Japan... Again!

[NoobFlyer]

Terminal transfer security and immigration took about 30 mins then another 15 in the TRS line so all added up to getting to the lounge about 8:45 for my 4th coffee of the day (need to load up with decent caffeine before we hit Japan)

F&B spread looked to have fairly similar items to what was in the Sydney Domestic lounge but considerably less selection. The pancakes were definitely bigger in BNE though
Didn't have too much time available so just tended to some work emails and printed a few things and I was on my way.

Flight 2 (Part 1)
QF61
BNE - NRT
Seat 4A
VH-QPB

Offered a pre departure beverage as boarding was taking place, with a choice of champagne (my selection), OJ or water (I think there might have been another choice but I tuned out after champagne - need to fit into this whole business class thing)


Pushed back at 10:45
Takeoff a little late at 10:51
Drinks service began around 11:15 after amenity kits were distributed
I started with a Bloody Mary served with nuts and pretzels.


Lunch served around 11.40 Brisbane time. I'm guessing they deliberately don't serve the meal straight away to move into a more 'normal' lunch time though it was still 10.40 Sydney time and I had a fairly decent breakfast at Sydney. I had preselected my meals online which was confirmed before takeoff but here is the menu.

TBC

 

[NoobFlyer]

Flight 2 Continued
I had the Tomato, mozzarella and basil calzone to start as the small plate with a Kirin ichiban to accompany.


A little overcooked but not too bad to start. For the main plate I chose the roast pumpkin with upon noodles, miss eggplant, mushroom broth and soy beans.


Noodles were really good, though probably would be a good idea to offer chopsticks to use as it felt a little weird to eat with a knife and fork.

For dessert, I had the Maggie Beer vanilla ice cream which was lovely.


A couple of episodes of Top Gear later and I put the seat into bed mode to try and have a little kip. Managed to snooze on and off for a couple of hours to make up for the early start and recharge the batteries for the arrival. I was a little surprised they didn't carry PJs on this 10 hour flight even if it was during the day, I guess that's why I'm the noob flyer.


Pre arrival snack of capsicum and white bean empanada was a nice little snack to finish off the flight, though a little awkward to eat from the noodle box with just a fork.(Sorry no picture)

Touched down a little ahead of schedule at 17:57 local time. Caught a little sneak peek of Fuji san just after I stowed my camera so could only manage this reflective attempt with the phone.

At the gate by 18:05, followed by a fairly long walk through the terminal (or at least felt like it took forever anyway)

Through customs (literally no one there), at baggage collection by 18:15, kicked into life at 18:28 with my bags among the first handful (2nd and about 10th for those of you playing at home) so priority baggage working there and through immigration in seconds.

A few formalities to sort out between sending our ski gear onto our hotel, picking up the pocket wifi and exchanging the JR pass that took all up about 30 mins then onto the next Keisei Skyliner at 19:33 (which was of course dead on time). The JR pass was activated to start tomorrow as this gave the best value over the trip hence using the Skyliner instead of NEX.
Finally made it to tonight's accommodation (New Century Capsule Hotel) , a bit of a step down in luxury from what I experienced earlier today but it should serve the purpose and it is in a very convenient location for tomorrow's activities...

See you tomorrow!

 

[NoobFlyer]

Day 2
Ueno Part 1
Been the day with a stroll around Ueno, making the most of the gorgeous morning light to take snap random snaps.
[photos attached]

Tokyo Skytree
Reunited with my partner after she landed in Haneda and transferred up to Ueno station, we stored our suitcases and were on our way to the first stop.

Originally I had planned to visit a different observation deck and aim for the sunset time slot but the favourable conditions present in the morning and the fact the Metropolitan Government Building was closed meant the Skytree it was. A couple of short subway rides later and we were at the foot of the tallest building in Japan.
Next to no wait in the line to get a ticket and up the elevator to some jaw dropping views.


The magnitude of the metropolis is breathtaking. Even on this relatively clear day the city development stretched as far as the eye could see.


Speaking of the clear conditions we even caught a view of Mt Fuji (first for me) and even this far away it is spectacular.

 

[LadyC]

I love Japan so looking forward to reading more!

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

+1 love Japan!
A great nation that offers amazing culture and history.
Japan is a global culinary hotspot, where the offerings diver so considerably by region.
And not to forget that beautiful humble people that reside in Japan.

Sounds to me that you have been bitten by the Japan bug like I have!
Love your Trip Report so far!

 

[NoobFlyer]

Ueno Day 2 - cont.
National Museum of Science and Nature

Back to Ueno and with a multitude of museums to choose from around Ueno Park, we decided to start with the National Museum of Science and Nature.


The museum is split into two permanent sections, the first building you enter has a focus on Japanese development. Essentially a very interesting history of what has led to the creation of What makes up Japan today. The biggest lesson we learnt, get an English audio guide as very few of the exhibits have English descriptions or even labels (I think there was English versions available but didn't ask sorry) . We managed to get the gist of what was happening but I think we rushed through some areas as we couldn't really tell what the displays were showing us.

Proving the earth's rotation


The growth of Japan's population


A trunk slice from a really big old tree


The exhibits in the second building had a broader global theme, showing more general human technological progress rather than Japanese is particular.
This is a frequent flyer forum after all...


We ended up spending a couple of hours here and still didn't visit the special exhibition on wine making in Japan that was also in the Global building or Theatre360 in the first building. Needed to conserve some energy for the next stop Ueno Zoo.

 

[NoobFlyer]

Ueno Day 2 - cont
Ueno Zoo
The first thing you'll notice is the price <$10 per adult to a zoo of this size was very surprising as was the lack of lines at the food outlets at lunchtime, even on a Saturday.
Some of the enclosures were on the small side but most seed adequate. Definitely worth the price of admission and I'm very happy with some of the photos I shot.
I'll just post a few highlights as the full size files from camera are far too big to upload directly so I have to go through a rather tedious process of transferring to the ipad, screenshotting to reduce the file size then emailing to my phone to upload to the post. I'm sure there's s better way do would love some tips on how to improve that work flow.

 

[NoobFlyer]

Ueno Zoo - Part 2
Jackass penguins - seemed like pretty good guys and girls to me

 

[NoobFlyer]

Ueno Zoo - Part 3
There's something about frogs that makes them very photogenic.

 

[drron]

I use Picasa to downsize my photos.There are several other sites that are available but I am used to Picasa.I download direct to picasa and you can downsize from there.

 

[NoobFlyer]

Ueno Zoo - Part 4
Last couple now. There were a lot more animals but these were just the photos that came out the best. A lot of the enclosures were difficult to get a good shot from without bars or reflections interfering, not to mention the nocturnal exhibits with the animals moving around quickly in a very dark environment good luck getting a decent shot out of that.



Japanese Giant Salamander - one of the stranger animals I've ever come across



We originally planned on visiting the National Museum as well but my girlfriend was really feeling the effects of her overnight flights with very little sleep followed by a big day of sightseeing so we decided to give it a miss and head straight to our accommodation in Osaka. Of course this means the possibility of an excellent view of Fuji San so we made reservations for seats on the right hand side of the train with our JR passes and off we went. Though not before grabbing a packet of our new favourite snack, Tokyo Banana!

So much yum!


Our ride to Osaka

 

[NoobFlyer]

I use Picasa to downsize my photos.There are several other sites that are available but I am used to Picasa.I download direct to picasa and you can downsize from there.

Thanks drron I will try uploading to Picasa with the iPad tonight.

 

[NoobFlyer]

Just waiting in the line for USJ with another hour until opening times so might as well get this up to date.
Our first morning in Osaka was a fairly early one as we were aiming to get to Himeji Castle nice and early to minimise an lines. Don't think it ever got too crowded on this day but I imagine the place would be packed in cherry blossom season.
Not much to say other than it is a stunningly beautiful and peaceful old place.


The views from the top were also of course breathtaking.
[pictures to come]

We also visited the nearby Kokoen Gardens.

Then back to Osaka for a visit to the aquarium to see there main attractions, whale sharks! My first glimpse of the graceful creatures and they seem to have this mystical aura about them. I was also glad to learn they only bring in the sharks there get caught in set lines and are released back to the wild once rehabilitated.


Can't help but imagine what it would be like to swim with them in the wild.

 

[njba]

Japan is the best place on earth (or close to it). And Ueno zoo is a real treat, especially the pandas! Your photos do it justice. The nearby Ueno park is also beautiful, especially in Spring.

Let's hope your luck will hold out for a nice shot of Fujisan.

 

[JohnM]

Can't help but imagine what it would be like to swim with them in the wild.

It's one of the most extraordinary experiences I've ever had. Did it at Exmouth. Highly recommended.

 

[NoobFlyer]

Sorry, I've been a bit slack with staying up to date but Universal Studios and in particular The Wizarding World Zoo Harry Potter was literally magical. A certain other park in Tokyo that markets itself as 'the happiest place on earth' certainly has a very high standard to beat. Of course my partner and I are both absolute Harry Potter tragics and grew up with Harry so it was very easy for us to get lost in the atmosphere they have created.

Yes it is all very expensive, particularly the HP branded souvenirs (think ~$35 for a beanie with one of the houses on it, then up to ~$160 for a set of Hogwarts robes) but I'll worry about the credit card bill later (and just think of the FF points I'm earning!). Looking at the park as a whole, I don't think this is a place you can do on the cheap. I've always thought the Australian theme parks can be done quite cheaply if you forget about the (usually poor quality) souvenirs, bring your own food and (importantly) are willing to wait 30-60 mins in a line for each ride and go out of school holiday or other peak periods.
Not USJ, January and February are supposed to be the most quiet months and there was plenty of space in the park itself but lines for pretty much every ride were >60 mins, with the most popular ones over 2 hours at times. We arrived 2 hours before the gates opened and there was already ~100 people lined up just to get in. We chose to buy the express pass 5 to guarantee a timed entry ticket into WWoHP and a single use express pass on a few of the main attractions with only the HP 4K ride having an allocated time slot, the rest being when we pleased. This cost about ~$40 and for us was well worth it as we skipped the queue on the Hollywood - The Dream ride when it was a 110 Min wait and the HP 4k ride when it was 130 mins. The rides were ok (IMO compared to the likes of Movie World or Dreanworld) but I wouldn't wait 2 hours for them. In some areas they cater really well for non-Japanese speakers like in Ollivanders where the performance is seamlessly bilingual without breaking the flow and others where the story is entirely in Japanese (pretty much every other ride). Some you can pick up what's happening in any case, and most you can just enjoy the physical ride itself but the more story heavy features like Terminator and Backdraft were hard to follow.
None of this can overshadow the experience that was the WWoHP and you could not wipe the smile off our faces as we left this amazing wonderland.

Japan is the best place on earth (or close to it). And Ueno zoo is a real treat, especially the pandas! Your photos do it justice. The nearby Ueno park is also beautiful, especially in Spring.

Let's hope your luck will hold out for a nice shot of Fujisan.

Can't disagree with you there, it is a wonderful place. I was a little surprised to see a few cherry blossoms still surviving but of course nothing compared to how pretty and I imagine packed it would be in Spring.
As for a view of Fuji-san... Let's just say I hit the jackpot, the pictures on my phone won't do it justice so I'll just leave everyone hanging.

 

[NoobFlyer]

As mentioned earlier we certainly hit the jackpot with clear views of My Fuji. Some views of Fuji-san from the Tokyo-Osaka Shinkansen.


Just awe inspiring in its magnificence.

 

[NoobFlyer]

The views from the top were also of course breathtaking.
[pictures to come]

We also visited the nearby Kokoen Gardens.

Can't seem to edit this post from my phone so I'll post these photos here.

Views from the top of Himeji Castle.


My favourite shot from Kokoen Gardens (there were a few others I really liked as well though)

 

[trixydoza]

Not sure if this has been mentioned in-thread or elsewhere, but just a heads-up to the Japan lovers that JAL recently confirmed longer-term F service on SYD-NRT (which also means better J) and that it's currently very bookable right through early December.

 

[NoobFlyer]

Some shots from Universal Studios Japan, in particular the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.