• 11.00 - Cross the Confederation Bridge over to Prince Edward Island
• 11.00 - 12.00 - Drive from Confederation Bridge to Charlotte Town: allow 1 hour, 70.1 km. There are several multi-story car parks in Charlotte Town, called parkades. Queen Parkade may suit us best.
• 12.00 - 14.30 - Visit Charlotte Town, making sure to see Victoria Row, Confederation Landing and the harbor area. There are apparently many good seafood restaurants where we should get lunch. Oysters, lobsters, that sort of thing. Also, note that all the times so far are estimates, but we will have to leave in time to catch the ferry. If we arrive in Charlotte Town earlier than planned, so much the better. If it is raining, the Confederation Center of the Arts could be interesting.
• 14.30 - 15.30 - Drive from Charlotte Town to Wood Islands ferry crossing: 45 minutes but allowing 1 hour for safety, 52 km. NOTE TO SELF: All the times after this are estimates, based on last year's ferry schedule. This year's is not available yet. Review this plan when the schedule becomes available and make ferry reservations.
• 15.30 - 16.30 - We need to allow one hour waiting time for ferry, but the harbor and nearby Wood Islands Lighthouse look photogenic. It seems like a pleasant place to hang out.
• 16.30 - 17.45 - Ferry crossing. There will no doubt be a cafe on board, and a nice view of the coasts and Pictou Island (weather permitting)
• 17.45 - 19.15 - Drive from Caribou to Port Hawkesbury: allow one hour, 30 minutes, 137 km. At this point, we will JUST have made it to Nova Scotia! And we really do need to get at least that far. NOTE TO SELF: E-mail the hotel nearer the time and warn them that we will be checking in a little after 19.00.
• Dinner - there are several restaurants not far from where we're staying, but I'm not sure they're anything very special. If we've had a big lunch and are tired it may be more convenient for us to self-cater. Our hotel has a kitchenette, which presumably means at least a microwave. If we plan to use it, well... there are supermarkets not too far away, but it might be nice to show up with what we need - either left-overs from lunch or something else we acquired in Charlotte Town.

TOTAL DRIVING TIME/DISTANCE: c. 4 hours 30 mins, 348 km
SIGHTSEEING TIME: 4 hours 30 mins + 1 hour, 15 mins ferry crossing

Planning Summer 2018: Fundy National Park

In the past, we've only blogged trips on Little Rabbit's Planning. After a couple of days of migraine-inducing marathon planning for Summer 2018, I set myself a limit of 1 hour/day and decided to blog the process.

Fundy National Park map, with my hiking choices picked out with mauve dots.

On Sunday 29 July, we plan to spend a full day hiking in Fundy National Park. Planning for it is really a question of picking a suitable hike. The parks in Canada and the USA don't offer many of the kind of long day hikes we're used to. They favor two other models: multi-day back-country hikes with tents and so on, or 'drive-and-stroll' day hiking. Sometimes I enjoy the 'drive-and-stroll' model, sometimes I get frustrated because it feels like 'interrupted driving'. But it is the North American Way, so... here goes. Obviously, all the times are estimates. We'll be adjusting them on the fly. Also, meal planning is in red, because you really have to think about where the next meal is coming from when you travel with Mike. Anyway, I think this will be fun.

• 7.00 - a full breakfast is included at our hotel. It would be really good if we got in the habit of getting up at about this time and being out of our hotels by 8.30. We will need to make up our packed lunches in the morning or the night before.
• 8.30 - 9.30 - Drive from the hotel to Fundy National Park entrance inland route: allow 1 hour, 94 km. The entrance fee is $7.80 each. Opening hours are 8.00 to 21.45. NOTE TO SELF: at some point, I need to work out whether a Canadian Parks Pass is going to be better value for us than paying individual entrance fees. At the moment, I'm doubting it.
• 9.30 - 11.30 - Caribou Plain Trail is a short view of the forest, with either a 0.5 km boardwalk or a 2.1 km loop. The time here includes driving through Fundy, from the entrance to Matthew’s Head trail car park.
• 11.30 - 15.30 - Matthew’s Head Trail (4.5 km) with picnic and possible extension towards Herring Cove Beach (c.3 km) along the Coastal Trail. The loop has some historical features and a section of the coastal trail walk with cliff top viewpoints. It will be high tide in the middle of the day, so we may not go all the way to the beach, saving time for the Falls and Hopewell Rocks.
• 15.30 - 16.30 - Dickson Falls Trail: a very short loop trail (1.5 km) on our way out along the coastal road, but the falls seem likely to be worth seeing. 
• 16.30 - 17.30 - Drive from Dickson Falls to Hopewell Rocks: allow 40 mins, 46 km.
• 17.30 - 20.00 - Hopewell Rocks. The entrance fee is $10 each but this is a private attraction, not a National Park. Opening hours are 8.00 to 20.00. Low tide is in the evening and the beaches will be accessible from 17.05. If the weather is clear, it should also be a good time for photography. It's recommended to see the rocks at high and low tide, but that won't be an option for us. I have planned quite a long stay here, with time for strolling, photographing, and supper in the High Tide Cafe. This seems like a good plan because many restaurants in Moncton are closed on Sunday night, specifically the ones closest to our hotel. The High Tide Cafe at Hopewell Rocks has some pleasant seafoody options and good reviews, so it seems like our best bet. It also makes for a more relaxed day overall if we don't have to see everything and rush back to the hotel, planning to go out again. 
• 20.00 - 20.40 - Drive from Hopewell Rocks to the hotel: allow 40 mins, 50 km.

TOTAL DRIVING TIME/DISTANCE: 2 hours 30 mins; c.200 km

What will we do if the weather is absolutely horrible?

The weather could be quite changeable, and the weather at the coast may not match the weather inland. We could try focusing on shorter loop walks while we hope for better things. If we spend much more time in the car, we could detour towards the Cape Enrage Lighthouse along the 915 coastal route. In extremis, we could go museum hopping in Moncton. There are several small but interesting looking museums but they all close by about 17.00.

Planning Summer 2018: Arriving in Moncton

In the past, we've only blogged trips on Little Rabbit's Planning. After a couple of days of migraine-inducing marathon planning for Summer 2018, I set myself a limit of 1 hour/day and decided to blog the process.

Moncton from the sky: a sea of asphalt!

This is the continuation of the planning for Saturday July 28, when we arrive in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, in the middle of the day, by train.

This got a bit fiddly. We had hoped to keep our car rental to a minimum by spending the afternoon in Moncton and picking the car up from Moncton airport as late as practical in the evening. Incidentally, the reason we need to get a car at the airport is that we want to return it in a different location and it seems only the airport rental shops will allow us to do that.

There is not much to do in Moncton. When the tidal bore comes in it is supposed to be quite impressive, but it doesn't look as though the times will work well for us. (NOTE TO SELF: check the bore tide times again later in the year, and research other potential viewpoints.)  

That doesn't matter, because we really need to spend the afternoon doing laundry and grocery shopping. (NOTE TO SELF: Eventually, make a list of meals that will be self-catered/picnics in order to plan the shopping). 

In my quaint European way, I imagined everything I needed would be within a reasonable walking distance, close to the centre of a walkable city! Then I saw Moncton from the sky. It's an ocean of car parks, with occasional buildings rising from the surface like little islands. I had heard about such things, but I have never really experienced them. I guess my USA experiences have been pretty selective. 

At any rate this is an overhead view that broadcasts to the world that pedestrianism is odd and motorised vehicules are expected. Also, the launderette and grocery stores are miles from the station and the public transport to the airport is timed to coincide with the arrival of the trains.

So here's what we're doing on Saturday afternoon:

• 13.35 - Arrive Moncton Station on the Ocean
• 13.55 - Take the Maritime Bus to Moncton Airport. NOTE TO SELF: Book the bus tickets
• 14.00 - Pick up the rental car. NOTE TO SELF: Modify the rental car reservation.
• Hit the launderette (it closes at 18.00), the grocery store (closes late) and check-in at the hotel from 15.00.
• The hotel looks pleasant, with its own little walking trail through the woods, so make some time to relax and go for a stroll.
• There is no restaurant at the hotel, but there are a couple of them a short drive away, or we can go into town. Restaurants mostly close by 22.00. We should probably try the recommended Bistro 33, as it is close to the hotel, and will be closed on Sunday.

NOTE TO SELF: The final thing I need to do around the car rental is verify our insurance situation and make sure to get a print out of the conditions. Apparently, in Canada, they are more likely to ask to see this. There is a question in our minds whether both of us are insured or only Mike, and that may impact the decision of whether to add me as a second driver. In the next few days, I'll be planning the road trip across eastern Canada. I'm trying to make it comfortable for a single driver, but... there are quite long distances to cover. Oh yes, and that reminds me: I also need to check the mileage on the car rental reservation. 

I haven't the time or energy to mess with car rental reservations today. In any case, I think I'll just finish planning the road trip so that I can see exactly what we need.

Planning Summer 2018: Making an Annotated Japanese Timeline

In the past, we've only blogged trips on Little Rabbit's Planning. After a couple of days of migraine-inducing marathon planning for Summer 2018, I set myself a limit of 1 hour/day and decided to blog the process.

This is a useful little strategy for finding your feet in a new culture: Take a standard timeline of the place's history and annotate it with stuff you already know, things that seem important to you, or places you've visited. This Japanese timeline has some movies I've seen and places I went to on my previous trips. Although it's quite long, that's just because Japan has a lot of history. What I actually know about Japan is almost nothing, but hopefully that will change. I'll be adding to the timeline as I go along.

From my last trip: about the oldest things I've seen in Japan are these 'Monkey Stones' from the Asuka period (7th to 8th C). They can be seen at the Kibihimenomiko Tomb in Asuka.

Prehistoric and Ancient Japan

• Paleolithic and Jomon periods
• Yayoi period
• Kofun period (c.250-538)

Classical Japan

Asuka period (538-710

• Buddhism introduced to Japan (552)
• Carved stones of Asuka, such as the Tortoise Stone (7th century)

Nara period (710-794)

Heian period (794-1185) - zenith of the Fujiwara clan

• Murasai Shikibu writes The Tales of Genji
• Sakuteiki writes Records of Garden Making (mid to late 11th century)
• Origin of The Tale of Princess Kaguya, although the first surviving manuscript is dated 1592. I know it from the Ghibli version (2013).
• The Fujiwara men often kept diaries, for example Fujiwara Munetada kept a journal known as the Chuyuki between1062-1141. It seems to be untranslated but I found extracts from it along the Kumano Kodo trail
• Hiraizumi - Takkoku no Iwaya temple: foundation (801)
• Hiraizumi - Chuson-Ji: foundation (850), completion (1124). Motsu-ji (850-c.1125), Kanjizaio-in (c.1125)
• Narita Temple: foundation

Medieval Japan

Kamakura period (1185-1333) - beginning of Samurai period

Muromachi or Ashikaga period (1333-1568)

• The Sengoku Period or Age or Warring States spans the period from 1467-1603)
• Kyoto Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion) - built in 1397, it was burned in 1950 and reconstructed in 1955.

Early Modern Period

Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600)

Edo or Tokugawa period, shogunate, (1600-1868)

• Emergence of Geisha culture -> until the mid-twentieth century
• Narita Temple: expansion and enrichment: Komyo-do (1701), Pagoda (1712), Niomon main gate (1830), Shaka-do (1856), Gaku-do (1861)
• Kyoto Nijo Castle: construction (1603)
• Hirosaki Castle: original construction (1603-1611) The keep was destroyed by fire in 1627 and a new one constructed in 1810.
• Boso no Mura: outdoor museum with reproductions of Edo and Meiji buildings
• Shank’s Mare (Tokaidochu Hizakurige), a comic travelogue by Jippensha Ikku (1802-1822)
• Hokusai, the famous print-maker lived 1760-1849

Modern Japan

• The Wind Rises: Ghibli’s life of Jiro Horikoshi (2013) spans most of this period

Meiji period (1868-1912)

• Boso no Mura: outdoor museum with reproductions of Edo and Meiji Buildings

Taisho period (1912-1926)

Showa period (1926-1989)

• Pearl Harbour: 1941
• Grave of the Fireflies: Ghibli war film (1988) set in 1945. To be honest, I can't bear to watch it.
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attacks: 1945
• Narita Temple: Narita-san Park (opened 1928), Kaizan-do (1938), Great Main Hall (1968), Great Pagoda (1984)

Heisei Period (1989-present) - accession of 125th Emperor Akihito. He is 84 years old and will abdicate in April 2019.

• Akira (1988 film) - The first anime I ever saw, in about 1990
• Narita Temple: Hall to Prince Shotoku (1992)

Planning Summer 2018: the finer details of Japan

In the past, we've only blogged trips on Little Rabbit's Planning. After a couple of days of migraine-inducing marathon planning for Summer 2018, I set myself a limit of 1 hour/day and decided to blog the process.

From my last trip: a small and not very typical part of the gardens in Narita Temple. Come to think of it, it strikes me that this bit of garden design is in the European style.

I was actually strict about sticking to my one hour of planning today, so this is a good indication of what really fits into hour. I wanted to sort some minor details of planning so that I wouldn't have to waste time on them when I actually get to Japan. Remember - an hour spent in advance equals at least an hour during the actual trip. I would rather spend the time looking at nice things.

• I figured out where to go in Narita Airport to get my JR East rail pass turned on.
• I marked the location of both the car rental places on Google Maps - I have the vouchers for the two car rentals already, but I don't expect to get the translated driving license that will allow me to use them for over a month!
• Since we're going to be staying on the coast at Ajigasawa, I knew it would be to my advantage to find a beach in advance. I have a feeling it may be expected of me! (Antonia... beaches...). This is the advantage of research: my first instinct was that the beach a short drive out of town would be nicer, but I learned it is typically covered with trash. Ajigasawa Beach Resort, right in town, is probably better maintained, and walking distance from our hotel. 
• For similar reasons, I checked out the availability of beaches (and boats) at Lake Towada
• I started studying Hiraizumi, the World Heritage Site in which we'll be spending a single day. We won't have time to do everything comfortably unless we rent bikes. I daresay that's why there are multiple bike rental places near the station. We may just minimize and NOT try to do everything as this is often a better bet with Antonia anyway. Also she can sort of ride a bike, but not especially well, and we would be on roads. NOTE TO SELF: Take Antonia to the park before we go so she can relearn to ride a bike anyway!!!
• After that, I started adding to my list of Japanese things I ought to know about. For example, Hiraizumi is noted for its Jodo Gardens, created during the Heian period as an expression of Pure Land Buddhism. Did I sound like I knew what I was talking about? Well, no...

Planning Summer 2018: Driving in Japan

In the past, we've only blogged trips on Little Rabbit's Planning. After a couple of days of migraine-inducing marathon planning for Summer 2018, I set myself a limit of 1 hour/day and decided to blog the process.

Renting a car in Japan should be easy, but it gets a little more complicated if you're already international (what doesn't?)

Examples of French driver's licenses that will be refused by the Japanese translators: in my imagination, my license combines the worst features of all of the above.

For most foreign visitors who want to drive in Japan, an international permit is sufficient. My problem seemed to be that I had a driver's license issued by France while I'm resident in Britain. If I owned a car here, I would have needed to swap it for a British one by now, but since we live in London and had no car, I didn't bother. 

So... can I get either the French or the British authorities to issue me an international permit? The answer is that I might be able to do either, with a bit of fiddling and judicious manipulation of addresses, but there's no need. Actually, Japan doesn't accept the international permit issued by the French authorities, because it doesn't meet some standard or other. Well done, France!

I don't know if I could use an international permit issued by the British authorities (supposing I could get one) but fortunately the Japanese, keen to rent their rental cars to any paying customers, have come up with a work-around: the Japanese Automobile Federation will produce official translations of our French licenses, for a small fee, and these are acceptable. Actually, given that it's one translation for all of France and that all the 'translators' have to do is fill in our personal details, the fee is maybe not so small, but that's how it goes (try being international, you'll see). The other little snag is that the Japanese Automobile Federation will only post translations to addresses in Japan. Alternatively, you can get your license translated on the spot, when you arrive in Japan. For some people this is probably a good, economical solution, but for me, it means blowing a full day of the trip on administration, with a teenager in tow.

Fortunately, there is another workaround. You scan your license, send it to a Franco-Japanese agency (Vivre Le Japon) and they deal with submitting it, receiving it at their offices in Japan and sending it on to you. For a small fee. They'll also handle the car rentals themselves, for a mark-up which is very reasonable (I checked), and also avoids the awkward assumption apparently made by Japanese rental car agencies that all their clients have phone numbers which work in Japan.

So now, there is only one snag left: the state of my French driver's license. I must say, what with our other countries falling over themselves to pile shame and disgrace upon our heads, it's actually nice to be able to offer a criticism of France. France! That candy-pink cardboard chose that's supposed to last us a lifetime... mais c'est n'importe quoi, ce torchon, dites donc!!! Obviously, it's falling apart, what with being 20 years old!!!

Okay, so you realised that, finally,, and you've brought out a nice, new plastic one. Very good, France, but you won't give me one, will you, because I don't live there at the moment. Sigh...

Anyway, this morning was dedicated to making the best possible scan of my slowly disintegrating French driver's license and sending it off to Vivre le Japon, along with a request for a car for four days in Aomori Prefecture and two days at Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. I think it will work. I hope it will. 

Planning Summer 2018: Why we're not going to Niagara Falls

In the past, we've only blogged trips on Little Rabbit's Planning. After a couple of days of migraine-inducing marathon planning for Summer 2018, I set myself a limit of 1 hour/day and decided to blog the process.

While I was sorting out my photos I dug up this old picture of Niagara Falls in the kind of weather you get in real life.

The only reason we're not going to Niagara Falls is simple: we've already been. Mike went decades ago, when he was still a US resident. I went in August 2015, by myself. It was sort of a mistake actually. I'd booked a flight from Iceland to Toronto, thinking I would have lots of time in Canada. I thought I might see Montreal and Quebec, then take a train to Vancouver, then somehow get from Vancouver to Idaho, where I had stuff to do. It turned out that the 'stuff' took over and the only thing I did in Canada is rent a car at Toronto airport and drive down to Niagara Falls for the day. Not really worth the hassle of dealing with two lots of North American immigration in the space of three days. 

Don't get me wrong though. I liked Niagara a lot. Not so much for the Falls themselves. They're nice enough, even on a grey, wet day, but I've seen a lot of waterfalls. Maybe I'd rate these ones a 7/10. No, what's really neat about Niagara is its status as a vintage tourist site. Its something it shares with places like the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Their status as century+-old tourist sites gives them a quality and a history all their own. I had a lot of fun walking up and down the banks around the Falls, watching the watchers, the boats, the paths, the souvenir shops, the dubious food 'offerings' and 'exciting adventures' someone thinks the punters might buy to make their Niagara Falls Experience a little more special.