Climbing up Mt. Takao / Fall 2014

Before leaving Japan I wanted to see for a last time Mt. Fuji. I heard that you could see Fuji from the top of Mt. Takao. Since Mt. Takao is not too far from Tokyo. I decided to climb it up.

On a beautiful day we took from Shinjuku the Commuter Rapid Chuo Line direction Takao station. From there we had to change trains and go one other station. (It takes about 30mins)

The climb takes less than 3 hours. If you are not a climber there are also ropeways to shorten the trip. But on the day we went, many people were standing in line waiting to go on the ropeway.

From Mt. Takao you get a really nice view over Tokyo and surroundings. It's really impressive to see how big Tokyo actually is. You don't need to go up till the top to see this view though. Already halfway you will be able to see it clearly. On the way up, there are several food shops and tempels to visit.

If you arrive on top you should be able to see Mt. Fuji as well. I went right for it just to found out that it was cloudy where Fuji was and I could only see the shadow of it...

...with a bit of fantasy I created my own version of Mt. Fuji. :P

All in one I have to say that climbing up Mt. Takao is great, if you want to get a really nice view over the city and surroundings. The colour of the trees were pretty amazing as well. Japan's nature is surely impressive.

 

Mt. Takao is a perfect chance to escape the busy life in Tokyo and breathe some fresh air.

Adventure Time limited Shop in Shibuya

Just the other day my friend told me about the opening of an "Adventure time" shop in Shibuya. My best friend is a huge fan of adventure time so I got quite interested in it. It is only a limited shop though. Only up until the 11/24/2014.

When I was walking around Shibuya I came across the mascottes doing commercial and taking pictures on the street.
Beside the shop there are also various other events going on during that period.

The shop is in Shibuya inside the Marui Jam building at the 1F. 

Directions: From the Big crossing keep Starbucks on your left side and walk on the other side. It's right after McDonalds.

Don't worry if the store closes: Adventure time articles are available in several toystores around Tokyo. There is one in Harajuku.

Fall Time in Nikko, Tochigi - Lake Chuzenji-Ko, 10/26/2014

Fall is definitely my favorite season in Japan!! The weather is nice, it's mostly sunny and enough warm to just wear sweaters outside.
Even more exciting is Japan's nature during Fall. It looks so magical. This is why we decided to go outside of Tokyo and visit Nikko.

Instead of going by train, my friend rented a car for a day which was less expensive, if you are going in a group of more than 3 people. I only paid 4000 Yen for transportation. By train it would be more expensive.

We didn't go exactly to Nikko city but to a mountain close to the city. On that mountain there were two different lakes. A small one and a bigger one. That place is also famous for the waterfalls around the lakes.

We went up the mountain by car and hiked around the lakes.

 

On the way to the second lake we walked by a waterfall, it's the Ryuzu-no-taki.

Unfortunately the weather started to change towards the late afternoon. It was still really beautiful.

After the second lake there was a much bigger waterfall. It's called Kegon-no-Taki.

Akihabara: スーパーポテト Retro-games Paradise

I'm back to talk to my Electro-NERDs out there!! And of course everybody else!!! If you are like me a fan of retro-games this store is exacly what you need!!

My friend brought me to this awesome place called Super Potato (スーパーポテト) in Akihabara. That place is filled with old school consoles and games like Super Nintendo or Playstation... ecc.

This store is kind of hidden somewhere in the middle of Akihabara. So here is a map that might be usefull to you.

 1 Chome-11-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-0021

This store is filled with nostalgic memories. It brings me back to my childhood. =)

When I was little I always gamed with the Super Nintendo and the Gameboy. Seeing both of them in that store made me think about all the good old times.

On top of that the prices are surprising low. I was quite suprised to find a Super Famicom for only 3000 Yen. The prices differs from the condition of the product though.

I'm literally considering buying a Super Nintendo or Super Famicom how they are called here in Japan.

Disneyland Resort in Tokyo

The place where fairy tales become reality. Since I can remember I always wanted to go to Disneyland.
Last May I went for the second time to Disney in Tokyo. I love that place!!

The entrace fee was 6400 Yen for 1 day-pass. It's quite expensive if you consider that only the roller coaster are for free. Then again considering the maintenance cost for the park, it's understandable.

Even thought Easter was already over, the park was still Easter-themed. The decoration was really really pretty! I heard that on Easter they actually had an egg hunting! How cool is that?!? =)

For roller coaster they actually have some really cool ones. There is  Pirates of the Carribean right next to the entrance and also a hounting castle and many more.

Disneyland has by far the bestest food ever!! I wish food would be included in the entrance fee. Since all I do in Disney is eating. Not that I don't do that when I'm not in there.. haha.. Oh well.. xD

Micky-shaped cookies and other delicious goodies... Not to mention caramel popcorn!! Literally the bestest popcorn in the entire world!!

As for souvenirs I got myself another micky-shaped macaroon lookalike pillow!! xD I already bought one in pink the first time I went. This time I purchased a minth-green one.

 

As for other things they had a lot of easter-themed products and so much more. Basically you can spend the entire day buying souvenirs.

Beside Disneyland there is also Disney Sea on the other side. The parks are not connected to each other. It's a separated entrance for each park. I've never been there but I heard that Disney Sea is more for grown-ups. The roller coasters are scarier, not that actually roller coaster in Disney are scary, but you know what I mean... right? xD

What I really like about Disney is that when you are there you just forget about everything and enjoy the moment. Everybody is so happy and it's just contagious. You literally just become happy yourself and everybody always greets you. It really feels like a little perfect world without worries. It's just the moment that matters.

First day.. First impression... Tokyo

This morning around 10 a.m. I landed in Narita. I feared that I would suffer a total jet-lag but until now it's totally ok. I feared I couldn't sleep in the plane, but I slept most of the time. I went from Zurich to Amsterdam. There I had to switch plane and went with a bigger one to Narita. While waiting in Amsterdam I already made my first contact with a japanese. He was sitting next to me and just started to talk with me. It was really nice.

The flight with KLM was great. Except that my skin broke out really bad... Right now I have a huuuge pimple on my cheek, even thought I didn't wore makeup, only concealer and powder. I even took it off before I slept and I even moisturized my skin regularly...

The cabin crew member were really friendly and there were a few who could speak in japanese. the passengers were almost all japanese.
There was a japanese cabin crew member that looked exactly like Dara from 2ne1, soooo pretty.
...and there was also a good looking guy that looked like Siwon from SuJu.

At the airport in Narita was everyone really nice and helpful. They all speak english so there shouldn't be any problem.
I decided to go on my own to my sleeping place which is called Hippo House. The school was so nice to give me a description with the details of where do I have to pass..
At Narita there were different possibilities. I went with the JR Skyliner to Nippori. From there I had to take the JR trains and that's when it became complicated.
I had to change 3 time the train but I didn't know, if I had to pay again for my ticket, since the first time I only paid for Ikebukuro but I had to go until Kitatoda. I tried to ask and officer that worked at the station, but he couldn't speak english and my japanese was too bad to explain. I just tried and went on the next train. Accidentally I went on the wrong one and only realized that after 5 stations. I immediately left the train and tried to ask another officer. He also couldn't speak that well english but I managed to ask in broken japanese which train I have to take to get to Kitatoda.
In the end I had to pay more for my ticket. The officer at the station in Kitatoda just calculated the difference and I could pay it to him.
In Kitatoda I still had to walk 5 minites until the house, but I couldn't understand how the address systeme here in Japan, so I asked someone and she even took me to the place. I'm really fascinated by the peoples kindness. It's thanks to those people that I found the place.

Just random thought.....

I feel like I'm in a manga!!
No joke as I arrived at my sleeping place, which is in Saitama in north Tokyo near Kitatoda station, I felt like I was a manga character.
Everything looked exactly like in a Manga. It was so amusing. I'm looking forward to see more.

Before leaving I heard that Sakura was already blooming and was really disappointed that I wouldn't see them, since I planned my trip that way so I could see them.
Still as I went with the Skyliner to Tokyo I saw sooooo many Sakura trees blooming and was sooo happy to see them. They are sooo beautiful and there are so many of them.
Right in front of my home there is a street with Sakura tree and I fell in love with them.

Let's talk about something fun:
Those vending machines are in every corner of Tokyo. I see them everywhere. They even have ice cream machines and I always wanted one for my office in summer.

Actually I couldn't take a lot of picture today because I first wanted to go to my sleeping place. There they were already worried about me, because I came so late. I thought that was really cute.
There are a lot of japanese staying there. That's great so I can practice my japanese.Until now I only saw another girl from Switzerland. There should be about 50 people living here, but it's really quiet.

My room is really pretty. I love the color of the blanket. It's so girly.
The bathroom is clean and we have Wi-Fi in the community room which I'm going to check out later.

After I organized myself in my new home I went to a grocery store to buy some food for dinner.
Actually they were so many unknown products and the descriptions were all in japanese, that I didn't buy something decent. I was too tired to try to read them.
In the end I decided to buy chicken that was already had prepared.

I'm sooo excited about the comig days. There are going to be so many new things. I'm soooo excited.
Tomorrow I have school. I have class in the afternoon from 13:30 until 16:30.