Both American legs are ticketed and paid. One gap remains in the middle, and it is the decision the whole Sunday hangs on.

Six stays, four cities, nine nights in Japan. Prices are for the room, two people, per night, researched in August for December dates — December is shoulder season in Japan and rates are unusually kind.

Four Shinkansen legs and a lot of walking. You never need a car and you never need a domestic flight.

Tick-marks save to this browser. The three in red are the ones that get worse if you wait.