Just ME...

JR Pass  I bought a 7 day JR Pass for ~33K Yen in September 2023 and apparently, it will go up in October (got lucky there). Instead of going thru agent, I just directly bought it at  https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/ , I think it's slightly more expensive but just a few hundreds yen (really not much) but you can easily refund and you can already use the same site to book for a trip as long as it's within one month of the scheduled date. Here are some tips when booking It's pretty easy to get seat reservation, do book early, I tried booking on the day itself and couldn't get reserved tickets. I have to either gamble to try Nonreserved seats or find a later train.  It's a bit weird though it was fully book, seems like people don't really use the reservation. When you book, you may not want to issue it till you know you are going to use that train, otherwise, you can't cancel or easily rebook it.  Once it is issued, you have to go to the JR center an

  Japan Attractions Japan Itinerary

You can explore taking day trips to Jiufen (Klook.com), otherwise, you can take trains or buses. Most convenient one is Bus 965. Bus 965:  http://www.tpebus.com.tw/image/lineimage.php?imagetest=9650 Bus Real-time Information: All buses, 965

It's been really hard finding the live camera for Walker Canyon at Lake Elsinore so that I can check out if there is super bloom. Alas, they have one this year (2023) but the city decides to close it for safety reasons. I guess you can just see it from the Live Camera :( http://63.42.216.178:8088/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cgi

  SXSW Tips and Tricks: SXSW Express Pass  Make sure to go online exactly at 9 am the day before and request for Express Pass (max 2 per person per day). This gives you priority in the lines, and thus, shorter lines and first to get into the events. RSVP For some reason, some events actually need an RSVP and the RSVP might not be mentioned in the app or SXSW site.   E.g. Irish Breakfast Music Festival needed RSVP. It was good that the weather was too cold that they did not turn away folks. San Pellegrino in French Legation needed RSVP so you can get a Food Token. We almost miss out on a good Italian Pizza. Backpacks or Tote Bags You need clear bags or you can use the SXSW Tote Bags they give you during the registration SWAGS Check out various exhibits especially the main ones, they really have good Swags. I miss out on Amazon givinng out customized Jeans Jackets. But I was able to check out C4's and got free hoodie that you can customize yourself. The next day, they only had a hat