Journey to the Land of Rising Sun! - Part 1

This is the first time I am travelling to Japan, together with my best friend Philip. Coincidentally, it is also Philip's first time going to Japan! 

We reached Changi Airport Terminal 3 and checked in our luggage, before proceeding to collect a Portable Overseas WiFi router which our friends recommend. After having breakfast at McDonald's, we took a wefie at the Departure Hall and boarded the plane to Tokyo!

It was a 6 hours flight to Haneda Airport and while on board the flight, we watched shows, ate 2 meals, and took a picture of ourselves as well!

Once we reached Haneda Airport, we could immediately feel the warm sun shinning on our faces. It was the summer season in Japan and the weather was similar to Singapore, ranging from 23°C to 30°C on average. It was a good decision that we decided to wear shorts while touring Tokyo! We turned on the WiFi router which we have rented and within a few minutes, all our devices were connected!

We took the subway and took pictures while waiting for the train to come. It was not easy to comprehend the entire subway network, which comprises of over 290 stations and 13 different lines run by different operators. Thankfully with WiFi and Google Maps, Philip was able to navigate us to our hotel, Sotetsu Fresa Inn!

We checked into our room, placed our luggage and left the hotel for Akihabara, which in recent times, has emerged as a centre of Japanese Otaku and Anime culture. We went to Kotobukiya, which specialises in toys, action figures and collectibles. The vast variety certainly bowled us over! We spent over an hour in the building as it has 5 floors. We walked around and visited other stores. All the buildings in the vicinity were all brightly lit, with various anime characters plastered all over. 

After all that walking, both Philip and myself were feeling tired and hungry. Without further ado, we wandered around and looked for a place to have our very first meal in Japan! We decided to eat at this Noodle Shop Wataru located in the vicinity. It was an interesting experience as we had to first place our orders through a vending machine located at the front of the shop. After selecting our ramen, we went to our seats and passed the tickets dispensed by the machine to the waiter. Not long after, our ramen arrived! They were really good and I would highly recommend this place to everyone.

When we were done with our dinner, we walked around for a while more before heading back to our hotel to rest. What more exciting adventures awaits........ Stay tuned to find out!