JAPAN 2012 | Road Trip in Japan (Tokyo - Fujiyama - Nagoya - Kyoto - Nagano - Tokyo)

This trip actually was in last May (from May 20 to May 27, 2012) with six amazing companions; my husband, sister and best friends forever. Now, I thought of writing a little bit on my travelling. I hope I can complete all my delayed posts starting this year before the year end. Actually, I'm a little bit busy with my never-ending Korean drama and works (this was a lie)..:)

Driving in Japan is pretty much easy because of the similarity of driving side with Malaysia and also their drivers were more prudent and they always comply with road rules. The traffic also was not as bad as in Malaysia, the only time we encountered traffic jammed was on the last day of our trip, on Sunday when the local maybe just coming back from weekend getaway. If travel in group, the car rental cost inclusive gasoline and tolls are cheaper than travel by public transportation. It was also very convenient since we wanted to cover a few prefectures in 8 days only. But before that in Tokyo city, for 3 days we used subway to get around, easier.

Day 1 (Kuala Lumpur - Tokyo)
We arrived at Haneda Airport at 10.30 p.m. and managed to catch the last train to Asakusa station (¥600)
where our hostel is located. Thanks to the very systematic and fast Japanese Immigration at the airport. They were also very friendly and welcoming  us with a warm heart and smile. My first impression of Japanese people was so positive..love love like!

at Haneda station, waiting for train to Asakusa station

After about an hour of journey, we arrived at midnight. Shops were close and only a few people were around. We were a bit lost and confused with the direction given by the hostel, glad again somebody who hardly speaks English approached us and helped us showing the way..love love like! We stayed at a very "cheap" hostel (Khaosan Tokyo Original) at ¥2100/night/person..we can get a decent hotel here in Malaysia with this price. Whatever, this is Japan anyway, expect what we expected

Day 2 (Tokyo).
Good morning Tokyo Metropolis, the capital of Japan, the largest metropolitan area in the world and also is one of the three command centers for the world economy along with New York and London.

In front of Khaosan Tokyo Guesthouse

Went to Tokyo Disneyland by subway, Asakusa to Hatchobori at ¥260 and then changed to other subway line Hatchobori to Maihama at ¥210. That time we need to go out of the station to change line , I'm not sure if they had upgraded it now. We went to the opposite direction only to realize after a few hundreds meters of walking..haha..but again we got to see this babies in the trolley..ain't they cute?

Outside Disneyland, we saw some sumo's men standing proudly wearing kimono. Excited and them to take a photo with us. Ain't they huge?

Disneyland's Entrance fee was ¥6200 for one day pass. It was Monday and I thought there will be not many people inside and we can take our own sweet time with the rides and attractions. I was wrong the queue to almost all rides were like a never-ending queue. But nevertheless we still enjoying our time in Disneyland especially when taking photos. Everything look so cute and fascinating. Some of Japanese Youngster even dressed up like a princess or manga character, what a free country, nobody's care what you are wearing, doing...like like like

  

 

We spent the whole day until night here with the last light parade performances. It was a very happy experience! On the way back, we stopped at Shinjuku (from Maihama station ¥380)and dinner here (Prawn burger at McDonald), then took another train to Asakusa Station (¥260). That night at 12.00pm I got a surprise birthday song from my friends at Asakusa station, but no cake unfortunately. But still, I am thankful to have people who love me and remember my birthday. I am proud to be double 3!!!

Day 3 (Tokyo - Mount Fuji)

Today is my BIRTHDAY!!!! It was raining that day as shown in the weather forecast. This is the reason why we changed our plan and went to Disneyland the day before. This time I had learned from mistake I made from last visit to Everland Seoul where there was a heavy rain all day and it was so frustrating because only indoor rides were open and some shows. We also got very wet, absolutely drenched that day. Some of us even got a flu. My advise, weather forecast is crucial for a theme park visit, never go when the weather is not permitted. That time, I should go to indoor theme park (Lotte World) instead.

Ok that was my bad experience from my last trip to South Korea. As for today first thing we did was walking to the nearby attraction, the Asakusa temple. Entry is free. If you want to buy souvenirs from Japan, shops at this area would be the best, affordable to buy because it's cheaper, the cheapest in Tokyo I think. A variety of choices they have also.

 

 

Later that day, we went to Tokyo Tower. I saved ¥820 because the admission fee was free for birthday girl and on top of that I get a slice of cake..like like love! I am a happy girl today..:) Today also is the Tokyo Skytree opening day to the public. It is the highest broadcasting/observation tower in Japan and only selected people who booked early is permitted to enter. For us today the only option is to Tokyo Tower which is the second tallest after skytree which stand at 333 meters tall.

  

  

Then, we went to Ueno to pick our booked rental car. Just to find the car rental company (Nissan), we kind of lost again and nobody knows where the company was located or maybe they couldn't understand what we were asking. We were lucky again because we met some policemen and ask for help. With a very minimal communication and sign language, at last they managed to help us. Then with our rental car (Nissan Serena) drove back to our hostel to collect our luggage and continue driving about 130 km to Mt. Fuji. Today's total cost for the 3 subway trips was ¥630 per person. The new experience we had today is the toll's self-service paying machine. Very brilliant! should enforce this kind of machine in Malaysia too. We arrived at K'house Mt. Fuji (¥2670/night/person) at midnight. One of good thing about hostel in Japan is they left a note and keys for us on the reception desk if we arrived very late. We don't have to register and pay that night. Total tolls for today was¥1800

 

Day 4 (Mount Fuji - Nagoya)

What a lovely day..I just love the weather here. We also get a beautiful sunshine that day. After breakfast, we are ready to continue our journey. We wnt to the fifth station of Mt. Fuji. On the way, we got to see this phenomenal view. Just amazing! ain't you guys feel jealous with us right now? There's a tolls to the station at¥1800 but no entrance fees. It is still not a climbing season. People usually climb in July and August where there is no snow. 

 

 

We met a very nice, sporting Hayabusa's owner and hubby got excited. We also took a few pictures together. His name is Kiroshi or something close pronounce like that, I can't remember exactly. I hope any of his friend got to read this and show him someday.

  

Yay..finally at the Fifth Station..It's good that we don't have to climb to get almost to the top..almost but not the top, still long way up...:) Green tea ice cream here taste the best!

  

  

On the way down, stop for a while to have a picnic lunch. One of our secret of a happy travel is 'Nasi Himpit', 'Sambal Ikan bilis' and 'rendang' brought from Malaysia. People are always angry and grumpy when they are hungry, so I will make sure we had enough foods. We don't want to waste time searching for halal foods, it's better to bring them from home. While in Japan, we buy seafood sushi, sashimi and rice balls (Onigiri) only. Since we are staying at a hostel with kitchen, so, most of the time we cooked (Spaghetti, rice, seafood soup, etc2). I found it a great way to save cost because everything is expensive. You can always eat Japanese foods here in Malaysia. 

Then, went to Lake Kawaguchiko for a photo moments session before heading to Hostel Ann, Nagoya (another 180km and ¥6450 tolls). The price at this hostel is ¥2250/night/person and extra cost for parking is ¥800/day

 

The Mr. Driver! The best husband in the World

Day 5 (Nagoya - Kyoto)

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chubu region of Japan and it is the third largest city in Japan. It is the capital of Aichi Prefectures and is one of Japan's major ports.
As for the city, we just drove around and only visited Nagoya Castle (¥500). The castle is one of many beautiful and unique castles in Japan. It is not as famous as Himeji Castle but the structures are almost the same. During world war, Nagoya castle was hit and mostly destroyed, reconstruction of the main building was completed in 1959. That is why it is not listed in the castles that are considered Original.

  

 

  

At Nagoya we went to the supermarket to replenish our food ration (sashimi, rice balls, fruits, bread, rice, etc). I think sashimi here is cheaper and fresher than other parts of Japan that we had been to. Maybe because of the location is nearby the sea and port. Before dark, we continue driving to Kyoto for another 130km. We will be staying at Peace House Sakura, Kyoto for 2 nights (¥2600/night/person). We arrived early at Kyoto and make ourselves a delicious pasta..:) parking is also not free here but just located nearby at ¥2500 per 24 hour. Sound expensive right? but if divided by 7, it is still acceptable. I like the parking system in Japan, later I will share how they work.

Expasa - highway's service area 

 

At Expasa and Peace house sakura, Kyoto

Day 6 (Kyoto)

Good morning Kyoto!!! city in the central part of the island of Honshu, the capital of Kyoto Prefecture. Ranked as the 11th of the world's most liveable cities in 2012, Kyoto was famous for its history and compact city solutions.

Today's plan is to Kyoto Imperial Palace. Admission is free but you have to make an online reservation because the number of visitors is limited and we have to follow a free tour hosted by the imperial household agency. I already booked a month or maybe 2 months before. The palace have some resemblance with Korea and China's palace but if we look more details, then we can find its uniqueness. A must visit place when you're in Kyoto. The parking cost us ¥500/car for this visit.

       

 

Then, we went to Kyoto city looking for special lunch but end up eating Prawn burger again at McDonald. walking around the city, shopping complex..I noticed that price for some brands were more expensive as compare to Malaysia, so not much that we bought here. Car Park at ¥1000/car.

  

Then, went to Chion-in temple and places around that temple, admission also free but parking is at¥1500 for a few hours. Souvenirs here were so cute. They are not so expensive either. I bought a lot here (handkerchief, purse, small curtains, small photos, Teapot and cup, fridge magnet, etc).

  

       

Day 7 (Kyoto - Nagano)

This morning after checked out from Peace house sakura, we made a short visit to Kiyomizu Temple before heading to Nagano for a long 400km journey. The temple is an independent Buddhist temple and part of the historic monuments of ancient kyoto UNESCO world heritage site. You can see an impressive views of the city. Car park at ¥1400/car. Journey to Nagano was full with mountains and greenish scenery and when we almost reach Nagano we could see mountains with snows on top of them. Superb view! Total tolls from Kyoto to Nagano was ¥8000/car and it took about 5-6 hours. 

 

with a friendly staff at House peace sakura

 

Day 8 (Nagano -  Tokyo - Kuala Lumpur)

We stayed at Moritomizu Backpackaers hostel at ¥2400/night/person, parking at ¥1000/car. The parking system in Japan is very smart, all control by machine. There's several types of car parking system in Japan and the one that we used was self-service car parks. These car parks can be found throughout the city. After parking the car, a bar rises out of the floor, making it impossible to move the car, and it will go down once the total amount has been paid for the time spent in the car park. Prices for parking vary depends on the location. Some starts at ¥100 per 15 or 30 minute period, moving on to a price per hour and per 24 hours (usually over ¥1000).

After checked out, we went to Zenko-ji Temple. Inside the temple contains a statue of Binzuru, a physician who was said to be Buddha's follower. Visitors to the temple touch the statue in order to cure their ailments, well that's what they believe. 

  

 

Then we went to Nagano Olympics Stadium, present day of Nagano baseball Stadium. Nagano hosted the 1998 winter olympics and paralympics. Nagano also hosted the 2005 special olympics world winter games.

  

 

Last activity in Japan was bathing in an Onsen (hots springs) at ¥650. The bathing area is separated by men and women and were in a close area, people are naked in there if it is mixed and open, I wouldn't dare to enter..:) I love the very 'open' experience..haha..Onsen are a central feature of Japanese tourism often found in the countryside. Onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral content. After spent a few hours here, we drove back to Tokyo (230km) to catch our night flight back to Malaysia. Tolls from Nagano to Tokyo was ¥4900. Total cost for gasoline for the whole journey was ¥20,457 (MYR843) and Nissan Serena rental ¥76,650 (MYR3,102), all we divided by 7 people. Returned the car and flew back to Kuala Lumpur at 11.30 p.m. by AirAsiaX..we love AirAsia, Now everyone can fly Xtra long! THE END