Morning, Narita! I stayed at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel in Narita Airport Terminal 2 because I had to catch an early morning flight to Taipei for work. Early morning flights will be the death of me and till today, I try to avoid morning flights as much as I can. I woke up at 5am to take a hot shower before checking out and heading to Narita Airport Terminal 3 for my 9am flight.

It was 2°C in Narita, but I decided to dress lightly because I expected Taipei to be ~20°C

Had to take a shuttle bus to Narita Airport's terminal 3 and people were giving me incredulous stares because of the way I was dressed — long sleeve top and jeans when everyone else was in several layers of huge coats.

Going by Singapore's logic of, "Where there's queue, the food is good", I found myself at
bills Omotesando. bills Omotesando is a popular Australian breakfast place in Tokyo loved by many Japanese. Located on the seventh floor of Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku, right opposite Harajuku Street, bills Omotesando is usually crowded with people and you an expect to queue up to five hours without table reservations.

Address
Japan, 〒150-0001 Tōkyō-to, Shibuya-ku, 渋谷区Jingūmae, 4 Chome−4−30−3

Opening Hours
8:30am to 11pm daily

Phone Number
+81 3-5772-1133

Reservations
ikyu.com (Website is in Japanese)

Nearest Tokyo Metro Station 
Meiji-jingumae 'Harajuku' Station
Chiyoda Line (green) and Fukutoshin Line (brown)



I arrived between lunch and dinner time, at 3pm, and waited only about 30 minutes before it was my turn. I was initially assigned an indoor seating but requested for the outdoor table so I could watch the sun set.


Although I was on a budget and bills Omotesando is on the pricier end of a meal in Tokyo (just a cup of coffee can cost up to SGD $10!), the brunch restaurant was dubbed the best breakfast place in Tokyo. I can't say I spend a day in Tokyo if I walk away without trying bills Omotesando!

I planned to do all my souvenir shopping on my last day in Japan. Harajuku is a street filled with endless things to do and I decided to spend my last day in the major fashion district of Tokyo. The top things on my to-do list in Harajuku street were: trying Harajuku's famed crepe, explore Japan's drugstores, shop at the world's biggest Daiso, and buy snacks from Calbee Plus and Croquant Chou ZakuZaku.

Harajuku Shopping Street (Takeshita Street)

Address
1-19-5 Jingumae, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo

Neaarest Tokyo Subway Station
Meiji-jingumae 'Harajuku' Station
Chiyoda Line (green) and Fukutoshin Line (brown)

Opening Hours
Shops typically open from 11am to 9pm


I stopped at the first crepe store I saw in Harajuku, Cafe Crepe 1977, because my stomach was rumbling. Little did I know that crepe stores were a dime a dozen in Harajuku and the one that I bought from wasn't the famous crepe store travellers usually queue up to buy from T_T



I got the Strawberry and Cookie & Cream Cheesecake Crepe, consisiting of cookies and cream cheesecake, strawberry, oreo, whipped cream, and one scoop of either vanilla or strawberry ice cream. Cafe Crepe 1977 is supposedly the oldest specialty crepe shop in Harajuku.

Cafe Crepe 1977

Address

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 10:30am to 9:30pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10:00am to 9:30pm

Price Range
On average, ¥450 to ¥590 (SGD $5.60 to $7.40)

Telephone Number
03-3497-0030

Side note: the famous Harajuku crepe stores are Angels Heart (Japan, 〒150-0001 Tokyo, Shibuya, Jingumae, 1 Chome−２０−６) and SANTA MONICA Crepes (1 Chome-168 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan). They're located right opposite each other.

Tokyo was a disappointment — there I said it. Tokyo was my last official stop in Japan, and I had high expectations for the city seeing how Singaporeans flood to Tokyo ever so often during the holiday season. However, Tokyo was underwhelming to me in ways more than one.

Japan is almost synonymous to Tokyo, and rightfully so too. The capital of Japan, Tokyo is the life of the party, where the action of Japan lies. Ironically, for the same reason, this is why I don't like Tokyo. Tokyo reminded me too much of bustling Singapore. Commuters rushing from station to station, people running all over places to get work done. No one has the time to stop and chat, or help a lost tourist.

Compared to warm cities like Kyoto, Hiroshima or even Osaka, the citizens of Tokyo are cold and aloof — much like urban Singapore. A lot of Tokyo citizens can speak English or Chinese, but would rather not because stopping for a minute takes up too much of their time when they could be doing something else for themselves.

I'm guilty of that too in Singapore. You don't see me helping lost tourists often because I'm always in a rush. Travelling my next meeting, work, meet my friends etc. Since my return from my Japan solo travel, I made it a point to try helping lost tourists as much as I can even with my poor sense of directions.

The detachment of Tokyo was only magnified after I witnessed the majesty of Hakone and Mt Fuji, but I was determined to make the most out of Tokyo since I already travelled there. I checked out of Tokyo Imano Hostel early in the morning at 10am, and was disappointed to learn that they couldn't keep my luggage for me.


No worries though, because Japan is filled with lockers catered towards tourists or business travellers that can fit your luggage! I carried a 28-inch luggage with me and never had a problem finding a spot although some forums I read online warned that it might be harder to find locker space for a 28-inch luggage.


Locking and making payment for your luggage locker is easy too. Just fit in your luggage, lock it, proceed to make payment at the machine and you're done! You'll be issued a receipt with a QR code. To retrieve your luggage later on, you just have to scan the QR code at the machine and your locker will be unlocked.

Took a photo of where I left my receipt because I'm known to be muddle-headed

As there are masses of lockers available around every station, especially major train stations like Shinjuku, I always made sure to take photos of my surroundings after locking my luggage. If I were to forget which locker spot I left my luggage, I could easily get directions with these photos — beats trying to overcome the language barrier with sign languages or a vague description.



After locking my luggage, I made an impromptu trip to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in spite of the fact that it was right smack in the middle of Japan's winter and nature was presumably at the peak of its gloom.


Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is so humongous that it has three gates: Shinjuku Gate, Okido Gate and Sendagaya Gate. I got lost trying to find the gate that is nearest to Shinjuku train station as some parts of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden was under renovation.

Tip: Load Google Maps wherever you are, key in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden's address and let Google Maps lead you to the nearest gate.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Address
11 Naitōmachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō-to 160-0014, Japan

Opening Hours
9am to 4:30pm (last entry at 4pm)

Admission Fee
Adults: ¥200
Students: ¥50
Children: Free

Telephone Number
+81 3-3350-0151

Alighted at Hakonemachi-ko, the first stop of Hakone Sightseeing Cruise. Apparently, Motohakone-ko is the stop that's nearer to Hakone Shrine but I somehow confused myself between the two since they sounded somewhat similar. I spontaneously decided  to trek from Hakonemachi-ko to Hakone Shrine anyway because I wanted to take photos of Mt Fuji with Hakone Shrine, a sight only available via trekking.

Anyway, I'm someone who prefers walking if I have the choice and I found myself walking around Japan a lot to admire its scenery and bask in Japan's winter climate, which I'll never get to experience in Singapore.

The corns smelled so good and fresh, especially in winter!

Hakone Sightseeing Cruise (Hakonemachi-ko Port)

Address
161 Hakone, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun 250-0521

Phone Number
+61 0460-83-7550

I expected the queue for Hakone Ropeway to be congested since it was the peak holiday season in January but it was surprisingly empty and I only had a group of people before me. I was hoping I could get the entire Hakone Ropeway cabin to myself but a group of tourists came after me and I had to share my cabin with them T_T Thankfully, they were well-mannered tourists, allowing me to enjoy the splendour of Mt Fuji in peace.

It was a blessing that I could see Mt Fuji the entire day I was in Hakone.

Hakone Ropeway (Owakudani Station)

Address
Japan, 〒250-0631 Kanagawa-ken, Ashigarashimo-gun, Hakone-machi, Sengokuhara, 足柄下郡箱根町仙石原１２５１−１

Operating Hours
9:00am to 5:00pm or
9:00am to 4:15pm (depending on season)
Further information here

Phone Number
+81 460-84-8437

I don't think I'll ever forget the first time I saw Mt Fuji. I couldn't believe my eyes. My eyes were registering the snow-capped mountain, a marvelous sight that still makes my heart skip a beat, but my brain was saying, no no it's impossible. Mt Fuji is known to be elusive; some of my friends stayed in Hakone for two days without even sighting Mt Fuji once — would my bad luck actually allow me to see Mt Fuji the first time, the very first hour, I was in Hakone?


Some Japanese ladies broke my train of thoughts, squiming to get a better view of the scene outside our bus, squealing, "Fuji-san! Fuji-san!" Then, I knew it — the snow-capped mountain I saw was Mt Fuji. My childhood dreams, completed at 21. It was surreal, just like when I first witnessed the A-bomb Dome in Hiroshima. My entire Japan travel was surreal.


In a way, I was glad Hakone Ropeway was suspended at Sounzan or I'd have never discovered Owakudani. There's something about Japan that caused me to be crazy thankful for everything, even the little errors that occured throughout my travel.


Owakudani is known for its black eggs — chicken eggs with black shells due to chemical reactions after being hard-boiled in Owakudani's hot springs. (I know this only because I googled.) It's rumoured to add seven years to your life when you consume a Owakudani black egg. Unfortunately, they only sold the eggs in a bulk of six and I was alone so I didn't have a chance to try the egg.

Hakone Tozan Train from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto

Due to the influx of people at Odawara Station, I eventually lost the couple I was following to Hakone and didn't get a chance to properly thank them for bringing me around :( With the delays I faced while travelling to Hakone, it was already 10am by the time I reached my first stop, Odawara.


The good news is because I got my Hakone Free Pass online, I didn't have to queue to top up my card or buy a one-way train ticket in Hakone. It was easy for me to travel around the whole of Hakone with my free pass.

Japanese queuing up in an orderly manner for the train

Hakone Tozan Railway is a 40-minute ride from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto. If you travel to Hakone during the cherry blossom season or autumn, you'll be treated to the magnificent views during the train ride. Because I was in Hakone during winter, most of the trees were barren. However, I got to witness the train changing conductor and moving backwards while climbing up the steep hills of Gora — a unique aspect of Hakone Tozan Railway.

Despite everyone's insistence on spending more than a day in Hakone — even the passes were two or three day bus passes — I decided to do just a one day trip to the outskirts of Tokyo, Hakone due to the lack of time. If I were to return, I'd definitely stay in Hakone for a longer period of time, and travel to Fuji Five Lake (Fujigoko) so I could witness Mt Fuji up close but time wasn't on my side back then and a day trip to Hakone from Tokyo was my best choice.

I initially planned to set out early in the morning to catch the earliest train to Hakone but I was too worn out by then (my 5th day in Japan), so I snoozed for an hour before finally making my way to Shinjuku to collect my Hakone Free Pass.


Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center

Address
Japan, 〒160-0023 Tokyo, Shinjuku, Nishishinjuku, 1 Chome−26−13
(1st floor — Ground Floor)

Nearest Metro Station
Shinjuku Station (West Exit)

Telephone Number
+81-3-5321-7887

Nonetheless, I shook off the initial nerves and continued my way to Sunshine City. If you think Singapore MRT is confusing with up to 6 exits sometimes, you haven't been to Tokyo. Ikebukuro itself has almost 50 exits — one wrong turn and you're on the other side of town! The signs were sometimes misleading too, disappearing halfway through my commute. Thankfully, my Japan SIM card (click) worked fine even underground so I gave up following the signs and relied on Google maps instead.


I found it amusing that Japanese were uniformly dressed in black although their shops boast winter coats in a wide array of colours.

I arrived at Tokyo from Hiroshima a little before schedule, at around 8am. My Willer Express overnight bus dropped me off at Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal (Shinjuku Station South Exit) and I was off to explore Tokyo! To be honest, I was quite worn out by the time I reached Tokyo, having slept on overnight buses for two consecutive nights with no proper shower. Not to mention, my earrings fell off again — I'm telling you this is a running gag by now!!! (My earrings fell off in Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Miyajima.)

This Japan trip tired me out endlessly because I woke up early to enjoy the most of a city since I was only in it for a day, but I'm obviously not a morning person at all. Nonetheless, I quickly checked in to Tokyo Imano Hostel (review here), changed into new clothes, and continued my solo travel in Tokyo, where I planned to visit Tokyo Pokemon Centre and Shibuya Crossing.


Accidentally wandered into the red light district of Tokyo while looking for a money changer. Thank god it was in the day or I might have gotten lost because that's exactly the kind of muddle-headed person I am.


I ended up changing money at Family Mart because it was offering me a better rate than another money changer recommended by Tokyo Imano Hostel and I assumed that was the market rate for SGD to JPY.

However, later in the day, I discovered more and better money changers scattered around Tokyo — some offering rates as competitive as what I'd get in Singapore! A pity I've already changed most of my SGD to JPY in Family Mart since I assumed most money changers wouldn't accept SGD (my best friend faced this problem and brought USD to Japan instead).


I walked into a shrine which I assumed was Meiji Shrine... Up till my recent Google search showed me that Meiji Shrine looks nothing like this. *shifty eyes*

9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review

It's as if heavens answered my prayers for cheap and convenient accommodation in Japan with capsules hotels, which have been steadily gaining popularity with Japan tourists. For my budget Japan solo travel, I stayed in 9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel — the airport's answer to my hatred for early morning flights.

9 Hours Capsule Hotel is named after Japan's belief that you only need nine hours to recharge yourself after a busy day: one hour to shower, seven hours of sleep, one hour of preparation. Popular with tourists for its unique concept, 9 Hours Capsule Hotel has four capsule hotels around Japan — in Kyoto, Narita, Sendai and Shinjuku-North.

Similar to my stay at Imano Tokyo Hostel, I booked 9 Hours Capsule Hotel via Booking.com, and checking in was super convenient! A few taps on the iPad and confirmation with my passport was all it took. The staff at 9 Hours Capsule Hotel then passed me a key to my locker, and a bag with a body towel, face towel, a bathrobe and bedroom slippers.

God, I was already impressed by the service provided by 9 Hours Capsule Hotel — I didn't expect much because a capsule hotel is meant for guests to just check in, sleep, check out but I guess Japan has its way of surprising everyone with its hospitality.

Imano Tokyo Hostel Review

If there's one thing Japan's infamous for, it's their high cost of living — especially in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. After scouring the internet for hostels in Tokyo, I finally found Imano Tokyo Hostel through booking.com, and paid SGD $83 for two nights there. Other than being within my budget, Imano Tokyo Hostel fit all three strict criteria I set for any accommodation during my Japan solo travel — safe, convenient, and clean.

1) Safety

This one's a no brainer. It was my first time travelling solo, and I'm a petite girl too, so I had to exercise extreme caution even on a budget in Tokyo and my safety is my utmost priority. I read through thousands of reviews online — I went from booking.com to tripadvisor, and even googled for blog reviews. So long as I spotted one bad review concerning safety, the hostel, no matter how cheap, is immediately out of my list.

Unbeknownst to many, other than being a popular shopping district, Shinjuku is also Tokyo's red light district. I almost made a deathly mistake by booking a cheap hostel located right smack in Tokyo's red light district just because the address stated Shinjuku. Thank god I caught one of the reviews expressing concerns for female solo travellers.