Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Disneyland reopens on 15th April!

Disneyland will resume its operations on 15th April, on a shorter operating hours!

Tokyo Disneyland Operations
Reopening date: Friday, April 15, 2011
Operating hours: 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Tickets available: 1-Day Passport, 2-Day Passport, Senior Passport, Group Passport
View announcement here: http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/index.html

Good news for some! Including myself. =D

Monday, April 11, 2011

3 days to trip~ News of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake widespread on social media while i was at work. really hope this will be the last bad news, for all the Japanese trying to pick themselves up and for our upcoming trip. to be honest, i don exactly know what to expect in Tokyo right now. I just hope the trip will go smoothly. ** On a lighter note..

i went to get the JR Pass today! Got this from Creative Tours (which shares the same shop front as JAL at Hong Leong Building)


The lady who served me was really friendly, her name is Mei Ling.


She brief me through the usage of the JR pass slowly and pass me tonnes of maps & flyers for Tokyo, Osaka & Kyoto. Not forgetting the handy guide with a list of emergency contact numbers.

There was this other guy who came looking for her to settle some passport clearance thingy, but even though we are done with my transaction, she didnt leave me to attend the guy until i finsih packing my bag to leave. She even give me a slight bow in true japanese spirit!

Best of all, if you pay by cash, she will give a 5% rebate. I didnt make use of this though, and paid by credit card, even if so, she gave me a discount of 3%. =)


2 JR pass cost me $830 dollars. Current exchange rate is about 1 SGD = 67.3 Yen.


I read somewhere before that the JR pass cost $440 after the rebate, guess we make a good deal from the depreciating yen rate.


Some tips for JR Pass:


1. When purchased, they will issue u a JR Voucher which u will need to exchange it at JR office. 2. The JR Voucher is NOT JR pass. 3. Once exchanged, it will not be refundable even if you don't use it 4. JR voucher can be refunded with a penalty of 15% & it needs to be refunded within a year from date of issue. 5. It is not transferable. 6. Bring along your passport when u travel as sometimes the guy at the control station will require u to show both passport n JR pass, although usually JR pass is sufficient. 7. Once lost, the JR voucher will not be reissued.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

WE ARE GOING!

haha. after much considerations and reading several reports from japan-guide.com, we have decided that WE WILL GO!!!

If u are still debating, go read 1st hand travel reports on japan-guide or tripadvisor.com. I have heard people saying that replies in TA are from Japanese in denial of the current dire state, thus urging touriests to come still. i dont tink so.
but if u believe so, then use japan-guide. its 1st hand travel reports posted by tourists just like ourselves, and till now i have yet to read a single report asking others not to proceed.
Of cos, no one can guarantee whats gg to happen tomorrow or the day after. but right now, we will definitely proceed.

However, i need to be mentally prepared that i will be missing out on the pretty neon lights in tokyo streets and possibly Disneyland (altho i m crossing fingers that they will reopen soon) and the tuna auction in tsukiji market. :( hoping to catch a glimpse of the cherry blossoms tho.

oh well. i m pretty sure everywhere will be enjoyable w him around. will just not have any expectations, everything else will then be bonus right? ^^

so yes, counting down to 12 days!
p/s: i must really thank him for giving me the strength and being so positive all these while. otherwise, i will hate myself if cancelled on this when we possibly could have proceed.