TOKYO: A guide to DIY JAPANice Adventure

Hey! its been a year since i visited my blog..
missed me? nah! i better get going...

I've been always dreaming of going to Japan.
But i don't have the luxury of time to go to.
Being a medical student, then a medical clerk then a medical intern, makes a time for travel limited only for about 3 days to a maximum of 1 week.

But we were seated on a dining table one saturday noon, and the question popped out, where to go for our parents wedding anniversary in November (2015, of last year). I heard my mom said Japan, hence the adventure was pushed through.

here's on how we planned our DIY Japan Adventure focusing on maximizing our 4 days trip yet not costing a lot of dollar.
First, we checked available promo flights to Narita International Airport. booking the ticket itself from the airline website will save you a lot of money 'cause Travel Agencies may have cut on airfare. We were patient enough to wait for an affordable price, since the whole family is going on an amazing trip, we ended up, choosing Cebu Pacific Flight from Manila to Narita for only about more or less 11,500 per person for a roundtrip airfare. (I know, there are more cheaper flights, but thats the best we can have for a limited time, if you planned your trip ahead, some Cebu Pacific flights can go down as low as 4k one way..just be patient)

After we had set the date and time, we are now set for the next step, booking for accommodation.

Since we have a 2 year old baby girl with us, my niece, and 6 adults, we decided to go for a hotel. but for those with limited budget airbnb can be an option too. We looked at every possible way we can have a cheap yet comfortable accommodation but we leaned more on the comfort side.

we stayed at Villa Fontaine Hotel along Ginza, walking distance to Shinbashi station.

this is my mom and sister at the hotel entrance

It is important to book the hotel near the train station for easier transportation. we choose two triple room to accommodate us all. if i were about to go to Tokyo again i might stay at Hotel Villa Fontaine again. and by the way, all products including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion etc were all Shishiedo. 

this is a glimpse of our room with my little cute niece with me :)

Now we are off to our third step, the iterinaries.

Since we already have our expected time of arrival and hotel accommodation, we were now down to planning where to go to in Tokyo.

DAY 1:

We arrived at Narita International Airport around 10:15am with an estimated travel time to Hotel of 45 min, we have calculated that our wandering will start after noon.

Being a newbie in the place during lunch time was not that hard, since our hotel was near the station and the subway has lots of fast-food chains and convenient stores. but to save time, luckily, theres mickiedies! (oh how mc donalds was a hunger saver)

Our first day was planned to visit the San Rio Puroland. It is a must for Hello Kitty lovers as it is Hello Kitty heaven. none of us were really a fan,  but since we only have an afternoon for free, why waste it.

we just had a train ride, it may be more pricy compared to our own LRT and MRT, but definitely worth the price. buying tickets and getting along subways were pretty much easy though all train lines are interconnected. and if you still don't have any idea of what to do, Japanese people were so nice and they even assists you in case you have no idea of what you are doing. they will definitely help you go to places. (BTW, thats my mom, dad, sister and me)

on our way back to the hotel, we cant stop by and check on Hachicko, he was easy to find. statue still standing infront of the Shibuya station. but mind you, there are lots of people!

hence this place, the intersection was also called "the scramble". oh! you could just imagine the number of people scrambling around this place.

That was a tiring day 1..

DAY 2:
Good morning Day 2!
The second day, was our panoramic tokyo day tour. this is what you can usually see in some package tours offers, but we booked it directly to Japan office.

i have different links for you http://www.tokyotravelpal.com/tour-Tokyo_Panoramic.Tokyo.1.day.htm or http://www.jptours.co.jp

there are lots of tours to choose from, go have your pick

we boarded the bus for the tour, with other tourists as well, since we we were booked directly to the Japan company, we were mixed with different nationalites in the bus, unlike when you booked your trip with travel agencies here in manila, you will be joined by fellow Filipinos.

This is a one whole day trip.. with different activities, allow me to enumerate those to you:

 saké anyone? 

 i really dunno what was the occasion when we were at the nakamise temple, but there are lots wearing traditional japanese clothes, my sister cant help but be a fan and ask for picture with them

this is the replica of the Statue of Liberty at the Odaiba. this is naturally a very nice and peaceful place actually, the rainbow bridge was also so close with the statue, sadly its not here. it seems like, the San Francisco Bridge and Statue of Liberty was all in the same place.

this is what they called something like "cleansing water for the soul?" actually i am not so sure, but the tour guide told us you should wash your hands and drink form the well, and your soul will be cleansed. but honestly, i didn't drink from it, just for the sake of taking photos.

we were in Japan, at the start of autumn, hence no autumn colors yet, still in greens

here is the terrific view i was telling you at Odaiba

i thought, this is a instagram perfect photo spot for tourist but later i discovered that this is actually a shinto wedding, the groom is patiently waiting for his bride, gladly he was not angry at me for doing this.

since it's my parents wedding anniversary, a toast is definitely necessary :) for more happy and lovely years for them!

the tour technically ended with a cruise along the Tokyo river. we boarded the Symphony cruise

but our day had not yet ended. since we are staying around Ginza, with lots of high class shopping areas, we roam around the place for a while before heading home.

And finally, its time for rest

Day 3

Rise and Shine for Day 3! Our Disney Adventure

Still our favourite  mode of transpo: the Train. we boarded till we reached the Disney Train with 4 stops, The Disneyland hotel Resort, DisneySea, DisneyLAnd and i cant recall the last one.

here are some photos we have:

DAy 4:

HAte to go, but Day 4 is the day to go home :)

we have not much in our iterinary but as my own tradition, i always buy a starbucks tumbler from all countries I've been to, so my sister and i hanged out at starbucks before heading back to the airport

here is my tokyo starbucks "you are here" tumbler i got, with a  free drink! 

All good things will come to an end.. as much as i hate it, my last picture was me and my sister at the Narita Airport Express Train, well as you have guessed it,-- heading  back to the airport.

whew! that was a bit of an adventure! i hope, this article helped anyone who wanted to have their own DIY Japan Adventure. this will actually can save you lots of dollars.