Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Tokyo, Japan - Day 1 & 2
November 18 - 19, 2010
Day 1
It took us 3 hours to travel from Kyoto to Tokyo via Shinkansen (bullet train). Upon arrival, we had lunch then proceeded to Tourist Information Center to get some maps and brochures. We had to make our way to Khaosan Tokyo Ninja hostel. The train arrived but I did not get on the train as quick as Beng did. The train door closed while I was still on the platform. Oh no! So I just waited for the next train and hoped to get to the hostel easily. I reached Bakurocho station and walked towards the hostel. When I learned from the receptionist that no one came before me, I went back to the station but there was no sign of her. After awhile I went back to the hostel and she was there. Whew! Found out that she got off the next stop and went back to Tokyo station to get me. :)
We carried our luggages to the room upstairs, had a little rest then decided to go to Akihabara - a major shopping area for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods. We spent most of the time at Yodobashi-Akiba - the largest electronic store in town! After browsing the megastore, we looked for a place to eat and fortunately found Japanese Casual Dining around the corner. This is our fave restaurant when we were in Kyoto. Yey, we could have our fave yummy scallop dish again!
Full and satisfied, we walked back to the hostel taking a shorter route this time.
Day 2
I reckon a visit to Tokyo won't be complete without going to Disneyland. So off we went though we did not really plan to go inside. The big souvenir shop, the cute mickey mouse train and the view of the beautiful castle in the Disney Resort were enough to make our visit an enjoyable one.
After some picture-taking at the theme park, we proceeded to Harajuku - also a fashion capital of the world which is renowned for its unique street fashion. The main strip is full of fashion shops and fast food outlets with costume players a.k.a. cosplayers - young people dressed in a variety of styles.
At night we went to Shibuya - known as one of the fashion centers of Japan and as a major nightlife area. One of the most well-known stories concerning Shibuya is the story of Hachiko, a dog who waited on his late master at Shibuya Station every day from 1923 to 1935, eventually becoming a national celebrity for his loyalty. Now I know, this is the story behind a touching Japanese movie 'Hachiko'. However I could not remember if we ever had a chance to see it's statue beside the station.
Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing. It stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. By the way, aside from getting to see Hachiko Square, one of the most famous pedestrian scrambles in the world, the purpose of our trip to Shibuya was to find Voltes V, Mazinger Z and Daimos. We went to the malls and toy shops but it seems that these characters no longer exist. We were holding their photos when a lady approached us. Haha that was funny. She advised us to go to Ikebukuro - another commercial and entertainment district of Tokyo.
To our delight, we saw Sanrio shop in Ikebukuro. Finally we found where Hello Kitty novelties are. We grabbed some souvenirs and made our way to Toys R Us. Still no sign of Voltes V.
