Homeward Bound

Our Japan Journey has come to an end today. The whole day has been spent on a train, bus and plane getting from Tokyo Station to Melbourne Airport. It's been a journey better than anything we had imagined beforehand but it will be a while before we attempt this again.

All Over Tokyo

We decided to make the most of our last day in Tokyo and Japan by going to a few places we had missed on our previous visits. We visited Nippori, Tokyo Textile Town, but unfortunately today was also a public holiday in Japan so most places were closed. What was open was still very worthwhile. Nippori is also the only place in Tokyo you can see Mount Fuji from ground level, however the clouds once again obstructed our view.

Back on the train to the Tokyo World Trade Centre and a view from 42 levels up. Again we had never really been to this part of Tokyo do the view was quite different to our expectations. Especially the Tokyo Tower that dominates part of the skyline here.

Finally back to Tokyo station for more shopping, dinner and our hotel. I did sneak back out for one last bowl of ramen before we head off early tomorrow morning to the airport.

Nippori 

Tokyo World Trade Centre 

Tokyo Station

Osaka to Tokyo

Once again we boarded the shinkansen, this time back to Tokyo for the final few days of our Japan Journey. The 3 hour journey is a wonderful way to see rural and small town Japan; yet Mount Fuji once again eluded us behind clouds.

Returning to Tokyo, and to a place we had stayed our last visit to Japan, gave us a chance to visit familiar places for some last minute shopping. We also returned to Harajuku to collect some items we saw last week. The result was a lot less walking today but a much heavier suitcase heading home.

If anyone can tell us about this "egg" character we've seen everywhere in Japan this visit, please add a comment:

Harajuku and Shibuya

The first full day in Japan we stayed on the west of Tokyo going between Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjuku. Much of the day was taken up with window shopping and being caught up in massive crowds. Tokyo on a Sunday is as busy as rush hour on a Monday morning. Off to Kyoto tomorrow, I think we're all looking forward to some slightly less crowded streets.

Yoyogi Park

Harajuku

Shibuya

Shinjuku

(Finally) Arrived in Shinjuku

After a 3 hour delay in Melbourne, that almost resulted in a cancelled flight, we finally got underway at 3am. Thank goodness the Qantas Lounge stayed open for us during the wait (even though we had a Jetstar flight) as having some quite space with an overtired 8 month old was fantastic. 

On board again we were very lucky to be given a bassinet seat in Row 1 with some very friendly and helpful staff that made the journey better than any of us had expected. The delay did allow us to have a better view of the Japanese countryside as we landed.

 

Lining up to collect our train passes took another 45 minutes after we had cleared the airport; and again the most junior seemed to handle it the best before we finally made the journey into Shinjuku.

Given the lack of sleep and sunlight over the past day, we mustered up enough energy to go for a brief walk around the area, stopping at one of the numerous 10 + storey department stores where we purchased some very cheap material and our first dinner at an Indian restaurant. It was a little different to what we usually receive at home but wouldn't seem strange in Melbourne.

As the night began we retired to our room way too exhausted to do much more than write this post and go to bed. Tomorrow we are in some surrounding areas in Tokyo before heading south on Monday.

Farewell Japan

We've just stepped of our plane from Tokyo and waiting for our Melbourne flight, so our final day isn't over yet but we have bid farewell to Japan.

Our final few hours were spent back in Tokyo exploring the area near our first hotel that we didn't get a chance to see.

It is mainly a sea of tall office buildings and shopping but in between there are a few hidden surprises.

One if these is a Kite Museum that was jam packed with not only kites but photos, ribbons, badges and just about anything with a kite on it.

A short walk away is the bridge that all distances in Japan are measured from. It is hidden under a freeway that runs over the top of the river and a very busy thoroughfare but it has some ornate decoration befitting its importance.

Finally back to Tokyo Station where the sheer number of stores and people is hard to comprehend. We have walked around here a number of times on different days and still found places we hadn't seen before.

After returning to our hotel to collect our bags we boarded the airport bus and bid farewell to Tokyo.

It has been a much more rewarding experience that either of us could ever have imagined, hopefully we will be back to discover more of Japan soon.

Tokyo DisneySea

We have covered a lot of ground over the past two days and now we're enjoying our final night in Japan. The poor wifi at our hotel resulted in a post about the past two days - the journey back to Tokyo and DisneySea - rather than individual posts.

We had another decadent meal at our Miyajima ryokan before starting our 1000km journey back to Tokyo. The trip involved a ferry, 2 local trains, 2 Shinkansen, a monorail and finally a bus that took us roughly 150 meters.

The highlight of the journey was being able to finally see Mt Fuji clearly. We have had a lot of overcast and misty weather in Japan but it was brilliantly clear as we passed Mt Fuji. It is an incredible site.

The part of the journey that really made us tired was carrying our luggage up and down numerous stair cases and ramps. Luckily we just missed Tokyo peak hour otherwise I'm not sure our bags would be in one piece.

The Disney Resort area in Tokyo consists of 2 different Disney Parks, hotels and shopping centres all connected by a monorail and not easy walking distance from each other.

The first night we ventured to the shopping area for dinner and a look around. Prices here were higher than elsewhere in Japan, some if the merchandise was high end international designer goods, bit not too bad. Tamie managed to find a new handmade optical frame that was a lot cheaper than it would be in Australia.

DisneySea took us most of today to tackle . It is not as big as other theme parks but there is a lot packed in. Designed around 5 different themed harbours it is different to Disneyland in a lot of ways but similar all the same. A lot more characters wandering around, more restaurants and shops plus unique rides.

So back in our room after the fireworks display getting ready to come home tomorrow. A half day to look at a few things we missed first time in Tokyo them homeward bound.