Japan September 2018 Part 1 - Tokyo

Since early this year I've been looking for discounted plane tickets to go somewhere for Miss Kiki's September term break. This period had been reserved for our travel with grandma. However, we weren't able to decide where to go nor get deals good enough for us to decide a destination. Luckily, two weeks before her holiday started Kompas hosted their annual Kompas Travel Fair at Jakarta Convention Centre and I was able to buy three ANA round trip tickets to Tokyo at an okay price. It wasn't the cheapest, but it was good enough. They do have Jakarta-Tokyo direct flights with the Dreamliner afterall.... 

With two weeks left for creating the itinerary and booking hotels, it was a bit more difficult but not impossible. Instead of renting a portable wifi like I usually do, for this trip I bought a global SIM card from Tokopedia. 

On the departure day, we started very early in the morning at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK). We waited for our boarding time at Starbucks.

Ready for boarding!

Inside the Dreamliner with the tinted window shade

Static on the plane

When we were approaching Tokyo, we could see Mt. Fuji outside our window. Little did we know, it was the only time we were able to see it on this trip!

We arrived at Narita airport in the late afternoon. The global SIM cards were already inserted into our phones on the plane, and it worked as soon as we turned it on at the airport. We went through the exit doors and lined up to buy tickets for NEX, the Narita Express train. NEX is a great option to get to major train stations in Tokyo from Narita, and round trip tickets are available at a discounted rate. Tickets are available for purchase at the locations listed here. We've taken a taxi from Shibuya to Haneda before, and it cost about 9000 JPY. Narita is about twice the distance so if you were to take a taxi you would be paying pretty pennies.

The Narita Express has reserved seats, which means you are guaranteed to have a seat and it is assigned to you. Make sure that you sit in the assigned seat, or at least in the correct car number. The reason is that this train will split into two at one of the stations and go in different directions. If you were in the wrong car, you could end up far from your destination!

The train was quite empty when we boarded, so we stowed our suitcases in the designated area. This compartment is located at one end of each car, and is equipped with numbered locks. Just make sure you don't forget your number!

Our suitcases

How to use the lock

The train ride from Narita to Shinjuku Station took about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

By the time we arrived at Shinjuku Station, the sky was already dark. We exited the station and walked over to the hotel that I booked, Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku.  The hotel was only a few minutes walk from the station. I chose to stay in Shinjuku this time around because we would need to leave from Shinjuku Station early in the morning after 2 nights.

Hotel lobby

After we checked in, we went straight out to get dinner. We went to the Korean restaurant by Shinjuku's red district that I've eaten at in my previous visits.

Shinjuku

Shinjuku

Shinjuku

Coffee store in Shinjuku

 For dinner at  とん豚テジ 新宿店, I ordered the usual thinly sliced pork and veggies. We also ordered their fruit makgeoli drink, which was blended fruit juice mixed with makgeoli. We wanted strawberries but they were not in season so we chose orange instead. It was very refreshing! 

After dinner we were so tired and we went back to the hotel to retire for the evening...

My sister's order

For breakfast the next morning, we went to Cafe Veloce located just across from our hotel. They served simple pastries, sandwiches, and coffee. It was good enough for a quick one.

We continued walking towards Odakyu's Shinjuku Station, I needed to go there to purchase our Fuji Hakone Passes. This pass is valid for 3 days, and gives you one highway bus ride between Shinjuku and Fuji area, one train ride between Shinjuku and Hakone, and various transportations in and between Fuji and Hakone.

Long lineup to buy our passes.

Shinjuku area

We successfully bought our Fuji Hakone Passes just before 10 am. From there, we waited in front of Bic Camera Shinjuku West store to buy a lens for the Olympus Pen. The one I wanted was a 45mm with f1.8 which would be perfect for portraits. I've checked online before we left and compared prices between Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera, and found that Bic Camera had a better price. Moreover, at the store I was told that there were additional discounts if I use a credit card to pay. Yay!

So I bought the lens along with a protective filter and tested it right away...

I immediately decided that this lens would be too tele for regular sightseeing use, so I switched back to the normal lens. For wide angles, there's always the iPhone. :D

iPhone lens can't even compare...

From there we took Miss Kiki to Pokemon Centre DX as a reward for patiently waiting for us all morning. Read all about the Pokemon Centre DX on the next post!