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Friday 23 August 2013

Exploring Japan: Doraemon Museum, Ghibli Museum & Tokyo Towers


"A Journey of a Thousand Miles Must Begin with a Single Step. - Lao Tzu"

Had been on the blogosphere for a while but have the sudden urge to start a brand new one documenting my journeys around the world! I have not travelled a lot, but definitely there will be more to come!

We manage to get tickets to visit the Doraemon Museum & Ghibli Museum from Lawson. You have to get tickets in Lawson convenience stores, or via online (Japanese only) in advance to book your visiting time slots. Yes, you have to estimate a time to be there!

It was a cold winter night since we were there in December! So, we braved the wind and rushed to get the tickets 1 night before the visit!

For ticket reservation, we have to locate the Loppi machines in Lawson.
English Ticket Guide: Click HERE
You can also try to request the store helper to help you with your ticket reservation on the machines as the instructions on the Loppi machines are in Japanese as well.

The Loppi Machine!

I was told that the Musuem tickets were really popular that you have to reserve around 3 weeks in advance! But I found that if you visit during weekdays, it shouldn't be a problem to get the tickets for the next day!


This receipts would be printed out from the machine after your booking is confirmed. Simply pick these receipts and head over to the cashier counter to make you payment and exchange for the tickets!


That's how the tickets looks like! It's rather pretty actually. They look really pretty that I am so afraid to fold it somehow!

Doraemon Musuem
Address: 2-chome 8-1 Nagao, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-city, Kanagawa Prefecture, 214-0023
Opening Hours: 10am ~ 6pm

You have to get to Noborito Station in order to transfer onto the Doraemon Musuem shuttle bus (JPY200/trip). The train line to Noborito from Shinjuku isn't covered by the JR pass if you have one. You have to be prepared to pay JPY 240, and journey would take about 20 min by express train to the station.





Really cute shuttle bus!
Everything on the bus bears a Doraemon's face! If you love Doraemon, you're gonna love being in the bus!


Was greeted by this wall as we alight from the shuttle bus! 

Photography in the museum wasn't allowed in most areas. As this is a museum, and not a theme park, contents in this museum is mostly related to Fujiko·F·Fujio's life and work in his lifetime! 


These little cute tickets were given upon entrance into the museum.

Giant, the bully.
At the reading corner for the kids!

Toy machines!


They have these really cute Doraemon-themed neoprint machinese available! It cost JPY400 for 2 sets of 2 photos if I remembered it correctly!

Of course we couldn't miss it! 
We went to have some bites in the cafe as we did not get to eat much breakfast!

It's pretty much similar to usual restaurant price.
I find that the price is really reasonable considering it to be in a tourist attraction!


Went around their outdoor area for a walk and photo taking session!




I think Doraemon Museum is really worth the trip if you are a Doraemon fan! However, the place is a little small though. I feel like I didn't get enough of it!

We headed to the Ghibli Museum next! There isn't much photos to share as similarly, photography inside the museum is not being allowed.

Ghibli Musuem
Address: 1-1-83 Simorenjaku, Mitaka-shi,Tokyo 181-0013
Opening Hours: 10am ~ 6pm

Get to Mitaka Station from Shinjuku Station. From Mitaka Station, purchase the shuttle bus tickets for bus service to bring you to the Ghibli Museum from Mitaka Station!


Cost: JPY 200/trip, JPY 300 for round trip.


The bf misplaced his wallet on the bus and luckily, some kind person return it to the driver! We waited for that same shuttle bus to return and got the wallet back!


We were unsure if Ghibli Musuem was more crowded because it's more popular, or because it was an afternoon slot so more people were out there. They were really strict about the timing to enter the musuem and the crowd was definitely bigger than those at the Doraemon Museum!

We had some time before our time slot, so we were around the museum. They have a pretty park just right behind the museum building!


This was taken at the park!


Crowds were gathering at the entrance when it's almost time for the start of their time slot! We don't really have much photos of the museum because photography were not allowed inside.

I did not really have find in this museum partly due to it being too crowded, and partly due to not knowing much works of the Studio Ghibli.

Vintage Elevator!
Stained glass.


Pretty much in love with this vintage cottage-styled house! I love the way the lay the logs too!

Perhaps only in December! :)

That's pretty much what we got for Ghibli. If you ask me, I would still prefer Doraemon Museum over Ghibli Museum. But I have a biased opinion since I like Doraemon more! You can visit and let me know your choice!

Since we had to take a shuttle back to Mitaka, then train to Shinjuku (where we came from), we decided to stop by Shinjuku area for dinner before visiting the Tokyo Towers since we might not have the time to visit this area the next day, and I haven't been there before!


We randomly went into a cosy little dinner place for curry rice! I remembered I took a photo of the shop, but it's no where to be found! But I took the menu, so at least I got the name for you! I tried googling, but only managed to find the Japanese version. If you use Google Chrome, you can translate it to English!

丼 こまつ どんぶりアンド焼酎Bar
Tel: 03 3358 3832

This is a really local and authentic Japanese restaurant.


I find that food in Japan is really not too expensive! For a quality meal, it cost about the same price, or a little cheaper than restaurants in Singapore! The serving and quality is definitely bigger and better than in Singapore.


This plate of curry rice set cost about JPY900 (about S$13). And it is really a yummy and authentic fare!

We also decided to order some yakitori as well, but the menu is all written in Japanese. We only can pick some and pray that they are decent.



Looks really plain but they are actually quite delicious. It cost JPY600 (S$7+) for 3 sticks.

I was sleepy after the food, but we still have a place to head to before we call it a night! The romantic Tokyo Tower!

I managed to stay really close to Tokyo Tower during my first trip to Japan for business previously, but did not have the chance to go up there. So the bf really want to bring me up there since he went and love the view of Tokyo from above.

Tokyo Tower
Address: 4-2-8 Shibakoen, Minato, Tokyo 105-0011, Japan
Opening Hours: 9am ~ 10pm

Getting there was pretty easy for us. Since we had the JR pass, we took the JR line from Shinjuku to Hamamatsucho Station. It took us a while to figure out the direction, but we found it anyway due to the huge tower which we could see even from afar! This JR station is around 15 min away from the tower by foot.


There are 2 observatory decks in Toyko Tower, Main & Special (closed earlier, subject to weather situations). Main Observatory tower is at 150M height, and Special Observatory is at 250M. Opened in 1958, it acts as a signal transmitter for broadcasting purposes. The tower offers a panoramic view of Tokyo skyline, which is really pretty!


Pretty decorations in preparations for Christmas!



We got the package of main + special observatory. They have sort of a queue number for your turn to go up to the special deck!





Was enjoying the pretty night view when the bf asked which side was my favourite view!


I think the side which features the rainbow bridge linking to Odaiba is really pretty!


And it was at this view, with the rainbow bridge, the bf proposed to me suddenly! I really didn't expect that something that romantic would come from him! This is also the main reason why I decided to start this blog with my Japan trip's journey as it's a really important journey of my life. It's when I got engaged to my Fiancé, and I'm sure I will never and don't want to forget this wonderful & romantic day.


Took a photo with the miniature tower made with Swarovski crystal! 

Souvenir we got for our new home! 
If I have the chance again, I will definitely be back there! But there are really too many places which we want to visit, it's really hard to decide to return to somewhere which we had visited together before! 

Do you also have a special day in Japan? Do share the story with us! We would love to hear it. 

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*This trip was made on December 2012*

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