Ohayou Tokyo! Day 1

Emang holiday itu selalu berasa cepet bngt ya.. ga nyangka 9 hari udah berlalu.. dan waktu.nya kembali ke realita kehidupann.. *noooo!!!*

but before im coming back to reality.. let us relive the trip.. hehe..

We went to Tokyo by Delta Airlines 6 o clock in the morning. *it was the same flight that took me to USA for my school trip 4 years agoo.. ahh.. another good old memories*

Thankfully it was a pleasant flight, and get to reach Tokyo by 2.30 in the afternoon. Since we only booked 7 days of JR pass ticket, we bought a limousine bus ticket to get to the apartment where we stayed for 3 nights in Tokyo.

nothing fancy about the limousine bus.. it’s just a normal bus that will drop you to some hotels. since we are staying in an apartment, we took the bus to the nearest hotel from the apartment.

the bus was our very first encounter with Japan public transport. and it really amazed me they are really on time.. when the ticket said that the bus leaving at 3:15pm. it will really leave on the dot.. *pokok.nya pas jem.nya berubah jadi 3:15, lansung tancap gas tanpa nungguin siapapun.. beneran ga lebay.. haha*

 

this limousine bus service cost us 3100 yen/person, which means around 36 SGD. The bus ride took about 90 minutes from the airport to Excel Hotel Tokyu in shibuya area, the nearest hotel from our apartment.

once we reached there, we immediately walked to our apartment. luckily it’s only 10 minute walk from the hotel. *kan cape juga boo jalan sambil narik2 koper. haha*

finally we reached to our lovely apartment named ‘Feel A Shibuya’. we booked this small room from Airbnb, and we loved it so much. it is near shibuya crossing, small but cozy for 4 of us, provided us with portable wifi and all amenities are ready to use.. feels like our own home for that 3 nights. hehe..

since we reached apartment about 5pm. we quickly go to Ichiran Ramen for dinner because we didn’t want to queue so long.

all bloggers, trip advisors and other social media said that Ichiran Ramen is a must go place when you are in Tokyo / Osaka.. *hits banget deh ceritanya ini tempat.. haha*

from our place to Ichiran, we must across the road via shibuya crossing.

shibuya crossing is just so happening.. *jadi ini kyk perempatan dimana semua orng bisa nyebrang kemana aja dr perempatan itu. gw ga ngerti deh cara atur traffic.nya gimana.. hahaha.. ohh. btw. di jepang gelap.nya cepet bngt.. kyk jem 6 gt udah gelap bngt*

Ichiran Ramen is just across Tsutaya mall.. it’s one line with 109 Men’s.

it was only around 6pm, and there was a queue already. luckily it only took us 10-15 waiting time..

since Japan is well know as a vending machine country, this ichiran ramen also require us to order via vending machine.

so you just insert your notes and coins, and just press whatever that you want to order. after that, the machines will print out 1 small notes that you must show to the waitress later on. after showing the small notes, they will ask you to circle the preference.. like the noodle thickness, how strong the soup that you want, spiciness, etc.

if you see the red and green light behind my order paper.. it’s the seating arrangement. they only have 2o seats in total. *dan ga ada bangku yg hadap2an donkk. haha.. gw lebih suka makan yg hadapa2an gt.. kyknya lebih enak aja drpd makan sebelah2an kyk gini.. selain bisa ngobrol, bisa icip2 jugaa.. klo kyk gini kan ga bisa yaa.. haha*

 

ohh. one funny thing.. we could not see the waitress face here, if you need anything, you just need to press the small button in the middle. and they will come to you. *agak anehh yah rasa.nya klo ngomong ga liat wajah.nyaa*

they provide us with glass and cold tap water. so practical yaa.. haha.. we dont need to keep asking if we want to refill.

and finally.. the moment we have been waiting for!!

ohh.. how i love this so so muchh.. *semua ramen enak di singapore lewatt.. ippudo.. santouka.. semua lewatt.. hahaha*

im not a fan of thin noodle.. but this one is really different. its thin but chewy, the soup was perfectly made.. strong but not make you sick of it. and the porkk.. hmmpp.. it’s just so yummyy and tender. all are just perfect in a bowl.. *faint!*

after we had our glorious ramen.. we just stroll around in shibuya and went back to our apartment, we were just so tired because none of us had proper sleep and we need to wake up early for the next day, because Disneysea is waiting for us! hehehe.

Goodnite from the glasses ‘family’ and Hachiko! ❤ ❤

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Japan Trip

Very excited for the Japan Trip!

me, my brother and 2 of our friends will be going to Japan on 28th September.. *yes, yes, exactly 1 more month to go* woohoo..

actually i never think that Japan will be my next travel destination. since Japan is not that appealing to me, except the Ramen. haha

but since my brother wants to go there so bad for his graduation trip. as a good sister *hoekk*, i decided to accompany him to go. hahaha. then we start to find travel mates for this trip.

after finding our travelmates, it’s research time!

gosh.. suddenly i got huge desire to go to Japan after a few days of research. haha..  not sure if Japan is that good, or it’s just because i need to go for holiday badly. hahaha *mungkin panggilan si ichiran ramen yg merayu2 aku untuk pergi, since it looks very good. haha*

i heard from 2 friends that JTB (Japan Tourist Bureau) is quite good for their flight and hotels package.

so, i came there 1 month ago to compare the price.

going to Japan with ANA air + 8 nights hotel cost us about SGD 1500, which is quite cheap, since ANA itself cost us about SGD 950. so, top up about SGD 550 more and you got quite good accomodation.

i went back and tell them that they offer us a good deal. but we must confirm within 2 days, because left a few seats with ANA. and suddenly 1 of our friend told us that she cannot go on our said date and time, because her colleague already took the leave.. *kalah cepet* hahaha.

so we re-arrange the date and ask JTB again for our desired date (which is only 1 day different). and you know what, they quoted us much much more expensive.. =(

same arrangement with ANA air + 8 nights hotel cost us about SGD 1800. hey, 300 dollars different is quite huge, right?

then we ask the sales girl why they have huge different. then the girl said, SGD 1500 is too cheap. i think my colleague quote you wrongly. gahhh..

since we dont know who is correct or wrong, then we decided to book everything ourself. haha.

after 2 weeks of comparing price, finally we booked following flight and accommodations :

– Delta Airlines : SGD 684.20

– Tokyo AirBnb (Shibuya) for 3 nights : SGD 207.25

– Hotel Vista Grande Osaka for 2 nights : SGD 194.85

– Hotel Almont Kyoto for 1 night : SGD 92

– Hotel Tokyo Dome for 2 nights : SGD 247

– JR pass : SGD 347 *this is freaking expensive for 7 days train pass, but what to do, they said if we buy individually

– Tokyo Disneysea (1 day pass) : SGD 78

– Universal Studio Japan (1 day pass) : SGD 90

– Visa Japan : SGD 39

so, Total per person is SGD 1979.3 / person, which is much more cheaper than buying the package in JTB. some more the SGD 1800 that they offer is a package for 3* hotel and not including the JR pass and the amusement park tickets. =(

actually we can go cheaper for the accomodations, but some airbnb apartment that we like is already full or have minimum nights for booking. so, we just go ahead with the hotels.

after all the booking, it’s time to make itinerary.. *yeay.. hehehe.

we already have some rough itinerary, but still not fixed yet.

if you have any great place to go in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Please let me know ?

Thank you before.. =)