The flights are booked, hotels and hostels reserved, suitcase packing is beginning to take shape and currency has been ordered: in terms of upcoming holiday preparation, it's so far so good.

Though whilst I'm uncharacteristically on schedule for a big upcoming trip, what hadn't initially been placed on the holiday to-do checklist, was considering the global politics that threaten to wreak havoc with said upcoming trip.

In just shy of three weeks, the out of office work email reply will be locked down for three sweet weeks. Saying Say?nara to work colleagues and friends, the bright lights of Tokyo beckon for a holiday travelling throughout Japan.

Allured by the promise of enough Ramen noodles to sink a ship, a dizzyingly fast culture fuelled by tech and Pokemon, it promises to be a holiday filled with culture shocks.

Japan was an attractive holiday option thanks to it guaranteeing to take me out of your comfort zone, forced to navigate towns and cities in a manner far removed from daily life here in Scotland.

But whilst finely tuning the trip of a lifetime, meanwhile few days go by that I don't wake up either to verbal threats or indeed missiles being launched over the promised land.

The threat of course derives from North Korea; the world's currently unpredictable pot of water we're unsure when and if will boil over.

Tensions concerning North Korea and the rest of the world are no new thing. With current dictator Kim Jong-un often appearing no different to a petulant child, the public swipes between nations beggars belief.

Is this real life news or a Hollywood bro-action film trailer I'm currently watching, is a daily thought that passes through my head.

The most recent news from the region involved a projectile flying over the island of Hokkaido in Japan from Pyongyang. This followed the country threatening to “sink” Japan and turn the US “into ashes and darkness”.

Whilst North Korea's statement reads like a bad TV show, these events are in fact all real. Whether we want to truly believe North Korea is capable or not, it would be foolish to underestimate them.

Taking all serious issues aside, it's made me question just what I'll tolerate in pursuit of a holiday. Giant spiders? No way. The threat of an oncoming missile? So it would seem.

I'm comforting myself with the self-administered advice that we can't let fear hold us back.

Whether it's visiting or living in large cities like London and Paris that face the threat of terrorist attacks, or stepping onboard an airplane with a phobia of flying, allowing fear to take hold is surely letting the 'enemy' win.

So long at the bright lights of Tokyo continue to shine, I'll be getting on that plane in three weeks time. Though perhaps I'll be adding a few emergency phrases to my Japanese to-learn list.