Its been ages since my last written blog and yeah its like a dead town{quoted from a friend} that needs revival hopefully from you guys!.I felt guilty for not having any determination to update this blog that I had put so much effort into but seems to be I'm always busy making excuses,tired and stuff.So from now on I'm going to make time for it since my biggest dream is to backpack throughout the world and writing about my experiences.Give me a holler if its not updated and make sure its loud.:) I had recently returned from a trip to Tokyo,Japan in early March and all I can say it was phenomenal.From ramen to secret caves to big gigantic gundam figurines,it was hella fun experiencing the culture Japan had accustomed to.Before we get into it, I bet you guys wanna know how much is my flight to Tokyo and back.Well,its around $400 and there's a layover in HK for 8 hours.(I choose to)and back to Singapore.How did I get it so cheap?Well,there's no trick involved.All you need to do is research online about budget airlines that goes in and out of Tokyo and there you go.There are actually a lot of budget airlines that flies to Tokyo besides the normal Airasia,Jetstar and TigerAir carriers.So,I bought flight tickets on each way because I wanna have the options to choose a stopover in a particular city and also its cheaper too.You can also do this by booking in multi city tab of your preferred airlines.So I took a bus down from JB to KL(18SGD) and from KL to Tokyo(180SGD)For returns,Tokyo to HK(100SGD) and back to Singapore(100SGD).By the way I'm meeting a friend in KL thats why my flight departs there.Come to think of it,you could explore another city or stay a few nights for the exact same price from Tokyo to Singapore(direct)How cool is that!But remember ,its all about the timing.Try to match your time best to your airlines schedule and you will have a higher chance of flexibility this way. Day 1-TakenotsukaSo,I arrived in Haneda airport in the evening which is convenient compared to Narita and head out to our airbnb accomodation in Takenotsuka,.Unfortunately, the host was not there due to his hecktic schedule but had put the house key inside his letter box for us to check in(talking about trust!). The room is pretty big for the 3 of us with all amenities provided.The price for our accomodation was pretty decent for $561 for 9 nights in 3 different location using airbnb(with free pocket wifi).Divide the price for the 3 of us and guess what,you do the math.:) Btw,we walked around Takenotsuka looking for food,explore markets and mini shopping malls.Quite common to do if your'e staying in an unknown town. So lets get on to places of interest.Usually in Tokyo, cherry blossom starts between late march to early april but since I cant make it on that season and I'm a impatient guy,We went to a place where it is considered the earliest cherry blossom in the outskirts of Tokyo.Its a town called Kawazu in the Shizuoka prefecture.Tourist usually come here for the early cherry blossom in mid Feb to early March and its around 3-3.5 hours by shinkansen from Tokyo train station.Since the price of a shinkansen ride burns a hole in the pocket,I opted for a cheaper version that is to self drive.Not many people know that driving in Japan is actually quite fun and the best part? of cause CHEAP lah!(at least 2 people though)You could share out the cost and still be able to pay at the fraction of the price of the shinkansen rides.I'll just leave the googling to you..:) Day 2-KAWAZU,Shizuoka prefectureThe town of Kawazu has quite a number of rustic houses, cafes,and beautiful cherry blossom to keep you on your toes for a day but things didnt turn up as planned.It just so happens that it rained so heavily when we were driving to Kawazu.Fortunately,the rain stop when we arrived and still manage to get some nice photos of it. In my opinion, Kawazu can be done for a day's tour for cherry blossom,authentic japanese food and hot springs.There's also the 7 legendary waterfalls of kawazu and hiking trails(reccomended at least 2 nights)for the adventuruous.If you wanna know more about Kawazu's attraction you can check out KAWAZUTOURISM for more information. Day 3-GUNDAM AND ONSEN "THEME PARK".Back to Tokyo after the day's trip and excited for today's plan that is to visit the giant Gundam in Odaiba and the Onsen "Theme Park" nearby it.We kinda lazed around in the morning as the air was so cold that you just wanna sleep till you're bored. The onsen theme park in Odaiba is kinda unique in Tokyo,Japan.Not only it has a variety of onsen for you to choose from but it does have interesting activities such as mini carnival games,a wide variety of food + chill at the same time while looking at Chiobu's.(applicable for guys)If you ever get bored,there's a futsal area and a big lounge area for tv entertainment to keep you awake but I dont think you will ever get bored.You could spend half a day in here if you're planning to do it all.Entrance fee's for adults are price at ¥2480(28SGD) and ¥1000(12SGD) for children.The best part of this theme park is that you'll be wearing Yukatas(compulsory) the whole time there.There's design to choose from and tutorials on how to wear them too.Didnt manage to get photos of it as I was in the mood but here's the link for the ONSENTHEMEPARK if you're interested. |
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