I've always dreamt of traveling to Japan, but it never occurred to me that I would do it at a time when my finances were tight or without making at least 6 months plan in advanced. The first time we talked about Tokyo was in January, and we've been talking about it for so long that it would've been an opportunity missed if I hadn't tagged along. While my friend was able to get the promotional fare, I spent days browsing through the web for the best possible route and affordable prices. Since I was going to fly during the blackout period, promo prices were not valid and the choices I had at the time was between BND1300 - BND1800 for a return / direct flight. I almost gave up.
Eventually I found the best possible option. I bought my flight tickets separately and directly on their websites, with tolerable layover time in between flights. I paid an approximate of BND800 for the whole flight and they're not even budget airlines to begin with!
These were my routes:
- Brunei - Kuala Lumpur - Brunei via RB
- Kuala Lumpur - Tokyo (Narita) - Singapore - Kuala Lumpur via Japan Airline/MAS
I did however spent more hours at the airports on my way back but at least I was on JAL for the long haul flight instead of MAS. Being on MAS was extremely uncomfortable and I've always felt that their hospitality was below par. Anyway, enough on flights now.
Pre-trip:
If you're thinking about traveling outside Tokyo, I highly recommend for you to purchase a JR Pass at least one month prior to your flight. Since I was only in Japan for 6 days, we opted for a 7-day pass. You will not be able to purchase this pass once you've arrived in Japan, so it's best to get it online and have it shipped to your place. Although it may seem expensive (ours was BND405 per person inclusive of shipping price) you'll come to learn that it is really cost-effective.
We traveled from Tokyo to Kyoto on a Shinkansen (bullet train), which would've cost us BND180 per trip. Having a JR Pass would allow you to get on JR Lines and Shinkansen (except for Nozomi train) without limits.
Warning:
As mentioned earlier, I was only in Japan for 6 days. We were not able to cover the authentic Japanese experience but if you're looking for some ideas on what to do and where to go within a short period of time, we've got you covered!
Day 1: Arriving in Narita / Tokyo / Leaving for Kyoto
I arrived at Narita Airport at 8:00 am and was in no rush to get to places. The first thing I did was to look for a Sim Card. There are plenty of choices as you stroll along the arrival hall, flashed with adverts of Data Simcard or Pocket WiFi available for purchase or rent. You can even buy one through a vending machine! You can read more on Japan Simcard here: Prepaid and Cheap Data Sim Card Options in Japan . I opted for IIJmio (BND40 for 2GB) and didn't even completely use up the data within 6 days. I mostly used it for Google Map, Instagram and Japan Travel App (this is an extremely handy app for you to check on which lines to take and train schedules as well).
Couple of other things I did at Narita was to exchange my JR Pass at the JR Exchange Counter, or in other word, to activate it. Then I also bought a PASMO Card (an IC Card) which can be used on other subway trains or busses, and can even be used to pay at stores or vending machines. Some places in Japan do not accept cash or credit card, so having an IC Card is a good alternative. You can get it on any ticket machine at train stations.
Then from Narita Airport, I took the Narita Express (NEX) Train to Tokyo. With my JR Pass, I didn't have to worry about the cost at all. It took approximately an hour to reach Tokyo Station.
Map of Tokyo Station Floor 1
The reason why I stopped at Tokyo Station was to leave my luggage at the Luggage Storage Service Centre which is at the Marunouchi North Gate area so I can roam around without having to drag my luggage everywhere. Similarly you can use the coin lockers storage but you might be having a hard time to find one that can fit your luggage. The Service Centre opens until 8:30pm and for one day storage, it will cost you ¥600.
From there I took the Yamanote Line (JR Line so it's free with a JR Pass) to Ikebukuro Station.
Have I mentioned how cold it was? It was 6ºc and you thought Spring would've been warmer.
So what brought me to Ikebukuro? Nothing else other than Book and Bed Tokyo. I did think about staying here for one night but my friend didn't seem keen about it, so I went for a daytime experience instead. For ¥500 per hour, or ¥1500 for more than 3 hours from 13:00 - 17:00, you can read, bring in the coffee you bought from Starbucks and snacks from 7-11 and just enjoy some quiet time reading and relaxing while surrounded by books and more books. Although you might get slightly distracted by people taking photos everywhere, they'll eventually subside and you'll soon be accompanied by people who share the same interest as you, and that's reading! I find the whole concept of this place to be really amazing! I really do love their design and concept, and was proud to be the first Bruneian to ever stepped into this place!
While I was there, I learned that Ikebukuro is particularly famous for their Owls. 15 minutes walk from Book and Bed, I ended up at Ikefukuro Cafe, where I would've been able to hang out with Owls, unfortunately they were closed from 17:00 to 18:00 and I was already set to leave for Tokyo again.
I met up with my friend at 7:30pm in Tokyo Station to leave for Kyoto. Do note that 8:00pm would've been the latest train you can take if you would like to reach Kyoto before midnight. The reason why we couldn't leave earlier was because my friend had to attend the final segment of his workshop and did actually run to catch the train from Shibuya to Tokyo with his luggage and heavy backpack. Again, with the JR Pass, we were able to take the Shinkansen train (Hikari Train) direct to Kyoto. The whole ride took us approximately 2-3 hours altogether.
From Kyoto Station, we took a taxi to get to our hostel. We stayed at Hostel Ebi for 3 nights, and we couldn't have picked a better hostel!
Day 2: Fushimi Inari Shrine / Kyoto
We started our day at 9 am, with breakfast at Paul's. Then we rented a bike to go to Kyoto Station (approximately 10 mins ride). We left our bike at a designated parking for bicycles next to Bic Camera / Kyoto Station. To be really honest, I never thought I'd made it out there to cycle through the main road and passing through all the pedestrians but I did and it was so much fun! We rented the bike for ¥100 per hour and parking was ¥200 per day.
From Kyoto Station, we took the JR Nara Line (Platform 8) for Inari Station. As soon as you stepped outside the station, you will immediately be greeted by the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine. This place is a lot bigger than what most people thought, and it would require a lot of walking, and plenty of stairs too. We spent a few hours there and left for Kyoto again to grab lunch. Luckily finding halal food in Kyoto wasn't so difficult! From Kyoto Station, you can go to AyamYa Restaurant for some ramen or Spicy Chicken Rice. We have been using this website as a guideline to Halal and Muslim Friendly Restaurants.
Kyoto is a beautiful city. You'd see both modern and ancient architecture side by side, and it's chaotic in the most peaceful way. Walking wasn't even a hassle albeit exhausting. We were already on the train to Nara Park after lunch but soon realised that we had to return our bikes before 6 pm. Nara is an hour away from Kyoto, and we wouldn't have made it on time so we took a U-Turn and went back to our hostel to rest instead.
In the evening, we went to Yakiniku Naritaya in Gion for dinner. We took a bus this time, and that's when our Pasmo card came in handy! I tried their curry ramen, which was delicious but unfortunately I have too small of a stomach for Japanese Meal portion. We then walked over the Kamogawa bridge to Starbucks because someone's got addicted to their Matcha Latte! The view was meant to be spectacular but we weren't able to get seats overseeing the river.
Day 3: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove / Nara Park
From Kyoto Station, take the San'in Main Line to Sonobe for Sagarashiyama. This is where you'd reach the Bamboo Grove Forest and Sagano Park... and you can go to an Owl Gallery afterwards too!
We then headed off for Nara Park to meet the deers that bow to you for food! Do take note that they can be pretty vicious. I was attacked as soon as I bought the snacks from the vendor. The deer knew I had food, but I refused to give any, so it bit my jacket and ripped my paper bag apart. I also lost my map of Nara Park. We didn't stay very long to explore Nara itself, although when I think about it now, you totally should!
Day 4: Tokyo / Asakusa / Akihabara
Our initial plan was to stop by Hakone to get on the ropeway and catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from there. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on our side and even Tokyo was rainy at that time!
We couldn't check in to our hostel until 4:00pm so we had a bit of time to go around, although it was so cold and rainy. We decided the nearest place to go would be Asakusa, which is famous for its Sensoji Temple. We walked around for a bit, and eventually ended up at this tourist information centre that offered a free viewing deck on the 8th floor. We thought about going to Skytree on the same day but we saw nothing but clouds blocking skytree from the viewing deck that afternoon. OH! We also had a halal Asakusa Beef Burger at Sekai Cafe.
In the evening, we made a quick stop at Akihabara. Seriously, I think the rain kinda just killed the buzz for us. It wasn't even that late yet, but most places were quiet already. The halal place we wanted to go at Akihabara was closed too. We did end up spending too much time at Yodobashi Store instead.
Day 5: Shinjuku / Skytree / Asakusa
First stop: Gadget / Camera Heaven aka Shinjuku! I even fell in love with Fujifilm XT20 here that I almost - almost bought it but instead I watched my friend swooning over his new Ricoh GRII. x)
For lunch we went to Shinjuku Halal Ramen Ouka for their Spicy Ramen! Ugh, the best best best Ramen I had throughout my trip. When we got there, the place was closed for a short break, so we ended up at this Spanish Harlem Cafe. Seriously, when it's that cold, all you wanted to do was have coffee after coffee after coffee.
I wanted to have Sushi before we leave, and found out that Sushi Ken Asakusa does halal sushi so that's where we went for dinner. Haha, most expensive meal we had too! Expect to spend a minimum of ¥3000 per person here.
When you've been so busy trying to make the most of your trip, you most probably wouldn't have enough time to shop for souvenirs, what more other things. I found souvenirs to be rather expensive here in Japan, with a small keychain ranging from ¥300 to ¥500 per piece. If you're in the Asakusa area, you might want to drop by Asakusa Don Quijote Store that opens 24/7! There's a small section on the 1st Floor especially for Halal Food, if you're looking for any halal coffee/teas/snacks to bring home. I'm sure this section used to have more variety but I guess they started to run out of Halal stuff considering the high number of Muslim tourists in Japan now but yes, still so much fun to visit! Plus there's a tax-free counter for foreigners/tourists too.
Okay, so technically I only had about 5 days to explore Japan. Not enough, and definitely coming back. For my next trip, I'll probably slow down a bit, and spread my trip well. I would love to visit Hiroshima, Osaka, Hokane and Hokkaido next. Also Shibuya, Ginza, Ueno and other parts of Tokyo!
I'm naturally anxious and I have the tendency to get lost even with a map in my hands. Yet, there's this beauty about getting lost. We kept finding places that weren't even in our list in the first place. We saw Japan the way we didn't expect to. We didn't experience Japan the way we're supposed to either. Japan, you amazed me, and you reminded me most of why I wanted to go away so much. You made me forget of the things that hurt most, you healed me for a while and you made me fall in love with the things I've always been in love with. That is to see the beauty of the little things through my viewfinder.
Jenny Lawson told me that all the things that are prohibited at the airports are actually the items or weapons that we could use should there be a Zombie Apocalypse. Damn, that woman is right but I guess now we all know that airport is not the safest place to hide from Zombie attacks. Like, what we're gonna kill them with, empty plastic bottles kah?
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