Ri-Ben 2019
- Jer
- Apr 9, 2019
- 46 min read
Updated: Aug 21, 2021
Introduction
After the long and tiring 1 year 10 months wearing green, I was pretty sure that I would want to take advantage of the long period of freedom known as O.R.D and escape from the country, just like everyone did when they had the chance to. However, I had trouble to rope in friends to come along on this ORD trip as my original army friends had backed out and I was left stranded alone. Luckily, I found a group that was willing to travel with me: my JC SC friends, and we were now off to the wonderful Ri-Ben! Along with me on my trip is the ABCs: Alex, Benjamin and Choon Kang (CK) and as CK ORD-ed in January and they also wanted to take the opportunity to see some cherry blossoms, I decided to plan the trip in April and just waited anxiously till the day came. This trip was also to allow Ben to experience the Kansai region and CK to experience Japan so Alex and I were like tour guides, having been there before.
DEtails Of The Trip
Duration Of The Trip: 8-18 April 2019 (9D9N, Night of 8 Apr and Day of 18 Apr in the air)
Cities/Towns Visited:
- Tokyo, Tokyo 東京都
- Osaka, Osaka 大阪市
- Kyoto, Kyoto 京都市
- Nagoya, Aichi 名古屋市
- Gero, Gifu 下呂市
- Takayama, Gifu 高山市
- Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi 富士河口湖町
Transport Passes Used:
- Japan Rail Pass (7Days All Japan Ver.)
- PASMO/SUICA/ICOCA
[While the rest used PASMO/SUICA, I used the Kansai One Pass that I got in 2018. It works as long as you use it within 10 years of your last used date, how nifty! IC cards can also be used in other metropolis regions in Japan as well]
Gang Photo:
(From Left to Right: Me, CK, Ben, Alex)
Day one (SIngapore - TOKYO)
(A conveniently blur passport photo)
So, we happened to chance upon a sweet deal by our one and only national carrier Singapore Airlines which offered airfares to Tokyo at $636.70. The reason for this promotion? They just added a new flight daily to Tokyo that arrives at 1am in Haneda Airport. It explains alot because of the odd timing that the flight arrives and it was newly introduced (Yes SQ likes to offer low prices for new flights that are astonishingly good but the planes they use vary from time to time so you really need to research on that part). Well, this trip also marks my first time in 4 years taking a SQ flight so I was really really looking forward to it as they revamped their cabin product during my hiatus period and it was also recently awarded Skytrax World's Best Airline in 2018!
(Some butterflies in the garden)
SQ's Regional flights leaves from Terminal 2 while the long(er)-haul flights leave from Terminal 3 so why not take the chance to explore Terminal 3 while you can! Terminal 3 has the enchanting butterfly garden that is really not advisable if you are really scared of insects but you are able to see the butterflies flying around freely and sucking on flower nectar and pineapple slices. It also has a waterfall and a sort of open space so it gives you a very immersive nature experience. Definitely something you should just go in and hang around for a while if you depart from Terminal 3.
(This airplane look stunning in an all white livery)
Our flight today is by one of the two Boeing 777-300ERs painted in Singapore Airlines signature all white Star Alliance Livery (yes, other Star Alliance members use a black tailfin with the logo but SQ is different). 9V-SWI in its glory as it takes us on the about 7hour journey from the tropical sunny island of Singapore to the urban metropolis of Tokyo, Japan. It is always an excitement for me to take airplanes with different liveries (I took a special Icelandair livery plane back in February too! Check that out!!) because they are remarkably beautiful in their unique colour scheme and design.
(Top: The age on this B777-300ER is showing but the view from the air remains pretty, Bottom: Not SQ's newest product but it still works pretty well!)
This is most probably my first article that I describe the cabin product elaborately but I really appreciate SQ onboard service. The stewards and stewardess came around with the hot towels as the plane starts taxiing, and the impeccable meal service was always so greatly appreciated. With a big touchscreen panel and a smartphone-like console to use, the SQ economy service is really value for it's worth, I am not surprised that it got its accolades. (It is also one of the reason why I chose to stay awake to enjoy the 7hr journey as much as possible). My only complaint? SQ planes don't offer individual air vents so especially on a 12-year-old airplane, the air conditioning was weak and the heat was extremely irritating for me to handle.
Day TWO (TOKYO - OSAKA)
(Tokyo Haneda International Airport late at night at 1am)
Taking off at 5pm SG local time, we arrived at 1240am Japan local time and scurried through immigrations. With the plane arriving so late, it causes another problem upon landing in Haneda: How do I get to the city centre without incurring a bomb? Haneda Airport has railway lines but it closes at 12 midnight and I was not very open to the options of camping at the airport sleeping on the hard chairs and waiting for 5am the next morning to take public transport out of the terminal. Taxi was so expensive but luckily, there was one option left: the Airport Limousine Buses.
(Bus tickets shots, Free Seating!)
After doing an extensive research online, I discovered that the airport limousine buses running to Shinjuku had services stretching to 2am. (Shoutout to the online blog that offered this option and now it's my turn to share it with you guys!). We took the 140am bus out of Haneda and all the way to Higashi-Shinjuku Station. As we disembarked from the bus, br... the chilly cold winds blew and we were finally experiencing 10 degrees celsius weather. (Well, I handled it well at first, but after that my body rejected the idea of wearing one layer out in the open cold). While I had initially planned for us to crash at a super sento place nearby first with our luggages, we eventually came to the conclusion that we should go and deposit our luggage in Shinjuku Station first so that we will relieve our burden and we can walk around just with our day packs. We walked quite a distance to finally find coin lockers outside the Toei Line exit and dumped our luggage in.
(Don Quijote Shinjuku, not the biggest Don Quijote but you can most probably find what you need here)
After that, we headed back to the super sento place and along the way, we passed by the Don Quijote Shinjuku Kabukicho and headed in to explore for awhile. If you are in Japan, you should definitely patronise a Don Quijote. Dotted all over Japan, this discount store offer a variety of goods and it is also a tax-free shop so if you spend more than 5000 yen (excl, tax), you would be eligible for tax refund! Yay to that. We explored for a while before heading once again to the super sento place.
(Had no idea why the picture was out of focus but Thermae-Yu is written in Japanese here)
This super sento place, located near Higashi-Shinjuku Station, was called Thermae-Yu. Unlike a traditional onsen that uses geothermally warm spring waters, this super sento transports hot spring waters from a place called Nakaizu located in Shizuoka Prefecture before heating it and using it. As we went at midnight, there was a late night surcharge which raked up the admission to be 4,000yen. I personally felt that it was better to crash here than trying to find hard and uncomfortable benches to sleep on in Haneda so in we went. This super sento was actually huge and we spent the first hour chilling and trying the different baths offered. After that, we caught some sleep at the basement lounge full of sofas for about 2hours (we could have had longer sleep but we went Don Quijote so it ate into our sleep time) and we woke up at 7am before heading out at 730am (I also managed to squeeze in another round of the baths just to freshen myself up).
*Tip: If you would like to utilise it fully, they operate from 11am to 9am daily (2hrs in between for cleaning) so you could stay longer and leave in the afternoon (Each admission is limited to 12hrs)!
(JR Pass exchange)
We headed to Shinjuku station and by then, the morning crowds were already starting to show evidently and there was already a queue formed at the JR Exchange office by the time we went there. Our JR Pass was booked with Klook at a price of SGD $343.00 and I received the exchange order within 5 days of purchase! (So neat, kudos to Klook!). There are also english-speaking guides and they would assist you in filling up the form for the JR Pass. They do offer seat reservations as well but in times of peak period (which was then), they offered us one seat reservation and so we took the opportunity to snag our night shinkansen to Shin-Osaka Station.
After settling our JR Pass, everything was smooth travels as we just had to zoom by the counters with our JR Pass and we were able to get into the platform and wait for the train. We took the JR Yamanote Line from Shinjuku to Harajuku and visited our first attraction of the trip.
(Top: Big torii gate at the front of the park, Bottom: Various sake barrels with unique designs)
Ah yes, Meiji Shrine (明治神宮). The last time I went Tokyo in 2017, I did not have the opportunity to visit the shrine as they had cut the last entry timing at 430pm (Winter in Dec 2017, sunsets early). This time, I managed to enter the shrine compounds and take some photos myself! The grounds were very serene as it was a shrine nestled in the urban area of Harajuku and it was connected to Yoyogi Park (think Central Park in NYC but a more religious site and nestled with forests and greenery). For me, I felt that the shrine was quite overhyped as there was not much to do except doing prayers and writing well wishes but everything was in Japanese and we really did not know what to do so we just stayed there for around 15minutes before we left the place. I must say that the brown wooden torii gates is something that was unique for me as I had always been seeing the fresh orange/red torii gates in shrines and temples.
*Tip: Operating hours for Meiji Shrine is sunrise to sunset so its hours is not really fixed and will change.
(Fashion street is always associated with Takeshita Street)
In Harajuku lies Takeshita Street (竹下通り) as well. This street is well known for its fashion and all the fanciful youth culture of Japan can be found here. Blasting with pop songs as well as with many signboards on the street, it gives you the hip vibe already. While we were here, we made a reservation at a restaurant for lunch and so we decided to hang around the street to look and shop. Within here also lies a 3-storey Daiso and boy, Daiso in Japan is the 100yen store (Singapore Daiso Always $2? Pshh.... Japan Daiso is 100 yen a.k.a SGD$1.20!!) and the products they offer will blow your mind too. We spent the entire waiting time just browsing through the shelves and soon we walked out with plastic bags full of goods! Ouch, first and not the last shopping I did in Japan. We soon headed for lunch at... gram café and pancakes Harajuku.
(I'll just leave you with the mix of savoury and sweet pancakes....)
This restaurant is well known for the fluffy pancakes but bear in mind that every customer has to have ONE order EACH. When we did our reservation, they were only left with one serving of the fluffy pancakes so the three of us had to order other food from its menu. Now comes to the review? For the fluffy pancakes that limits a 30 serving per timeslot per day, I believed that the taste was not that bad but it was not something worth crying over if you ever miss the chance to try. At 900 yen for three fluffy pancakes stacked on top of another, I must say that its worth the buck but the taste wasn't mind blowing. As for the other menu, I personally say to give it a miss for the weird flavours and stick to the good ol' ordinary pancakes. Unless you are adventurous, the other pancakes have a unique flavour and may not be to everyone's tastebuds. Our total expenditure was slightly above 3,000 yen so it was not that damaging but I say again, not something that you should get overhyped for.
*Tip: SG have a branch opened in Vivocity (at the time of writing) so maybe you don't have to spend to go Japan and try? But oh, they still stick to 30 servings in 3 timeslots. On another note, their Harajuku branch is now permanently closed, saddedd :(
(The off coloured arms of Hachiko shows just how much it has been touched by tourists)
We hopped on the JR Yamanote Line and headed to Shibuya Station. In my previous trip, Shibuya was a place that we stopped by for a mere hour just to have dinner and so it was disappointing. This trip? I wasn't going to make the same mistake again. First up, we went to the Hachiko (ハチ公) statue, situated right outside the Hachiko exit (lol). While my 2017 photo had an old uncle that photobombed behind me, I would say the lady that photobombed this was much better presented so I like this photo better. This statue is also a common meetup point for people and hence, you will always see people sitting around the benches all the time, waiting for a friend or simply just texting away on their phones.
I decided to allocate an hour of free and easy time for everyone to roam about. After we crossed over the busy Shibuya Crossing, I parted from the three of them and headed straight for Tower Records Japan.
(The iconic red and yellow color scheme of Tower Records)
This gigantic megastore will definitely satisfy any kind of music stans. Said to be one of the world's largest music retail outlets, it spans across 9 floors and cover various genres. I went to the K-Pop section (yes as ironic as it seems) and checked out the albums as well as posters on display. URGHH I could not resist the temptation to buy and so I bought two IZ*ONE albums. They were giving out free posters for one of the album as well that was released just a week ago and so I was ultra happy with my haul of albums and posters. Really recommend this music haven for everyone!
*Tip: Sometimes idols even hold some fansigning there as well (GOT7's JUS2 was scheduled to have a fansign there in a week's time) and there may be live concert for some japanese idols/bands that play there as though a mini fanmeet!!
(The famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing)
With time to spare, I headed to the Starbucks located right above the Shibuya Crossing and took some snapshots of the crossing! The moment the light turn green and the pedestrians started walking, the moment was a sight to behold as some scurried from one side to the other while tourists took opportunities to snap photos among the crowd to capture the perfect insta-worthy photo.
(Multistorey MUJI? What a fine store)
With about 25mins to spare before meeting time, I headed to MUJI Shibuya (無印良品) and snagged some stationery before heading back to meet the gang at the Shibuya Crossing. A pity that I did not get to explore the 6 stories of MUJI store but it was fine as I got some pens at cheap prices of 50 yen to 90 yen that I could use for my university heh.
(Sensoji. 'Nuff said about this beauty)
We soon headed off to Asakusa via the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line using our IC card and arrived at the famous Sensō-ji (浅草寺). Tokyo's oldest temple, the streets were filled with people and we had such a hard time navigating through the crowd. A fun thing to do at the temple was fortune-reading, which you pay 100yen and shake a container full of sticks. There would be a small slit for the stick to fall out and each stick would have a corresponding number and you would have to find the cabinet with the same number for your fortune.
(Shake shake the fortune)
Worry about it being in Japanese only? No worries, there is a general english translation at the back of the fortune paper. I got "Eleven" and it was good fortune (yes!). Looks like things get better after suffering a while (er herm in green..). For a small price to get your fortune read, this practice should be something you should try in Asakusa!
(What a lovely place this is)
After that, I proceeded to buy some charms called Omamori for my parents and friends before heading down walking along the streets of Nakamise-dōri (仲見世通り). A shopping street right outside the temple, it is lined with locals selling handicrafts and specialty goods so you should stop by and see for some souvenirs if you are willing to take your wallet out to spend.
(Think I need to go back and take a better picture with less crowd)
Seeing everyone's instagram filled with photos taken at the Kaminarimon (雷門) with the huge red lantern also made me want to snap a photo but the number of people there were just so many and so I decided to snap a quick photo and go. (not a good shot but hey at least, been there done that)
(Top: Akihabara, home of anime and electronics in Tokyo, Bottom: Old Claw machine shop that I got my Piplup from)
We soon headed off to the next location via the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line and Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line to the tech town of Akihabara (秋葉原). I was so happy that there was still the vibrant colourful buildings and pop music blasting through the streets but we did not go and explore much in this place because we actually spent most of the time wasting our buck to try and catch some claw machine toys, but nah we did not even get one lol. We actually went back to the same store that I got my claw machine Piplup in 2017 but there was no more same claw machines as they were now replaced with other toys or other claw machines with different mechanisms. (so sad). Either way, we made time to use within the hour that we spent in Akihabara and headed off to JR Akihabara train station.
*Tip: We took the chance to book our overnight express Sunrise Seto train to Tokyo at Akihabara. You can do seat reservations for any routes at any JR stations so long as the stations have the system known as Midori no Madoguchi, this can be found by just searching on Wikipedia for the stations. All major train stations have Midori no Madoguchi.
We kinda underestimated the queue for seat reservations at Akihabara because the staff had less experience for overnight train booking (we will explain this in the overnight train section) and he took quite long to process our tickets. It was really a mad rush after that as we took the JR Chūō-Sōbu Line to Shinjuku and rushed to get our luggages from the coin lockers before taking the JR Chūō Line Rapid to Tokyo to catch our shinkansen to Osaka.
*Tip: There are 3 different kinds of shinkansen that ply the Tokyo-Osaka route (and further onto Hiroshima and Hakata): Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama. While Nozomi is NOT covered by Japan Rail Pass, Hikari and Kodama is covered but Hikari covers less stops than Kodama. Hence, if you are planning not to travel by Japan Rail Pass, Nozomi seems a better option to get from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka route fast but if not, you are restricted to reserving the Hikari service,
(Nothing beats having an ekiben on Shinkansen ft. my anago ekiben)
We managed to board our shinkansen bringing us from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka in around 3 hours via the Hikari service with some time to get an ekiben to settle our dinner. I got a conger eel bento that cost around 1,000 yen to 1,100 yen so it was not too bad actually. In it, there was one big chunk of eel with clams, alongside some beancurd, pickled vegetables as sides. Mmhmm, ekiben for a high-speed travel? Excellent.
Shin-Osaka was not our final stop as we had to go and take the JR Tōkaidō San'yō Main Line to Osaka Station before changing to the JR Osaka Loop Line and JR Sakurajima Line via Nishikujo to Universal City.
(Universal City in USJ)
Immediately alighting from Universal City Station was the Universal City Walk Osaka which was a shopping district in front of Universal Studios Japan. Our accommodation for the next 2 nights was Hotel Keihan Universal City, which was behind the Universal City Walk. Tired after a whole day of activity, we quickly checked in and rested for the night on the bed.
*Tip: While downtown Osaka (Namba/Nihonbashi/Dotonbori) hotels are generally expensive, Osaka Bay hotels tend to be at very low prices. Hence, when you book hotels, the ones that are nearer to USJ and Kaiyukan are quite low in terms of price (such that they can reach SGD$35/night). Cool!
Day THREE (OSAKA)
We woke up quite early again to have breakfast before entering Universal Studios Japan but the sleep we had the previous night was not really well :/. Hotel Keihan Universal City had a central heating system which meant that we were unable to control the temperature of the heater from our rooms. This resulted in a sauna-like environment and I personally did not like the heat and so I had a hard time sleeping (I kinda think I only managed to sleep well for 2 hours). Groggy as it seems, we went to the nearby ST.MARC Café and Bar to have a quick bite and headed off to USJ.
(Wizarding World of Harry Potter)
USJ opened at 9am but it was raining and the design of the entrance was such that there was not much sheltered area. So everyone queued in the rain with heaps of umbrella stacked on top of one another. At 9am sharp, they allowed entry in and so with the QR tickets printed in our hand, we scanned and went ahead in. First stop? Definitely Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I have read online on how the queues for entry in here is so crazy at times that they need to resort to timed entry into this place. Luckily for us, we quickly navigated through the crowd into the place. and went to the end to enter the queue for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Lucky for us, we only needed to wait for around 30mins before it was our turn to enter. We also managed to sit on the mini ride of the Flight of the Hippogriff.
(Extremely diabetes Butterbeer)
Of course what would be a trip to USJ without trying a cup of Butterbeer. But...., I am sorry to all them fans but the Butterbeer just is too sweet for me. I opted for a warm cup of Butterbeer with a bring home mug as a souvenir for the price of 1,300yen because the weather was just so cold but the hot drink gave me the warmth haha. First few sips? Hmm not bad, but as I continued to drink, the sweetness just hit you and after that, it was so hard to finish it no joke haha. Okay but definitely an experience I would live for.
(Magic happens in the Ollivanders shop)
There was also the Ollivanders shop which included a mini attraction where a group of visitors enter in the shop and the "wizard" chooses a special person and helps he/she find a wand. Ooh haha it was an interesting concept but the price of the wand? 5,000 yen? Nah haha, I'll pass because I was not so much of a Potter fan.
(Ello! BANANA!)
We soon headed out of the place and went to another segment of the park: the Minion Park. Ah yes, the moment we came close, we already smelled the banana flavoured popcorn wafting through the air. The park setting was very kid-friendly as they tried to recreate the same feeling you get watching a Despicable Me/Minions movie. We went to the attraction at the end : Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, which was a 4D-like ride where you go on an adventure with the minions and Gru's kids. The queue for this ride was slightly longer for around 40mins.
(*Cues Spiderman Theme*)
Exploring the park further, we roamed to the streets of New York City?! Hahaha the buildings and the open streets really gave us the vibes of the old New York City! There was a big attraction there that was well known to everyone who wanted to visit Universal Studios for a truly immersive 3D adventure: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-man. This 3D coaster-ish ride was amazing and should be one ride that you should never miss. Albeit the queue was also long of around 40mins, the ride with the effects simply awesome. (psst... they even use real flame thrower effects in the ride), so much fun!
(Top: Entrance to Jurassic Park, Bottom: Be right back, be flying with Dinosaurs)
Ah yes, now comes the famous roller coaster in USJ as we finished exploring the rest of the park and left the Jurassic Kingdom. I must say that the Jurassic Park is by far the only segment in the park that really resonates the genre of "adventure". There are two rides inside: the water ride called Jurassic Park: The Ride and the roller coaster ride called The Flying Dinosaur. We tried both and while the Jurassic Park: The Ride did have the scary drop part at the end, the Flying Dinosaur takes the cherry on top for the most thrilling ride in USJ. With you zooming through loops and curves as though you are a pterodactyl, mmhmm!
(Hollywood Dream: Backdrop)
When we finished our lunch, we headed around and went to the Hollywood Dream ride. This ride offered two variants: the Standard coaster and the Hollywood Dream: Backdrop coaster which the roller coaster went backwards. The adventurous us decided to head to the Backdrop queue. The only downside was that as both rides shared the same tracks, they will only release one Backdrop ride after every 2 standard rides, which resulted in us waiting for quite abit (about an hour). The experience was so terrifying though up in the air as you sit backwards and you don't have any clue what to expect because you cannot see and anticipate whether the next moment was going to be a drop or a climb. Whoosh, the adrenaline and the g-force then was incredulous. If not for the waiting time, I would definitely want to try another time!
(Universal Studios 4D Ride)
After that, we walked to the nearby Universal Studios Cinema to catch the 4D shows. They had 2 shows which were the Sesame Street 4D Ride and the Shrek 4D ride. Unfortunately, we missed the last Sesame Street movie and only could ride the Shrek 4D Ride. I did not manage to try both rides in Singapore so I was still curious on how this 4D ride turned out and it was quite a disappointment actually because the projection was a movie screen on 4D seats but because the theatre was so big, it lacked the immersive experience I wanted to have compared to the other 4D/3D rides.
(Lupin the Third Car Chase XD Ride)
Our last attraction for the day was the Lupin the Third Car Chase XD Ride, which was a limited time only ride in conjunction with the Universal Cool Japan 2019. The ride uses the pre-existing Space Fantasy: The Ride premises but they replaced the interior and the storyline so that it fits the theme. This ride was actually so cool because you wear a VR googles and earphones and sit in a coaster so while the route of the coaster is the same as if you were to take the usual Space Fantasy ride, the visual effects, sound and the coaster moving up and down in the track was very exciting and fun! Oh how I wish one ride like this could come to Singapore but I can only hope so haha. Certainly a wonderful virtual reality experience!
(The floats are so beautifully designed!)
After our last ride for the day, we headed back to the main foyer where we waited patiently with the rest of the USJ crowd to enjoy the.... parade! Yes, with the floats and performers lined up and cruising through the roads of USJ, the parade is a must-see for all theme-parks be it USJ or Disneyland/Disneysea. The floats also represented different attractions inside the park such as a Harry Potter float, a minion float, a Jurassic Park float and a Hollywood float. Really kudos to the performers as they were wearing skirts and shorts while the weather was drizzling, br.... even we were wrapped up with many layers just to shield us from the rain. The parade lasted about a 30mins and it was closing time by the time it finished so we stayed at the souvenir shop near the entrance and I shopped for some last minute stuffs before we headed out to have dinner at Saizeriya at Universal City Walk, before resting after a long day of walking.
*Fun fact: While Saizeriya is an italian dining concept, it is actually a Japanese brand! Search it up! It is also the reason why you will see many Saizeriya all over Japan.
Thoughts about finally visiting USJ?:
It was my 2nd time in Osaka but my first time paying to visit USJ and I must say that the experience has been nothing less than awesome. The admission fee may have been SGD $90.74 but we actually saved money by not purchasing the Express Pass. The entire day rained and drizzled so it kind of ruined all my photos because the sky was so gloomy and dark BUT.... it also made crowds at many attractions to be shorter than usual (I have heard queues stretching up to 2hr wait times and the fact that we managed to enter in about half of that waiting time? Superb!). Would I visit USJ again? Mm.... I would see how haha I mean ticket prices are not the cheapest....
Day FOUR (OSAKA-KYOTO)
(Breakfast at Mos)
We slept through the night abit more soundly that night, because I shut off the central heating system so the room was not overly hot but was moderately warm from the humidifier and the cool weather outside. We checked out this morning and had our breakfast at MOS Burger at Universal City Walk. Not my first MOS experience eh, haha (I had my first MOS breakfast experience in 2018, back in Kyoto). I opted for the same food as before (Ebi Burger and Onion Rings) but had an iced milk tea this time around. Hm... I still think a cup of Iced Lemon Tea suits me better than a one dose of sugar syrup in a cup of Iced Milk Tea.
We proceeded to take the JR Osaka Loop Line and JR Sakurajima Line via Nishikujo to Osaka station where we deposited our luggage in the coin lockers before heading to our first stop of the day. Subsequently, we took the JR Osaka Loop Line to Osakajokoen, where we took a 10 mins scenic walk from the station to the main castle grounds of Osaka Castle (大阪城).
(Top: View of Osaka Castle from the bottom, Bottom: Mandatory Osaka Castle photo)
Seeing this castle up close takes my breath away at the sheer beauty of Japan castles. Unlike the medieval castles of England, these castles are built on high walls and is protected by a moat and maze-like roads to slow down invaders into the castles. The emerald green roofs and the golden finishing, mmhmm... aesthetic to the eyes.
(Sakura season calls for flowers)
We also used the time to walk around and appreciate the various blossoming cherry/plum blossom trees around the castle grounds as it will be a pity to come here without having some hanami (花見) right? :)
(Dotonbori in the afternoon)
We soon proceeded off back to the train station (do allocate abit more time for walking because really, the castle is not the most accessible place) and headed to JR Namba Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line and JR Kansai Main Line via Shinimamiya to explore the downtown Namba District. We decided to head to the icon of Osaka, Dotonbori (道頓堀).
(My hair is so messy but hey look its the glico man again!)
This time, due to schedule constraints, we could only visit this place in the afternoon but I must say that the crowd is much more prominent in the evening then that of the afternoon. (Plus, the glico man sign is better illuminated in the evening).
While the others proceeded to an owl café that was located a few streets away, I decided to go to Kori Relax again! (Refer to my 2018 itinerary on the exact location and building). I have never seen a massage parlour that offered such low prices (other than JB) because they were offering a 60mins session for 2,800yen. One of my regrets for my previous trip was that I was not able to experience 60mins of the massage so I had to do it this time. You know the massage is actually really good if it is able to make me sleep soundly with my head faced underneath. It may not be ultra relieving but she definitely nailed some spots when she massaged the muscles to relieve the soreness.
(woohoo some crab leg)
After I was done, I went to the famous crab restaurant chain in Dotonbori known as Kani Dōraku (かに道楽) to enjoy some grilled crab legs as advertised by ONLY in JAPAN youtube channel. One for 900 yen may be abit steep but the vendor gave me 3 parts of the crab that had alot of meat in the crab legs and it was succulent and it was definitely something you should do if you want to try the crab from the "restaurant with the famous moving crab" without making your wallet cry.
(Storefront of Gyukatsu Motomura Namba)
Have you realised something? We actually skipped lunch till now.... but there is a very good reason for it. We proceeded back to Namba station and queued for our lunch at Gyukatsu Motomura Namba (牛かつ もと村). Touted as one of the famous gyukatsu restaurants in Tokyo, they had an outlet in Namba, Osaka so we were inclined to try it. When we went there initially at around 12pm, there was a queue outside and so we decided to go at an odd hour of 3pm after we were done in Dotonbori and so we did. The queue was significantly shorter but that did not mean there was no one in the restaurant. In fact, it is usually full house.
(I'm getting hungry just by remembering its taste)
At a price of 1,300 yen for 130g of breaded beef, the unique experience is that you are required to grill the beef on your own! You are provided with a small grill that you are able to cook your beef to how well you like it to be done. Not only is the beef the star, you are also given miso soup, potato salad, coleslaw (generous portion of it), sauces and wasabi, along with a bowl of barley rice. The rice is actually so good you can eat it on its own but no, that actually steals the limelight from the main star of juicy red beef sizzling on the grill. My review? Ultra good, I love how the beef matched with wasabi surprisingly well also and it was so delectable I may just put it in a "list of restaurants you definitely need to go in Japan". With free flow Ocha, gyukatsu was simply too good to be true.
We took the JR Kansai Main Line and JR Kansai Airport Rapid to Osaka before changing to the JR Tōkaidō San'yō Main Line New Rapid to Kyoto, where we checked into our accommodation (Umekoji Suites) to rest for the night.
*Comments: I did not manage to take the photo of the exterior of our accommodation but Umekoji Suites is actually a very pretty nice and new accommodation. The only downside is that it is a 10 to 15minutes walk away from Kyoto Station but other than that, the rooms are spacious and there is Netflix in the hotel too! Haha
Day FIVE (KYOTO)
(Japanese udon cooked for the morning, delicious!)
So we woke up the next day quite early because the attraction we were going to go was quite a famous one and if you don't you would most probably be caught in the crowd. Our hotel provided breakfast and it was a simple breakfast with 4 options of various kinds. I had the meat udon along with a cup of iced tea and I enjoyed this hearty bowl of noodles I must say. The broth was not ultra salty and the noodles were cooked nicely; it was a perfect meal to start the day. We headed to Kyoto Station to take the JR San'in Main Line to Saga-Arashiyama, where we manouvred swiftly to our next location: the Sagano Bamboo Grove (嵯峨竹林の道).
(Bamboo grove with such tall bamboos overshadowing you)
If you have been on Instagram searching #kyoto, I am pretty sure this location has appeared many many times. This also is the reason why many tourists flock to the location and it is ultra hard to get a nice shot.
(Alas, the best attempt to get an unblocked photo)
At any given moment, there would be people walking by or there even maybe some tourists that take their tripods and mount their camera doing some time-lapse or something but they hog the entire path while doing so. Nuff said, you want to avoid all these happening to you, come at the break of dawn just to be ultra safe. (That is if you are able to wake up). It is most probably the only way you are able to experience the serenity of the bamboo forest (or you could photoshop people out of the photo..... nah pretend I did not say that).
We left due to the crowd and headed on the JR San'in Main Line to Emmachi, where we took a long walk to Kitano Tenmangū (北野天満宮).
(Kitano Tenmangu Shrine)
This shrine is touted to be one of the more important shrines and is also said to worship the shinto god of education. Huehue, just in time for our prayers before school starts in August. Down the road nearby also was the Hirano-Jinja Shrine (平野神社).
(Hirano-Jinja Shrine)
This shrine had many nice cherry blossoms for photo-taking so it was a photo capture time! Kyoto is just a city full of beautiful shrines and temples, how lovely isn't it?
Next, we walked to our main attraction in the North of Kyoto which was Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺).
(The gold in Kinkakuji makes it so shimmering and splendid)
This pavilion covered in gold leaves is the other iconic temple, alongside Ginkakuji (See Kansai 2k18 on this temple!). A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this temple is best seen up close as the detail and the painstaking effort to place gold leaves on the temple must have really taken so much work. Thumbs up to those who did it man...
We subsequently went to my most probably my favourite establishment in Japan : Kura Zushi (くら寿司).
(Kura Zushi Exterior)
This sushi place sells sushi from 100 yen per plate and you should know that sushi in Japan should never be underestimated for its quality and with such a price, you are in for a bargain. This visit however was particularly disappointing, because I only managed to consume 13 plates of sushi (my record in SG was 26 plates) so did not make full use of this :(.
With a happy tummy, we took the JR Bus back to Emmachi, where we headed to Nara on the JR San'in Main Line and JR Nara Line via Kyoto.
*Tip: While JR Nara is covered by JR Pass, Kintetsu-Nara (Private Railway) is actually nearer to Nara Park and is more advisable to take this. However, if you have a JR Pass and wish to utilise it without incurring anymore additional cost, JR Nara is still the way.
Of course when we head to Nara, it is only for one purpose which is the ...... Nara Park (奈良公園).
(Deer me, the deers are EVERYWHERE!)
You must have chanced upon videos on Facebook and Instagram of deer bowing when you bow as they take their time to munch on the senbeis you feed them. Yes, this is THAT SPOT. The experience of paying 150 yen to buy a pack of senbeis and have deer chasing you for it is quite the experience I must say but some deer are gentler when they approach you (when I mean some, they are minority...). Still, this is ultra fun and recommend it highly to people when visiting Kyoto/Nara.
We skipped Todaiji in this visit as my friends were not interested in paying the entrance fee to enter the premises so if you wish to see that review (including squeezing into a tiny hole in a pillar), please visit Kansai 2k18!
By the time we were finished, it was approaching 5pm so we headed back to Shijō via JR Nara Line and Kyoto Subway Karasuma Line. Now, what is there at this area you may wonder....
(I'll raise you like a phoenix)
It's Pokémon Center Kyoto (ポケモンセンターキョウト) (Yes, my love will never die)!!!! This Pokémon Center is newly renovated and opened early this year, shifting from its original space further down the road. You can see the old one at Kansai 2k18 Blog!
With every Pokémon Center comes a great purchase. This was not an exception as I bought the plushies that were created to celebrate the new opening of this store! Hehe, worth the hole in my wallet.
We walked down the road to find a dinner place and we arrived at still my favourite soba place in the whole world (maybe I have not explored enough) at Sobanomi Yoshimura (蕎麦の実).
(Top: Sobanomi Yoshimura Storefront, Bottom: Soba Tempura Set)
The usual dose of cold soba regardless of the weather always manages to fill my tummy. The portion is also very very generous for the price and so I really really highly recommend anyone visiting to come and try for yourself!
*The shop offers hot soba as well so do not worry if you are visiting in colder seasons as soba is there to save the day!
We took the Kyoto Subway Karasuma Line back to Kyoto Station, and swung by the local DAISO shop at AEON Kyoto to do some shopping before it closes at 10pm. However, we were in a rush so I did not take any photos of the DAISO shop. Now you might be wondering, why this particular DAISO? Well, this DAISO is TAX FREE and that means that everything that was 108 yen initially inclusive with tax is slashed back to 100yen. What a cool steal of course people would want to come and hit that 5,000 yen for some tax free goodness.
Day SIX (KYOTO - GERO)
(Wrap for breakfast)
The next day was another early day as we woke up early to pack our luggage, checked out and headed to deposit them at Kyoto Station. We then took the JR Nara Line to JR Inari. Once we stepped out from the station, we could already see the crowd heading towards the tall red torii gate outside the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社).
(Top: Fushimi Inari torii gates, Bottom: View from the midpoint of Mt. Inari)
This shrine is famous for its thousand torii gates that tourists love to take photos with. However, just like the bamboo grove, it is very rare to get a good photo of the gates due to the constant flow of tourists. Your best bet is to appear early and utilise the pockets of time between each batch to take your iconic red torii gate photo.
In addition to this, many tourists also give up after climbing to the first or second stop as the shrine is located at the base of Mt. Inari (technically not a mountain but is a hill). There are still torii gates on the top of Mt. Inari but are less clustered together but is bigger in size than those at the base of the hill. That would be your better chance in securing a photo-op moment.
After which, we headed back to Kyoto via JR Nara Line, collected our baggage, where we took the Shinkansen and the Limited Express HIDA Wide View to Gero via Nagoya.
(Scenery of Gero)
Gero, or usually known as Gero Onsen (下呂温泉), is an onsen town that is known as one of the 3 best onsens in Japan (Others are Kusatsu Onsen and Arima Onsen! Kusatsu is definitely on my bucket list and Arima is visited in Kansai 2k18!). The reason why we stopped by (other than my love for onsen) is because it is on the way to Takayama and accommodations are cheaper in Gero than that of Takayama because of the 1hr distance away.
We missed the free shuttle bus by a mini margin and had to lug our luggages across a bridge and up a steep hill to reach our accommodation at Yukai Resort Gero Saichoraku Bekkan (湯快リゾート 下呂温泉 下呂彩朝楽 別館). After checking in and arranging breakfast and dinner timings (they stagger breakfast and dinner timings to allow their dining hall to accommodate everyone), our dinner was at 8pm and so we took the time to stroll around the town. The town closes its shops and establishments early so there was nothing much to do but admire the cherry blossom trees lining the Hida River.
(Cherry Blossom with a sunset background)
Now, we walked back to our accommodation and settled for the dinner. Now, I was not holding much expectation for a dinner because it was late and I was still wondering how much food could they prepare. Boy I was wrong....
(Buffet spread, omnomnomnom)
Chawanmushi, sushi of various kinds, tamagoyaki, karaage, tofu, sashimi were the few that was present in the buffet but most importantly, the star of the meal ultimately went to the beef on the mini wok. This beef is none other than the regionally famous Hida Beef. The marbling and texture of the beef was so amazing and we placed it to grill on the mini stove present on every table. The smell permeating through the air, MMHMM.... I truly enjoyed the meal that day and it could be said to be the most worthy accommodation that we have stayed in our trip.
After dinner, we had a bit of rest before going to the indoor onsen (sento) in the accommodation and warmed ourselves up before playing two rounds of pool and sleeping soundly after that.
Day SEVEN (GERO - TAKAYAMA - nagoya)
(View from top of the hotel that the outdoor onsen was located)
Breakfast was included once again but before that, we wanted to make full use of the onsen experience and we decided to go to the outdoor onsen at the top of the resort to warm ourselves up. Cold as the weather maybe, but once fully submerged into the onsen, the feeling felt great as it warmed us in preparation of the day ahead. We then went to get breakfast at the dining hall.
(OOMPH, can the breakfast get any better than this?)
The breakfast was certainly not as much as the dinner spread but it was still remarkable with a decent spread of food. Curry rice and onsen eggs were my weaknesses because they were so good and filled my rumbly tummy. There were also sponge cakes that seemed to be the hotel's local product but we did not buy it because it costed 1,280 yen and it was not that remarkable.
We subsequently checked out and took the shuttle bus to the JR station where we waited for the next Limited Express HIDA WIDE VIEW to Takayama.
(Takayama Old Town)
Takayama (高山) is a city renowned for its rustic and old buildings still present in the old town. The reason why we visited as well was to observe the parade of the Takayama Festival (高山祭), which was touted as one of Japan's best festivals.
However, our experience to Takayama was hampered by two factors. The first factor was that the luggage deposit area at Takayama was highly limited as the lockers were all small lockers and we could not source for any other storage until much later when we discovered that a souvenir shop was offering luggage storage. Next, it was raining on that day so the floats were not in procession. Instead, they were kept in warehouses but were available for viewing.
*There is luggage storage outside the JR Station straight ahead, as well as one in the souvenir shop on the left of the station, beside the bus terminal. They all charge based on per piece and vary according to size.
(Floats of Takayama Festival housed in sheds around town)
While it was certainly upsetting that Takayama was underwhelming, we went back to Nagoya via the Limited Express HIDA WIDE VIEW to continue our journey. After checking in at the Meitetsu Inn Nagoya Ekimae (名鉄イン 名古屋駅前) At night, it was a quick convenience store grab and we bought a small treat back to enjoy ourselves which was the Mcdonalds Bacon and Potato Pie.
(Mcdonalds Bacon and Potato Pie)
Verdict: I am not really a pie lover myself so not really able to give a very accurate critique but I would just like to say that the potato taste masks the bacon taste. Savoury attempt by Macs so kudos to that!
Day EIGHT (NAGOYA - TOKYO)
A long day it would be as we woke up early and headed onwards to Mikawa-Toyota Station. This was done so transiting thorugh Okazaki Station via the JR Tokaido Line and the Aichi Loop Line.
*Aichi Loop Line is operated on a private railway and hence, is not covered by the JR Pass. The railway does not accept PASMO/SUICA and hence, cash is needed to pay. It is 440 yen one-way.
Now, does the station name seem mildly familiar? Well, it is most probably because the station has already mentioned our next destination which is the Toyota Kaikan Museum (トヨタ会館).
(Top: Trying out the interactive exhibits in the museum, Middle: Exhibit of the interior of a car, Bottom: Me posing with the newest model of RAV4)
For all the car enthusiasts out there, this is the place to visit to get some interesting Toyota experience. This museum is free of charge and it has displays of the various Toyota cars for you to view and enjoy. Not only so, the museum documents the manufacturing process of Toyota and the most interesting part is there is a car simulator experience inside which enables drivers to experience the Toyota Safety Sense, which is a safety system in various Toyota cars to minimise the impact of accidents. It was actually a very nice experience especially since my parents have been driving Toyota cars even before I was born!
*There is also an experiential workshop that enables visitors to head to their factory to see how their production works. However, photography is prohibited and there are limited slots to head to the factory. Hence, if you are interested, you must go on their website to do booking for slots many days in advance.
We spent about an hour there before we headed to our next destination. Long journey back, we headed to Kinjo-futo Station (金城ふ頭駅) via Okazaki and Nagoya via the Aichi Loop Line, JR Tokaido Line and Aonami Line.
*Aonami Loop Line is operated on a private railway and hence, is not covered by the JR Pass. It is 350 yen one-way.
(SCMAGLEV and Railway Park)
Our next destination was the SCMAGLEV and Railway Park. This railway park is one of the three train museums in Japan that is under the JR company (this is owned by Central Japan Railway Company, JR Central). In here, there are many exhibits of how the train transportation network has evolved in Japan. Specifically, the exhibits of the Shinkansen trains caught my eye and their means of scheduling and innovating ways to improve the trains. As you can most probably tell, my interest in trains is evidently alot hahaha so you would most probably infer what was my favourite TV show when I was young (inserts moon face).
(Top: Museum exhibits, Middle: Interior of an old shinkansen train, Bottom: For the momories)
By the time we were done, it was in the evening and we decided to head to downtown Sakae (栄駅) via the Aichi Loop Line and Nagoya Subway Higashiyama Line. A bucket list I always had was to visit all the Pokémon Centers in Japan and that means I could not miss out on Pokémon Center Nagoya (ポケモンセンターナゴヤ).
(Issa Mew!!!)
While it is a small Pokémon Center, it was still a nice tick off my bucket list. After which, we he had a nice simple dinner at a nearby Yoshinoya (𠮷野家).
(Gyudon)
Cast all your impression of Yoshinoya in Singapore away as the Japan Yoshinoya sets to stand itself apart from these misconceptions. The gyudon (beef rice bowl) was actually pretty much decent comfort food with a low price tag as well. You can always count on a Yoshinoya in Japan to give you a quick fix on a rice bowl when you need one.
We headed back to Nagoya via Nagoya Subway Higashiyama Line where we had to take a long detour through Shin-Osaka to head to Himeji with Shinkansen Kodama. Now, let me explain in detail why we had to do this because we were about to head on an interesting train ride back on the Sunrise Seto / Izumo.
(Sunrise Express coming through!)
Sunrise Seto/Izumo
Now, this unique overnight sleeper train is one of the few left in Japan. The rapid growth of domestic air travel has made overnight sleeper trains less used by both domestic and international travellers. Sunrise Seto/Izumo is a combination of two sets of trains : Sunrise Seto and Sunrise Izumo. Sunrise Seto terminates and commences at Takamatsu while Sunrise Izumo terminates and commences at Izumoshi. Both trains will be coupled and separate at Okayama. This set of overnight sleeper trains run between Tokyo and those destinations daily, one train in each direction. The seats are strictly reserved only but JR Pass has got you covered with free reservation.
This train is run by JR Company and hence it is fully covered by JR Pass only for the Nobi-Nobi Seats. There are various kinds of other seat types as well (or bed types...) such as the Type A and Type B cabins which can be seen more on other Japan tourism websites and youtube videos as well, but they do need additional surcharge to be paid upon reservation. Being frugal, we settled for a nobi-nobi seat because we do not need to spend more money.
* It is an overnight train but you do not worry about not having a shower. There are shower facilities onboard but they are limited by card basis and it is while stock last to purchase a shower card. One shower card is approximately 320yen. They usually run out fast so if you board mid-journey, there tends not to be any cards left.
(Nobi Nobi seats)
Doing my research for this trip, I realised many videos/websites do not state on how big a nobi-nobi seat was and whether it could accommodate any luggages. Now, it was extremely lucky that a nobi-nobi seat could actually accommodate a medium luggage, as shown in the picture. However, if you are not used to sleeping on hard surface, it would be advisable for a sleeping bag or so because the only thing provided was a thin sheet of cloth. Either way, I felt that the seat was quite cosy and the train ride was actually very smooth.
Okay, so why did we board at Himeji and not cities nearer to Nagoya (e.g. Shin-Osaka or Sannomiya, Kobe)? When we look at the timetable for the Sunrise Express that is found online, it is known that the train passes by Himeji at 23:35 and the next stop, Sannomiya was at 0:13 the next day. As we were onto the last day of our JR Pass on this day, we could not board at Sannomiya as it would mean our booking was done on the 8th day (which our JR Pass would have been regarded as invalid). Hence, the only way we could book was to board at Himeji so we went a long detour. This was troublesome but worth it in my opinion for the experience.
* It does not matter if you alight from any train past the expiry date of the JR Pass. As long as the train is boarded before its expiry date, you would not be subjected to being barred from boarding the train.
Day NINE (TOKYO - fujikawaguchiko)
(ohayo Fuji!)
While we fell into a deep slumber slightly past midnight, we woke up at daybreak because we wanted to catch the stunning view when our train goes by Fuji. As our train was heading to Tokyo, it meant that we would pass by Mt Fuji with the sunrise as our background (If it was the other way, Mt. Fuji would be covered in darkness). While it was hard to take a snapshot of the mountain while it was moving, the view was still breathtaking nonetheless. We woke up and took some photos before going back to laze again because it was too early and 5hrs of sleep was still not enough.
We disembarked at 7am when we reached Tokyo Station and deposited our baggage. We then headed to Tsukiji Outer Market (築地場外市場) via the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line and Hibiya Line.
(Top: Tsukiji Outer Market, Bottom: Tamagoyaki)
While we were there, the market was already opened with activities but it was not very crowded. Having been here before, I was not very adventurous with my choice of food and just settled on a simple Tamagoyaki to satisfy my tummy. At a reasonable cost of 100yen, the tamagoyaki was sweet and delectable. Well, I could eat like 5 sticks but then again, my appetite was kinda low. So one stick it was for me then!
We then walked to Hatchobori Station where we took the JR Keiyo Line to the Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari (三井アウトレットパーク 幕張).
(Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari)
We arrived at 930am and had to wait for awhile more before the Outlet Park opens at 10am. In there, it was an array of outlet stores as there were stores such as Levis, Quiksilver and Under Armour. We spent around an hour there and I got myself a Billabong bag and a shirt. The discount there was insane as it went up to 50% but in order to hit tax-free, I had to make up to more than 5,000 yen to be eligible. Hence, I went on kinda an impulse buy.
Subsequently, we took the JR Keiyo Line back to Tokyo Station, where we took a short walk to..... Pokémon Center Tokyo DX (ポケモンセンタートウキョーDX).
(Top: Pokémon Center Tokyo DX 1 Year Anniversary, Bottom: Interior of Pokémon Center)
This Pokémon Center is combined with a Pokémon Cafe and I must say that this is one of the most impressive ones I have been to so far. The center has a wall full of history on the Pokémon and its evolution over the years. In its subtle design on the wall, it also comprises on the 802 Pokémon from Gen 1 to Gen 7 with their silhouette spanning across an entire wall. Not only so, this Pokémon Center is also tax-free and so it was a shopping spree again as I spent my Japanese yen on all the Pokémon merchandise that I could never have pictured myself buying.
With that done, we headed back to Tokyo station with my big haul and took the JR Chuo Rapid to Shinjuku. Shinjuku has a very big expressway bus terminal right opposite the JR Shinjuku Station. This expressway bus was our gateway to Fujikawaguchiko as we took a highway bus to Fujikawaguchiko.
* When deciding to go to Fujikawaguchiko, it is actually slightly cheaper to take a highway bus up as compared to taking a JR/Fulikyuko Line up to Fuji. It is also faster generally as the Fujikyuko Line does not operate on a regular basis. There is also an introduction of some JR lines that run directly from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko but again, these trains are limited express and are only available in limited timeslots everyday.
With a nearly 2hrs of bus ride, we reached Kawaguchiko and checked into our accommodation Kawaguchiko Station Inn (河口湖ステーションイン). The proximity of the station inn to the station was extremely close and was especially convenient. However, it only allows check-in from 3pm so we had to deposit our luggage first before walking around and relaxing.
After that, we headed on the Fujikyuko Line to Shimoyoshida. Initially, we wanted to head to the Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway but it was very crowded by the time we headed there. The view above the ropeway is stunning (It is actually the background of my blog!) so it was ashamed that I could not bring them there. Instead, we headed to another place that was famous for its stunning views of Mount Fuji. That is the Chureito Pagoda (忠霊塔).
(Takes my breath away)
The observation deck was quite a long walk up but the cherry blossom scenery along the way was quite pretty so it is also worth some shots here. The most common times that people go to the pagoda is of course during the sunset hours or some even the sunrise hours and lucky for us, we managed to make it for the sunset hours but it was already brimming with people there. Still, we managed to secure some standing spot and decided to take some photos of the breathtaking scenery. I think we kind of spent very long there (roughly an hour) because I was quite reluctant to move away from the prime spot and I was also waiting to see if I can catch any glimpse of a setting sun in the background. Unfortunately, we could not see any and decided to scurry back to the station, where we took the train back to Kawaguchiko via the Fujikyuko Line. We then settled for a convenience store takeaway and went back to our accommodation to rest.
Day TEN (fujikawaguchiko - TOKYO)
(Fuji-Q Entrance)
Early morning it was as we checked out from the accommodation and took a cab to our next location, At Kawaguchiko, other than it being one of the Lakes in the Fuji Five Lakes Region, it is also near a wonderful theme park that you could never imagine at the top of the mountain. This theme park is known as Fuji-Q Highland (富士急ハイランド).
Forget about Genting Highlands, this is one theme park that should be on your bucket list if you are a thrill-seeker. Fuji-Q Highland is renowned for the number of achievements it's roller coaster rides has achieved and it is also famous for having a haunted house with the hospital as a theme (Ever watch the Runningman episode that they went Japan to try the haunted house? Yep this is the one!!). We arrived and deposited our luggage in the coin locker at the Highway Bus Stop before walking to the entrance. As we bought the tickets on Klook in advance, we simply traded for physical tickets at the ticket counter before making our way into the theme park.
(Eejanaika)
Our first stop upon entering was the "Eejanaika". (Which was the only roller coaster ride we managed to take unfortunately). Think of Eejanaika as an extreme version of USJ's Flying Dinosaur. Based on the website, when it first opened, the roller coaster was in the World Records for the most number of revolutions done (14 of em!). I felt the most remarkable part of this roller coaster was the fact that they still toss you around while you are back facing and so it really felt as if you were in some trance. Definitely going back to this so that I do not lose the feeling of an actual scary roller coaster ride.
(Haunted Hospital)
Our next stop was the haunted house, Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear. This haunted hospital costs minimally 1,000yen per pax (if you go in a group of 3/4) to make it worth. OK I am actually a very big scaredy cat but this hospital kinda fell under my expectations. I must admit I took some measures to minimise my scare factor such as wearing my jacket hood up to reduce the noise and also grabbing onto CK and Alex but other than that, I think it may be because we went at one of the earlier timeslots so there were not many staff to scare us. I do admit we were quite slow because the group behind us caught up and we were like just a bunch of 7 people walking through and kind of lost many effects. In total, I jumped once and ran once so I think you should try it for yourself to see the effect.
(Thomas Land over the years)
After some terrifying experience, we went to Thomas Land. OK, at this point, please do not judge me but was (and maybe still am) a big Thomas/train fan. The real reason why we went in here (and my friends were so cooperative) was because I wanted to recreate a photo. You see, I went to this exact theme park 15 years ago in 2004 and was still surprised to see the Thomas Land still intact (albeit with changes to some rides).
Of course it was time for some shy and embarrassing photo-op time while kids were running around and judging me at the same time.
(Desperate Fortress 3)
Feeling satisfied, we chanced upon the Desperate Fortress 3. Now this concept is interesting because you are issued a smartphone/pager like device that would give you instructions on stations to clear. This is akin to some mission impossible plus escape room concept because you have to clear several challenges and I can guarantee you that clearing Challenge 1 maybe easy but the second challenge is extremely tough. This was so addictive that we played 3 times in total. Despite getting far, we only got maximum ranks of D. It is so addictive and I would highly recommend you to visit this attraction when there.
(Top: Panickcock, Bottom: Minicoaster)
We got a quick lunch at the MOS Burger Stand and we were right in front of PaniClock so why not am I right? Paniclock takes you around 360 degrees so is kinda like a stationary roller coaster. There were many times when we were inverted upside down and my knee kept hitting my head, ouch that was haha! Other than that, this is sort of a buildup to roller coasters so if you can overcome this, no problemo roller coaster!
Also nearby, there was a mini coaster (I forgot the name and can't seem to find it on the main page). This mini coaster maybe mini alright but the bends and edges sure pack a punch because they were sharp and there were so many ups and downs and it is like a jumbled up coaster because you have no idea what the coaster will be doing in the next second. Again, you should come to take this if you are afraid of real coasters but want to try how a "mini coaster" is.
In addition to these rides, we took the Endless Haunted Mine and the Ferris Wheel. Nothing quite remarkable about both because they are not extremely interesting.
One whole day from 9am to 5pm was extremely tiring but fun. Would I come back here? YES. Even though the admission tickets are not ultra cheap (Cheaper than USJ still), I would come back here to clear the other roller coasters that I did not manage to try. With a satisfied experience, we headed to the Highway Bus Stop to catch our highway bus back to Shinjuku. From there, we took the JR Chuo Line Rapid to Kanda to check in at our accommodation UNIZO INN Tokyo Kandaeki-West.
(Shibuya District at night)
By the time we were done, it was already 730pm and we were starving so we decided to head to Shibuya via the JR Yamanote Line to find some good fix. Boy, I was not disappointed by our dinner because it was the famous Ichiran Ramen (一蘭).
(Ichiran Shibuya Shopfront)
Famous for its tonkotsu broth as well as the 24-hour outlets, Ichiran has been the talk of the town to anyone who comes to Japan. I personally feel the instant ramen sold does it no justice but the actual Ichiran Ramen and the snaking queue was no joke. I think we queued for roughly 45mins before we managed to secure a seat inside.
*There are many other branches of Ichiran around the same area, especially in a busy district such as Shibuya. Just hit Google Maps up and it will help you!
The system was quite simple: You order from a vending machine and slips with your corresponding orders would be dispensed. Submit it to the counter staff when it is your turn and the staff would assign you a seat and wait accordingly. The moment your bowl of delicious ramen is served you can start to dig in!
*Ichiran has a 15-second rule: That is a bowl of ramen must be served within 15 seconds of it being cooked. Hence, the tables are placed near each other and are within arm's length to be served.
(That tonkotsu bowl of goodness)
I would like to say that it was truly regrettable that despite going to Japan two other times, I have only managed to taste such a wonderful bowl of ramen only on the 3rd time. Maybe because I was hungry? Maybe because it was delicious? Maybe because it was the soup cooked to perfection? Many maybes... but the ramen was just simply mind-blowing. It was to the extent that I ordered an extra bowl of rice to finish up the broth. Word of advice: Stick to ramen, the broth does not really match rice.
With a happy stomach, we went back to our accommodation to rest for the night, in preparation to head back to Singapore the next day.
Day ELEVEN (TOKYO - SINGAPORE)
(Keisei Skyliner)
We woke up very early and had to drag all our luggage out from the hotel to the JR station, where we headed to Ueno via JR Yamanote Line. This was where we took the Keisei Skyliner to Narita Airport (成田国際空港), which we obtained the tickets from Klook.
(Back to SG time!)
SQ deal of $637.90 was very tempting but the other reason why I was tempted was because I could fly on their newest product, the B787-10 out of Japan to Singapore. A 6hr journey on their newest regional aircraft. Excitement was real and while it was troublesome because we were departing out of Narita instead of Haneda (and hence, could not purchase any round-trip tickets or whatsoever), it was not much of a hindrance and I was stoked!
(Top: B787-10 Dreamliner, BottomL Cabin product of the newest aircraft into the SQ family)
Overall experience? Wonderful as compared to the B777-300ER we took on the other flight. The new dreamliner has a more responsive touchscreen and it has also stronger air-conditioning system (sorry I am very sensitive to temperature changes). Other than that, the new cabin smell and the friendliness of SQ stewards/stewardess is unrivalled. If anyone ever had a chance to secure low fares on a 6hr B787-10 trip, hit me up! The only downside to me I guess was the small pocket below the screen that could not fit my phone so that was a shame. (Then again, my phone is like 8 inch so.... sed is me)
THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
This trip was my 2nd Japan trip organised by me and I felt that this trip was much to my delight because I actually went on an uncontrolled shopping spree. I do not shop a lot in reality but the things in Japan, just tempt me and entices me into buying everything. Overall, this Japan trip was about a SGD1.5k to SGD1.6k so it was not too bad on the budget but I would long to visit Japan again in different seasons (Autumn and Summer) so it is till then again where I would share my trip experiences with you!
Word Count: 12368 Words (As at this point)
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