Japan Day 2: To Old Tokyo and Back

Tired from the previous day’s excitement, our 2nd day started late.  Instead of heading directly to Asakusa, we decided to go back to Ueno Park and eat the bento boxes we bought at the station.

we were all around ueno that morning. exchanged our JR orders for our passes, bought lunch, had picnic at ueno park (again) and spent a considerable amount of time looking for the shitamachi bus stop to catch the bus which would take us to asakusa. one resident suggested us taking a cab. hahaha. at least, we didn't look like tourists on a budget. in japan the citizens are richer than the tourists, even that man above with the interesting headdress.

Our 2nd day was all about Old Tokyo. So while we got our JR passes early in the day, we didn’t use them and instead got a one day pass for the Shitamachi bus and all city buses operated by Toie company.

Since we were running late, we decided to go to Ryogoku and visit the Edo Tokyo Museum. We took the wrong bus though and ended up outside the Tokyo Sky Tree. It wasn’t really part of our itinerary but we didn’t pass up the opportunity to have our photos taken with the tower.

we took the wrong shitamachi bus and ended up at the tokyo sky tree.

Japan Day 1: Of premium seats and sakura explosion

I’ve always dreamed of going to Japan. Last year, I was closed to realizing my dream. Bought our tickets, booked our accommodations and prepared our IT. But, March 11 happened and the rest was history.

This year was different. I finally got to go!! Weee.

Our day started early. I didn’t sleep actually so I was a little groggy when my ate picked me up at around 4am. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that we were bumped to the premium class 🙂 The flight was uneventful but we were happy we were fully rested in preparation for our high-activity vacation!!

We arrived at Narita at around 1pm. We immediately got one-way tickets to Ueno via Keisei Skyliner. We were cheapskates and got the train with the cheapest fare so we ended up taking an 80 min train ride to the city.

Our hotel was very close to the Ueno Station and was very easy to find.  Thanks to the detailed instructions we got from our hotel’s website. We rested a bit and soon got a message that our Tita Gie was already waiting for us at the lobby. When we got down, we were surprised to see our cousins, Ate Marie and her family and Kuya Keiichi. After a short reunion at the hotel lobby, we headed out for dinner.

our no muss, no fuss hotel. i highly recommend for the location and its super friendly and helpful staff. had our mini reunion with our tita gie at the hotel’s lobby.

But not before dropping by at Ueno Park to experience our first sakura in full bloom. The blossoms were breathtaking. The park was jampacked.

cherry blossom watching at ueno park. i was blinded by the white and pink blooms all around the park, they were like little balls of cotton