This trip has been planned over a year and its finally here! This round I'm traveling with my friend so loads of food adventure ahead. I suggested to my friend to fly via ANA since she has never taken Japan airline before.
This trip has been a long-awaited holiday for the two of us. We had been talking for years about going on a trip together and can't believe it's finally here.
We had our drinks at Starbucks since it was early. I guess we were kinda excited about this trip and came way too early to check-in.
In no time it was time to board our flight.
Beverages were served. Cheers to our trip :)
Thankfully it's a clear sunny day.
Food and snacks that were served on boardπ½
You will never get hungry while on this flight π
Everything tastes so good.
Everything tastes so good.
My favorite ice-cream brand served on board.
And my favorite Vanilla flavor too π
And my favorite Vanilla flavor too π
We loved the rice cracker so much that we asked for another pack π
One thing good about sitting at the window seat you have a glimpse of the clouds and sky on a clear day.
The whole journey took less than 6.5 hours to arrive at Haneda airport.
When we landed it was around 10.30pm local time.
You can check out the videos I took when we took ANA from KLIA to Haneda.
After going through the immigration (super long queue) and getting our 72 hours Tokyo subway ticket, we went straight and board the train to Asakusa station.
When I choose our first 5 nights hotel to stay, I wanted to stay somewhere which is convenient for us and also easier for us to take the direct train to our hotel.
I always have fear of boarding the wrong train especially if it close to midnight. I find that the google map app helps a lot when navigating around Japan.
It was an hour journey from the airport to our hotel. For those who have heavy luggage, I would suggest taking another train to another station rather than stopping at Asakusa station (Asakusa line). We had to carry our luggage through multiple staircases. I was cursing the whole way while carrying our suitcase up the staircase π
By the time we check in the hotel and reach the room, it was past midnight. We were too exhausted to do anything other than getting our food from the convenience store nearby for our breakfast. We called it a night after taking a shower. For more info about the hotel we stayed, you can read about our stay in this hotel here.
The next morning we woke up early and have our breakfast in the room. Initially, we were supposed to go to the Tsukiji market for breakfast but after some thought decided to skip it and head to our next destination instead. Luckily we skip the market because the journey took us 2 hours to reach Odakyu Tama Center Station (got lost along the wayπ
).
Its a bit confusing when you need to change train π
By the time we reach Sanrio Puroland it was around 11.30am. OMG!
Buy your ticket in advance if you want to avoid the queue. I bought the ticket in advance via Klook site before coming here. Best of all it's an open ticket.
My friend and I love Sanrio characters.
I mean who wouldn't? They're just so adorable!!!
Even their food is in Sanrio Character theme as well π
(We ended having our lunch and tea break here)
(We ended having our lunch and tea break here)
There're several shows and rides in Sanrio Puroland. We didn't get to see all the shows or get on one of the rides because we spent so much time taking pictures.
We also spent a lot of time browsing all the cute merchandise too.
I know that not a lot of people like Sanrio Characters but if you're a fan of them you should defiantly check this place out if you're in Tokyo.
I didn't think we will spend all our time here until they're closed at 5pm.
Being tired and not having enough rest the night before we decided to head back to the hotel and had our dinner at Yoshinoya (it was on the way back to our hotel). With that, we wrap up our day 2. We were pretty exhausted after all the walking.
Slept early before 10pm....and this resulted in waking way too early in the morning on our 3rd day π
Not able to sleep we decided to head out early to start our day. We had light breakfast in the room before leaving π½
The street outside was pretty deserted when we left the hotel around 5.30am. It was nice walking around when the surrounding is quiet....although it was freezing cold in the morning π
What can you do early in the morning when most of the places are still closed? Take a stroll at Ueno Park of course. Glad we came early in the morning because the park was pretty deserted when we arrived.
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Other than the locals who were jogging and walking their dogs, the park was quiet and peaceful (that's what I like).
Below is a video I took while exploring the park. Pictures don't do much of justice and often videos tend to capture the beauty of the park :)
Pretty thankful that we're able to witness cherry blossom when we're here πΈ
When I was here last year it came early in March so I wasn't sure if we'll be able to see cherry blossom this trip. My friend was really happy because it's her first time witnessing sakura.
Beautiful weather when we were here.
After strolling around at the park it was time to head over to our next destination. Before that, we stop by at FamilyMart for some snacks and drinks. I guess the walk and the cold weather does make you hungry easily.
We took the Ginza line from Ueno Station to Meiji Shrine.
We were early so the crowds were lesser when we were here.
You can take as many pictures/videos as you want....minus the crowds.
Below is the footage I took when we went to explore Meiji Shrine.
It's so peaceful and highly recommended to come here early in the morning.
On the way out we took a brief stop at the rest area.
After a short rest, we walked to "A Happy Pancake Omotesando".
You can read a review of this cafe. Love their pancakes!
You can watch how fluffy pancake is made. Delicious!!!
After filling up our tummy, we went to take a stroll around Harajuku. Since we love Sanrio stuff, what better way to check out this cute store called Kiddyland. Tons of cute stuff here. We spent more than an hour only in this store alone.
We headed to Ueno station to exchange our Shinkansen ticket.
We couldn't go earlier since it was closed.
We actually went back to the hotel to rest after the exchange of the train ticket. With the Tokyo Subway ticket 72 hours pass, we didn't have to worry about paying more for our transportation.
After a good rest, we then head over to Shibuya. While you're here, you got to have your picture taken with the Hachiko statue. Or in my case, just a pic of the statue will do. Too crowded to take any pictures, unless you have the patient to wait your turn.
And not forgetting crossing the infamous Shibuya crossing.
For dinner, we went to Ichiran Ramen (δΈθ).
There are 2 stores in Shibuya but I always come to this store.
I guess most people come here because it's less crowded. But this round both stores are crowded since it was dinner time...which means there's a long queue π
I love coming here for their ramen.
My friend who tried it for the first time loves it too.
After dinner, we head over to Disney Store nearby to purchase Disneyland tickets. Although you can get it from Klook site, sadly they changed the condition whereby you need to collect it from the Airport (previously you can collect it from Disneyland).
I was worried that our flight will delay & didn't want to risk it since the collection counter closed at 10.30 or 11pm. If you failed to collect the ticket on the date you selected, you'll end up forfeiting the ticket (no refund).
We shop around the stores while we were here π
Before heading back, I wanted to check out Henn Na Cafe (it was nearby).
Apparently, this cafe is served by a robot barista.
I was intrigued and wanted to check it out.
I was intrigued and wanted to check it out.
I guess most people come here just to check out the robot barista. Honestly, I preferred the coffee from the convenience store. Somehow the coffee didn't taste that good...and the robot only pressed a button from the coffee machine for my cup of latte. I guess one visit here is enough.
On the plus side, the cafe was quiet so my friend & I rest our aching feet while I finished my latte before heading back to our hotel. With that this wrap up our day 3 in Tokyo.
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