For my first big adventure of 2011, I'm taking a 12-day Winter trip to Japan. I have two personal goals in mind, packing light and sticking to a budget.
First and foremost, I want to travel light. Really light. My packing list is almost finalized, and it's by far the smallest amount of stuff I've taken on an international trip.
I've always thought of myself as being on the lighter side of the packing spectrum.
However, I've been noticing the minimalist travel bloggers around the interwebs, which has inspired me to challenge myself, at least for this trip.
To recap a few advantages to the "less is more" philosophy as it relates to international travel:
- No need to check your backpack on flights.
- Less physical stress from carrying the backpack.
- Your backpack takes up less space on trains and buses.
- If Couchsurfing, your stuff won't unintentionally take over your host's home (especially important in Japan where apartments are small).
- It's easier to account for your belongings.
Here's a breakdown of my ultralight packing list for Japan:
- 20-year old LL Bean backpack
- HP laptop w/AC cord
- 500 GB external hard drive (photo storage)
- Blackberry Curve cell phone
- Canon S90 camera w/soft case and battery charger
- 16 GB SanDisk SD card
- 2 GB SD card (back up)
- Flip UltraHD video camera
- Amazon Kindle w/leather case
- Creative Style 8 GB mp3 player w/earphones
- Casio Pathfinder watch
- Petzl Zipka LED headlamp
- 2 different types of USB cords
- GoLite jacket
- GoLite hoody
- Black cardigan sweater
- Mountain Hardwear short sleeve shirt
- REI long sleeve shirt
- Zombie Fest t-shirt
- Volcom board shorts
- 2 pairs of boxers (testing out a pair from Exofficio)
- 2 pairs of SmartWool socks
- Merrell sneakers
- Beanie hat
- Oakley sunglasses
- Custom earplugs
- Money belt w/passport, Japan Railpass, cash, business cards
- 2 Sea to Summit dry sacks
- MSR Packtowl
- 2000 Lonely Planet Japan (borrowed from a friend), and pen for scribbling
- Trial size toiletries in a 1-liter Ziploc bag (not pictured)
Originally the board shorts were for the spas, but I was recently told the guys go "au natural." I'm going to bring them anyway as they're lightweight.
Even though it's Winter, I'm counting on several layers to keep me warm versus a heavy jacket. I hope I don't regret that once I land in Tokyo!
As much as I'd like to leave the giant paperback guidebook at home, flipping pages still seem faster and easier than navigating an ebook.
Erin says
That's pretty impressive for a winter weather packing list! We completely agree that travelling carry-on only is the way to go.
We've just gone paper less by buying a Kindle and iPod Touch and it's going to be interesting seeing how we get on with digital guide books. So far I think it'll be worth it for the weight saved. The Kindle seems good for reading to get background info and research places to go but the iPod Touch is much better for maps and is easier to flick through when out and about, plus it fits in your pocket.
Dave says
Yea I haven't even walked outside on my first day in Tokyo, and already was thinking an ipod touch is something i may need because the Kindle isn't pocket-sized. Live and learn!
It is a bit cold here, but I'm going to have to suck it up!
Clark Kays says
Those are great underwear. I just traveled for 7 months with a few pairs of Ex Officio's. They are pricey, but worth it. I have Lonely Planet for Japan in PDF form, if you are interested. Send me an email via our blog if you would like me to send it to you. That would really lighten you bag up.
http://www.touncertaintyandbeyond.com
Dave says
Thanks Clark, I already bought the LP Japan before my flight over. So far I'm liking Ex Officio too!
Mia says
It's true we live in a gadget's world. For once i would like to go somewhere without my cell and laptop.
Andrew says
I think that's definitely the right way to go, that is, as light as you can. Anything that you could possibly buy once you get there (within reason: I realize you could buy a laptop once you get there but obviously you'd rather bring your own) you should just buy once you get there instead of bringing it. Props for doing it right, I can't wait to hear about Japan!
Cheers,
Andrew
Irina Sazonova says
I`m all for traveling lightly! On this 10-day trip around 4 countries in Europe I took a small backpack (really small) and all my posessions weigh in at 6kg, including the sleeping bag. I didn`t take the laptop though and it has been pretty liberating.
Olov says
Good job on the small packing and hope you're trip isn't to cold;) Can't help but thinking about what a breeze it would be to travel without all this tech, but it seems inevitable. Just gotta wait for things to get lighter and smaller.
On another note: Trying to get a hold of a Kindle while travelling. Any idea on how to do this? (amazon only and will be gone for another 5 months)
Brandon says
Kindle Lonely Planet eBooks' maps are don't allow you to zoom enough. However, the PDFs are very zoomable & usable. I'd recommend bringing a USB full of your PDFs so you can print up maps from Internet cafes when you want to shove them in your pocket when wandering; instead of whipping out your $ accessories.
Dave says
Yea, I found the maps weren't useful or practical in Japan, but the rest of the ebook was fine and easy to navigate around. Instead, I relied on Japan's tourism offices located at all the major train stations. They always provided me with plenty of city maps (almost too many) and train schedules. Of course developing countries won't be so organized, but I still don't think I'll go back to the paper guidebooks at this point.
Bobo says
Dave, would you kindly share how your trip went in Japan? I'm planning a trip in April for 10 days and was curious to see what worked and what didn't. THanks.
Dave says
Hey Bobo, I'm going to write up my experience in greater depth some time in March, but since you don't have much time, I'll give a short version here.
Packing ultra light was awesome. Even though I was a bit cold without a heavy jacket, I wouldn't change a thing about the amount of clothes I brought for such a short trip.
- wear supportive sneakers -- I went for style over function and my feet were aching for it
- i ended up buying Lonely Planet's Kindle guide, but barely used it -- tourism offices are at all major train stations with plenty of maps, and other info
- Kindle is awesome, but I was so busy sightseeing I didn't read much except for the plane
- I forgot to bring an AC converter - a cheap one cost me $5. their outlets only have 2 slots so I needed one for my laptop
- I didn't bring the video camera, and didn't miss it
- I didn't use my watch or headlamp, could've left them at home
Hope that helps
southern cooking says
Dave, this must have been a great trip! I can recommend a great, ultralight backpack for laptop folks. It's from a company called Go-Lite and I believe it's called the TraveLite.
Dennis says
I'm thinking of couchsurfing my way through Japan early next year and this looks like the way to go in terms of packing. How did it work out for you?
Dave says
It worked perfectly. It was Winter, so at times I wished I had a heavier layer of clothes, like a sweater, but overall it made getting around A LOT easier. Would definitely do it again.
Dennis says
Thanks for the quick assessment. How did your Merrell sneakers fare, though? Having been to Japan before the last thing I need is to mess around with heavy boots, especially if I'm traveling light.
Dave says
The Merrell sneakers were fine -- in fact I'm still wearing the same pair a year later, here in Uruguay. They're not heavy, like boots. They're more like a cross-trainer. I didn't want to look out of place when I wore them around big cities.