Yes, you've guessed it! It's time for the one blog that I would not stop mentioning within all my previous blogs: The Japan Blog!
When I found out that I would be studying abroad in South Korea, the first thing I told my mom was, "I will finally be able to go to Japan!" Japan has always been a country that I've wanted to travel to. Before I even knew about Korea, Japan had always been on my radar due to watching anime during my childhood. For me, Japan represented my childhood dreams and passions. So once I finally had my ARC which would allow me to leave and return to Korea while I was a student here, I booked my flights. This was the one trip I was certain about going on. All of my other trips were planned the week before (Hi Busan) or booked with only one day between them (Yes, I'm talking about you Hong Kong). Japan was the one place I had pre-decided before I even went to Korea.
Japan was going to be a solo trip for me, something which would be my first ever. Yet, when I went to Japan by myself, I was not alone because one of my college friends who lives in Japan was going to be my tour guide and translator. My friend, Yosuke, told me that he would be back in Japan in late May, which was the time I was planning my trip. So, I put my trip and the places I wanted to go into his hands. I would be there from Thursday night, May 23 to Monday afternoon, May 27th.
Flight to Japan/ First Night
For my journey to Japan, I would be flying All Nippon Airways (ANA) which is one of Japan's main airlines. Since I wanted to make sure I attended all my classes that day, I took a night flight from Gimpo International Airport. Gimpo, compared to Incheon, was significantly smaller and much quieter but I was able to get through very quickly since not many were traveling at that time. The flight was smooth and quicker than I expected. Yosuke was going to pick me up from Haneda Airport once I arrived and would drop me at my Airbnb so transportation from the airport wasn't a concern. If anyone is ever traveling to Japan, it's recommended to go to Haneda over Narita because it's only an hour into downtown Tokyo versus Narita's two to three hours. But, I also recommend finding the cheapest route and luckily for me, that was Gimpo to Haneda. Getting into Haneda was easy and while immigration took a while, nothing as much as it would be when I went back to the United States at the end of June. Soon enough, Yosuke picked me up and we made the drive to my Airbnb which was located in Shinjuku, which can be compared to NYC's Times Square. The Airbnb was only for one person and it had the bare necessities but it was going to be home for the next 5 days. With myself all packed in, I went to sleep because we had to get up early for the happiest place on earth: Disney!
DisneySea!!
Since I had never gone to any of the Disney theme parks in the US, I had the idea if I could go to the one in Japan. Luckily at the time that I am writing this blog, the yen has been the weakest it's ever been so it was about $50 when we bought tickets. Like many in our generation, we grew up watching Disney films and imagining if we could be within the films themselves. On Friday, we woke up early to get on the way to the park. While I would explain the way we took to Disney, Tokyo's rail system was very confusing. Any of my friends or family can tell you that I have a great sense of direction and am normally in charge of directions when traveling. However, Japan's rail systems had not only me turned around but Yosuke as well. Despite that, there was a line that would take us into the park so we hopped onto that and went on our merry way. Getting into the park was magical because we could see all the castles and people were dressed up and it just made everything so happy. Disney Japan has two parks: Tokyo Disneyland & Tokyo DisneySea. We were going to DisneySea since that was unique to Japan and it was so worth it! Disney truly deserves the title of the most magical place on earth because, despite the heat and the long lines, I had so much fun! Since this is DisneySea, they had a lot of rides that featured water, and getting to see Ariel in Mermaid Lagoon was a fun time. When we were there Disney was gearing up to open a new part of the park called Fantasy Springs which would have Tangled, Frozen, Peter Pan, and some more fantastical members within Disney. There was a show that featured these characters as there was a soft launch of the park going on, however, you needed a specific pass to get in so no Fantasy Springs for us.
The food was cheap and good and the rides were very cool. I will admit that the Journey to the Center of the Earth had us waiting over 2 hours with no end in sight and genuinely had us going through the 5 stages of grief before we went on the ride. Was it fun? Sure. Was it worth our trauma? Nope. Disney has a FastPass system that we were unable to take advantage of because they do run out and it was only after our long time with Journey to the Center of the Earth that we looked to get the passes and they were sold out. My recommendation! Please buy a fast pass for this ride, otherwise, a 2-hour wait is in your future. After enjoying our time in Disney, we went back to Shinjuku to get dinner at this wonton place that Yosuke said he goes to often. I have to agree, the food was great, especially after a whole day of walking around at Disney. We walked around Shinjuku and saw the nightlife around the area. We even got to see the 3D cat that comes out from the screen! For my first full day in Japan, this was amazing and I was even more excited for the next day.
Quite Literally Around the World
The next day, we got up early and met up at Shinjuku Station once again. Today, the plan was to go around to many of the big names within Tokyo and explore. While there might have been attractions I wanted to see, by the time I scheduled my trip many of them were sold out because you needed reservations. Regardless, I wanted to see all of the views that I could so we had breakfast at Shinjuku station and then headed off to our first location: Ikebukuro. We explored around the area but we were also killing time there because Yosuke's mom was coming to see us. This would be the second time I've met her because the first time was during Yosuke's move-in during his first year. I was his direct House Advisor (basically an RA, just with a different title), so I was able to meet her then. She was headed to Kyoto to be an extra in a top-secret Japanese movie, so hopefully I can see the film once it's out. We were all headed to Tokyo Station so we bid goodbye to Ikebukuro and went to the station. Since she was headed to Kyoto, she was taking the bullet train and we were headed to Akihabara. Akihabara is known for its anime retailers and that was seen with all the posters of games and shows located outside the station. But we quickly bid Akihabara goodbye and went off to Asakusa. Asakusa is a perfect blend of tradition and modernity as it is a giant tourist attraction. The narrow alleyways that hold different treats and vendors make it a fun time. Sensō-ji Temple attracts the majority of the people there and its size is massive. Quickly though, the crowds became overwhelming so we took a snack break at one of the cafes close by. Afterwards, we were off to Ginza & Roppongi!
Ginza & Roppongi are known to be some of the most expensive places in Tokyo, something we immediately understood once we got there. The streets were lined with designer stores, brands like Gucci, Chanel, Rolex, & Burberry to name a few. Either way, we felt very cool to be walking the streets of Ginza, even though we knew we did not have the money to even think about shopping there. Still, the main street was open for the public to walk on so we took the moment to have a little photo shoot. It was a fun time because we were laughing and having the time of our lives out there. After our photoshoot, we went over to Roppongi, where we were able to see Tokyo Tower! Look, isn't this such a beautiful view!
After this, we went over to Shibuya so we could get started with our nighttime plans. I was able to see the Shibuya Crossing, which is the busiest crossing in the world. I also got to see the Hachiko statue, which commemorates a dog who waited at Shibuya station for over nine years for his owner after his passing. It was hard to get a photo of the statue because, like many iconic places, it had a whole bunch of tourists surrounding it. Afterward, we got a quick dinner at a nearby mall and then relaxed at a nearby park. Soon after, we went back to my place to freshen up a bit before we went to Nichome, which is the gay district in Shinjuku. All I will say about that night was that it was some of the most fun clubbing I've had. So much fun in fact that for Sunday, Yosuke and I were out for the count, so let's skip to Monday!
The Last Hurrah
Sadly, my Japan journey was coming to an end. I had to be out of my Airbnb at a certain time and needed to attend an online class. So, I woke up early, packed up, attended my class and Yosuke picked me up and we went off to Gotokuji. Ironically, I think I heard about this place in one of the many online Japan recommendations I looked up. Yosuke told me that it was close to his childhood home and that while he knew about it, he didn't realize it had become a tourist attraction. Soon enough, we realized what had transformed this shrine into a place that many made the trek to. It was the thousands of Maneki-Neko's that people had placed for prayer. There were so many of them and with their soulless eyes, it made just a bit creepy. But we had a lot of fun seeing the statues and even posed like them!
Afterwards, Yosuke drove me to the airport where I was quickly able to get through. Getting to go to Japan was a dream come true, one that has encouraged me to come back. My few days in Japan allowed me to give my childhood a nice little close because it was a place that I always hoped to go but never knew if I would. Coming to Korea allowed me the opportunity to experience it and I'm thankful that I have this opportunity. I knew that once I had come back from Japan, I would only have 3 more weeks before my time in South Korea came to an end. But, Japan will always have a special place in my heart.
