Japan Holidays (Day01-Day04_Tokyo-Nagano)

After weeks of inactivity, here I am back again.

psst~! I was on a personal trip to Japan for my honeymoon + holidays. At the same time clearing my overloaded leaves at one go.

Well then, in this post I'll be talking about last minute planning of holidays. You must be wondering why the last minute thingy right? Well, this is kind of ad hock, my husband actually had a business trip down to Japan for 3 days with his colleague. Coincidentally, it's spring time. Yay~! I just get a ticket and tag along and hubby will extend his holidays for additional 10 days.

If you see this schedule, there's a lot of time wastage. This is because due to the last minute planning. So if possible, please do plan ahead. I recommend at least 6 months of research and comparison and planning. 

02 APR 2018 : Day#01 (Tokyo)

• Early morning touchdown at Narita International Airport, Tokyo. Collect all your luggage and proceed to the JR Train station (JR: Japan Rail) Here you will collect your Japan Rail Pass. The pass actually entitles you for free usage of JR line throughout the trip. This also depends on the number of days / region you purchased. After that, the pass is just a show and hop on. I'll share more on the JR Pass later on.
• We took a train down to Shinjuku, Tokyo. That's where we will do our interchange into Chino, Nagano. But before that, the colleague and hubby was targeting on some shopping at BIC CAMERA. Well it's more of specific items which you will want to look for that is Made in Japan and only specific models which is made available only in Japan. One is CASIO watches, another being GUNPLA. GUNPLA or also known as GUNdam PLAstic models and UNIQLO for some limited items which is not sold in Malaysia as well. GUNPLA are actually more than 50% off from the prices sold in Malaysia. Since it is only a day 1, I restrict my shopping to only the final few days.
• For lunch we have waited after their peak hours since we are at GMT+8 and Japan is GMT+9. So it's reasonable for us to wait after their peak hours to avoid the crowd. 
• After lunch we proceed to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Park for some cherry blossom viewing experience. Entrance Fee is JPY200/pax. After hours of photography, and admiring the flowers, we made our way back to the train station to proceed another long hour journey to Chino, Nagano. It takes about 3 hours Limited Express train ride from Shinjuku, Tokyo to Chino, Nagano.
• One thing I can say for my first touch down in Japan is that, Cleanliness, Respect, Organised, Peace and Quiet / Serene

03 APR 2018 : Day#02 (Chino, Nagano)

• Hubby's FIRST day to his business meeting. 
• This is a waste of a day for me. I felt dizzy and feverish after the breakfast. So I stayed in the whole day resting in the hotel. So I took some medicine and sleep the whole day through. Maybe because I have sleep deprivation and dehydrated during flights. I never sleep well in flights and I was too busy watching movies that I missed the flight attendant walking pass me.
• Was watching some of their local TV channels and saw that they have cherry blossom blooming in their weather forecast. One of the nearest location is Matsumoto. Nagano. So I made up my mind to get a good rest and proceed to Matsumoto for the next day. I never really planned anything for this few days though. Might as well be random and go to whichever place that I feel like it.

04 APR 2018 : Day#03 (Matsumoto, Nagano)

• Hubby's SECOND day to his business meeting. Yet another day all by myself. 
• After our Japanese breakfast at the hotel, I made my way to the train station. JR pass is easy. Just show it to the train station attendant and you can just go in and out as you like.
• Took an hour and a half Limited Express train journey to the Matsumoto Station. Weather slightly up north is chilly, but for walks, it's just right, and never too cold. Took a 20mins walk from the train station to the Matsumoto Castle where the cherry blossom just started. Whilst there, the trees next to rivers are fully bloomed. Nice!
• I spent more than half a day in the area of Matsumoto Castle and its surrounding garden. This is crazy right? Remember the Cleanliness, Respect, Organised, Peace and Quiet / Serene? It's all that, together with the chilly temperature, blue skies, beautiful flowers. I spent hours taking pictures of the surroundings, cherry blossoms, and the castle. Then sat at nearly all the available benches overlooking the castle and the cherry blossom garden admiring the beauty of nature and the Japanese workmanship.
• Paid the entrance fee JPY600 to enter the castle. Took some photos and walks around the garden area within the walls then enter the castle building.The castle consists of 6 floors. The stairs leading up to each floors are narrow, steps are narrow but high. I actually had difficulty climbing up for a medium sized Chinese girl like me. Some Caucasians actually hit their heads. Ouch~! And yet an ouch for myself, my shin knocked onto the edge of the stairs while making my way up. On my way out, i kicked on the raised door frame in which i felt a slight snap on my toes. sob~! sob~! Oh... I've forgotten to mention,  before entering, we are requested to take off our shoes and bag in a given plastic. So yes, no shoes due to the maintenance of the building. They kept it really clean, I was wearing a white socks, and it came out clean.
• After more than half a day spent in Matsumoto Castle area, I stop by a few small shrines on the way back to the train station.
• Yet another day of peace and quiet. Except for the bruises and slight twist and toe ache.

05 APR 2018 : Day#04 (Kami Suwa, Nagano)

• Hubby's THIRD and final day to his business meeting.
• After our Japanese breakfast at the hotel, I made my way to the train station. This time there was a group of Indonesian Malays. How do I know? Well, their dialects can be differentiated between Indonesian and Malaysian Malays. There goes my serenity. They were shout talking to each other even though they were half a foot away from each other. I was more than 5 meters away and I can hear clearly what they were talking about. Of course not all of them are like that, only a handful of them and these are the handful that you don't want to meet during any trips. It really spoils the scene.
• Took a short 30 minutes train ride to Kami-Suwa Station. Upon arrival, took a 30 minutes walk towards the Takashima Castle. This castle is much smaller, only 3 stories high. After yesterday's event, I'm skipping the inside castle tour. As usual, there's a garden surrounding the castle. I took a seat and rested, setup the camera and did some photo shots. Since it's a smaller castle with small area, I finished the view in about 1 hour or more. Then I made my way towards Lake Suwa. It is said to be the largest lake in the region. After some walks I reached a public open foot bath area. Took a few minutes soak and rested my foot a bit then walk over to the Suwa Lake Geyser Center. Just in time for geyser viewing.
• I've left early after lunch then make my way back to Chino again. I'd don't want to tire out myself since that I have yet another 10 more days to go on with my hubby.

I'll be quite busy in preparing the pictures for uploading. Do stay tune to my FLICKR images upload. At the moment please enjoy the collage that I have compiled from my trip.