#iGAclaventure in Tokyo

January 3-9, 2016: We had our first ever trip together and honeymoon in Tokyo, Japan. This was my dream and we were blessed to receive this as one of our wedding gifts. 

We've taken hundreds of photos but I won't be bombarding you with countless selfies and blurry photos.

Japan Visa

As a Filipino passport holder, we need a visa to enter Japan and it is free of charge. Neo and I applied in Consulate General of Japan sometime in November and got the visa approved after 3 days.

More info here: http://www.dubai.uae.emb-japan.go.jp/visa_e/visa_e.html

Consulate General of Japan

28th Floor, Dubai World Trade Centre

P.O. Box: 9336, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Opening Hours:

Consular services for Japanese citizens: 9:00 am - 13:30 pm

Visa application: 9:00 am - 12:00 noon

Visa collection: 12:00 noon - 13:30 pm

(Except on Fridays, Saturdays and other holidays)

Air Tickets 

We bought our tickets in June 2015 and got a big discounts. Cebu Pacific (NAIA Terminal 3 to Narita Airport) was around AED2,696 for two pax. You may start saving up or earning some airlines points or keep an alert out for seat sales. Paying for the air tickets will probably be the most expensive part of anyone’s trip.

Taking a cab to reach our hotel was not an option. Instead, we hopped on the Keisei Skyliner for AED32 (per person/one way) which took us 78mins to reach Ueno station.

Day 1: arrival ... first train ride

Hotel 

Stayed in the 3-star Hotel Sardonyx Ueno (8.1 rating by Booking.com) and is conveniently situated close to a number of stations servicing a variety of different lines (From JR Okachimachi, JR Ueno Station and the Ginza, Hibiya, and Oedo Lines) and providing easy access to a some sightseeing locations too.

It is a 5-minute walk from Keisei Ueno Train Station, which has a direct high-speed train connection to Narita Airport.

Taito City in Ueno

We had a cute little room with a double-ish bed, desk and decent-sized bathroom in our Standard Room. 6 days in this hotel is AED1,950. Cheap, right?

(Pic from Google)

Since Neo loves to eat breakfast, I have booked with complimentary Western-style breakfast during our 6-day stay.

Ah, honeymoon in January!!! The cold temps and oh-so-short days were enough to make us want to pull the covers over ours head, hug each other and hibernate.

Though we were both sick and under medication (cough capsules and antibiotics) when we arrived in Tokyo, we had layered up, fortunately we won and we managed to feel better after few days.

I could say that Winter (December – March) is a beautiful time to visit Japan.

Itinerary

We self-planned our entire trip by searching on the internet, YouTube, blog posts and recommendations from dear friends. Not everything was followed in our itinerary as planned but we never regret anything.

We were supposed to ride the Skybus Tour (view here) but we opted to just explore the city on our own. 
1 Day Pass (24 hour) - Adult￥2,500 (and we saved AED82)

On our first day, we decided to sleep. Haha! We were awake the whole night before we left Pinas - from Pangasinan (where we spent the New Year's) we arrived in our condo in Ortigas at 11pm, packed our stuff and left the condo again at 230am. Our flight was at 540am.

When we woke up, we had dinner (finally, pictures!)

 

First time to try the Ramen Vending Machine

Japanese Condiments

We have tried the vending machine ramen almost everyday and I personally love it. Although we sometimes struggle which one to order. Daming choices! The process of ordering food via vending machines in the restaurants is very common in Japan. Many ramen, soba and udon restaurants here often have vending machines where you have to buy tickets before taking seats.

• Go to the vending machine, slot in coins and press the button. Ka-ching!
• The machine will spit out your ticket and your change
• Hand your ticket to your server .
• Cook serves food within 5 minutes (food will be cooked in front of you!)
• Then…Eat!

All the ramen tastes fantastic! We didn’t have a bad bowl our entire trip.

The next day, we explored the West Tokyo: Hamamatsucho station • Tokyo Tower • Imperial Palace • Shibuya • Omotesando • Harajuku • Shinjuku

A one-day trip through Tokyo on the Yamanote line, which is the main transportation artery of the city.

Yamanote Line

 Somehow, we got lost on how to use the JR Pass and subways.

Transportation Network

1^st stop was in Tokyo Tower.

Ticket cost: 900Yen / 30AED

We didn't go inside :) this is just a photo op!

Then walked for 30 minutes from Tokyo Station to Imperial Palace

Behind us is the Main Gate Stone Bridge

 Then had lunch inside the Tokyo Station.

Our lunch - sorry we don't know the name... We just made turo-turo what we like hehe!

Our lunch - sorry we don't know the name... We just made turo-turo what we like hehe!

Next stop was in Shibuya to meet Hachiko

Hachiko Statue is a famous statue of a dog who possessed legendary loyalty to his owner. Hachiko Statue has become a popular tourist attraction and meeting place.

Experienced the Shibuya Crossing

Organized Chaos

The Scramble. We took a walk across the famous intersection outside Shibuya station. The surrounding area is packed. Action in all directions. When the lights turn red at this busy junction, they all turn red at the same time in every direction. Traffic stops completely and pedestrians surge into the intersection from all sides, like marbles spilling out of a box. 

Shibuya - Shopping Shibuya stores like 109 and ShinQs

Harajuku refers to the area around Tokyo's Harajuku Station, which is between Shinjuku and Shibuya on the Yamanote Line.

Omotesando - the street is lined with planted trees on both sides and refined brands, they said it is referred to as Tokyo's Champs-Elysees

Takeshita Dori Street - stores containing miscellaneous character, fashion boutiques, crepes stands and cosplay. It extremely busy and crowded. Here you will also find one of the largest 100 Yen Shops in central Tokyo – Daiso!

crepes!

We ended our day with the breathtaking view of Shinjuku for free at the observation decks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Love technology and gadgets? Highly recommended to visit the best hi-tech attractions on the ultimate geek's adventure in Tokyo - the heaven of techies - Akihabara

We had a long itinerary on our 3rd day but only ended up in this area lined with shops offering electrical equipment and an abundance of everything from popular characters, Manga, technology, anime, etc. from samples of new products and products of the past.

And my Hubster? He was so amazed, in awe, speechless, spent almost 2 hours in one store and ended up giggling!

He is a happy man unleashing his inner nerd. This is his favorite place in Japan.

Disneyland na para kay Neo!

When I was researching for the best place to eat, I found this themed cafe called MaiDreamin.

Usually the cafes have a smoking and non-smoking section, but this one is all smoking unfortunately so we had to put up with a little bit of smoke while having our coffee. It charges a ¥500 cover charge (per hour) for each guest.

 Our maid is cute and even writes our name in Japanese characters.

And on our 4th day, we experienced the enchantment of our fairy tale honeymoon-come-true at the Disneyland - provides us memories to last a lifetime.

Sunglasses vs Ears

Mickey Waffle

The next day, we had short stroll  to one of Tokyo's famous markets, Ameyokocho in Ueno, which is just behind our hotel! They sold everything like cheap shoes, fresh seafood, nuts, souvenirs, convenient store, pharmacies and clothes. It is full of smaller shops which is a good place to shop for cheap Kit Kats.

We visited Asakusa - an old townscape and atmosphere with old-established shops.

Nakamise Shopping street

Sensoji temple- the oldest temple in Tokyo. 

 

Akihabara how we missed it. We missed it that much that we decided to come back after 2 days! The place was crazy, completely filled with lights everywhere you look! You must visit Akihabara at night time. Only when you visit at night can you truly get the full experience of Electric City.

*DROOLS* we tried Okinomiyaki, love it!!!

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked". Wikipedia

For dinner, we had the Sushi Go-Round Restaurant - where the plates with the sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt where we can simply pick their selections from a steady stream of fresh sushi moving along the conveyor belt.

The final bill is based on the number and type of plates of the consumed sushi.

 

Neo and I had no idea how much we would fall in love with Tokyo. We know you will too! I would recommend booking a week in Tokyo and taking your time if you can.