Day 1: Tokyo

Arrival in Tokyo

Arrival in Tokyo was via Haneda airport, just as the sun rose. I pretty much slept all the way from take off to breakfast. Because I had dinner beforehand at the Qantas lounge, I asked the flight attendants not to disturb me and skipped the meal service.

We are so excited to return to Japan after almost a decade since the previous trip. This time we will be more adventurous and visit places outside the major cities.

After the plan landed, we paid over 1000 yen at the airport to get a shower but it was oh so worth it. We tried to get a SIM card for the iPad but it didn’t work. So, apart from airport wifi, we were without internet all the way to the hotel.

We weren’t sure we were on the right train. My first task was to muster enough courage and recall enough Japanese to ask our fellow passengers. Fortunately an old woman understood me and was quite helpful in ensuring we got off at the right spot.

Without internet, it was hard to figure out how to get to the hotel. I had a rough idea from the map at the station but not sure which was the best way. We found a koban (police box) and I asked for directions in my best Japanese. I was surprised I still retained enough Japanese to understand the policeman’s directions. Reached the hotel safely, we received our tickets and wifi router and we were finally reconnected.

Tokyo Station

Using Apple Maps we managed to navigate the complex Tokyo transport system. On arrival in Tokyo Station, we exchanged our Japan Rail passes and reserved all our Shinkansen journeys.

Tokyo Station is located in Chiyoda’s Marunouchi business district near the Imperial Palace grounds. It is the busiest station in Japan. The older part of the station is labelled Marunouchi, and the newer Eastern extension is labelled Yaesu, not far from the Ginza commercial district.

After that we headed to Mitaka for the Ghibli museum.