Mt Takao from Tokyo Shinjuku Station part 1

A day spent hiking

 

 

 

Brochure in Japanese

Mt Takao is easily accessible from Tokyo city.  We took the KEIO line which took less than an hour to reach the foot of the mountain. There are many ways to hike up the mountain with various levels of difficulty.

The base station for start the hike

You can ease the way up by choosing one of the 2 type of cable cars. The first one is the one you are seeing below. The other type is chair lift. Both send you half way up the mountain.

Mt Takao from Tokyo Shinjuku Station part 2

You can visit this place in different seasons and enjoy the beauty.

Most visitors eat this 3-fortune bun here

Comfort food in the cold weather

Beautiful autumn leaves

 You can also try this famous super long hotdog.

At the peak of Mt Takao, if you are lucky, you can catch a glimpse of Mt Fuji.
 

At the peak background is Mt Fuji

Back to Tokyo Meiji Shrine

This time it was a rainy day and we were rewarded with the different feel.
 

Day 2 - Shinjuku

We wanted to see the world busiest subway station!
So we planned our lunch time around this area.
This is not the first time I am here but it is for the family.

 

We had sushi buffet for lunch & shop in Takashimaya.

Day 2 - Tokyo - Skytree (last stop for the day)

Our last stop for the day was Tokyo Skytree. The latest attraction in Tokyo.

It is very easily to get to skytree, once you reach Oshiage train station, it is directly link to the skytree town.

 we took another exit from the train station to get above ground and were rewarded with this view of the tower. if you go directly into the skytree town, you will not be able to view the outside of the tower.

long queue at around 3+pm , at this timing, we get to see day and night views when we were up there.

 I like the graphics electronic display while queuing for tickets

This is a see thru glass panel on the floor. The japanese students are all jumping on it. I was so worried it will break and tried to stop them :)

after getting down from the tower, it is time to buy this tokyo milk cheese biscuit, delicious. as we are leaving for USA, we bought a box to eat on the way. now really miss it.

Tokyo convenience store

This convenience store at hamamatsucho train station is well stocked

from sushi to toast and drinks

it is very convenient to grab and go

Our hotel booking did not come with breakfast, we just walked around in the morning and chose what we want to eat. There is a bread shop too and this is a sample of what they sell.

Tokyo Day 2 - Meiji Shrine

Day 2 was a fully packed day. We intended to cover 3 major places.

We started the day to Meiji Shrine. Taking the JR Yamanote line to Harajuku Station from Hamamsutcho.

The convenience store at the train station selling all sort of snacks.

At Harajuku, this drugstore is huge and sells many many beauty items. There is also a long line queuing for Garrett popcorn!

We had breakfast at Mac!

After breakfast, we proceeded to the entrance of the Meiji Shrine. It is next to the Harajuku station. To go to Meiji Shrine after getting out of the station, the direction will be:-
From the station facing the road, turn right and walk towards a bridge (神宫桥

), turn right again at the bridge and cross a side road to see the entrance of Meiji Shrine. From then on, walk inside the lovely greenery ground of the shrine to reach the main area. Along the way, you will see this display of wine containers.

When you reach the main area, most visitors will cleanse themselves just outside before proceeding in. Above is the wishing place. We are lucky to chance upon a wedding during a weekday noon.

Tokyo Day 1 - Odaiba

Landed in Narita Airport before 2pm and we were out of immigration by 2pm.
The direct airport limousine to the hotel is not leaving until 4pm.
So we took the alternative to T-CAT (Tokyo City Air Terminal) which runs very frequently and transfered to a taxi to Intercontinental Hotel at Tokyo Bay area, a short taxi ride away.

                            Luggage tag - very professional

                                        The cost of bus tickets


The full journey took about 1.5hrs. We check in with a awesome view from the room. 

                   Awesome view from the room - skytree at the far-away 11o'clock area

After freshen up, we proceeded at plan to odaiba as the subway is just right outside the hotel.

                          The automated Yurikamome transit system within 10m walk from hotel

Odaiba is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo.

The train crossed the Rainbow Bridge and we alighted at Aomi Station as we wanted to go Venus Fort, a Venice-themed shopping mall for dinner and shopping. The is a pretty well-stock good size Burberry Blue Label outlet. Automatic tax refund at payment counter. Venus Fort shopping was pretty quiet on a weekday Monday. We did not have to jostle around with crowd. It suited us pretty well as we had a long day started at 4am. We decided to go back early to the hotel to rest as the sky turned dark by 6pm+.

                                                    This carbonara was awesome




On the way to Aomi station, you can alight at the earlier station to shop at aqua city. Here, you can get to see the replica of Stature of Liberty near to Aqua City Shopping Centre.

At night, from our hotel room, we get excellent bay view
 

Night view - lit-up skytree tower right at the left edge of the picture