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Monday-Tuesday, July 9-10 - Travel days, departure from HNL and arrival in HND
As usual for flying with Hawaiian Airlines, we departed Honolulu in the evening and then arrived in Japan at Haneda Airport on the next day, even later in the evening.
Thankfully, customs and immigration was relatively empty. The thing that slowed us up the most was just waiting for all of the pieces of baggage to come out which really can't be helped some of the time. Once all that was gathered, we caught the Keikyu line to Shinagawa where we exited the station, crossed the street and then checked into the Prince Shinagawa Hotel.
For the 5 of us, we ordered 3 Pupuru wifi units
Wednesday, July 11 - Day 1: Shopping in Shibuya and acclimation
This day was meant to just get adjusted to being in Japan and buying any necessary last minute items my parents and Uncle D/Aunty M would need for their Mt Fuji hike.
We wanted something fairly simple, so we had breakfast near the hotel at Anna Millers (which is a restaurant we also have in Hawaii but with a much more extensive menu).
and then we went to Shinagawa station and purchased Suica cards for the 4 of them (I already had one from a previous trip) and then headed out on the JR Yamanote line.
First stop was Shinjuku. We didn't have anything particular to do in the surrounding area but I did want to make sure they were comfortable with where to go to catch the bus the next morning since it would be quite early and they'd have lots of gear with them. We exited out of the New South exit and went up the escalators to scope out the Expressway Bus Terminal area.
Once becoming a bit familiar with the area and how to navigate there, we hopped back on the Yamanote line and got off at Shibuya. There, we took our time shopping at Don Quixote and Daiso in the morning.
Since we got to Shibuya before 11:00, not all the stores were open, but we were really taking our time anyway so it didn't matter much. I can't say there was anything particularly exciting about this part, and I essentially just spent some time adjusting to the weather and being in crowds again.
Lunch was at Uobei!
After lunch, my dad and Uncle M went back to the hotel and my mom, Aunty D and I continued to do a little shopping. We first went to the Can Do store and then they branched off to go to Tokyu Hands while I ventured off on my own to go to Shibuya 109.
We all met back up at the hotel at around 16:30
My dad wanted to eat pasta before the hike, so dinner was at Yomenya Goemon.
After dinner, my parents and Uncle M/Aunty D went back to the hotel to start preparing to leave early the next morning. I had no such concern so I took my time browsing again. I ended up going to Forever 21 on the way back to the station which I typically don't do when I'm in Japan, but since I was in no particular rush and it was along the way, I figured why not.
And I got an ice cream on the way back to the hotel room!
Thursday, July 12 - Day 2: LaForet with Ebony & solo shopping in Shibuya, Harajuku
This was the big day for everyone else! My parents woke up early and left for Shinjuku at 06:30. I tried to sleep in a little more since I didn't have plans until 11, but because of the jet lag and sleeping pretty early the night before, I didn't have much luck lol. I started the day with a conbini breakfast.
After leisurely getting ready for a couple hours, I left to meet Ebony at LaForet in Harajuku. I took the JR Yamanote line to Harajuku and decided to just jot down Takeshita street for fun (also because I wasn't confident in taking the Omotesando exit for some reason).
Ebony and I looked around at RoseMarie Soir, eHyphen world gallery bon bon and Ank Rouge before heading to EatMe and later to the main Liz Lisa store on Takeshita.
We had time to quickly take purikura and then got on the train to go to Shibuya so Ebony could go to work.
After we said our goodbyes, I ended up walking to Ootoya in Shibuya for a quiet, solo lunch. They changed the menu and added an iPad/tablet for ordering since I was last in Japan. Some of the things I really liked to eat there were now gone but I guess the tablet is handy and wasn't hard to use.
I then returned to Daiso and Can Do for some stuff I didn't end up buying the day before for some reason
and ended up in Shibuya 109 afterwards.
I had a lot of bags on the end and had made purchases at Aimer Feel, Rojita, Ank Rouge and Delyle Noir. (No Liz Lisa because I already made 2 purchases at Harajuku.)
I had to stop back at the hotel at that point because it was getting exhausting to carry all my stuff. I rested and assessed my purchases and then went back out after about an hour.
Not feeling too adventurous at that point, I decided to head back over to Harajuku because I wanted to take my time and browse through the various Takeshita street stores that I usually skip over (because I'm usually only concerned with going to Liz Lisa and back to the station).
I even ended up back at LaForet to go to Ank Rouge to try on these newly released (at the time) pumps that only the LaForet store was carrying since I had bought some clothes I thought would be great to match and even possibly wear during the trip. They didn't end up being as impressive irl as I thought they were going to be, so I couldn't commit. Overall, in the second round of shopping that day, I didn't buy as many things as I thought I would, but that may be because when I rested in the hotel, I realized how much I had just spent and wanted to be a little more conservative since there was so much of the trip left.
I hadn't eaten dinner yet at that point and wasn't super hungry. Since I was going to be eating solo, I wanted something quick, simple and cheap. I decided to just stop in Shibuya to go to Matsuya which is kind of lame, but I know there isn't one in Shinagawa which is really too bad lol. It was probably a waste to get off the train just for that, but I liked that I was able to do take out and that it didn't have to be a full on meal + I knew exactly where I was going so I didn't have to stress about finding the location at a different station.
I got back to Shinagawa, stopped at the Wing Takanawa food floor to get a drink as well as at the 7-Eleven for a portable breakfast before making it back to the room at around 21:30 when I could finally stop and eat. It was actually pretty late for me since I usually end my days much earlier during trips.
I had basically just done a bunch of shopping around all day and somehow managed to keep myself occupied doing only that since it was still early in the trip and had a lot to look through. I'm thankful that Ebony was able to make some time to see me which actually helped my otherwise lonely day pass a lot faster than I would have thought. It's always a joy to see her and catch up on all the exciting things she's up to!
Friday, July 13 - Day 3: Shopping in Shinjuku & Yokohama
I had a pleasant sleep all alone in the hotel room while my parents and Uncle D/Aunty M were still hard at work, hiking and making their way to the summit. (Sunrise photo courtesy of my parents)
I went straight to what was familiar - Lumine EST, which is directly connected on the east side of the station. I've never taken the time to browse through the shops there, so I started on one end and then just slowly walked around, never ending up making a purchase. Next, I headed over to Shinjuku Alta which is on the same side. I stopped at Liz Lisa, tried on a few things, but again not making a purchase. I did however buy a few more pieces from Aimer Feel which was on that same floor since I had re-tried on a couple items the night before and now felt more confident with the fit and sizing. I also picked up a few pairs of black socks from Tutuanna.
Having pretty much exhausted the extent of my knowledge of Shinjuku (I literally only go to the Alta and Liz Lisa usually), I decided to just walk around the back of it since I knew I had gone that way with Ebony before. I found my way to the Godzilla building
I had about 20 minutes before they were expected to arrive by that point so I looked around for a small snack to eat.
After some browsing, I decided on a pastry from Dean and Deluca and then sat just near the bottom of the Bus Terminal's escalators to wait.
After some rest and recovery, we headed out to get a quick bite to eat at Shinagawa Station. My dad wanted to go to Camp Curry (Express) there specifically. The weather was pretty hot to be eating hot curry in a little tiny enclosed restaurant that doesn't have a ton of AC, but they enjoyed the flavor of it at least.
That done, we got on a train that took us directly to Yokohama. We exited out the East exit of the JR Yokohama station and then followed a path through the Sogo store and across the pedestrian bridge to get to Yokohama Bay Quarter which is like a mall. There was a specific store my mom wanted to visit - Amano Freeze Dry Station. They had seen the store advertised on a TV show and really wanted to buy some things to try and give away.
From there, we only really had one other thing they wanted to do in Yokohama which was visit Chinatown and get shanghai dumplings. We caught the train to Ishikawacho and then trekked it in. We stopped for some omiyage shopping and then eventually found the popular dumpling store where there was a slight wait while they made fresh xiaolongbao.
Instead of walking back to the JR station, we opted to catch the train back to Yokohama from the Motomachi Chukagai station since it was a lot closer. Once back at Yokohama station, I figured I might as well quickly check out the Liz Lisa in the Vivre there since we were already in the area. My parents stopped in the Takashimaya connected to the station to look for a dessert while I exited out the West exit and took a 5 minute walk to Vivre.
I went directly to the fourth floor and didn't end up seeing anything in particular that I wanted from Liz Lisa. I did end up trying on a dress in Cecil Mcbee and making that purchase though! (I had been thinking about it since Thursday.)
Once meeting up with my parents again, we caught the train directly back to Shinagawa and called it a night after stopping to get some stuff from the grocery store and 7-Eleven.
Since I didn't really have much for lunch and didn't eat anything in Chinatown personally, I scooped up some ready-to-eat items at the grocery store. Super simple - just chicken and rice but it was actually really good! Tbh almost one of the best meals I had on the trip because it was unfussy and simple which is more my style.
I didn't accomplish very much myself on this day, but I was happy everyone came back safe from Mt Fuji, and that my parents were still up for crossing the Yokohama items off the to-do list. It was generally just another low-key day of walking around which I really didn't mind.
Saturday, July 14 - Day 4: Tsukiji Market, Asakusa, Kappabashi, Omotesando
We planned to meet at 08:30 in the lobby to head over to Tsukiji Market for breakfast. This was their first day after the hike so they were a bit sore and tired, but still eager to get things done.
We used the Keikyu and subway lines to get to Tsukijishijo station and then it was a short walk to the market (not auction) area. We headed straight for one of the many Sushi Zanmai locations and were able to be seated right away at a table since there were 5 of us. We had to order using the carbon paper sheets and most of what they wanted wasn't on the numbered list so I had to write them in lol. I'm pretty rusty with writing but copying isn't so bad.
Once we were done taking our time and eating, we browsed through the market, looking for things we usually buy including nori and black garlic. There's many more choices there, but those are our standard purchases. It was super hot, and we also purchased soft serve and a nitrogen frozen fruit stick. I even tried salt cider in a bottle.
Next, we headed to Asakusa.
We stopped briefly at the beginning of the entrance to the Sensoji temple area but then took a detour because we were looking specifically for Mokuhankan - a woodblock print shop that they wanted to visit. While in there, we were greeted by the friendly Canadian owner who picked us out as Hawaii residents immediately.
My dad and Uncle M looked through the print choices while my mom and Aunty D ended up taking a quick woodblock printing class from one of the staff (2000yen/person or 1500yen/person if more than one person participates on the same bill). They had a lot of fun doing it and it takes around 45-60 minutes depending on how quick and focused you are. I elected to just watch on the side.
For lunch we decided to go to Ippudo upon recommendation from the Mokuhankan owner which I think is one of the most recommended restaurants in the area for tourists. The last time I was in the Asakusa area, we were also recommended Ippudo for lunch lol. It is quite good and worth checking out if you've never eaten it!
We stopped shortly at the Asakusa Don Quixote, then walked to Kappabashi/Kitchen street.
The closest station to the Kitchen Street is Tawaramachi but I knew it was within walking distance from Asakusa because I had walked to Ippudo from there last year. We started a little bit in the middle of Kappabashi and didn't follow the best pattern. In my opinion, the best way to browse the Kitchen Street if you have time and want to see everything is to start at one side, and then once reaching the other end, to cross the street and retrace your steps on the opposite side.
We were mostly aiming to just visit Kamata though, so that was the main mission accomplished.
I was also surprised there was a bulk candy store there with very reasonably priced items - similar to Ameyoko but just one store. My mom and I bought a few things we usually do at one of the best prices we ever see.
It was pretty hot and my shoe was actually breaking on the bottom (heel separating from the base wtf), but we pretty much called it a day after Kappabashi. We had an overwhelming amount of items to carry and even though we had initially planned to go to Tokyo Station and Ueno, we chose to save that for another day.
We stopped back at the hotel in Shinagawa to drop off bags and regroup and then met back up for dinner. Uncle M/Aunty D had actually been recommended Seirinkan by a random couple visiting from New York that they had a conversation with the night before when they were eating at the food court. It happens to be one of our favorite restaurants in Tokyo that we almost always visit, so we were game to eat that for dinner. We caught the train to Naka Meguro, but when we got to the restaurant, the staff told us that there no openings until an hour later (19:30). Since my parents and Uncle M/Aunty D had planned to go to a jazz club at around 20:00 in Omotensando, that was too late for us. I asked for a reservation for the next night (Sunday) and then we headed over to Omotesando for dinner instead.
Maisen is one of the only restaurants I know well in Omotesando and another place we frequently eat at when in Japan, specializing in tonkatsu. We exited the station at a different exit than I'm used to and we got a little lost trying to get there, but made it eventually. We had to wait for about 5 minutes while they prepared a table, but were happy to be seated at all. We ordered and enjoyed our meal.
I had never intended to join them, so I decided to make my way over to Harajuku station and stop and shop wherever I felt like it along the way.
Most places close at 21:00, so I made some quick stops at Kiddyland and the Jill Stuart in Tokyu Plaza before continuing on my way. Instead of stopping at Ank Rouge in LaForet again (still thinking about those pumps!), I opted to browse in H&M instead since they weren't closing until 22:00 and I didn't want to feel rushed. I took my time and mostly looked at items under 1000yen. We do have two H&M stores in Hawaii but I've only been to the Waikiki store once so it still feels like a commodity. I've actually had amazing luck at this specific Harajuku H&M store before, but nothing quite so substantial since.
I made a few purchases and then just casually walked up Takeshita street even though all the shops were already closed since it was past 21:00.
From there, I made my way back to Shinagawa via the JR Yamanote line. I stopped at the Midori no Madoguchi ticket office to inquire about trying to reserve a train for Monday, and although the staff spoke limited English, he tried very, very hard to help me. I knew the route I wanted, but he couldn't seem to find the train line. After about 10-15 minutes and what I think was some googling on his own phone, he realized that the train I wanted was actually an Odakyu line train and could only be reserved at the Shinjuku Odakyu station. I was pretty embarrassed and was sure to thank him for his help, but at least we still had time to go there on Sunday before we needed the tickets on Monday.
In the past when visiting Tsukiji, I had never stopped and eaten something myself, but rather opted to shop around while they ate fish. This time, since the restaurant had a lot of non-fish options, it was easy for me to sit and eat with them. It was also great to make the trip out to Asakua for Mokuhankan because the owner was so friendly and Uncle M had something specific he wanted to get. Day 4 was filled with slightly familiar things that ended up bringing slightly new experiences overall which keeps things interesting as I continue to learn more about places I thought would have become mundane after visiting more than once. Even if it's just trying tsukemen at Ippudo (where I previously had the ramen), finding the candy store on Kappabashi or making a reservation for Seirinkan, it was comfortable though still refreshing to do these slightly different things.
Sunday, July 15 - Day 5: Kamakura, Enoshima Aquarium & Seirinkan
Uncle M/Aunty D had plans in the morning/early afternoon, so my parents and I headed out to Kamakura, leaving at around 09:45.
There's a direct train from Shinagawa, and it was a bit crowded at first, but eventually we made it around 50 minutes later. At Kamakura, we transferred to the electric rail Enoden line to get to Hase station.
We followed the crowds and found out way to the Great Buddha/Daibutsu. It's the second largest Buddha (the first being in Nara which we have previously seen), but this one is in open air after the temple buildings were destroyed. Admission fee was 200yen which I think is relatively cheap although there isn't a lot to the grounds.
We didn't stay long since it was incredibly hot. Along our way back to Hase station, we took a look in a number of the shops along the street and ended up spending a lot of time in what I would call a nut specialty store. They had samples of every single product and even though they were a little pricey, since you knew exactly what it tasted like, it felt like less of a gamble.
I made quite a few omiyage purchases there, knowing that these would be great for others to try and seemed like a specialty item - one we had never brought back before.
Meanwhile, my dad had gone to check out the men's shoe store next door and ended up buying a pair for himself! I think it's the most he's spent on shoes in a while (or ever?). But he said that they were very comfortable, and he believes in the product.
We hadn't necessarily intended on going any further in Kamakura, but we saw an advertisement for the recently opened capybara exhibit at Enoshima Aquarium, so we decided to check it out since we were already almost there anyway.
We got back on the Enoden line and it took about 1/2 hour to get to Enoshima station from Hase. We passed a couple beaches along the way that were packed!
From Enoshima station, it's about a 15 minute walk to the aquarium, so we stopped along the way to eat pizza and pasta for lunch from what appears to be a newly (re)opened restaurant called PICO. My parents each got a lunch set and I just got a margarita pizza.
We continued on after lunch and eventually made it to the aquarium where we were greeted with what seemed like a HUGE LINE. As it turns out, there were multiple lines although each was relatively long. Pro tip - go with the automatic ticket machine. It's way faster.
\Once inside, we followed the designated route and, as always the case in aquariums, the first handful of tanks are crazy crowded, and I really didn't get any good pictures. But as we continued through the indoor displays, people dispersed a bit and it felt a bit more relaxed.
The capybara exhibit was actually outdoors near the sea turtles with just two capybaras. The staff was just escorting them out. My mom also tried the chance game to get a capybara stuffed animal.
We were mostly done after that with the remaining exhibits mainly being activities for children. We took our time looking through the gift shop and made a few small purchases and then made our way out.
Instead of trekking it back to Enoshima station, we opted to catch the Odakyu line using the closer Katase-Enoshima station to take us directly to Shinjuku where we needed to go to reserve train tickets anyway. The ride was about 70 minutes, but we had seats from the beginning of the ride, so it was very tolerable.
We hopped off the train and then made our way to one of the Odakyu information counters. It took me a while to figure out it was outside the gates (which, in retrospect, makes a lot of sense), but once we got to the counter, we were able to reserve our seats for the next morning without any issues.
Since we still had a little bit of time, my dad really wanted to try the Flipper puddings he had seen at the New South gate of the JR Shinjuku station.
They were already sold out from the previous batch but the next one was due out 30 minutes from when we got there with a line already forming, so we decided to wait. They had 3 flavors - plain (original), chocolate and strawberry (seasonal), and there was a limit of 3 per person regardless of flavor. I wandered around the station a little bit while my parents waited in line.
Once we got the pastries, we got back to the hotel as quickly as we could, dropped off our shopping bags and the Flipper desserts in the room, and met back up with Uncle M/Aunty D in the lobby so we could head out to dinner! Seirinkan, take 2. This time we had a reservation, so we knew we had to get there at 18:30 but should be able to be seated fairly quickly. We were pretty familiar with the route since we had just done the same thing the night before.
We were seated on the second floor around a small round table. We opted to order just pizzas (and drinks) - 3x margarita pizzas and 1x marinara pizza. In my opinion, it's really the bread/crust that's the best part.
We decided to call it a night after that since we were to have an early morning the next day and also wanted to start packing to go home (especially to know how much room we would have to do more shopping). I purchased a chocolate and mint layered dessert from the Lawson's on the way back. It tasted a little bit like toothpaste as mint flavored things are wont to do, but otherwise, quite refreshing lol.
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| Enoshima Aquarium souvenirs |
Monday, July 16 - Day 6: Fuji Safari Park & Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium + Shopping in Shibuya
Besides climbing Mt Fuji, this was the only other significantly planned day of the trip. My parents had seen Fuji Safari Park featured on a TV show and really wanted to visit. I took one look at the access page and knew the logistics were not going to be easy for me, especially because we wanted to be efficient with our time.
Access to Fuji Safari Park from Tokyo
I had to do more research than I anticipated to get to the Safari Park, so I definitely wanted to jot down some notes and leave a few links here in case anyone else can benefit from it (or in case I ever decide to go in the future).
tl;dr - Shinagawa (JR Yamanote 06:04) --> Shinjuku (Odakyu Limited Express Romacecar, reserved seat 06:40) --> Gotemba (Fujikyu bus 08:30) --> Fuji Safari Park (arrival at 09:07)
I decided to route us to Fuji Safari Park from Gotemba station because it allowed us to get to the park as close to the opening time as possible while still using public transit (aka not renting a car or taking a taxi).
This is the bus timetable I used. If the link doesn't work, you can try to access it yourself from the main website. The Fujikyu bus website does have an English version but I had read a bunch of reviews on Trip Advisor that warned that the listed bus times (from where exactly, I don't know) were wrong, and I didn't trust the English website completely for that reason + it didn't seem to have very much on it. I would personally advise trying your best to use the Japanese version which has much more information on it. I can't read much Japanese myself which is why it took me almost two hours to figure this all out through trial and error clicking, but you want this bus line "十里木ぐりんぱ線" or anything that has "御殿場駅" (Gotemba station) and "富士サファリパーク" (Fuji Safari Park) listed on it. (If the exact timetable link doesn't work, try accessing it from here.) The buses that go to and from the Safari Park have a "サ" at the top of the column.
Another helpful thing I got from the Japanese version of the bus website was information about the Fuji Safari Park SET TICKET. For one fee of 3,200 yen, your bus fare to and from (roundtrip) the Safari Park from Gotemba station and the entrance fee to the Safari Park will be taken care of. Ala carte, one way on the bus is 760yen and entrance to the park is 2700yen, so by getting the set ticket, you save 1020yen and don't have to hassle with bus fare or waiting in the ticket line at the park itself. [Set ticket pamphlet/pdf which also includes a timetable on the second page.]
With all this in mind, we knew we wanted to get to the park as early as possible (it opens at 09:00).
The train layout is pretty similar to a shinkansen but it's just a bit less fancy. The train ride was a bit under an hour and a half.
Once you arrive at Gotemba station, you want to exit the station towards the Expressway bus terminal (to the left).
Per person, you will receive 3 tickets: a ticket to present to the bus driver when arriving at the Safari Park, one to present to the Safari Park staff and then one to present to the bus driver upon returning to Gotemba station. You won't need to track the fare on the bus or present any money to the bus driver. You must keep the ticket safe though as it's the only indication that you've already paid.
The staff at the Gotemba bus terminal were very friendly and made sure we knew which stop to wait at for the correct bus (No. 4).
The bus showed up right on time. In Japan, it's most common to enter the bus from the middle rather than in the front by the driver which is where the exit usually is. This bus had an option to pay with Suica if you so chose (and probably what we would have done if we hadn't gotten the set ticket). Around 17 stops & approximately half an hour later, we arrived very close to the entrance of the Fuji Safari Park.
Overall, we spent about 3 hours (06:04 to 09:07) to just get to the Safari Park from Shinagawa station. This includes transfer/waiting times between the trains, etc which were necessary for us to get our bearings and ensure that we didn't miss any leg of the mini trip. In fact, if we were late or got lost getting to any one of those, we would have had to reroute significantly and definitely wouldn't have been able to get to the park when we wanted to.
[Another option to get to the park is to catch a similar Fujikyu bus from Mishima (rather than Gotemba) but it has a further reduced schedule and would have gotten us there over an hour later. There is also a Mishima station version of the Set ticket as well which is a higher cost due to the longer distance covered by the bus, but still has significant savings.]
Now that I've thoroughly covered what it took for us to get there, the fun part is discussing the park itself! Since we already had our admission paid for, we went to the Fuji Safari Park service desk and reserved seats on the next Jungle Bus. This costs an additonal 1300yen per person (beyond admission) and has a scheduled time with a guide and tour of the Safari Zone in a caged bus. You can opt to explore the park on foot if you wish for just the base admission cost, or you can level up and rent a navigation car (only for those with a valid license) at 5,000yen or even bring in your own/rental car through the Safari Zone at your own risk.
My mom really wanted to feed the animals and get a little more interaction with them, so the Jungle Bus was the only option we were considering. With the others, you are not allowed to open the windows or doors of your vehicle for your safety. Our Jungle Bus reservation was at 09:40 (about half an hour after we got there), so we had just enough time to get our bearings, look around the entrance to the park, use the restroom and take a few photos. There are a lot of food and refreshment options on the premises, some even opening as early as the park itself.
Our bus was designed to look like a rhinoceros!
We started off and first visited and fed the bears, then lions, saw some cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, zebras, deer and reindeer, camel, bison, and other various other herbivorous animals. The animals that you can feed know very well that the animal shaped buses are the ones that can feed them, so they'll approach the bus without fear. I think this is a definite advantage to being in the bus since the animals pretty much want to interact with you.
Once the Safari Zone Jungle Bus tour was done (takes just under 1 hour), we took our time exploring the other zones of the park on foot. There are also various small animal cafes that you can enter for a small additional admission fee (around 500yen) for dogs, cats and rabbits, but we opted to head for the Fureai Zone instead. There are two sections in this area - one where you can pet/approach the animals and another that's just for walking through and observing. We were able to see red kangaroos, meerkats, red pandas, capybaras, a hippo, porcupines, an alpaca and more!
It was about time for a break, and we were looking at the menu for one of the park's restaurants when my mom noticed an advertisement for an activity where you can make your own animal shaped bread buns. It requires 60-90 minutes to bake, so we decided to do that first.
For 500yen, you're given two dough balls and there are instructions on the activity tables if you want to follow them to make animals like a giraffe, lion, elephant and more.
You're also free to shape it however you want if that's what you choose. It's mostly an activity for children, but I thought the price was pretty cheap. They also sell the professionally made buns/pastries in the same shop.
When we were done, we handed the creations back to the staff and received a ticket with a return time on it.
For actual lunch, we chose the Safari Restaurant which is cafeteria style where you pick what dish you want and they'll prepare it on the spot and place it on a tray as you move down the line. There was a reasonable selection there and although the line was long, it moved at an acceptable speed. The menu is also in English and there are pictures of everything.
We ate at a leisurely pace and then made our way over to the gift shop. This is where we spent the rest of our time until we picked up the baked buns and headed back to the bus stop.
The return bus picks you up from the same spot that you are dropped off, just outside the park entrance. It's fairly convenient and there is a bathroom and waiting area with benches if you're early like we were. (Bus timetable for returning to Gotemba station is on the second page of the timetable for departing from Gotemba if you downloaded the pdf from the bus website.) We chose a 13:48 departing bus. I thought the bus would be fuller leaving the park, but I think actually most families opt to drive in since the parking is free and you can drive your own vehicle through the Safari Zone.
Once back at Gotemba station about half an hour later (we used the return ticket to pay for the bus fare), we looked around the station for a little bit and then made our way to the tracks to catch a train to Numazu. There's a direct train using the JR Gotemba line and it takes about 35-40 minutes. The train was already there waiting at the tracks, and I think there are usually only 2 trains per hour. It wasn't very crowded and we were all able to find seats for the reasonably long ride.
Our next destination was Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium. This is another attraction that isn't very close to the train station and is recommended to use the bus for access. (Cue another logistics stressor for me. I don't know why but I have a hard time navigating using the bus. I think it's because if you make a mistake, you have to pay for it and it's not as easy to fix as getting on the wrong train.) In any case, I had a general idea of where we wanted to go based on my pre-trip research and Google Maps. Once we got off the train platform, I made a beeline for the Tourist Information Center and the woman there was more than happy to help point out which bus we should catch, what the stop number was, when the next bus would arrive and where we should get off. We still had a little time to kill, so we looked around the station before the bus came.
The bus arrived at around 15:40 and did not have a Suica payment option. We took the onboarding ticket when we got on the bus and had our exact change ready for when we planned to get off (200yen).
The bus got to Numazuko (Numazu Port) around 15 minutes later and there was a long line of people ready to board as we were getting off. I quickly took a picture of the bus timetable for the way back since I had a feeling that it would not be stopping there very often.
It was a short walk to the Aquarium and the entrance is not as obvious as I would have though. Admission is 1600yen for adults.
Upon first entering, there's a direct route that you are expected to follow. It was pretty crowded and slow moving when we were there in that first section which included shallow sea/deep sea comparisons, but when you finally got to the displays, at least you had an up close and unobstructed view of the tanks which makes it easy to take pictures. It opens up to be a bit more freeform after that with bigger tanks and displays.
Many of the creatures in the tanks are bycaught/are caught without specific intention when fishing for other fish/animals in the nearby bay which I think has more of a personal and interesting touch. The Suruga Trench is right in that area which is the deepest bay in Japan.
Unfortunately, they didn't have a live flapjack octopus there when we visited, but apparently they're still studying it and are the only aquarium to keep it alive in captivity for more than 3 days (their record was something like 52-53 days).
Another unique feature of this aquarium compared to others (in Japan) aside from the deep sea emphasis is the coelacanth displays/museum on the second floor. They have many exhibits focusing on this ancient fish including two frozen coelacanths! It's so interesting to look at and think about how old this fish is in terms of evolution. Although the isopods, flapjack octopus and other deep sea creatures are big highlights of this aquarium, the coelacanth is definitely the star and you'll find plenty of merchandise featuring it if you're a fan when you're in the gift shop.
By the time we were done (around 17:20), unfortunately we had just missed the latest bus by 5 minutes, so we had no choice but to wait about half an hour for the next one. There didn't seem like there was a lot to do in the port area, but we just browsed briefly before settling in at the bus stop, having seen the giant line when we first arrived and knowing we didn't want to wait even longer if we accidentally missed this one.
It's a circle route bus from Numazu station, so we essentially finished up the loop back to the station when we finally got back on the bus.
Once back at Numazu station, I wanted to route us from Numazu to Mishima and then catch the shinkansen directly back to Shinagawa (best case scenario taking just over 1 hour).
I thought it would be pretty simple but since I'm really used to just being able to hop on any train with the JR Rail Pass, I made it unnecessarily hard to figure out how to purchase the shinkansen tickets once arriving at Mishima. Nevertheless, we were able to get non-reserved tickets and although we missed the first shinkansen, I knew there was another coming in just another 30 minutes. We were hoping to find ekiben to eat on the train ride back or even buy them on the shinkansen, but they were all sold out in the station by that time (around 18:20) and were told that they would not be available for sale on the train either. We instead settled for sustenance from the conbini at the tracks, intending to eat dinner once arriving back in Tokyo.
Since we weren't able to get reserved seats, I thought it would be best to walk to Car 1 since it's all the way at the end of the tracks and maybe people are more prone to trying to get on in the middle since it's more convenient. We were lucky enough to mostly find seats next to each other which is pretty good because I was nervous that we might not even be able to get seats at all if the train was very busy.
We said goodbye to the Uncle M/Aunty D at the central gate and then hopped on a JR Yamanote line train to Shibuya. First stop Liz Lisa in Shibuya 109 so I could pick up two dresses I had been eyeing and waiting to see if they would go on further sale while I was there (no such luck but I wanted to wear one on the last day, so I just bit the bullet).
My dad went to make some last minute Uniqlo purchases during that time and then we met up and made our way to Daiso and Can Do. Then we made a brief stop at Tokyu Hands before they closed because I was looking for a specific kokeshi doll but couldn't find it. Last was Don Quixote which is open 24 hours, so there was no particular rush to get there. We mostly picked up body wipes and maybe a few other small things. On our way back to the station, we decided to stop at Matsuya to get a quick bite to eat and chose to eat in instead of do take out since it was already pretty late and would be another half hour before we actually got to consume it if we were to wait. I ate my mini size quickly and was sweating in there while my parents finished eating lol.
Then we caught the train back to Shinagawa and called it a night....after spending quite a bit of time packing up our purchases, preparing to check out the next day! It was quite a full day even though we really only did 2 activities because there was just so much travel/transportation time involved. Both the Safari Park and the Numazu Aquarium aren't a huge distance away from Tokyo but still enough to require an entire day blocked off. It was stressful but enriching to do two completely new things in what are new areas to me. Even though the return to Tokyo could have gone a lot more smoothly, I think overall the day was a success!
Tuesday, July 17 - Day 7: Ameyoko, Tokyo station, Harajuku browsing and done!
We didn't have anything in particular planned for the last day, so it ended up just being some of the things that we didn't get to do earlier on the trip. My mom was determined to go to Ameyoko in Ueno because she wanted to buy large quantities of candy for my cousin's daughter's graduation party, and we also generally find the best priced candy for omiyage there as well. It was kind of late in the trip do that kind of shopping but it's always nice to see the variety the shops have.
Apparently I didn't end up taking many pictures because it was super hot and I was mostly concentrating on trying to find the shade and stay cool. Aside from candy and other snacks, we also found a small happi coat for my cousin's son for 500yen!
After we were done shopping, we stopped for lunch in Ueno as well. My dad and Uncle M went to Gyukatsu Motomura which just opened in the area. (Previously my dad had gone to the Shibuya location and waited an hour before opening just to make sure he got a seat and didn't have to wait in a super long line.) It seems like the business is going fairly well and there are more and other locations throughout Japan (Tokyo?) as well.
Not wanting to eat that, my mom, Aunty D and I headed over to a nearby Ootoya on our own.
We met back up after we were done with our meals and headed back to the station where we got on trains bound for Tokyo station. My dad ended up staying on that Yamanote line train and taking almost all of my mom's shopping bags back to the hotel in Shinagawa while the 4 of us browsed around Tokyo station for nothing in particular.
My mom and I paired off and we just browsed a bit and looked through some of the shops. We didn't want to have to pay to leave the station for anything so that was a bit limiting, and we also didn't want to do a TON of walking, so after about 1/2 hour of wandering, we headed back to Shinagawa ourselves.
At Shinagawa station, we stopped to look for some desserts and then got back to the hotel room, packed up our remaining items and did our late check-out just at 15:00.
Although I had already been to Harajuku several times at this point during the trip, my parents and Uncle M/Aunty D hadn't, so we met back up with them there. It turns out we were even on the same train (different cars) and found each other on the platform.
We started by first casually walking down Takeshita street, but I knew no one was really going to go into any of the shops for clothes so that went fairly quickly. We did stop for a small snack though! Tornado potato in the medium "longer" size.
Once we got to the end of Takeshita, I navigated us to Kiddyland where I knew my mom wanted to shop a bit. We took our time going to each of the floors and meanwhile I had hoped my dad was going to find us a place to eat dinner since he didn't feel like shopping.
No such luck lol. We just kind of aimlessly walked around in Harajuku, thinking maybe we'd pass a restaurant that looked suitable for our last meal of the trip. Unfortunately nothing really stuck out. I did get to see a lot more of Harajuku than I usually do though since I often don't venture off of what's familiar. I had no idea there was a Samantha Thavasa store and Ichiran!
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| Also an uncrowded Flipper's stand which is the same place we waited 1/2 hour for at the Shinjuku station earlier lol |
We ended up giving up and just catching the train to Shibuya and taking a chance with a department store restaurant over there. They had all wanted to eat tempura which isn't something I eat, so I opted to walk to Uobei and take a few more laps around Shibuya before meeting them back at the hotel.
I decided to look in the Loft and Muji before stopping back but didn't buy much. I had also thought about stopping in 109 one last time, but I figured I wasn't going to buy anything, so there wasn't much point.
I arrived back at the hotel where my parents were already waiting in the lobby.
It's usually quite timely (or early), but this time it was over 8 minutes late. Which isn't really a big deal, but since we were already cutting it a little close on our arrival time to the airport, we were thinking we would be one of the last ones to check in to the flight since it wouldn't allow us to check in from mobile for some reason. And if the shuttle had been late due to traffic or other road conditions, it could have further delayed our arrival at Haneda.
We arrived home safely and that was the conclusion to a pretty low key trip for me! Since I didn't have to worry about climbing a mountain, I could relax and take my time just browsing around Tokyo for most of the days. We still managed to do a few things that I hadn't done before (and tbh wouldn't have done without my parents championing for those activities), but I certainly have no regrets.
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A quick look at my purchases:
from Liz Lisa
from Rojita
from Delyle Noir
from Ank Rouge
from Flag J
from Cecil McBee
from Aimer Feel
everything else in between
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Other notes:
Fashion - I brought with me 5 outfits and intended to buy two during my stay which I didn't think would be very hard, but I somehow managed to leave the last day's outfit until the night before to purchase lol. Summer sales were not as raging as I thought they would be in mid July.
Accommodations - Like I mentioned, we stayed in the Prince Shinagawa Main Tower hotel for the entire 7 night visit.
Overall, it was good to be in a place where we were familiar and I do love its proximity to the station. Although we were 3 people in 1 room, it wasn't extraordinarily squishy and still had some room to pack our many bags including the hiking gear.
Transportation - We all got SUICA cards or paid for limited express/shinkansen tickets ala carte during this trip for the trains. It's fairly straightforward, and I think my parents found it pretty easy to use as first time users. I think I maybe put about 8000yen on the card which doesn't include the cost of the Limited Express train to Gotemba (about 2800yen I think) or the shinkansen back from Mishima (about 4000yen but saved us at least an hour). That being said, I wasn't being overly careful about only spending the minimum amount on transportation - it was more about convenience and efficiency for me and the total is still less than the cost of the rail pass (which wouldn't have covered the Odakyu and subway lines anyway). We did make our way all the way to Enoshima and Shizuoka, so I'm not really that surprised about the cost.
We caught the bus much more than I usually do and I was surprised that it didn't go terribly, but I'm just glad it worked out. My parents caught the bus to and from Fuji at the Shinjuku Terminal, and then we all caught the bus to and from Gotemba station and also Numazu station. Maybe I'll be less hesitant to catch the bus in the future for certain activities!
Overall a short trip, but it felt really long for some reason. I couldn't wait to come back home. I think because the weather wasn't ideal and there wasn't anything in particular I was really looking forward to doing on the trip personally. My parents had their agenda and I think the trip was worthwhile for them (since they accomplished their main goals), but I realized on Day 2 that I was really just aimlessly walking places and spending money lol. Not the most exciting thing and not usually how I spend my time in Japan. We did a lot of things that we were already familiar with and just enjoyed in the past with a couple new things mixed in.
As I mentioned before, I wasn't specifically intending on blogging this trip, so I don't have as many photos as I usually do. I'm recording this more for my own sake. There are a few tidbits in here that may be useful to others, but primarily, this post is mostly for me! Hope you didn't mind reading along with the endless rambling ♡
✦ Japan trip Summer 2017 posts
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✦ Japan trip Winter 2017 posts
✦ Japan trip Spring 2016 posts
✦ Japan trip Autumn 2015 posts
✦ Japan trip Summer 2015 posts
✦ Japan trip Spring 2015 posts
✦ Japan trip Summer 2014 posts