Odaiba

Day 5 -Odaiba

Odaiba it the new attraction in Tokyo. Actually that day is Japan Holiday ( Federation day) and we only plan to go to Odaiba when we saw the brochure at Subway station but i already read bout Toyota showroom at odaiba in internet.Odaiba look new and sophisticated !

Lotsa of attraction there .

You can  choose Rinkai line stop and stop at Tokyo Teleport Station for this attraction :

1) Fuji Television

The building is so unique . U can also see their recording but depends on their schedule. There is merchandise store at ground floor. The admittance is free except for the observation floor ( 500 yen)

Open 10:00 - 18:00 . Close on Monday

Across the building is :

2) Statue of Liberty

It is replica but still look beautiful.. You can also vie Rainbow bridge here

3) Aqua City Mall

You can stop by for lunch here!
When we browse the directory we want to try omelet shop but suddenly we saw Indonesia Restaurant! The name is SuraBaya
Masuk sajer " Berapa orang ?" tiga ! yeay i understand u lol ! ofkoz since Malaysia n Indonesia food is sort of the same so we pretty happy bout it. We choose to eat nasi w sambal udang . Ayam tak amikla coz takder simbol halal huhu.  The taste is walla ! enak sekali ! Mekasih ya

There is also Giant Sky Wheel there if you want to capture Odaiba from there.

4) Mega Web - All Toyota lovers should visit here.
All type of car old and new is here. And it is free admission. You can even try to testdrive this car with valid international driving license / Japan driving license of course. So with that i can only try the simulator and keep coming in and out lexus , hybrid like a boss!

Other attraction :
1. Free shuttle bus provided
2.Sony Explorascience
3.Panasonic Center Tokyo
4.Museum Maritime Science
5. Tokyo water science museum
Alternate stop : Aomi station on Yurikamome Line ( for all attraction above)

After that we back to hotel and go to 100 yen shop- shopping ! but for tourist we  been charge of 105 yen. but still worth it as there are unique item sold there . You can purchase at this shop or Daiso for souvenir hehe.

Oh yes, i also send article to Berita Minggu  about this Japan trip..apparently not good enuffla since they dont publish it huhu.. ini versi BM saya

"Odaiba adalah salah satu bandar baru yang patut dikunjungi  Di sini terdapat replica “Statue of Liberty “ dan Jambatan Rainbow.  Malahan kita juga boleh berkunjung ke  Stesen Fuji Tv yang terdapat disini. Bangunan  Stesen Fuji amat unik dengan bebola tergantung di tengah –tengah bangunan. Di dalam bangunan ini anda juga  boleh melihat rakaman (jika ada rakaman) dan pelbagai pameran drama atau filem yang diterbitkan oleh Fuji Tv. Anda juga boleh membeli  cenderamata di sana.

                Untuk peminat kereta Toyota pastikan anda melawat bilik pameran Toyota Megawebb di Odaiba. Anda juga diberi peluang untuk pandu uji kereta  Toyota secara percuma jika anda mempunyai lesen antarabangsa atau  lesen memandu dari Jepun. Semua model  kereta Toyota dipamerkan di sini , terdapat juga mesin simulasi keselamatan serta ruang kanak kanak di sediakan. Ruang pembelajaran dan maklumat kereta hybrid juga adalah salah satu tarikan di sini."

 sangat skema... lol..

Day 4 Roppongi , Ginza

Day 4 -

Next we go to Roppongi..just to visit HRC plus there is also Don Quijote store there ( it sells item in discount price)..

After that - Ginza!
Ginza is kind of high end place but we went there for this :

Sony Building

Info : Act as showroom for latest Sony products
Entrance : Free
How to get there : Exit B9 of Ginza station
Nope cant buy the products make for Japan's market as they have different spesification but they do have Sony product sell for outside Japan market. The product is Made in Malaysia.. haha so better beli kat Malaysia . Murah sikit.

One of the Gadget. Since it Sony , they also display Sony Artiste cd.. which include 2pm n 2am. Since 2am just launch their new cd, we want to purchase it but it is only for display. The sales women print us a map and show us the actual cd shop at Ginza.

At the same time CNBlue just launch their tour and album "where you are" so i grab one as souvenir to my sis. The shop is quite famous as there is signature by IU, 2pm, n all other artiste but no photo allowed.

Here at Ginza, there is Special Hello Kitty store- Questina . You can purchase Hello Kitty made custom for Japan than the usual Hello Kitty which made from China..( yang ader kat Daiso tu)




The price ..hmm fanatic fan wouldn't mind it.
 This building is just accros the Sony Building

Day 4 Tokyo tower n such

Day 4.

We are going to travel to the city.

First stop :Imperial palace .

This place is like a park and there is guard changing ceremony too.  The famous photo spot is Nijubashi bridge. This is among the best place to view Sakura/ Cherry Blossom (from mid to late March)

Route info : Stop at Sakuradamon (yurakucho line)

Second : Tokyo Tower

I want to visit Tokyo Tower so much because of Jdrama - "over time".
The only things in my mind  is it looks almost the same with Eifel except it is in red.
They have 2 levels, unfortunately /fortunately the special observatory which located at the peak is close. Therefore we only went to main observatory. There is radio show conducted at Tokyo Tower. From here u can see all of Tokyo surroundings and as far as mount Fuji if sky is clear.
There is also  new tower which is call Sky Tree. It will be open on May 2012 ! This will be the new attraction besides Tokwo Tower

mini window

The other unique attraction is the see through glass. So dont look down if you fear of height!

Large one

Over time ost I believe !.. i never believe that i will visit this tower ! this drama is 10 years ago ! ( besides Tokyo tower , this drama telah mempopularkan gambar mengambil belakang org..kerana itulah pandangan terakhir kita...chewah ayat.



Ok change to fangirl mode :
One week after we go back, guess who come n shoot some show at Tokyo Tower ? It is Seulong fr 2AM, with Taec n Khun from 2PM !! why you dont shoot this earlier ?? why why why... hmm anyway here is the clip fr Wander Trip /; Tokyo Tower.. ok no english subtitles but just look at their reaction at the see through glass.

Info : Ticket Price : Main Tower 820 yen
Nearest station : Akabanebashi
Souvenir : A lot of Tokyo Tower keychain  and magnet sold at ground floor. However i dont buy any the keychain is in pink/blue it almost look like i m visiting eifel..huhu..(eifel got the same souvenir like that ).. oh they also sell Akb48 and arashi stuff hehe

Day 3
Today is a MUST visit place ! Mount Fuji !!!
We purchase package from Japan Tourism. There are options to return to Tokyo via Shinkasen  (Bullet Train)  or Bus from Hakone. Since I only had experience with Ktm Komuter I choose shinkasen although there is big variance of RM with bus ! It also come with lunch option.We pay around rm600+ .There is pickup point provided at Hotel at Shinagawa Prince Hotel.

We got there  on the dot 8:05am..altho in map is like 15 mins it took more than that..this is because we need to exchange station from private line to Jr line ( macam Putra tukar ke KTM) im so worried if we miss the pickup service as u knowlah Japanese they are punctual ! which is in their culture n it is good. Oh the time difference from Malaysia is 1 hour . So u may want to set your alarm to Japan zone. Eg Malaysia 7am Tokyo is 8am

We have our own tour guide , he keep us awake with Japan culture,Japan history which can be a lullaby to our ears hehe..There are tourists from UK,US, Germany, China and Malaysia which is us! Amazingly we thought hmm we are in the same bus with our once ‘penjajah’Uk n jepun  n now we sit comfortably in a bus to view Mount Fuji!.

Nothing could describe my feeling once I saw Mount Fuji from the bus.Subhanallah so beautiful! All tourist on the bus..keep on snap snap snap photo of this magnificent view!

Since Mount Fuji is at high level area of course we can expect snow ! Altho it just a sisa salji  ..our guide told us yesterday the snow fall and he also worry we cant go up to 5^th station n if only weather permitted u can see Mount Fuji.Alhamdulillah the sky is clear.

5th station

fuji

Oh back to that  snow ..being jakun- ofkozlah we take picture we that snow.. takder kat Malaysia kan.We also met with Chinese couple from Penang (start fr Airport) n exchange to take photo of each other. Satu Malaysia kan..hehe. Thanks lovely couple ( lupa nama ) sorry.

pile of snow

Since the weather permitted, we are able to go up to 5^th station . The temperature was +1 celcius!!! Freezing to the death ( drama sangat) haha.
After 5^th station next stop is hotel- lunch.. yahoo !We still can see Mount Fuji here! Vegetarian lunchn with icecream.. kelas you winter sedap oo makan aiskrim tp dalam bangunanlah hehe

vege lunch

lake arashi

Next , cruise on Lake Arashi.. Hakone ,beautiful … the lake is believe come from eruption 100 years ago…
We hop on to Mt. Komagatake ropeway. Our guide informs us the other side of Mount Fuji from here so we snap snap snap again. We basically go around Mount Fuji and believe me Mount Fuji photos are more than our photo. I quote my fav uncle from UK to his wife as his wife keep on snapping Fuji “oh, here is Mount Fuji again” lol

After we come down only our guide inform us that during earthquake. the cable car was not functioning n tourist who was up at the mountain..takes 5 hours to come down! And pregnant ladies were taken by Helicopter to Tokyo. Yelah bgtau awal2 tak maunye kitaorang naik!

view fr cable car tp mt Komagatake

                                                            

view fr Komagatake

                      
Yeay next is the Shinkasen…! wow impressive ! The two hour bus ride now become around only  40 minutes! It is comfortable, fast n clean. The train stop at Tokyo station but via Shinagawa station. So we safely go back to our hotel from Shinagawa. Thanks to mr Henry who send us off and really make sure we stop at the right station.

Info :
1.Jtb is located at Level 16, AMODA Building, Jalan Imbi,55100 Kuala Lumpur  
2.Shinagawa Prince Hotel (for pickup service) is located opposite Shinagawa Station
3. Oh! Mount Fuji is not all the year cover with snow (betuikan semua pikir mount fuji ader snowkan atas tu sepanjang masa) .if u dont believe me , i challenge you to google image now "Fuji summer view"  like Fuji is naked without that snow haha. I   ask Mr Henry bout it, he said only in winter (sound like laughing). ( what to do i come from non4seasons country)  
4.There are large fish at Lake Arashi.
5. Tea and unique jewellery box is the main item ar Hakone if u interested.

Route info :
Shinagawa seaside ( rinkai line) --> Oimachi ( Jr line ) --> Shinagawa ( Jr line)

Applying visa to Japan

Updated info : 2013 "the Government of Japan has decided that from July 1, nationals of Malaysia in possession of ordinary IC passports meeting ICAO standards (with ICAO’s IC passport symbol on the front cover) who wish to enter Japan for short-term stay will no longer be encouraged to obtain a visa as noted above and will be able to visit Japan without one."

Reference  : http://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press6e_000127.html

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Ok next- visa application !
Better do it by yourself , u can save RM50
Application form n sample :

http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/pdfs/application1.pdf

• Please note that you need to use white background photo for this application.
• You need to have employment cert. so baik2la dengan HR anda
• You have to verify  your savings account. I heard that if you apply for Japan Visa u need rm to save money . What i understand is u need to have at least enough amount to stay in Japan for few days and tickets to go back Malaysia. No one to confirm the minimum amount but as what i read and i pass is RM6000 to apply Japan visa in savings.Is ok apply first later that money is for hotel and expenses. Maka silalah simpan lebih kurang rm6000 untuk permohonan visa anda.
• this savings can be from Asb/n , bank accts or even Tabung Haji (eh tabung haji elok pegi hajila jangan kacau)
• Visa application takes 3 days to be completed. 
• Put n/a in whatever fill unrelated instead of left it blank.
• Once you are in Japan Embassy , no phone are allowed so u need to  left it at security post. Come early in the morning. oh the embassy have free limitied parking but there is a per entry parking of rm3 around 5 min walking.
• For reference in the visa application form- since we dont book any package i put Malaysia Embassy as my reference hehe. Here is the address 20-16, Nanreidai-cho
  150-0036
  Tokyo
  Japan
  Phone:
  +81-3-3476-3840
  Fax:
  +81-3-3476-4971

• I also learn we need to email our details of trip to Malaysia embassy at least via email maltokyo@kln.gov.my . They will request your contact details and your emergency contact person (just in case) unwanted thing happen
• once approved u will given permission  to stay in Japan for 15 days. 
• To increase your chances approval please attached your return air ticket just to make sure that you will be back.

The tokyo fate

 2010- Air Asia finally launch their route to Tokyo! So as usually there is launch sales ! My sis and I eager to purchase the tix. Well but then we are quite stumble when we know we need to apply visa...! So my extra advice to fellow malaysian who overstay...why u makes our life difficult ?and come back and work in Malaysia lah !

 hmm we just try our luck...yeay we finally able to purchase just few minutes after open sales total return tix of rm400 to tokyo !! the dates of travel will be on May 2011. Because it is spring !! but by that time no sakura.. coz other people already grab the sakura tix we just want to get some cheap tix.

Tips to get higher chance of sales tix:
1. Always plan your dates earlier. Makes alternate date. U dont want to browse web and calendar the same time.
2. Seriously dont buy the food now..skip and go to the payment page immediately
3. Login via member and add family member list so u save time rather typing their names.

11 March 2011.

I was in Matta Fair - it was friday, we dont have any hotel yet...Japan Travel Bureau really did amazing job with their Japan Avilion . I was collecting info and got my free hello kitty merc there. But nothing stand out and i was thinkin just to come back tomorrow.

I open the tv and (coz back then i dont have smart phone mah no twitter or fb) so tv only. Breaking news there is earthquake in Japan !! Oh my ! It is sad to see the news and i also wonder what will happen with my trip.The nuclear plan news , the sea just makes me paranoid altho Tokyo is far from the nuclear plant plus there is a memo from Malaysia embassy to deviate any plan if it not important.

Mas n AA announce they willing to refund or change date for people travel in April  i keep on following AA news and even email to AA to further the dates for May traveller. But they replied at that time is only for April. We finally want to give up our tickets..until we got news it has been extended to May !! yeeha,,.

It was exchange to credit shell so the 0 sale tickets pun tiba, yes we manage to buy the same price ticket for february 2012 ! pro tak pro dapat beli tiket rm400 gak.. haha.. i think it is just fate that we are going to Tokyo

Day 1 - We got here midnight and we stay at Herton Hotel Shinagawa. We actually purchase package from Airasiago, so we gonna stay here for 5 days. The room is small but cozy enough to sleep.

Day 2- Yeah Disney Sea !.. Y DisneySea and not Land ? Because as far as i know the one n only Disney Sea is at Tokyo hehe.. altho I am here only after its 10th anniversarry .This disneysea ticket is is inclusive with our hotel as we bought this package via AAgo. They also give us return train ticket. The hotel is just accross Shinagawa Seaside station,

Since the theme is SEA- all of the attraction is base on  ...well SEA ! They have American Waterfront, Mediterramean Harbor , Arabian Coast etc..

Since it is still winter around 8' celcius.. everyone is wearing snow cap with Disney theme! It makes me want too purchase one too ..huhu n the best things is every thing is design with Mickey'ears - eg stirrer!

We stay here till night ! Unfortunately when we there the fireworks between both theme DisneySea and Disneyland is cancel. However there is still fireworks from their live entertaiment show eg Fantasmic.


Reccomendation :

1. Cheap souvenir : cost : 0 Mickey Ear stirrer ( they provide it at restaurants) but please dont take zillions coz it will look funny once u been scanned in Airport hehe..n hey other people want to use that for real k !
2. Not to be miss show : Mickey " Be Magical -Here is the only place where Mickey speaks Japanese hookay! Dont worry u will still understand the show and it is entertaining.
3. Not to be miss food : There is few locations with flavored Pop Corn.. i choose black pepper , others are chocolate, caramel,strawberry,curry and milk tea ( masa nila nak try popcorn teh tarik kan) but i only try black pepper since the q is long for milk tea and we need to save our Yen for others lah!
4.Halal/alternate  reccomendation : we went to Zambini Brother as it is  Italian theme and we eat Risotto ..seafood risotto! (risotto is a rice base )

Route from shinagawa seaside : train : Rinkai Line
Shinagawa seaside - shinkiba (change to Keiyo Line /Mushashinno Line) - Maihama Station

After that u can take the disney train.. the windows is all with Mickey 's Ear signature ! Go and feel like a kid again!