Got up at the un-godly time of 4.30am and had a quick shower, then dressed and out. Collected our take-out breakfast from reception then got the first tube at 5.13am to the station where the Airport Express departs. We got there at 5.30am and had to wait half an hour as the station didn’t open until 6am for the first train. Some numpty had forgot to unlock the gates though so we almost didn’t make the first train. Luck was on out side though and we got onto the train just seconds before the doors shut.
The transfer to the airport was only 15/20 minutes and took us straight into the airport. We were expecting to pay 90-100 yen departure take, which is about a £9-£10 but when we asked at the info desk she said not, so saved ourselves £10 (which is nice). Check in was quite smooth and painless, although we were a bit worried about our luggage weight as we had heard they could be sticklers for the rules. Phil’s was 24.5 kilos and mine was 22.5 kilos although we’re not exactly sure what the allowance is so we were working on worse case scenario of 20 kilos. The woman at the desk didn’t seem to bat an eyelid so excess charge averted and full steam ahead.
After checking in we went up to one of the restaurants and ate our “breakfast to go” which comprised of a ham sandwich , some relish to put on it (though I choice not too as it was far too early for garlic and spices), a boiled egg, 2 biscuits and a bottle of water. After we’d eaten we headed straight for the gates as had to go through customs and immigration and weren’t show how long it would take. Both were quite painless except for a slight boob on my part as I had forgotten to empty the Chinese rocket fuel vodka out of my hip flask. It was no biggy though they just tipped it away.
Headed straight over to our gate and as we got there it began boarding so no sitting around which was good.
The flight was with Japan airlines and we had managed to get bulkhead seats so had plenty of leg room. Shortly after takes off we were served breakfast, there was choice of sausage and pancakes or a shrimp risotto. Phil choice the latter but again it was a bit early for my taste buds to want shrimp. As well as the main dish you also got orange juice, some melon cubes, a dish of potato salad and peppered meat, a bread role, packet of Chinese rice crackers and tea/coffee.
As soon as I had wolfed down the breakfast I whipped out my in-flight entertainment screen (ooh er matron lol). There were all sorts of things you could look at ranging from the view under the plane to the ground to TV and Music. I went for the movie section and from the pages of choice plumped for “Mama Mia” (well I guess I have to be stereotypical sometimes). The film was good and even had a bit of dust in my eye at the end ;-). Within minutes of the film ending we were starting our approach to Tokyo, so it was time to put your tackle away and sit up straight (I’m sure I was told that as a child lol).
Tokyo airport was pretty painless, passed through customs and immigration with no more hassle than a quick “are you here for sightseeing” and no sooner had we got to the belt and our bags were off. Quite a relief after our first flight hoo haa via Helsinki. Bags in hand (well on wheels being pulled if you want to be picky) and we were in the arrivals area. Found an information machine and found out which train we needed to get to Shinjuku, then got some money in Japanese Yen out of the ATM (the rate was 113 yen to the pound if yer interested). We both drew out 5,000 yen (£50) to start with until we suss out the price of stuff and then can work out what we will need for the next 5 days.
Bought our train tickets which were 2,910 yen each (£29) so kinda thinking that £50 aint gonna be around too long. The train was due in 8 mins so it seems like everything has just fell into place today. The tickets allocated seats, which were very wide and had plenty of room in front. It wasn’t very busy so we had about 75 minutes to stretch out and I started this my blog to save time before bed.
Arrived at the station and managed to get directions to our hotel. It was about 15 mins away so we decided to walk it and take in some of the local area on the way. Checked out some of the prices as we past places and I don’t think I will be buying any bargains while I am here. It was pretty grey and cloudy and more people wore them facemasks to protect you from the smog than in China. Even the operators in the station wore them (think surgeon mask in the operating theatre).
Got to the hotel and checked in and ate the pot noodles (well Chinese type) that we bought at Beijing. I think we might be back on robbing food at breakfast and eating pot noodles each ay again. Phil fell asleep after we’d eaten so I left him to it while I uploaded some pics. It’s 6.45pm now so with a bit of luck he will sleep right through and I won’t have to get dressed again and get try and get in front with the millions of pics lol. If there is no update after this then he slept through ;-)
Not sure what sleep I will get though as he is already in Monster snoring mode. Some night I lay in bed and I can completely understand how people smother someone in their sleep just for a bit of quiet. Lol.
Almost the minute after pressing the save button, Phil woke up and wanted to have a wander round for a supermarket to see what things cost and get something for dinner. We set off out of our hotel and it had just started lightly raining. We found a couple of supermarkets and the prices were ridiculous. A noodle snack was £1.50 which is more expensive that at home. I wish we would of brought some more stuff with us from Beijing now as it seems like it’s going to cost us a lot of money while we are here. I ended up getting a kind of Chinese take away meal that was on a plastic container that was divided into sections, containing rice, breaded chicken, noodles and some sauce to pour over it, that cost £5.
We ended up getting lost on the way back and had to wander round in the dark and the rain for ages till we ended up just re-tracing out steps and then found it after about half an hour.
Watched a film in the room that was on in English with Japanese subtitles staring Mathew Perry from Friends. After the movie we made our phone calls before hitting the sack as breakfast finishes at 9.30am and we need to stock up on food for the belly and the pocket lol. Hope it’s not raining tomorrow as most places look miserable in the rain.
Forgot to say that the room is tiny and the beds are dead close together and you can hardly get around them when the bags are on the floor. The bathroom is a tiny one like the ones you get in the IBIS where it looks like its made out of one moulded piece of plastic.
Might go to one of the free attractions tomorrow to save some money as there is a large tower that is supposed to be good and have great views of the city. We shall see what the weather is like tomorrow.
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