#85 | Tokyo 2019

Guess who stopped procrastinating?

Me. 

Finally gonna start blogging about the Tokyo trip back in 2019. 

It's been almost 3 months since the trip so all I have remaining in my mind are photos. 

and tiny bits of memories. 

This is not a comprehensive guide for Tokyo 👀

Don't expect too much from this post. I have a goldfish's memory.

Maybe this will teach me a lesson 🙂

Instead of writing about what I did during the entire trip, I'm just going to blog about the tourist spots I visited during & some food recommendations. Like I said, I have a memory of a goldfish so I forgot like 90% of my time there and I'm using the photographs I took, to help me remember... p.s. all the photos you see in this post are unedited (coz I don't have time) 

Start!

I took the early morning flight from SG and landed safely in Tokyo at 9AM (Tokyo time). Passed through immigration and headed straight for the airport bus limo, to the hotel - Tobu Hotel Levant. Stayed in this hotel for 5 nights since they provided transport to Disneyland & Disneysea. 🎈

Once I checked in, I explored the area around the hotel for food. The last proper meal I had before stepping foot on Japan grounds was 18 hours ago at Shake Shack, Jewel Changi. I found a ramen restaurant that served pretty decent soup ramen. I can't remember the exact restaurant name but it's located on the street directly opposite the hotel. 

After filling up my stomach, I headed to the convenience store to grab some snacks in case I get hungry at night since it was still early and I wasn't planning on coming out of our room till the next day (coz I was too tired). 

Now that I shared what happened on the 1st day, let's get started with the actual trip!!

🇯🇵Sensoji/Asakusa:

Sensoji, one of Tokyo's most colorful and popular temple located in Asakusa. 
This temple is also one of the oldest in Tokyo as it was completed in 645. 

There is a 200-meter shopping street/area - Nakamise, which sells typical Japanese souvenirs and local snacks. This 200 meters walk leads to the temple's second gate. 

I didn't enter inside the temple as there it was packed with tourists and locals praying. I stood far away from the entrance of the temple and snapped a few photos before walking around the area. The temple holds various events throughout the year and the biggest one is the Sanja Matsuri, which is held in May, 7 months before I stepped on Japan land.

Despite the huge crowds, I highly recommend everybody who is traveling to Japan (when it is safe to do so), to visit the Sensoji Temple. Probably during the cherry blossom season since I saw some cherry blossom trees around when I visited. 

🚄Directions:

🇯🇵15-minute from Tokyo Station: 

⇢ Take the JR Yamanote Line to Kanda Station 

⇢ Transfer to Ginza Subway Line for Asakusa 

🇯🇵20-minute from Tokyo Station: 

⇢ Take the orange JR Chuo Line to Kanda Station

⇢ Transfer to Ginza. Subway Line for Asakusa

You can also opt to take the bus there. If you're staying at Tobu Hotel Levant, there is a bus "interchange" located within a 10-minute walk from the hotel. I can't remember the exact bus to take but google maps work in Tokyo so just key in the address and you're ready to go! 🤓

🇯🇵Ginza:

I don't have pictures of Ginza without my face in it... So here's a picture of Mickey Mouse that I took inside Ginza's 12 levels high Uniqlo store.

Honestly, Ginza is like Singapore's Orchard Road/Seoul's Gangnam. It's filled with branded shops on every street - Hermès, Loius Vuitton, Gucci, Bvlgari, and Rolex, etc. Is it worth visiting? I say, definitely. On the day I visited, the roads (meant for cars) were blocked and chairs + umbrellas were placed on the roads for visitors to rest after walking around.

Also, if you ever visit Ginza, make sure to take lots of photos while you're there. The photos that I took, looked aesthetically pleasing (to me at least) since the area was filled with tall buildings standing right beside one another and there weren't many people when I visited.

🚄Directions:

🇯🇵22-minute from Tokyo Station: 

⇢ Take the Subway headed to Ginza

⇢ Alight at Ginza Station

Again, Google Maps works in Tokyo (unlike Seoul) so you most probably will be able to find your way around.

🇯🇵Disneyland/DisneySea:

Honestly, I loved Disneyland more than DisneySea. DisneySea was filled with long queues (2-3 hr wait for 1 ride). By the time you actually get off the ride after queuing, half your day would be gone. This actually happened to me at DisneySea. I went to queue for this rollercoaster (which seemed terrifying coz of the drop) and the queue time when I went to queue, was 90 minutes. But when I actually stood in the queue, it was a 120-150 minutes wait. And the worst part? The ride didn't even last for more than 10 minutes. 

Because of that, there wasn't much time for me to ride the remaining rides or explore the rest of the park since it was winter season and the sky turns dark early. Furthermore, most of the rides did not allow anymore queueing as there were just too many people in the queue already. Compared to Disneyland, the waiting time was exactly the same as what the attraction stated. I didn't wait too long to ride any rides. 

 I want more Tokyo Banana T_T

^These can only be found at DisneySea 

Would I visit the parks again if I ever travel to Tokyo? Nope. I went to Disneyland/DisneySea simply because I wanted to experience what Disney theme parks were like, plus we don't have that in Singapore. The next time I visit Tokyo, I'll most likely dedicate my time to sightseeing & shopping instead since I've already experienced what Disney's theme parks are like. 

Then again, I probably won't fly to Tokyo again. The next time I'm visiting Japan, it'll be Osaka!! Then I'll visit Universal Studios Japan/Osaka. Hopefully, they find a cure for COVID-19 soon.. Otherwise, I'll really go crazy staying in Singapore for the remaining of 2020. 

🚄Directions:

🇯🇵From Tobu-Levant Hotel

⇢ Free Shuttle to & from Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea
🇯🇵From Subway Stations
⇢ Alight at Maihama Station
⇢ 5-minute walk to the park.

🇯🇵Shibuya Shopping District:

🇯🇵Shibuya 109/House of BTS Pop-up: 

I was pretty lucky to be in Tokyo at the same time as the House of BTS pop-up store. Prior to the trip, I had to apply for the entry tickets online via the website (which I got in luckily). But, it wasn't to the exact location I wanted.

The pop-up store is split to 2 levels inside Shibuya 109. 1 on the 3rd floor and the other on the 8th floor. I couldn't read or understand a single word on the Japanese website so I just randomly clicked around and applied for tickets to the 8th floor instead since I didn't know that the pop-up was on 2 different levels until the day of my visit.

When I got in line to queue, the Japanese staff told me that my ticket did not entitle me entry to the Pop-up store on the 3rd floor and I had to proceed upstairs to level 8 instead since that's the ticket I applied for.

I was kinda sad since I really wanted to visit the pop-up store on the 3rd floor. Both venues had different themes and sold different merchandise. The pop-up on the 3rd floor displayed <Boy With Luv> theme merchandise while the 8th floor displayed <Idol> themed merchandise. By the time I entered, there wasn't much merchandise left (plus the fact that it was smaller compared to level 3), but I still managed to buy a t-shirt which costed me over SGD80 😖

Overall, a great experience here - from ticketing to visiting the popup itself!

🇯🇵Magnet by Shibuya 109:

Nothing much to see/shop inside the mall. I just went in after seeing the huge BTS banner hanging above the entrance of the building.

I went in, took the escalator up to the highest floor and found this BTS themed cafe which was playing BTS songs. I didn't order anything actually... Just took a few photos before heading back down & out of the mall.

I don't recommend visiting this mall since there isn't much/anything to shop tbh.

🇯🇵Shibuya 109 Apeach Popup:

Other than BTS pop-up store at Shibuya 109, Apeach/Kakao Friend was having a short popup store as well. These images were taken when I first went to Shibuya. If I knew it would end soon, I would have bought a few items immediately, instead of waiting for my next visit to Shibuya.

Anyways, it didn't matter in the end because Apeach has its own store in Tokyo. Unlike the one in Seoul, the store in Tokyo is dedicated to Apeach (or at least 95% Apeach merchandise only). You can read more about it in this post!!

🇯🇵Tower Records:

Ever since I became a Kpop fan back in 2011, it has always been a dream of mine to visit Tower Records. Fast forward 8 years later, I finally stepped into Tower Records.

Tower Records is located in Shibuya and it sells a huge variety of CDs/DVDs/Albums/Japanese Magazines ft Kpop groups etc. Definitely worth visiting even if you're not a Kpop fan.

🚄Directions:

🇯🇵From Subway Stations
⇢ Alight at Shibuya Station.
⇢ You've reached your destination.

🇯🇵Apeach Omotesando:

I'm so glad that the store was built & ready for business even before my trip to Tokyo. Must visit if you're a Apeach fan. You will never be able to find 90% of the merchandise sold here, in Kakao Friends Seoul. I know, I tried. 

Since I was flying to Seoul during this year's Lunar New Year, I refrained from buying some of the merchandise since I thought "Seoul should have it". But I was wrong... When I visited Seoul Kakao Friends, whatever I saw in Tokyo, were unavailable there. It wasn't sold out. The Seoul side just didn't sell them at all. 

Can you imagine how sad/upset I was??? I could have bought it in Tokyo but being the dumbass, I decided to buy in Seoul since I was going there anyway. Till today, I'm still pissed off at myself. 

🚄Directions:

🇯🇵Via the Subway
⇢ Google Maps - Japan, 〒150-0001 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Jingumae, 4 Chome−25−9 b-town C棟 1・2F

🇯🇵Klook Mt Fuji Day Tour:

On our way to see Mt Fuji, the tour guide actually told everyone on the tour bus that his previous tour groups did not manage to get a clear view of Mt Fuji since it was always cloudly/foggy whenever they arrived/visited. After hearing that, I didn't have much hope of being able to see Mt Fuji personally. 

But as we got closer to the destination/rest stop, the weather didn't seem too bad. It wasn't cloudly and I was able to get a clear view of Mt Fuji from the bus, on the expressway/highway. Before we arrived at our final destination & got off the bus, the tour guide told us to give the exhibition(?) at the stop a miss & head straight to the 2nd level & take as many pics of Mt Fuji as we can since it could be seen clearly. 

I did exactly what the tour guide told us to do. This picture above was taken from the 2nd level of the exhibition and I love it a lot. After exploring the area for 20-30 minutes, we boarded the bus to the next stop of the tour. 

Lunchtime - Entered a Japanese cuisine restaurant and had lunch there. Getting the servers' attention was tough since our table was right behind, at the corner so they couldn't see us (we were practically invisible). 

Anyways, I got up and went to place orders at the counter instead since we were only given 1 hour to eat & explore the area before having to head back to the bus. If we waited any longer for the servers' to notice us, we won't have time to explore around. The food we ordered finally arrived after a 15 minutes wait. We quickly gobbled everything up so that there was time to explore and shop for snacks.

After eating, we walked around and bought tidbits, street foods, ice cream and drinks from the vending machines & street food vendors. 

I love Japan because there is a vending machine for almost anything and everything 😭

 

🇯🇵Food/Desserts: 

Time for the final part of this post -  Sharing about the food I had during my trip.

 ^These 3 snacks were bought at Asakusa/Sensoji

90% of my meals in Tokyo were ramen... Am I proud of it? Nope. Should I have tried different foods? Yes. I guess one reason why I only ate ramen for like what? 10 days in Tokyo was because it was easy to find!! You can literally find ramen almost anywhere and everywhere in Tokyo. The best part? They are all delicious. Throughout my ramen hopping days in Tokyo, 9/10 ramen restaurants I ate at, were all good, except 1 which was too salty for my liking.

Most of the ramen pictures you see above were all taken at the ramen restaurants located on the street opposite Tobu Levant Hotel - The hotel I stayed in for the 1st part of my trip because of the free shuttle service to Disneyland&DisneySea. Highly recommend this hotel!! - Not too far from the subway station & there are convenience stores & a shopping mall nearby! 

🌈Tips? Advice?:

🌸Visit during the Cherry Blossom season. I can see why Japan is famous for it. Even without the Cherry Blossoms around, the country is already so beautiful. Just imagine it WITH the Cherry Blossoms - Perfection

🌸Purchase your Suica cards online, before flying over! - Before flying over, I actually went to purchase my Suica cards from Klook & collected them at Haneda airport. Throughout my trip, I never had to top up the card. The value inside was enough to last me for 9 days worth of travel. Make sure you finish the value inside the card since it's non-refundable!!

🌸If you're planning to visit Disneyland/DisneySea, I would recommend you to stay at a hotel (for that period of time) which provides free transport to & fro Disneyland/Sea. - This will help you save on transport fees. After you've visited Disney, you can check out and stay at another hotel that you booked. 

🌸Bubble Tea - Expensive T_T I didn't even drink much of it during my trip :<
🌸Convenience Store - If you have no idea what to eat, just go to the convenience store. You'll. definitely find something to eat. I highly recommend Tokyo's convenience store foods.
🌸Tax Refunds - If I didn't remember wrongly, most stores allow immediate tax refunds with a minimum spending so just carry your passport around in case!

-I'll update again once I remember any more tips/advices-

❓Now for the real question:

﹖Would I visit Tokyo again?

Once it's safe to travel again, I'm actually planning to visit Osaka. But I will definitely visit Tokyo again. There are still so many places in Tokyo that I haven't visited/explored properly yet. Since it's technically not safe to be flying around now due to COVID-19, I'll just have to stay in SG, at home, watching my dramas until it's safe. 

An update of the dramas I've watched:
👀Goblin - 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻/5
👀Hotel del Luna 👍🏻👍🏻/5
👀Meteor Garden 2018 Remake - 👍🏻👍🏻/5
👀2Wish (Thai Series) - 👍🏻👍🏻/5
👀Reminders (Thai Series) - 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻/5
👀Theory of Love (Thai Series) - 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻/5
👀Our Skyy (Thai Series) - 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻/5
👀Crash Landing On You (Not officially done but I'm getting there)- 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻/5
👀2gether The Series (Thai Series; airing every Friday) - 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻/5
-If you're planning to watch Meteor Garden, good luck with breaking up & patching back. 

List of dramas I'm planning to watch:
👀Why R U?
👀Bad Genius (Thai Movie)
👀Itaewon Class
👀Moment of Eighteen
👀Her Private Life

PM Lee just announced that Primary, Secondary schools & Higher learning institutes will have full-on home-based learning for a whole month starting from 7 April 2020. I wonder if it'll apply to Polytechnics as well... Polytechnic students are still having our semester break so I guess that's why the government hasn't said anything yet. I hope they announce something for polytechnic students soon. 

Until then, 

please take good care of yourself during this period of time

-the bunny pal 🐰