December 22nd, Day One, TOKYO
I left my apartment around 5:00 a.m. and walked to Nagoya station to catch the bus to Tokyo. I highly recommend traveling by highway bus! They are becoming more and more comfortable now, and they are considerably cheaper than traveling by Shinkansen or most trains. The company I often use is WillerExpress.
From Nagoya to Tokyo it is about a six hour bus ride, with pit stops about every two hours at a service station (which for the record are also very nice!) My bus was an hour late arriving to Tokyo because we spent nearly 45 minutes LITERALLY just outside Tokyo stuck in traffic. This of course wouldn't happen with trains, however it was understandable.
From the bus station in Shinjuku I took the JR Line and Monorail out to Haneda Airport, arriving about an hour before my brothers were scheduled to arrive. When they arrived they were of course tired after the long 13 hour flight, but I was so happy to see them. It felt unreal seeing them in Japan.
Now that they were in Japan my job as their tour guide began! Haha. Rather than taking the limousine bus directly to Odaiba, as was initially planned, I found that we could also go by Monorail, and then by train, for slightly cheaper. The trains were also more frequent than the bus, so we headed out right away.
While on the monorail my brothers had their first glimpse of Japan - well, of Tokyo. We changed from the Monorail to the train at Tennozu Isle. It wasn't long before we reached our first destination, disembarking at Tokyo Teleport. The weather was threatening rain, but for a December day it was relatively warm. We walked from the station past Palette Town (Pokemon anyone?) towards Diver City. Standing magnificently over the small hill was the sight we were waiting to see...
Yes. The life-size Gundam statue. As fans of Gundam, this was a must-see. And since we had arrived there around 5pm we had time to visit Gundam Front, located on the 7th floor of Diver City. Gundam Front is a part museum, part goods shop. Not only can you see new art and information about the current Gundam series, but you can also watch special animations in the theater. The movies are 3D and presented in a planetarium-like room, so you can really immerse yourself in it! Aside from the theater there is an open lobby with large models and costumes that you can take pictures with, plus a small factory where you can build your own model and goods shop. My brother said it made up for their long flight, so we were off to a good start!!
We left Gundam Front in good spirits and I decided to take my brothers to Yoshinoya for some beef and rice bowls. When I first visited Japan in 2011, I have a clear memory of going to Yoshinoya for my first meal. It's very simple compared to its competitor Sukiya, but it was still delicious. We ordered one bowl each (regular beef and rice, beef with green onion and egg, and karubi (which is short rib meat often found at yakiniku, BBQ, places) and shared them. Once they got over the raw egg idea they realized that it was the best flavor~ ^^
Now it was getting late and it was time to head to our hotel. We left Diver City and said good-bye to the Gundam. From there we walked towards Aqua City to catch a view of Fuji TV Building and the Rainbow Bridge.
Then the plan was to take the bus from Odaiba to Nishikasai, where our hotel was located. This is where it is important to DOUBLE CHECK the bus number. Two buses where set to depart from our bus stop, and the one that I mistook took us in the opposite direction towards Kanagawa! Oh no! Not the first day! But I quickly... not quick enough, but soon realized we were heading in the wrong direction, got off the bus, took another bus to Oi Machi and took a train from there to Tokyo Station, then caught the subway to Nishikasai. I promised to be very careful after that little side trip.
Our accomodations for the night were at the Best Western Hotel in Nishikasai. We had a 3-bed room on the 4th floor. It was one of the nicest places I have ever stayed at. I booked the room via Booking.com and got it for nearly half price at 5500 yen per person.
And so day one came to a peaceful end. Sleep well, my brothers, tomorrow is a busy day.
