Tokyo Love Story

Japan is a queueing country. Almost everything you do in here, you need to queue. From entering the train, paying at convenience store, even crossing the street. The worst queue that I have seen so far is in Sushi Dai, Tsukiji Market where you have to wait for FIVE HOURS just to eat sushi. And they sold out since 9 A.M. Well, I’m trying to list and give some review of several places based on my trip before. 

Osaka 

If you’re into anime like myself, then you probably have already known that Osaka was the capital city of Japan during Toyotomi Hideyoshi period. But when Hideyoshi passed away, Ieyasu Tokugawa defeat Hideyoshi’s son, took charge and moved the capital city to Edo (now known as Tokyo). Osaka Castle was Hideyoshi’s place and now have become the main tourist attraction. If you arrived late at Tokyo like myself, then you might want to went there first by using the overnight bus, therefore you can save some time and money because you didn’t have to spend money on Hotel. I arrived at 5 PM at Narita, so overnight bus is the best choice for me. The bus depart at 11.15 PM and arrived at Osaka at 08.20 AM. We picked Universal Studio for our time in Osaka, so we didn’t have time to visit Osaka Castle and any other places. 

Hogwarts Castle

Universal Studio Japan 

USJ is known for its Harry Potter theme park. But they also known for the long queue. Sadly we only got to play three attractions from morning till noon because it took three hours wait for one attraction, unless you purchase the express ticket, which I recommend you do. Their Quidditch game is the main attraction in Harry Potter world, and I have to say that it’s amazing. Forget Transformer in USS, this Quidditch game is in another level and bring you to the Harry Potter world from first person view, you get to see Dementor and a dragon look directly and closely into your eye. If you decide to visit USJ, I suggest you go all out by purchasing the Express Ticket, If you don’t want to, you may have to pick two to three attractions you want to try. They also have Resident Evil attraction, which you can experience killing zombie who is a real person dressing as a zombie. But you need to pay another extra 3500 Yen. In the outside of this theme park, they have Takoyaki Museum. Osaka is very well known of it’s Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. And I have to say that their Takoyaki is very good. The octopus inside was quite big and you can taste it, totally different from Takoyaki served in Jakarta with a tiny octopus inside. 

Kiyomizudera at night

Kyoto 

I have written Kyoto before which you can find in here. Kyoto is not that far from Osaka and can be reached by train stopping in Kyoto station. I stayed at Kaede Guesthouse. It’s a guesthouse with eight bunk bed inside, but they are very clean, comfortable, and have a lot of facility in there. They even have a photocopy machine which we can use. We met the owner at night when we try to relax in their lounge at reception desk. And luckily my brother is very fluent in Japanese and have some chat with him and the owner offered us some Sake if we want. Another option is you can visit Gion, and hopefully you can meet a Geisha in there. Gion also served an amazing Gyoza. Some of the places in Kyoto is free, and they also sell a lot of mochi. And don’t worry about getting tricked, because the price is all the same weherever you buy. It can get a little expensive if you buy Kyoto Mochi in Tokyo though. There was this store in Arashiyama where I bought mochi. The store owner is an old woman which I take around 60 – 70 years old. And after I paid, she looked very happy and kept saying hontouni arigato gozaimasu (I’m very thank you) repeatedly. I was very touched and at the same time felt a little sad for her. There was a lot of store who sold almost the same things in there, so I guess she didn’t get a lot of buyer to her store. 

Tokyo 

As the capital city of Japan. Tokyo is a busy place. The people in here walk very fast and sometimes makes you wondering if you are just get in their way. Yet they seem very patient when they have to queue. Their main transportation is train, and you need to remember that in some line, they can have two different trains. They have what they called an express train which stop only in big station. So you need to pay more attention wheteher you board on the right train because there is a possibility the train you board don't stop at the station you want. To tell you the truth, I have no idea how to know which station the express train stop, because I just followed my brother all the way, but he said that you can read it in the announcement board which usually located near the waiting line. Some people used JR card for their transportation in Japan. But I suggest you use their regular card such as SUICA and PASMO which can be charged any time and can be used for any line (it’s more like card in Singapore) while JR card can only be used in JR line, that way is more flexible when you need to switch line. As one of the big city in Japan, Tokyo have signs written in English. But it’s going to be a disaster if you ask someone in English randomly. Their English skill suck. You have to depend on the people who is on duty in the information center or tourist information. And try to speak English as short as possible. I remembered when I wanted to buy Onigiri in some mini mart but they didn’t write in English and there was no picture so I had no idea what those Onigiris contained. Luckily I had my brother translated it for me. I suggest that you install Google translate in your phone. You can take a picture of those japanese writings and have it translated for you. 

Tokyo – Destination 

These were places that I visited during my trip in Japan 

Ueno Park : Ueno park seems to be a very popular destination. During Sakura period, this place is very crowded with people sitting, eating and drinking in the park. They have museum and several temple in here, I didn’t spend much time in here because we didn’t like museum an temple very much. Especially since you need to pay to enter the museum. 

Asakusa : If you ever go to chinatown in Singapore, Asakusa is just like that with twice the size. The sell many merchandise including Kimono in here and several street food. They have the Kaminarimon gate (thunder gate) which is an entrance gate through Sensoji temple guarded by Fujin (Wind God) and Raijin (Thunder God). After you enter the gate, then you will see the market itself and the Sensoji temple straight ahead. Once again, we’re not that into temple so we didin’t explore it too much. 

Shibuya : I guess there is not much to be said for this district. Shibuya is the famous district which have many department store. There is Shibuya 109 which is the largest department store in Shibuya, a Hachiko statue - the famous loyal dog, and the famous five-cross-street-intersection. This place is very very crowded. You can find Don Quijote in here (which is also available in Shinjuku) which is more like Mustafa in Singapore and the perfect place if you want to buy a gift. 

Shinjuku : To tell you the truth, I have no idea what is the difference between Shibuya and Shinjuku. Both of them is the same shopping district, and have the same outlet. If Shibuya has Shibuya 109 then Shinjuku have iSetan and Takashimaya. Shinjuku has Omoide Yokocho which is more like an alley and have tiny eateries serving such as Yakitori, Ramen, Soba. 

Tokyo Tower : Although Tokyo Skytree is the tallest building in Japan, we interested more in Tokyo Tower because it modeled the Eifel Tower. Tokyo Tower looked very beautiful at night and you can go to the top by paying 1600 Yen. From the top you can enjoy Tokyo night scenery. 

Tsukiji Market : For a guy who likes to cook like me, this place is like heaven. They sell a lot of fresh ingredients and a very good quality meat with a very good price. Even I wondered whether I could buy them here, freezed it and brought back to Indonesia with me. I didn’t enter the market because I know that the market is dedicated more for business rather than tourist, so I didin’t want to get in their way. We just visited the outer market and try to find a place where we can eat Sushi. Sushi Dai is the famous place to eat Sushi but they also famous for its long queue. I have read that you have wait for three hours to get to eat. When I visited the place, there was a sign that you need to wait FIVE HOURS. And not long after that, a new sign came which told that they have already sold out for the day. Several tourist who just came scream dissapointedly. Well it’s your fault for coming so late. We decided to visit Sushi Mizan who also has a queue but not that long. We just have to wait for about half hour to enter the place. You can visit another sushi stall to enjoy the freshness of their food. 

Akihabara : This is the headquarters for Anime,Manga, and Game lover. The place is so huge that maybe you need a day to visit all of them. They also sell a lot of electronic stuff in here, whether its brand new or used. Japan has a regulation where you cannot throw away stuff, otherwise you would get penalized. So they take care of almost all of their stuff including electronic stuff so they can sell it with a good price. So it’s safe to buy used stuff in Japan because the quality is almost the same as brand new with a better price. You can find Yodobashi in here which is the largest electronic store in Japan and sell a lot from computer, rice cooker, software, games, even Japan Adult Video (JAV). 

Garden/Park : Going to Japan was not enough if you didn't visit their beautiful parks especially during Sakura period. I visited two parks during my trip in here. They were Koshikawa Karakuen and Shinjuku Gyoen. I think Shinjuku Gyoen is the best place to see Sakura. The park is bigger than Koshikawa and cheaper to enter. Just enjoy the beautiful scenery and the fresh air in here. 

Daisho : I visited Daisho in Harajuku. My brother said that this is the biggest Daisho store that he ever enter. The store consist of four floors with 100 Yen for the price exclude 8% tax. Although there are some stuff that cost more than that. They sell a lot of unique stuff in there. 

Hakone 

Hakone is famous for its hot springs (onsen) and the best spot beside Kawaguchi to see mount Fuji.It took one and half hour from Shinjuku to reach Hakone by Rapid Express train. You can enjoy onsen for free if you stay a night in their many Ryokan. Otherwise, you may have to pay. And remember to enter onsen, you need to completly naked, not even a towel is permitted to enter the onsen. My brother said that you can wear swim clothes for tourist, but I never try it though because we didin’t spend the night in there. We only got a chance to visit lake Ashi, but sadly it was cloudy that day so we didn’t get to see mount Fuji. But Hakone has a very beautiful view and a relaxing air, a great place to escape from a busy city like Tokyo. Hakone can be reached by train or shinkansen from Shinjuku station. Just like I mention before, they have different type of trains. To Hakone you can board from Local, Semi Express, Tama Express, Express, Rapid Express, Super Express, Romance Car. The ticket cost 880 Yen and can only be used up to Rapid Express. The Rapid Express train cut a lot of stop while Local type stop at every station. Suica and Pasmo card can be used in Hakone. Take Odakyu line to Odawara from Shinjuku. 

Tokyo Food Guide 

I was totally amazed by the systems of restaurant in Japan. They have this box which looked like a vending machine. The machine have several buttons which are actually the restaurant’s menu. So you see what you want to eat, and how much it cost. You put through the money and press the button. The machine will give you ticket of your order and your change. Then you give the ticket to the counter table or in some restaurant you wait until your number is called. This way minimized cost because they don’t need to have a cashier, and a probability that some employee try to steal from your daily income. 

I think Japan culinary don't have many varieties as much as Korean do. Beside noodle, they don’t have any dish which contains broth/soup in it. So it’s quite hard when you want some warm food during cold season. But their patisserie is very well known all over the world and sometime can be put up against the famous French pastry. I try to list several restaurant and dishes based on my trip. 

Ichiran Ramen : Just try google it, and I bet you find a lot of good review for this place. Some people say that this is the best ramen in the world. And I have to agree with you because I came back for the second time during my period of visit. There is something in their broth that make it different than any other ramen. And usually you need to wait in line for around one hour to eat in this place because it is that famous And I have to tell you that it is worth the wait. They’re going to give you a list of choice of how your ramen want to be served, is it firm or soft? how many garlic you want? whether you want to use green onion or not, how spicy do you want it? There are also some additional side dish such as extra pork, extra green onion, egg, or maybe you want a refill of the noodle. One portion of noodle cost around 790 Yen and a refill of another one portion of noodle cost just 190 Yen. They didn’t add the broth, so you need to use the broth from your previous order. 

Platinum Buffet : For just around 1600 Yen, you can get all you can eat buffet in Shinjuku station. We accidentally find this place when we try to look for dinner. I have to say it was quite a pleasure eating here. They served more like a western food such as Pizza, Spaghetti and Hamburger steak as their main. But they also serve some Japanese food such as curry, croquetes, chicken. There are also salads, about twelve different type of cake, crepe, waffle and Ice cream. The food was quite delicious and the price was cheaper than any other buffet restaurant such as Sweet Paradise or Bittersweets Buffet. 

Sushi Mizan : We stumble upon Tsukiji market and dying to try a good sushi without having to wait too long with a comfortable place and don’t care about the queue when we eat. And we find Sushi Mizan nearby. The queue line was more make sense than the Sushi Dai, we just have to wait for about 30 minutes before our name got called. Tuna is the best fish served in there, not the kind of tuna that we usually find in our supermarket but ‘their’ kind of giant tuna. It was more expensive than salmon. The fish was very fresh, totally different than Sushi Tei which I think the best Sushi place you can find in Indonesia. The rice was also flavourful. It was very delicious and my wife who didn’t like to eat raw food even ask for a second time. I get that some people wondering why Sushi was so expensive despite there was no cooking involved. Let me tell you something, making sushi needs a certain kind of skill. They need to be able to cut the fish consistently in a right angle. You can’t cut the fish too thin or too thick because it will messed up your experience eating it. They need to be in right size for every pieces. And then you still need to cook the rice and season it correctly. After that there are seven steps you need to do to assemble the sushi and make it look exactly the same for every pieces. So it is hard. 

Pablo Cheese Tart : I remembered watching some video going around in my facebook page that Japan has something that can stand against cheesecake. And that is Cheese Tart. Pablo create a gooey cheese tart. Sort of like Molten Lava Cake which is still runny inside. So it’s not actually solid like a cake but it’s more like a filling. It was delicious. And they also open mini cheese tart in Akihabara. And that is way more delicious than the original one because they have more type of flavor such as chocolate or green tea and you can eat it while it’s still warm. The pie tart itself was very crunchy and very solid so it didn’t fall apart when you bite it. 

Dominique Ansel Bakery : Dominique Ansel is the pastry chef who many people said have invented Cronut. A fusion between Croissant and Donut. Although the chef itself politely denied it by saying that he just reinvented and popularize it but the hype was already in. I imagine entering a bread shop where you can browse all the bread, pick it up and pay it in the cashier. But that’s when I got it wrong. They served it more like a fast food restaurant where you got to be in the queueing line (again!!) and while waiting you got to see what type of bread you wanted to order. And by the time you reached the cashier, you could place your order. And here is the trick, this bakery shop have several recommended menu. If you went too late, you might miss their Cronut because it has already sold out. But you can get a chance to try their Cookie Shot which usually sold at 3 PM. Several people have already got in the different line to queue around 30 minutes before the time has opened. But if you came early, you might didn’t have a chance to try their Cookie Shot. So it’s your decision whether you want to went early or late. But definetly you might want to try their frozen S’mores which cost 750 Yen. And I had to say that it was worth it.

Onigiri : A simple onigiri can be found around every mini market in Japan. They all taste very good. They have many variety of filling from tuna, salmon, chicken even plum. My favourite was the one from Family Mart which had a brown rice. I think they added soy sauce to the rice to give it more flavour.

I was very excited going to a country which I had been dreaming about since I was in high school. But I got more excited because I got to see my brother again and saw how he lived his life over there. And I am very proud of him for working hard to realize his dream. 

Japan is a nice country which have many beautiful place in every each of their region. I’m pretty sure that I will go back again to visit all of them.