[FRs] Samantha's 4 Japan trips

[SquallLH]

Lol... I, my wife and her friend also had the same issue of not being able to find the canal when I was there previously... Walk through same sets of streets to find it after a while

1105)
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/860/dsc0455b.jpg/

1106)

1107) Still lost...trying to find the canal district.


1108)


1109)


1110) Limited Edition Okayama Miffys


1111) Since we were still lost...why not get an ice cream and eat along the way?

 

[samtcy]

Lol... I, my wife and her friend also had the same issue of not being able to find the canal when I was there previously... Walk through same sets of streets to find it after a while

haha, yeah. My cousin and I were saying that worse comes to worse, if we still can't find the canal area, we'll just backtrack to the shopping streets and do some shopping instead.

But it's a good thing that we got lost too. The quiet residential area looked quite nice on photos (I kinda like how pic 1109 turned out). It was fun roaming about while eating softserve icecream too.

 

[evilerniex]

Very ulu place...and I think Harmonyland is not really new. Maybe because I went to Harmonyland on a weekend so there's actually many people (I estimated about 100 people were around to watch the afternoon parade performance)

When I went to Grinpa (Sylvanian Families themepark) themepark at Mt Fuji, it was even more empty than Harmonyland. I think I only saw less than 10 other visitors when I was there. On the same trip, I went Disneysea and it was extremely packed! and then a couple days later I went Grinpa and it was nearly empty. Haha.

Well, at least it's easier to reach Harmonyland than Grinpa.

For Harmonyland, it's just a direct train from Hakata (Fukuoka) to Kitsuki station. And then there will be a couple of bus departures daily that departs from Kitsuki station to Harmonyland. Even if you want to take a cab, it's just a short 7mins ride which only costs less than 1000yen.

For Grinpa (Sylvanian Families) themepark, you have to take Odakyu train from Shinjuku to Gotemba station (or Mishima to Gotemba), and then a 50mins bus ride to Grinpa. But the catch is that there's only 1 bus departure timing from Gotemba to Grinpa, and also only 1 bus departure timing from Grinpa to Gotemba every day. So if you miss that 1 and only departure time (for either way), you are basically screwed. And there's absolutely no cab at Grinpa either.

Will be posting Grinpa themepark's pics over the next couple of days.

when i went huis ten bosch, not many ppl also. probably coz kyushu is still not a very touristy place yet. dunno how all these theme parks survives

 

[enrell69]

ts. how much did you spend for the latest trip not incl flight

 

[samtcy]

when i went huis ten bosch, not many ppl also. probably coz kyushu is still not a very touristy place yet. dunno how all these theme parks survives

Huis Ten Bosch is freaking huge. The people are scattered everywhere across the themepark, therefore giving u the impression that it's empty. When I went Huis Ten Bosch, I also thought that it was pretty empty...until the evening illumination show where most of the people gathered to watch the performance and we were surprised that there's actually alot of people.

For Grinpa, it's a small themepark, and I'm able to see the entire Sylvanian Families zone and it was empty! (except for a few staffs walking around). It was only during the performance time that I saw about 10-15 other visitors around.

ts. how much did you spend for the latest trip not incl flight

See my blog (Go Away, Sam...: Japan 2012 (Feb)) for how much I spent on air tickets/hotel/rail passes for my latest trip (15day Hokkaido & Kyushu in Feb 2012).

For other expenditures, not sure since we didn't keep track. We splurged quite abit on food (had King crab meals every night in Sapporo, at around S$120-S$140 per meal for just the 2 of us)

I brought about SGD1000 worth of Japanese yen for myself, but had to use my credit card for some purchases at Tokyu Hands. My hubby spent alot more since he had to pay for most meals, and also souvenirs for family and friends.

 

[enrell69]

Huis Ten Bosch is freaking huge. The people are scattered everywhere across the themepark, therefore giving u the impression that it's empty. When I went Huis Ten Bosch, I also thought that it was pretty empty...until the evening illumination show where most of the people gathered to watch the performance and we were surprised that there's actually alot of people.

For Grinpa, it's a small themepark, and I'm able to see the entire Sylvanian Families zone and it was empty! (except for a few staffs walking around). It was only during the performance time that I saw about 10-15 other visitors around.



See my blog (Go Away, Sam...: Japan 2012 (Feb)) for how much I spent on air tickets/hotel/rail passes for my latest trip (15day Hokkaido & Kyushu in Feb 2012).

For other expenditures, not sure since we didn't keep track. We splurged quite abit on food (had King crab meals every night in Sapporo, at around S$120-S$140 per meal for just the 2 of us)

I brought about SGD1000 worth of Japanese yen for myself, but had to use my credit card for some purchases at Tokyu Hands. My hubby spent alot more since he had to pay for most meals, and also souvenirs for family and friends.

awesome...i was thinking of going to japan this year but instead went to korea. saw your blog and noticed on how far-reaching you have been to japan. so if i wanna go there next time..will ask you for advice

 

[samtcy]

awesome...i was thinking of going to japan this year but instead went to korea. saw your blog and noticed on how far-reaching you have been to japan. so if i wanna go there next time..will ask you for advice

Sure, no prob

 

[samtcy]

1172) Bakery


1173) These are all edible bread


1174) Mt Fuji is hidden behind the clouds...


1175) Sylvanian Families Kitchen


1176) Inside...


1177) What I ate...


1178)

 

[samtcy]

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[samtcy]

Yey, this thread broke 20,000 page views

Trip 3 (Nov2011), Day 8: Day trip to Kanazawa

1185) Waiting for the Ltd Exp Thunderbird train to arrive at Shin-Osaka station.


1186) Ltd Exp Thunderbird, took this train to Kanazawa. About 2hrs journey.


1187) Bus stop in front of Kanazawa station. Wait here for the Kanazawa Loop Bus.


1188) Boarded the Kanazawa Loop Bus. This services goes in 1 loop cycle, to many tourist attraction spots in Kanazawa.


1189) There's audio announcements (Japanese & English) plus notification boards onboard the loop bus so you don't need to worry about getting off at the wrong stop.


1190) The 1 day unlimited trip Loop Bus pass (500yen). I recommend this if anyone is going to Kanazawa. Just go to the Bus office next to Kanazawa train station to buy this pass.


1191) This is how the loop bus looks like from the outside. Cool, right?

 

[samtcy]

1192) Walking from bus stop to the Higashi Chaya District (a short 7mins walk)


1193)


1194) Still walking...


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[samtcy]

1197) Higashi Chaya District


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1199)


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[samtcy]

1202) Kanazawa Castle Park


1203) Kenrokuen


1204) Kenrokuen - One of Japan's "three most beautiful landscape gardens" alongside Mito's Kairakuen and Okayama's Korakuen


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1206)

 

[samtcy]

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[samtcy]

1212)


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1216) There's this electronic board at the bus stop that shows the current location of the buses in real time.


1217) This particular bus is 12mins away from arriving at this bus stop I am at.

 

[samtcy]

1218) Nagamachi District


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---End of Trip 3, Day 8----

Coming up next, Day 9 (Kyoto)

 

[samtcy]

Trip 3 (Nov 2011), Day 9: Kyoto

1222) Bought this to eat onboard the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto


1223) It was raining...all I see are umbrellas everywhere...


1224)


1225) Kiyomizudera


1226)


1227) I think I was kinda early for autumn foliage...the leaves were still green


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1229)

 

[samtcy]

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[samtcy]

1235) Rain stopped


1236)


1237) Higashiyama


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1239)

 

[samtcy]

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1242) Kodaiji


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