We would have preferred to take a cab but read/heard that airport transfers are ridiculously expensive (can masuk hundreds!) so we chose to ride the Narita Express (NEX) from Narita Internation Airport to Shinjuku. There are also buses available (which we didn't choose because we prefer trains over buses.) I also wrote about taking the NEX
here.
As for travelling around Tokyo, we mostly took their public trains which were clean, efficient and always on time. Can get pretty crowded during peak hours though, so take that into consideration when planning your travelling time ok.
We opted not to get a
Suica card because we were unsure whether we'd get the most out of it since we will be taking trains managed by different companies throughout our trip. I think our worries were unfounded though, so we'll probably consider getting it for our next trip. For this trip, what we did was: We consulted the fare board for prices, bought tickets from the ticket machines at the train stations (You can change language settings to English) and inserted the tickets into the entrance/exit slots. We watched videos
here,
here and
here to familiarize ourselves with the process.
Where to Buy Souveniers
I've mentioned this in an earlier entry but will repeat it here for funsies:
1.
Nakamise Dori - it is the stretch of shops leading into Sensoji Temple;
2.
Don Quijote - feels and looks like Mustafa Centre and has outlets across Japan (We went to the Kabukicho outlet); and
3.
AKKY II - it is a tax-free shop in Akihabara.
These places sell various things for cheap, ranging from facial masks, chopsticks, tea sets, green tea packs, t-shirts, fans, terompah, chocolates, novelty gifts, etc. If you are looking for Tokyo Banana, you can get them from souvenier shops in the airport, kat situ belambak lambak (I know there is doubt as to whether Tokyo Banana is halal, this is just general information ok. You nak beli for yourself ke, for your non-Muslim friends ke, nak buat jeruk ke, apa ke, that is up to you)
Availability of Wifi
Wifi is available in the hotel room and some cafes in Tokyo, but Saliheen and I wanted to have Wifi on-the-go for various reasons: directions on Google Maps (paling penting), looking up information and of course, social media. Heh heh.
I don't really like using local SIM cards (because leceh) so it was a blessing we met up with another couple for dinner a few weeks after we booked our flight tickets in July... because they were the ones who told us pasal the
Wifi router rental from Changi Recommends! Thank you Syaf and Najib!!! One of the best tips we got for this Tokyo trip. Hehe.
That barang is a godsend, you guys, especially bagus for group trips because you can split the costs since the Wifi router can connect up to 6 to 10 devices (depending on your destination country). And I love that I already have Wifi the minute we touched down in Tokyo, no need to waste time and walk around the airport to cari local SIM card retailers.
Connection was fantastic, we could even use it up in Mount Fuji, amacam cakap. Just walk in to any of the Changi Recommends counters in the airport terminals to rent the Wifi router but it's subject to availability, so kalau takut kehabisan, you can make reservations via their
online form ok. Payment is upon return of device after your trip.
Shopping in Tokyo
Saliheen and I didn't shop much - Saliheen bought a few t-shirts and caps from Harajuku and I only bought two pairs of shoes (both of which I LOVE!) and a couple of bath products from LUSH. I guess it doesn't help that
1) the fashion styles available in Tokyo isn't what Saliheen and I would normally wear
2) we were there during winter so a lot of the baju baju and stuff were meant for winter wear, which will be of no use to us when we return to all day everyday hot and sunny Singapore, and
3) Tokyo fashion stores (unsurprisingly) don't really carry a lot of designs in our sizes lol.
One good shopping tip I got from my friend Azrul (because he is
the auntie of good deals and discounts): You qualify for tax refund if you spend more than
¥10,000 (approximately S$123.00) in a participating retailer. You can read more
here.
Research Resources
I depended heavily on friends who have travelled to Tokyo, stalked related hashtags on Instagram and did my research by reading
Japan Guide (this is my favourite website out of the lot, it is very informative and user-family),
Time Out Tokyo,
Lonely Planet,
Go Tokyo,
Tokyo Cheapo and
Have Halal, Will Travel.
