When I learnt that the Easter and Eid holidays in 2024 are so close together and are almost combined, I proposed to the big family that we go Sakura chasing in Japan. The timing couldn't be more perfect! We eagerly bought the cheapest full-service airline we could get to Tokyo and back with transit in Taipei.
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| Taipei Taoyuan Airport |
Our flight with China Airlines left the Soekarno-Hatta Airport at around 2 am, and we arrived in Taipei early in the morning. We walked around for a bit and headed to the food court, ordered a bit of breakfast, and then I thought of the multiple credit cards in my purse and decided to see if any of those could give me lounge access at the airport. And it turned out that some did! The Oriental Club Lounge in Taipei is accessible with JCB's Lounge Key and we all were able to go in. Yay! It was so much more comfortable to wait in the lounge with free food and drinks. :D Thank you, JCB! (Don't forget to get your free donut and drink at Krispy Kreme T3 Soekarno Hatta with your JCB card as well!)
We arrived in Tokyo at night and the car and driver I reserved via Klook had already been waiting. Communication was easy via Whatsapp, and the driver spoke English. I calculated the fee for Hi-ACE airport transfer is about the same as one-way tickets with the Narita Express (train) for 7 people. With the car, however, you won't have to drag suitcases from the station to the hotel as the car will take you directly to the hotel. More convenience for the same price!
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| From Narita to Tokyo |
This time, we stayed 2 nights at Lyf Hotel Ginza. Check out my
Japan Accommodation Review page for more info on Japan hotels and apartments! Having prime location, the hotel has extremely small rooms that we had to rent a single room for Miss Kiki.
The next morning, we went to Excelsior Coffee for breakfast and coffee, but the food and coffee wasn't as good as I remembered them to be. I'm not sure if it's the location or if they did change. Note to self: don't go there again.
After breakfast we walked to Tokyo Station, I wanted to buy and reserve Shinkansen tickets for the day after. At the Tokyo Station, there is a rooftop garden where you can sit and relax. It was a very nice day, just look at that clear, blue sky! We hung out there for a bit while waiting for the rest of the gang to join us.
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| Tokyo Station |
As soon as everyone gathered, we topped up our PASMOs and we were ready to go. First, lunch at
Daigaku Butadon! To get there, we took the JR train from Tokyo Station to Shinbashi Station and then it was a couple of blocks away. We had it in 2019 and this time it was just as good as we remembered. Oma and Opa were here for the first time and they both loved it too! If you plan to come here, be ready for a lineup. They have about 10 seats in the diner but it moves pretty quickly. This is a cash-only joint where you buy your food ticket at the vending machine at the entrance and exchange the ticket for food as you sit.
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| Daigaku Butadon First Timer |
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| Ticket for Medium Size Butadon |
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| Absolutely Delicious! |
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| Kid approved! |
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| Efficient Kitchen |
When we finished lunch, it was about time to go to our appointment for a family photo session. The meeting point is Shinjuku Gyoen. I had made reservations in advance and it was a good thing because it was a very busy day and they only let those with reservations in that day.
It was a very nice and warm day after a streak of unusually cold weather, so a lot of locals came out to enjoy the day at the park. Sadly for us, because of the cold weather before that day, the Sakuras that were supposed to be fully bloomed at that time had not even shown the buds yet. They were about a week late! Fortunately, there were some early bloomers that we could see.
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| On the way to Shinjuku |
The family photos turned out really nice, I'll make a separate post to display them. :)
After the photo session, we tried several places in Shinjuku to eat but they were all super full. We gave up and went back to Tokyo Station and had the reliable Ikinari Steak instead :)
And that concludes our first two days in Tokyo! Up next is Kobe but I will post the family photos first :) Please look forward to it!
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