Our third trip, once again to Japan, the land of the rising sun. This time, we got to see the autumn foliage. From city living to nature trails to amusement parks and onsen tubs. Japan is our favorite travel destination, a place where the fun truly never ends.
What we love: Ghibli Museum, Tokyo Disneyland, DisneySea, and Hida Beef.
What we don’t: The barren Hitachi Seaside Park and not being able to spot Mount Fuji.
What we think: ★★★★★ (Damn sure will be back).
Day 1: Harajuku, Meiji Jingu and Shibuya
Red-eye Flight to Tokyo Ohayo Japan, once again, we are back at the land of the rising sun! Oh we miss you so. This trip we flew red-eye, directly from Singapore to Tokyo. Initially thought we could catch some sleep, but we ended up watching movies and eating all night. That’s SQ for you, you’ll…
Day 2: Hitachi Seaside Park and Shimo-kitazawa
Journey to East Coast of Japan It’s going to be a 2.5 hour ride to Hitachi Seaside Park, therefore we’ve got to settle our breakfast on the go. There’s something exciting about buying breakfast from the Japanese convenient stores. Perhaps it’s the unknown flavors that excite us, or colorful bottles that make it ever so…
Day 3: Ghibli Museum and Anata no Warehouse
Tribute to the Legendary Studio Ghibli Today is the day, Ghibli Museum! But first let me emphasize the need to be kiasu. I’ve read that the tickets are very controlled and very limited. Online sales start on the 10th of each month, for the following month. Luckily for us, our stay in Tokyo spans across…
Day 4: Karuizawa, Magma Stones and Waterfalls
The Freezing Cold Karuizawa Town This morning we are going to Karuizawa! Don’t know what to expect, except that it’s going to be cold there. Heroic Minmin still asked if we need to bring jackets. Again, breakfast is settled on the go, as we need to travel from Shinjuku to Omiya to Karuizawa. Staying at…
Day 5: Tokyo DisneySea
The Happiest Place on Earth Today we are going to Tokyo DisneySea. We left our luggage back at Shinjuku and brought 2 days worth of stuff with us. Reached Maihama at 7 AM, bought our Disney train passes and checked-in at Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay. The concierge was world class, they’ll bring our bags in…
Day 6: Tokyo Disneyland
The Happiest Place on Earth, Again, at Tokyo Disneyland Today is part 2 of our Disney Resort adventure. They say Tokyo Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, pretty sure it encompasses DisneySea as well. Queuing up for more than an hour for anything else doesn’t make us happy at all, but over here, we’d…
Day 7: Asakusa, Akihabara, Ameyokocho
Hello Shinjuku, We Meet Again Mixed feelings this morning, as we waved goodbye to Sheraton. And took the train from Maihama back to town. At least we had lots of time this morning to make our way back to Shinjuku. Today’s itinerary was to visit the 3 Aces of Tokyo: Asakusa, Akihabara and Ameyokocho. Ok…
Day 8: Tsukiji, Ginza, Odaiba Rainbow Bridge
The Historical Tsukiji Fish Market We knew that the auctions of Tsukiji Fish Market ended in September 2018. I’ve read that although the inner areas were closed, and have shifted away to new and bigger Toyosu. However, there were also numerous articles mentioning that parts of Tsukiji were open; honestly it was mildly confusing. We…
Day 9: Fujikawaguchiko and Rakuyu
Towards Mount Fuji and Kawaguchiko Rise and shine! Literally, because I was expecting the sky to still be dark, but in fact it was already shining brightly at 5AM. This morning, we left super damn early to catch our bus from Shinjuku bus terminal. Bus leaves at 6 yo, towards Kawaguchiko. Kawaguchiko literally means Lake…
Day 10: Lake Ashi Hakone and Gorakan
From Kawaguchiko, to Lake Ashi Hakone Rise and shine to an amazing view this morning. It’s a pity we won’t get to admire the scenic view for long. Today we are going to visit yet another lake in the region, Lake Ashi Hakone. Which means we will be changing Ryokans too! Rise and shine. Woke…
Day 11: From Hakone to Nagoya
Back to City Life at Nagoya We’re headed to Nagoya, back to city living after being close to nature for the past 2 days. By now we’re already fatiguing on the consecutive Kaiseki-style meals. No doubt the breakfast at Gorakan was fantastic, we’re feeling a little overdosed. One thing different today was the hot-pot tofu,…
Day 12: Takayama, Home of Hida beef
A Day Out to the Dainty Town of Takayama We’re going to Takayama. We’re going to eat Hida beef in Takayama. There’s no better way to describe the day, not the sightseeing, nor the perfect weather. Nope, the main focus is the beef. So it was a 2-hour ride. We took the earliest possible ride,…
Day 13: Hikone Castle
Castle Hunting Day at Hikone, Shiga We are going to visit our 3rd original castle, and its accompanying garden. Hikone Castle is situated in the Shiga Prefecture, and is well known for Japan’s biggest lake, Lake Biwa. The abundant natural environment made it optimal for cattle, hence the famous Ōmi beef in the area. A…
Day 14: Inuyama Castle
Castle Hunting Day 2, Inuyama Effectively, it is our last day in Japan. Time flies, we’ve spent two weeks here already. Today, we’re on our way to look for our second castle on this trip, Inuyama Castle. It was a very short journey from Nagoya so we just headed there to see what we could…
Day 15: Goodbye, and See You Later Japan
2 Weeks of Fun, Laughter, and Walking Everybody loves to go on vacations. Nobody likes the last day of a holiday. It’s the 3rd time we’re having this depressing moment; this “back to reality” realization moment. For some reason our breakfast was extremely bittersweet. Knowing that we’ll never see these canned coffee nor onigiri for…