So back to Tokyo it is then unexpectedly, but it was better to get out of the typhoon’s way then to stay where it was going, especially after looking at the news and the damage it has caused. So, on the 14th I moved back to Tokyo literally a few hours before it hit where I was.
Friday 14th part 2 – Tokyo again.
This time instead of staying in Asakusa the hotel I found was in Otsuka about 20-25 min walk from Ikebukero station or if I got the connecting train then Otsuka station is literally next to my hotel (by this I mean I can literally see the trains from the entrance of my hotel).
The hotel I am staying at is called ‘APA Hotel Yamanote Otsuka Eki Tower’. It is to be honest a really nice hotel, very tall (I am staying on the 19th floor), and it includes breakfast. It was only £152 for 3 nights at the last minute (like 1-2 days ago, I booked it).
Tuesday 15th
Now because I hadn’t planned on coming back to Tokyo, I hadn’t really got anything planned for today, so I got up, had breakfast and then cobbled together a list of stuff I want to do but haven’t got round too yet.
The 1st stop was for me to go to the Pokémon centre, so I looked up one near Tokyo station as that was where I was going while deciding what to do.
It was quite good to finally have a look at one and I don’t know if you know, but the person who created the Pokémon series is called ‘Satoshi Tajiri’ and when he was younger, he collected insects which might help you understand the “gotta catch them all” concept in the Pokémon games. The first games took 6 years to make, almost bankrupt Game Freak studios, but then went on to become one of the most successful franchises of all time and helped Nintendo out of a pinch with slumping Game Boy sales.
After going here, I headed on the Asakusa line to the very end where the Tokyo Skytree is. The Tokyo Skytree is a 600-meter-high radio broadcasting tower, that is also a tourist attraction. I got a ticket to go up it and from the 4th floor to 350 meters up it only took 50 seconds which is insane. There are two sections in the sky tower, and the first one is called the Skytree Tenbo deck, and it consists of 3 floors, 2 cafes and 1 high class French restaurant, yes that is right a restaurant!
The views from up here were amazing and you could see a lot of Tokyo. I did eat at the cafe which cost me about £13 for a Hamburg steak, a slice of chocolate cake and apple juice.
After this I went up to the Tembo Galleria deck which is a further 100 meters up (so 450 meters up) and only took 30 seconds from floor 350. Fun bit about the second elevator is though it was a glass window. I did also walk on a glass floor and take some photos while I was at the Skytree. I even got to ride on a cloud outside as well.
Afterwards it was starting to get late, so it was time to make like a tree and leaf and headed back towards Ikebukuro. While I was heading there, I decided to have a look at another Pokémon Centre that was there and not only did I find that, but I found basically a geek haven. If you are a geek and/or a nerd, then there would probably be something here for you.
Now it was time to return to the hotel and drop my backpack off before I went to get some late-night ramen for dinner. The Ramen Restaurant was quite nice, and, on the way, I saw some lanterns that lit the place up just outside Otsuka Station. In the restaurant they also had a nodding red cow which I have seen before (again on NHK) called Akabeko Cow. It literally means red cow as Aka = red and beko = cow and is supposed to be a talisman of good health and fortune and it made from papier-mâché.
Wednesday 16th August – Disneyland.
Seeing that I had been to Disney Sea previously I thought it would be a good idea this time to go to Disneyland (the other park).
So today I have been on quite a few rides although there have been some long queues. So best rollercoaster goes tooooooo. Space mountain
It was very good and fast and because it was pretty much in the dark you didn’t know what was coming next.
Worst rollercoaster for me goes to big thunder mountain. This runaway train roller coaster wasn’t too bad, but I found it quite tame in the end compared to what I now seem to like.
Best thematic ride goes to Star Tours which was a Star was thematic ride with C3PO and R2D2.
And worst thematic ride goes tooooooo. None. The reason for this is because it is hard to pick one. You could say small world is the worst one, but I did like it including the additions of moana and frozen to the displays, it is just the theme music that gets to some people although it wasn’t too bad this time due to it being sung in different languages (nice save from the Japanese version).
There were quite a few other rides I went on like: Western River Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Stitch Encounter, Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin and Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek!
While there, I booked myself into one of the restaurants called Blue Bayou which overlooked the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and was very well themed. For dinner and the food was amazing. It was deffo fine dining with a £38 price tag.
If you were to ask me which was the best park, well even though I couldn’t get on as many rides in DisneySea, that was the best one in my opinion, and it was especially helped by that fact that the park is the only one of its kind in the world.
Next time I will be in Iwaki! See you all next time and hope you are all enjoying the blog.
Leave a Reply