Tokyo japan

My Japan Trip synopsis will not be complete if I dont write things that made a note to me while I visited Japan.

Every one used a Handphone that is foldable, or with a sliding screen. In the four days I spent in Tokyo I could not spot even one handphone which was not in this category.

It was easier to get around and most people could recognise the English words and what you are trying to refer to.

Smoking was rampant and even fast food joints had designated floors for smoking.

Food was good and tasty....we could actually eat any kind of food we tried.

Narita Airport was very impressive and one could get the pulse of a city that plans at least 20 years ahead just by its sheer size and capacity.

Tokyo japan

Finally we landed at Narita International Airport Tokyo at 1 PM on Friday.
We bought tickets by Keisi Sky liner and headed towards Tokyo.
The Sky liner takes about 60 minutes.....and then we had another train which takes 22 minutes to reach the station which is near to the hotel.

TIP No.1
Its best to take the cheapest train although no reserved seats as time taken is not very different the only difference in time is when you take a bullet train paying about 3 times.Taxis are a big "NO NO" as they are frightfully expensive.....
Taxis/Limo will cost you about 450 US Dollars where as the train can cost you about 16USD a person...so I now leave it to you to choose!

We managed to actually find our way and walk to the hotel from the station and that was really good....so we saved the burden of taking a taxi....
TIP No.2
Stay at a hotel with less than 10 minutes walk to a subway.

After checking in we decided to go towards Tokyo Metro Station.We walked around the serene surroundings of the Imperial Palace Area.

A snapshot of one of the buldings of Imperial Palace.

Kids at the Imperial Palace Area





You may watch the video...of some recording not taken by us below but gives a good overview of the area.



Then we headed to Roppongi. Its an upmarket place with a lot of modern buildings and happening night life.We went up the Roppongi Hills 52nd floor for a "CITY VIEW AT NIGHT"....




TIP No.3

Take a Day Pass for Metros from the airport. It works out really economical.

The city looked endless and on could just keep wondering how big the city was.
We finally headed home and actully realised we cannot take some of the subways day pass on a particular rail line and hence ended up changing 3 trains to go back to the hotel...Needless to say we were dead tired so fell asleep immediately.

Tokyo japan

Second day...we went to Shinjuku with the intention to try and visit Hakone...but was advised that the weather was cloudy hence the ship service and cable car and ropeway may be completely stopped.

We anyways bought the Hakone free pass.

The following link gives you all details regarding the pass

Hakone free pass


We bought the same for 5500 yen per ticket for Sunday....and decided to see Shinjuku...

One of the highlights of the area was Takashimaya - the super store at The Times Square.....having seen the chain in Singapore and Taipei umpteen times one would not expect any surprises.

But the store is so huge you are wonderstruck by its sheer size. Its over 12 floors and the whole store in other Asian cities would be equal or less than one of the floors.
Its a must see of high end shoppers.

Backdrop is Takashimaya Store at Times Square



We were also quite amazed to see over 100 people queuing up in a slight dristle at a Krispy Creme Doughnut outlet...We had lunch at Shinjuku and headed towards the Ueno Zoo...

Tokyo japan

We headed to Ueno Zoological Gardens......its a zoo as old as 1882. and our daughters chose because the main attraction is PAnda...so if you asked them what they saw in Tokyo they are sure to say the zoo with the PAnda....!

Entrance of UENO ZOO


The Popular Pandas at The Ueno Zoo



There are several other zoo and sea life parks...which we gave amiss as there is only limited things you can really cover.
The Tiger at the Zoo

The Polar Bear - yet another attraction

The Panda Hug




We headed off to Akhibara the Electric City....

This is an area with the most advanced electric products . There are several hundreds of shops selling all kinds of electronic products.There are also streets specialising in Musical instruments etc...

We headed off lateer to see Yushima Tenmagu Shrine....before heading home to a well deserved rest.

A view of the temple

Tokyo japan

We left the hotel by 6 to head off to Hakone....We reached Shinjuku and boarded the train on Odyaku line for Hakone Yumoto. On the way you get views os snowcapped Mount Fuji.

Ten we headed off in Hakone Tozan Bus to the next leg of the Hakone tour. We stopped here and shopped around for Japanese Curios also visited an art museum from where the views of Lake Ashi was fantastic.


Then we took the cermonius ship to Togendai to be set for another Hakone ropeway ride.

Several shots on our one day trip to Hakone!
Do click on the photo to get an expanded view! The place was awesome!




After the ropeway ride you take the cable car and reach Gora. We stopped by and visited the Gora Park before heading to Shinjuku after a long and tiring day.

Tokyo japan

Today was cruising day...we thought our trip to Tokyo wont be complete without a cruise on Tokyo Bay.So we headed off to Hinode Pier....and went to Odaiba /seaside park on a cruise....

A closer view of the Rainbow Bridge. Notice that the bridge is 2 levels.Vehicles simultaneously pass through both levels.


Fuji - TV Headquarters



We spent time walking and shopping around finally to return to Hinode Pier.

Then we took the last opportunity to see the skyline of Tokyo.So we took a city view from the World Trade Centre before heading off for a late lunch .
Another shot of Rainblow Bridge as a backdrop!



A day view of the city from the World Trade Centre




Took the train to Narita International Airport and was amazed at the size of the airport.It was huge and makes you wonder how well these cities plan and prepared for future.There are several shops for genuine Japanese Curios at the airport so we shopped till we actually spent the last yen before heading home to Taipei.

Japan

Revised Itinery

Arrival at Narita Airport - 1 PM on Friday.

Options for Train Station, Place Service Time (minutes) Cost (¥)
TOKYO JR Tokyo Station JR "Narita Express" # 60 2,940
JR Rapid Train 90 1,280
Limousine Bus 80 3,000
Fixed Rate Taxi * 100 19,000



4 PM - all set to go sightseeing!

Tsukiji
DirectionsShort walk from the Tsukiji Shijou subway station
The Tsukiji Shijou station is on the Toei Oedo Line; change at the JR Hamamatsu-cho station on the Yamanote Line from the JR Tokyo station.
Or, 10-minute walk from the Tsukiji station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line
Access
[1] Near A2 Exit of Tsukiji-Shijo Sta. on Subway Toei Oedo Line.

[2] 10min. walk from Tsukiji Sta. on Subway Hibiya Line.

[3] 15min. walk from Higashi-Ginza Sta. on Subway Hibiya Line and Toei Asakusa Line.

[4] 20min. walk from JR / Subway Shimbashi Sta.

[5] 10min. by bus (Bus #01 for “Tsukiji Chuo Shijo”) from East Exit of Shimbashi Sta.
Hours
5 am - 3 pm ( Most of the places in the market might be closing at around 1 pm)
Auction of marine products: about 5 am - about 7 am
Auction of fruits and vegetables: about 6:30 am - about 7:30 am

Japan

We are planning a trip to Japan.

I thought I will blog as I plan and update with photos once the trip is completed..

So keep Checking...

As of now this is the itinery.

Day 1
Tsukiji

Asakusa
Edo Tokyo Museum
Sensoji Temple
Akihabara
Imperial Palace
Roppongi

Day 2
Ginza
Kabukiza theatre
Nihonbashi
Shibuya
Ikebukora Ueno

Day 3 Hakone

Day 4 Odaiba.


Wonder how much we will be able to cover!

Most of the information is obtained from Japan Website

which I will edit as and when I have visited the places

Odaiba

4th Day

Tokyo Station. Then take JR Yamanote Line for 4 minutes from Tokyo Station to Shimbashi Station. At Shimbashi Station, take Yurikamome Line to Daiba Station for 14 minutes.

A new amusement hotspot. A futuristic, unmanned traffic system smartly connects it to the rest of Tokyo.
Odaiba was born on the reclaimed land in the Tokyo Bay in the southeast of Tokyo. It is attracting mostly young people as the newest amusement spot in Tokyo. The name Odaiba means a platform site. It derives from the installation of a platform for a marine cannon battery that was constructed in haste to meet the emergent need for defense of Tokyo (called Edo at that time) against the sudden appearance of black steel ships commanded by Commodore Perry from the United States in 1853.

The center of Odaiba is "Aquacity Odaiba". There is a shopping mall with a 300-meter long boutique street, a multi-flex cinema that employs the latest acoustic and screen technologies, a gourmet zone that stretches over 15,000 m2 which is obviously the largest in Japan, and Fuji TV studio where visitors can see the settings of popular TV programs.


Major attractions of Odaiba are dotted along Yurikamome Line, a new unmanned traffic system that connects Shimbashi Station through the Rainbow Bridge with Odaiba. There is the Odaiba Seaside Park that overlooks the Rainbow Bridge as well as the Venus Fort, a "theme park for ladies" located in the area of the Palette Town, which accommodates over 140 shops with the interior that takes after an European city in the 18th century, and many other new facilities are jostling.

Hakone

3rd Day

DirectionsAbout 40 minutes by JR Tokaido Shinkansen Line from Tokyo Station to Odawara Station. About 15 minutes by Hakone Tozan Tetsudo Line from Odawara Station to Hakone Yumoto Station.

One of the best international holiday resorts. Home of renowned spas and a large historical zone.
Hakone is the name that refers to the whole area, surrounding Mt. Hakone-yama that is situated in the southwestern part of Kanagawa, and is part of the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park. Hakone is an internationally well-known holiday resort that includes many renowned spas and Lake Ashino-ko, which was created by Mt. Fuji's repetitive volcanic activity. In Hakone, there are said to be "Hakone Thirteen Spas", or some even say "Hakone Seventeen Spas" altogether distinguished from each other by their distinctive ingredients and different healing effects.

The Hakone Barrier was built on the Tokaido Highway(The road from Edo to Kyoto) in 1619 in order to fortify the capital Edo (former name of Tokyo) against various foreign clans from the west and to maintain public peace. The Hakone Barrier used to terrify travelers as they were thoroughly inspected before they were allowed to continue traveling along the Tokaido, the main transport artery of those days. For this reason, Hakone used to be called "the border between the east and the west". The original barrier which has been restored with related information, including armor and weapons, is open to the public nowadays.


There are many other interesting sites in the surrounding area of Hakone. Visit Onshi Hakone Park, for instance, to see the up-side-down Mt. Fuji reflected in the surface of Lake Ashino-ko nearby. Hakone Museum proudly presents its collection of approximately 50 pieces of pottery. Enjoy a pleasant walk through Hakone Sengokubara Shissei Kaen where a beautiful garden of hydrophytes welcomes you. The conservation and protection of nature and the historical sites are well maintained in Hakone. The wetland plant colony is listed as a natural monument. Rows of cedar trees stretch for 2 km along the old Tokaido and the group of stone statues of Buddha is enshrined in Hakone.

Ueno

Known as the Gateway to the North, Ueno has many cultural establishments nesting within a vast park.
Ueno Station in Taito-ku is called a gateway to the north because it is the starting station for the railways bound for the Tohoku region(the northeast region) from Tokyo. The terminal accommodates 6 railways including JR Shinkansen Lines. It is a prominent downtown rivaling with the Ginza, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Shibuya.


In the Tokyo Ueno-onshi-koen Park, the Tokyo Metropolitan Imperial Gift Park that boasts a vast area in the west of Ueno Station, there is a concentration of cultural institutions such as the first zoo in Japan, Tokyo Metropolitan Imperial Gift Ueno Zoo, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Cultural Hall, National Western Art Museum, National Science Museum and Tokyo National Museum, all offering recreation and relaxation for the citizens.


There is Ameya-yokocho Market called Ameyoko for short in the area under the elevated railway from Ueno Station to Okachimachi Station. This area used to be a thriving flea market immediately after the end of the WWII. There are over 500 shops that sell everything from basic foods to high-class imported goods at reasonable prices, and thus it is always crowded with shoppers. The year-end special bargain sales, in particular, have become one of the scenes that add poetic charm to the season that reflect the lives of the common people of Tokyo.

Ikebukuro

Ikebukuro

Tokyo Station. Then, take JR Yamanote Line for 25 minutes from Tokyo Station to Ikebukuro Station.

Ikebukuro in Toshima-ku has the terminal for JR Yamanote Line, Saikyo Line and Takasaki Line, subways Marunouchi Line and Yurakucho Line, Seibu Ikebukuro Line and Tobu Tojo Line. It is a prominent downtown rivaling with the Ginza, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Asakusa. As it has often been selected as the scene for TV dramas and novels in recent years, the young people who are keen on the trend cast eager eyes on Ikebukuro. It is divided into the west side and east side areas by JR Ikebukuro Station.

In the eastern side, department stores and large size fashion industry buildings stand side by side. There is the Sunshine City around a super-high-rise building "Sunshine 60" to the east of the shopping street that leads to the station. Also, in the area of the Sunshine City, there are an aquarium, planetarium, hotel, shopping mall and convention center with display facilities.


In the west side, there is the Tokyo Art Theater and some universities among department stores and shopping streets. Many university students walk around the town, and it gives off literary flavor that sets up a clear distinction from the hustle and bustle on the eastern side.

Shibuya

One of the more fashionable and upbeat parts of Tokyo, famous for being the trend-setting center of Japan.

Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Shibuya has the terminal for the JR Yamanote Line, Saikyo Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line and Den'entoshi Line, Keio Inokashira Line, Subways Ginza Line and Hanzomon Line. It is a prominent downtown of Tokyo rivaling with the Ginza, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Asakusa.

In Shibuya, there are not only the numberless movie theaters with up-to-date facilities, but also the facilities to offer high-level culture, such as Shibuya-kokaido Hall frequented by people coming for concerts, Orchard Hall specializing in concerts, operas, and ballet performances, and Bunkamura consists of a theater, an art museum and movie theaters and Denryoku-kan(museum of electricity) where people can learn about electricity with enjoyments. This is one of the features of Shibuya as a lively downtown district with full of amusements and entertainments.

Shibuya is unique that every street and area has a different atmosphere. The Center Street is swarmed with youth fashion shops, fast food shops, game centers, etc., and it is famous as the place where a new trend for the youths are born and spread nationwide. It is always crowded with mostly teenagers day and night, and you can directly feel the today's fashion trend of the Japanese. The Koen-dori Street that extends to the Yoyogi Park is a shopping street with a row of department stores and fashionable buildings attracting families in particular. Recently, Shibuya Mark City, the biggest shopping complex in Shibuya that comprises a large-scale hotel, business floors, and fifty-five shops, and other high-rise building construction rush have started. It is now known as "Bit Valley" (named after Shibuya which literary means "Bitter valley" and the computer lingo "bit") where venture enterprises that support the IT industry are concentrated. Thus Shibuya is attracting eager eyes from all over the world not only for fashions and shopping but in the sector of the state-of-the-art industry as well.

Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi is a bridge over the Nihonbashi-gawa River at the north of Chuo-ku. This bridge was the origin point of the five major streets built and prospered in the Edo Period in the 17th century. It still bears the bronze signpost that bears the words "Origin of Roads in Japan", and it is the reference point for all roads in Japan. For that reason, Nihonbashi prospered as the town of merchants where kimono cloth mercers purveyer to Edo Castle and many merchant families were gathered. Even today, the Nihonbashi area which is adjacent to Ginza, and it is dotted with major department stores and stores with long standing whose history goes well back into the Edo Period.

Kabuki-za Theater

The Kabuki-za Theater where the Japanese traditional theatrical art kabuki is played is located to the west of the intersection at 4-chome toward Tsukiji. Recently, many of world famous brand boutiques have opened in Ginza which cast the town as an internationally noted area of top-fashion trend.

Ginza

2nd Day


It is 2 minutes from Tokyo Station to Yurakucho Station by JR Yamanote Line, and 10 minutes walk from Tokyo Station to Nihonbashi.

Ginza is the downtown area most people associate with Japan. Nihonbashi streets have been lined with stores for generations.

The Ginza is one of the most famous downtowns of Japan located in Chuo-ku. Ginza means a silver mint, and its name derives from establishment of the silver coin mint in the 1600s. On the main street Chuo-dori Avenue that extend southwest from 1-chome(a block) to 8-chome, also known as Ginza-dori Avenue, there are large department stores such as Mitsukoshi, Matsuzakaya and Matsuya and many large-size store buildings dotted around 4-chome in particular, where the street meets the intersection of Harumi-dori Avenue. There is a clock tower cherished by people as the symbol of Ginza placed on the Wako Building built of stone. In the whole area of Ginza, there are more than 400 art galleries, innumberable restaurants and boutiques all competing each other of their styles, and every store boasts the tradition and the its culture unique to Ginza.

Roppongi

Night in Roppongi
Tokyo is known as a city that never sleeps, and there are many discos and bars for foreign visitors, particularly in Roppongi. On the 53rd floor of the huge "Roppongi Hills Mori Tower" is the Mori Art Museum, open till 10:00 p.m. except for Tuesday and on the 52nd floor is the observation deck, Tokyo City View open till 1:00 a.m. There is also a movie theater that stays open till late at night on weekends in Roppongi Hills, so you can relax and enjoy a movie after dinner.

Imperial Palace

Round-trip tour of the Imperial Palace by double-decker bus

Palace by double-decker bus
Enjoy a round-trip tour of the Imperial Palace, Ginza and Marunouchi on the double-decker open-top bus "Sky Bus Tokyo", which departs at 18:00 (45-minute trip). If you have extra time, why not enjoy the night view on the "Rainbow Bridge/Odaiba Trip" (2-hour round trip).

Akihabara electronics quarter

Direction

Go to Akihabara Station from the Tsukuba Express Asakusa Station (5 minutes).

Shopping for electrical products or animation goods in the Akihabara electronics quarter
Go to JR Tokyo Station, Marunouchi exit from JR Akihabara Station (3 minutes).

This town began specializing in electrical equipment in the latter half of the 1940s, when people's primary source of information was radio. In the beginning, many shops dealing in radio parts gathered under the elevated railroad of JR. Later, these shops began dealing with home electrical appliances, thus developing into the world's biggest electrical equipment town.

With many service centers and the showrooms of major manufacturers, as well as duty-free shops and various events, the town is attractive in the eyes of visitors. Among these events, the Denki-matsuri Festival, held in summer and winter, is the biggest, a great chance for good shopping that you should never miss. Take the time to fully explore the wonderland.

Sensoji Temple

Sensoji Temple

Direction

Go to JR Asakusabashi Station from JR Ryogoku Station, and change to the Toei Asakusa Line for Asakusa (10 minutes).

Walking tour of Sensoji Temple
It is believed that the Sensoji Temple was built in 628, making it the oldest temple in Tokyo. After passing through the Kaminarimon Gate, you will see many shops selling souvenirs. One can trying tempura or sukiyaki at one of the long-established restaurants nearby.