While the two are quite close geographically they aren't so close by road so it is quite a bit of driving. The trip down via Lindis Pass and back up the West Coast is a good day of driving with a few driver breaks especially with shorter winter days. It's not recommended for driving after dark or early in the morning and while it is infrequent the pass does close several times most winters due to snow. April/May is early in the season so it is unlikely to have snow down low at that time and snow chains wouldn't be required, that said heavy May falls do happen some years. With no experience of using chains or the conditions most would suggest avoid it and waiting for the road to be cleared. Sorry I can't really offer more help

Hi Anna, have a fabulous trip. Almost without exception in Japan we have found the beds are firm to hard. We're fortunate to both find that we still sleep well on them and they don't make us ache but I understand the concern. We've stayed in the different properties over a period of several years so memory may not be totally accurate but I would say Granvia and New Otani hotel beds are always comfortable and are brands we've stayed with multiple times across Japan, the Swissotel was a more recent stay and that was good. The Namba Oriental location we love but the beds were a bit less comfortable and I don't specifically remember the Hilton either way. In general while they were all on the firm end, the 'hard' beds were more common in smaller towns where we stayed in more traditional places (with beds not futon) and business hotels.

The Hyperdia site was taken down while borders were closed but is back now at https://www.hyperdia.com/ - I still like it best on the computer, on phone screen it's too fiddly and the app versions have never been as good. The main funtionality is still there but it has a few less bells and whistles now. Have a fun trip, we aren't back until May, it seems so long to wait.

Hi Fiona. Your comment hasn't come through on a specific article, what areas are you looking at staying?

Probably need power & water

First ever trip in our vans only learning

Hi Valda. I use a large saucepan to melt the butter and mix it all in there so dry ingredients add to wet. I do give it a couple of minutes to cool before mixing in the egg. I'll take a look at the recipe later and see if it can be made clearer. Thanks.