Since people were asking I posted how I was packing for a week in Japan with only one bag. Since I’m currently mid-packing in Tokyo to return to LA I thought I’d evaluate how that worked and what I’d do different next time.

Two things I didn’t take into account enough – the incredibly hot and humid weather and the ability to do laundry in the sink in my hotel room.

Because of the heat, had I to do this over again I would exchange one of the long sleeve shirts I brought for a short sleeve one. I never wore the extra long sleeve shirt that I brought. I’d also bring along another pair of shorts because some days the humidity really was bad and those would have helped walking around.

Because of the laundry I was able to keep the majority of what I had clean on a cycle, and ended up with a few unworn items so I should remember that for a trip of this length I can likely get by with 1 or 2 less pairs of socks, underwear and t-shirts.

This was one of the first trips I’ve ever brought 2 pair of shoes and I rather enjoyed the flexibility that gave me.

In the technology world, the Airport express was a life saver because the hotel only offered wired internet. I also should have double checked the power situation because while Japan uses the same plug as the US, often they don’t have 3 prong options and the mini-powerstrip I brought required 3 prongs so that ended up being useless.

The biggest surprise for me was how much I used the Kindle for iPhone app to read books. This turned out to be perfect and next time I think I’ll load that up rather than bring any physical copies of books.