Travelog : Tokyo 2018

Hey everyone! Or should I say, ohayo gozaimasu! (you are validated to cringe here)

Soooo I’m back and my brain is brimming with stories to share. I just got back from a family holiday in Japan wuhuu! Our holiday this year was around 2 weeks long because we had 3 areas to go to. We stayed in Tokyo the first 5 days and stayed in Osaka the rest of the holiday. We arrived in Tokyo just as the last yellow leaves were turning brown and beginning to flutter down. The beautiful views of fall foliage made me enjoy our trip 100 times more!

One more thing, I want to acknowledge that I, at the age of 14, planned a whole holiday for two weeks to three cities in Japan including all attractions and accomodation by myself. I guess that’s something I’m really proud of hah. (insert laughing emoji) (and another shrugging emoji)

Since we’re a family of six, we decided a regular hotel room wouldn’t be suitable. If we stayed in a hotel, the room would either be too small or we would have to book two rooms which my parents don’t prefer. So we decided to find an AirBnB, which took around two weeks to find the most perfect one! Ours was a comfortable two-storey house near Kameido Station which is near the Asakusa area of Tokyo.

Day 1

On the day of departure, we got up very early because we booked a morning flight. Morning flights are always a good choice since we won’t be very tired and would arrive at the destination in suitable hours. The flight was very interesting since it was the first time flying on a Japanese airline. I read that the airline, ANA Airways is one of the top airlines in the world! To know what our flight was like, go and read my review about the airline! (coming soon!) Our flight took off at around 8:30 which made the view from our window splendid to look at!  

We landed at around 5 pm in Japan. (Japan time) The first thing we did after collecting our bags was going to the JR Information Counter to buy our Suica cards! Suica cards are reloadable tickets which we can use to board trains and buses, which is our main form of transport there! After that, we went to a halal restaurant on the 5th floor to fuel up. We also wanted to avoid the rush hour which started at 5 pm and ended at around 7 pm. The Tokyo rush hour is the main thing to avoid when travelling here. Especially on trains, which the Japanese consider as their everyday transport. I don’t remember when, but we saw what the rush hour looked like on one of the days we stayed in Tokyo. It was really extreme, the train conductors had to squeeze the people inside the train because everyone had to get to work on time! 

We took the train to Kameido Station. Oh, it wasn’t an easy ride. Since it was our first time, we got lost hahah. We accidentally got off at the wrong station when we had to change lines and we didn’t realize that at first. We only realized that when our maps made no sense. Luckily, a kind lady offered to help us out when we were going cuckoo figuring out why our phones were giving the wrong location. After the lady kindly showed us the route, we set off and arrived at our station. But the night didn’t stop there, we had to drag our bags to our AirBnB which was around 7 minutes from the station. Probably 10 with big bags and babies. To God’s will, we arrived safe and sound.

Before I continue, I want to share that the Tokyo Subway system is so confusing! Luckily, we hadn’t had much trouble finding our way around because of this one underrated app, Google Maps. Maneuvering our way through this big, bustling city became smooth and simple, as we were given direct insructions on which subway line, platform and direction we were headed. So if your’e going to Tokyo anytime soon, be sure to download Google Maps to determine a clear sailing adventure!

Day 2

On this day, we woke up very, very early because we were going to DISNEYLAND!!!! It was a Friday, so we decided it was the best day to go because there are fewer crowds on Fridays compared to the weekend. We went there by train and changed lines once to arrive at Maihama Station, which is the Disney Resort station. The first thing we did at the station was pick up our tickets which we purchased online via Klook. We basically purchased all our attraction tickets on Klook. The service is tiptop! Read my blog on ‘How Klook made my holiday easier’ (coming soon). 

Before entering, we stored our packed lunches in the lockers outside the park entrance. Since Disneyland doesn’t have a halal eatery, we had lunch at the designated picnic area just outside the entrance. You can exit and re-enter the park anytime you want, you’ll only need to get your hand stamped at the entrance/exit.

The rides were similar to other Disney Parks. Though some rides like space mountain and It’s a Small World required us to queue a VERY LONG TIME. Luckily, we could use the baby fastpass because of my baby sister. Around noon, my second sister and I went on a ride called Big Thunder Mountain and the queue lasted 60 MINUTES. It was the shortest waiting time we came by though, so we went on it. We went on a lot of rides together as a family. Luckily Disneyland is kid-friendly so there are many rides my baby sister could enjoy too!

Disneyland Tokyo is very similar to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom since they both have Cinderella’s castle. I’ve been to Magic Kingdom before, and I could say that Magic Kingdom gave us a better experience only because their shows were in English. In Tokyo, we couldn’t understand a thing the charcters were saying. But I guess that’s the fun in travelling 🙂

We went home after the firework show, which is a must-do at every Disney park. The fact that the staff have to blow up that large amount of fireworks everyday is amazing! Disneyland looks so beautiful at night too, especially the castle! I would recommend coming here if you don’t mind long queues and won’t mind hearing everything in Japanese

DAY 3

I looked forward to the third day the most because we plan to be doing most of the shopping on that day! Our original plan included going to Asakusa, Shibuya, Harajuku and Shinjuku. Unfortunately, we only had time to visit two areas since we took a lot of time in those areas.

Firstly, we took the train to Asakusa to visit Nakamise Street and Sensoji Temple. Most attractions were only a two minute walk from the nearest train stations which made travelling very easy in Japan! We arrived at the bustling Nakamise Street, where you could find souvenirs and Japanese food and goods, at around 11 a.m. , which is pretty late for starting the day. We quickly bought a few goods, took a few pictures and zoomed off to Harajuku.

In Harajuku, we firstly found a place to pray, which is at the tourist info counter beside the entrance to Takeshita Street. Takeshita Street is located right in front of the Harajuku Station exit, so we didn’t have to walk very far.

Harajuku is the home to the famous 3-storey Daiso. Daiso is famous for having the same price for all its items. I targetted this shop for a very long time. I love to go to the Daiso’s in Malaysia, but when going to the local Daiso, everything gets 10x better. Obviously, the price is much cheaper since the store is based in Japan. But the best thing is, there are so many things to choose from every category. I literally wanted to buy everything I saw, good thing I had a budget. Every item looked super cool and aesthetic! We finally exited the store with two LARGE plastic bags. When I say large, it means super big that if my little brother had to hold it, it would be dragging against the floor!

After that, we went to get some crepes. Crepes are a must-have in Harajuku. There are so many shops to choose from. But if your’e a muslim, you could go to Marion Crepes. We tried some and it was absolutely delicious! I recommend the apple and cinnamon one with ice cream! Unfortunately, it was already dark and we had to go home. One of the disadvantages of travelling in around winter is that you might have to cancel some plans since the sun sets really early. We took a train home and rested since we had to travel far the next day!

DAY 4

One whole day in Yamanashi Prefecture! which means we’re going to see Mt. Fuji! We started our day early in the morning. We took a train from Kameido Station to Shinjuku Station to take our shuttle bus towards Kawaguchiko Station at the foot of Mount Fuji. The bus ride took around 2 long hours but the view outside was just splendid. The valleys and Japanese neighbourhoods were so beautiful! As soon as we arrived at Kawaguchiko Station, we purchased passes for the Mt. Fuji Loop Bus so we could get around the area. The attractions are scattered around Mt.Fuji, which meant we needed a bus to get around.

Firstly, we went to Lake Kawaguchiko, where we took beautiful pictures of the lake surrounded by a blooming fall foliage. I assume I haven’t mentioned this before but my favourite season is Autumn! I love the sight of colourful trees glowing when they catch sunlight! We took a cruise boat at the lake, so we could get a better view of Mount Fuji. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so we couldn’t get a full glimpse of the mountain. We only saw the bottom half, but were still amazed by how beautiful the scenery was.

After that, we went on the Mt. Kachi Kachi ropeway on top of a little hill, which presumably was for getting a better view of Mt Fuji. But as I said, it was cloudy, so no chance of seeing the peak from anywhere. But the view of the lake was PRETTYYYY. But somehow it wasn’t cloudy from where I took the picture below.

We then took the bus towards Chureito Pagoda. As soon as we arrived, we knew we wouldn’t get to actually see the pagoda. The flight of steps were enough to make me faint (insert another laughing emoji). We were tired, so we decided to set the picnic we prepared at the small park near the pagoda.

After that, we took the bus towards our last stop, Oshino Hakkai, where you could see ponds filled with water melted from the ice of Mt.Fuji’s peak. We took pictures as the sun was just about to set so it was a bit dark. But the place was located near an old traditional village which was so pretty! After that, we had to rush to Kawaguchiko Station so we could catch the bus back to Tokyo.

Our adventures in Tokyo ended here. It was a short trip, but very interesting! But our hoilday didn’t end here. We took a flight to Osaka the next day, right after checking out. To read how our adventures continue, stay tuned for my next post!