I hope you find it informative and useful! :)
Date: 26 March 2015 to 9 April 2015
Flight, Day Tour and Accomodation flow:
KLIA2 to Kansai - 26 March 2015 [01:00 AM to 08:25 AM] (RM250 per pax without luggage/meals)
Osaka - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2787516 - 4 nights @ RM76.04 per pax per night
Kyoto - http://www.khaosan-tokyo.com/en/kyoto/ - 4 nights @ RM93.42 per pax per night
Mount Fuji - http://kshouse.jp/fuji-e/ - 1 night @ RM110.52
Mount Fuji Day Tour - http://www.mtfujitour.com/index.html - @ RM208.76
Tokyo - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3884983 - 4 nights @ RM96.16 per pax per night *Not recommended - you can read my review on the Airbnb page itself*
Narita to KLIA2 - 9 April 2015 [10:00 AM to 04:25 PM] (RM314 per pax without luggage/meals)
Budget (NOT Actual. I have put the actuals next to their respective items):
Flight: RM1000 (to and fro)
Accomodation: RM100 per night per pax
Transportation, Entertainment & Food: RM200 per day per pax
So, Air tickets + 14 days + 13 nights + 1 night in the 7 eleven (free) = RM1000 + (14xRM200) + (13xRM100) = RM4700
Just to share my checklist of preparation before departure:
- bring jackets, scarf, clothes, camera, toiletries, etc.
- print all maps and save all maps into my phone
- confirm arrival time with my Osaka and Tokyo host
- remove car battery before travel
- book Kawaguchiko (Mount Fuji) bus to Shinjuku (Tokyo)
- bring passport and money
Tips:
- GPS coordinates [but not navigation] on your phone is still usable without WIFI (but please load your maps in your phone at least)
- I regreted taking flight from Narita, it's so much further away from Tokyo Central than Haneda
Note:
At the time of my travel, 1000 yen = RM32.50
All price that I have stated here are as of during my travel and with this conversion rate.
Alright, after having all the details and advices upfront, here's my adventure:-
26 March 2015
Arrival from KL to Kansai Airport (Osaka).
I saw this poster and I told myself I had to go and see Harry Potter's Themepark! and I did on my last day in Osaka!
You can ask the Information Counter about how to get to our next stop! - The Rinku Premium Outlet
Next up, take a bus from the airport straight to the Rinku Premium Outlet. It's just nearby (about 10 mins) for 200 yen per person.
And shopping time it is!
NOTE: Don't forget to flash your passport at the Information Counter! You'll get one of these green flyers. It contains lots of discount vouchers to be used in the premium outlet stores!
You can check out the details/sales here (details on other premium outlets in Japan too!):
We managed to buy 2 pairs of Sketchers for like RM90 and RM120 respectively (after discount) compared to the price here being about RM200+ per pair!
After doing our shopping, we had to ask the Information Counter where is the nearest station to get to Osaka. She told us to walk towards the Ferris Wheel to another building and the train station is there.
Look how close the buildings are to each other..!
We took a rest and we out to explore! Shinsaibashi and Dotonburi was only 10 mins walk away!
Dinner timeeee! As you all know, Osaka is famous for it's Okonomiyaki - so since it's highly recommended on many sites, we decided to give it a try! The shop's name is Mizuno - we had to queue for like half an hour for our turn.
The yummiest Okonomiyaki I've ever had!!
More photos of night view in Shinsaibashi and Dotonburi:
PABLO! - It's a must try! My favourite creamy cheese cake!! Eat it while it's fresh! (800 yen each)
Look at our faces while indulging the smooth, creamy cheesecake!
27 March 2015
Off to Nara!
The Information Center is right next to the train station's exit. You may ask them for recommended route OR you may follow the recommended itinerary from this website - depending on your time:
http://www.insidekyoto.com/nara-itineraries
Here's what the map of the area looks like.
You can buy the deer-feeding biscuits for 150yen per stack
Deer wanting to eat his map.. LOL
Chilling deer
The tickets to enter the Todaiji Shrine was 500 yen per entry.
Remember: Wash your left hand first, then your right hand, then rinse your mouth.
Actual size of the Buddha's petals
Buddha's hand
Many people were queue-ing to crawl through this hole in the pillar! It's quite amazing!
Bought a Fortune paper - Less Fair Luck
An old photo of an event held at the Shrine
I don't remember what is this but it's something like a Tempura Egg Don (850 yen)
Mine! Curry Udon! Yummy! (750 yen)
I forgot what it's name - but it's a bald mountain where you have to pay a fee to get up there.
There were youngsters picnic-ing up on the little hill!
Lame pose - don't mind me
More deers!
A cute little one~
A deer statue
Me feeding the little deer
A closer look at the cutie
Walking like a male model :3
A beautiful tree!
After hitting the flour mixture with wooden hammers, it is processed by machines into equal servings with red beans as it's filling.
It was suprisingly good! (130 each)
Next up, we went to a nearby supermarket and bought some local commercial snacks.
This is what our basket looks like (a total of 856 yen):
Just curious - to anybody that knows what's this please let me know:
Coca-cola Life (never seen it in my country) - tasted like Root Beer
Waffled Ice Cream! But the waffle was, well, softened. I imagined it would be crunchy..My bad..
Dinner time! Our most looked-forward meal of the day! - the famous Ichiran Ramen! (around 1180 per pax depending what you order):
While queue-ing the shopkeepers will hand you a form that looks like this:
and you'll just have to circle your preference on your customized bowl of ramen.
Then, walk up to the vending machine and buy your "noodles ticket". Next, look at the Vacant Seat Information Panel and go the empty seats that you wish to sit at.
Shh..We managed to snap a photo across. I have no idea what those coloured keychains/buttons meant
It feels like I'm in some kind of examination hall that I'm not allowed to peep at someone else's answers. It is actually for us to "concentrate" on tasting their well-flavoured ramen!
Look at the thick pork broth with the smooth ramen texture! My mouth is watering..
We added extra noodles because we could get enough of it!
Supper - Takoyaki!
Last photo of the day, before heading back for a good night rest!
28 March 2015
Adventure to Kobe!
Look closer! There's a wedding event on the cruise!
We have been searching online where to get cheap and good Kobe Beef but the rest were scattered far away. And when we passed by this restaurant, the food and price looked reasonable!
So I present to you, one of my most unforgettable lunch of the entire journey! Kobe Beef at Ryu-En!
As we were quite tight on our budget, we decided to splurge a bit more on this meal. We took the Prime Meat Set - it cost us 5800 yen! And it was worth every penny of it!
They served us with raw Kobe Beef and we were suppose to cook it ourselves. Be extra careful NOT to overcook it! It's expensive meat remember?
I can still remember the taste vividly. It was so tender, juicy and it melts in your mouth. There's no words to describe the experience. Eat it while it's hot!
Half cooked cold dish of Kobe Beef - it was a separate little dish
After that, we took a long walk over to Kobe's Chinatown (about 1km).
The cutest means of promoting. With a little owl under a mini umbrella!
After that we decided to head to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial - Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution.
Honestly, I regretted for not taking the taxi or the train or bus at least. We walked like 5km and it took us like forever. We didn't have much time to visit the building so we went through the contents just briefly. No photos allow so sorry..
Here's the museum's website, you can check their opening hours here too:
http://www.dri.ne.jp/english/
After that, we head back to Osaka - Tsutenkaku
Here's there website PDF (note their opening hours is 9.00am to 8.30pm (closes at 9.00pm) and entrance fee is 600 yen (adults):
http://www.tsutenkaku.co.jp/Guide-pdf/mishiran-guide-english.pdf
Ohh! We spotted Spa World here! I really wanted to go but someone didn't want to go with me :(
I'll go there some day for sure!
Anyways, for those who are interested, you can go through the details on this website:
There are Onsens from all around the world!
By that time, we were like hungry ghost searching around for food. And we saw this little restaurant that had many people queue-ing. You know what that means - the food gotta be good! And so, we queued along! Haha..
串かつだるま (kushi katsu daruma)
Here's our dinner! Ohh, remember, don't dip the sauce twice! It's not polite as they will be using the sauce for the next customer.
Yummms!
Exploring Osaka!
First stop, the Umeda Building!
In the lift, so high up!
Don't look down! Haha..
Entrance fee: 700 yen (adults)
Opening hours: 10.00am to 10.30pm
There's even a place for you to sit down and enjoy the view!
A small coffee bar at the top of the building!
Out in the observation deck. It was raining -.-"
Random stuff: Japanese toilet!
One of the accessories shop - Look at their range of accessories!
A zig-zagged escalator - never seen before. But it descend, and flatten and descends again!
So sorry but the photos angles doesn't look very convincing..
Okay now, I know I'm being like a Jakun but look! There's a kiosk at the railways!
Anddd..we arrived!
The park around the Osaka Castle
The Sakura trees were only half blooming :( but wait till you see Kyoto!)
The crowd and the queue!
Beautiful colourful flowers!
It's 600 yen each for the entry tickets again.
Opening hours 9.00am to 5.00pm (last admission is 4.30pm)
You can check out their website here:
Then we found out the queue was for the lift. So for those fit and healthy youngsters, you can skip the queue and walk I think 5 stories up! It's a good exercise! :)
Up on the roof - the view was superb!
Some cool holograms in action!
Exhibition in the Osaka Castle - Life of :
My first time trying out a Kimono for a photoshoot in Osaka Castle itself for 300 yen per person!
There were little kids too! So cute! With the oversized hat..haha..
The park was breathtaking and so beautiful!
And we went to Kuromon Market - apparently a seafood market as well, a relatively small one.
And we just strolled into one of the restaurants..forgot what it's called.. And tried their Okonomiyaki. It wasn't as good as the one we ate in Mizuno though.. =/
After that, Den Den Town it is! Similar to Akihabara - but on a smaller scale.
Cosplay shop! For all your cosplay needs! From hair, to shoes to mask to clothes! Everything!
We went back near to our apartment. There was a sushi restaurant that we really wanted to try. It looked very localised with friendly Oji-sans serving the sushi. The sushi were GOOD.
I'd honestly prefer Chutoro than Ootoro. Chutoro is more like tuna with 50% fats and 50% meat, which Ootoro seems more like 70% fats with 30% meat.
Universal Studio Japan (USJ)
Here's the website for details:
https://www.usj.co.jp/e/
I''ve got to say I came here with a tight budget, so I stood firm that I wouldn't buy the Express passes..I queue for hours and hours - literally..
I would say, if you are rich, go ahead with the Express. If not, sorry to say, even weekdays are as crowded as any other days.
Either way, my second advice would be - after purchasing your tickets and entering the park - GO STRAIGHT TO THE HARRY POTTER TIMED ENTRY TICKET AREA AND GET YOUR TIME SLOT FIRST.
Also, for certain rides they have single riders line (which are shorter queue but you won't get seat with your companion) and there is also a Child Switch option where the parents can take turns to enjoy the ride while the other takes care of the child who does not meet the height requirement.
Our Harry Potter Timed Entry Tickets
Car from Back to The Future!
Minions! So cute!
Turkey Drumstick
After being a Harry Potter fan for probably a decade or so.
Finally, I'm here in the Harry Potter Themepark!
Hogsmeade! Which is famous for - Butterbeer!
Butterbeer actually tasted like some kind of..BUTTERBEER OF COURSE!
It tasted GOOD!
The chess set
The Maraunder's Map (I know the secrets in the school grounds now! ;) (joking)
Train at Platform 9 and three quarters to everybody's wands!
The Hello Kitty's house?
Any Hello Kitty fans out there that has this as their dream wedding gown? :P
Life-size (giant when they transform) Eren and Annie! They we as tall as the buildings!
And so, the whole "movie" about a total of half an hour (each group would walk to different rooms to watch the clip) WITHOUT any subtitles. So, we watched the clips like they were talking Alien language. Although I understand Japanese, but not to the extend that I could watch an anime without subtitles yet.
I watched and read the anime and manga (and still a big fan of it now). It has a really nice storyline and I grew to love it so much, I didn't regret queue-ing for 3 hours LOL.
Below I present to you - Mikasa Ackerman, Levi Ackerman and Armin Arlert's lifesize figurines!
They didn't have Eren Yeager's :(
The last pictures before leaving Universal Studio :')
Sorry for the poor photos quality - I took them with my phone because we thought bringing the DSLR around the theme park would be troublesome - especially with the rides.
PS: We made it just in time to catch the last train to Kyoto. But we could catch the following train from the main station to the station near the accomodation. So we had to take a taxi - which cost us a bomb T.T (ohh well, at least we had a good time in Universal Studio!)
31 March 2015
Adventure in Kyoto begins!
First up, I would like to highly recommend you to buy the one day bus pass. It costs 500 yen but it covers almost the whole of the tourist spots. You can just hop on and hop off with this pass. You can just purchase it from any bus drivers when you get off the bus.
Here's what the 1 day pass looks like:
First up, the most well known temple in Kyoto - Kiyomizudera Temple. And of course, as you can see what we're wearing - it is a beautiful day with a beautiful weather!
In there, it's a pitch black tunnel or underground "basement" where you have to guide yourself and reach to touch the "Buddha's stomach". It is believed that it will grant what you wish for!
Entrance fee is 100 yen per person.
The park was pretty too!
"This stone is called "Love-fortune-telling" stones. If you walk from this stone to the other with your eyes closed, for once, your wish'll be granted soon. If you can't , it will be long before your love is realised. And it is said taking advice requires you to have someone who'll help you achieve your love."
Interesting huh! But we didn't try this out - because we believed in each other.
There were many people trying this out. So we could see "blind zombies" walking from one stone to the other, people hugging happily as they succeeded or even hugging the wrong person because there were too many people..LOL
And I bought this set of Kimono! I look short and fat though.. =/
The ribbon wasn't easy to tie too!
Transit to Kyoto Station - the bus station's system is quite complicated, really.
And we made our way to Fushimi-Inari Taisha!
Here the long line torii begins! - with a span for 4 kilometers, up to 2 hours walk.
Of course, we only spent about half an hour walking up and about 20 minutes down.
A split road D:
Back to Kyoto Station to transit to the main street.
In the meantime, we enjoyed the beautiful fountain with lights!
We've never seen such things in Malaysia - so again we acted like Jakuns again. So here are the sneak peaks!
McDonalds! And of course, we only bought those that we couldn't find in our country - Ebi Fillet-O (Prawn) and Tonkatsu McBurger (Pork).
How romantic! :)
Look at how delicious their fake food samples are :P
So many types of "food magnet" too!
It was cold and misty..
Next up! Tenryuuji!
It started raining..
There were pretty ladies in Kimono too!
Don't ask me why is there 4 ladies and 1 guy there.
We came to the Bamboo Forest!
Dinner time! After watching the famous Omu Rice video, we are finally here to taste it!
PLEASE REMEMBER TO MAKE RESERVATIONS from 5pm to 9pm!!
Here's their reservation contact and website:
The front door looks like this and here's the menu:
And what his kitchen looks like!
That's his assistant right there:
Then, we wondered off to the street and saw beautiful sakura trees all along~
Back to Maruyama Koen and the night scene with our main character - the Weeping Cherry Tree.
There were many food stalls around it too!
Fire! Keep Warm!
Convenient stores shopping again!
Cold sausages, Chocolate Swissroll and my favourite PUDDING!!
I had a friend who told me, if I didn't have time, drop the visit to Kinkaku-ji! I asked him why. He told me if you want to see it, it's all in the pictures online. You pay the entrance fee just to walk around the building and not in it. So then, we decided not to visit the Kinkakuji..
Breakfast was MOS Burger - The Non-existent Pork Burgers in Malaysia..
Then, we made our way to Kuruma Station. It's hiking day! We hiked from Kuruma to Kibune.
It's a long way up!
Weird face..Don't care..
Phew..the number of steps going up..
They even gave out walking sticks! Look at the view from this height!
And we finally made our way down!
Here we are!
Mine was non-spicy.
And his was spicy! Both were good!
Shimogamo Jinja Shrine!
You can start your application from 5:00 a.m. on the first day of three months before the tour date up to four days before the tour date.
Here's the website (click "Application Guidelines" for more details:
http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/guide/kyoto.html
And so when we called up to do the reservations a few days before, the tour was full..So we decided to come over to see the outside since we were passing by.
Alrighty, moving on, we passed by a stationary shop and got so fascinated with Japanese stationaries! Frixon Pilot pen, one of the most recommended souvenir from Japan!
Back to town.
Here's their menu pages (you can basically select any of your favourite sashimi to top-off with their yummy Japanese White Rice!
We bought ice cream from the vending machine too!
Nijo Castle in the morning.
We reached there even before it was opened and we were lucky that we did. People we queue-ing before its open! (600 yen per pax)
The main entrance was under maintenance, so this is the picture of what it looks like..
We rented the explanation speaker and all you've got to do is just key in the number and listen!
Like some kind of Zen garden right?
And so, we said bye bye to Kyoto and took the Shinkansen to Mishima station (Mount Fuji)
Am I like some kind of product ambassador? haha..
Posing with our luggages! 
After that, transit to bus from Mishima station to Kawaguchiko. We were so lucky that we managed to catch the bus on time. The bus was behind the station and good thing I could speak basic Japanese to ask for direction.
Mishima to Kawaguchiko by Fuji-kyuko bus at 4:40pm (2,260yen) (2 hours journey).
Arrived at Kawaguchiko Station!
The K's House free shuttle came to pick us up after we called them using the public phone in the station.
Here we are in our Tatami styled room!
We went to the nearby streets by renting a bicycle for cycling. The staff told us to be extra careful and return by 8pm (If I remembered correctly).
We went
K's Tour website(I'll put it here again): http://www.mtfujitour.com/index.html
I'm sorry to say, I was VERY DISAPPOINTED with this tour. It's actually not entirely their fault but we didn't go up Mount Fuji at all not even the third station because the traffic was bad up there.
So they brought us to the Pilgrim's Hostel instead - which is also quite interesting but I don't think it will ever beat someone spending hours just to travel to Mount Fuji and NOT go up the mountain itself :((( I honestly regretted taking up the day tour..AND it was so expensive! Ohh well, I'll go back there someday and hopefully hike up the mountain!
Here's their itinerary:
9.00am leave K House
9.10am Kawaguchiko station
Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine
5th level of Mount Fuji
Kawaguchiko station
K's house
Lunch break
1.30pm K's house
1.40pm Kawaguchiko station
Aokigahara Lava Forest, Wind Cave
Shiraito Falls
Lake Motosuko
Oishi Park
5.30pm Kawaguchiko station
5.40pm K's house
This is the Fujiyoshida's Sengen Shinto shrine - which marks the act
Alright, I'll tell you abit more of the history of pilgrims worshiping Mount Fuji as their "God".
Here we arrived at one of the most well preserved Pilgrims' Hostel where they stayed here before the actual climb.
The pilgrim's clothes and footwear. According to the tour guide, these clothes are super rare as most of the pilgrim's climbwear will follow them into their coffins as part of their pride.
Next, we visited the Tourist Information Center. It was super cold that day!
Back to Kawaguchiko - look at the temperature D:
We went for lunch in a restaurant right opposite the Kawaguchiko station and I would say it is the worst lunch I have ever had because I couldn't take the yam rice - it was too gooey.
The gooey yam rice that I could not take - I'm sorry..
Aokigahara Lava Forest
According to the tour guide, this is a very old forest and it is special because the soil is very shallow and the lava at the bottom is too hard for the roots to penetrate through - which is why all the roots are all on the surface.
Wind Cave
The journey was friggin cold..
Stopped by on of the pitstop for toilet..
Had a few Sakura trees blooming..
Next up, Shiraito Falls! It was beautiful!!
One of the pit stops for the tour before heading back to Kawaguchiko Station. Nothing much there though.
We head straight from Kawaguchiko station for Shinjuku station in Tokyo after the tour. Searched for our accomodation near to Hatsudai station and had a good night's rest.
5 April 2015
We got up early to settle our laundry and head straight to Odaiba City!
There were many complexs and places to visit around. There were free bus rides too! Very convenient!
We actually had Subway for lunch - ohh well, we wanted to try a flavour that isn't available in Malaysia.
You could actually pay to go to the Gundam Front - the exhibition I suppose. But we didn't go..
We passed by the Bowling Arena and bowling is so expensive here!
How nice and cute of them to make a children's bowling ball to be able to fit all 5 fingers in.
And have a slide for them to roll the ball! :)
Yummssss!
We found the big big Gundam figure too!
Contest for the person with the biggest smile!
High pitch and low pitch recordings!
Lagging wavy display of yourself!
3D cubes that you have to use the 3D glasses to experience it!
Toyota Showroom!
The auto car lift in the building.
6 April 2015
To Tsukiji Market for breakfast!
The knife sellers
The raw fillet sellers and so on! It's an eye opening experience!
Off to Ginza! But wasn't really interested with the high end products over there, so we only took a quick stroll around that area.
From Ginza Station to the Ueno Park! - it was a beautiful day!
So we rented a bicycle for a very cheap price and cycled all around the town!
Looks some kind like Myvi (a Malaysian brand of local cars)
Yosh! We returned out bicycles and went to Akihabara!!
We decided not to miss the chance to step into a Maid Cafe!! For our unforgetable dinner!!
I'm sorry to say, photoes weren't allowed in there, especially with the maids - unless you pay. But here are some sneak peaks!
7 April 2015
Ryogoku Kokugikan Muzeum and Edo-Tokyo Museum!
The Edo-Tokyo Museum - a very informative muzuem! We got ourselves a English-speaking volunteer to explain to us! It was all thanks to her that we understood the exhibits much better.
We went back to Shinjuku and was looking for a Sushi Restaurant that my friend had recommended - Uoriki Kaisen Sushi, Tokyu, Shibuya and we couldn't find that place at all. In the midst of walking around (maybe we looked really frustrated) a group of Japanese (one who was a English speaking) asked us what went wrong. We told him we were looking for this shop but couldn't find it and it was getting late. We were worried that if we couldn't get there in time, they would have closed. Him and his friends searched through the net and discussed among themselves, they finally turned back to us and said they recommend another nearby sushi restaurant that is popular around that area!
So they navigated us and we followed along to this sushi restaurant. The food was amazing, I qualified for their FREE birthday drink too! I think it was 7 days before or 7 days after! The sushi portions were big and the price was very resonable.
Here's the restaurant's website: http://katumidori.co.jp/page/$/page_id/3770/
There's a branch in Shibuya that has English menu.
8 April 2015
It's the last day of our exciting trip before we fly off tomorrow morning - we had tasty pastries in the Shinjuku station.
It's the cutest thing - pigeons flew into the hallway because it was raining and it was freezing outside.
FAMILY MART you are my saviour! We managed to print our flight tickets home as AirAsia requires you to print your own flight tickets. We weighed our luggages before purchasing our luggage weight.
Honestly, we went to Kabukicho at the wrong time of the day - we should go there at night! Anyways, it was interesting to see so many "Free Information" shops - a place to get consultation about what kind of sexual services one is looking for.
There are also many Hentai shops and sex toy shops all over the place. OR there are personal "hentai cinemas" with all sorts of facilities whether you want an inclined chair, a mattress, etc while watching the exciting movies -.-"
Next up, off to Harajuku.
Crepe shops were everywhere, so we bought one and share. It was freezing cold and yet we ordered ice cream crepe..
Dinner time - we went back to the Yoshinoya chain stall near our place before we packed our bags and check out. Of course, I took Unagi with an extra poached egg and Chen Bin ate Beef Pot with rice.
I didn't snap any photoes on how we spent the longest night of our lives - in the 7 eleven near the airport. We literally slept in the 7 eleven, it's a good thing that that 7 eleven shop had a high table and chairs AND A TOILET! There was another poor japanese guy that spend the night with us there. Three of us just sat there and sleep.
We waited until 5.00am for the first train to depart to the airport and slept in the airport for another 4 hours before boarding our plane.
It was an unforgetable experience in Japan and I would most certainly go back there again and again for as long as I can live.
Here are the Tokyo Bananas that we bought! Yummy!
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!
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