POST 15: japan trip (english version)

Today, trying to make myself more productive in this fasting month, less dull, hone the english writing ability, and to help a friend of my friend to understand my japan trip post, I'm translating it into English, hahaha...

with a return ticket as much as 4,5 million rupiah, I and 2 friends flew to Tokyo on May 23th 2014. After 9 hrs flight and a transfer in KL, our japan trip was finally begun. We arrived around 23:00 at Haneda Airport Tokyo. So, we decided to stay overnight at the airport. We spent sometime to stroll around the airport. My first excitement was the toilet. It was very modern with the latest technology applied and hmmm i can say "rich" of buttons hahaha..but it was very comfortable and clean. Haneda also had an observation deck at the rooftop. It was outdoor so you can feel some windy fresh air . It's a rare thing to have in Jakarta.

Officially arrived in Tokyo

another backdrop you can use as your photo background right after the immigration gate.

The amazing toilet with so many buttons.

The interior of the terminal

Obseration Deck at the rooftop

The view outside seen from the Observation Deck

the restaurant at the 3rd floor of the airport that already closed.

The next morning we were heading to Sakura Hostel in Asakusa District and met another friend that flew all the way from Philippines. We bought keikyu line single trip ticket as much as 410 yen and Tokyo subway 3 days pass as much as 1500 yen at Haneda Tourist Information Center. You can only purchase the 3 days pass at the airport, while the 1 day pass can be purchased at the Pasmo machine in every station in Tokyo. Regarding the price, it is very recommended to buy the 3 days pass. The keikyu line took us directly to Asakusa Station.

The route of the train.

You can tab the screen to use the English version.

It was the train taking us to Asakusa. There was a running text at the outside wall of each cart stated the last station the train going. Make sure it is on your direction.

Finally we and those heavy luggage arrived at the Sakura Hostel Asakusa. FYI, unlike in Singapore, the subway station in Japan mostly don't have the down escalator even if the platform placed three layers under. they had the elevator but it was dedicated for the elders and the disabled. So after checked in, cleaned up ourself and stored our luggage into the deposit room, we went to Tokyo Skytree. Along the way to the train station we took some pictures in Sensoji Temple and Kaminaremon Gate area. The landmark of Asakusa.

Rows of souvernir shops in Asakusa.

the walk from our hostel to asakusa station

Sensoji Temple Area

The Famous Kaminaremon Gate

Tokyo Skytree is only 2 station away from asakusa station. The train station was at the bottom of the tower. There was also a shopping mall above the station. Those stores sold some knick knacks and snacks. We decided not to go up the tower to the observation floor because we keep the cash to climb up The Tokyo Tower at night. On that day, there was also The Skytree anniversary celebration event. So we just took these pictures.

Skytree

In Front of the Tower's entrancce.

 

Shops at the area below the tower.

Tempting Plastic Food Props.

We continued to Ueno Park at the upper center of Tokyo. We had our lunch in a local restaurant. We barely understand the menu. We just guess what was in it from the plastic food props at the window. To order we insert the money to a vending machine near the entrance of the resto. We choose the dish by pressing the same number as the fake food props we've seen at the window. Thus, we brought the receipt to the waiter and wait for our orders. The taste was quite good and we were fully satisfied with the portion. It didn't take so long to finish the lunch, then we off to the park.

Ameyoko Shopping Street. From fresh fruit, meat, seafood, to variety of kimono are sold this market.

The local restaurant we had our lunch. 

A street artist had his performance at the park.

enjoying the greenery

One of several shrines at Ueno Park.

Done with ueno, we rushed to Kawasaki City to visit Fujiko F Fujio Museum to see Doraemon. It took about an hour to get there by intercity train because it's located at the outskirts of Tokyo. Too bad that we arrived late and the museum had already closed. FYI the entrance ticket cannot be purchased at the museum, but at Lawson instead. And also there was particular schedule to enter the museum. The last batch is at 4 pm each day.

Beuatiful flowers alongside of the pavement to the Doraemon Museum.

 

statues of cartoon characters created by Fujiko F Fujio were placed at many spot in the city.

With a little disappointment of not entering the museum, we went back to tokyo. We took rapid train to Akihabara. It is famous for electronic equipment and japan action figure. The boys referred to one of the biggest department store in there, the name was Yodobashi. It was 12 stories building that sold specific stuffs in each floor. We went directly to level 6th to shop for gundam action figure. They said it has a competitive price, recommended if your an "otaku". Leaving them with gundam stuffs, I went down to the 5th floor and tried some of the electric massagers and bought 1 for my mom. Never regret the decision of buying the massager when it became the important tool we used on the trip to ease the fatigue hahaha..

Japanese Action Figure at Yodobashi Departemen Store

                     

Electronic stores in Akihabara

On our way back from Yodobashi, we stopped by at a Maid Cafe or Maido Cafe in japanese still in Akiba area. Basically, it is some kind of cosplay restaurants found in Japan. In these cafes, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and treat customers as master and mistresses in a private home, rather than as cafe patrons. When a maid came to our table and greeted us, she kneed, served us glasses of water, read the rules of the cafe and lighted up an electric candle by blew it on. Then, we order some drinks. At the moment we came, there was another maid performed on the little stage near the window. She did a karaoke and danced. There were two guys at a table in front of the stage who were grabbing neon sticks and doing a typical dance or gestures following the maid on the stage. It looks like they already known the dance the maid did. Perhaps two of of them are the cafe's loyal customers who gladly spent some extra cash just to have the maid sing for them. Yes you have to pay to have it so, there never was a free cookie. I don't know but it was strange for me hahahaha...weird.

Okay, when the maid brought in our drinks, before we drank it she said "i will put some magic into your drinks, but you have to follow me”. She lifted up her hands and made a circle with them, bent her body to the right and left while saying some magic spell in japanese. Thus she asked us to do the same thing and to blow our glasses. hahahaa another weird feeling i had. I saw another guest came and did another high five style with the maid showed that he already known her well or probably he was a frequent guest.

Before we finished, we decided to capture that moment. So we pay 1000 yen for an instax photo with some decoration on it, done by the maid. Oh, you cannot take pictures inside the cafe. It's the rule. Even if you want to take picture with your smartphone, you have to pay another 1000 yen errrgh...

On the third day we visited Odaiba City. Odaiba more or less is like Sentosa island in Singapore. We can reach it by taking monorail passing through a bridge that connect the island to the mainland of Tokyo. We came to a building named Decks near the monorail station. There are many attractions you can experience inside this building. For instance, Madame Tussauds, Joypolis, Sega, Legoland, dan Tokyo Art Trick Museum, etc. Again, considering the budget we had, we chose to make some cool pictures in Tokyo Art Museum. 

After tokyo art museum, then we moved to see Liberty Statue and Gundam Statue near the Aqua City Mall. those statues located within walking distance from Decks. We were soooo happy enjoying the decent weather. 

welfie on our way to see Statue of Liberty.

LIberty in smaller size.

View Di Aqua City

As it was Sunday, the area was packed with people. Another thing interested me was the appearance of a group of people dressed up like Elvis with a big topknot on their head, tight leather pants and jackets. They were dancing in a circle and chanting classic rock music played as their back sound. They were very hilarious and entertaining hahaha...See the video. 

Gundam

Aqua City Mall.

Before sunset, we went back to tokyo. This time, we stepped our feet to Shibuya. First thing first! yess taking picture with hachiko. When we arrived there was an old man stood beside the statue reading some kind of poem or maybe prayer for the holy spirit of hachiko. A friend of mine thought that there could have been a religion that worship the famous dog hahaha...Second thing to do was crossing the busiest shibuya cross. Then we just walk around the area before moved again to last attraction that was the Tokyo Tower. We climbed up to 150 m height to eye the beauty of Tokyo at night.

The Famous Shibuya Crossing

Shops at Shibuya

Other corner di Shibuya.

Day 4, Disney sea all day. The weather was quite cold and windy, though the Disney Resort was located near the sea. It was monday, but the theme park was very crowded. There are many students with uniforms. It looks like it was during the school trip season. The queue in many rides were devastating. We ended up experienced only 5 rides. Another disappointment was the fireworks we were waiting were canceled because of the rain.

Welcome Board in a station to the Disney Resort

The train that took  us to Disney Resort

Disney ornaments all over the train.

Ticket Counter.

6400 yen aka hampir 700 ribu..nangiissss..

A globe at the entrance gate.

The next view we saw right after the entrance gate.

The hotels at the resort.

Souvenir shop.

Churros in Mickey's Head Shape.

another delish snack!

Ancient City 

Arabian

Under The Sea

The interior.

Neptunus.

Goofy shared his claws sign.

the final show without the fireworks.

Overall disney was a little bit overrated for me. I did have a lot of fun, but Universal Studio is still my preference. I think it would go well for the kids or if you are the fans of fairy or princess tail. It was also pretty pricey considering the small number of rides that you can experienced. But yaa it still worth the pictures we've taken. okelaaa..

Day 5, we went to kawaguchiko to see Mount Fuji from Shibazakura festival. We took highway bus from shinjuku bus terminal to kawaguchiko. Then continued taking another bus to shibazakura festival. We had already passed the golden week to see sakura, but still the view of the park was captivating and beautifully decorated with pink flowers. 

Fuji taken from the bus to kawaguchiko

a cafe to spent a day snacking while enjoying Fuji.

Panoramic view of shibazakura festival.

The peak of Mt. Fuji appeared when the sun moved higher.

the pink background.

  

Fujisan

There is a pond in the middle of the park.

Scrumptious food.

Day 6, we flew to Osaka by Peach Flyer. It was a low cost carrier with 2 flight schedules a day. We chose to spent 4000 yen on airplane tickets rather than 15000 yen on shinkansen. So happy when I could find cheaper alternative, LOL..It took only an hour to go to kansai airport. We went directly to Chuo Hotel in Taishi area. With a rapid train we alighted at shininamiya station, then walked straight to the hostel. If you had a chance to come to Osaka on a budget trip, this hotel will be my recommendation. It has a good value for money, very comfortable, surrounded by many places to eat, the staffs were very nice, and they also have onsen (japanese style hot spring).

Book the flight 2 months before the trip to get the promo price.

Shinimamiya Station.

After a little rest, we went to Osaka Castle. But before that, we feed ourself first. We found an alley near the Hotel that consist of many restaurants. Our choice fell to a snack and beer restaurant. it sold scrumptious fried dish. My favorite was the fried cheese, yummy!!! then we continue to Osaka Castle by subway. Again, we bought  1 day pass subway ticket.

The street in front of Chuo Hotel.

The bikes parked at the side of the road.

Forget the name of the resto, but the food was great.

Exterior of an office building on our way to Osaka Castle.

A garden that surround the Osaka Castle

Front Gate

Second Gate

A building in the complex.

Osaka Castle it is.

Princess and her castle hahaha..

welfie!

After Osaka castle we leaved for Namba area and Dotonburi street. We tried takoyaki or the octopus ball. This one is the signature dish of Osaka. It tasted better than those I've ever had in Jakarta. The area was crowded. Many restaurants lining upon the riverside of Namba. We also had okonomiyaki for dinner and continued to enjoy the night by the river.

Takoyaki Stall 

Dotonburi at night

A seafood resto.

The river behind the buildings with so many restaurant and cafes on its side.

Glico Neon Board.

Okonomiyaki with a hot pan on each table.

noodle inside it.

Another okonomiyaki. This one was seafood filling.

Day 7, we bound for Kyoto with 2 transfers by local train. Through www.hyperdia.com we picked the train schedule, route, and category. We took out the rapid train from the options, thus it left us with the cheapest way to Kyoto. Never book a seat for not spending extra money.

Train route fron Chuo Hotel to Kyoto Hostel. 

We prefer standing and saving some cash then booking a seat.

Train category. the local is the cheapest one but it sops at every station.

We stayed at Khaosan Kyoto Hostel just for one night. It has a strategic location, near familymart, it is also afordable and comfy. Another recommendation. We also didn't forget to buy 1 day pass for bus because in kyoto people most likely to use bus especially to visit the shrines and other tourist attractions. the 1 day pass can be purchased at train station or at the hostels.

Taking a picture with a store named after me as my background.

A cozy living room of Khaosan Kyoto Hostel on the 4th floor.

Teramachi dori area. From here, you can hop on the bus to the shrines or other tourist attractions.

First destination was Kinkaku-ji shrine or also known as The Temple of Golden Pavilion. There were several houses in the area, but the main house was built in front of a pond. The house consist of three stories, two of them have its wall furnished with gold. This what made its name. Another thing is that there is a bronze phoenix ornament decorate its rooftop. You would need some energy to walk around the complex under such temperature, but with so many trees planted alongside of the pavement we can still feel the fresh air.

Kinkaku-ji Shrine.

Macha And Vanilla Ice Cream.

The next shrine that we visited was Kiyomizu-dera Shrine. Along the way up to the shrine we were greeted by a lot of shops that sold miscellaneous souvenirs and also food. The signature dish of Kyoto is mochi or rice cake, especially the one with sakura flavor in it. Every shop offered some tester for its mochi, so by the time I reached the gate of the shrine my tummy was already full hahaha.

Somekind of chapel to hold a traditional wedding ceremony on the right side of the street to the shrine.

Souvenirs shops.

Those tourist wore the yukata and took pictures at the shrines. The price to rent was about 3000 yen. 

Let me explain some points about the shrine that also become UNESCO world heritage site. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hill. Kiyomizu means clear or pure water. What's unique about it is that there is not a single nail used in the entire structure. How cool is that! When we were visiting the complex, some of its buildings were under construction so not all area can be seen. The shrine will be more beautiful in autumn, when the leaves of the trees turn to orange.

the entrance gate of Kiyomizu-dera shrine

those kids were trying to lift up the spear that actually locked down to the floor hahaha not in a million years dear kidosss..LOL

a house to pray.

Another yukata.

Yosua, my friend, was trying to found out his luck.  He shook the wooden tube contained wooden sticks with particular words written in Kanji until a stick came out. Then the fortune-teller will translate it to him whether he still have the luck or not. He told yosua that he still got all his luck with him. It was enough for yosua to give him the confidence to throw all his money at pachinko the whole night hahaha..

.

the stairs towards the fountain below.

Taken from yosua's iphone on a panoramic mode. Try googling the same view in autumn. It was more beautiful.

The last shrine we visited was Fushimi Inari Shrine that is located in Fushimi-ku Kyoto. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named inari which is 233 meters above sea level. If you take the chance to walk on the trails up the mountain which span 4 kilometers and takes approximately 2 hours, you will find other shrines in smaller size. I didn't have the energy to do that, so taking picture was a pretty wise choice for that day. And also another takoyaki and now yakitori were successfully indulged my appetite. The best yakitori I've ever tasted!!

Yakitori stall.

Yakitori and takoyaki

the entrance gate of Fushimi-inari Shrine

The shrine

Other buildings in the complex

the line up of the gates.

Enjoying the evening view.

Day 8, off to Nagoya. While waiting for my friend who was checking out, I took the chance to browse about Nagoya International Airport that is Chubu Airport or Centrair Airport. We had planned to once again stay overnight at the airport to catch a flight back to Jakarta in the next morning, but the internet said that the airport doesn't operate 24 hrs. After 23:00 it will be closed and there will be no passengers allowed to stay. Okay, need a plan b then! Thank god we still managed to found two rooms in a hotel near Nagoya station with affordable price.

The efficient way to reach nagoya from Kyoto is taking the Shinkansen because Nagoya is located on the track between Kyoto and Tokyo. It took only half an hour to arrived at Nagoya station. Another 2 hours will be needed to reach Tokyo by the way. In Nagoya there was not much we did since it was already afternoon. Fortunately the hotel was located only at a walking distance from the station, so I preferred to left my suitcase in the coin locker at the station and left only with my backpack. It cost me 600 yen for the biggest locker. Besides, the next day we would go to the airport from the same train station.

We spent the night in that city by hoping on and off the Starbucks looking for Nagoya Tumbler. We wanted to give it as a gift for some friends at home, and we also get 1 free drink voucher that came with each tumbler we purchased. Finally, we found it at the 3rd Starbucks we visited.We enjoyed our time that night on the 13th floor of Nagoya Central Tower before went back to the hotel. The view was nice, just like Singapore. 

The entrance of Kyoto Station.

Shinaknsen ticket as much as 5070 yen was purchased without the reserved seat at the second cart,

Platform 12 to Nagoya.

Those carts of the train,

the interior.

Central Tower of Nagoya. the train station is at the basement.

the balcony of central tower was decorated with flowerr.

Day 9, it was final day of the trip. We went to the airport by taking the airport train from Nagoya station. Around 9 am, we took off for Kuala Lumpur then Jakarta. On the plane, I couldn't help myself for not sleeping with a very happy feeling, satisfaction, and I felt like I became richer even though all the money i'd planned to save to continue my life in Jakarta was gone. Left me only with good memories.

In conclusion, for me Japan is very unique. We can taste the vast modernization and also the strong  rooted civilization in one area all together. All the people, ignore the unbearable bad English, are very helpful. And about the food, it was all good and tasty. I think my friend was right, here you pay for quality. 

For you who might need it, here under is my japan trip itinerary. Hope it is detailed enough to help you arrange yours. Don't hesitate to contact me directly to have the excell format of the file.

Ok last thing, here are some tips or maybe lessons that I got during the trip that might be some additional information for you.

1. Don't be too lazy to surf the internet to get all the information about your destination, especially to find several alternative ways and prices upon all the activity you are about to do there. For train route and schedule you can browse through www.hyperdia.com and to help you arrange which area should be visited first you can open http://www.gotokyo.org/en/tourists/areas/index.html
2. Biggest expense on my trip was transportation. So, make sure you buy 1 day or 3 days pass ticket in every city you visit.
3. Be wise on JR pass because it's not cheap at all. You can try the alternative I took by taking low cost airlines instead of taking Shinkansen.
4. Unlike other countries who provide free wifi, in Japan free wifi likely found only at the airport and hotels. And also using the local simcard is not that easy because you will need sort of registration process. So to deal with the situation, we chose to rent a mobile router for 9 days. The router was very handy, it can connect to 5 to 10 devices all together. It cost about 6000 yen for 4 of us. Way much cheaper than activating the international roaming for our simcard. the connection was dependable and smooth, the process very easy , the package was dropped to our hostel, and for returning it we just dropped it to any mailbox in any city all over Japan. More info just click www.japan-wireless.com
5. For those who are moslem and not allowed to eat pork (just like me), just ask "is it Gyu (beef) or Buta (pork)?" but if you're still in doubt, just eat seafood.
6. If you plan to go to Disneysea, it would be better for you to come early, then take all the reservation ticket for any ride that provide it. The ticket will show you the time you can go on the ride, so you can avoid the long queue. And if you are not a big fan of disney, and eager to challenge your guts, i will recommend you to come to Fujikyu Highland Theme Park in the way to kawaguchiko. There, the only ride you can take is roller coaster. Yess they have miscellaneous types of terrifying roller coaster.

     That was all the story about my trip to Japan. It was not a fancy trip, because what I was looking for was the adventure. Thank you yosua, ocep, and nesha who successfully made the trip more fun and gave the permission to share the pictures out here at my blog. Wish to have another adventurous trip with you guys. And also hopefully this post can give you a description more or less about the country. Thank you for reading.