Tokyo Disneyland!

My first trip to Japan started off with a little Disney Magic!
Tokyo Disneyland is located at a walking distance from Maihama station, which is closer to travel to from Narita Airport directly as compared to traveling from the Tokyo city areas. To make full use of my limited time in Japan, my first stop is Tokyo Disneyland! There are two theme parks, DisneyLand and DisneySea. Both offers the same ticketing options but tickets are not allowed to be used for both theme parks on the same day. I bought the Starlight Passport, which allows me to enter the park only after 3pm, but the ticket price is slightly cheaper than the full day pass. Since I only arrive in Tokyo at about 11am, this is the perfect pass for me! Do note that when buying tickets online, Mastercard payment is not accepted, so find yourself another card to use. http://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/ticket/

Do expect a lot of locals, a lot of queuing up and a lot of children at Disneyland. Merchandises are pricey and pretty! One thing to specially take note of is the popcorn stalls located all over the park. Each stall sells a different Popcorn container and I believe the Mickey containers are priced higher than the rest. Buying a container entitles you to a chargeable top up at other Popcorn stalls, which also provides different flavours of popcorn. Even the Churros have different flavours! I tried the Tangerine flavoured Churros, which to me is slightly odd. There is a very tempting Strawberry flavoured Churros with a long queue. If you have tried the Strawberry flavoured Churros, do comment and let me know if it is yummy!

I did not try out many rides as there was a limited time and queues were long everywhere. Do check out on showtimes for the day that you are visiting by clicking on this link. But just like all the other attractions in the park, you will have to prepare yourself for a huge crowd~

Overall, I love the atmosphere of the park. Cute kids in full on costumes of their favourite Disney characters, adults dolled up in wacky Disney themed headgears and feel free to take selfies of yourself wearing those awesome but ultimately embarrassing to wear anywhere else merchandises.

8 days in Japan!

Booyaka!

So my first time to Japan was on 24th to 31st May 2014. I managed to snag up two promotion tickets from SIN to NRT by Scoot at only $350/pax for two way including tax! Amazing deal!!
My itinerary went like this:
24th May - Arrive in Narita Airport at 11am, train to Tokyo Disneyland (bought Starlight Passport available for weekends only, entrance from 3pm till closing. Priced at JPY5000/adult, is available for purchase online). Night bus to Osaka by Willer Express
25th May - Arrive at Umeda at 8:30am. Trained to Namba. Shopped at Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi Suji, which are kind of interlinked so it was easy to walk to each street. Stayed at Hotel Le Botejour, semi double room without breakfast was JPY6500/night on Rakuten.
26th May - Kuromon Market and Doguyasuji. Trained to Kyoto. Stayed at APA Hotel Kyoto Eki Horikawa Dori, semi double room without breakfast was JPY5500/night on Rakuten.
27th May - Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kiyomizudera Temple.
28th May - Nishiki Market. Night bus to Tokyo by Willer Express.
29th May - Tsukiji Market, Asakusa Temple, Shinjuku. Stayed at Nishi-shinjuku Hotel MyStays. Standard Double room without breakfast, weekday at JPY9100, weekend at JPY9900.
30th May - Harajuku, Shibuya.
31st May - Back to Singapore!

I did my homework before travelling and printed the necessary maps for finding my way. Though there many said free wifi, I was not able to connect, so for those of you who really need your wifi connection, your best bet might still be to rent a wifi router. All in all, if you did your homework well enough, you wouldn't be lost or end up at some place during their off days. Definitely check up on the opening hours of places you wish to visit.

While Japan is known for their complicated train tracks and platforms, I feel that there are enough signs to let you know which platform you should be heading to. Much like our 'Marina Bay' platform or 'Joo Koon' platform, just find out the name of the last station for the line you are traveling on and head to that platform. Every station has a map of the track at the area where people top up their IC card, you can check if you are at the right station by checking that map. And if all else fails, just ask the staff working at the station! Traveling from Tokyo city to Narita Airport, there is the special line called Narita Express (N'EX). Do check carefully as the train does not stop at every station. I booked my ticket the night before I have to travel to the airport. Ticket price is JPY3190/adult/way. From Narita Airport to the city, I think they were having a 50% off promotion. Unfortunately I was travelling straight to Disneyland at Maihama so there was no need for the promotion ticket for me. http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/tickets.html

Night bus is a popular option with the locals, convenient and cheap. While journey on the night bus is pretty long, the driver usually finds a rest stop every 2 hours for the passengers to get a 15-20 minutes break. When  you exit the bus, a number tag will be given to you and the driver will inform you the time to return back to the bus. If you happen to be awake, do take that break to visit the souvenir shops. As you will be stopping at random areas, you will be able to find souvenir from different areas of the country. I stopped at Hakone rest area once, and there were Mt Fuji shaped biscuits. Snacks and drinks are allowed on the bus but do not bring food that have a smell. The locals will be catching up on their sleep so do not talk or make any form of sound on the bus. Even whispering is not a good idea as the bus will be dead silent. Blankets are provided and depending on the type of seats you reserved, some comes with an overhead cover so people passing by will not see your drool-stained face. There are many overnight bus companies (Toyotetsu, VIP Liner) available but I tried Willer Express due to their English website. https://willerexpress.com/en/

If there are things you wish to clarify, do drop a comment and I will try my best to answer you~