So, I was chosen to go to Yokohama; after filling up forms, booking flights, scheduling and packing, I was ready to go. My plan was to go to Japan for 7 weeks, then "drop by" Hong Kong for 2 weeks before coming back. I was flying Japan Airlines (JAL) and the ticket from Vancouver to Hong Kong with a stop-over at Tokyo was actually cheaper than the ticket from Vancouver to Tokyo alone. Strange, eh? Hong Kong is actually farther away but the ticket is actually cheaper. Why? Well, two reasons: (1) flights to Hong Kong are more competitive; (2) peak traveling season to Japan begins sooner than to Hong Kong. So, my ticket to Hong Kong with a 7-week stop-over at Japan was Cdn $300 (30%) cheaper than a ticket to Japan only.