Japan Autumn Trip 2017 Wrapped Up

Day 10 - Tokyo

In the morning, we planned to visit Asakusa Sensoji Temple before we went to Haneda International Airport. From Gotanda Station, it actually has a direct Toei Asakusa Line for Asakusa which cost 270 yen one way. However, as we need to use our JR Pass and minimize the subway cost, we then took JR Yamanote Line towards Tokyo or Ueno and stopped at Ueno Station. 

Afterwards, we transferred to Toei Asakusa Line (the walk is quite far) and ride towards Asakusa Station (170 yen/person one way). Then from the station, we walk towards Sensoji Temple. We prayed first then tried the Omikuji. Omikuji (おみくじ) are Japanese fortune-telling paper strips that can be found at shrines and temples throughout the country. The fortune that one is granted can range from having a great blessing (大吉) to a great curse (大凶).

Afterwards, we took some pictures, shopped around Nakamise Street where it was pretty crowded with tourist and went back to our hotel using subway Toei Asakusa Line (270 yen one way). The train actually has several type, which eventually we took the Limited Express to Haneda International Airport, so at Sengakuji Station, we had to transfer to the next train. Afterwards, we were preparing all the things and baggages to go back to Haneda Airport International Terminal. We planned to had lunch at Haneda Airport, while I actually wanted to try Ippudo Ramen near our hotel. 

Our Trip in Japan has finished. See you again Japan, will surely come back there!

Our flight departed at 4.20pm Japan Time and would arrive in Hongkong International Airport at 9.10pm Hongkong Time. We then had our snacking time at Wendy's and McDonald before we went to the boarding area. Hongkong Airport is quite huge as well, so we need to use train to transfer. So better be prepared and spare some time to transfer to boarding gates. 

Once we arrived in Indonesia, it's funny how Felix lost his Lacoste cap with L symbol at the front on the plane when he was asleep. We did expect maybe the cap fell somewhere. But we are quite suspicious with....well, the passengers on the plane. Not gonna make an offense but it's all Indonesian people there... even if the cap fell down, it's supposed to be there, but there was totally none. Any idea? I guess you must be thinking the same as me. Unbelivable, but that's Indonesia. I really wish the one who took the cap will have to face the punishment later on - whoever it is. You see, he bought the cap in Japan using his own hard-earned money - besides it's not that long that he used it for his work. He cherished that hat as much as he cherished his own money and someone took it without even considering anything. Somehow and someday, I am sure the one who took the cap will pay the price for what he/she did. I am sure of it. 

Anyway, be careful when you are on plane, because there's no CCTV. 

So, here’s what I suggest for your Japan Trip next time:

1. Always look for hotel/hostel/airbnb with station that has escalator or lift if you are staying in Tokyo, because there were so many subway line and it’s possible that your subway station doesn’t have lift or escalator. 

2. You will need to walk a lot if you want to travel around Tokyo and your stamina has to be fit. It’s impossible not to walk around Tokyo because each and every attraction there requires you to walk. 

3. The Japanese people is quite friendly in Kyoto & Osaka more than in Tokyo. Even though there were some also in Tokyo but I always find nice people around Kyoto & Osaka. 

4. Make sure you had an idea where you are going, specially if you are travelling by yourself, at least prepare where you should be getting off and where you should go back because most of the station is quite far from each other, so be prepared with your itinerary. 

5. Mostly, I used Google maps for directions, food and also some train schedules. 

6. Always be punctual with your time, otherwise, you might miss your train. 

7. If you plan to have more cities to visit, I suggest to but a one way airplane ticket. For example, If you only plan to visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, then buy the ticket Arrived at Tokyo and Departed from Osaka, or the other way round instead of round trip from Tokyo. Because this way, it will minimize your cost (no need JR Pass) and you will also have more time to enjoy the city. 

8. Another plan is, to visit Tokyo by itself and enjoying Mt Fuji, Nikko & Kamakura or Hitachi Seaside Park. And to visit Kansai area by itself (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Himeji) rather than having a trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. 

9. DO NOT BRING XTRA LARGE LUGGAGE because you will need to bring the luggage with you, so just bring a medium sized luggage, so that it’s easy for you to move around. 

10. In winter, pack your necessary clothes and do not bring clothes too much, specially if you are travelling by yourself. 

11. I suggest to use ANA Airlines instead of any other airlines, because it’s a direct flight, the food is exceptionally nice and you can bring 2 luggages maximum each is 23kg. 

12. If you believe in Japanese Culture, try to buy the lucky charm or Omamori. 

13. Always calculated first before deciding to use discount ticket or not, otherwise you would pay more. 

Cheers!

Japan Autumn Trip 2017 Part 4

Day 8 - Shirakawago

I woke up pretty early, wishing for the snow to fill up a in Shirakawago. I checked the live cam as well and it was all snowing. The snow is quite thick as well but we cannot predict the weather. Based on jnto weather prediction, it was predicted that all day will be sunny in Shirakawago. 

I finished doing the makeup at 7.45am and rushed to prepared myself and we are ready at 8.35am. In the meantime, I checked again for the live cam and it’s snowing and a bit cloudy. I panicked but what can we do? In whatever case, we should still go there. So, we rushed to the Takayama Nohi Bus Centre and booked the bus to Shirakawago. The round trip bus costs about 4.420 yen/person. The bus was there and we are really lucky as we only have 5 minutes before the bus departed. Thanks God. 

The weather turned out to be really fine. It was sunny and the snow is quite thick. I thought, maybe the live cam hasn’t been updated since I checked quite early. 

You can check the live cam here
http://ml.shirakawa-go.org/en/livecam/

And please check the weather condition 7 days from here https://www.jnto.go.jp/weather/eng/area_detail.php?sight_id=12

Both is very accurate. 

The journey took about 50 minutes, across the mountain with long tunnel ride. But it felt like going to Winterfell to meet Jon Snow. The weather was really good. The sky was so blue. The view was really magnificent. 

When we arrived at the bus station, I was told to just walk about 2-3 minutes and there will be bus stop for local bus to go to Shirakawago Observation Deck. We just need to queue up there, and pay when you get off the bus. The ride is about 10 minutes and cost 200 yen, it’s quite far by foot anyway, though you can just walk there. 

Up there, it was sooo beautiful. I thought we would freeze because of the cold weather, but thanks God for the perfectly fine weather and snowww!! I was prepared for the cold weather but what can we do? It was so hot till I took off my winter coat. I didn’t expect the snow would be so thick and never imagine myself entering the snow field, but here comes my most amazing experience ever. 

We are really happy to see snow and enjoying the beauty of Shirakawago. Afterwards, I felt my shoes started to get wet. 

We then took the same bus back after we are satisfied with the view then we went to gassho zukuri (a traditional house in Shirakawago) to see some of the beautiful view as well. Before continuing our photoshoot session, we grabbed some lunch near the Shirakawago food court and I ordered BBQ Pork on rice which turned out really good. Then we continued our photoshoot session. 

Shirakawago was really beautiful and you should really come here. We thought it’s possible to just enjoy Shirakawago for few hours, but we ended up using the whole day and it’s worth it. 

We then took 3.15pm bus to go back to Takayama Station. The uncle is a very nice guy. He would willingly take out all the luggages for us. I wish him the best. The journey back took about 50 minutes, the same way, but not it’s different because I am sleepy and my foot felt even colder. Once we reached Takayama Station, we went back to hotel to change our shoes and rushed to another photo session near Takayama Old Town. 

Afterwards, we went for dinner just few blocks from our hotel and decided to have Yakiniku and Sukiyaki. I ordered Salmon Sashimi as well. The restaurant name is called Shoya (日本海庄や 高山駅前店) which only opens from 4pm – 12am and you have a limited time to eat. We only get an hour for the table. Maybe because the restaurant is quite small but they served many customers. 

Afterwards, we played gashapon near one of the store around there. Soon afterwards, the four of us, Felix, Ce Lenny, Ko Indra & I were up for a challenge = to eat ice cream outside the Family Mart, on 0 degree celcius weather condition. I ate 2, but it was too cold so we moved to hotel lobby LOL.

The prewedding session wrapped up and tomorrow we are leaving Takayama. See you again Takayama. This is my fave city so far. 

Day 9 - Tokyo

The next morning, the first train from Takayama Station is at 6.46am to Nagoya. So, we woke up pretty early, bought some snacks for our breakfast and reserved seat to Shinagawa Station. It takes 4.5 hours to go back to Tokyo. And so, the journey began again. There were not many people take the limited express train to Nagoya. So most of seat are empty. We reached Nagoya Station at 9.13am exactly and only has 13 minutes to transfer to Shinkansen to Shinagawa Station. 

Super crazy. We build some teamwork, spilted up by four in each of the entrance, so that no one has to wait, asked the train staff where to get to the shinkansen station. We ran with our hearts and everyone is panicked when a shinkansen arrived. I told them it’s not ours because it’s Nozomi. JR Pass Holder is not allowed for Nozomi Shinkansen. So, we reached on time and everything is settled. 

I was so surprised on how their system is calculated that meticulously, even they would consider your transfer time, so that you could transfer train efficiently and your trip would not be affected much by the waiting time. Big respect, Japan. 

The shinkansen towards Tokyo from Nagoya is quite packed, there isn’t much space to put on your luggages. But whatever, just put there first, otherwise we cannot sit. The trip took about 1 hour 50 minutes to Shinagawa. So, I used this time to sleep. Once we reached Shinagawa Station, we move to JR Yamanote Line towards Osaki and ride 2 stops for Gotanda Station. We took the wrong exits, so it takes more walk to go to Hotel Mystays Gotanda Station. 

After we checked in, we went to Shinjuku Station for lunch and dropped Ce Lenny for her train to Narita Airport. It’s so sad that we have to part ways. Before that, we went to Kabukicho Area by walking (Shinjuku Station East Exit – the station was so big) and tried to find Gyukatsu Motomura 牛かつもと村, the famous Gyukatsu that everyone talks about. You even have to wait around 80 minutes to get in. At first, we don’t even know that the restaurant was there, because there is no signage in English. Eventually, we found the restaurant, which is located at B1 floor. It was located near Ichiran Ramen Shinjuku and Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. 

The surprising thing is that, no one was queuing and the eight of us just entered the restaurant. I bet they just opened? But it’s 12 pm in the afternoon. Or….maybe it’s not that famous anymore? Haha I dunno. We were forced to eat, otherwise you cannot sit down there and there’s no sharing. The food is quite nice. The meat feels like chicken meat, very tender and taste nice. 

After that, we strolled around Shinjuku first then move to Harajuku by JR Lines. It’s still autumn in Tokyo. The trees around Harajuku Station were still yellow. Then we stroll around Takeshita Street and Omotesando. I bought Hakuhodo there and tried the street snack around Takeshita Street. The only thing I didn’t try is Dominique Ansel Bakery and Luke Lobster. Even I dunno where they are located.

Afterwards, as there aren’t much we could buy there, we move to Shibuya from Omotesando subway station and shopped for another round of cosmetics and then went back to our hotel. The room was super huge and it fits for 3 people perfectly. It was raining hard in Tokyo, so we didn’t plan to go anywhere. I didn’t have the chance to try Steamer Coffee Company or Blue Bottle Coffee, but anyway, the coffee in Japan mostly taste amazing. 

Japan Autumn Trip 2017 Part 3

Day 6 - Kyoto

The next day, to fill up the photoshoot session, we decided to just skip Kobe and went around Gion Tanto. So we took bus from the bus stop right in front of our hotel to Gion Bus Stop. Kyoto has a flat rate for bus (230/adult and 120/child). We stopped right in front of Hanami Koji Street which is famous for spotting Maiko. We didn’t go there actually, instead, we walked towards Gion Tanto, a famous spot for cherry blossom in Spring and autumn colors during autumn. 

Before we arrived at the site, we rented Kimono from one of the shop. The Kimono was so tight and requires quite sometimes to change. So we only started the photo session at 1pm. The area was really pretty and perfect for a kimono day. The price of kimono rental is from 3.500 – 10.000 yen. If you need hairdo, it will cost 1.000 – 1.500 yen with additional accessories for 500 yen. 

The weather was cold. We thought the Kimono would make us feel even colder, but it’s not. It’s warm actually even though our neck was exposed. For me personally, wearing Kimono didn’t really suit me. But whatever, I just had this one photo looking quite okay. What do you think?

Then we ate around Gion Tanto for Ramen Muraji. Mom had Lemon Ramen which is quite famous. This restaurant had trip advisor recommendation. I had Tsukemen for the first time and the noodle is a bit hard. But combines perfectly with the hot broth.

Afterwards, we went to Kiyomizudera. It was a long walk uphill but it's very pretty. We get the sunset and the fall foliage of the red tree around there. Although the main hall is under construction until 2020, Kiyomizudera is still one of the places you should visit when you came to Kyoto. 

We also tried the Otowa Waterfall which is famous for its three stream lines. Its waters are divided into three separate streams, and visitors use cups attached to long poles to drink from them. Each stream's water is said to have a different benefit, namely to cause longevity, success at school and a fortunate love life. However, drinking from all three streams is considered greedy.

The weather got colder at night, so after several shops closed, we went back to  our hotel near Kujo Station by taking bus from Kiyomizu-michi Bus Stop (230 yen/one way) and went to Don Quijote store at Kyoto Avanti. It’s a huge store with so many products and souvenirs to bring back to your home country. I bought few snacks on me as well. Afterwards, we went to Family Mart to buy some food to eat. The food from Family Mart is delicious as well. At night we talked that tomorrow we should wake up early because the train to Takayama will depart at 8.43am from Nagoya Station. 

However, we noticed we haven’t gone to Fushimi Inari Taisha, the famous tori gate in Kyoto and that’s a MUST go place in Kyoto. So, we decided to wake up early at 6am to visit Fushimi Inari and be back to hotel around 9am. I checked the train schedule to Nagoya will leave at 10.32am from Kyoto Statio and reach Nagoya Station at 11.25am in morning. And if we want to go to Takayama, we just need to take the 11.43am limited express train to Takayama. 

So, everything settled. The original plan is to take early train to Takayama. Possibly reached there at 11.00am and just go straight to Shirakawago. But as we saw the weather is cloudy, it’s possible that we might not get a good view. Besides, I wanted to visit Shin Hotaka Ropeway as well (90 minutes bus ride from Takayama Station). It is famous for its double decker cable car and the 360 degree view of Mt. Hotaka. Besides, if you are lucky, you will get to see Snowman on the top of Mt. Hotaka. This ride is more famous to the locals there, and not so many people know about it. 

But this ride requires perfect or fine weather at least. Thus, it’s quite hard to predict the weather and I wish we could go there again the next time.