[samtcy] Consolidated 2 Japan trips (Kansai + One Piece exhibition + Tokyo + Nagano)

[samtcy]

Trip 1 (Sep 2012): Osaka + Okayama + Himeji + Wakayama + Kyoto + Nara + One Piece Exhibition at Fukui
Day 1 & 2: Singapore to KL, KL to Osaka. Then explore Den Den Town and Dotonbori at Osaka
Day 3: Day trip to Okayama and Himeji
Day 4: Day trip to Wakayama, then to Kyoto
Day 5: Day trip to One Piece Grand Arena Tour event at Sabae in Fukui
Day 6: Kyoto (Typhoon day)
Day 7: Explore Arashiyama, then proceed to Kobe. Stay at a capsule hotel
Day 8: Kobe to Osaka
Day 9: Day trip to Nara
Day 10: Osaka
Day 11: Osaka to KL, then KL to Singapore.
Primary aim of this trip is to attend the One Piece exhibition at Fukui, and plus the airfares (AirAsia: S$386 inclusive taxes) and accommodations (S$377 for total of 9 nights) were cheap, so I went on my own. It's my 2nd solo trip to Japan.

Trip 2 (Dec 2012): Tokyo and Nagano
Day 1 : Singapore to Tokyo via Hong Kong
Day 2: Tokyo (Disneysea)
Day 3: Tokyo (Gundam and One Piece)
Day 4: Day trip to Yokohama
Day 5: Tokyo to Nagano, Nagano to Yudanaka
Day 6: Yudanaka to Nagano (Snow monkeys)
Day 7: Day trip to Narai and Matsumoto
Day 8: Nagano to Nozawa onsen
Day 9: Nozawa onsen
Day 10: Nozawa onsen to Shibu onsen (Snow monkeys again)
Day 11: Shibu onsen to Tokyo
Day 12: Tokyo to Singapore
This 2nd trip was with hubby and my extended family, therefore I didn't really had as much time to take photos since I was busy shopping most of the time at Tokyo.

Trip 3 (March 2013) - Tokyo, Aizu Wakamatsu, Yokohama, Saitama
Day 1: Singapore to Tokyo
Day 2: Saitama
Day 3: Aizu Wakamatsu
Day 4: Kawasaki
Day 5: Kamakura + Yokohama
Day 6: Sanrio Puroland
Day 7: Tokyo (Shibamata + Asakusa + Tokyo station + Ueno)
Day 8: Saitama + Tokyo (Kawagoe + Omiya + Meguro + View of Tokyo Tower)
Day 9: Tokyo (Ueno + Oji + Akihabara + Koishikawa Korakuen + Rikugien)
Day 10: Tokyo (International Anime Fair + Hama Rikyu)
Day 11: Tokyo (Ueno + Zojoji + Ginza + Yanaka)
Day 12: Tokyo to Singapore


My other threads of my previous Japan trips:
- Japan (Jul 2011): Kobe/Hiroshima/Miyajima/Osaka/Takayama/Kyoto
- Japan (Feb 2012) 15days Hokkaido and Kyushu

 

[samtcy]

Trip 1 (Sep 2012): Singapore to KL, KL to Osaka

1) Took AirAsia's promo rates (S$386, inclusive taxes, excludes check in luggage topup). Had topped up for the Empty Seat Option (ESO) so I had 2 empty seats next to me for my flight from KL to Osaka, therefore I was able to lie down after lifting the armrests.

Air Asia flight by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

2) Onboard the Nankai Airport Express train from Kansai Airport to Shin-Imamiya station near my hotel

DSC_0014_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

3) My single room at Osaka (shared bathroom). Costs 1900yen (S$30) a night only.

DSC_0019_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

4) Doubutsuenmae station

DSC_0039_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

5) Subway at Osaka

DSC_0042_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

6) Window shades which you can pull up if you have the need to

DSC_0044_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

7) Den Den Town in Osaka

DSC_0050_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

8) One Piece T-shirts, sold at Den Den Town

DSC_0051_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

9) Franky Tee

DSC_0059_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

10) One Piece figurines

DSC_0069 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

11)

DSC_0085_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

12) One Piece

DSC_0086_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

13)

DSC_0094_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

14) Dotonbori

DSC_0106_vintage6 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

Trip 1 (Sep 2012) Day 3: Day trip to Okayama and Himeji

15) Taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Shin-Osaka station to Okayama station

DSC_0160_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

16)

DSC_0162_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

17)

DSC_0171_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

18) Taking the tram outside Okayama station

DSC_0173_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

19) Nearest tram station to Okayama castle (about 15mins walk away)

DSC_0182_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

20) Okayama castle

DSC_0189_bw5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

21)

DSC_0191_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

22)

DSC_0197_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

23)

DSC_0199_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

24)

DSC_0228_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

25)

DSC_0255_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

26)

DSC_0271_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

27) Koraku-en, just across the bridge from Okayama castle

DSC_0284_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

28) Koraku-en

DSC_0294_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

29) Koraku-en

DSC_0299_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

30) Rest area at Koraku-en

DSC_0305_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

31)

DSC_0310_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

32) Walking back to the tram station

DSC_0322_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

33) Tram arrives

DSC_0328_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

34) onboard the tram

DSC_0329_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

35) Lunch. Thin Katsu with Rice.

DSC_0340_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

36)

DSC_0343_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

37) Himeji station

DSC_0358_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

38) Manhole cover at Himeji (different towns/prefectures have different manhole cover designs)

DSC_0367_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

39) Himeji castle, undergoing restoration until 2015 (i think)

DSC_0377_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

40)

DSC_0404_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

41)

DSC_0420_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

42)

DSC_0421_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

43) Restoration

DSC_0430_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

44)

DSC_0435_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

45) Shinsekai area at Osaka

DSC_0470_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

46)

DSC_0478_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

47)

DSC_0480_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

48)

DSC_0483_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

49) Lots of restaurants at Shinsekai specializes in fried skewers

DSC_0484_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

Trip 1 (Sep 2012) Day 4 Day trip to Wakayama

50) Taking the Limited Express train from Shin-Imamiya station in Osaka to Wakayama station.

DSC_0492_2 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

51)

DSC_0494_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

52) Taking the Strawberry train from Wakayama station.

DSC_0497_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

53) Inside the Strawberry train

DSC_0500_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

54)

DSC_0502_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

55)

DSC_0503_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

56)

DSC_0508_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

57)

DSC_0509_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

58)

DSC_0511_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

59) Cat train

DSC_0518_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

60)

DSC_0520_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

61)

DSC_0521_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

62)

DSC_0570_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

63)

DSC_0572_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

64)

DSC_0573_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

65)

DSC_0575_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

66)

DSC_0576_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

67) Library onboard the Cat train

DSC_0579_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

68)

DSC_0581_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

69) Arrival at Kishi station. It is also where the Cat Stationmaster Tama-chan is based at.

DSC_0619_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

70) Kishi station

DSC_0633_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

71) Cafe at Kishi station. Nothing much in the vicinity, so spent some time here while waiting for the next train out.

DSC_0655_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

72) Tama-chan's enclousure

DSC_0666_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

73) Tama-chan

DSC_0700_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

74) train depot. Strawberry train, Regular train, Toy train

DSC_0749_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

75) Cat train again...

DSC_0751_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

76)

DSC_0754_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

77)

DSC_0768_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[samtcy]

78) Niitama, the 2nd Cat Stationmaster. Stationed at Idakiso station

DSC_0819_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

79)

DSC_0824_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

80) Niitama's stationmaster hat

DSC_0838_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

81) Cat Stationmaster souvenirs

DSC_0839_5 by Samantha.Tan, on Flickr

 

[fatbike]

wow, din noe theres cat train, had actually planned to go japan on feb but haiz...
btw really like ur photos,
& hapi new year

 

[samtcy]

wow, din noe theres cat train, had actually planned to go japan on feb but haiz...
btw really like ur photos,
& hapi new year

Thanks. Happy New Year to you too.