I wanted to make this trip worthwhile and as enjoyable as possible mainly because I’ve only been to Tokyo once, and it was in 2019 when I first arrived in Japan. Back then, didn’t have the opportunity to do any sightseeing. I mostly stayed in the area near the hotel. It was a pity, but hey! I could roam around the streets of Tokyo this time!
Another reason why I wanted to make this trip as enjoyable as possible was because I couldn’t go back to the Philippines for vacation due to the pandemic. I needed the distraction not to think of celebrating the holidays away from my family for the second consecutive year.
Here’s our itinerary:
Highlights
- The last time I rode a plane was in January 2020 when I got back from my vacation from the Philippines. I couldn’t believe that my next was December 2021 – 1 year and 11 months after.
- I went to a Harry Potter exhibit for the first time ever! It was the Harry Potter: A History of Magic where information, books, and other realia of the school subjects taught in Hogwarts were displayed. It was also mindblowing how much JK Rowling has researched real history and incorporated those in the Potterverse. Much respect to you, Madam.
- I didn’t have any expectations for Tokyo Tower, but damn. The top most part was quite fancy. It’s the perfect place to have a date with your significant other.
- I had a great time at the Ghibli Museum even though taking pictures was prohibited inside the museum. Thankfully, it was perfectly fine for visitors to take pictures outside. There was a garden and a replica of the giant robot in the first Ghibli movie.
- I bought KAT-TUN’s Cast concert DVD at Mandarake. Mandarake sells secondhand fandom stuff that includes (and not limited to) idol and anime goods.
- Besides Tokyo Tower, I’ve realized that Shibuya Sky Scramble is another great place to be with a significant other. My friend and I enjoyed wearing our berets in winter because our heads were protected and we also looked stylish. The staff at Shibuya Sky Scramble asked us to remove our berets to avoid being flown by the wind. I couldn’t blame them since it was a windy and chilly winter night.
- Our Hakone trip was tiring but awesome. I highly recommend going to Owakudani because it was such an interesting place. Also, you’d see Mt. Fuji from the cable car going to Owakudani. Not bad, right?
- We got on a pirate ship er, cruise, on Lake Ashi.
- I had lots of blurry and interesting pictures at The Borderless TeamLab museum in Odaiba. It was first time visiting such a place, but I wish there were less people because a lot of my pictures had people behind me. Also, do wear plain clothes for the effects to show on your clothes, too.
- One of my favorite photos of the Tokyo Tower was taken at Roppongi Hills. The tower was shining in the background with brightly-lighted trees in the foreground.
- Wah, I want to go back to Shin-Okubo just to experience more of Korea Town. My friend and I didn’t really explore much because there were so many people (girls mostly) in the area. We also saw some Japanese fans celebrating the birthday of a KPop idol.
- I bought charms from the Meiji Shrine!
- I loved spending New Year’s Eve at Tokyo Disney Sea. There were fireworks and a special NYE meal at the food court.
- I met friends whom I haven’t seen in a long time.
Not-so-highlights
- There are two things I want to forget about the Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibit. First, I wanted to forget how hot it was inside the venue. We went there during the winter, but we had to take our coats off because we were sweating. The second is probably one of the causes for the heat inside. It was crammed and there were a lot of people inside. I remember people were only allowed to enter the venue every 30 minutes to control the crowd, but it was of little use.
- I realized that The Open Air Museum in Hakone is only good if you don’t have time constraints in your travels. After taking a bunch of pictures and walking around it once, we left immediately because we still had to go to two more places in Hakone.
- I’m sorry, but I realized just how much of a tourist trap Tokyo Sky Tree was. There were a number of queues to go to the observatory decks, and there were so many Kimetsu no Yaiba pictures and standees all over Sky Tree. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but for me, putting all those standees and posters of Kimetsu no Yaiba, or even any show, somehow cheapens the place. 3/5 – so-so
- Tokyo DisneySea felt like USJ to me. There was no Disney magic except for the mascots, names of some of the rides, and other rides. I wanted to see castles, fairies, and the Disney Princesses. I guess next time, I should go to Tokyo Disneyland and never ever consider DisneySea again. Maybe.
Hyphenized Changjo 