Well hello there all of you!
Before we get down to the whole post, let us just wish you a very Happy New Year!
It's been mad busy for both Mandy and I, hence the pretty late update. Trust me when I say that; you probably don't even want to start to hear about all the stuff we have been tied up with. Haha I kid - it's been quite a whirlwind, which we will save for another time when we clear all the exciting things we have in line for you (:
Alright, so as you guys all know Japan has this insane transport system going on. Their train systems are incredibly complex, although this also means that it's all-encompassing. Which is always nice by all means for the uninitiated traveller with little Japanese experience.
Just in case you and your travel companions may want to take on Japan this year, allow us to give you a really quick run down on the basics.
There are a few modes of Japanese transport, as with any other country:
1) Bus
2) Trains
- JR Main Lines
- Metro
- Subways
- Private Lines
- Shinkansen (Bullet Trains)
3) Taxis/Cars
For the most part you will be taking the trains since they are the most affordable and accessible mode of transport. We would personally strongly discourage taking cabs, simply because they cost a bomb. Think $70 SGD for short trip that is equivalent to a $20 SGD trip back in our sunny island.
I know, tell me about it.
If you were to google Tokyo's railway map alone, you may encounter something similar to the following:
No, this is not even the most complete map you will get.
You will get used to it, no worries.
As a terribly rough guide, the JR lines tend to be more general lines that can take you to the big city areas e.g. Shibuya very quickly.
The metro and subway lines do this too, but they also link up with more out of reach areas at the outskirts or more specific areas of the aforementioned. You will be using the metro/subway lines more often, unless you're bent on walking a lot more than usual.
The private lines are meant for those who intend to the far-out prefectures of Japan from Tokyo. More useful if you intend to head to the wilder side of Tokyo (I totally advocate this).
Shinkansen would be the fastest mode of transport should you intend to speed through travelling inbetween cities or even islands, excluding Hokkaido.
As for the airport there unfortunately is only one line: The Monorail Hamamatsucho. At least for Haneda Airport. If I'm not mistaken there is one monorail for Narita Airport too. My apologies we only went to Haneda previously but if you need us to we can help you double check!
Upon reaching the airport be sure to ask the friendly airport staff for some useful train maps, especially when that's probably the best place for you to encounter people with excellent English.
Do try to familiarise yourself with the lines that you will be taking most often, e.g. the subway/metro lines that are closest to your hotel.
They have names too, so try to find common stations that you can easily switch lines at. Given that they're more complex than "north-east line" here in Singapore, but you should be able to recognise some stations and manoeuvre your way about.
Don't ever hesitate to ask the locals for help. They're more often than not wonderfully helpful individuals with an amazing talent for sign language in times of tourist need.
Again, take caution since the airport monorail also has this tendency to miss certain stops at times so you may be unnecessarily stranded should you take the wrong train.
Also, do take note of the front of the trains. At the very top they will display some words to indicate if the train is 'express', 'special express' and other various express trains. The 'special express' trains tend to skip quite a few stations and they may miss the smaller stops which you may be intending to visit.
There will be signs around at the platform itself to help you with this, so do try to take note.
Finally, please dress comfortably and pack light. Certain older parts of Tokyo's stations may lack escalators or lifts. Even in newer stations the lifts tend to be very far away so you will need to walk very far, in addition to carrying your own load up the stairs.
Okay! Now that all the incredibly dry stuff is out of the way, we can move on to the very much more exciting parts.
Did you guys have any idea how awesome the train stations in Tokyo are?
If not, allow us to try to tell you that they are absolutely mind blowing dear friends.
They have EVERYTHING. The best food, endless underground shopping, shops in all stations.
In much bigger stations boasts of extended attractions with special pop-up carts with seasonal treats and merchandise. Cue the drool.
There is a whole floor dedicated to nothing but restaurants. We settled for this one and I have yet to find a katsudon that rivals this. I don't even like katsudon to begin with. It isn't your typical oil-clogged, cheap frozen fare. This was the real deal, and the homemade soup was also to die for. Mandy's udon was simple but she liked it all the same for being as good as basics can get.
Of various shops (RILAKUMAA), food halls and a teeny matcha pudding we indulged in from the famous Kyoto store.The newly renovated Tokyo Station has a hotel, this massive underground shopping complex, endless cafes and supermarts littered all over on upper floors. Even further up they have shopping malls, this famous Kyoto Matcha restaurant and many many more.(We strongly recommend the matcha place as they sell the real deal.Just grab it!)My father informed me that there were aquariums and museums in Tokyo Station too (RAD MUCH?) but we sadly had no time to try to find those and Google is being surprisingly stingy on the information on these. If you guys head there anytime soon please tell us if it's true and if you liked it!Tokyo station also has a rich history to boot, complete with a pretty building and scenery outside the station inside. Needless to say I went a little crazy and demanded that poor Mandy take as many photos as possible in the to-die-for weather.
These two kids were the cutest. They held hands and ran all about, giggling madly away from the arms of their exasperated father.
Their father kept telling them to stop running in Japanese, but to no avail. When he caught one the other would gleefully run about, and just as he reached for the other the previous child would wriggle free and the whole cycle repeats.
"Stop it!" the Dad said. They still continued to laugh. "There's nothing to laugh about, there's no 'hehehehe!'" It's quite a literal translation, and I wish I could do better than that but trust me they were adorable. It was so funny to hear the dad go "hehhe" too.
Both of us took a big liking to this pair for some reason. Mandy loved their style, in particular the gentleman in pink. I think I just liked to take photos of his laughter instead.
This is the Tokyo station hotel!Isn't it lovely?
Here is the famous Japanese school uniform. Yes guys, it really does look like that. Pretty cool huh. I wonder why Singapore won't take effort to beautify our uniforms a little more.
One other place of transit you should take time to visit would be Haneda Airport. It's newly renovated and very
happening especially since the Japanese never compromise on quality.You really wouldn't want to miss it! Narita airport is a lot less exciting from when I was last there with my family a few years back, so if you can try to touch down at Haneda instead. I confess that we are all hopelessly obsessed with Japan. Or at least I am. It's a lot closer to the city anyway so you really might as well.
They transformed an entire floor into a feudal area of Japan, which is incredibly charming if we say so ourselves. These beautiful huts house tourist garb, glorious food and restaurants. We don't even know where to begin in recommending the places you can eat at, but I will go out on a limb and say that you will enjoy the ramen there immensely.
It has the thickest, most flavourful broth if that's your thing and oh my god don't even get me started on the meat. Just try it pretty please, for the sake of your tummy's satisfaction. Or anything else there for that matter.
Mandy lugged home a huge amount of tidbits for her family, which they all loved. She also took a risk and bought cheesecake back. Now dear friends please understand the magnitude of this. She abhors cheese, but our atta girl was game to try it nonetheless. She loved it! So yes, #buyJapanesefood!
More seal goodness that I couldn't get enough but Mandy clearly already had.
They have amazing attractions such as this one - a racing motor car track! I would imagine that all you car fanatics would go wild over this one.
More Hello Kitty madness if it wasn't already enough previously. Prices generally are not marked up in Japan, so you don't have to worry about tourist prices. This Hello Kitty store is worth checking out because it has themed mini cakes and ice cream freshly made. Naturally, we shamelessly attacked those too. I'm not a fan in any way, but the food was good.
Guys, this is one way to score brownie points with your Hello Kitty obsessed girlfriends. Or vice versa if that floats your boat!
Right before we left for the check - in, we hung around the sky deck to admire the night lights and the divine breeze all in our hair. The secret hipster in me always dreamed of such amazing scenery, especially with the wind. We would raise our hands a la Perks of being a Wallflower, breathe in our youth in the air, eyes closed with M83's Wait surrounding the backdrop. I obviously spend too much of my time daydreaming.
That wraps up the entire Japan trip we had in 2013, thank you all of you for following us in this journey! It was great fun, and even better reliving it with all of you on this virtual platform that somehow doesn't feel too distant after all. As always we appreciate all sorts of feedback and comments, so feel free to let us know what you think or want to see!
2013 has been an eventful, fulfilling year for us both, and both Mandy and I wish you guys an even better year ahead (:
Love,
Brendy
(or brendDUH for those annoying friends of mine who deliberately say brendAH. Pronounce it right guys. Haha still love you all.)
