Tag: Tokyo

Back in Tokyo

Back in Tokyo

by elainevitikainen ♥ 2 Comments

The last time we were in Tokyo was in October 2023. Because although we were in Japan twice last year, we decided to skip Tokyo altogether. But this time, we were on a mission so we had to include Tokyo for three nights. There were five reasons:

  • For me, it was to find the new Love and Trip Traveler’s Notebook that was sold out in Europe
  • To make a photo of my Tokyo Station Traveler’s Notebook infront of Tokyo Station
  • And to see the Tokyo Tower again after 40 years
  • For my husband, it was to find a guitar
  • And to get the replacement part of his tripod that we bought in Osaka in December last year.

To be honest, Tokyo is not my favourite place in Japan but here we were with these quests. Tokyo was a mixture of clouds, rain, showers and sun during this time. But one fun part was staying at a ryokan in Yanaka. I love the old retro vibe of this area. And if I ever return to Tokyo again one day, I will definitely stay in this part of Tokyo.

For the Tokyo part of this trip, I’ll be posting random iPhone photos.

So first thing first! We landed at Narita Airport from Sapporo and the first thing we did was to go to Traveler’s Factory to get the new Love and Trip Traveler’s Notebook. The price of the Regular size and the Passport size together was lower compared to the price of the Regular size one in Europe. That was great price-wise! So the first quest was immediately accomplished!

Then after checking in at our ryokan in Taito, we headed to Ikebukuro for the guitar quest. The first guitar my husband tried in the shop, I knew it was the one. So after getting to the next shop appointment, the guitar was bought during our first night in Tokyo!

For the next day, we went to Fukoku Friendly Forest to get layered stamps! You can find the stamp rally here. So cute! Then off to Tokyo Station!

At the Tokyo Station, the third quest was done! Two more to go! So the next day, we went to see Tokyo Tower. But at this point, there was a change of plan. We were supposed to go to Kamakura for the Mt Fuji view by the beach but Mt Fuji’s visibility was so low that we decided to go to TeamLabs Borderless instead since it was very close to Tokyo Tower. We bought tickets the night before with no problem. So I don’t think it is worth for people to get stressed about buying tickets for it.

Saw Tokyo Tower again after 40 years! The first time I was in Japan was 40 long years ago! Well, four quests down!

TeamLabs Borderless was great but there were exhibits that I’ve already seen in Helsinki at a smaller scale. And the drawing that will appear on the wall was something that we already did in Helsinki some years ago so it was nothing so special to me anymore. I also thought the tickets were on the expensive side.

The next day, we had to get the replacement part of the tripod. My husband was in touch with the company so we had an appointment. It was near the Hokusai Museum where we visited in 2018. It was fun to walk around to see if the old familiar places still exist. Here we had a photo in 2018 but the old restaurant where we had fun talking to the owner was not there anymore.

Then we went to a cafe for a strong coffee and a Melon Cream Soda that I ordered out of curiosity. Cream Sodas are quite a thing in Japan so I wanted to try it!

Then it was time for our last quest – to get the replacement part of the tripod. We were met by an office staff at the entrance of the building who happened to be the translator and ushered us into the meeting room. I didn’t realise that the two people at the meeting room were meeting with us too. It seems like the smartly dressed woman was the administrator and the other person in suit and white gloves was the technician. He checked the tripod over nice, friendly conversations with the help of the translator then gave us the replacement part for free. They also gave us company gifts. It was so surreal! I just can’t believe what had just happened!

So this ended our time in Tokyo which made me more confident in navigating the stations and Tokyo subways. The Tokyo Metro Pass was also great because we didn’t need to worry about paying extra when we entered or exited the wrong station. I would recommend it! I didn’t write everything we did in Tokyo over the last four days, like going to Tokyo Station Traveler’s Company and Character Street, playing Gashapon at the largest Gashapon store in the world in Sunshine City, checking out Ueno, going to Guitar Street, Itoya, GU, Uniqlo, Muji, Sanrio Gift Gate, all the places where we ate and the Convenience store run we did every evening. It was also fun to collect stamps over the last four days. Although I didn’t get to finish the Studio Ghibli Stamp Rally, I was happy to get two stamps out of four! One regret was going to CIBI, an Australian breakfast place. It was not worth for the high price and the slightly burned bread that was really hard to eat. I guess it was overhyped with many locals on a Sunday morning.

We took the luggage from the ryokan including the guitar then we were off to Tokyo Station for the Shinkansen to Nagoya. It was my first time to have a Melon Schweppes!

Tomorrow, we will be walking a part of the Nakasendo Trail in Kiso Valley!

Please, don’t forget to check out the links to see more!

In Japan! Again!

In Japan! Again!

by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I did consider another country for our next holiday. I really did! But after much thought, my longing for Japan returned. I guess I’m just too old with not much money to spare to go on a holiday that I’m not sure if it will succeed. But having been to Japan 5 times, I haven’t got any disappointment yet whatsoever. So I recall that a 6th time will not hurt either. The tricky part were the dates. The Cherry Blossom season was over in the mainland and we also wanted to avoid the Golden Week. So we decided to go after the Golden Week and to fly to Sapporo for the Cherry Blossom. It was an amazing idea! Sapporo was so beautiful at this time of the year and I have never seen as many varieties of Cherry Blossom in my entire life. I also love Sapporo’s peaceful atmosphere with few tourists. Although I know that it will be a different story during the winter season especially during the Sapporo Snow Festival in February. But we didn’t fly from Helsinki to Sapporo. Instead we flew in to Chubu Centrair International Airport with the initial idea of walking a part of the Nakasendo trail in Kiso Valley for the last part of this trip before flying back to Helsinki.

We arrived in Nagoya in the evening after a 13 hours flight from Helsinki. It was the best immigration process ever. We just walked straight to immigration with no queue whatsoever! We then took the airport limousine to our hotel. We walked a bit near the hotel to the lake (or was it the sea, or river. At least, a body of water) for a refreshing evening walk with a quick bite of this and that from the convenience store. The next day was an early wake up to our flight to Sapporo. It was a rainy Nagoya and it was a good idea to fly away from the rain.

Last night in Tokyo

Last night in Tokyo

by elainevitikainen ♥ 1 Comment

We returned from Nikko to Tokyo for our last night in Japan. Our 14 days holiday in Japan went quite quickly. I guess it’s true what they say that time runs fast when you are having fun! The last evening was spent hunting for a new suitcase. I came to Japan with less than 8 kilos hand carry luggage and had now ran out of space because of the many snacks and stationeries. We decided to go to Shibuya, just like we did during our last night in Tokyo in 2018. I also wanted to get one of the most important Eki stamps from Shibuya station. This one has the paw print of Hachikō! Check out the reel of the day here.

The next morning, my husband went to the airport at 9 AM as he was flying to Helsinki through Bangkok. I stayed a few more hours just passing time walking in Asakusa before it was time to leave for Haneda airport. At the airport, I saw the most beautiful sunset. I cannot believe my eyes. The sun was setting by Mt Fuji. And no, I was not on the rooftop observation deck. I was coming out of the food court after dinner. I felt blessed! Check out the last reel here.

Some take aways from this holiday:

  • Good walking shoes are important. We were walking more than 10 kilometres each day. So imagine wearing bad shoes!
  • Registering online at Visit Japan Web for the QR codes for immigration and customs made entering Japan so much faster.
  • Having a Welcome Pasmo or any other IC cards was really useful when using public transport (although, not in Okinawa) and also paying for convenience store purchases.
  • It’s good to have cash as many places only take cash, like street food vendors and small local restaurants.
  • Having a pocket wifi all the time was very good because we really need to be connected to check on routes and locations. I highly recommend it and we only paid around 55 EUR for the entire 14 days.
  • Buy flight tickets early as prices tend to spike up.
  • Book accommodation that has free cancellation because there might be changes along the way.

I love how Japan is a great mixture of the old and the new. I love how Japan just has lots of amazing food. Even the convenience stores sell good snacks. I love how Japan has a very efficient and clean public transport. I love that Japan is very clean with clean toilets everywhere. I love that tap water is drinkable. I love that restaurant meals include drinking water. I’m not a fan of buying bottled water. I love their top range customer service. I love that there is no tipping as we are not use to that in Europe. I love that I can enjoy simple stuff like collecting Eki stamps, watching out for pretty manholes and playing Gachapons. I felt safe in Japan. There was no single moment when I felt that I was in a dangerous situation.

I can truly say that it was an amazing holiday. And if I can make another wish, I wish to visit Japan again! Bye for now, Japan. Until next time!

You can watch a flip through of my travel journal here!

All photos from my Japan posts are by Ari Vitikainen at https://www.arivitikainen.com

Copyright © 2024 Ari Vitikainen, All rights reserved.

Fujiyoshida

Fujiyoshida

by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

We flew back to Tokyo from Naha, Okinawa and this time we stayed in Shinjuku. It was fun to walk around Shinjuku and to see familiar places from 2018. It was also a must to see Godzilla on top of Hotel Gracery and the giant 3D calico cat billboard. It was so cute! But other than that, Shinjuku is not really my favourite… You can check the reel here.

However, the next day was so much fun. We took the 11:45 bus from Shinjuku Expressway bus terminal to Fujisan station. The amount of snacks from the convenience store was also a plus for an almost 2 hours drive. When we arrived at the Fujisan station, it was necessary to check out the Tourist Information centre across the street for the Eki Stamp. But also, they gave us postcards and information on how to get to Chureito Pagoda on foot. It was easy but the 398 stair steps climb might be a challenge for many. While I was going down, people who were climbing up asked me if the climb was worth it. It’s a definite yes! We were blessed to see Mt Fuji capped with snow. It was capped for the first time this season a few days ago, on the 5th of October.


We returned to Shinjuku on the 20:04 bus and had a wonderful dinner at Yoshida restaurant before heading back. Yoshida restaurant was so homely. The set meal was so delicious. I had a grilled fish set and it cost around 6 EUR. I also got some Gashapons at the station which were exclusive to Mt. Fuji. You can see the unboxing here.

So for those who are wondering if you can see Mt Fuji on a day trip, yes you can. And you don’t need to join a tour or rent a car or to wake up super early. However, you need to walk. But check the weather first before going and time your travel well so that you can avoid the traffic jam. Hope this helps! Check out the reel for this day here.

The next post is about Takayama with side trips to Kamikōchi and Shirakawa-go…

Okinawa

Okinawa

by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

For a year now, I had this question in my mind. The question was, if I can go anywhere without any limitations, where will I go? The answer was actually easy. I would like to go to Mochi Island, the island I built on Animal Crossing! But then this year I realised that the closest I can get to Mochi Island is actually to visit Okinawa…

I would say that Okinawa was the main reason I wanted to visit Japan again. Although it took us another 2.5 hours flight to the south of Japan, there was no regret at all. Okinawa is so pretty with such a relaxing atmosphere. I also enjoyed the food and some which surprisingly brought me back to my childhood especially the stir fried bitter melon with eggs that was served during breakfast at the hotel and was also available at the convenience stores. The convenience stores also sell Spam Onigiri which I had to try obviously!

The first day in Naha was about getting Eki stamps at the Tourist Information counter at the airport then a stroll at Kokusai Street. We also got to try the monorail train from the airport to our accommodation which was really fun. You can watch the reel here. On the second day, we walked to Naminoue Beach. I can’t believe how empty the beach was. The water was also so pretty and just by looking at the sea really relaxes the mind. On the way back, we even met the Yakult lady. I was so happy! Check out the unexpected meeting here. However, we didn’t get enough of the beach so we took a bus to Araha Beach to catch a view of the sunset. The 1 hour ride was so worth it. It was so beautiful! You can watch the reel here.

The next day, we went to Senagajima Umikaji Terrace to watch airplanes landing at Naha airport. It was such an unbelievable sight as airplanes and more airplanes kept on landing. The Umikaji Terrace also has more than 40 restaurants, cafés and shops so it was a fun place to spend the afternoon. It was a very hot day though and the island vibes was very much alive. I just love Okinawa! Then on the way back, we visited Fukushūen Garden. Fukushūen Garden is a traditional Chinese garden in Naha. It is a very beautiful garden. I especially enjoyed watching many beautiful koi fish swimming in the pond and crossing several bridges which were very similar to the bridges on Mochi Island. And the waterfalls too reminded me of Mochi island! What we missed was to try the Buku buku tea as the tea house that we were planning to go closed at 5 pm that day. However, we were able to find a local ramen shop which served delicious ramen with daifuku for dessert. You can watch the reel here.

We stayed in Naha for 3 nights then flew back to Tokyo. The next post is about Shinjuku and Fujiyoshida…

Back in Japan

Back in Japan

by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I was so excited! I was back in Japan after 5 years and for the third time. I didn’t expect this to happen, especially that we already travelled to South Korea this year. But life is full of surprises and going back to Asia for the second time this year for another holiday was such a blessing.

It all started when my husband and I were having the afternoon tea to celebrate our 28th anniversary in June. After the dream talks of visiting Japan, we decided to make it a reality so I purchased air tickets and was immediately in a full planning mood. My husband was flying after a work trip in Bangkok and it was exciting to see how everything will come together. We stayed in 7 different places and dragged our luggages from Tokyo to Okinawa, from Tokyo (with a side trip to Fujiyoshida) to Takayama (with side trips to Kamikochi and Shirakawago), from Tokyo to Nikko and back to Tokyo. Many changes happened during planning – hotel changes and destination changes. But these were all part and parcel of planning for a holiday of a lifetime. One thing that I’m most thankful for this trip was remaining healthy, even though my husband just came back from a large conference in Bangkok with more than 400 attendees. The downside was really missing our kids because they were with us when we visited in 2018 and they really love Japanese food.

I arrived at Narita terminal 2 from Helsinki at 13:05 (actually some 30 minutes earlier than scheduled) and zoomed past immigration and customs, probably in less than 10 minutes. This was because I already registered online at Visit Japan Web and had the QR codes for immigration and customs. I also just had a hand carry luggage. The first thing I did after I exited the customs was to pick up the pocket wifi that I pre rented online. I really recommend this especially that my husband had a MacBook and iPad during this travel. Being able to access the internet from multiple devices was a plus and also we had internet connection while traveling. We paid 8,840 JPY (around 55 EUR) for the rental for 14 days.

At 13:30, my husband’s flight arrived from Bangkok. I was waiting for him at the same arrival area where I came in. It was a happy reunion after a week and so our holiday started. The first thing we did was to take the free shuttle bus to terminal 1 where I got a Welcome Eki stamp from the Tourist Information centre. Then we went to the Traveler’s Factory on the 4th floor to get myself a Traveler’s Notebook journal which is exclusively available at Narita airport. We also withdrew some Yen from the ATM and bought Welcome Pasmo cards which we used for transportation and convenience store purchases. We stayed for a night in Asakusa and flew out of Haneda airport to Okinawa the next day. Please watch the Day 1 reel here. The next post is about Okinawa…

I love Japan

I love Japan

by elainevitikainen ♥ 3 Comments

It’s really hard not to fall in love with Japan. There are just too many reasons! And the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai never failed to inspire. So you can imagine how happy I was to see the original The Great Wave off Kanagawa. The original The Great Wave off Kanagawa was published in the late Edo period sometime between 1829 and 1833 as the first print in Hokusai’s series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. It is Hokusai’s most famous work and one of the most recognisable works of Japanese art in the world.

36223119_10217033216722550_7207767051895570432_o

And I did this pretend thing where I was watching aged Hokusai at work with his daughter, Katsushika Oi. Amazing! It felt so real this diorama.

36229580_10217033215122510_1049354767765078016_o

Then there’s the International Manga Museum in Kyoto. I’m seeing this form of art in a different way now after I learnt a lot about it. It was very inspiring that I ended with art supplies. But let’s see how I will manage to find time to try my new pens, especially now that I got my own Hanko in Kanji characters!

Then there’s the Japanese food. I love Japanese food because it’s just so good! And I was even amazed how ordering a meal can happen by dropping coins into a machine.

36064813_10217022872983963_4409176437815246848_o

Japanese people are also very respectful, helpful and kind. The busyness of Tokyo gives a sense of serenity because people are not loud, no loud music, no talking on the phones… Just peace and being considerate of each other at all times. Japan is also unbelievable clean. Kudos to Japanese people!

36272080_10217033375206512_1106588638663147520_o