Thursday, November 18, 2010

Day 1 - Arriving In Tokyo :>

76641_1619060750053_1042413836_31712688_385573_n

76641_1619060670051_1042413836_31712686_2834674_n
Breakfast @ Changi Airport Terminal 1 before flight

76641_1619060790054_1042413836_31712689_3319596_n

This is probably the most relaxing trip to Tokyo for hubby and i as we are staying 9 days in Tokyo although first and last day are mostly gone as we reached Tokyo at night and our flight back to Singapore is early in the morning. However 7 whole days is more than enough as we planned to just revisit some of our favorite places like Itoya in Ginza, Book 1st and the lovely cafe at Cocoon Tower in Shinjuku, do some shopping, dine at Muji and have fun at Disneyland and sea. We had also planned to take an hour train ride to Kamakura which is a lovely little town with lot of Buddhist Temples but dropped the plan after hubby fall sick on the third day. Luckily he recovered on the 4th day and we were able to shop around Tokyo but we decided not to ventured too far and spent more time relaxing in nice cafes eating desserts. We ate alot during our trip and spent alot of time relaxing in interesting cafes and just exploring around Odaiba where our hotel is. Hopefully we can go to Kamakura during our future trip to Japan :>

148692_1619068430245_1042413836_31712700_2103666_n

76641_1619060870056_1042413836_31712690_7905674_n

155892_1619074430395_1042413836_31712710_1666036_n

154969_1619067030210_1042413836_31712695_1292476_n

154969_1619067150213_1042413836_31712698_1007827_n

155892_1619074310392_1042413836_31712707_1923146_n

150588_1619074390394_1042413836_31712709_883287_n

We reached Tokyo on 8 November around 9pm local time after a whole day of traveling by Cathay Pacific and transits at Hong Kong Airport. I love the meals we had on board and also bought some duty free items. I have been wanting to try out Clinque's new BB cream as i love using BB cream and bought a tube on the plane. I love L'occitane products especially their Shea hand cream after a friend gave me one for my birthday gift this year. Enriched with 20% shea butter, this super creamy balm penetrates quickly to protect, nourish and moisturize hands. I bought its hand cream travel set which comprises of 6 mini size tubes of hand cream. I also bought Clinque's travel size lip gloss which comes in 10 different colors and can't wait to start using them :>

155892_1619074470396_1042413836_31712711_403699_n
Reaching Haneda Tokyo International Airport

150838_1619075030410_1042413836_31712713_6762464_n

150838_1619075070411_1042413836_31712714_464509_n
Nice to have boy band Arashi welcoming us heehee...

149151_1619123551623_1042413836_31712839_6696352_n

149151_1619123631625_1042413836_31712840_6033399_n

149151_1619123711627_1042413836_31712842_5728603_n

Travelling from Haneda Airport to our hotel was a breeze by Airport Limousine bus which cost 500 Yen (S$8) and only took about 30 minutes journey. I remembered having to spend about S$25 per trip for an hour journey by Limousine bus from Narita Airport to Keio Hotel at Shinjuku last year. The opening of the Haneda Tokyo International Airport on 31 October 2010 is really great for international travelers :> and i love the design of the airport and its clean toilets and interesting shopping areas at the departure hall. I was also impressed with its Observation Deck on the 4th floor of the departure hall which is open air and visitors are able to see the planes taking off! It was a really nice touch. Haneda Airport used to only serve domestic flights and i will definitely prefer landing at Haneda Airport than Narita Airport if i go to Tokyo in the future as it is more convenient and i like the new shopping arcade at Haneda.

150838_1619075110412_1042413836_31712715_7917217_n
Limousine bus ticket

149968_1619094310892_1042413836_31712749_7256763_n
Comfortable and warm waiting room for travelers to wait for Limousine bus

150838_1619075150413_1042413836_31712716_8171619_n

IMG_1840

149968_1619094230890_1042413836_31712747_5385876_n

149968_1619094190889_1042413836_31712746_7726944_n
Warm royal milk tea while waiting for bus to hotel

148692_1619068470246_1042413836_31712701_7160596_n

149968_1619094270891_1042413836_31712748_8292431_n
Here comes our bus, yipee! Can't wait to get to hotel as really tired after whole day flight!

We reached the Grand Pacific Le Daiba Hotel at around 11.45pm and check-in was really fast and we do not have to wait at all. Our hotel is in Odaiba which is quite near Haneda Airport and we will need to take the Yurikamome line to Shimbashi station and change to the Yamanote line if we wish to go to Ginza, Shinjuku, Harajuku etc...

149151_1619123751628_1042413836_31712843_1363725_n

Yurikamoe Line

Yamanote JR Line

One thing to note is that it is quite expensive traveling by the Yurikamome line compared to the JR Lines which includes the frequently traveled Yamanote line but luckily the hotel provides free hourly shuttle bus to Shinagawa station which is along the Yamanote line and it only takes around 20 minutes to reach which is really convenient and we can save some money on transport. We took the bus several occasions and the bus always arrive about 5 minutes early and the driver will normally start the bus on time. Do buy the one day Yurikamome open ticket if you plan to explore Odaiba as you can take unlimited rides for the day at only 800 Yen (around S$13). A single ride for example from Daiba station where our hotel is located to Shimbashi station where we transfer to the Yamanote line cost about 360 Yen (about S$5.7) if i remember correctly and it would be more worthwhile getting the one day open ticket if we plan to shop around Venus Fort (Aomi station) and Aqua City (Daiba station) when we are back at night from shopping at Ginza and Akihabara.

Hotel Shuttle Bus

IMG_3068
Yurikamome One day open ticket

We choose to stay in Odaiba even though transport is more expensive and it is further from downtown Tokyo as we love that it is near the beach with clear view of the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower and there are also lot of shopping centres nearby like Aqua City, Decks and Venus Fort. We chose this hotel after reading good reviews online from travellers who have stayed in the hotel and the whole stay was a pleasant and wonderful experience for us. Most of the hotel staff understand simple basic English and language was not a problem for us.

IMG_1887

IMG_1888

73635_1614586758206_1042413836_31704380_2279839_n
View from our hotel room. I can even see airplanes flying towards Haneda Airport!!

We stayed on the 19th floor and although the room was smaller than the room at Keio Hotel, it feels more cozy and relaxing :> I love the Kanebo toiletries provided by the hotel and i tried its shampoo and conditioner and my hair feels smoother and not that frizzy! The hotel also provides sleepwear for guests and i love the warm toilet seat hehe

148692_1619068550248_1042413836_31712702_1706467_n

76581_1619112711352_1042413836_31712816_361720_n

76581_1619112671351_1042413836_31712815_7837462_n

73921_1619105551173_1042413836_31712788_6490952_n

73921_1619105591174_1042413836_31712789_1033584_n

76581_1619112591349_1042413836_31712813_7190983_n

76581_1619112631350_1042413836_31712814_5377743_n

The hotel seems popular with female Japanese travelers and young families. There were alot of young Japanese girls dressed very nicely who were walking past to go up to their hotel rooms when we were at the hotel lobby checking in. They seem to have just attended some function or D&D at the hotel and there were almost more than 50 of them. We saw alot of them while buying mineral water and snacks at the 24 hour convenience store in the hotel and ended up having to queue to pay for our purchases. The store had also ran out of big bottled mineral water and alot of snacks as those girls had bought most of the stuff!!! We also saw SIA pilots and air stewardesses staying at the hotel and the air stewardesses were also buying stuff from the convenience store which added to the queue.I have never seen so many pretty women in one night haha guess it was dream come true for hubby ;>

IMG_1845

149968_1619094350893_1042413836_31712750_5431280_n

73921_1619105431170_1042413836_31712785_2595564_n

73921_1619105511172_1042413836_31712787_5601992_n
No more big bottled mineral water :< luckily the stocks were replenished next day

149151_1619123511622_1042413836_31712838_4773453_n

IMG_1854

IMG_1850

IMG_1852

However although there were alot of them staying in the hotel that night. it was quiet in our room and we were able to have a good rest before starting to explore Tokyo the next day. I would highly recommend this hotel for those who are traveling to Tokyo and wises to get away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo. This hotel would be on the top of my list of hotel to go back to if i were to travel to Tokyo in the future :> Do look forward to my post on Ginza next :>

No comments: