[samtcy] Consolidated 2 Japan trips (Kansai + One Piece exhibition + Tokyo + Nagano)

[samtcy]

555) Souvenirs we bought from this trip.


556) From Pokemon shop at Yokohama. Biscuits, Chocolates, and pancake maker.


557) From Disneysea.


558) One Piece stuffs. From Matsumoto 7-11, and One Piece shop in Shibuya.


559) One Piece rechargeable batteries. 980yen per pack. From Yodobashi Camera at Shinjuku.


---End of Trip 2---

Coming up, Trip 3 (Mar 2013) Tokyo

 

[samtcy]

Trip 3 (Mar 2013) Day 1 Singapore to Tokyo

This trip was made possible due to my winning a Japan photo contest which provided me with a 4 day trip to Tokyo (and Aizu Wakamatsu), and I chose to extend a further 8 more days on my own for this trip.

Day 1 brief schedule:
2355 (13/3) - 0720 (14/3): Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Tokyo.
0845 - about 1045: Narita Express (N'EX) train from Narita Airport to Shinjuku station
1150 - 1330: Took a stroll around Shinjuku Gyoen
1410: Check-in hotel (Keio Plaza Hotel at Shinjuku, Tokyo), bought lunch back to room to eat, then fell asleep while watching TV
1910: Woke up, went out to buy some dinner back to the room.

Expenditures:
200yen Shinjuku Gyoen admission ticket
298yen A packet of 3 face masks, just in case the smog returns again
1262yen Groceries from convenience store (2 Van Houten Cocoa drink @ 116yen each, 1 Pudding @ 110yen, Katsudon @ 450yen, Koala Choc biscuits @ 105yen, Potato chips @ 113yen, Bottle of mineral water @ 105yen, Bottle of Pocari Sweat @ 147yen)
398yen Fried Rice from convenience store.

My flight from Singapore to Tokyo was originally supposed to be a JAL flight departing nearly 2am on 14/3 from Singapore. However, during the evening on 13/3, I happened to be checking the status of the flight on the Changi Airport website online and found out that my JAL flight was cancelled due to strong wind at Tokyo. And thus start a mad panic for me since I have yet to encounter flight cancellation before. I then went to the JAL website to double check my JAL flight's status, and yeah, it was indeed cancelled.

My next course of action is to try to contact the JAL office, but it took me nearly 40 mins (2 calls) before my call was finally connected to a JAL staff. She was then able to put me on a SQ (Singapore Airlines) flight which departs at 11pm + on 13/3...which is about 2hrs EARLIER than my original JAL flight.
At that time, I had mixed feelings, on one hand I was happy to be able to get a flight to Tokyo without causing delays to my itinerary, however my problem was that I have yet to finish packing my luggage and I will have to bring my luggage to take the train from my home on the western end of Singapore to Changi Airport on the eastern end of Singapore during peak hour!

So, I just stuffed my clothes and other items into my luggage, managed to zip the bag, barely able to wait for the hubby to return home from work to say bye to him, and off I dashed out of the house.

Anyway, I finally managed to arrive at the airport...where I had to first go to Terminal 1 to collect some sort of document from the JAL counter, and then go to Terminal 3 for check in at the SQ counter. After finally managed to complete my check in procedures, I was then able to breathe more freely and sit down and eat a late dinner.

The flight was nice and comfy since I got a seat on 1 of the front rows in economy class so I had lots of leg room. It was halfway through the flight then I realised that the plane is actually an A380! There were ALOT of shows on the in-flight entertainment, I think I watched Running Man, Restoration King, Deadliest Catch, and some other variety shows...the flight time passed by quickly and I didn't sleep at all (which explains why I slept so much later that day)

560) Watching Running Man onboard the SQ flight from Singapore to Tokyo Narita. There were so many shows on the inflight entertainment system that the 6 and half hours went by so quickly.


561) Supper onboard the flight


562) Breakfast onboard the flight


563) Arrival at Narita airport. Gloomy, rainy day. I was met by my interpreter at the airport, and we took the Narita Express train together to my hotel at Shinjuku.


564) After depositing my luggage at the hotel (and saying goodbye to my interpreter since she had to return to office), I took a short 30mins stroll to arrive at Shinjuku Gyoen, hoping that I can catch some early Sakura bloomers.

 

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Was pleasantly surprised to find a few Sakura trees already blooming nicely.
By the way, it was 14 March on this day when I visited Shinjuku Gyoen. Tokyo's sakura season started 2 weeks earlier than its usual this year, so I was extremely lucky to be able to catch lots of sakura viewing on this trip.

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572) Petals on the ground


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579) My room at Shinjuku Keio Plaza Hotel for my first 3 nights in Tokyo.


580) Coffee maker in the room


581) Audio player in the room


582) Vanity table in the room


583) View from my room window on the 38th floor of Keio Plaza Hotel

 

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584) Looking down


585) My first meal in Japan for this trip...Katsudon from a convenience store. 450yen.


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587) Dozed off while watching some sort of math learning channel on the tv

 

[samtcy]

Trip 3 (Mar 2013) Day 2 Commendation Ceremony at Saitama

Brief itinerary for this day:
0345: Woke up, since I slept too much the day before. sigh...
0500: Buffet breakfast at hotel
1130: Meet at hotel lobby
1200-1300: Bus ride from our hotel at Shinjuku Tokyo to Saitama
1400-1430: Rehearsal
1500-1630: Commendation Ceremony
1630-1730: Rest, and short tour of the facility
1730-1930: Bus ride from Saitama back to Tokyo (traffic jam)
2015-2300: Dinner with Japan Tourism Agency and the other award winners

Expenditures:
0 yen, since meals and transport was already provided for.


Today's the day of the Commendation Ceremony, held at the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel at Saitama.

I woke up at way too early at 0345am and couldn't go back to sleep since I slept too much the day before.
So I watched some TV on the home shopping channel while waiting for 5am to arrive so that I can go down and have breakfast.

Finally was able to eat at 5am, think I had some rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki (sweet egg omelette), french fries, fried noodles, and coffee. Then I went back to the room to watch more home shopping programmes (tried to learn how to cook king crab) and also weather forecast programmes.

We gathered at the hotel lobby at 11:30am so that we can all proceed to take a chartered bus to Saitama together. The journey took about 1hr 30mins.

Didn't really took much photos on this day since it was a blur of events and was also busy chatting with other fellow award winners and our interpreters.

588) The Commendation Ceremony is being held at the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel at Saitama.


589) Mascots


590) Some VIPs, and us award winners in a group photo after the event. Way too many media people at the event, dunno which camera to look at. So we just generally did a "look to the left", "look to the center" and "look to the right" shots. Haha. (this photo not taken by me)


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592) Lovely sunset by the time we were boarding the bus at Saitama to head back to Tokyo

 

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593) We were invited to dinner at this restaurant near our hotel at Shinjuku where we can try fishing within the restaurant itself.


594) Out of all of us, only the prize winner from Vietnam managed to catch a fish (he even did it within just 10mins!). We all shared his fish for dinner. Heh.


595) Interesting looking salad dish


596) Cheese croquettes


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[samtcy]

Trip 3 (Mar 2013) Day 3 Daytrip to Aizu Wakamatsu


Brief Itinerary for this day:
-5am woke up
-7am gathered at the hotel lobby
-about 7:20am took train from Shinjuku station to Tokyo station
- 0808-0929am took Shinkansen from Tokyo to Koriyama
- 0945-1057am took local train from Koriyama to Aizu Wakamatsu station.
-kinda lost track of time for the rest of the day since was busy enjoying myself...apologies.
-Tea Ceremony
-Lunch
-Spent 1hr to dress up in Kimono outfit at Tsuruga castle
-Watched Samurai swordsplay performance
-Visited Tsuruga Castle
-Sake Tasting at a Sake factory
- 1800-2200 took train from Aizu Wakamatsu to Koriyama, then Shinkansen from Koriyama to Tokyo, then taxi from Tokyo station back to my hotel at Shinjuku.

My expenditures:
- 2625yen Souvenirs at Tsuruga castle
- 420yen Wooden sake cup at the sake factory
- 120yen Potato chips to tide me through the long train ride back to Tokyo
- 760yen Chicken cutlet with rice and gyoza bento set from convenience store for supper


Part of my prize from the photo contest was a day trip to Aizu Wakamatsu (Fukushima). It was an enjoyable activity packed day which consists of Shinkansen ride out of Tokyo, Tea Ceremony, lovely lunch, being dressed up in Kimono when visiting Tsuruga Castle, watched Swordplay performance, and visited a Sake factory for wine tasting.

Aizu Wakamatsu is a charming town located on the western part of Fukushima prefecture near Niigata prefecture (fyi, the Daiichi nuclear plant is located more than 100km away, on the extreme eastern part of Fukushima prefecture near the coast).

598) Having Tonkansu Sandwich ekiben (bento for train rides) onboard the Shinkansen from Tokyo towards Tohoku region.


599) Switched over to a local train to get to Aizu Wakamatsu


600) Scenery onboard the train ride to Aizu Wakamatsu.
It's still winter season since there's still snow...


601) Snow...


602) Aizu Wakamatsu is somewhere behind the mountains

 

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603) Train arriving at Aizu Wakamatsu station


604) Taking London cab in Japan. hehe.


605) Tea Ceremony


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607) Had the tea ceremony in that little building

 

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608) Lunch time


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610) Sauce Katsudon, with Udon, and Konnyaku noodles.


611) After lunch, we headed for Tsuruga castle...where I spent the next 1hr being dressed up in a kimono.

 

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612) Watching a Samurai swordplay performance at Tsuruga castle grounds


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615) He sliced it


616) Tsuruga castle

 

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617) View from the top of the castle


618) Pictorial narration performance at Tsuruga castle.


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620) Some souvenirs sold at the castle

 

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621) Sake tasting at a saka factory.


622) Sake are made from these rice grains.


623) Personalized sake bottle


624) It was around 10:30pm by the time I arrived back at my hotel in Shinjuku. Headed out to buy a large bento from convenience store.

 

[samtcy]

Trip 3 (Mar 2013) Day 4 Kawasaki

Brief itinerary:
1100: Check out of Keio Plaza Hotel at Shinjuku, and say goodbye to other fellow prize winners and our interpreters. Will be travelling alone from this point onwards.
1200-1235: Taking local train from Shinjuku to Kawasaki (transfer at Shinagawa) (380yen)
1235-1240: Deposit luggage in bag locker at Kawasaki station (small hand carry bag only, since my large luggage was already forwarded to my Day 6's hotel via luggage courier services)
1240-1300: Quick lunch at small food court at Kawasaki station (380yen)
1305-1310: Take train from Keikyu Kawasaki station to Kawasaki Daishi station (130yen)
1310-1320: Walk from Kawasaki Daishi station to Kawasaki Daishi temple
1320-1430: Explore Kawasaki Daishi
1435-1440: Take train from Kawasaki Daishi station to Keikyu Kawasaki station (130yen)
1445-1500: Went to a Yodobashi Camera store near Keikyu Kawasaki station
1505-1600: Went to a Tokyu Hands store near Kawasaki station
1610-1700: Early dinner at Kani Doraku King Crab restaurant (2100yen)
1705-1745: Went to another Yodobashi Camera store near Kawasaki station
1800-1805: Picked up bag from locker, then took train from Kawasaki station to Tsurumi station. (150yen)
1820: Checked in APA Tsurumi Hotel (4500yen per night, total 9000yen for 2 nights)

My expenditures for this day:
- 1370yen: Luggage courier service to transfer my big luggage from hotel at Shinjuku to my Day 6's hotel at Minami Senju. Used a smaller handcarry bag for Day 4 and Day 5's 2 nights stay at Kawasaki.
- 380yen: Train fare from Shinjuku to Kawasaki station
- 300yen: Coin locker for my handcarry bag at Kawasaki station
- 380yen: Lunch at Kawasaki station (Fried rice + Gyoza)
- 130yen: Train fare from Keikyu Kawasaki station to Kawasaki Daishi station
- 370yen: 1 pack of senbei snacks from a shop near Kawasaki Daishi temple
- 500yen: 1 pack of peanut candy from a shop near Kawasaki Daishi temple
- 250yen: 1 cone of chocolate soft serve ice cream from a shop near Kawasaki Daishi temple
- 130yen: Train fare from Kawasaki Daishi station to Keikyu Kawasaki station
- 864yen: 3 pens from Tokyu Hands
- 2100yen: King Crab meal at Kani Doraku (Kani Karaage + rice)
- 1660yen: 2 packs of One Piece rechargeable batteries from Yodobashi Camera
- 160yen: 1 Original Glazed Donut from Krispy Kreme
- 150yen: Train fare from Kawasaki station to Tsurumi station
- 803yen: Snacks from Lawson's convenience store (2 bottled water, 2 cocoa drink, 1 choc snack, 1 pudding)
- 9000yen: 2 nights accommodation at APA Tsurumi hotel (single room with own toilet)

On this morning, we (the 7 of us award winners for the photo contest) checked out of the hotel at Shinjuku and said our goodbyes to each other, as well as our interpreters who have been such a help to us for the 4 days.

Since my bigger luggage is heavy (and I don't want to lug it around since I'm travelling alone for the rest of this trip) so I forwarded the luggage (via luggage courier services) from this hotel at Shinjuku to the hotel at Minami Senju at Tokyo where I will be staying for Day 6 onwards. This service costs me 1370yen. Therefore for my next 2 nights at Kawasaki (Day 4 and Day 5), I will only be carrying a smaller handcarry bag, which is easier for me to handle on my own.

After just a short 35mins train ride from Shinjuku station, I arrived at Kawasaki.

This is also the start of my solo journey for the rest of this trip.

625) Lunch (Fried rice and gyoza) at Kawasaki station (380yen)


626) A short 5mins train ride (130yen) from Keikyu Kawasaki station to reach Kawasaki Daishi station.


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628) Follow this street near Kawasaki Daishi station to get to Kawasaki Daishi Temple


629) Pretty flowers

 

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630) Just walk about 7mins along this street, and then turn right eventually at a junction.


631) Dragonball products sold at a 7-11 store. It was promotional period for the upcoming Dragonball film.


632) Still walking


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634) Turn right at this junction to get to Kawasaki Dashi temple

 

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635) Shops along the street leading up to Kawasaki Dashi


636) Many shops selling candies


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638) Kawasaki Daishi temple


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643) Food stalls at Kawasaki Daishi


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