The Land of the Rising Sun

[Rod-AR127 (Rod)]

With the world slowly reopening to travel, l am excited to be revisiting the most amazing country l have been too; Japan. My partner is Japanese so we will be returning to see her family as soon as possible, hopefully April/May.
Usually it's about this early planning stage that l start spending hours, days and weeks making shopping lists for my small N guage Train layout. Despite thousands of dollars it is still in the build stage, nothing more than two loops of track laying on a plain foam board.

But now, with my interest in astronomy reinvigorated, l took a peek and googled "telescope shops Japan".
OMG the future looks bright and it's only getting better, l better wear shades.

While l NEED a new focuser and some some custom lathe work to fit it, one cannot discard the notion of a far superior OTA while the Yen is worth 0.012 AUD.
I won't let my AR127L go unused, but a small SCT or MAK is not out of the question now. Even a small APO could be on the cards. If I'm sensible, EP's will be the main focus.
Our Japan visits are the only time my awesome partner lets me loose in Toy shops
I best get my current behemoth back to optimal working order first.
Happy Days.

Edit: Picture this, two adults, two suitcases, two backpacks, two oversized hand luggage and three large heavy cardboard boxes at the check in counter in Osaka.
Singapore Airlines staff didn't even blink, just tagged everything and put it on the plane for us with a smile. Love it!

[m11 (Mel)]

Have a safe and wonderful trip to Japan.

Out of all the countries I have visited, Japan really stood out for me as one of the best trips. Everyone is super polite and friendly and wanting to help.
We learnt thats it best not to stand next to a stand with a map on it as people would stop to try to help out even though they are busy.

Next trip again with the family.

[Rod-AR127 (Rod)]

It's a wonderful place, one in which l hope to retire too at least semipermanently.
Polite, clean, polite, beautiful mountains, polite, great roads, did l mention polite?
As a public transport train driver l work amoungst the polar opposites daily.

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Are you planning on bringing your telescope back or keeping it over there? Always a bit worried about putting something like that in baggage.

My wife is also Japanese, fortunately from a regional town, not a big city, so the LP isn't too terrible. We plan to retire there. Land is amazingly cheap once you get out of the big cities.

[Rod-AR127 (Rod)]

Whatever l buy will be coming back as Carey on luggage so nothing too big, just EP's probably.
Never discount a small Vixen APO though.

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Fair enough. 家で天文台を建たほうがいい。Your missus will know what that means. Hopefully she agrees.

[Rod-AR127 (Rod)]

Yes l should. I do have a $10k+ shed coming in the next few years, maybe an annex off that.