Japan

                                                JAPAN 

                                                                                                                             

 Image 1: Chureito Pagoda & Mt. Fuji

October 2018

Tokyo, Japan

Japan was always one of those countries that I've been wanting to travel to. Reading about Japan from travel magazines on the plane and hearing stories from my friends and family on how distinctive and modern Japan is, it made me curious to explore the Japanese lifestyle. So, in October 2018, I made it a point to visit the country and thankfully for my parents' generous sponsor for the trip, I finally made it to the land of the rising sun.

Honestly, Japan was exactly how I'd imagine it to be if not better. When people described how high-tech Japan is as a country especially in terms of its development and machinery, they weren't kidding. As soon as I landed in the airport, I had trouble even figuring out the complexity of how the toilets functioned! There were several buttons (ones I never thought even existed) that the Japanese had managed to somehow innovate. Not only that, being a country that emphasises highly on hygiene, Japan also has the cleanest public restrooms I have ever been to! (amongst the countries that I have visited, of course)

Manners are also something that the Japanese highly stresses on as well. Be it buying a snack from the convenient store or purchasing a high-end designer item from retail outlets, you'd always be greeted with a warm smile and an irasshaimase (welcome) greet followed by the well-known Japanese bow. Below is a short explanation on the meanings behind each bow that I've read on;

Image 2: Japanese Bow

Definitely found it intriguing on how each bow had a meaning of its own as all this while I thought a bow was just a sign of courtesy and manners. 

Another thing that any visitor would wonder when they step foot in Japan is how the streets barely have any trash cans in sight. And what I found out while I was there was that trash cans were only placed in significant high traffic areas such as the train stations and airports (and even then, you could actually count how many of them were provided) 

Japanese practice a strict "no littering" rule where they'd carry around any trash that they have, placing them in their bags until they reached home to throw them. Somehow, I still found it odd that limiting amount of public trash cans helped? 

Image 3: Tokyo Skytree

Tokyo is also the home to several iconic skyscrapers. Widely know for frequent tsunami and earthquakes, Japan in general constructs low-rise buildings that usually don't exceed three-floors. The Tokyo Skytree and Tokyo Tower are definitely a must-visit if you're in the city.  

Image 4: Tokyo Tower from Roponggi

Tokyo Skytree is actually the tallest tower in the whole of Japan and the tower serves as a broadcasting and observation tower. Sadly, the only photos I was able to take of the tower were ones I could take from the outside as my family and I decided to not make our way to it's observation deck due to the pricey admission fee. The basic adult ticket is RM79 and the special fast tickets are priced at RM115. So, we decided to skip it as we had 2 weeks to spend in Japan (Got to plan our spendings wisely). Plus, the view from the outside was just as good!

Onto the second tallest tower in Japan - Tokyo Tower. Known to be the "Asian Eiffel Tower", the tower really does look like the original Eiffel Tower in Paris! Located right in the heart of the city, the Communications Tower is actually the tallest self-supported steel tower in the world - 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower! Sadly, my initial itinerary did not include a trip to the Tokyo Tower as there were just so many things and places on our list that we had to choose - those that we wanted to see the most. Nonetheless, I still managed to get the beautiful shot of the tower and the night lights of the city and yes I was standing right in the middle of the zebra crossing! (Great shots take risk guys). Admissions to the tower are priced at RM35 (Main Deck) and RM108 (Both Decks). 

Image 5: Toy Story Mania, DisneySea Tokyo

Image 6: Arabian Coast, Tokyo DisneySea

Image 7: Mount Prometheus, Tokyo DisneySea

Image 8: Caravan Carousel, Tokyo DisneySea

Now, my personal highlight of my entire trip - Disneyland! (You're never too old for the land where dreams come true). So, we decided to go to DisneySea and skip Disneyland because 1. Almost all Disneyland's in the world have the same rides and attractions - that usually cater more towards kids. 2. We could only afford one, so DisneySea was obviously the better choice in this case 3. I just really wanted to experience the different rides the park had to offer - like The Journey to The Centre of The Earth and Raging Spirits) 4. Since we visited the park during the season of Halloween, they had a special show just for Halloween - Villains Rise Again! 

Image 9: Light the Night Show, Tokyo DisneySea

Image 10: Minnie Ice-Cream Stick

Image 11: Villains Rise Again Show, Tokyo DisneySea

Moving onto Odaiba - a famous island in Tokyo which is also known as Tokyo's entertainment hub. To be honest, Odaiba was one of my favourite spots in Tokyo, overall. Just because of all the activities you can do, the vast range of retail outlets, and the fact that you can feel like you're in the United States of America! Yes, I'm not even kidding. They have the exact replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York (Much smaller in size than the original one, of course) and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The best time to visit the Island is definitely at night when you can see beautiful Tokyo lighted up. Sadly, at the time that I went, the Rainbow Bridge was not colourfully lighted up - but still stunning nonetheless.

If you're looking to enjoy pretty sightings of Tokyo in general, Tokyo Cruise would be a good alternative if you're not really in the mood of walking or just for the sake of it. Not only is the cruise very worth it, (Fares range between RM35-RM80 depending on which station you depart from) the cruise ships available are all uniquely designed! The cruise ship that we boarded on was the "Himiko" which departs from Asakusa Station itself. "Himiko" is the first futuristic vessel produced by anime master, Leiji Matsumoto. The metallic silver body was actually inspired by a spaceship!

Image 12: Odaiba, Tokyo

Image 13: Tokyo Cruise, Tokyo

Image 14: Himiko Cruise Ship - Asakusa Station, Tokyo

One of Tokyo's most prominent statue - the Hachiko Statue! Remembered for his remarkable loyalty to its owner Hidesaburo Ueno, Hachiko continued to wait for his master for over nine years following Ueno's death. The Hachiko story was so famous that Hollywood even came up with a movie based on it - "Hachi: A Dog's Tale" 

And if you're a big Mario Kart fan, Tokyo is definitely the place for you. You will get the chance to experience a real-life Mario Kart - for real! You will get to drive a real-life Mario Kart and even dress up as your favourite Mario Kart character and have fun in a custom-built go-kart which you can drive around Tokyo! How fun is that? Mario Kart Tokyo consist of variety courses which you can choose from depending on your preferred choice. Courses range between RM300-RM600. 

Image 15: Hachiko Memorial Statue, Shibuya Tokyo

  

            Image 16: Mario Kart Tokyo, Tokyo

Yokohama, Japan 

A short but sweet day-trip to Yokohama was just what we needed. Especially since my uncle, aunty and cousins also happen to live there (For over 8 years now). Yokohama was very much different from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Calm and relaxing, surrounded by nature and low-rise buildings. Just the perfect city if you're looking to get away from that fast-paced life for bit.   

Image 17: Mt. Fuji, Fujiyoshida

Image 18: Chureito Pagoda, Fujiyoshida

So, we first made a stop to Fujiyoshida to have a picnic up in the mountains and enjoy the magnificent view of the famous Mt. Fuji. One of the most used images to distinguish Japan, be it in books, movies or even postcards is a shot of both Mt. Fuji and Chureito Pagoda together. (As you can see in the first image of the article that I successfully took) 

Lucky for us, the weather was perfect and the skies were super clear that Mt. Fuji was not covered by any clouds which was actually a rare sighting, according to my aunt. So, we managed to take amazing shots of the mountain while enjoying our small picnic. A quick fact about Mt. Fuji; The mountain is actually a stratovolcano - that means its not only just a volcano, but three! Not only that, Mt. Fuji is also still active - though the last time it erupted was 300 years ago. 

Image 19: Sengokuhara Hakone, Kanagawa 

Image 20: Wakuike Pond, Oshino Hakai

During the evening while on our way back to my aunt's house, we made a quick stop to one of the most beautiful spots known to man kind (I'm not even kidding. I was almost screaming to see how breathtaking the view was). The magnificent Sengokuhara (Hakone-Machi) Pampas Grass Field - a spot where you can see the stunning view of Mt. Fuji, the shiny silver grass lining and the beautiful lake all in one! And because it was autumn in Japan at the time, we were able to see the trees turning into the warm colours of autumn - truly serene and astonishing. 

After that, we made our way to another amazing spot nearby; Oshino Hakai. A little insight on Oshino Hakai - Oshino Hakai Ponds basically comprises of 8 different ponds formed by the melted snow of Mt. Fuji. It was said that people used the water to purify themselves as a part of Mt. Fuji pilgrimage. The story has been told in close relation to The Eight Dragon Kings (a Japanese mythology and folklore) 

The ponds are crystal clear with a beautiful deep fresh water which gets filtered by porous layer lava from Mt. Fuji itself. Being 8 meters in depth, you can still see the bottom of the pond as well as fish swimming around. (Trust me, this picture I took doesn't even give enough justice on how beautiful the ponds are in person). 

And so, that was Japan in a span of two weeks for me. A meaningful, informational and a fun trip overall. Though, there was still so much more places that I wanted to see but so little time to actually cover everything. Japan definitely made it to my "Top 5 Destinations" list and for those who have yet to make their way there, YOU SHOULD!