I didn't sleep long before I was roused due to the stewardesses asking for our breakfast preference. Crap.
I saw a fellow passenger with a curved headrest. Ooo so we can bend it! Didn't know!
I forgot what I had for breakfast. Must be really traumatic. I only remembered that I didn't take the caffeinated beverages, still harboring the hope to continue sleeping.
I shouldn't have bothered. The city lights were too good to be missed.
5.15am - 羽田空港 Haneda Airport, Tokyo
While waiting for all the passengers to alight, we had the chance to witness the army of cleaners that chionged in to clean up the plane.My brother transferred me to the aisle wheelchair and wheeled out to my waiting wheelchair. Now, that's what I'm paying for!
Time to unload body waste materials.
The impressive, spotless, have-all barrier-free washroom. There's a bidet, basin with showerhead complete with heated water, a board beside the bed for people to change without stepping on the floor... awesome! The only thing I wasn't happy with was the singly-ply toilet paper.
Walking towards the immigration in Haneda's new international terminal. Doesn't have the spacious feel like Changi.
Changi's control tower is nicer heehee. It's worth it to spend some effort to build a symbolic one.At the immigration, we had to fill in the place we were staying in... so troublesome. Let them take a photo of us (say, what would happen if people had plastic surgery during the stay?). Other than that, we cleared immigration very quickly, nothing like the stories of long queues at Narita.
Airport staff patrolled, looking for lost-looking passengers to offer assistance. I have always thought we looked like we knew what we were doing, but I guessed the contrary was true because we got approached. I asked if there was a JR pass exchange office here, but looked like JR still hadn't thought of doing the same they did for Narita.
We passed by the bus ticketing counter, so I thought of buying the bus tickets to Kawaguchiko now. While struggling to read the routes available, the same airport staff offered to help. Her English wasn't so proficient and ended up explaining the ways of getting to Kawaguchiko from Tokyo. Thanks, but we had already decided lah...
Our first challenge - buying Pasmo and getting our asses out of the airport. We didn't quite know how to operate that vending machine, but there was the friendly airport staff. Fed the machine ¥10000 thrice to get small change instead of buying 3 Pasmos together, yeah!The Keikyu line station was a convenient 0m away from the tickets. While we were passing through the gates, the station staff saw us and led the way carrying a ramp, without us having to ask. She pressed the lift for us and asked us which station we were going to. Very helpful, but we were not used to attention...
The train platform, with doors to prevent people from jumping onto the tracks.The train came and as expected, we didn't need the ramp. Thanked the staff and we went on our first Japanese train ride!
The train's interior. Handlebars even horizontally!
On the way to Shinagawa station, 7am. We were damn sleepy but had to be on alert, because it was an express train that didn't stop at all stations shown on the network map. Worse when I didn't have a map showing exactly which stations it would stop at or skip...2 men boarded the train and sat opposite us. One had what looked like blood splatter on his pants, or was it mud? Then my sister said it was puke, judging from the odor coming from them and how they were sleeping like they hadn't slept the whole night. Eee stay away!
Pulling into Shinagawa station. Rusty, aged structures wasn't what I was expecting for a major station. Life After People came to mind... man-made structures rusting away and finally crumbling in a cloud of dust. So how far along is it now?
A double-decker?7.12am - 品川駅 Shinagawa Station, Tokyo
Our first breath of un-air-conditioned,
Can keep the Pasmo for now, couldn't use it in Osaka.
Objective - to while our time until 9am, when the JR pass exchange office would open. Few shops were open at that hour, so our only option was to eat. Exploring the building opposite, it didn't take long for us to discover that all eateries there permit smoking indoors and the non-smoking corner was just feebly segregated by a sign. We could literally see the carcinogenic smoke diffusing over. The place that best met our requirement was...
Japan is a place where non-smokers ate in the cold while smokers enjoyed the heated air. We were still not totally immune to cigarette smoke, which invaded our airspace whenever the glass door opened.
The menu was very similar to Singapore's. Try something new! I was still full from the force-feeding on the plane, so I just had the Bacon Potato Pie and shared tea with my sister. They should have branded it as bacon BITS...
Back to Shinagawa JR station. JR pass exchange office was still shuttered, on the left. Explored the station further, and ended up getting stuck in a toilet.We weren't the only ones waiting for it to open. We had to first fill in forms. Mafan ah...
7 days of unlimited JR train rides, starting NOW! We reserved seats at the reservation counter (みどりの窓口, literally "green window"). Non-smoking car, we must ride!
Our very first train ticket. Hikari is the fastest train type we were eligible for. It was only 9.20am now, with 50min to the train. Not enough time to go somewhere with all our luggage, so we just hung around. Today was Culture Day, a public holiday. Was that why the place looked so quiet.
While waiting for our train on the platform, we observed that the train door of the train before ours was actually rather narrow. It would probably just fit nicely... hope I wouldn't get stuck!
I wasn't expecting a height difference between the train door and the platform... I imagined it to be more wheelchair-friendly. We didn't get stuck at the door, but at the aisle. It had not crossed our minds to ask for seats near the door and the staff had not reminded us. It's a time that we wished we had detachable wheels like the aeroplane's aisle wheelchair... With difficulty, my brother nudged me to my seat.
2hrs and 53min to Osaka. We fell fast asleep.
My sister was sitting by herself with a friendly old lady. She was chatting with my sister so much that I wondered if my sister didn't actually want to sleep... I could hardly keep my eyes open. The lady shared some nuts and sweets with my sister:
I don't think much of nuts, but the sweet is really good!... And even pointed this out to her:
Mount Fuji, while going towards Shizuoka, snow-capped!1pm - 新大阪駅 ShinOsaka Station, Osaka
Bade goodbye to the old lady. Out into the cold again!
Already feeling happy looking at a well-stocked kiosk.
Rikuro Cheesecake, said to be highly popular with snaking queues everyday. My sister die die wanted to buy, so granted her her wish since there's an outlet at ShinOsaka station.The place was very happening for a train station. Restaurants and shops populated the area beyond the gates, as if people purposely buy tickets to come in -_-;;
Next step, to take a limited express train to Tennoji station. As its name implied, the train frequency is low, so we reserved seats again to be on the safe side. By the time we found the platform, the train should be arriving any minute. To our surprise, a train was already stopped on the tracks. Jump in ah!
According to my itinerary, the trip should take only 15min, but 20min later, the train didn't seem to have the intention to stop. I looked at the marquee for the next stop... Kyoto...?
We were on the wrong train, going in the opposite direction. Congratulations. Shit.
2.10pm - 京都駅 Kyoto Station
Fortunately, Kyoto was just 25min away. We took the only lift at the platform, which took us straight into the heart of a department store's electronics section. It was all quiet inside the gate and once we cross the boundary, we were bombarded by uncountable sales pitches blaring from loudspeakers. Very stressful for people who had been traveling for the past 17hrs. It's lunchtime and there was supposedly good food in Kyoto station, but we didn't want to get lost in yet another station. So we checked the next train and went down the lift again, nevermind that there was still a wait. All we wanted was to get out of that madhouse already.
First and most important lesson learned for Japan F&E travelers - Always check and double-check the signboard before boarding trains. Each track is not exclusive to one service in one direction. For our case, it was the same type of train, the Limited Express, but apparently, they come onto the same track for both directions! Too pampered in Singapore, can close our eyes and walk to the opposite track to go to the opposite direction!
O and of course we were so thankful for the JR pass for allowing us to make such mistakes at no additional cost.
The train wasn't filled just now and Kyoto is the terminal station, so we decided to try our luck by not getting a reservation. Also, Kyoto to Tennoji would cost ¥1830, so I guessed not many people would be taking it unnecessarily.
And so we calmed our shaken minds by eating Rikuro's egg pudding, watching the train seats flip over on their own and cleaners cleaning out the train.
3.30pm - 天王寺駅 Tennoji Station, Osaka
We were now done with JR for the day. Next, to switch to the subway Tanimachi line 谷町線 to get to our hotel. I had never expected this to be a challenge on its own, because after we exited the station, we looked left, right, outside, but couldn't see any sign of the subway station. Ok... I thought they were supposed to be next to each other? The map was unhelpful - seemed like JR and Subway aren't friends?
Buying Icoca for subway rides was on the to-do list, so let's do that first. We fed the machine 3 ¥10000 again heehee. More small change! *V* It's so cool that purchasing a stored value card was automated. I'm sure a human would be very mad with us.
We went through the Mio mall, looking for a lift to go down to the station, but the lifts seemed to be serving the mall only. Lost again... We asked for directions and were directed to the outside. Outside! :O Like the Taipei Main station, lift is outside lor!
Once we got out, my sister promptly knocked over a bicycle and the rest fell in the domino effect. And she didn't realize.4.30pm - 谷町九丁目駅 Tanimachi Kyuchome Station
Getting to our hotel's stop was a breeze. So was getting out of the station. Of course, it's a simple station with only 2 lines in a housing estate. Peanuts compared to the massive and convoluted stations we had encountered so far. To be fair, it's simple for an able-bodied, when there's no mazes to navigate to find a lift.Finally, finally, we arrived at ウィークリー上本町 Weekly Uehonmachi. Just a minute's stroll from the lift, so touched! After a simple check-in procedure, squeezing into a tiny lift, we set foot into our home for 6 nights.
The room smelled of cigarette smoke. Bleah.The previous occupant had been smoking?
2 single beds and 1 double bed, more than what we had asked for!
Tiny bathroom. Dehhh.
Kitchenette. Can cook vegetables, yay! The refreshener was leaking, so we put it in the ashtray. The airpot's cover was falling off, but no big deal.
Cool, our luggage would love it here.No cleaning for less than 7 nights' stay. 2 rolls of single-ply (again) toilet paper provided, more available at a cost. Ok everybody 省着用! A sample-size hair and body wash was provided.
After the detour, we were just off the itinerary by 1hr. Looks like I had enough buffer.
5.30pm - Umeda 梅田
Free of our luggage, we continued on the Tanimachi line to Higashi Umeda Station 東梅田駅. It was again a maze to the lift bound for the surface. Wow, it was all dark already, like 8pm!
Target: Hep Five. It's supposed to be obvious as it has a red ferris wheel sticking out of the building, but unfortunately, it's probably blocked by the high-rise buildings all around.
Only realized Ippudo was here after coming back and looking through the pictures.
Don't understand how to play.Found Hep Five! Famished! Food first! The restaurant floor had a dazzling array of food. Western fusion seemed the fad now. But we were super cold and craving for something hot.
Nothing beats a bowl of piping hot, oily and salty ramen! It's not outstanding (the egg was overcooked), but very therapeutic. Loved the idea of having our own water jug. Didn't like the waxed serviette.By now, we had already noticed that smoking in restaurants was the norm. Japanese sure practice 饭后一根烟 religiously huh.
Sega Joypolis was accessible by escalator only. Don't understand why a modern building would be built with such inconsideration. My siblings went to check it out and concluded that it was not worth a visit.
Dozing off while waiting for my sister...
Not in the mood to shop, so we just wandered the streets.
What an innovative design! Japan has a thing for ferris wheels.
Pachinko staff patrolled the floor to slot encouraging signs into the patrons' winnings.
Pretty drain covers.
Battery-operated soft toys placed next to UFO catchers, sending subliminal messages of "Take my friend in the machine home!". If we were to do the same in Singapore, surely only those on the floor would be taken home.
Horse-racing game in an arcade. The seats looked so comfy.We thought we should go back earlier (definition: shops still open) since we had a long day. Finding our way back to our subway line was no easy feat for beginners, further complicated by needing to find the lift.
9.30pm - Tanimachi Kyuchome 谷町九丁目
Not going to retreat into bed without visiting the 7-Eleven first! My brother was on a quest to try all the Japanese beer. My sister resolved to sample all Japanese egg pudding.
Passed out on the bed.
