Day 2: tokyo

*back dated entry*

after a good night rest, we woke up to a fresh day in tokyo... first stop is to buy our shinkansen tickets since the first week of jan is heavy traffic flow in japan... so we want to play safe & secure our seats... of cause we can take the non-reserved seats but that's definitely not a wise choice since we will be traveling with big luggage....

we went to the ueno JR station, there is this midori (green) window place whereby you can get train tickets... you just show your JR pass to the staff & you can start buying advanced tickets... i did my research on hyperdia so i told the staff the exact train that i want to take... i think it's easier for both party or else you can spend the whole day at the counter

JR midori window

our shinkansen tickets

after getting our tickets, we got our breakfast from andersen bakery which is just next to the ticket counter

andersen bakery

beef croquette

cinnamon roll thing

the bread are nice & they all look so delicious!!!! so after that we head to our next stop which is harajuku cause i want to get my KinKi Kids concert tickets!!!! so normally you have to join the johnny's fanclub in order to buy their concert tickets but i saw before this shop in harajuku which sells all sort of concert tickets, mainly johnny's though.... so want to try my luck there since KinKi Kids are having their concert tomorrow in tokyo dome.... but before that, we have to fill our stomach & we went to the famous kyushu ramen store...

my "everything in" ramen

yummy egg

road side stores in harajuku

again, the standard seem to have dropped since the first time i been to this place but still quite nice especially the egg... just delicious!!! along the way to meiji shrine area, you can see multiple food stores selling mainly okonomiyaki & small snacks... this is really interesting to me since i never seen it before for my previous trips....

takeshita street

KinKi Kids concert ticket!!!!

after filling our stomach, we walked to takeshita street.... it was really crowded!!! so i walked along the streets while scouting for potential shops to target for luckybag tomorrow =) & of cause i went to the ticket shop which i mentioned & gotten my KinKi Kids concert tickets!!! YEAH!!!! 10k yen per ticket which is about SGD$111.... decent price i would say.... mine is like the cheapest ticket, those front seats cost like 80k yen per ticket.... me being cheapo wont spent so much $, i am contented with just being inside the concert.... i actually took a picture of the shop but somehow it got corrupted & i cant open it =(

next, we went to tokyo station to check out imperial palace...

tokyo train station

outside imperial palace

you can see the moon at 4pm!!!

imperial palace

swan swimming in the pond

tokyo train station look pretty nice but sadly it is undergoing some renovation so cant get a better view.... so from the station you can walk to imperial palace... it took about 20min to reach somewhere near imperial palace....  we were actually abit disappointed since we imagined the palace to be something grand but i guess we walked from the wrong side so we didnt get to go inside imperial palace area but just took picture somewhere nearby.........since it is a popular attraction, there are quite a number of tour groups in the area so it's very difficult for you to get a nice picture of yourselves without being photobomb.....

after that we just roamed around randomly before heading back to ueno for dinner....

rice bowl at matsuya

different type of sauces

this time we tried matsuya... is like yoshinoya, they sell beef bowls..... personally i prefer sukiya or yoshinoya..... the good thing at matsuya is you can add in your own sauces but the beef doesnt taste that nice....

on our way back to hotel, we saw this sugarbutter place at ueno station... there was quite a number of people queuing at the store so kepo us went to take a look... they sell this waffle biscuit thing, somewhat like shiroikoibito.... we bought 1 pack to try & it doesnt taste that fantastic... it's like waffle sandwich with condensed milk.... & that ends off our 2nd day in tokyo =)

places to visit in tokyo

*back dated entry*

actually the highlight for my honeymoon trip is to buy my fukubukuro (lucky bag)... for those who have not heard of this term, it's ok, not too many people know about it unless you are hardcore japanese shoppers.... i first heard of this term many years ago & thought it only refer to specific brands or items but nope, it apply to everything... so every year on the first week of jan, the whole of japan will sell fukubukuro & personally for me i aim clothes fukubukuro!!! if you just do a google search, you will know that many popular japanese brands sell very good items in their fukubukuro... in general, there will be about 5 items in a bag & cost about 10,800yen BUT it will DEFINITELY contain a winter coat!!! like excuse me!?!??! that's like super cheap ok!!! based on the exchange rate now, the bag cost about SGD$120 & you have about 5 items, that's like $24/item... it's even cheaper than what i can find on taobao.com!!! so how can i not get it!!!!! BUT of cause tokyo isnt just about shopping, there are still some sightseeing places.....

1. harajuku

JR harajuku station, photo taken from here....

takeshita street, photo taken from here....

 harajuku is my FAVOURITE shopping place in tokyo!!! the B1.5F at laforet is like my heaven!!! they have all the popular loli brands there & when i was there for the first time in year 2009, i was like in HEAVEN!!! if you think that harajuku is for people with "weird dressing" then you are WRONG!!! of cause i dont deny that there are more people with bold dressing in harajuku but you can find lovely clothes there too!!! takeshita street is another of my favourite shopping place in harajuku.... so many nice shops there!!! & for those who are interested in getting fukubukuro, harajuku is one of the few place that start their new year sales on 1st jan!!!! so go & SNATCH!!!! the meiji shrine is also at harajuku area so for those who are not interested in shopping can always go & take a look at the beautiful shrine

2. shinjuku

shinjuku shopping area, photo taken from here....

another huge shopping area in tokyo... i would say this is more for general public.... of cause you can always go ginza but i find the things there are too expensive so shinjuku brands are more affordable... most of their new year sale starts on 2nd jan except for shinjuku mylord... do strategise your time & plan where you want to get your lucky bags...

3. shibuya

shibuya, photo taken from here....

what more do i need to say.... shibuya is the most well known shopping place in tokyo.... you can see the famous super pack road there too.... & most important of all, 109 is there!!!! 109 is another amazing shopping centers which i would say consists of the most popular brands in japan... their new year sale starts on 2nd jan & it's close on 1st jan

4. akihabara

akihabara, photo taken from here....

most people think akihabara is just for those who are into anime & otaku but you are wrong, they sell very good & cheap electronic stuff there too.... but the bad thing is japan use 2 pin plug which isnt suitable for SG.. but for the cheap price, i think it's worth to compromise....

5. disneyland & disney SEA

disneyland, photo taken from here....

if i am not wrong, disney SEA is only found in tokyo & the famous duffy is from there!!! the 2 theme parks are situated in the same area but it's impossible to finish the 2 parks on the same day cause the queue is always insane... japanese really love to queue....

6. tsukiji fish market

tsukiji fish market, photo taken from here...

tsukiji fish market is famous for 2 things, the fresh seafood & tuna auction... everyday they allow a certain number of visitors to view the tuna auction, you can see the information here... i went for the auction during my previous japan trip & it was disappointing for us cause the whole thing lasted like less than 15min & you only get to see a small selection of fish... so i think it's not worth to queue up like since 3+am there.... but for those who are curious, it's still interesting to try once...

7. imperial palace

imperial palace, photo taken from here....

tokyo train station, photo taken from here....

this is the imperial palace for the current japan emperor, since i didnt go for my previous trips, i shall go visit it this time... it's near to tokyo train station & my lab mate said it looks so nice that i have to see it this time...

8. tokyo tower

tokyo tower, photo taken from here....

despite being not as popular now, tokyo tower is definitely an iconic place in tokyo... i never been up there myself but i took photo nearby before....

9. tokyo skytree

tokyo skytree, photo taken from here....

tokyo skytree has definitely stole the limelight from tokyo tower ever since 2012.... i have not been there myself, only took photo from asakusa area.... not really that interested in it cause i am afraid of height so ask me going all the way up will probably kill me.... nonetheless, still a nice attraction for many people

10. sensoji

sensoji, photo taken from here....

i would say this is the most popular temple in tokyo & pretty iconic too... it's situated in asakusa area... i think i read somewhere before that many people visit it because it grant their wishes so kiasu me will always go there & pray & buy the amulet =p

so above are my top 10 attractions in tokyo, of cause there are much more than that to see in tokyo.... but if you are really pressed for time, you can consider these places for your top priority =)