some kind of amazing

Before I start telling stories about our Hiroshima City and Miyajima Island adventure, I would just like to mention that THIS IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR WHOLE TRIP. These historical and cultural places were the reason why we bought the JR passes, why we woke up at such ungodly hours and why we basically just travelled for a total of ~10 hours to and from Tokyo to reach these destinations. DEFINITELY WORTH IT, THOUGH. Without a doubt. 

Alright.

DAY 3 (March 11, 2016) | Hiroshima City

Our 3rd day in Japan started by waking up at 3am (!!! yes, 2am in the Philippines!) and leaving the hotel before 5am to catch the 5:06am train to Higashi-Kanagawa Station. From Higashi-Kanagawa Station, we took a 9min train ride to Shin Yokohama Station and from there, we rode the Hikari 493 Shinkansen to Hiroshima Station. The Shinkansen ride lasted for around 4 hours so that meant ~sleep time~ for us. It was also a good thing that we reserved seats beforehand, thus, getting seats beside each other and ultimately, being able to sleep freely and with #noshame. Yes, that was supposed to be a run-on sentence.

I used Hyperdia to "review" the actual route we took on our way to Hiroshima Station. There was no way I would have remembered those details. Besides, Hyperdia is awesome. It saved our butts from getting lost when we were in Japan.

Nica and I's sleep deprived faces! I didn't even bother fixing my shawl-turned-weirdishlylongscarf! Also, look at the station sign behind us. We rode that 5:06 train ride and we were already in the station at around 4:50AM. Early birds! 

A little over 12 hours in Japan and we found ourselves awake at 6:00AM to go to our next destination: Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort!

This was a must-visit place for us because 1.) it does not snow in the Philippines and we wanted to see and experience snow and 2.) it was just a 75-min bullet train ride from Tokyo Station! Making the most of the winter season in Japan AND making the most of our JR passes... how timely and convenient!

We reserved our 8AM Shinkansen seats to Gala Yuzawa Station the night before (when we arrived in Tokyo Station). We got to the station a few minutes before the arrival of the bullet train so we had the chance to grab some convenience store snacks for our breakfast "meal".

Off to Gala Yuzawa Station via the Max Tanigawa Shinkansen~

Our train just arrived! We just had to take a photo before boarding it, and with it as the background because...

I love documenting my travel stories. Not only do these keep me motivated to save up for my next trip, my stories also remind me of all the amazing things that have continuously been happening in my life. 

That is why even though it has been more than 2 months since my Japan trip, I will still blog about what happened. For the record, I have been blogging about Japan since weeks ago so that is 2 consecutive posts of ~actual blogging~. Small progress is progress! I apologize for the delay still. 

DAY 1 (March 9, 2016) | Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kyobashi and Shibuya

We arrived in Narita International Airport at around 2:45pm, Japan time. First plan of action after immigration and baggage claim was to get our 7-day Japan rail pass. We then proceeded to the Narita Express train which would be our ride to Tokyo Station.


The duration of the ride from the Narita International Airport to Tokyo Station using the Narita Express was around an hour. When we reached Tokyo Station, we looked for the exit nearest Sotetsu Fresa Inn - Kyobashi, our hotel for our first 2 nights in Japan. We got lost while we were looking for the exit because Tokyo station is one big place. It also did not help that Tokyo Station is one of the busiest railway stations in Japan and the continuous influx of people was more than a wee bit overwhelming.

Of course, the most logical thing to do when one is lost is either to find a map or ask around. We decided to go with the latter and asking a local did lead us to the exit of Tokyo Station. (Can I reiterate how kind the Japanese are!!) When we got out of the station, man, it was freezing! We only had 2 layers of clothing on and some scarf to shield us from the wind and rain. We found out later on that it was 6 degrees Celsius that time but the RealFeel weather is at -4 degrees Celsius! Good thing there was an underground mall near Tokyo Station so we passed through that. We also had a heater appreciation moment because hey! heaters aren't really things you value in tropical Philippines (lol).