MEIJI SHRINE - SHIBUYA - AKIHABARA - ASAKUSA - ODAIBA

Our itinerary for Day 3 should be like this, had we bought the Studio Ghibli Museum ticket's in advance.

1. Studio Ghibli
2. Akihabara
3. Asakusa
4. Odaiba

But to our dismay, tickets were all sold out until 3rd week of November, when we came at Lawson. So if you're planning on including the Ghibli Museum into your itinerary, please please please book your tickets in advance. You may book here http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/ticket-information/.

Since we were not able to do the Ghibli, we went to Meiji Shrine instead. We actually don't want to include any shrines and castles in Tokyo. We thought we'll have a lot of that when we came to Kyoto and Osaka. But visiting the Meiji Shrine did not disappoint. We were surprised it has been one of our favorite places in Tokyo.

Just a tip, GO EARLY! We were there as early as 8:30AM. There were not a lot of people yet. And we obviously enjoyed the place, serene and close to nature. Tour groups came at 10AM. And the calm, serene environment immediately disappeared.

MEIJI SHRINE

AKIHABARA

If I were to decide, I would skip Akihabara. Just because, I'm not a die hard anime fan. But because my sister is, then Akihabara it is. The only bonus point for me is that I was able to buy some Ghibli stuffs. That cost a fortune! Lols

ASAKUSA

And again, if I were to decide, hehe. I would not include this very touristy place. We were hoping to buy some good souvenir item here. But oh boy, everything is so expensive in Japan, and nothing impressive. There were a lot of people when we came at 2PM and it was a hot afternoon in Tokyo. We probably spent a good 30 minutes at Asakusa and came rushing for Odaiba.

ODAIBA

We took the train to Odaiba, and it was a scenic ride via Yurikamome. By the time we reached Diver City, we were just in time for the Gundam statue night performance. It was just cool to see Gundam’s head moving, along with some lights and some music.

We were just too tired so we did not explore much. If we were to do it all again, Day 3 Tokyo would just be Meiji Shrine and Odaiba lols; or maybe Shibuya again at night.

Read More »

DAY 2 is allotted for Tokyo Disneysea alone. Even though we plan on maximizing our stay there, we woke up late. Oh no! To maximize your stay at the park and if you intend to ride at least 5 attractions - you have got to be there before it opens. Especially if you don't have a fast pass. Expect to wait 30-80 minutes per ride.

Here's our timetable at Disneysea.

10AM - Photo op

View from the Disney Railway

There was a short queue for photo op in this area. We're so glad we passed by at the right time.

There was a marching band as well.

Along  Mediterranean Harbor

10:30AM - 11:30AM Tower of Terror (Must Ride 10/10)

11:30AM - 1:40PM Stroll/Lunch/Photo Ops

1:40PM - 2:30PM Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull  (Must Ride 10/10)

2:30PM - 3:30PM Raging Spirits Rollercoaster  (Must Ride 9/10)
                               Just 9, because it was too quick. 




3:30PM - 4:30PM Sinbad's Storybook Voyage (7/10)

4:40PM - 6:00PM Journey to the Center of the Earth (Must Ride 10/10)

6:30PM - 6:45PM Mermaid Lagoon Theater Musical Show (7/10) 
Rated at 7, because I just wished they have the show in English. We did not understand everything. Even the songs, we can't sing along at Ariel's "Part of your World". 

8PM - Fantasmic Show and Fireworks Display (9/10)

Read More »

So in my post, JAPAN 9 Days Itinerary: Tokyo-Hakone-Kyoto-Osaka, I shared with you our skeletal itinerary in Japan.

In this post, let's break it down a bit.

Starting with TOKYO.

We flew via Cebu Pacific via 5J 5054 departing Manila 5:20AM. That meant, we were at the airport as early as 2:30AM. Since Cebu Pacific is considered a low cost carrier/budget airline, travel tax of Php 1,620 is not included in the airline ticket we purchased. So before checking in at the Cebu Pacific counter, make sure you already paid the travel tax at their designated counter. Also, good news! To save you the hassle in queuing, Travel Tax payment can be done online.

Cebu Pacific landed on time at Narita Airport at 10:30AM. Once we were done with immigration and baggage pick up, we hurriedly looked for the HIS counter to pick up our rented Pocket Wifi. We rented it out via KLOOK.

We went down and looked for the JR counter selling NEX Tickets one way to Shinjuku station.

Before entering the NEX line, we stopped and purchase our SUICA cards. We did not purchase JR pass for our trip. We only used Suica, Hakone 2 Day Pass, 1 way Shinkansen Odawara-Kyoto and Icoca for our 9 day trip.

We got on our NEX Train at 12:23PM. Yep, it almost took us 2 hours to finally get out of the airport. So take it into consideration in planning your 1st day itinerary. Don't overdo it. 1st day will mostly be spent on traveling, getting all your tickets and eating!



If we have chosen our accommodation in TOKYO central or UENO area, KEISEI Skyliner is definitely the best choice. KEISEI is much cheaper than NEX, plus they have a promotion that gives you 1 day Tokyo Metro Pass. However our AirBnb is located in Shinjuku, and we want to have a direct train trip and skip lugging around our big luggage. Remember that not all stations have escalators and elevators, either way you really have to carry your heavy luggage down and up the stairs.

Upon arriving at Shinjuku Station, we wanted to buy our Hakone 2 day pass already but the counter we chanced upon only sells "on the day" passes. So we just looked for the subway line to our AirBnb.

For more info, about our AirBnb in Tokyo. Check this out https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12978549

We arrived early for our 3PM check in time. The cleaner is not yet finished but he allowed us to leave our luggage in the room. We spotted a nice restaurant in the area so we went for late lunch first. By 3PM, we came back and settled.

Having not enough sleep and tired , we decided to take some rest before heading out at 4PM.

Our first stop when we headed out, SHIBUYA!

What can you see in Shibuya. Of course, HACHIKO! There were not many people when we arrived, so taking a photo with the statue and the cute Neko was not a challenge.



Shibuya at night.



My sister wanted to see some cosplayers at Harajuku. So from Shibuya, we took the subway to Omotesando, then walked our way to Harajuku area.

Disappointed that there were no sightings of cosplayers (we were there on a weekday), and the area is definitely not for budget shoppers like us, we came back to Shibuya - stroll around and ate Ramen for dinner at Ichiran. We came early, around 6PM so there was not queue at that time. But when we came out (maybe after an hour), there was a long queue from the basement floor up to the streets. Oh my! The ramen at Ichiran is perfect! You should give it a try.

Full and satisfied with our dinner. We called it a night. We could've strolled some more in the Shinjuku area but we were all tired and sleepy.

Read More »