Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Konichiwa!

Greetings from Japan! Sorry I haven't been posting since we got here two days ago but by 9pm I'm already knackered! We had so much adventure in the last two days. We got here on Monday at 7.30 am after a 7 hour flight. When we got to the luggage reclaim carousel I couldn't find my luggage! Apparently it got lost somewhere between KL and Narita. I wasn't too worried about my clothes coz I could get some cheap ones here in Japan but all my itinerary and Disneyland tickets were in there. Not too mention all the iPhone and camera cables LOL. The ground staff at Narita were very helpful and we lodged our report. Thank goodness they speak perfect English. After we gave all our accommodation details and assuring us that they will send my luggage over as soon as they find it which will take give or take a week (a week!) we went on our merry way. What else was there to do but make the best out of the situation eh? We got our JR passes and bought our Suica cards and off to Tokyo we went!

We took the train to Asakusa and from Asakusa we had to take the subway to Kuramae where our hostel was. Taking the subway in Tokyo is very challenging, that much I can say. We got lost at Kuramae subway and spent 45 minutes trying to find our way out LOL. Fortunately we found the exit and made our way to K's Hostel. I love love love the hostel by the way. Sure the room is small but the English speaking staff are very helpful. They told us that the airport called them to tell them that I lost my luggage and for them to keep a lookout when it's sent their way. 

After checking in, we headed out to check out the city. Since we came with our friend and her family (although we stayed at a different hotel) we made plans to meet at Asakusa to check out the Senso-ji Temple and Nakamise Market. There were so many people at the temple and the place was crowded with worshipers. Nakamise was interesting. There were loads of souvenirs and food stalls lining the streets. We tried the sweet potato and red bean cakes and they were awesome! 

Next we headed out to the famous Shibuya crossing and took pictures at the diagonal crossing. Imagine taking pictures in the middle of a busy crossing LOL. Next stop was Uniqlo where I did something I never thought I'd do. I performed solat at Uniqlo's dressing room. Whaaaaaat??? Because we couldn't find a place to pray we thought that the next best thing was to grab an item of clothing to "try" and then pray in the dressing room hihi. 

After "pretending to try on some clothes" we headed out to Shinjuku for dinner. We wanted to find this tempura restaurant and we were struggling to get the direction when this dude came over asking if he could help. Of course we said okay and he then made a few calls on his mobile phone and after getting directions, led the way to the restaurant. DH already felt weird about the whole thing coz the dude sometimes talked to himself (ding ding ding!) Anyway, he took us to the restaurant and then had the gall to ask for ¥500 for helping us. Whaaaat?? We couldn't seem to get rid of him so of course we paid. We were conned!!! So guys, if you're planning to go to Japan (or anywhere else for that matter) be careful of dudes who are overly helpful. 

After dinner DH and I parted ways with our friends and headed out back to K's Hostel for some well-deserved sleep. My luggage still had not returned by the way and I had to wash my bra so I could wear it the next day LOL.

End of Day 1! Pictures to follow later when I have access to a laptop.