Tokyo (Thread 3)

[longing]

@prettybarbie, wala namang hihingin na documents sa immigration when you arrive.  just the normal processing lang, hand over your passport with the arrival card then you will be taken a picture, tatak then tapos na.

[shygirlme]

Suggest naman kayo budget hotels near train stations. Thanks!

[prettybarbie]

Thanks sis longing... Meron kasi ko nabasa na hindi ibig sabihin na nabigyan ka na ng visa e okay na, meron daw kasi na di pa rin pinapapasok at pinapabalik.... Na paranoid tuloy ako.

[longing]

^Awwww....Sama naman pag na A to A...

[princess jaz]

For those who are travelling to Tokyo this September, better bring off lotion or any mosquito repellant. I am in Tokyo right now, and we are advised by our company not to go to parks for the mean time due to dengue outbreak.  It is the first time since WWII. They particularly mentioned Shinjuku park and Yoyogi park.

[*CuTiE*]

^ oh no! thanks sis for the advise! but still safe to go around shinjuku area? dun kasi hotel namin... thanks!

[princess jaz]

Sis, I think generally safe pa rin. Mabilis naman gumawa ng action ang mga Japanese pag may problema.

[nicolelaloo]

Hi,

Okay po ba sa Shinjuku Washington Hotel?

And mahihirapan ba ako aralin train system nila?
I tried checking their train system, nakakalito ehh

[crazy_krizsa]

Hi Sis nicolelaloo, mahirap aralin ang train system nila. As in super challenging. lol
Allow some time each day na maligaw and patience talaga. I went with my friends last May sa Japan and buti na lang lahat kame kalmado at matyaga, minsan kasi pumapalya si google maps. hehe

[*CuTiE*]

Sis, I think generally safe pa rin. Mabilis naman gumawa ng action ang mga Japanese pag may problema.

thanks sis! may kasama kasi akong bata so dapat talaga mag-ingat kami... thanks!!!

[glamorous_aisha]

the trains can be really confusing pero organized naman lahat at laging may signs. try using the site hyperdia nandoon lahat ng info pati platform number, etc.

[shygirlme]

Question need ko ba muna magka plane ticket bago mag apply ng visa? Requirement kasi is plane ticket di ba?

[prettybarbie]

According don sa nakausap namin sa immigration hindi daw required yung ticket dahil hindi daw makakaapekto yon sa pagkuha ng visa, pwede daw ma deny ka pa din kahit may plane ticket ka na.

[theflygirl]

You can apply for the visas without a plane ticket nor a hotel booking, which was what I did. I got multiple entry pa.

Their train system is a bit confusing at first, even for super requent travellers like me. Compared to the train system of Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Japan train system is more complicated, probably because mas established na ito so ang makakapalito sa yo is whether or not JR, or metro or what and sasakyan mo, plus different trains pa plying the same route. Merong semi-express, express, etc. It took me a good 15mins to restudy my map via my phone (thank God for rented wifi!), when in fact, before I left MNL, I thought I had it all pat down.

Bago ko pa nahanap ulit yung destination ko on the map, I got confused pa how much I needed to pay yun pala it was indicated at the bottom of the route on the map near the ticket machines. Then on the machine itself naman, easy lang cos may english of course. There are also preset buttons if you're a single adult or 2 adults, or like me, 1 adult 2 kids, and so on.

Once inside the station, I also made sure to ask the train personnel, (those wearing suits and waving red rolled-up umbrellas) whether I was taking the correct train. They make it out of their way to help you kahit tuloy2x na Nihongo pa rin salita. Very helpful.

I was so disappointed at the Hachiko statue area. Akala ko naman kung anong big thing. I love the history behind it kaso the area is right beside a smoking booth and tambayan ng tao. Eew. If it weren't the fact na it's in Tokyo, I would have compared it to a cheap park here in Manila. Sinadya ko pa with my young daughters. Luckily, it's just right across our hotel (Shibuya Excel Tokyu). It was nice to watch the people cross the Shibuya scramble everyday.

[prettybarbie]

Mga sis yung pasmo card pede gamitin sa lahat ng train even sa JR line? yung JR line ba at metro subway nasa iisang tunnel lang or magkahiwalay sila?

and pano mag uwi ng clear umbrella? pede ba to hand carry sa cathay pacific? balak ko sana bumili for souvenir.

[glamorous_aisha]

lahat ng pictures na makikita mo naman sa net ng hachiko ay mismong statue lang. at hindi talaga siya park. more on meeting place ng mga japanese ang hachiko because it's right in front of the station. people go there just to have a picture with the statue and then go explore shibuya after.

[kinkytinch]

mga sis and bro, kumusta ang weather sa tokyo nung 1st week of october last year kung iccompare sa weather sa manila now? we'll be leaving next week but idk yet what clothes to pack. tia

[kinkytinch]

by the way, anybody here tried using the icoca card in tokyo? saan and paano gamitin?

[shygirlme]

May nakatry na ba sa inyo mag domestic plane from Tokyo to Osaka or VV? Mas mura ba?

[cheapangga]

hi nicolelaloo! i don't know why i can't reply to your private message. in reply to your questions, yes we stayed at shinjuku washington hotel for a week. it was about a 8-10 minute walk to the train station. rooms were sooooo tiny, hardly any room for our luggage. just a head's up, their rooms do not have air conditioners so bring light sleepwear. it is a rather busy check-in counter so no one took the time to check how many persons we were in our group. though i do not suggest squeezing in 3 people for a double or twin room. my husband and i with our 2 year old hardly fit, the rooms were that small. have a great time in tokyo, we sure did