Ahh 2019 BC, the before times, Before Covid. If we knew that year was going to be the last time we could travel overseas for a few years we probably would’ve made it more of a special occasion, but as things would have it, we were lucky to even get away for the short time we did, but I think you’ll agree 5 days in Japan is better than no days!
With time against us, we chose to minimise lengthy travel and kept activities mostly to central Tokyo, setting up camp at the APA Hotel in Akiba. The short walk to the Akiba station took us past curry and ramen restaurants, a bakery and 2 conveniences stores. Couldn’t have asked for more ….except maybe for better weather!
As this was a quick visit with several rehashed stops from previous trips, the dialog in these blog entries will also be brief but there will still be plenty of piccies!
Travel tip: as always, look at the multi-day pass for JR rail options to save money on transport
Asakusa
Not sure how we’ve missed it in our previous trips, especially when we were at the Tokyo Skytree just across the river on the one prior, but apparently Asakusa is quite the tourist spot and its not hard to see why. It has the perfect tourist blend of site seeing starting with the 1000+yo Kaminari gate at the entrance to the Sensoji temple and other shrines, and souvenir shopping with Nakamise street, an outdoor market style set up of small shops and eateries leading to the temple. There is also a closed in mall on your way to Nakamise in the same vein as many others where its just one long mall with high glass ceilings. The stores here are less touristy and cover the usual, electronics, clothing and health varieties, there are also several restaurants.
Travel tip: check the events calendars, especially around spring, for food, music, traditional and shrine festivals
Asakusa is also home to Sanrio Gift Gate for more kawaii Hello Kitty and friends merch than you can wave two peace signs at. The store is only a couple minutes’ walk from Asakusa station and sells Asakusa specific items and other exclusives not found at other Sanrio stores.
Travel tip: allergy sufferers beware! There’s A LOT of incense and ceremonial burning at the shrines
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Odaiba
No Tokyo stop is complete without the obligatory visit to Odaiba, be it for the shopping, the mega ferris wheel, games arenas and now, Teamlabs Borderless (more on that later). Depending on the time of year there’s usually some sort of installation or lighting display along the walk paths and green spaces around the major hubs. Aqua City hides the illusive Statue of Liberty replica (and an official GShock store 😉 ). Diver city and Venus Fort/palette town are also worthy stops for shopping and games, Venus fort especially if you have a hankerin for outlet discounts. The huge Toyota city building is always interesting with its future tech, concept displays and race memorabilia.
Travel tip: If you arrive via Aomi station, exit towards the water to take in the sea breeze and ocean view off the palette town pier.
Travel tip: Regular JR passes or other discount passes aren’t valid on the Yurikamome line. The JR Tokyo Wide pass will at least get on to the island with the Rinkai line stopping at Tokyo Teleport station. If you plan on seeing more of Odaiba, there is an unlimited day pass option, purchasable at any stop on Odaiba.
As night falls, the full size Gundam comes alive with half hourly light, sound and (partial) movement shows. If, like us, your last trip was before 2017, you may notice he’s looking a bit different, that’s because it’s a WHOLE NEW ROBOT! Its now a RX-0 Gundam Unicorn which replaces the old RX-78-2 who has found a new home at Yokohoma and gotten a pretty huge upgrade(!). The new guy still lights up and transforms his head during the shows and is still one of the coolest landmarks in Tokyo.
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Teamlab Borderless
This exhibition initially started out as a short run event but it proved so popular that its still going many years later and rightly so. Put simply, its digital art projected on to installations but with such a vast lay out, evolving imagery and no maps it quickly becomes very immersive. The pics only tell part of the story as its hard to depict scale or capture the ebb and flow of each of the MANY rooms. Stand outs would definitely be the floating lanterns and the waterfall.
The exhibit boasts a rotation of displays not just over each moment but also over different days and seasons.
Travel tip: Budget at least a few hours, some exhibits like the floating lanterns require lining up and have a time limit so you might need a couple tries to get that perfect photo.
Travel tip: hours are slightly less than other museums (around 11-5pm) and tickets are not available for purchase at the venue, they need to be purchased via the website.
Photo tip: a lot of the rooms are quite large and some are maze like, between other visitors and restrictive installations, shooting space can be quite limited so an ultra wide angle lens is a wise choice. Being one big light show, its pitch black darkness in most rooms and some of the images move fast enough to trip up a slow shutter compensation so be prepared to push the ISO. Of course a tripod would be ideal but they are prohibited, if you have been out and about with one, you will be asked to store it in one of the paid lockers along with all medium to large size bags.
When travelling its pretty easy to get desensitised to the wide eyed wonderment moments of the first couple days where cool alleyways and brightly it intersections blend into one but its always a good idea to snap these simple shots as the magic returns after the smell of ramen and the roar of trains has disappeared. Thankfully there’s a constant reminder with random eye catching ‘gram worthy pics on just about every corner!
Photo tip: Different times of the day yield different results but it’s amazing what twilight and a bit of rain can do to a scene.
Odaiba
Standard ritual for our Tokyo stop is heading over the rainbow bridge to Diver City shopping mall for dinner and to see our 1:1 Gundam buddy, RX78-2. This was sadly the last year he was at this site but the news is not all bad, he has been replaced by a new Gundam Unicorn RX-0! (look out for a future post on this!)
Photo tip: there are some good views from the ferris wheel at Venus Fort but dirty “glass” and movement restricts long exposure shots. Afternoon or early evening would yield better results.
Disney Sea
Its Disneyland with a lean towards ocean related themes and places, its what you would expect from a large theme park but being Disney it was a good choice to take a toddler with plenty of options for height disadvantaged kidlets. We happened to stumble across the 15 year anniversary and a commemorative gold pirate ship to match.
Aladdin fans wishes also come true with middle eastern Agrabah inspired scenes and buildings and of course what would a Disneyland be without a bit of Americana.
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Japan 2016 part #1 – Travelling with a plus one
Japan 2016 part #2 – Yokohama
Japan 2016 part #3 – Gotemba to Kawaguchiko
Japan 2016 part #4 – Fuji Shibazakura Festival and Chureito Pagoda
Japan 2016 part #5 – Fuji Q Highland
Japan 2016 part #6 – Matsumoto, Alpine Route, Snow Corridor
Japan 2016 part #7 – Matsumoto castle, Ashikaga Flower park
Japan 2016 part #8 – Tokyo Skytree, Ueno
Japan 2016 part #9 – Tokyo wandering, Odaiba + Disney Sea
Monorail, downtown Tokyo
If you’re staying closer to inner Tokyo or just want a good view of the Tokyo skyline then head on down to Odaiba. Take the JR Yamanote line to Okachi Machi then switch to the Yurikamome line. This will take you through the city, over the Rainbow bridge (lit bridge that changes colour every few seconds) then into Odaiba.
Odaiba is on one of the many man made “islands” in Tokyo Bay it used to be all commercial buildings but is now home to a selection of tourist attractions. The biggest and most obvious one being Daikanransha, the “Tokyo eye” once the biggest ferris wheel in the world its still packs the wow factor with 360 degree views of the city, on a clear day you might even catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji.
The ride lasts about 15min and you can choose between a completely clear capsule or a regular ferris wheel style closed in bottom. There tends to be a 10-20min wait on the all-clear ones, while it is a little easier to see out from a sitting position, its no better for taking photos as the frame work gets in the way, not to mention the windows themselves can be pretty dirty.
It is open till 10pm nightly. If you want to head straight to it, stay on the upper level of the train platform and head south to the freeway overpass.
View of Tokyo from Daikanransha, Odaiba, Tokyo
Other notable attractions in Odaiba are: the “interesting” looking Fuji TV studio, Decks Tokyo Beach shopping mall, Venus Fort (Venice themed mall), the Statue of Liberty replica. Entertainment wise check out Tokyo Leisure Land (24hour gaming, karaoke and bowling) and Zepp Tokyo, Tokyo’s largest concert hall playing host to Jamie Cullum and Erykah Badu next week alone. During the day, there are numerous park areas and “beaches” on the edge of the island great for a bbq in the warmer months, though swim at your own peril.
Leaving Tokyo
So here we are in our hotel room looking down at our 2 week bounty thinking how the heck are we going to get all of this back home. Suticases. More suitcases.
After a quick chat to the concierge we headed back over to the Ameyoko markets. One thing that’s for certain is the quality of merchandise is a lot higher than what you would find in say, Hong Kong. However, this is reflected in the price, but like anything, look long enough and you’ll find what you’re after at the price you’re willing to pay. Another suitcase and carry on later, we were sorted.
Not having a budget gives you one less thing to worry about however you must always be weary of the luggage trade off. So Couple tips on packing:
– Bulky items like shoes are lighter but take up more space (try breaking down the shoe boxes and using them in the suitcase lining. You get to keep the box and have a bit of extra protection from those enthusiastic luggage
– Try to distribute heavier items like jeans across your luggage.
– Put delicate items such as glassware, ornaments, model kits and collectibles into your carryon but leave things like snow globes out. Because of the water in them, they are still classed as a prohibited item so make sure you have plenty of bubble wrap and double bagging handy. The store should normally pack them well, if not, pop into a post office for supplies.
– Lastly, if you run out of room, remember jackets don’t have to be classed as luggage. Its easy enough to carry 2 (one on each back pack strap) and spare some precious luggage space.
There you have it, city #1 covered (in a roundabout way) but we’re not done! Stay tuned for the next instalment when we hop, skip and jump over the pond to the city of angels, LA!
Domo Origato! Sayonara! ^__^
Ueno Blossom Festival
Tokyo part #1 – Ueno for a day
Tokyo part #2 – Getting round Tokyo, Ueno Sakura at night
Tokyo part #3 – Harajuku
Tokyo part #4 – Shibuya
Tokyo part #5 – Kichijoji and Shinjuku
Tokyo part #6 – Akihabara
Photo Gallery Here
