Jeremy Chrimes

Melbourne based Software Engineer

Tag: jr-east

Japan Day 3: TeamLabs, Shinjuku & Karaoke

Today we had a booking for TeamLabs planet out in Odaiba. It is this art installation museum thing which is really sensory. Additionally, today’s weather was quite a bit cooler than the previous day.

For breakfast we had Onigiri from the convenance store. To get to team labs we had to take the train to Shimbashi and then change for the driverless Yurikamome. We bought a day pass for the Yurikamome which came on a Pasmo Card 🤫.

TeamLabs was really cool. At TeamLabs there were a couple of installations where we would have to walk in Knee-deep, I found these to be a bit challenging especially with the colder weather. But most of the exhibits were really sensory and relaxing be it a bit trippy. My favourite was the planetarium like room where you would lie down on the ground. The outside bits with ferns and things were also very cool.

When we finished at TeamLabs, we hopped back on the Yurikamome this time heading away from Shimbashi to the 終点 Toyosu, so we could get the front seat on the driverless train. We had a front seat ride back into Shimbashi which was really cool.

We got the Ueno-Tokyo line express to Ueno and then turned back around onto the Yamanote line to go back to Okachimachi. I went to the café to finish writing my blog post for day 1.

I then really needed to go to the Kinokuniya bookshop in Yoyogi (which was closed yesterday) to get a couple of Japanese learning books. We had dinner at a place called ‘Egg Slut’, I had a cheese burger it was nice but a bit messy to eat.

The 都庁 (Metropolitan Government Building), observation deck was open so we walked through Shinjuku on street level to get there. It was really cold. The observation deck was really pretty and it is just a relaxing place to go. After a bit of time there we went back to Shinjuku station and got a Saikyo Line through service to the Rinkai line to go back to Odaiba. Odaiba has a really nice view of Tokyo though it’s quite like the docklands in Melbourne a bit devoid of character.

For dinner we had Kamakura ramen from the bottom of the Yodobashi Camera store in Akihabara. After dinner we went for half an hour of Karaoke and a G&T, which was a lot of fun. We did songs like ‘Let It Go’, a bit of Taylor Swift and a bit of Adelle. We got back to the hotel at 11:30 pm. Our plan for the next day was to go to Nikko.

March 13, 2024
Japan 2024 Day 2: Meiji Jingu, Shibuya, Shinjuku

The first thing that we did this morning after wake up was go via Akihabara to Meiji Jingu, in Harajuku. I was still a little bit overwhelmed with actually being back in Japan. We prayed at the main shrine in Meiji Jingu before going for a coffee. While at the café I checked my JLPT results. As sort of expected, I did not pass. I did well enough to pass with the listening but my reading comprehension and vocabulary will need a little bit of work. Fortunately, I am in the best possible place in the world to try and rectify this for next time around likely the start of June.

The barrels of 酒 sake at Meiji Jingu.

I decided that my next course of action would be to go to Yoyogi to the Kinokuniya bookshop. Though when I got there the building which houses the Kinokuniya bookshop was closed for the day for maintenance. I then walked back to Yoyogi station getting the station stamp there before getting a train back to meet mum in Harajuku looking at Ikea for a couple of minutes before our scheduled meeting time of 13:30.

The next thing that we did was go to Shibuya. The music that was playing in Shibuya this year was Taylor Swift which was really cool given her recent concerts in Melbourne & Tokyo. We had lunch at the Shibuya McDonalds and went to Loft, Ikea and a couple of the other shops in Shibuya.

At my favourite stationary store in the whole world “Shibuya” loft.

Later we made a trip to the 都庁 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government building), it was around the time that the sun was setting but on this particular day the observation deck was closed for the day for maintenance. We instead went to Shinjuku Central Park which was quite pretty. A bit later on we had a walk around some of the areas of Shinjuku like Kabukicho that have a lot of lights. I found it a bit much TBH. We got the Oedo Line from Shinjuku to Ueno-Okachimachi. Having Chicken Curry for dinner.

Waiting for the Oedo Line

After dinner I think we went back to the hotel room for half an hour or so. I then went to BookOff to look for around. I managed to get another Electronic Dictionary this time with slightly better ‘English – Japanese’ support. The shop closed at 10 and we saw the lights go off at Yodobashi Camera.

After a tiring day we went back to sleep.

February 24, 2024
Japan 2024 Day 1: Straight to the Shinkansen

Today we had to wake up at the lovely hour of 02:45 in order to get to the airport. Dad drove Mum and I in and dropped us off. He did not park the car, unlike last time around Anna did not come to say goodbye.

We were the first people in line for check-in for the flight to Narita, the JAL staff did a traditional assembly style group bow right before opening the checking counters opened. The Swissport contractors that handle check-in for a myriad of different airlines in Melbourne were also instructed to join in as well.

The rest of the airport process including immigration was rather uneventful. After clearing all of that we went to Brunetti for a ‘Melbourne Coffee’ and a ham and cheese croissant it was ok but I made a massive mess with all the crumbs.

The wait for the plane was ok, I was a bit nervous and walked around the airport by myself for a bit. The plane boarded at about 07:15. Our plane was a Boeing 787-8 which was about 10 years old.

Boarding the plane bound for Japan

The food on the plane was really good, we had 2 meals in total on the 10-hour flight.

I watched Silver Linings Playbook during the first quarter of the flight. I tried to sleep while we were flying over PNG but was not really able to. I really dislike when they turn the lights off on a plane. But luckily this time I was able to use the internet over the Pacific (amazing I know – Qantas Group it’s really good). As a result, I was able to alleviate my boredom by sending messages to people like Anna.

Our plane arrived in Narita at 15:32 JST, it was the first time I have had a daylight arrival into Narita. It was really pretty.

Japanese immigration and customs and the process of getting the JR pass was really easy and we were on the 16:48 Narita Express into Tokyo. I was really exhausted though but it was OK.

Tired on the Narita Express

We got to Tokyo station at 17:45 and transferred straight for the Yamanote line to Okachimachi. We will be staying at the same Ryokan that I usually stay at in Akihabara.

Upon getting into the hotel room, I was really tired and did really know what to do with myself. I had a very quick shower before going out into Akihabara to go for Gyoza Ramen and go to the Shosen book tower to get my train timetable book 時刻表. The Shosen book tower is one of my favourite bookshops in the world as it pretty much has an entire floor dedicated to books and other merchandise of interest to people who like trains.

After this we decided to go the Yodobashi Camera shop in Akiba. The Yodobashi music made me feel really happy. I bought some facemasks at the Daiso upstairs.

I then decided that riding a Shinkansen would make me feel really happy so that is exactly what we did. We caught a local train to Tokyo station getting the Akihabara station stamp on the way. Then we got a Toki Shinkansen bound for Niigata to Omiya.

Omiya was an important location in the Japan season of ‘Jet Lag: The Game’ (one of my favourite YouTube/Nebula series’). At Omiya, we got the station stamp as well as a スタンプオート(stamp note) book to put our stamps into. Our train back into Ueno was a Yamabiko of which we got on the Mini-Shinkansen E6 (which is usually used for the Akita Shinkansen).

The 大宮Omiya station stamp in my stamp book.

The Shinkansen ride was a lot of fun. Upon our arrival at Ueno we got the station stamp and the digital stamp on エキタグ (station tag).

We got back to the hotel at around about 10 and I was asleep at about 11:20 I think. It was a totally massive day.

February 21, 2024
Japan Day 3: Going to Starbucks and the Movies

Today I woke up at about 8:30 having slept through my alarm. As always I had a coffee to wake myself up. I spent about an hour writing yesterdays blog post before having a shower and then preparing myself to leave the hotel room.

I left the hotel room at about 10:15 and first walked to Akihabara and went to one of the most amusing stores in Japan Don Quixote, though I found that I was a bit disorientated and needed some food, which I got from 7/11.

From Akihabara station, I got the Sobu Line local to Suidobashi and walked around Tokyo Dome (a big sports and events stadium), there is a theme park attached.

I then got a Mito Line subway train from Kasuga to Mito and changed for the Yamanote Line at Tamachi. I had a little break and read the paper at Tamachi before getting a Yamanote Line train to Takanawa Gateway.

I had a short meeting about some uni things at Takanawa Gateway Starbucks and then published yesterdays blog post. It was really quite windy and cold outside.

I decided that I wanted to see a movie called “Suzume”, I decided that going to Ikebukuro would be the best place to watch the movie. So I got the Yamanote line to Osaki and then hoped on the Shonan Shinjuku line which promptly transported me to Ikebukuro. I love how japan have different tiers of train line for going different distances.

I got to the cinema at about 15:10, I decided that I would go to the Toho Cinemas as I have used that brand in the past. Booking the ticket was difficult but nonetheless I was able to book it in, the problem is that they ask questions like where would you like to sit in the cinema. I bought some popcorn and a coke to have with the movie.

The movie was good I am not going to spoil it but it made me cry a little due to some of the subject matter being about an event that happened in Japan in the early 2010’s which is still quite raw. I was not the only one crying in the cinema. I am glad that I saw this movie in Tokyo as there were locations in the film that I had been to on the same day.

The movie finished at about 6pm and I walked back to Ikebukuro station and onto the Yamanote line. The lights in Ikebukuro are really quite pretty.

I then walked around the Ameyoko markets and finally had dinner at the family restaurant “Jonathans”. I went back to the hotel and called mum and dad.

I went on a night walk to Akihabara and went to BookOff. I got a japanese copy of the Haruki Murakami novel “Kafka on the Shore”, a book I have recently been reading in translated form.

That was my day I know it probably wasn’t as exciting as the previous day but it was fun and I really enjoyed the movie.

February 17, 2023
Japan Day 1: The Adventure Begins

Today is the day that I have been waiting for, for over 3 years, I am finally returning to Japan. It has been a very big day of travel starting with leaving the house for Melbourne Airport at around about 03:45 (of course I did not get much sleep before leaving because of the excitement of it all). Mum on the way had forgot her handbag so she needed some help with some cash to organise the parking.

Once at Melbourne Airport I had to find the right Jetstar Check-In counters (because there were multiple there was one for flights to NZ and another for flights to Japan). After checking in I said goodbye to mum and Anna of course in the traditional fashion of me going to Japan I took a photo with them and then waved goodbye.

I cleared immigration and security in Melbourne in about 5 mins and after walking through duty free I got myself a coffee and some fruit toast. At this time I spent a bit of time chatting to people like Di.

I then proceeded to walk to gate 12 at MEL where the first of my flights (a JQ11 relay flight from MEL – Gold Coast) would be departing from Gate 12 (in the T2 – Satellite terminal). In no time the plane started to board. The first leg of the trip, I was sitting next to a newlywed couple who were on their way to the Gold Coast for their honeymoon. This flight took 2 hours and was relatively effortless.

I arrived in Gold Coast at 09:15 QLD time (straight up to departure lounge), I had time to get a coffee and walk into NSW as the Gold Coast international terminal is situated on the border between NSW & QLD. I was pretty overwhelmed at this point but managed to get on my next flight to Narita.

The next flight was 8 and a bit hours long. There was some really pretty scenery going up the great barrier reef. I slept while we were flying over PNG waking up when we were at latitude of 1 S because crossing the equator is a milestone of any flight (though it always takes a long time). I had a toastie on the plane as food with 2 coffees and a can of solo.

On reflection I think that the Dreamliner (B787) is a much better plane for the trip to Japan as it is a lot more comfortable when compared to the A330 that Qantas use. In all honesty I would likely fly to Japan on Jetstar again.

We arrived into Japan at roughly 6pm local time I shed a tear or two as I saw that lights of Naruto Chiba. As per the Narita Airport website immigration procedures were done through terminal 2 even though we arrived into a terminal 3 gate. There is a corridor between the 2 terminals that they guide you through. Everything was rather seamless though there was lines. The visitjapanweb app being really helpful especially for someone who struggles to handwrite.

Getting the JR pass was relatively easy there was not much of a queue the station attendant booked me on a 8:47 train into Tokyo so there was a bit of a wait. I bought myself a zero beer for the ‘NEX into Tokyo and I tried to call the hotel to let them know that I would be there at 10pm.

I arrived at Tokyo station at 2143, prior to arrival at Tokyo I was chatting to some of the other people that were on my flight that were also taking the ‘NEX. I went straight to the Yamanote line platforms and took the Kehin-Tohoku line, I got the womens car which was fine since it was after 21:30 at which time it is free for everyone to use. Some salarymen who were also in the car commented that I was using it. It was the first time I really had an organic conversation in Japanese in over 3 years though it was in broken sentences.

I got to the hotel just on 10pm and checked in the staff were waiting for me and left once I had finished checking in. I called mum to let her know that I was safely at the hotel.

I then went out for a bowl of Noodles. I had Noodles that contained pork they were ok, however pork is not my favourite thing in the world but none the less it was nice to be eating in Japan. The store I went to had Radio Tokyo on in the background which was cool.

On the way home I bought some Nescafé from the Convenience Store for the next morning and then went to sleep.

To be continued…

February 14, 2023