Why Tokyo's Making Me Feel Reverse Culture Shock Depression --- Day 1

For five days, my family and I got to enjoy Japan through its capital city, Tokyo. 

Initially, it had been a tough choice between Osaka-Kyoto and Tokyo. We only had five days to spare to fit my brother’s schedule (damn him). I would have chosen Osaka because it’s where Hogwarts lie (me and my Potter obsession) and if there was anything constant in me, it’s being a Potterhead. But due to “matters of the soul” reason, I had chosen Tokyo. Since the beginning of 2014, Tokyo has been calling for my soul for a reason unbeknownst to me and I just had to surrender when I finally had the chance.

So Tokyo it was.

I’ll try to make this blog entry a useful one for future Tokyo Travelers and not like my usual feelings over experience blog entries.

So this time, I am starting with the trip preparations and our DAY 1 experiences. 

PLANNING FOR THE TRIP

Planning a trip to Japan is not difficult, but it needs thoroughness and hard word. By hard work, I mean research. Research is the key--- the weather, the transportation, the places, the customs (so you can avoid disrespecting the locals, etc.). If I didn’t do research beforehand, we wouldn’t have enjoyed Tokyo as much as we have because we’re either busy getting lost or experiencing culture shock.

1.      VISA

The passport is a given fact--- you can’t travel outside your country without a passport—so I’ll talk about VISA.

Some say that Japanese VISA is hard to obtain. It probably is, but that wasn’t our experience at all. There were a lot of requirements, but they’re not difficult to obtain if you have initial records (NSO Birth certificate, Bank Certificate) and some can be easily done by you (Trip Itinerary and Japanese VISA-sized photographs). You should visit the Japanese embassy website or the Japanese embassy to get hold of the complete list.

VISA is obtained through accredited travel agency. You need not book a tour with them; you can just apply for Japanese VISA.

The processing usually takes five working days, but we had a confirmation after two days. Our travel agency liked to scare their clients a bit and told us prior to the confirmation that they would give us a call, but they will not indicate whether we were approved or not. My brother had to get our passports on his way to work and voila--- Japan VISA was already placed in our passports!

Just make sure you submit ALL requirements and *murmurs this part-- MAKE SURE you have enough money in your bank account to prove to them you won't starve to death or go TNT there*.

Having your VISA approved was only the beginning. Now you had to book for your tickets.

2.      TICKETS

We booked our flight through Cebu Pacific. I must admit that if we had more budget, we’ll book through PAL or Cathay Pacific, but Cebu Pac isn’t so bad. It’s not like you need all the luxurious things in an airplane. So if you’re on a tight budget, book through Cebu Pac. The flight cost us Php 87,000.00 with tax.

We booked a flight to Narita Airport Terminal 2 from NAIA Terminal 3. I could have chosen Haneda (which was cheaper), but I wanted to experience traveling from the main airport so—yeah. We booked during the Autumn season (second week of November) just because Japan is most beautiful in Autumn. 

After booking your flight tickets, you still have another thing to do--- start praying that there will be no typhoon both in Japan and from where you come from. Sometimes, weather is the number one buzz kill for travelers.

So now you have your tickets and your VISA--- next is the place to stay.

3.      HOTEL OR APARTMENT

Hotels in Japan are expensive if you’re travelling as a family of four. Most hotels don’t

have rooms for four people (usually, three's the maximum) and my mother wanted us to stay in one room (that had been a huge problem in finding a place to stay; definitely. Mothers. Tsk.).

So we decided to try an apartment in Shibuya. Why Shibuya--- because it has everything! You can 

just explore it at night after you’ve gone on a day trip somewhere. Shinjuku was ideal too, but I was 

warned about the complicated train system there and I’d rather not waste time in getting lost inside a 

train station again and again. Plus Shibuya is just a walking distance to most attractions in Tokyo.

We got our apartment through Airbnb. com. It cost us Php 38,000.00 for four nights. It was small 

(don’t expect large spaces even in hotels if you’re not paying for a suite or something), but it was 

decent, clean, comfortable, and nice to live at. Usually, your host will ask you how many beds you 

prefer. Since the space was small, we had a double bed for my parents, a sofa bed for me, and a futon 

for my brother. There was ample space to move around because the beds were strategically located. 

The apartment came with the basic comforts of a home--- a kitchen, a bathroom (with a tub and a 

shower), and appliances like TV, microwave, toaster, extension cord, pocket wifi (which you can

bring everywhere), and even a blow dryer. Temperature for the shower can be controlled through an 

electronic device in the wall outside the bathroom. The only thing the apartment didn’t have was a 

toilet seat heater and it was sooooo cold in Autumn.

4.     TOUR PACKAGE

The next most important thing you have to decide on is whether you’ll get a tour package. Tour 

packages are convenient and would have you worry less about things such as transportation and 

places to stay, but it’s more expensive.

AND… you won’t get to experience Japan in its pure sense, which will be a wasted opportunity.

Let me explain. I had been to just a few countries--- Hongkong, Macau, and Singapore. For my 

Hongkong-Macau trip, we had a tour package. I enjoyed it and was glad for the convenience. 

Hongkong was a city and there wasn't a lot of new things to see (although you'll enjoy it if you have 

money to spare as it's a shopping haven). For my Singapore trip, we didn’t have a tour package and I 

spent the whole three days whiny and being moody (thanks to my friends who were my victims). My 

feet ached a lot and I was a bit disappointed because Singapore is a modern city—there were 

beautiful things there, but I am more of a traditional cultural experience person. We spent three days 

in malls and buildings. If it weren’t for my friends and Universal Studios, I would have been bored. I 

guess this beautiful city’s not for me.

Japan is different. I would not have still enjoyed if we had a tour, but then I would have missed a lot 

of experiences--- riding the public trains; walking from one tourist spot to another with our time in 

our hands, eating Japanese street food, etc.). Despite deciding on staying at another city (Tokyo), I  

knew there will be so many things that would interest me. So we discarded the thought of the tour 

package and explored the city on our own.

AND WE HAVE NO REGRETS.

5.      PLACES TO VISIT

Research is the key-- I just need to emphasize this. This is how I made the itinerary for our Japanese Visa application and this is how we enjoyed Tokyo. I suggest (if you have very limited time like us—five days or rather just three and a half actually) exploring Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Yoyogi, Asakusa, Ueno, and Akihabara.

6       BUDGET

This is important. Tokyo is an expensive city. A bottle of water (400 ml) from a conbini costs 150 円( (symbol for yen), which is about 65 Php and a bread costs 340 円, which is about 150 Php。

What I did was to make an excel file for our projected expenses. I found out that riding a cab 

was not ideal. The flag down rate was 750 and a subway ride from Shibuya to Asakusa via the Ginza Line (17 stations in between as they’re the first and the last stations) was just 280 per person.

From my projected expenses (before the trip), these are the things that would eat the money like greedy gluttons:

-          N’EX (train from Narita Airport to Shibuya) --- 1,500 each (a half-price discount for foreigners—one way. The return trip tickets will be of regular price, which is 3,300 each)

-          Tokyo Disneyland One-day Passport tickets (6,400 each)

-          Tokyo Disneyland transportation via Bus from Shinjuku (back and forth is 1,700 each. We could have taken the train and changed stations, but I was traveling with the parents (one easily get cramps while one has gout) so we needed to use the most convenient transportation).

-          Food (I limited our budget to 1,500 per person per day-- which was totally impossible as what I just found out after the trip). Later in this entry, I will post the actual amount we spent on food.

-          Cab (I thought maybe we would get lost in the way and we needed to resort to a cab)

DAY 1--- Monday--- November 10, 2014

Narita Airport 2, Shibuya Station, Shibuya Crossing

NOTE: Day 1 recounts the overwhelming hospitality of the Japanese people and the first taste of being in a first world country *from a third world country resident’s POV*.

We arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 at around 12:30 am. Our flight was 5:25 am, but since we figured we can sleep in the airport, we left the house early.

Filipinos were sprawled in every corner---  lying on their backs, using their bags as pillows and their sweaters as blankets. NAIA Terminal 3 was treated like a house. I hope they’ll just add more seats to prevent this.

Anyway, we checked in at around 1:30 am. One of the guards said Immigration won’t be open until 3 am so we decided to have an early breakfast. By the way, refrain from exchanging your currency at the NAIA airport--- Narita airport has a lot of banks, which will give you your money’s worth.

At 3 am, we passed by immigration, who just asked what our purpose was and our current jobs, and then we passed by the security scanner. I was glad I wasn’t asked to removed my boots, because it was hell to put them on again.

We waited for a few more hours. Our flight was not delayed this time—probably my first experience of non-delay from Cebu Pac.

*There’s a time difference between Japan and the Philippines with the former ahead by one hour. The flight is about 4-5 hours though*

We arrived at around 10:30 am (Seeing Mt. Fuji through the plane window was an overwhelming experience or maybe it’s just me because of the said pull I was experiencing prior to the trip, which was actually the impetus for the trip) at Narita Airport Terminal 2.

The first thing I noticed was the presence of the airport staff at every corner we passed. Their very purpose was to greet tourists with sincere smiles and an accented Welcome to Japan. I already felt at home even before I reached Immigration.

I had my first experience of a modern Japanese toilet at the airport—the one with the controls on its seat arm. I pushed the Flush sound and I panicked when I didn’t know how to turn it off! So I just turned the volume low and exited the cubicle calmly. GAH.

A friendly senior citizen staff led us to the immigration (again with a sincere smile). There were also four staff assisting tourists with the lines so it wasn’t chaotic and it was fast as all counters were open (calling NAIA’s attention--- there were more closed Immigration booths than open ones). The staff in the Immigration booth was polite and was patient as she guided us on how to correctly press our fingers into a scanner and where to face during the required head shot.

After immigration, we picked up our luggage and went to purchase the N’EX Direct Ticket (counter is just in front of the luggage claim area). The N’EX Direct ticket is a one-way ticket to Tokyo’s major stations. Make sure to ask for a Direct Ticket so you’ll have a 50% discount. Just present your passports. You don’t have to worry about getting lost--- the staff, whose purpose was just to help tourists navigate their way inside the airport, were everywhere. A woman staff even carried my father’s luggage for him. I was truly touched by these people’s hospitality.

We arrived at the N’EX Platform 15 minutes early and I had my first taste of the chilly air. It was C-O-L-D even with Mr. Sun’s glaring presence.

N’EX arrived on time, which was of no surprise since all of Japan’s transportation arrive at the exact time they're announced to arrive.

N’EX was like an airbus except you can charge your gadgets because it has seat plugs! It was also fast; maybe not as fast as a shinkansen (which I wasn’t able to ride because there was no opportunity), but it was a smooth ride.

Upon arriving at Shibuya station, we had no clue on what to do. We decided to take the elevator first and then go from wherever floor we’ll arrive. There was a woman waiting for the elevator with a child in a carriage. Since she arrived first, we motioned for her to ride the elevator. But she insisted on us riding first when she saw our luggage. Did I just say I love the people?

When we arrived at the second floor, we were overwhelmed by the station names. We were given specific directions by our apartment host and yet we could not even determine where the exit was. We had to ask a staff from a store, who has limited English, but had done everything to point us to the right direction.

After a few more minutes of being lost inside the station, we finally managed to exit. We landed inside a mall and had to once again, ask people directions. We even managed to find Filipinos who tried their best to help us, but to no avail.

Our savior came in the form of the Mall Security guard. He asked people for us and helped us locate it in the map. He was a big help, but we were still a bit lost. We had to cross a bridge with our luggage (remember to stay on the LEFT SIDE when you walk on streets or cross the bridge) and argued a bit because we were tired and hungry and our feet were aching.

At around 2:30 pm my brother found the location a couple of blocks away from Cross Tower’s Starbucks. It was located in a nice neighborhood and in a quiet apartment complex.

At 4 pm, we decided to explore Shibuya at night. Shibuya station was actually just five minutes away from our apartment by feet.

It was cold. So cold and windy. But the coldness wasn’t harsh—unlike the artificial coldness you get from air conditioner. In fact, the cold was soothing and was like a gentle caress in your skin.

My parents were startled by the large number of people crossing Shibuya Crossing and the lights. I was too, but I was busy looking at the music video of Akanishi Jin being played at one of the screens (Yes, I’m a fan and it made me feel giddy just to realize that I’m breathing the same air as my favorite Japanese singers).

The famous Starbucks in the Lost in Translation movie was there at Tsutaya building. Beside the building, there was a small street leading to food stores, clothing shops, souvenir shops, etc. There were mascots on the street who gave free stickers and free photo ops. There were Ikemens (beautiful guys/hunks) and non-Ikemens persuading customers to go to their stores. The women all look as if they’re about to walk down the runway--- I felt underdressed compared to them and it was the first time I prepared an outfit for every day. And darn—what I’ll do to obtain such naturally flawless skin!  

After two hours of roaming around the area, our feet finally gave up and we got hungry. Since we wanted to rest, we decided to try our first conbini food.

The conbini food in Japan is very different from the conbini food in the Philippines. They have a lot of food choices and they actually taste like real food. I can eat conbini food every day if it tasted like those in Japan!

We went to bed early--- or rather my parents, while I tried to find a Japanese show with familiar faces. That was the only time I was able to see 亀梨和也. Poor me.

Day 1 is done!

Oyasuminasai!  

Note: I own the photos-- please ask permission before you use them. I nicked a lot from my brother, but I asked his permission and he won't sue me so...