My Trip To Japan: Part 3 - Mt. Fuji, Hakone & Lake Ashi

Read Part 2 - Harajuku here

For the second full day of our holiday we had arranged to go on a one day tour of Mt.Fuji, Lake Ashi and Hakone. We were to meet at 7:35am at the nearby Cerulean Towers Hotel in Shibuya – an early start!

Our coach pick up took us to a nearby bus station, where we boarded our outgoing coach with the rest of the tour group. On our way out of Tokyo we passed many sights, including Tokyo Tower…

The trip up to Mt.Fuji was a pleasant one – it took about 1 hour and our tour guide, Emi-San, was very informative, telling us lots of facts and info about Tokyo and the surrounding areas.

Whilst on board the coaches I found some cool info leaflets in the backs of the seats – I don’t know why but I think they’re really fun, with their cute illustrations and bright colours!

You definitely don’t get signs like this in UK!

We were heading for the 5th Station – 2,400ft above sea level and the highest point we could go to by coach that day. We were lucky actually – we were told the weather this day was unusually clear and we got some great views of the surrounding areas…

We stayed here a little while – there was a little shop for gifts and ice cream (ice cream – on a snow covered mountain?!) and of course for photo opportunities. We set off after about 30 minutes, our next target a rest stop at the base of the mountain for lunch.

Here is our guide Emi-San, explaining about how Fuji-San is a very jealous mountain, on the way to our lunch stop…

At the rest stop you had the option of visiting the restaurant or opting for a lunch-box lunch, which was pre-paid for when you booked the tour. We were the only ones on the coach that didn’t order the pre-paid for lunch box haha! I kind of wish we had, as it looked really nice. So instead we sat down in the dinning room and had the bits we had bought at the Family Mart near our hotel, earlier that morning.

Afterwards we got a chance to look round the gift shop (where I got a shopping bag featuring Mt.Fuji and Hello Kitty), and time to explore the grounds of the rest stop. It was really pretty there, with formal gardens and little places to sit and relax.

There was even a great view of Fuji-San out the front of the building…

Next on our tour we headed to Hakone, and Lake Ashi. We made our way through winding forest roads at the base of the mountain – in all it took about 45 minutes.

At Hakone we got the chance to board a cable car, with brilliant views of the mountain, forests and Lake Ashi below. And again, great signage!

Lake Ashi was our last stop before heading back to Tokyo on the bullet train. We got to go on a short cruise across the lake…

On the other side of the lake we visited yet another gift shop, where Glen and I spotted this fab Domo-Kun in traditional dress!

Our tour was almost at an end, all that remained was to travel back to Tokyo via Bullet Train. We had been looking forward to this part of the tour as we had heard so much about the Bullet Train's speed and efficiency.

I wanted to get a picture of the train when it passed our station, but it was so fast I missed it! Instead I got this one of a Bullet Train at the opposite platform…

On board the Bullet Train (Shinkansen, in Japanese) it was so packed we had to stand for part of our journey, where I spotted another sign…

This was the view we had out the little side window in the standing section…

Blink and you’ll miss it!

We arrived back at Tokyo Station around 7:30pm, and made our way back along the JR Yamanote Line to Shibuya Station.

That evening I decided to have a wander by myself, and got some pictures of Shibuya after dark...

I had a little encounter with a local whilst strolling round Shibuya that night – I was taking a picture of the streets outside the Seibu store when a Japanese man wandered into my shot. I think he thought I was taking a picture of him, as he passed a few angry words and gave me the finger! I learnt very quickly that you have to be very careful when taking pictures in public, incase people think you are trying to take candid photos of them instead of the surrounding…

Aside from that incident, we’d all had a brilliant day, and I retired back to the Tokyu Rei around 10pm for a drink from the vending machine on floor 4. Glen was back in the room when I arrived with my Coke – he had bought dinner from the McDonalds next door to our hotel and was sitting in the window seat overlooking the crossing, which was really pretty at night…

And so ended another full, busy day. I planned to go to Akihabara the next day, which you can read about in tomorrows post

Hope everyone is having a nice week!

My Trip To Japan: Part 2 - Harajuku

Read Part 1 - Departures and Arrivals here

After a much needed sleep, I was up early on the second day of our trip, eager to get going. I’d made plans before leaving about where I’d like to go on each day, and today I’d planned on going to Harajuku.

Harajuku is best known for being the teen fashion epicentre of Tokyo – spawning youth teen crazes such as Lolita, Visual Kei, Fairy Kei and the famous Harajuku Girls. It’s said if you go to Harajuku on a Sunday, you can see Tokyo’s trendy teens crowding the entrance to the train station, all dressed up in their favourite fashions. I, however, was going on a Wednesday, so sadly missed this.

Luckily our hotel was situated on the main road to Harajuku – Meiji Dori – it was little more than a 5 minute walk. On the way we passed this little shrine. We stopped to take some pictures and admire the surroundings – it was like a little haven in the middle of a busy, bustling city…

I have no idea who/what the shrine was dedicated too, but it was impressive all the same.

I left my parents and Glen at the crossing in front of Harajuku Station a little while later. They crossed the road and went off in search of the park, whilst I went to take in the sights of Takeshita Dori…

It’s hard to describe what it was like to be here really – I’d seen so many photos of the entrance to this fashion mecca over the past few years – it was amazing seeing it in real life! Every now and then, as the seasons go by, they change the decoration over the entrance gate to the street (‘Dori’ in Japanese) and while we were there it was covered with balloons in the shape of snowflakes – obviously left over from the end of winter.

Just inside the gates I found a McDonalds, and being super thirsty (it was such a hot day, surprisingly, for the start of March) I got myself a drink. Again, another chance to use my Japanese. 

Next door to the McDonalds is the famous pink and white Daiso store – the largest 100yen store in Tokyo; with over 3 floors of affordable and - to be honest - great quality items, all for as little as 100yen (60p GBP, 95c USD).

I know it sounds silly to get excited over what is basically a big £1 Store, but this Daiso was one of the main places I wanted to visit in Harajuku! I’d heard so much about all the great stationary and craft bits you can buy here, and I was not disappointed! I got some great little bits, including a pair of kawaii craft scissors in the shape of a mouse, a little ceramic bowl for fruit/snacks, sewing needles, note books and even some Japanese sweets to munch on my travels.

Here are my mouse scissors in action!

I must admit I went a little crazy on Takeshita Dori – I ended up spending about 30% of my entire holiday budget. Oops! A large sum of that 30% was spent in the chain of shops called ACDC Rag…

Little branches of these stores are dotted in various places along Takeshita Dori, and sell the latest in teen fashion and accessories. I got a little rucksack from this one, in the shape of a black bear. It’s super kawaii!

I made my way up the street – it’s basically one long pedestrian street lined with shops and boutiques on both sides, with side streets featuring even more shops and stalls. I passed a lot of crepe stands with their plastic display snacks - I wish I'd had some now!

I must have spent about 4 hours walking along this street. Seriously – it wasn’t even that long of a street, I was just having a great time! I’d spent so long here in the end that I bumped into my parents, who had already been to the park and were now contending with the crowds here. We went and had some lunch, then I carried on my way again.

On my way out of the back entrance to Takeshita Dori, I came across a store that had a basement full of gashapon machines…

I LOVE these things! Gashapon are little vending machines that offer all sorts of small items, from stationary, clothing, toys, electronics – all for as little as 100yen. I had been saving my 100yen coins hoping to find some of these machines, so I went a little crazy in here too hehe!

I found myself wishing I had a little purse or pouch to keep all my 100yen coins separate in whilst I was in Japan, so when I got home a wrote a pattern for a little Lucky Coin Pouch. You can find the pattern here 

By this time it was about 1pm. I made my way along Meiji Dori again, in search of my next target – Kiddyland…

Kiddyland is a massive, multi floor toy shop in the heart of Harajuku. It might not look like much from the outside, but inside it is full to the brim with every sort of kawaii toy and accessories you can think of, featuring all of Japans best loved characters and brands. There are floors for Rilakkuma, Totoro, Hello Kitty, and even western brands such as Peanuts and Disney. They also have a Kawaii Elevator that takes you between its choc-a-bloc 5 cute floors!

Again, I spent a lot of time in here. I really liked the super cute Totoro and Rilakkuma 3D rings, though decided not to get one as, although they were super kawaii, weren’t very practical for everyday wear – especially as I use my hands a lot of crocheting…

Photo (c) magic-pony.com

Cute, none the less!!

I did however get some 3D puzzle kits, a bottle of water in the shape of Rilakkuma, little pots of mini Sanrio erasers on keyrings, Gudetama note tins and a Peanuts fabric basket to hold my yarn in when I got back home. I also got a few Rilakkuma gashapon!

I’d spent about 6 hours shopping in all – I just wanted a break from the hustle and bustle at this point in the day, so I went off in search of some peace and quiet, away from the crowds. My aim was Yoyogi Park – a massive public park just behind Harajuku Station.

This is the entrance to the park…

A long, wide path stretches between the trees from the entrance gate up to Meiji Shrine, towards the north of the park. It was so beautiful and peaceful here – such a contrast from the chaos of Takeshita Dori, just a short distance away.

A little way up to the shrine, there was a small side path which lead to a private park. If you paid a small fee for maintenance you could enjoy the ponds, gardens and paths within, so I paid up and took a wander. I’m glad I did – it was so pretty in there!

I must have seen just one other person in this area the whole hour I was here – and although it was so isolated and quiet I felt totally safe and at peace. It was really something!

I left the private park and continued up towards Meiji Shrine…

It was really busy here – as you would probably expect from one of the main shrines in Tokyo. Most people just entered the gates and continued up towards the main area, though every now and again you would see an elderly Japanese man or woman bowing down before the gates in respect – it was really nice.

Just inside the main gate are little areas for prayer and refection, including this area where you could wash your hands and drink the special water from the trough. I assume the water has some spiritual significance, though as there were no signs around to give information I can only guess at this.

The photo above shows a little display where, for a small fee, you can buy a wooden plaque or a piece of paper and write down a prayer, wish or something you are grateful for, and the monks will pray for you. There were hundreds of plaques, featuring every language you could think of. I added my own and moved on.

By this time my feet were hurting like mad, so I decided to call it a day and head back up the main road towards our hotel for a break. Along the way I stopped off at a little shop - I forget what it was actually called – but it was kind of like the Tiger stores you see here; it sold lots of little knick-knacks, stationary and ornaments. I got a little plastic cactus for my Mum and Dad and a pen for my brother.

I rested my feet at the hotel for about an hour, then we all met up and went for dinner. The rest of the evening we spend, again, around the Shibuya Crossing area, this time visiting stores like Seibu and Loft.

And so ended our first full day in Tokyo! I hope you are enjoying hearing about my adventures in this magical city, and I look forward to telling you about Day 2 in the next post, tomorrow

My Trip To Japan: Part 1 - Departures and Arrivals

Back in March last year, thanks to my generous parents, I was able to fulfil a life long dream of mine by travelling to Japan. I have been wanting to go for so many years now, and in March it finally happened!

Travelling with my Mum, Dad and brother Glen (though mainly exploring on my own) we visited many places and did a lot of craft and dolly/toy shopping. I managed to find and see some great things, and decided I would share them with you here <3 span="">

Plus as I took so many photos (lol) I am making this a multi part post – I don’t want to spam 

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We left London Heathrow at about 9:40am – we'd flown from Heathrow twice before (both times to NYC), and it was so exciting knowing I was getting on a plane that would take me all the way to Japan! We had a direct flight, which meant 13 hours on a plane. Hmm… I entertained myself by eating/drinking the inflight meals and drinks, watching Star Wars and, of course, crocheting (seems airlines don't mind Clover hooks?)

We landed at Tokyo Narita about 12am UK time, 9am-ish local time. It might not seem tiring to sit down and do nothing for 13 hours straight, but by the time we landed we were all totally worn out – me especially as I hadn’t got a wink of sleep (I have trouble sleeping sitting up, and we didn’t fly 1st Class hehe!) But at any rate, I was so happy to be there - Finally! - I admit to being a little overwhelmed. 

I’d always pictured me arriving in Japan and having my picture taken by a Welcome To Japan sign, so we found one...

I hate any and all picture of myself, but this will be one I'll treasure forever.

We navigated through the airport ok and got our N’EX (Narita Express) tickets. It was my first go at using Japanese (the little I had actually retained over the years) and I was really nervous, but I think the lady at the booth understood me, yay!

The train ride into Tokyo was nice – we passed lots of housing estates and industrial sites – one of the things that struck me was the amount of washing out on the balcony of the apartment buildings! Literally every apartment you saw had a whole line of washing strung out on its balcony – they either have a lot of washing in Japan or they all do their washing on the same day!

We arrived at Shibuya Station about an hour later. By this time I was tired beyond belief – I hadn’t slept for over 24 hours by this point (and anyone that knows me knows I need ALOT of sleep!) But all the same, I was so blown away when I first stepped out onto the streets of Shibuya, right in front of the famous Shibuya Crossing. What a place to pick for my first glimpse of Tokyo! I had pictured this moment for so many years – decades even –  and it was actually happening, right now!

After I’d gathered myself we made our way to our hotel – the Tokyu Rei, just off of the crossing. You couldn’t get much closer to the action! The hotel was really nice – great location, friendly staff with (thankfully) good English and clean rooms and breakfast included. The rooms were a tad small, but I'd heard this was pretty standard for Tokyo.

This was the view from my hotel window – the crossing visible through a crack in the buildings!

We settled in (I got a little sleep) then we went out to explore. We mainly stuck to the crossing area this first day – looking at the fancy shops in Mark City and Shibuya 109, along Center Gai, up to the Daiso and - my favourite - Tokyo Hands (I didn’t go in on the first day, just saw the outside). We even found a Mandarake! Toy Heaven! But would they have Blythe dolls, as promised.....

Yessssss!! I had my eye on a Meowsy Wowsy within 2 minutes of seeing the display, but I held back as it was only the first day here. Must show restraint....

That night we went for dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe, over in Roppongi. We had a little trouble with the taxi driver – he didn’t know where the restaurant was and didn’t speak English, but thankfully a kind lady came up to our taxi and managed to give the driver directions. What a nice person!

One of the reasons we went here for dinner the first night was my good friend Jill (OnePinkHippo) and I visited a Hard Rock Cafe in NYC a few years ago, and ever since then whenever either one of us goes to a restaurant in the chain we get each other a tall Hard Rock Cafe glass – the ones you get with one of the fancy cocktails. Unfortunately Tokyo’s restaurant didn’t have any glasses for sale! Boo!!

We had a nice dinner and some drinks, visited the gift shop (again, no glass...) then made our way back (as before, trying to communicate with the taxi driver was a little difficult). We looked around Shibuya a little bit then headed to bed.

And so ended our first day! Super busy, even though most of it involved sitting down doing nothing but watching films and snacking lol

I think I will end this part here, as I feel I have waffled on a bit too much as it is! But I hope you have enjoyed hearing about our adventure so far! I will be posting reports of this trip every day this week

Have a lovely week, guys!

Read Part 2 - Harajuku, here