Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Japan: Day 9 - Tokyo: Odaiba

Odaiba is an artificial island in Tokyo. I really enjoyed this visit, there are lots of interesting things to see, such as the Toyota Mega Web, a shopping mall with lots of pet shops selling any kind of item you can imagine (or not), museums, etc. What amazes me is the size of this place; I would never have imagined I was on an artificial island unless I was told.

Odaiba - Tokyo
Odaiba - Tokyo

It seems to be better to visit this place during the week, as weekends are packed I read. Even during the week, there were lots of people around.

Odaiba - Tokyo
Odaiba - Tokyo


The JR train can be taken to Odaiba, but be careful. From Ozaki to Tokyo Teleport station at Odaiba , the way becomes a private (Rankai Line) and an additional fare needs to be paid at the destination (Y320 for the ride between Ozaki-Odaiba).

Toyota Mega Web is a huge showroom where all car models are shown. The main attraction was a futuristic uni-personal vehicle that could be driven (only Japanese speakers allowed), and all the new Hybrid car and SUV models. Also, a few Lexus cars are in display. This is interesting even for somebody who isn't a fan of cars. At this location, Toyota has a private track for test driving most car model they have (fee of Y300 to Y500, need to register/pay in two machines, need Japanese or international driver license).

National Museum of Emerging Science, Miraikan, is located close to the Fuji Television Studio (further away than the Fuji TV building). Follow the monorail line, but use the internal sidewalk, the way on the other side of the street (closer to the coast) is much longer because there's no place cross the road until many blocks away.
The entrance fee to the museum is Y600 (u$7.79) and last admittance time is at 4:30pm. They close at 5pm sharp, and very politely they ask visitors to leave at this time. The museum is very interesting, even for the non techie (as I was visiting it with one :-). Two floors are part of the permanent exhibition. It will cost extra to get in special exhibits (Y1000).




Tips & Tricks
  • I haven't tried this, but it could help saving some Yen - If you have purchased the JR pass, when going out of Odaiba, just purchase the minimum fare ticket in order to get inside the train. In the mainland, when you get out on a JR station, show the JR Pass and avoid fare adjustment.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Japan: Day 8 - Emperor speech at the Imperial Palace

This is going to be our last night in Japan, tomorrow at midnight, we head back to California. We'll change hotel once more. Tonight we'll be on the major leages and will sleep at the Hilton Tokyo, just 4 bloks away from the Rose Garden Hotel. 


Hilton - Tokyo
Hilton - Tokyo

Hilton - Tokyo
Hilton - Tokyo

Hilton - Tokyo
Hilton - Tokyo

Hilton - Tokyo
Hilton - Tokyo

Hilton - Tokyo
Hilton - Tokyo
Hilton - Tokyo
Hilton - Tokyo


The Hilton lies behind the Univesity Hospital, and a few blocks away from the Police station. We got a room on the 20th floor, it was awesome. It was as big as the US (finally... some space!), it had a large window with great and relaxing view, high definition TV, fridge, and all the stuff that every hotel we stayed seem to include: toothbrush, tooth paste, coffee, tea, iron, etc. Wired and wireless Internet is available but it isn't free (Y1680 or u$21.8 for 24 hours). Most of 4+ star hotels charge for Internet access, as for evey single item :-), but this is price to pay for a high end hotel. Still, a drawback when compared to the smaller hotels that give Internet for free. The Hilton is 3-4 blocks further away than the Rose Garden from Shinjuku station. This is still an easy walk, but a free shuttle service to/from the station is available. Also, the Hilton can arrange bus reservations to Haneda and Narita airports. There's a fee to pay. I wouldn't expect to offer this for free as this is a longer ride, but we'll use the JR train to go to Haneda.
I love the bus/rail/subway system in Japan. The first day, I was extremly confused, but it is awesome now that I know how to use it. It allows reaching every point in Tokyo (also I experienced the same for Kyoto), and the schedule is on time by the minute. Also, inside the trains, Japanese people are very respectfull and quiet. For example, they turn off their cell phone ringers. In the whole stay, I heard only 3 rings. They were always from foreigners. Another highlight is how clean Japanese are. After coming back later at night to Shinjuku, Roponggi, Shibuya stations, it's hard to spot a single piece of paper on the floor. Probably hundred of thausands people walk through it.
We were lucky to find a room available at the Hilton when we checked early morning in. Usually Japanese hotels don't guarantee room availability until 2 or 3 pm. We just left our bags and rushed to the Imperial Palace. January 2nd. is one of the two days in the year when the emperor of Japan gives a speech on the palace's grounds. The other day is sometime in December, on his birthday.
The number of people walking to the palace was massive, cops stand at every block. The closer to te palace, the more security that could be seen. On the way, Japanese flags were given to everybody. Later, the would be woven when the emperor went out. We had to go through two security check points. The open every bag, and pat down everybody. Something to notice is that here they don't care about the sex, either a police wooman or man can pat you down. I got a police wooman; my wife didn't like this so much, but I was cool with it :-D



After a very nice walk through the gardens, we arrived to the grounds and waited there for about an hour. All the time, more and more people were arriving. I would said in the tens of thousands. The wait wasn't bad at all. Once again, Japanese are very respectful so no laud yelling, no drunks, and although space was tight, people still tried to leave some room between each other. It was a cold day and it was warm inside the multitude. The emperor's speech was brief, just 5 minutes, and I have no idea of what he said. I think he gives some good well wishes to everybody. Afterwards, everybody waves Japanese flags and leaves the area in a very organized way. Leaving the place as clean as it was before. I enjoyed the experience.

Next stop, Akihabara. I wanted to spend some more time in the area, visiting electronic and manga (anime) stores. Some of the stores have 7 or more floors, each one dedicated to different product types, such as computers, home electronics, souvenirs, bags, clothes, and more, much more. This time, we went to the top of the building, and from there, visited floors down. This seems to be faster. We went to LAOX Main Store, Takarada Musen Duty-Free, and some others close to them. I didn't want to spend to much time here and picked the ones that seemed bigger, but there are lots more. In Akihabara station, we got a map of the area, showing the main stores. The DVD stores are 3 or 4 floor tall and mostly sell Japanese adult movies, of course only guys were shopping inside. The famous manga (comics) stores are also multifloor, with lots of magazines and books of every size. If you pay quick attention, most of those comics show innocent faced girls in X rated positions or little-no clothings :-). 

Akibahara Electronic Town - Tokyo
Akibahara Electronic Town - Tokyo
Akibahara Electronic Town - Tokyo
Akibahara Electronic Town - Tokyo
Akibahara Electronic Town - Tokyo
Laptop with Japanesse keyboard - Akibahara Electronic Town - Tokyo




Afterwards, we spent some hours on Shibuya and Harajuku. Those places were packed today. On our previous visit, they were pretty empty due to the holiday. Shibuya 109 was having a 7 day sale and it was packed of trendy dressed girls trying to grab some offers. It was hard to walk inside the store.
In Harajuku, Takarita street was also full of shoppers. On a parallel main road, there was a small market on the sidewalk, with all kinds of tasty and cheap foods (Y300 to Y500). Something very nice of Tokyo is that all those different districts (neighborhoods) , have their own downtown with tons of shops, restaurants, and people until late. This is very nice. Somebody would need to spend months in order to get to know all these area well.
At dinner time, we took the subway (line E) to Roppongi. This is the trendy bar and restaurant area from Tokyo. International chains can be found here such as Hard Rock, TGI Friday's, and many others. BTW, by Roppongi there's a large mall called Tokyo Mid Town, accessible from the subway station.The Ritz Carlton Hotel is there. It's supposed to be one of the bests in Tokyo but I wasn't impressed by the lobby. Finding the way out of the mall was a little confusing, the trick is to look for the exit to Roppongi Crossing.
We ended up at a Turkish restaurant with 3 floors. It's name was Daze or something similar. The food was excellent, the prices very good (Gyro sandwitch for only Y500 or u$6.5), international credit card is accepted, and the street view from the 3rd floor was excellent. Hard to beat.
Unfortunately it was Monday, and Roponggi was pretty empty. After a dinner, we took the subway back to Shinjuku, had a walk on the area, and that was it for the day.
Tips & Tricks
  • On the basement of Takarada Musen Dute-Free, we found some nice Japanese souvenirs, 5-10% cheaper than at any other place we've been. Most of the stuff is exactly the same.
  • Most shops in Akihabara do have staff that speak more English than in other places we've been. Also, they accept international credit card.
  • In Takarada, the tax exemption (dute free) only applies to purchases above Y10000 (u$129.8) and after presenting a passport. Sales tax in Japan is only 5%.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Japan: Day 7 - Tokyo: Senso-Ji Temple and Shibuya

On January first, people go in masses to temples. Today we were able to experience it at Senso Ji. We arrived close to 2:30pm and there were thousands of people in line. The flow of people was constant and we decided to get in. It probably took 45 minutes to get inside. On the whole way, there are shops with different items and food on display, that made us forget that we were waiting on line. Visiting this place should be part of a trip to Tokyo.
Senso-ji - Asakusa Kannon Temple - Tokyo
Senso-ji - Asakusa Kannon Temple - Tokyo

Senso-ji - Asakusa Kannon Temple - Tokyo
Senso-ji - Asakusa Kannon Temple - Tokyo


Inside the temple, people gives away tons of coins (it's funny to see so many to be tossed), and afterwards pray for a few seconds. The area surrounding the temple is also nice to visit, with lots of shops and restaurants too.







For dinner we went to Uoeno area, took the subway to get there, and ended up at Jonathan's Coffee & Restaurant across the Matsuzakaya store, after asking for a place with some international style food. The menu is pretty varied, including fish, pork, chicken, beef, pasta. They have some healthy foods. In the menu, the calories from each dish is shown. Costs range between 750 and 1200 depending the plate. For example, chicken with vegetables was Y850 (u$11). Not fried. Very good taste. For an additional Y230, free fountain drinks, tea, coffee are included. Not bad. I've been told that this is a chain. This restaurant is a good option.
BTW, the reason of picking Uoeno is because it was the closest station with JR train stop. I'm trying to use JR lines as much as possible, as those rides are included in the JR Pass.
Later in the evening, we went to the Shibuya district wishing to see the latest Japanese fashion and funny dressed kids on the street.



But it was either too late or on January first people don't come to this place too much. We couldn't see as much as expected, and most stores were already closed. We'll try to go back in the following two days. This area has lots of stores and shops too, and it's another points of interest to us.

Shibuya - Tokyo
Shibuya - Tokyo