My pork tonkatsu sandwich from the New Days convenience store at Tokyo Station. I ate this during the ride and it was such a delight!

The train ride was comfortable so I was able to catch up on some zzzs. For the time I was not asleep, I took the time to appreciate the scenery outside. One part of the ride that left an impression on me was when we passed through a tunnel and the scenery changed from barren trees to trees covered in white snow! It was an amazing sight to see, especially for someone who had not felt snow before! The landscape shift also meant that we were near our destination so our excitement heightened. 

 Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort, Niigata, Japan

Once you get off at Gala Yuzawa Station, you would immediately see the ticket counter. We opted for the whole day passes and we rented some winter jacket, pants, gloves, boots and sleds. We also rented a locker to safekeep our bags and clothes while we are having some snow fun!

To get to the actual resort, you have to ride the Gala Gondola. I'm afraid of heights but I enjoyed the ride because the view was magical~

Of course we would not miss the chance to take photos of ourselves with a winter wonderland as our background! Jj's GoPro was put to good use ;)

Just chilling, lying on snow, on a bright March morning!

This looks like a postcard, don't you think? XOXO, wish you were here (lol)

 No filter and unedited selfies! I just want to show how the lighting was perfect in Gala Yuzawa!

We had lunch in the food court. I had Pork Katsudon (again!) for lunch. I actually realized just now that I ate Pork Katsudon for breakfast AND lunch this day! :o

After lunch, we decided that we had enough snow fun for the day. We returned all the things we rented and tried catching the 2 something pm Shinkansen back to Tokyo Station. Yes, we had whole day passes and we rented everything for the whole day but no regrets! Our experience in Gala Yuzawa was amazing! It was just a shame that we had other places to go to during our Japan trip, thus, the shortened time in the snow resort. I will definitely stop by here again the next time I'll go to Japan... especially if it's around March-April when snow is scarce in most areas of the country. 

Pretty sakura!

A different background this time! From snow to sakura real fast lol!

Such a wonderful view! I'm still thankful because some sakura trees were in bloom already.

I forgot the name of these flowers but I remember it smelling so good!

This gives off an old school vibe!

I believe this is a temple/a place of worship? Correct me if I'm wrong! I could not read Japanese characters... I wish I could though! Maybe soon? ;)

Look how clean this is! This is a perfect location for a Japanese/Korean drama!

After appreciating the huge and beautiful Ueno Park, it was time for dinner! Jj suggested we grab the chance to stop by Ameyoko Shopping Street, which was apparently just a few blocks away from the park. We trusted our GPS to navigate us around the area and as expected, we got lost hahaha. There was a time when we passed by this shady-looking street with advertisements of girls dressed in skimpy outfits and that was when we knew how our directions were wrong. We did reach the shopping street, eventually. The various stalls selling food, fruits, and clothes that welcomed us gave us confidence that we were indeed in the right place. 

 Ameyoko Shopping Street

A small part of Ameyoko Shopping Street!

Our first stopover was a takoyaki stall! There was a queue for this stall and we lined up patiently (despite our grumbling stomachs!) so we can try our first ever authentic takoyaki.

The takoyaki was good! The taste actually resembles the takoyaki some food stalls in the Philippines are selling. Awesome!

After walking further, we saw this stall selling Chinese and Japanese food! I must say the lady here was very accommodating, albeit, that really shouldn't be surprising. We were in Japan after all!

Fried xiao long bao -- the shop's specialty! This different take on my favorite steamed bun was very tasty!

We were quite full after eating takoyaki and xiao long bao but what is a Japanese food trip if sashimi is not involved? The tuna and salmon sashimi we ordered were tender and filling!

We also stopped by this huge, tax-free (!!!) Japanese snacks store and Nica bought a lot of green tea KitKat, some matcha powder and other Japanese delicacies! Jj and I didn't shop yet for we wanted to explore other souvenir shopping areas.  

At around 9pm, we decided to go back to our hotel. It was a long day and the next day would be much longer. Sleeping longer hours was a must for the next day of our trip -- which started at around 3am, by the way! Well, I have to leave that story for my next blog post so watch out for that!

Bought this in the convenience store before heading back to the hotel and it tasted so good! I love love love milk tea! Luckily, this drink is now available in the Philippines. I saw it in Family Mart. Yay!

Day 2 of our Japan trip consisted of many firsts for me: first bullet train ride, first snow and snowfall experience, first time to see cherry blossoms. Who would have thought I could experience all that in a day??? If Day 2 was filled with a lot of firsts, Day 3 was historical. Can you guess where we went for Day 3?

Keep on guessing! I'll be back before you know it! :)