Japan Attractions Day 7 - 16th Apr 2009 Sapporo – Narita

Japan Attractions Day 7

Sapporo White Illumination

Sapporo Snow Festival

Today being the seventh day we are in Japan, it is also the last day that we could use the Japanese rail pass on the JR trains for our Japan sightseeing.




Just before we left our hotel room, we saw that it was lightly snowing. The Sapporo weather forecast was indeed accurate. We were glad that we managed to see quite a bit during this Sapporo travel despite only having two full days here and fortunate in having friends bring us on a few tours of Sapporo including various restaurants for us to try the food as well especially the
Mongolian bbq grill.

Mongolian BBQ Grill...

We checked out of Keio Plaza Sapporo at 0745 hrs and walked to the JR Sapporo station in a light snow to catch the 0825 hrs rapid express train to Chitose Japan where Sapporo Airport is located. As we were early, we managed to do some shopping at the Shopping World before clearing security.

Sapporo Airport, Chitose Japan

We then boarded the plane bound for Tokyo Haneda Airport which departed on schedule at 1045 hrs. We arrived Tokyo Haneda Airport an hour and a half later at 1215 hrs.

Sapporo Airport, Chitose Japan On the runway

Taking off

Tokyo Haneda Airport ...

Baggage carousel at Haneda Airport, where luggages are placed neatly on the carousel with handles facing outwards for easy retrieval

We were now faced with two choices. We could either catch the JR train to Tokyo and change trains to Narita station since our Japanese rail pass was still valid or hop on a limousine bus which would bring us direct to Narita Japan Airport. We decided on the latter as it would be faster although it set us back by JPY3000/person.

Upon arrival at Narita Japan Airport, we had to wait approximately 45 minutes for the next shuttle bus to our hotel, International Garden Hotel Narita, as we had just missed it and as it was a non peak hour, the buses only ran hourly.

Wiating for the Limousine Bus ...

Flowers to brighten up Narita Japan Airport

It would have been better if we had made the airline reservation for a flight from Sapporo direct to Narita Japan Airport which would have saved us some travelling time. However, we did not due to certain circumstances arising at the time of making the flight reservation.

The journey to International Garden Hotel Narita took approximately half an hour. After checking in, we immediately took the next shuttle to the train station. We proceeded to the JR Narita station and took a train to Tokyo station.

Along the journey in Tokyo

Japan train travel

From there, we began our short sightseeing on foot by walking to Mitsukoshi Department Store in Nihonbashi, one of the city districts of Tokyo, to view the carriage that the Emperor and Empress rode in on their wedding day fifty years ago which was on display. We were fortunate as the exhibition was on only for a week and we were just on time to view it.

Nihonbashi

Kashiwamochi, special rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves with various fillings

Mitsukoshi Department Store in Nihonbashi Tokyo Japan

We had dinner at Yoshinoya, a small shop serving Japanese food, which is considered as one of the leading Japan fast food chains. Its motto is “cheap, quick and yummy”, thus you can get a delicious beef bowl (gyudon) at less than JPY400 (USD4.10).

Beef bowl (Gyudon)

Pork instead of beef

After dinner, we caught the JR train back to Narita station, thereby making full use of our seven-day Japanese rail pass, and then took the shuttle back to International Garden Hotel Narita.

Lots of space in the bedroom ...

Personal fitness at the gymnasium

Huge spacious lobby area

Area for relaxation

Souvenir shop in hotel selling soba noodles

Just across the International Garden Hotel Narita is a quaint little hotel, the Hotel Chapel Christmas. As the name suggests, it is time to enjoy Christmas all year round and gives it the festive look and feel.

Japan Attractions Day 4 - 13th Apr 2009 Shin Osaka – Sapporo

Japan Attractions Day 4 - 13th Apr 2009 Shin Osaka – Sapporo

Japan travel advice:-
With the Japanese rail pass, you can go on a Japan train travel easily and cover an extensive area. Going by the train timetable, Japan has one of the most accurate train timings, thus making it easy to plan your Japan train sightseeing itinerary.

One of the various Japan trains for your train sightseeing

Viainn-Shin Osaka is a business hotel providing Japanese breakfast food. A budget semi double room with full bathroom for 2 persons cost JPY7140 (USD72) nett/night. The room is slightly smaller than Urbain Hotel Hiroshima Executive but pretty similar. Here you also get free internet access and two computers where you can surf the internet in the lobby. With Japanese breakfast food provided, this is good value for money.

The tiny bedroom...

The only disadvantage we found is that the room get a little too warm for our comfort and since the weather can be a little cool at times, the air-conditioning system has not been switched on. Thus, we had to sleep with out windows open to allow the cool breeze in.

Lobby of Via Inn Shin Osaka...

As with Urbain Hiroshima Executive, a humidifier is also provided for your comfort.

A pot to boil water as well as a humidifier

We had a filling breakfast of onigiri (Japanese rice snack formed into triangular or oval shape), buns, salad, yoghurt and miso soup before checking out and as we did not have time to do any Osaka tour, we managed to do some last minute Osaka shopping instead.

Typical breakfast food ... miso soup, salad, onigiri

Breakfast area

Miso soup vending machine...

We then made our way to Osaka Kansai Airport via JR train utilizing our Japanese rail pass for our 1505 hrs flight to New Chitose Sapporo Airport.

JR station at Osaka Kansai Airport

For lunch, we had Japanese style fried rice which cost us JPY500 (USD5) and which tasted pretty good.

Where we had lunch in Kansai Airport

Fried curry rice

Utage China Tower exhibit at Osaka Airport ...

Osaka Kansai Airport, an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay

Boarded JL2509 for our hour and a half flight to Sapporo – New Chitose Airport. Retrieved our luggage and caught the 1719 hrs JR train to Sapporo station, a forty minute trip. We then walked for less than ten minutes to our accommodation for the night, Keio Plaza Hotel Sapporo.

Keio Plaza Hotel Sapporo... Bedroom

Writing desk and sofa area

Bathroom area...

After checking in, we had dinner at Akizu, a Japanese restaurant located at basement one of the hotel. Here we experienced Japanese dishes including grilled food, sushi and some Hokkaido specialties served in a Japanese atmosphere. It was a great dining experience.

Tempura

Sushi...

At the sushi counter with the boss

Chef preparing the food upon request...

The various raw food for the sushi

Japan Attractions Day 1 – 10th Apr 2009 Tokyo to Hiroshima

Japan Attractions Day 1 – 10th Apr 2009

With the myriad of tourist attractions Japan has, it is recommended to check out these Japan attractions on the internet or collect some Japan travel guides from the Japan embassy or travel agents so that you will have an idea of what sort of Japan sightseeing would interest and excite you. Also you can make use of the Japanese Rail Pass which is the key to convenient sightseeing in Japan.

We arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport at 1245 hrs on 10th April after a 12 hours flight from MSP International Airport. After a super fast clearance, we went to the JR (Japan Rail) Office to present our exchange order for our JR ‘7 day’ pass to start our train sightseeing of Japan.

Japanese Rail Pass Exchange Order

The Japanese Rail Pass cannot be purchased in Japan. It is only for tourists to Japan who are there on a sightseeing travel, i.e. you must be there on a "Temporary Visitor" status and not as "Trainee", "Entertainer", or "Reentry Permit". Or if you are a Japanese national who is qualified to live permanently in a foreign country or married to a non-Japanese residing in a foreign country, you are eligible for a Japanese Rail Pass. The price for a 7 day Japanese rail pass ranges from JPY28,300 (USD291) to JPY37,300 (USD389), though it is much cheaper to purchase the 21-day pass which comes up to less than double the price of the 7-day pass.


The JR Pass for sightseeing by train



This JR Pass enables you to travel on all JR group railways (including the Shinkansen "bullet trains", limited express trains, express trains and rapid or local trains), local lines of JR bus companies and the JR Miyajima ferry. The validity period of the Japanese rail pass is the consecutive 7, 14 or 21 days beginning on the date the pass is first issued when you arrive in Japan and present the exchange order to any JR exchange office.

Japan travel advice:- If you intend to travel extensively from, one main city to another and covering long distances e.g. Tokyo to Osaka/Hiroshima/Sapporo, etc… and looking for cheap Japan travel, it is advantageous to apply for a JR pass as this will enable you to save quite a bit on your transportation and include some form of train sightseeing as well as Japan sightseeing.


One of the many trains

From Narita Airport Terminal 1, we took the 1345 hrs Narita Express Shinagawa to Tokyo where we changed another two different shinkansen, also known as bullet trains, to Hiroshima and arrived at 1955 hrs.

One advantage about Japan is that its transportation system runs like clockwork where all arrival and departure timings are precise and accurate. It is thus easy to plan a train sightseeing holiday.

After an approximately ten minutes walk from JR Hiroshima Station is Hotel Urbain Hiroshima Executive where we stayed for the night. A rate of JPY 8400 (USD86)/day nett for two persons entitles you to a room with a full bathroom, complimentary ‘diy’ laundry, free internet access, sauna, public bath and breakfast. You also get 24 hour access to coffee/ tea, orange as well as vegetable juice.


Hotel Urbain Hiroshima Executive

Typical Japanese hotel room - small

The complimentary laundry facilities
The hotel is new having just opened last year and comes with modern furnishings and makes use of high technology software such as tapping your key on a key pad to open your room door.

After checking in, we took a walk around the hotel to do some Hiroshima sightseeing. We passed by the river and managed to view some beautiful sakura, also popularly known as cherry blossoms.

Lovely Sakura Cherry Blossoms

Upon crossing the street, we saw a Chinese restaurant, Entaikaku, and had dinner comprising ‘ma po tofu’ and ‘jia jia mian’. The ‘ma po tofu’ is a dish of beancurd cooked in a spicy gravy with minced meat. This dish is better eaten with rice as it tastes much better and not too salty. If you like spicy food, try this dish. The ‘jia jia mian’ is a dish of noodles with minced meat and sliced cucumbers served with it. Found it a little too salty, but otherwise a tasty dish. Both dishes cost JPY840 (USD8.65) each, which is about the average meal cost here in Japan although you can find meals below JPY500 (USD5.15).

The Chinese Restaurant, Entaikaku

Ma Po Tofu, a popular dish in Japan