so i'm slowly building up my shaving kit. so far all i have is a nice tosuke japanese razor. I've used it a few times, but on the third shave it was rough, so i've put it away until i could buy a strop. well, the time is nigh and i wanted some opinions. This is a pretty small razor, so i don't need anything huge...i would think a 2" strop would cover it. My question is what do you guys recommend for total newb? I'm going to be going overseas (Japan, oddly enough) I need something that is somewhat portable (needs to fit easily in a suitcase/duffel bag and easy to maintain (buying leather pastes, oils, etc. will be problematic for the 10 months i'll be there). I was thinking of buying a double sided paddle from one of the vendors. It is russian leather on one side and a very fine material (similar to ark. black stone?) on the other. I'm guessing you hone it, get some good runs on the stone side, then finish off with the leather. then every so often you strop on the stone part to keep the blade keen. I was going to get that, or just a standard dovo 2" russian leather/linen hanging strop. What do you guys think would be best for my situation?

Also, i'm going to need a hone (i would think it needs to be honed since i got it brand new, hopefully i dont fark it up). I'm thinking a norton 4k/8k to get me started, then after getting to japan picking me up a nice natural there (usually 10k-15k range, no?)

all recommendations appreciated, thanks