Day 1 Line Up

• The Flight
• Odaiba

Hello 東京 ! Today’s the day I finally get to wear that short trench coat I bought a year ago! Early October isn’t exactly autumn yet but I was optimistic that the weather (for at least a day) would allow me to sport a short trench coat.By the way, through out this series, I will be including “How to get there” sections stating the train/subway line, station name, then station number Most of the time, the station number is the the first thing you would see. The train and and subway system in Tokyo can get a bit complicated sometimes so I hope this would help others. 😊

The Flight and Arrival

It’s always better to arrive early at the airport. We arrived few hours before our flight at NAIA Terminal 2. Going through airport security and immigration was quite fast. Maybe because it wasn’t a peak flight time. Departure gates got changed to Gate 4 before our flight. Come boarding time, we went down the stairs, then rode a bus to the actual plane. Unlike other gates, the plane wasn’t stationed nearby.

Didn’t have to worry about getting bored. The Philippine Airlines plane was equipped with an entertainment system that kept me occupied for the duration of our flight. It was just about 5 hours, not really long haul, but long enough to watch a movie or two – I watched Avengers: Infinity War.

As for the plane seats, there were three sections with three seats each (9 seats per row, three per section). We were seated at the middle section, no window view. It wasn’t a full flight so I borrowed the pillow of the empty seat beside me for extra comfort. The row behind us was empty.

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First food post in the #Japan2018 series 😊 Featuring: in-flight meals of @flypal #manila to #haneda Link in my bio 💕 #GastronomersTravel

A post shared by The Gastronomer's Diary (@thegastronomersdiary) on Aug 2, 2019 at 5:08am PDT

Hot meal! I am a rice person. I won’t last 2 days without rice. That’s why I like the in-flight meals of PAL over another starred airline, that served sandwiches or wraps for an international flight. I considered that a snack. For me a meal should really be able to fill up your stomach (with rice?). **Read the full review here!**

Past 2pm, we arrived at Haneda airport, which was closer to the center of Tokyo than Narita airport. First things first:

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• Pick up the wifi paid via Klook
• Pick up the 72hr subway pass paid via Klook
• Bought a re-loadable Pasmo card for the non Tokyo Metro train rides in the arrival area of the airport

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Already loving the transportation system – the trains were just a few steps away from the arrival area. Taxis are very expensive in Japan but the mass transport system already covers a lot. Rode a train straight from the airport to our hotel. We had to transfer to the subway to get to our hotel at Tsukijishijo, and kinda got lost. We asked directions from a noodle shop staff at the train station. Turns out we were at the right track and just had to walk to the next building to get to the subway line.

Off to our homebase for 5D4N, we walked to E-Hotel Ginza that we booked via booking.com.

How to get there:
Haneda Airport to E-Hotel Ginza

1. Tokyo Monorail Airport Rapid: Haneda Airport International Terminal (MO08) to Hamamatsucho (MO01) …walk to subway
2. Toei Oedo Line: Daimon (E20) to Tsukijishijo (E18) *covered by subway pass

It was a small building about two blocks away from the station exit. Upon check in, we were asked to pay the full amount up front. The first credit card encountered an error a few times. Good thing we had another credit card from another bank. And so I note: bring multiple credit cards / a back up credit card on your trip.

Amenity kits, that contained shampoo, toothbrush, and some other items, were given to us before we went up the elevator. Rested for a while, then we were back on the subway to go to Odaiba. *Review on the hotel to be included on the blog entry for the last day of this trip.

Odaiba

How to get there:
E-Hotel Ginza to Palette Town, Odaiba

1. Toei Oedo Line: Tsukijishijo (E18) to Shiodome (E19) *covered by subway pass
2. JR Yurikamome Line: Shiodome (U02) to Aomi (U10)

The Pallete Town Ferris Wheel can be seen from the train! We arrived before 6pm. It’s display lights were still out. I wondered around what time will they turn it on.

In pinks and blues, here’s my first official sunset in Japan. It felt like a scene from an anime (but without the characters). I would have stood up and taken a better photo of the sky, only if it didn’t seem rude to other passengers. 😅 Good thing no one was standing near the door when I took this photo.

On the way to the Ferris Wheel, we passed by Toyota City Showcase at Tokyo Mega Web. Futuristic vehicles, and latest car models, and machinery were on display. The Ferris wheel lights were still off. I had a bad feeling about this.

We finally reached the ticket counter for Palette Town Giant Ferris wheel, but turned out was closed for maintenance 😢

I was quite disappointed for a while since this was the main reason why I wanted to go to Odaiba – to ride the 115 meter ferris wheel in a see-through gondola at night. It would’ve been a nice view…

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Being a bit hungry, we went to Venus Fort mall in that area. It had Venetian inspired interiors and an artificial sky that changes color as time passed. We stayed long enough to see the blue day sky, pink sunset, and dark blue night. The fountain plaza served as the centerpiece of this mall among retail and food establishments.

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Favorite non-coffee drink, Creamy Pumpkin Milk from #Starbucks at @venusfort_official #odaiba last #artfulautumn 2018! . Full post up! Link in my bio 💕 #GastronomersTravel

A post shared by The Gastronomer's Diary (@thegastronomersdiary) on Aug 3, 2019 at 5:58am PDT

I know we were supposed to eat but we ended up at Starbucks and had a special edition drink – Creamy Pumpkin Latte! According to the posters, it is one of three Autumn special drinks this season. It was the best non-coffee Starbucks drink for me so far. **Full review here**

Next stop in Odaiba was Aqua City where the Disney store was located.

How to get there:
Palette Town, Odaiba to Aqua City, Odaiba

• JR Yurikamome Line: Aomi (U10) to Odaiba-Kaihinkoen (U08)

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Two stops away from Venus Fort, we bought our Tokyo Disneysea tickets at the Disney store in Aqua City, another mall/commercial building. Didn’t buy from klook or any other site since the only available tickets needed to be picked up somewhere else past park opening time at 8:30am. We plan to line up at the entrance before the park opens to get a Fastpass. That’s why we had to have the tickets on hand already at opening time. We have no time to claim the actual tickets which we plan to use the next day.

Dinner? Oh right, we haven’t had a proper dinner yet. We spotted a Family Mart. For the first konbini (convenience store) experience, we bought instant noodles and onigiri (rice ball) supply that we plan to eat back at the hotel.

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How to get there:
Aqua City, Odiaba to E-Hotel Ginza

1. JR Yurikamome Line: Odaiba Kaihinkoen (U08) to Shiodome (U02)
2. Toei Oedo Line: Shiodome (E19) to Tsukijishijo (E18) *covered by subway pass

On e way back to the station, I saw the famous Gundam at Diver City, but we were too tired to go visit it… In the end, we decided to go back to the hotel to get enough rest for tomorrow – my favorite part of the trip, Disneysea!!