Japan & China 2017

October 2017
  • Greg and Cathryn Wignall
A 19-day adventure by Greg and Cathryn Wignall Read more
  • Greg and Cathryn Wignall

List of countries

  • China China
  • Japan Japan
  • Australia Australia
Categories
None
  • 12.8kkilometers traveled
Means of transport
  • Flight8,174kilometers
  • Walking-kilometers
  • Hiking-kilometers
  • Bicycle-kilometers
  • Motorbike-kilometers
  • Tuk Tuk-kilometers
  • Car-kilometers
  • Train-kilometers
  • Bus-kilometers
  • Camper-kilometers
  • Caravan-kilometers
  • 4x4-kilometers
  • Swimming-kilometers
  • Paddling/Rowing-kilometers
  • Motorboat-kilometers
  • Sailing-kilometers
  • Houseboat-kilometers
  • Ferry-kilometers
  • Cruise ship-kilometers
  • Horse-kilometers
  • Skiing-kilometers
  • Hitchhiking-kilometers
  • Cable car-kilometers
  • Helicopter-kilometers
  • Barefoot-kilometers
  • 32footprints
  • 19days
  • 186photos
  • 0likes
  • Melbourne International Airport

    October 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Arrived on time. The international departure area is a bit of building site at the moment. Resisted the duty free and spent up big on 2 bottles of water. Aircraft issues, parts flying from Sydney won't arrive in time for curfew in Narita. Plane change and new departure time of 12:30pm. Left on time, we had a smooth and uneventful flight. The food and snacks were good. We both watched the movie Hidden Figures which we both enjoyed. We managed to make up about 45 minutes and arrived at 8:15pm.Read more

  • Hotel Sunroute Plaza, Shinjuku

    October 10, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Immigration and customs were a breeze and it was a relief to see someone holding a sign with our name at the exit. We had a fast and comfortable trip into Tokyo, sharing the transport with another couple and a family of four, arriving at the hotel at about 10:30pm. Friendly check-in to hotel, had a shower and then off to bed after a long day!Read more

  • Meiji - jingu Shrine

    October 10, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We were up by 7am, had breakfast at the hotel and then off to explore Tokyo. Our first stop was Shinjuku station to buy a Pasmo card to use on the trains and subway. It's a stored value card which can be used at shops and vending machines as well. Our first trip was to Harajuku and the Meiji jingu forest. We did our usual trick when leaving the station and walked the long way round. We saw some interesting side streets on the way. The shrine is undergoing maintenance and was totally shrouded in plastic wrap. We then walked towards the Nezu museum past lots of very high end shops. When we arrived it was closed due to Monday being a public holiday. We intended to head to Shibuya next, it was only one stop away but when we left the train we were confused and thought we were at the other end of the line so we hopped on again and then realised our mistake. We ended up getting off at Ginza. We bought some lunch from the food hall in the Mitsukoshi department store (very similar to David Jones) and found a place on the street to eat it.Read more

  • Mori Observation Deck

    October 10, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Caught the subway from Shibuya to Roppongi Hills. We went up to the 52nd floor of the Mori building and watched the sun go down and the lights come on. We enjoyed a Homelands beer while looking out on Tokyo.Read more

  • Mt Fuji

    October 11, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌫 22 °C

    Walked to the Keio Plaza Hotel which was the pickup point for our tour. Very busy with lots of tours leaving. We transferred at the Hamamatsucho bus station. It was around a 2 hour drive to the 5th station on Mt Fuji. Our tour guide was Toshi, he was a real character! We were very lucky with the weather. Clear skies, a little bit of wind and about 15 degrees. We had 45 minutes to look around. Not really long enough, it never is on tours. Next stop was for lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant. The food was great although some explanation of what some of it was would have helped. After lunch we set off for Lake Ashi and a short cruise to catch the Komagatake ropeway to the top of Mt. Komagatake. We caught a few glimpses of Mt Fuji and the surrounding countryside. We left Hakone and made our way to Odawara Station to catch the  Kodama Shinkansen (bullet train) back to Shinagawa station where we changed train for Shinjuku. We watched several trains pass while we were waiting for ours. They are amazing to see, I managed to film one on the Gopro. The trains were very busy even though it was around 7pm when we arrived back at Shinjuku station. We bought some dinner at the station, which they very kindly heated up for us, before heading back to the hotel.Read more

  • Shinjuku and surrounds

    October 12, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Another early start today. This was our third day of temperatures in the high 20s. First stop was the post office to use an atm. Apparently Japanese bank atms may not except foreign cards so the post office is the place to go. We stopped at the Used Camera Box which is a tiny shop down in a basement. There is barely enough room for 3 or 4 customers. I found an old camera I was interested in but unfortunately it wasn't working. Next stop was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. We went to the 45th floor observation deck of the North Tower. There was a line up for the South Tower for some reason (maybe a case of follow the leader). We spent some time looking at the view and made a few purchases including a small Lego like model of the Tokyo Sky Tree. We called in at the tourist information centre on our way out and were approached by a lady volunteer who asked if she could take us on a tour of the Government Assembly Hall. We accepted and had to go through security and be issued with visitor passes. She took us to the third floor and over a glass walkway linking both towers and then to the hall where the government meet 4 times a year. After leaving the building we had our photo taken with her. Next stop was the post office again to buy a stamp for the postcard Cathryn bought to send to Calvary. Looking for lunch was next. We ended up at Isetan department store and bought some sandwiches of all things. The way food to take away is presented is unbelievable. There doesn't seem to be any concern in Japan about plastic bags or excessive packaging in general. The way you are treated by staff is exceptional and makes any interactions a pleasure even with the language barriers. We took our lunch to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden which is an 50 hectare oasis in the middle of this frantic business and shopping district. We spent about 1.5 hours wandering around and tried a soft serve. After leaving we made our way to the Takashimaya Times Square to have a look at the Uniqlo clothing department. Seemed to be good quality and well priced. Next we tracked down another second hand camera store that I wanted to have a look at. Didn't have any luck here either so we made our way back to the Kitamura camera shop were I managed to find a 40 year old Minolta Hi- Matic F rangefinder camera in good condition for $30. We bought dinner (which they heated for us in the microwave) and beers from the Family Mart and ate in our room. Another long and tiring day.Read more

  • Tokyo to Yokohama

    October 13, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We caught the 10:30am train to Yokohama. The trip took around 30 minutes. We then changed to the subway for the last part of the journey to Nihon-Odori. It was about a 650m walk to Osanbashi Pier and we had a short wait to board the ship. We had lunch in the Lido and then we went to a Mariner Society welcome drinks. We sat with a couple from Canada who had done lots of cruises. They were both retired school teachers and had an Australian daughter-in-law. Not long after we sat down, Cathryn saw two familiar faces enter the Crows Nest for the Mariner drinks. It was Sarah and Ann, we couldn't believe it and neither could they! We met them on our first Holland America cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong in 2015. Certainly is a small world. After catching up, we finished unpacking and then got ready for the lifeboat drill at 7:30pm, followed by dinner at 8pm. We enjoyed dinner in the Main dining room followed by the show at 9:30pm. On the way back to the cabin we sat and listened to the Ocean Trio (formerly the Neptunes). The female pianist and singer were excellent.Read more