Our flight to Tokyo was at 9:10 in the morning. We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport about 2 hours before our departure.... We had our breakfast in Popeye's and then i hurriedly went to pick up the pocket wifi.
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| Very handy for using google maps, and all the other apps on our iPhone. Performance speed was reliable and fast. Can connect up to 5 device at the same time.
WifiBB (HK$320 for 5 days with HK$1,000 security deposit)
Room 304, 3/F, Airport World Trade
Centre, 1 Sky Plaza Road,
Hong Kong International Airport
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After clearing security and immigration we made our way to the Cathay Pacific gate where the flight to Narita awaited. Boarding concluded pretty quickly.
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| Buti pa sa Cathay nilalagay sa plastic ang stroller, di katulad ng ibang airline basta na lang hinahagis... |
Hubs went to sleep as soon as we boarded the plane. He was exhausted from work the day before and probably just slept 2-3 hours before going to the airport. My daughter was sleeping the whole time too.
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| nakanganga pa! |
Lunch service started pretty soon after we reached cruising altitude. Lunch onboard was pretty bad, di masarap!
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| chicken and rice |
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| excuse my chipped nail polish |
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| inflight entertainment |
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| movies |
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| poker! |
I went to the toilet and saw these...
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| Toiletries in the plane |
Finally after 4 hours the plane landed at the Tokyo Narita Airport. We were right on time. Tokyo time is 1 hr ahead of Hong Kong so it was 2:00 pm (Tokyo time) when we finally arrived.
Narita Airport is small compared to HKIA. We transited through immigration and customs quickly and rode the Airport Limousine to the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku. For me it is the most comfortable and convenient way to go to the city rather than taking the subway and towing our luggage all around. But if you are on a budget, train is definitely a good option. From the Airport, there are trains that run directly to the most popular districts in Tokyo, such as the city area and Shinjuku.
Airport Limousine Boarding Point just outside the Airport
Limousine Bus Roundtrip (Narita-hotel-Narita) HK$345 (PHP 2,008) per adult (aged 12+)
Kids under 6 yrs old- travel FREE
It is cheaper to buy the "Visitors Ticket" through their partner sales agents in advance than buying the regular ticket in the airport. We bought our tickets here: JAL Travel and Tours
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| Smoking booth outside the airport.... ang liit.... |
After an hour the bus stops directly at the hotel front door which is a plus. Hotel is huge and in excellent location. All the staff were friendly and spoke english which was a great help in a country where the language is generally not spoken. Check in was a breeze. We were assisted by 2 lovely bell staff to our room.The room was spacious, clean and excellently maintained like new. It has a nice view of the city, right across the Tokyo Metropolitan Observatory Building and Grand Hyatt Hotel.
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Tokyo Metropolitan Observatory Building  |
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| High tech... |
After we put our luggage inside the room we went to Denny's to have dinner. It was a good 5-10 mins walk from the hotel.
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| Open 24 hrs |
There is no english translation in the menu but there were thumbnail pictures that you can just point when you order.
Hubs ordered Seafood Paella
mine was Paella Angus Sirloin
Kid's meal for the little girl
French Fries with mayo and roe (fish eggs) as dipping sauce
fresh Kiwi Juice
chocolate dessert
Food was tasty and delicious. Serving size were of good portions as well. The total bill was Y4,529 (HK$298/ PHP 1,735) which i think was reasonable for 3 people.
Bill
After dinner we went to the subway to Takeshita Dori in Harajuku.
Tokyo is a big city. Going around the subway can be quite confusing at first. So plan ahead and do your research well to avoid getting lost.
Ticket vending machine
Train ticket (HK$12...PHP 70)
very open.... not safe for small kids
Tokyo stations are big with many flights of stairs and long passageways. Nakakapagod!
Harajuku station is just one stop from Shinjuku (JR Line). Harajuku is the center of teen culture in Tokyo. In Takeshita Street we found many stores selling trendy clothing and many oddities, geared toward the generally young, trendy crowd of the area. It is the main shopping drag of Harajuku's fashion world. A narrow, pedestrian-only street, practically every nook and cranny is filled with things. Para syang Lan Kwai Fong ng Hong Kong na instead of bars e puro shop.
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| Body Line |
Lotteria fast food is the McDonald's of Japan
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| there is Yoshinoya too! |
We saw some japanese wearing Lolita costume which is popular among teenagers in Japan. In this place it is normal to see people in various costumes (cosplay, goth, lolita, schoolgirl uniform...)
I noticed that Japanese have really white skin, and most of the people wear contact lens even the guys.
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| Japanese girls are cute and their voice sounds just like those in anime movies :) |
Then there's the Daiso, the 100 yen store. Everything for 100 yen (+5% tax) (HK$7/ PHP 41) Except for the Food. Four floors full of Japanese goodies. We bought some Kitkats here. Y280 (HK$18.5/ PHP107) for a pack of 12s.
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| napagod kalalakad :) |
Walking around the area, we saw a bunch of iconic crepe stands including Santa Monica Crepes. I got myself a combination of banana, cream and ice cream with chocolate and strawberry syrup. It was very good.
Crepe Y520 (HK$34/ PHP 200)
We also went to Kiddyland (Toy Store) but unfortunately, it was closed already.
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| picture na lang sa labas... :) |
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| Forever 21 and Mini Stop spotted along the way |
Hubs wanted to see the famous Shibuya Crossing so we headed to Shibuya afterwards. Shibuya is the shopping and entertainment district of Tokyo. The surrounding area was packed with shoppers, students, young couples and commuters. Shibuya Crossing is often featured in movies like Lost in Translation, The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift and Resident Evil: After Life and Retribution...
When the light turn red at this busy junction, they all turn red at the same time in every direction. Traffic stops completely and pedestrians surge into the intersection, from all sides, like marbles spilling out of the box.
The best place to observe this is from the 2nd Floor of Starbucks on the Crossing's north side
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| Hooters |
street performers
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| "Don Quixote" popularly known as "Donki" is widely known for cheap and fun miscellaneous products. Donki stores are like walking through a cluttered warehouse of random products ranging from alcohol and food to home electronics and car supplies. Open 24 hours. |
Lots of costumes here....
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| Wigs |
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| LOL |
We were already exhausted and hungry from walking around so we decided to go back to the hotel. On our way to the subway we passed by Yoshinoya and bought some take out.
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| Hachiko Station |
The popular Hachiko statue is right outside the Hachiko Exit but i didn't bother to take photo as i think it's overrated. Tambayan lang sya ng mga nagyoyosi!
It was already 11:30 pm when we got back to our hotel. We were surprised to see this in our room.
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| Bell Ishioka and Ohashi were the 2 ladies who assisted us to our room.... How thoughtful! |
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| Yummy! |
After we eat, we all went straight to bed.
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