So, finally... here is the Prelude of my 3rd adventure to Japan. As with my previous Prelude blogs, here I'll talk about the plane rides, hotels, some preparations, and my itinerary.
I didn't mean to put off my Japan blogs for so long. It's just that whenever I think about Japan, I get happy and then I just want to be back there... haha. *sigh* It's bittersweet. Even after a 3rd trip it's not enough.
For this trip, I actually wasn't sure when I would go. I mean, I knew I was going to Japan this year (I saved up enough), but I didn't know which month. Then in late February, my sister told me that she and her hubby were planning to go to Japan. I immediately jumped on it and made sure my trip dates lined up with theirs. I was even lucky enough to buy plane tickets with seats right next to theirs -- both ways. I thought -- yayyy, company! I won't be going [to Japan] by myself this time!
Now, even though we went to Japan together, our itinerary didn't always match up. Sometimes we'd do our own separate things which was fine. I know there are certain places where I could spend hours in and wouldn't want to hold anybody up.
We mainly stuck around Shinjuku / Tokyo, similar to our first trip. We re-visited a lot of places, but we also explored some new ones, as you'll see in later blogs.
Below are links to my previous trips to Japan if you would like to check them out.
2016 trip
-Prelude
-Part 1: Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya
-Part 2: Laguna Ten Bosch
-Part 3: Akihabara, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku
-Part 4: Roppongi, Harajuku, Saitama, Tokyo
-Japan Eats (all the food I ate while there)
-Random Thoughts + Swag / Purchases
2014 trip
-Prelude
-Part 1: Asakusa, Meguro, Odaiba
-Part 2: Akihabara, Ikebukuro
-Part 3: Shibuya, Shinjuku
-Japan Eats (all the food I ate while there)
-Random Thoughts + Swag / Purchases
-Extra: Some of My Karaokings
PRE-TRIP PREPARATIONS
Before the flight to Japan, there were some things I had to do. I mentioned a couple of these in earlier blogs:
1. Rent a pocket WiFi. As I've said before in earlier blogs, a pocket WiFi is really useful to have if you want reliable internet access. Since my sister, her hubby, and I would do our own things some of the days, we rented two pocket WiFis. This time I made sure to rent the pocket WiFi for all days of my trip, even the last day.
Since we were landing in Haneda airport instead of Narita, I had the pocket WiFi shipped to the hotel for pickup instead of the airport. The process was very smooth.
If anybody's curious, this is where I rent my pocket WiFi (hopefully the site will still be functional years from now):
https://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/.
2. Book my hotel. I think at this point I am pretty much a pro at booking my hotel for Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku (the same hotel I've stayed at for the past three trips).
3. Purchase tickets to the Ghibli Museum. So this was a little challenging. For somebody visiting Japan, there used to be only one way to get tickets to the Ghibli Museum and that was through certain ticket agencies before leaving for Japan. And you had to purchase up to four months before your actual trip. And only a limited number of tickets would be available for purchase. So unless you planned early or you are lucky to have friends in Japan who can book and hold the tickets for you until you arrive, the chances of buying a ticket for one of your trip days would be slim.
Thankfully, there is now an online option of ordering the tickets, but even then... you have to act fast.
With online ordering, tickets go on sale at 10 AM JST on the 10th of every month for the next month. This means if your trip falls between, say June 15 to June 28, you have to order the ticket on or soon after 10 AM JST on May 10th (May 10th in Japan). I say this because tickets can go pretty fast. From my experience this year, tickets for May (the month we went to Japan) were sold out in less than 24 hours.
In order to make the ticket ordering process smoother, make sure to have these pieces of info nearby for the person ordering the ticket(s):
-Passport info
-Address while in Japan + phone number
-Credit card info (you can only purchase tickets online with a credit card)
PLANE RIDES
This time I took direct flights -- no stressful layovers. Thankfully the flights were uneventful and I was able to watch tons of movies both ways.
THE HOTELS
So I stayed in my usual hotel while my sister and her hubby stayed in a different one.
Hotel Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku
Hotel Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku still continues to be my recommended hotel for Shinjuku. It's just so convenient, and the employees there are nice and courteous.
E-Hotel
Even though I didn't stay in this hotel, I can give my brief impression based on visiting my sister and her hubby's hotel room. We found out later that unregistered guests (i.e. me) weren't allowed up there... woops.
In any case, based on what I saw and what my sister and her hubby said, I wouldn't really recommend this hotel. They stayed in a double bedroom, but it was more cramped than my single bedroom at Sunroute. Also, the faucet is a swivel faucet, meaning that the faucet can act as a faucet for the sink OR as a faucet for the tub... but NOT as both at the same time. It... kinda sounds strange for a room that should hold two guests.
The only good point I could give it is its mini-refrigerator: it's better than Sunroute's mini-refrigerator.
LANDING IN HANEDA AIRPORT INSTEAD OF NARITA
One big difference from my previous trips to Japan was the airport. We landed in Haneda airport instead of Narita. That meant we had to look up how to get to Tokyo instead of our usual step of taking the Narita Express.
I have to say... Haneda airport seems larger than Narita and the immigration process + luggage pickup went much faster. Also I think the commuting time to Shinjuku was quicker than from Narita. I wouldn't mind landing in Haneda for my next trips.
Here are a few photos that I took after landing in Japan:
Just to remind us that we are in Japan!
A huge Rilakkuma. He looks so relaxed.
My hotel room. It's pretty small... but enough room for me.
Just like with my trip last time, I only brought one luggage instead of two
(I brought two on my first trip to Japan).
So below is an itinerary of my whole trip. This section is more for me to keep track of my days, so it may not be interesting to you. It does give you a peek at all the places and things I experienced, though. I should note that even though Breakfast isn't mentioned for some of the days, I'm pretty sure I had breakfast, considering all the time I had after waking up.
SUMMARY OF EACH DAY *ALL TIMES MENTIONED ARE APPROXIMATIONS*
DAY 1: SUN. MAY 6 / MON. MAY 7, 2018 (SUNNY-CLOUDY)
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM -- Reached Union Station
9:30 AM - 9:50 AM -- UP Express to Pearson Airport
9:50 AM - 10:20 AM -- Checked in got my boarding pass + checked by bag
1:40 PM - 3:35 AM (4:35 PM Japan time zone -- Mon. May 7) -- Flight to Haneda, Japan
4:35 PM - 5:50 PM -- Immigration line + Bag pick up + Picked up pocket WiFi
6:00 PM - 7:20 PM -- Transit to Higashi-Shinjuku station
7:23 PM - 7:45 PM -- Checking into the hotel + dropping my luggage
7:45 PM - 8:05 PM -- Dinner from 7-11
10:35 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 2: TUES. MAY 8, 2018 (CLOUDY-RAINY; 15 degrees Celsius)
2:45 AM -- Woke up
8:00 AM -- Breakfast -- Calorie Mate (Chocolate)
10:15 AM - 10:37 AM -- Transit to Shibuya
10:37 AM - 11:20 AM -- Roaming
11:20 AM - 12:10 PM -- Lunch at Matsuya
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM -- Karaoke at Karaoke-kan
1:15 PM - 2:25 PM -- Book-Off
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM -- Krispy Kreme
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM -- The Loft
4:37 PM - 5:00 PM -- Back to the hotel
6:30 PM - 7:00 PM -- Dinner from Circle K
9:05 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 3: WED. MAY 9, 2018 (CLOUDY-RAINY; 14 degrees Celsius)
5:00 AM -- Woke up
6:30 AM -- Breakfast -- Curry Cup Noodles
10:15 AM - 11:15 AM -- Transit to Mitaka station
11:15 AM - 11:38 AM -- Bus to Ghibli Museum
11:45 AM - 3:10 PM -- Ghibli Museum
3:10 PM - 3:30 PM -- Bus to Mitaka station
3:30 PM - 3:45 PM -- Transit to Nakano station
3:45 PM - 5:35 PM -- Nakano Broadway
6:00 PM - 6:05 PM -- Transit to Shinjuku JR
6:05 PM - 6:35 PM -- Shinjuku Post Office
6:35 PM - 7:00 PM -- Walk back to the hotel
7:15 PM -- Dinner from Coco Curry House
1:35 AM -- CRASHED
DAY 4: THURS. MAY 10, 2018 (RAINY-SUNNY; 16 degrees Celsius)
5:00 AM -- Woke up
7:00 AM -- Breakfast -- Crab-shaped bread x2 + Calorie Mate (Chocolate)
11:00 AM - 12:07 PM -- Transit to Daiba station
12:07 PM - 12:45 AM -- Diver City
1:00 PM - 1:05 PM -- Gundam transformation
1:05 PM - 2:30 PM -- Lunch at Diver City Food Court
2:30 PM - 2:40 PM -- WEGO
2:40 PM - 5:00 PM -- Daiso 100-yen shop
5:00 PM - 5:45 PM -- Looking for the Takoyaki Museum
6:00 PM - 6:30 PM -- Witnessing Junco singing
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM -- Dinner at Diver City Food Court
8:00 PM - 8:05 PM -- Gundam Light Show
8:30 PM - 9:23 PM -- Transit to Higashi-Shinjuku station
9:23 PM - 9:30 PM -- 7-11 shopping
9:30 PM - 9:35 PM-- Back to the hotel
11:45 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 5: FRI. MAY 11, 2018 (SUNNY; 22 degrees Celsius) **Not feeling well today**
4:15 AM -- Woke up
8:00 AM -- Breakfast -- Onigiri x2 + Melon Bread
8:30 AM - 12:30 PM -- Lounging around in the hotel
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM -- Lunch
1:30 PM - 4:45 PM -- Nap
4:45 PM - 7:00 PM -- Lounging around in the hotel
7:00 PM - 7:10 PM -- 7-11 shopping
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM -- Watching Music Station TV show
9:00 PM -- Dinner from 7-11
1:30 AM -- CRASHED
DAY 6: SAT. MAY 12, 2018 (SUNNY; 25 degrees Celsius)
5:00 AM -- Woke up
7:30 AM -- Breakfast
8:50 AM - 9:46 AM -- Transit to Koshigaya-Laketown
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM -- Maruetsu
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM -- Lunch at Capcom Cafe + shopping at Capcom Cafe
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM -- Tower Records
2:25 PM - 3:39 PM -- Back to the hotel
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM -- Dinner at McDonald's
6:30 PM - 7:00 PM -- Artnia gift shop
7:00 PM - 7:20 PM -- Maruetsu
7:20 PM - 7:30 PM -- Back to the hotel
12:30 AM -- CRASHED
DAY 7: SUN. MAY 13, 2018 (CLOUDY-RAINY; 21 degree Celsius)
5:00 AM -- Woke up
8:10 AM - 8:30 AM -- Walk to Shinjuku
8:30 AM - 8:45 PM -- Don Quijote
8:45 AM - 9:10 AM -- Walk to Shinjuku Post Office
9:10 AM - 9:15 AM -- Shinjuku Post Office
9:15 AM - 10:00 AM -- Walk back to the hotel
11:02 AM - 11:11 AM -- Transit to Ikebukuro station
11:11 AM - 12:00 PM -- Arcade
12:25 PM - 1:00 PM -- Animate
1:20 PM - 3:40 PM -- Namco Namja Town
3:40 PM - 4:40 PM -- Pokemon Center
4:40 PM - 4:50 PM -- Daiso
5:07 PM - 5:16 PM -- Back to the hotel
7:15 PM -- Fell on my butt in the hotel while getting dressed *sniffle* ;____;
7:30 PM -- Dinner at Royal Host
10:00 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 8: MON. MAY 14, 2018 (SUNNY; 29 degrees Celsius)
4:40 AM -- Woke up
10:30 AM - 10:50 AM -- Walk to the post office to grab packing slips
10:50 AM - 11:10 AM -- Walk to the hotel
11:11 AM - 12:30 PM -- Transit to Daiba
12:45 PM - 1:30 PM -- Lunch at Takoyaki Museum + Takoyaki gift shop
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM -- Shooting gallery + Daiso
2:30 PM - 3:45 PM -- Arcade
4:10 PM - 5:15 PM -- Back to the hotel
7:36 PM - 8:30 PM -- Dinner at KFC
8:30 PM - 8:45 PM -- Back to the hotel
10:45 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 9: TUES. MAY 15, 2018 (SUNNY; 28 degrees Celsius)
5:55 AM -- Woke up
7:20 AM - 7:45 AM -- 7-11 shopping
7:45 AM -- Breakfast -- Onigiri x2
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM -- Sending out packages at the post office
10:28 AM - 10:58 AM -- Transit to Akihabara station
10:58 AM - 1:30 PM -- Exploring Akihabara
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM -- Lunch at Eorzea Cafe
4:30 PM - 4:55 PM -- Transit to Higashi-Shinjuku station
5:00 PM - 5:15 PM -- Maruetsu
5:15 PM - 5:30 PM -- Back to the hotel
8:00 PM -- Dinner from 7-11
11:30 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 10: WED. MAY 16, 2018 (SUNNY; 29 degrees Celsius)
6:15 AM -- Woke up
8:00 AM -- Breakfast
9:14 AM - 9:35 AM -- Transit the Jimbocho station
9:35 AM - 10:00 AM -- Roaming around Jimbocho
10:13 AM - 10:18 AM -- Transit to Iwamotocho station
10:18 AM - 10:28 AM -- Walk to Akihabara
10:28 AM - 11:00 AM -- Book-Off!
11:12 AM - 11:54 AM -- Back to the hotel
12:25 PM - 12:50 PM -- Transit to Akabanebashi station
1:00 PM - 6:30 PM -- One Piece Tokyo Tower + Mugiwara gift shop
6:30 PM - 7:22 PM -- Dinner at Cafe Mugiwara
7:37 PM - 8:05 PM -- Back to the hotel
11:15 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 11: THURS. MAY 17, 2018 (SUNNY; 28 degrees Celsius)
5:10 AM -- Woke up
9:00 AM -- Breakfast
10:18 AM - 10:28 AM -- Transit to Shibuya
11:22 AM - 2:22 PM -- Karaoke
3:10 PM - 3:13 PM -- Transit to Harajuku station
3:30 PM - 3:55 PM -- Calbee+
4:05 PM - 4:30 PM -- Back to the hotel
6:45 PM - 7:45 PM -- Dinner at Matsuya
7:45 PM - 7:55 PM -- Back to the hotel
10:30 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 12: FRI. MAY 18, 2018 (SUNNY-CLOUDY; 27 degrees Celsius)
5:30 AM -- Woke up
9:20 AM - 9:35 AM -- Sending out another package at the post office
10:38 AM - 11:01 AM -- Transit to Akabanebashi station
11:10 AM - 2:20 PM -- One Piece Tokyo Tower... again!
2:20 PM - 3:15 PM -- Lunch at Cafe Mugiwara
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM -- Mugiwara gift shop
4:48 PM - 5:00 PM -- Back to the hotel
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM -- Dinner at Matsuya
8:00 PM - 8:10 PM -- Back to the hotel
11:30 PM -- CRASHED
DAY 13: SAT. MAY 19, 2018 (CLOUDY; 26 degrees Celsius)
6:30 AM -- Woke up
7:30 AM - 7:45 AM -- 7-11 shopping
9:10 AM -- Mailed back the pocket WiFi *sniffle* ;__;
10:00 AM -- Checked out of the hotel
10:40 AM - 11:49 AM -- Transit to Haneda Airport
12:45 PM - 1:20 PM -- Lunch at Mos Cafe
2:50 PM - 3:20 PM -- Check-in luggage + security
3:20 PM - 4:20 PM -- Shopping in the airport
5:00 PM -- Boarded the plane
5:40 PM - 6:00 AM (5:00 PM same day Toronto time zone) -- Flight to Toronto
5:00 PM - 5:45 PM -- Customs + Baggage pick-up
6:00 PM - 6:30 PM -- UP Express to Union station
6:30 PM - 7:15 PM -- Transit back home... wahhhhhhhhh T________T
If you've read this far, thanks for reading!! :)
I hope I can get the next blog out soon-ish but with everything that's happening these days (work... phone games... work...), I'm not sure when that will be.
Till next time. Take care!
