My Wildheart

Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts

Japan 2016 : Osaka-Jo and Osaka Aquarium (first impression )

4/13/2017 | Labels: #CEBTravels, 2016, Japan, jcassielf, joanne cassielf, osaka, osaka aquarium, osaka-jo

Osaka-Jo

Osaka-Jo or Osaka Castle is a must visit for locals or tourists.
(entrance fee: 600 yen)
This Castle is not only a popular symbol of Osaka but she is a witness of a never ending war before. She was destroyed, burnt down, struck by a lighting but she miraculously survived. Osaka Castle had a major repair on 1997. The interior design of the castle tower is already modern and they installed an elevator for easy access. You can find a lot of historical items inside the museum.

If you are curious about the life of the Samurai, want to see their weapons and clothes then this is a must visit for you. A lot of Samurai information can be found inside, by the end of the tour you will learn a lot.

Best time to visit Osaka Castle is during the Spring season when Sakura trees blooms. You can have a hanami there and picnic at the park . There are few food shops, souvenir shop and some benches outside the castle. Autumn is also a great season to visit if you like to se red and yellow trees.
This place is great for photoshoots.

Osaka-Jo hall is near the place, so for concert goers you can visit Osaka Castle while waiting for the concert.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Illumination

(entrance fee: 2300 yen)
It is one of the largest and spectacular aquariums in Japan.
From the station to the aquarium is a little bit far but there will be signage that will lead you the way.
It is really big but what is surprised me was that the fishes/most of the marine animals there are huge. Inside is like a maze, you will start at the 8th floor and slowly spiral down to the ground floor while observing the aquarium.

I am not sure about this but for me Singapore's S.E.A Aquarium has a lot more marine animals. But Kaiyukan is really big . You can purchase souvenirs inside.
It is possible to go to these 2 places in 1 day and you can go shopping later in Dotonbori or shinsaibashi. 😍

Read User's Comments(0)

Japan 2016 : USJ Autumn in Japan

4/12/2017 | Labels: #CEBTravels, 2016, Japan, osaka, universalstudiosjapan

Wildheart Tips @ Universal Studios Japan

Old blog : Halloween at USJ 2015

1. Tickets

Ticket + Timed ticket for Harry Potter

For Amusement park enthusiasts

Purchase your ticket/s EARLY.

Fast pass will sold out as early as 30 minutes and expect a lot of people will be lining up.

For those who are not planning to take a lot of rides / go to a lot of places/ who have been there before and just want to chill . (Just like me.)

Its okay to buy your tickets late. But be sure to arrive there in the morning .

Tip: Visit USJ during weekdays

2.Snack/Lunch

Foods there are really expensive.
If you are planning to have lunch there, make sure to take your lunch by 10:00am-11:00am.
Or have a late lunch by 2:00pm because all restaurants will be packed and expect for long lines.
On a budget :
USJ is not really strict. You can bring snacks/lunch from the outside.
You can rent a locker near the entrance to put your stuffs.

3. Rides

Expect for long lines even if you visit during weekdays. USJ will always be packed with locals and tourists. FASTPASS is a must for those who would like to try a lot of rides there.

4. Other attractions and shows.
Get a map and a list of schedule .
Check the schedule of the shows, USJ is really big so familiarize the place.

5. Outfit

Make sure your outfit is appropriate at the park.
Bring extra clothes if you think you need one.
Wear comfy shoes, there will be rides that heels are definitely a no-no.
Cosplay- during Halloween season, a lot of people will wear costumes.

If you want to wear Harry Potter costumes, you can purchase it there.

6. Lockers
Lockers are kinda limited. They can be found near the entrance.

7. Shopping for souvenirs .

Bring a lot of cash :)
Expect the items there will be very expensive but they are very tempting especially at Harry Potter.

8. Harry Potter

You can only enter once at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter . But once you are in you can stay there for a long time.
A. Timed Entry Ticket
You can only get 1 entry timed ticket so don't lose it and make sure to enter at the estimated time given.
C. Arrive there early and RUN go directly at the entrance of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter,if you got in without a timed ticket entry then you can enter there twice.

In my case I've been to Universal Studios Singapore before and the attractions are almost the same. And since USS doesn't have a Wizarding World, I make sure to spend a lot of time there.
The following are my routine every time I visit the place
9am- I must be at the entrance of USJ, fast pass is already sold by this time but it's okay.
I am not really into rides.
Once I got in, run to the entrance of Happy Potter to get a timed entry ticket.
After I got the ticket, I will just stay there and wait. Now the waiting time is really long.
Once I'm inside the Harry Potter place I will go directly to the three broomsticks to have an early lunch. After that line for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, then again the waiting line is really long it took us almost an hour waiting.

Attractions :
.

Just have fun and take a lot of good pictures 😍

Read User's Comments(0)

Japan 2015 - Tokyo: Skytree, Asakusa, Harajuku #JAFUNtasticDuo #CEBTravels #Tokyo

9/29/2016 | Labels: #CEBTravels, 2015, asakusa, harajuku, JAFUNtasticDuo, Japan, jcassielf, joanne cassielf, skytree, Tokyo

Tokyo Skytree
-
Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー Tōkyō Sukaitsurī) is a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida,Tokyo, Japan. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010 and reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) in March 2011, making it the tallest towerin the world, displacing the Canton Tower, and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa (829.8 m/2,722 ft). - Wikipedia

Too bad when we went here it was pouring rain and the scenery is foggy. This is my 2nd time to visit Skytree (the first one was during our Jenesys 2.0 program)
but this is the 1st time I've seen it up close.

Tokyo Skytree is also famous for it's lights illumination in the evening.
One of the patterns is Iki (chic-skyblue) and the 2nd one is Miyabi (elegance-purple)

Inside skytree you can buy tickets for the aquarium there. There are lots of shops, cafes and restaurants there. They even have a "tourist guide area" just in case you are lost.
Elevators and escalators are available in the area.

The station is easy to find.
From Skytree station to Asakusa station it will take only 9-13 minutes.

Asakusa: Sensoji Temple

-is one of the most popular Buddhist Temple in Japan.

There are lots of locals and tourists who visit here everyday.

Interior designs inside the Sensoji temple.

Omikuji - fortune telling strips.
This is popular in Japan for those who likes to know their fortune. You just need to pay a fee, shake this box until you get a stick which has a number on it then find your fortune in the drawers that match your number. The number on the stick is written in kanji, if you can't read Kanji then just find the matching characters from the stick on the drawer.
Omikuji here in Sensoji has an English translation. It is said that if you have a bad luck you need to tie it on a branch and leave it there, and if you have a good luck then you bring it with you.

You can buy Omamori/ Lucky charms here.
Each temple or shrine in Japan has a small shop that sells omamori.

Omamori is like an amulet of protection and a talisman of luck. There are different types of omamori.
Omamori for health, study, wedding, business and more.
It is said that you should never look what's inside or else the the luck and blessings will be released. Also after a year when it is "expired" or after you achieved your goal, you need to go back to the shirne/temple where you bought it from and the priest will dispose it on a fire.

took this pic during 2014 "Jenesys 2.0"

Nakamise Dori- a shopping street leading to the temple.

You can buy souvenirs there and some Japanese snacks
there are also interesting items there:
(It was rainy when we went there during 2015, I can't take any pictures)

Harajuku- Fashion District

Harajuku is a well known district for Cosplay, Lolita, Oshare kei,Vkei , etc.
It's like a street for people who wants to dress up.
You can find the best costumes and fashion here. Lots of extra ordinary stuffs also.

Lots of boots !!

lots of Vkei fashion inside this store

wigs ! This is a 2nd floor store

Best crepes !

One of the biggest Daiso in Japan.

Daiso is a well known 100 yen shop.

~end~

Read User's Comments(0)

Japan 2015 - Akihabara: Otaku must visit place #JAFUNtasticDuo #CEBTravels #Tokyo #Akihabara

9/28/2016 | Labels: #CEBTravels, 2015, akihabara, JAFUNtasticDuo, Japan, jcassielf, joanne cassielf, Tokyo

Akihabara

Akihabara – is a well known place for Anime Otaku and cosplayers around the world.
you can almost find every Anime merchandise, Gundam collectibles and Cosplay stuffs here.

There are lots of shops here, and in every building there could be 2-3 shops there.

Sample, in one building: top floor could be a café, middle floor could be a cosplay shop and underground could be a place for gundams. I was really shocked with this type of arrangement, you really need to get to go inside and explore every store to be able to find shops there. Shops that are big and well known are quite pricey, that is why I suggest to explore each building if you can. There are shops that sell 50% off and have big discounts compare to others. Most shops in Japan don’t accept credit cards but no worries there is a foreign money exchange in the center of Akihabara.

If you are not familiar with the place and google maps are a little bit difficult, you can ask for a map in some shops in Akihabara. With limited English, sellers are willing to help you and some of them are really friendly. I was shocked when one of the sellers from a gundam shop handed me a map of Akihabara and told me where are we can find affordable Anime merchandise. Also when we went to a cosplay shop and we couldn’t find what I was looking for, the staff there suggested me where to find thee other cosplay shops in akihabara and which floors are they located. They are not stingy, I mean they are suggesting their competitor‘s shop.