Let's go to Japan- Day 3

Trip to Japan; Day 3

Taking a tad (well a lot) longer for the relase of this one due to my busy schedule :(

Sites Visited

Site: Shibuya

Comment: Love this place! This place will definitely blow you away- especially with the Shibuya crossing . There are literally hundreds of people that crosses the crossing at a time, and it makes you feel like you are in a middle of a Shogun war. Shibuya also has a lot of unique stores and, if you wanted to go shopping, I would definitely recommend this place over other places like Ginza or Shinjuku. Their price is much cheaper and the brands are much more unique. Shibuya is also home to the Hachiko statue. For those who haven't watch the movie, please do yourself a favor and watch it. It's basically a movie, based on a true story, about a loyal dog who waited for his master at the same train station long after he already died. Shows loyalty ! (unlike my ex-es)

Shibuya Crossing- Look at how many people!!

A very famous place in Japan to do your clothes shopping

Hachiko Dog's statue! A tourist land-mark (waited 10 mins to get this shot)

Hachiko's museum thing... it's free to enter

Fan service to O.P fans- At parko, the biggest (not cheapest) O.P seller

Rate: 7.5/10 

Site: Meiji-Jingu (Harajuku)

Comment:Again, when you are looking for temples to go to, Tokyo is not one of the first place you would thought of. Kyoto are filled with a lot of glorious temples! In term of Tokyo standard however, this temple is definitely very beautiful! Though it can't be comparable to the likes of Kiyomizudera,this temple is still a definite must visit if you have spare time in Tokyo. It's definitely better than Asakusa temple (In my opinion) and it's definitely a change of pace- a place to go for more a traditional taste of Tokyo.

Punk dress thingo people in Shibuya. Comes out at night!

Awesome Tako Place!!!

Wash your hands and drink from it to purify yourself!

As you can see, it's quite the tourist attraction

Instagram... BAM

I think is sake containers

Condom Strore in Harajuku...

 Rate: 7/10

Site: Oedo Onsen Monogatari

 Comment: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PLACE TO DEATH! If you don't go to an onsen in Japan, you haven't really been to Japan. This Onsen place, however, is very unique. Once you are inside, you have to change to a kimono and put all your stuff in the locker. Once you exit the locker, you will be absolutely mind blown. The place is set up kinda like the Edo period. You can purchase food and play games and what not and, instead of using your wallet to pay (cus you cant bring them inside), they will scan the barcode that's located in your bracelet (this bracelet must be worn at all time when inside). They offer a lot different types of Onsen, outdoor/ indoor, hot/cold bath, sauna, massage (extra fee) and foot bath (which was epic). I think if I show you the pictures, it would be much more appropriate! I really want to show you guys the footbath as well, but since I'm in the picture for all of it- I AM not going to upload it :p cus I;m fuggly (though if you guys ask nicely... ._.')

This is the entrance, the ticket is about 1300 Yen

Edo-period setting

As you can see, everyone wears kimono 

Bought this shaved ice after a hot bath. That thing on top is the bracelet

 Rate: 8.5/10

Let's go to Japan- Day 2

Trip to Japan; Day 2

Alright so, same format as the first trip, but now it's the second day!!! I would say one of the most exciting day !

Sites Visited

Site: Akibahara

Comment: And this is why I said day 2 is one of the most exciting day! I had a really high expectation when I was about to visit this so called "Otaku Heaven" and, boy didn't live up to that expectation. If you are an otaku like myself, you will find yourself like a little child wondering around the toy section isle in a supermarket! There are so many things to see, to experience and to buy! Even if you are not an avid anime/ manga/ game fan, you will still find yourself blown away; it's literally like another planet. so, if you are not into animation and what not, you will still definitely need to visit this site at least once, but if you're an otaku; DON'T EXPECT to only visit this once! Me and my friends (mostly otakus) was only planning to visit Aki once, but we went back 3 times- even on the day of our flight, we went there at around 7:00 p.m., do our shopping and then go to the airport after. If you are an avid anime figure collector, you should definitely visit Mandarake, softmap and yellow submarine (a multi-store building; yellow submarine being of the store (specialized in bootleg and PVC figure)) whilst  if you want to buy anime related items, visit Gamers and also the multi-store building thing (you won't miss it)!
If you aren't an avid collector or anime fan (which is very weird ._.), you can come pay a visit to the electric town! They sell many cheap electronics and offers DUTY FREE SHOPPING!!! So do bring your passport if you are going to do a "big purchase". The electric stores also offer some cheap sales items, such as headphones, adapters, cameras and what not. Should definitely visit. 

A game in the SEGA toilet at Aki... all you have to do is aim for the mark and pee on it to fill up the meter...

The first thing I saw when I "landed" on Aki

Mandarake- (apparently) the biggest anime/manga store in the world

Street view of Akibahara from the multi-store building

Some of the stuff (2/3?) I purchased!!! Look a Nendo :)

Rate: 9.5/10 (A tad biased cus' I'm an otaku, but I know many people who aren't still finds it amazing!!!)

Site: Ueno Park (Ueno)

Comment: The thing about Ueno is that, during spring the place will be lit up by Sakura (cherry blossom) trees! In winter, it's a dead wasteland (well maybe an exaggeration). There was nothing really exciting about Ueno PARK (not the zoo; we spent too long in Aki and by the time we arrived the zoo has closed) ; I mean it was beautiful and had lots of potential, but it didn't wow me like some other sites do. I heard from my friends that Ueno is famous for it's zoo and how there is a very famous/ iconic panda inside the zoo, but I cannot base my judgement on the story my friend told me- it has to be based on what I experienced. Ueno definetly was missing that "oomph" about it that really makes it memorable; maybe if it was in spring or, maybe if I entered the zoo it would've been a different story but this time, Ueno Park was just avarage for me. 
Ueno city itself was definitely interesting. There were many clothing stores which are affordable and, the food there was quite unique and affordable. It's also home to the national museum and art museum, which we didn't visit as it wasn't our cup of tea. It's definitely a must visit city if you have the time. 

At the entrance to the Zoo

I have better pics, but I'm in it ._. so...

The view of the National Museum and the fountain

GOSH, so romantic

Street-view (not a very good one) of Ueno

Rate: 6.5/10

Sorry guys for the long wait. I really am busy in real-life :(. I will upload more as soon as possible

Chiwassu, Janni ~

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Let's go to Japan- Day 1

Trip to Japan; Day 1

What's happening peeps ^^ Long time no see (figuratively speaking cus I can't really see you... yah, it's lame :[ )! Basically over the next few posts, I will be posting some of my Japanese experience; day by day! I will be providing my opinion on the places I visit and also some guide/ tips so you guys know what to expect!

So let's get started:

Airplane: Scoot

Comment: Ok, so obviously you cannot compare Scoot with airlines such SQ, Fly Emirates and what not, but for a budget airline standard; it's very very good! It's defiantly hold it's own class in as a budget airline. The best thing about this airline is their generous allowance with the carry-on baggage. I didn't purchase any checked-in baggage and, I managed to carry up to 15kg worth of carry on baggage. Their seats are comfortable and the seats itself was quite wide. The downside was of course the SHOCKINGLY small leg room and the fact they absolutely squeeze you for every penny. From blankets, eye-cover thing and even their foods (which were terrible) was overpriced. All in all, the flight itself was great if you bring your own food, water bottle and neck pillow. And, be prepared for delays! Flights from Singapore to Japan and vice-versa got delayed, though the Sydney to Singapore flight was fine.

Rate: 6.5/10 (8/10 for budget standard)

OMG THEY HAVE FOOD VENDING MACHINE

Hotel: Belmont Hotel

Comment: GREAT HOTEL. The staff there was quite friendly and are able to understand English very well. They were helpful as well in giving directions and most importantly, the location is awesome. It's located in Asakusa-bashi and it's practically the district for cheap and delicious foods. It's also close to the subway station (and both J.R. Lines and Subway lines goes through this station) and a supermarket (which is very RARE in Japan, but prices are very cheap). The downside was of course, it was a tad expensive (i think it was 5000 yen-ish/ night per person; sharing 1 room with 2 people), but then again most hotels would be as it's the most expensive city to live in... and the room was very very small (but this applies to all hotel I visited in Japan). Oh, did I tell you it's close to Akihabara?

Rate: 8/10

LOL it's messy and taken from a poor angle, but I don't have anymore pics TT

Sites Visited

Site: Tokyo SkyTree

Tokyo SkyTree

Comment: I visited the Tokyo SkyTree straight after we arrived. The weather on that day was terrible as it just finished raining (making it foggy). The entry fee was 2000 yen and it turned out to be disappointing. See the thing is you might think 2000 yen isn't much (that's what I thought at first too) as it's only 2x dollars, but considering you can buy food  over there for 500 yen and an anime figure costs only 2xxx yen (I'm an otaku), paying 2000 yen to go to a room covered with fog just wasn't worth it. Despite being one of the most famous Japanese man-made landmark, the crappy weather really kills it (which is a shame because people told me the view was very beautiful when the weather is fine). We were planning to pay 1000 yen extra to go 10 floors higher, but since it was already impossible to see anything from  the observatory, paying another 1000 yen would've been stupid. The main attraction was definitely in the mall leading to the SkyTree. The food court was very unique and the shops there were also very different, as it sells special Tokyo SkyTree edition item. One of these special edition items was the Tokyo SkyTree banana, kinda like the tokyo banana. It tasted nothing short of amazing. MUST TRY (much better than the original)!!! There were also garden of lights (? thats what I called it) and, it was a very good place to get your cameras out and take pictures.

Taken when the fog died down a little

One of many peculiar shops

Garden of Light thing..

Rate: 5.5/10 (As I said previously, when I visited the place, it was foggy and nothing was visible from the viewing glass. Maybe if it wasn't foggy on the day, it would've been better rated.)

Site: Asakusa temple

Asakusa Temple

Comment: By this time, the sun has already set. This is unfortunate because, most people I know recommended me to come to Asakusa sometime in the afternoon; before the shops around the temple closes. So once again,  bad timing really prevented me from experiencing what it has to offer to the fullest extend. By the time we got there, all the shops were already close and, it wasn't a tourist site any longer, just locals going for their daily prayer. All in all however, the temple was very beautiful and the town surrounding the temple was very classical Japanese (which is something I quite enjoy). Obviously you wouldn't compare this shrine to the ones in Kyoto but, it has it's own merits. My opinion will be biased as I couldn't experienced the shops surrounding the temple or even go inside the temple itself, so you guys that have been to this place before have a case to argue if you disagree with my opinion.

As you can see, the entrance to the main temple is closed

Street view at Asakusa (not the best picture, I know :[ )

Rate: 5/10 (Same reason as Tokyo SkyTree...)

So that's day 1 basically. It was a tad unfortunate that our flight got delayed and messed up our planning but, it will only get better so stick around :)


Chiwassu, Janni ~

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