Hello!
It's been a while. I even changed the template. I got super busy with university deadlines so I didn't have time to write anything. ごめんね！Anyway, I had a quick vote on tumblr a few days ago about what to write about and the winner was a full account of my trip to Tokyo last year with my two wonderful friends, Alice and Josh. I have a bit of time to get writing again now I'm home for Easter, so here it is! It's going to be long and full of pictures.
*All the photographs are mine*
So, a quick outline to the trip.
I was able to join Alice and Josh on their trip to Japan last August, and I was there for a little over two weeks. We stayed in Ikebukuro and travelled around Tokyo, with a day trip out to Hakone before I left. It was so much fun, and I am super excited to be going back this summer (I'll write a post about the work I'll be doing and any preparations I'm making soon).
30.07.2014 - 31.07.2014
We flew out from London Heathrow T2 in the evening of the 30th after having sushi for an early tea in departures. We were flying with All Nippon Airways (ANA) The flight route went up through Scandinavia and back down through eastern Russia, so we were a little ahead of the Sun for a little bit of the journey although it soon caught up. The food provided by the airline was really good, even for plane food. I chose the chicken curry and assorted salads for my evening meal, and I had a Japanese breakfast centred around a simmered sweet potato for breakfast. If anything, it was too much food for me.
We landed in Tokyo Haneda the following afternoon, and the first thing that hit me was how hot it was! We travelled to the hotel via the monorail (which was a little difficult with a load of suitcases) having asked a lady for help with the ticket machine.
My first impressions of Tokyo was that it wasn't as busy or chaotic as I thought it would be. My second impression once we left the train station at Ikebukuro was that it's a very clean place, closely followed by my amazement at how useful it is to divide the crowd waiting to cross the road depending on which direction they want to go. It just makes everything so much easier!
We were staying at the Sakura Hotel in Ikebukuro, which is pleasant enough and not overly expensive. It worked out at about £40 per night for a single room with en-suite. There wasn't much of a view, but I wasn't expecting one. However, when my window was open I did get a lovely breeze which was substantially quieter than running the AC!
In the evening, we met up to explore the area around the hotel. It gets dark early, but the temperature doesn't drop a great deal so we could walk around without coats. We popped into an arcade or two, but mostly just had a look to see what was there and start orienting ourselves in the city.
01.08.2015 - Ikebukuro and Sunshine City
We spent the day wandering around the east side of Ikebukuro and Sunshine City (a glorious shopping complex). We were in Sunshine City a little early, but we did get to see all the shops open at exactly 10am. There are loads of shops and about 90 restaurants, and it's really easy to get lost in there.
We decided to head up to the top of the complex to go to the aquarium. It was busy, but fortunately I'm really tall compared to most people there so I could see over their heads more often than not. There are loads of sea water and fresh water tanks, including octopus, tropical fish, sharks, spider crabs, axolotl, tortoises, lizards, otters, and a sun fish. There is also an outdoor section with seals, penguins, pelicans and live shows.
Afterwards, we went back down to go to Namco Namja Town which is an indoor theme park. There was loads to do and eat, and I would highly recommend the gyoza and ice creams if you ever get the chance to go.
Today was also our first purikura experience! I wish I'd worn a slightly better outfit but I was still unused to the heat, unfortunately. Being quite tall, I was having to crouch for most of the photos, as was Josh. I must admit to be both incredulous and amused by the editing power of these photobooths. I have never looked so pale nor leggy in my life!
02.08.2014 - Ueno, Asakusa and Tokyo Skytree
The first thing we did today was buy a Suica Card so we could use the trains more easily. It cost ¥1500 to buy one, and it could be topped up at all the stations we used.
Ueno station is very pretty, so we had a bit of a wander around before heading out to the zoo.
To get to the zoo, we had to walk through Ueno Park. It was incredibly hot and reached 40C around midday. Despite that, it was really nice to walk through the park in the shade of the trees and listen to the cicadas.
The Zoo isn't the nicest in the world, but there is lots to see including a pair of pandas names Shi-Shi and Ri-Ri. The animals were a little droopy because it was super hot and humid.
There is also a lake in the middle of the zoo. It's a big open space full of lotus flowers, so it was very green and a nice break to get away from the crowds.
Once we were done at the zoo, we hopped back on the train and moved onwards to Asakusa. We didn't stay for very long and it was horrendously busy, but it was great to experience that side of Tokyo as well. We had a wander through the stalls and bought some shaved ice on our way to Sensō-ji Temple (浅草寺).
The final stop for the day was the Tokyo Skytree. We only looked around the shopping centre before heading to the food court. I ended up with a vanilla and cinnamon ice cream with rum-soaked raisins, a biscuit and sponge cake. It tasted like Christmas!
Before leaving, we made sure to pop into the Rilakkuma store. I ended up buying a Korilakkuma plushie for just under ¥2000 which I adore.
03.08.2014 - Harajuku and Shibuya
Harajuku is only about 15 minutes away from Ikebukuro by train. Directly opposite the station in Harajuku is Takeshita Street, which is always incredibly busy but great fun.
After that was all done, I got back on the train for the short ride to Shibuya. It turns out that Shibyua crossing isn't all that bad.
It took me ages to find Grimoire (it is hidden really well and you have to go up stairs and then a lift), but once I did find it I had a great time. It's like walking into a fairy tale. The shop is much smaller than I imagined, but you could quite easily spend hours browsing in there.Whilst I was there, I had a chat with Yukku, who is adorable in every way and speaks very good English (lucky for me).
04.08.2014 - Harajuku and Yoyogi Park
I didn't do a whole lot today really. I decided to have another wander around Harajuku and have a quick look into Yoyogi Park. On the way to the park, I was stopped by a really sweet girl who asked if I could be her model for a practice shoot. She had it written out in a range of languages in a notebook. I would have loved to say yes but unfortunately it was after I'd gone home.
05.08.2014 - Aeon Mall
Aeon Mall is huge and was a train and bus journey from the hotel. I left first, as there wasn't a load that I wanted to look at, but I did find time to go to the Axes Femme shop to buy a really lovely green dress and do purikura with the others.
06.08.2014 - Harajuku and Meiji Jingu
We began our day by walking through the park behind Harajuku Station to go to Meiji Jingu, a shinto shrine. It was incredibly pretty and the leaflets (provided in a range of languages) give a really easy run-through of how to pay your respects at the temizuya (font) and at the main shrine building.
After we were done at the shrine, we headed back into Harajuku and went to Laforet where I bought a AatP bow.
In the evening, Alice and I went to Shibuya. We started in Grimoire Almadel (surprise surprise) where she convinced me to buy a dress.
Afterwards, we went to the Tower Records Cafe where there was a Rilakkuma event going on. We had to queue for a while, but the food was really tasty.
Finally, we went to Shibuya 109 for a quick explore with the view to go back on a different day.
07.08.2015 - Sanrio Puroland
It is the 40th anniversary of Hello Kitty this year, so we went to Sanrio Puroland to see the parades and shows. The entire place is adorable and I had such a great time. Alice and I had our photo taken with Lady Kitty, and we all had lunch together. We were able to keep the bento boxes, so I did and I have used it many times since I've come home! The food was nice, and almost everything has the logo on which is a nice touch. I ended up buying some Hello Kitty ears and wore them all day without a care in the world. I bought a Hello Kitty plushie for my Mum as a souvenir, and she was so happy with it.
08.08.2014 - Imperial Gardens
Because the gardens were closed, we were only out for a while today. Alice and Josh went off to do some Pokemon stuff, and I headed back to Ikebukuro around midday. We met up again in the evening to get take away. I had beef and rice which was all manner of delicious. I need to get better at slicing meat so I can cut it that finely as well.
09.08.2014 - Edo-Tokyo Museum and Akihabara
Josh and I spent the morning at the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku. Entry is ¥600 and the museum is only a short walk from the station. The museum is really spacious on the inside, so it is really easy to see everything. There are loads of really detailed models of the city, as well as a lot of artwork and artefacts from the period. It's definitely worth a look if you get the chance.
We met up with Alice for lunch and headed to Akihabara to have a look around. It looks much more like the Tokyo you would expect, with lots of tall buildings, people and neon.
We had crepes for lunch (Josh had tamagoyaki instead) and took some purikura before I headed back to Ikebukuro via Shibuya.
In the evening, we met up for dinner at the Milky Way Cafe in Ikebukuro. The drinks are so much fun and come in star-shaped glasses! I had a tamagoyaki gratin to eat which fixed my cheese cravings for the rest of the holiday.
The final thing of the day was another batch of purikura!
10.08.2014 - Shibuya
The weather wasn't the best today, although that's what you'd expect when there's a typhoon in the region. Fortunately, it was just a bit rainy for us. Anyways, I didn't do a great deal today. I began by going to the Tower Records Cafe with Alice and Josh again, before going shopping in Shibuya 109.
11.08.2014 - Sweets Paradise
I didn't do much today, but in the evening we went to Sweets Paradise. It's basically an all-you-can-eat cake buffet with additional pasta dishes and ice cream, and perhaps the best place I've ever been to. It was tricky to find the way in (it's a lift that doesn't look like it goes to the right place) but it only costs ¥1530 for 70 minutes of as much cake as you can eat.
After our meal, we went out to an arcade and took even more purikura. It's actually incredibly good fun!
12.08.2014 - Hakone
This is what I had been most looking forwards to throughout the entire planning process and the trip. We began by getting a train to Shinjuku and buying our tickets there. The train to Hakone was super comfortable and it was great to get out of the city for a change. I bought a bento box on the train for ¥1030, which was pretty tasty although some of the pickled stuff is definitely an acquired taste.
We got on a bus outside the station to start the route off. Even though some of the language was beyond me, you could tell the bus driver was an incredibly sassy man. The entire place is beautiful. I can't really put into the words the feelings I had whilst I was there, so I hope you'll be alright with a load of pictures instead.
13.08.2014 - 14.08.2014 - Grimoire Almadel
Unfortunately I was ill these days, though I was able to go to Grimoire Almadel to say goodbye to Hito. We hugged and cried and exchanged contact information. We've kept in touch ever since, and I am so happy to call her my friend. She is wonderful, and made my holiday extra special.
15.08.2014 - Cupnoodles Museum
We headed out to Yokohama to go the the Cupnoodles Museum today, and had to queue for a while to get in. By the time we got there, there weren't any available slots to make our own cupnoodle but we did go to the World Noodle Bazaar for lunch. I had a Malaysian laksa which was super tasty. The museum itself was surprisingly interesting.
We popped across to Cosmo World to take purikura again. Alice and Josh stayed there for the afternoon, whilst I went back to Ikebukuro to start packing.
In the evening, I met up with Alice and Josh and Alice's friend, Brian. We headed to Sweets Paradise for dinner again, and then moved on to karaoke. I am completely sold on karaoke. It is horrendously good fun!
16.08.2014 - Back home
And so concludes my holiday in Japan. I got a really early train to Narita Airport from Ikebukuro station, and got on a plane around lunch time for a 12 hour flight. I flew back with Virgin, and I have to say that ANA are much nicer.
I had so many wonderful experiences and I'll never forget it. The country and the people are lovely, and even if you don't speak much Japanese (if any) it is really easy to find your way around and have fun. I am beyond happy that I get the chance to go back this summer, and I am incredibly excited for it.
If you have any questions about my trip, leave it in a comment and I'll answer as fast as I can.
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