Those looking to see a more diverse Japan would be happy to know that there are a variety of attractions nearby. Be it for a relaxing nature stroll or experiencing the exhilarating rides at Fuji-Q Highland and Tokyo Disney Resort, there are a great many options for day trips that can be accessed within a couple hours travel from central Tokyo. Knowing the popularity of such sites for both tourist and Tokyoites, many companies offer special discount travel options to get there on the cheap.

Tokyo Disney Resort

Despite the name, the Tokyo Disney Resort is located at the adjacent prefecture of Chiba. It’s not too far out from Tokyo and can be accessed in about half an hour. The fastest way to Disney Resort is through the JR Keiyo Line. The train starts from Tokyo Station and takes just 15 minutes and 210 yen to get to Maihama Station where Disney Resort is located.

Disneyland is just a short walk to the right of the station. DisneySea is further away in the opposite direction. If you are visiting DisneySea and are traveling with kids you will want to take the Disney Resort Line monorail to get there. Though it is a slightly pricey 250 yen, it will give you a nice view of the parks’ grounds. You need not queue to get tickets from the monorail ticketing machine here if you have a IC Card such as the Suica.

Disney Resort is just a short distance away.

Odaiba

The large manmade island of Odaiba is located just off the south east coast of Tokyo. It’s connected to the city through the iconic Rainbow Bridge, a beautiful sight when fully lighted up at night time. This makes Odaiba a popular date spot but the island has enough of a different ambiance from Tokyo to warrant a visit by anyone. It’s also a great spot for families, with its expansive children and pet friendly malls.

Unfortunately, neither JR nor Metro travel to Odaiba. To get there, one has to take either the New Transit Yurikamome or TWR’s Rinkai Line.

I would advise taking the Yurikamome which is a light transit vehicle similar to the Singapore LRT. The Yurikamome can be accessed from Shimbashi Station. It passes straight through the Rainbow Bridge and stops at the shopping areas at Odaibakaihinkoen Station. An enjoyable and convenient experience. The journey takes 15 minutes and costs 310 yen.

The Rinkai Line is a underground subway so you forego the sights along the way. Worst yet, it also stops in the center of Odaiba, quite a walk away from the relevant areas.

Dining at Odaiba.

Yokohama

The neighboring city of Yokohama is one of the easiest to access places for those looking for a change of pace. As a classical port town, Yokohama differs from Tokyo through the heavy western influences in its culture and architecture. Popular landmarks include the historically rich port area, Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel and Yokohama Chinatown.

A number of local lines run to Yokohama. The cheapest and most direct of which is the Tokyu Toyoko Line which leaves from Shibuya Station. It goes to Yokohama in 25 minutes and costs 260 yen. It is convenient since it links with the Minato Mirai Line.

The Yokohama port area uses its own train system called the Minato Mirai Line. The Minato Mirai is very pricey considering the distance traveled and single stops start at 180 yen. Yokohama Station itself is far away (about 2 kilometers) from where you’d be visiting, so unless you’re willing to brave the distance on foot you’ll just have to pay up the 180 yen to get to Minato Mirai Station.

Traveling to Yokohama by JR is a lot pricier. A direct JR train to Yokohama costs 450 yen. Note that if you’re one of those looking to visit the Yokohama Ramen Museum, it is located at the Shin-Yokohama.

Despite being closer to Tokyo than Yokohama, there is no cheap means of travel between Tokyo and Shin-Yokohama (it’s a Shinkansen station). The cheapest and simplest way would be to get there from Yokohama Station, taking the JR Yokohama Line (160 yen). It’s cheaper than you return to Yokohama Station after to catch a Tokyu train back to Shibuya again.

There are more parts of Yokohama to explore if you have the time. If you foresee yourself taking the Minato Mirai Line any more than just between Yokohama and Minato Mirai you may want to consider purchasing a Minato Mirai Pass. For 500 yen, it gives you unlimited travel on the Minato Mirai and JR Negishi Line (unfortunately it doesn’t cover the areas between Tokyo or Shin-Yokohama). You can purchase the pass at Yokohama Station or at any of the covered stations within the Yokohama area.

Yokohama, famous for its ports, is a popular daytime destination.

Saitama

While many think of Saitama as mostly a suburb of Tokyo, and it is true that many residents do travel to Tokyo for work, Saitama has its fare share of cultural sights. Whether it be for the nearly 2,500 year old Hikawa Jinja Shrine, its many museums and parks or the Saitama Arena for a concert, getting to Saitama is easy.

The JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line piggybacks through other train lines to stop at popular stations in Tokyo, leading all the way to Omiya, Saitama’s central station. You can get onboard from Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ebisu or Osaki Station on the JR Yamanote Line. Ticket cost starts at 380 yen from Ikebukuro and the journey to Saitama takes about half an hour.

Saitama Railway Museum.

Kamakura

Just an hour south of Tokyo is Enoshima island and the coastal city of Kamakura. Popular among locals for its beaches, Kamakura is better known to tourists for its giant sitting buddha statue.

The Odakyu Electric Railway company services quite a few popular tourist destinations such as Kamakura. To help eleviate costs, a number of discount day passes which includes to and fro travel to popular sightseeing spots plus unlimited travel within the area. One such pass is the Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass, which costs 1430 yen and can be purchased from the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center in Shinjuku. It gives you a round trip to Enoshima via the Limited Express train, as well as unlimited use of the local trains within the area.

Usually a single way ticket there already cost 600 yen and local travel within the Enoshima area starts at 210 yen a stop so you actually end up saving quite a bit.

In addition to the Limited Express, Odakyu operate special “Romancecars”, luxury express trains between the touristy areas that they cover. You will need to pay an extra fee to use these (600 or more yen depending on destination). I wouldn’t recommend using one, since the Enoshima Romancecar actually takes a slower route that the Limited Express.

Fuji & Hakone

I’ve already previous written a more detailed guide about Hakone and how to get there. To breeze over the key points: Odakyu offers a similar Freepass to the Kamakura one mentioned above.

Since it is a slightly further 1.5 to 2 hours away from Tokyo, many choose to stay there overnight at the various hot spring equipped ryokans. The Hakone Freepass comes only in a 2 or 3 day variety (5,000 and 5,5000 yen respectively). Like the Kamakura Freepass, it covers a round trip to Hakone from Shinjuku and all transport at Hakone. The Hakone Freepass is exclusive to foreigners visiting Japan, so you’ll need to flash a foreign passport when purchasing it from the Odakyu Sightseeing Center.

It is especially important when visiting Hakone to get the pass even if you are only planning a one day trip, and if you are staying overnight at Hakone, the value of the pass greatly increases. Odakyu owns most of the transport there and they fully expect you to purchase the pass. Ticket prices for the many individual trams, cable cars and ropeways rides are ridiculous without it.

Getting to Hakone is not expensive. But moving about there is.

Due to the approximate closeness of Fuji to Mount Fuji. Odakyu also has the Fuji-Hakone Freepass for tourists hoping to cover both places at once. It costs 7,200 yen and lasts for 3 days, giving you unlimited travel within and between the Hakone and Fuji areas. However, unlike the Hakone Freepass which provides a two way train ride between Hakone and Shinjuku, the Fuji-Hakone pass involves a circular trip where you go to Hakone by train, travel to Fuji by bus, and then back to Shinjuku by highway bus.

This pass only makes sense if you’re planning to stay a few days in Hakone and only if you’re traveling light. Getting to Fuji from Hakone is almost as long as if you were to go to Fuji directly from Tokyo. It involves having to take a bus to Gotemba first which takes 30 minutes, and the bus ride from there to the Fuji area takes another 90 or more minutes. It requires quite carefully planning to make a Fuji and Hakone round circular trip work. Needless to say, it is impossible to cover both areas in a day.

There is actually one possible work around to visiting both Hakone and Fuji, without having to stay there, so as long as you visit both within a 3 day period. That is, to purchase the Fuji-Hakone pass and visit Hakone first with the pass, and return to Tokyo with a standard ticket. Then travel to Fuji via a standard bus or train ticket, and return to Tokyo through the pass again. You’ll still end up saving quite a bit of money if you manage to pull this off carefully.

Without the Odakyu passes, traveling between Tokyo and Hakone (Hakome Yumoto Station) costs 1150 yen each way. You can get to Kawaguchiko the main station at Fuji via bus or train, but both will set you back about 2,600 yen and 2.5 hours. Since taking the train would involve a lot of transfers, bus is the better choice here. You can take one from the Keio Building at Shinjuku.

Both Hakone and Fuji can be reached in 2-3 hours.

Nikko

Nikko to the north of Tokyo is another mountainous region for those looking to get away from the city. Like Hakone, it has its fare share of nature, ryokans, hot springs, that sort of thing. It is not as extensive as Hakone though and the main sights there are concentrated within a couple of areas, making Nikko a more feasible day trip.

Travel between Tokyo and Nikko is by Tobu Railway. The train there leaves from Asakusa Station and takes about an hour and half to get to the Tobu Nikko Station. A one way trip usually costs 1,320 yen but Tobu also offer their own discount passes for Nikko.

The two main passes are the World Heritage Pass (3,600 yen) and the All Nikko Pass (4,400 yen). Both are similar in that they include the two way trip between Asakusa and Nikko, as well as free use of the local buses within Nikko but are quite different otherwise.

Local buses around Nikko aren’t a big deal if you are only visiting the shrines here. In fact they can be reached on foot from Tobu Nikko Station. So to sweeten the deal, the World Heritage Pass adds free admission to a few popular shrines in the area. It is worth it only if you intend to visit all the shrines, but even then savings are minimal. I wouldn’t recommend it.

The All Nikko Pass on the other hand, forgoes the free temple admissions to include unlimited use of mountain buses. With this, you’ll be able to visit Chuzenji and Kegon Falls, the other key attractions at Nikko, or go as far as the adjacent hot springs town of Yumoto Osen. Without a pass, a single bus ride up the mountain would cost between 1,100 to 1,650 yen. It’s a no brainer to get this pass if you’re visiting Nikko from Tokyo. To sweeten the deal, it is even valid for 4 days.

Nikko in the north is a more feasible day trip.

On the 17th of May, Indonesia-based 48 sister group JKT48 makes their long awaited theater debut. Staging a total of 7 shows spanning 4 days, the girls will finally be able to showcase themselves properly to the local audiences in a setting that’s closer to what the fans in Japan get. With a theater of course also comes registration for tickets. Supermerlion presents a short translated guide on how to do so (mouseover the images to see translations).

Details on how to apply and a sample e-mail.

The shows will be staged at Nyi Ageng Serang, a venue in South Jakarta. Aside from the first show on the 17th, each of the subsequent days has 2 shows, with a capacity of 300 for each. Registration of tickets will be done through e-mail; should you be interested, send an e-mail to jkt48theater@gmail.com with the details required. Some might notice the low price of the performance, at only the equivalent of USD5.50.

Despite the relative newness and inexperience of JKT48, this is most certainly a steal, and shows that the JKT48 management realizes the importance of pricing to suit the demographic, instead of the other way around. Both residential and KTP addresses will be required. I don’t think this is a measure to exclude foreigners, but is rather because many do not live in the residences on their identification cards, instead living in dormitories in schools and the like.

Tables detailing the application times and windows.

Of course, as is common with e-mail (even non idol-related), subject headings are very important. They will most likely have a filter going to catch anything not related to the performances, so be sure to follow the syntax provided in the sample e-mails. It is imperative that applicants follow the e-mail registration times stipulated. And given the state of internet at times, it is best to send your application in early.

List of members performing.

Given that there are more than 20 members in JKT48 currently, the lineup is shuffled to fit the 16-member choreography and still showcase all of the girls. Many will no doubt be interested in days 1 and 4, where they will get a glimpse of the more well-known girls such as Melody, Rena and both of the Jessicas. As a side note, both days’ lineups contain the girls that came over to Singapore for a cafe visit not too long ago.

FAQ to clear any doubts.

The FAQ clears up some doubts that some fans may have, but not all of them. For example, there are no details on how seating will be done, and whether it will be assigned seating or free-seating; the latter is what is used in Japan, although there is a ballot to determine who gets to go in first. What exactly the girls will be performing is also still unclear; we’ll just have to wait for the actual performance for that.

View Gedung Nyi Ageng Serang in a larger map

The management have clarified that this ‘theater’ is a temporary arrangement, while a more permanent location for the theater is set. Nevertheless, this should be exciting times for JKT48 fans, both local and abroad. More up-to-date information can be found on their Facebook page. If you attend, do drop us a comment to let us know what it’s like!

Few people would disagree that Japan has the most sophisticated transport network in the world and no where is it more complicated than in Tokyo. With 30 different operators, 882 stations and 102 different rail lines just in the city alone, it’s no surprise that many first time visitors are overwhelmed by the train system in Tokyo. Even the locals get confused. But with a little bit of homework, traveling on Tokyo’s trains can be every bit as convenient and enjoyable as they were made to be.

Traveling by train in Tokyo is convenient, but can also be complicated, even to locals.

While it dabs upon some of the other companies, this guide focuses mostly on the two main players in Tokyo’s train network; the privately run JR East and the government owned subways.

For tourists, it is often possible to reach 90% of popular sights around Tokyo through just JR alone (if there is a nearby station) it is also the cheaper of the two. However, this is only true if you’re staying somewhere central. Otherwise, the Tokyo Metro can sometimes provide a more direct route toward your destination that can save you some time. Do take note of that when choosing an accommodation that it would be best to have at least a JR, Metro or both companies’ stations nearby.

JR, Metro & Toei

At the most basic level, you’ll need to be able to at least identify the 3 different carriers. It’ll help save a lot of trouble later on.

Tokyo's JR East Network. For reference only. Expand for larger.

JR East

Japan Railways is the simplest, since it can be easily identified by its JR logo. For JR East, the company color is green and so is its most used train line, the Yamanote Loop (and stations along the loop) but it has different colors to represent each of its different lines.

JR trains run on land and thus almost all of their stations are outdoors. Personally, it’s a lot more enjoyable to travel by JR since you’d be able to see the sights along the way. The disadvantage is that you tend to require more transfers if you want to get anywhere efficiently with JR. But again, it is a lot easier to make transfers when traveling with JR East as many lines run parallel or meet at many points.

JR Station signage.

Tokyo Metro
Apart from being the front image of Tokyo’s subways, Tokyo Metro is better known for its active PR campaigns and silly public service messages. Since a public image change in 2004, it is now easily identified by a blue and white M logo. Individual lines are marked by a colored ring, with the first letter of the line name inside. For example, the Tokyo Metro Ginza line is marked by an orange ring with the letter G within.

As a subway, the Tokyo Metro runs underground, sometimes as far as 10 stories down. This comes with the benefit of lines being laid out sometimes more efficiently allowing you to get from far ends of Tokyo quicker. There is also at least one touristy destination, Asakusa, that has a Metro station but no JR equivalent.

Metro stations can be identified from the blue M logo or colored rings for individual lines.

The main disadvantage of traveling by Tokyo Metro (and Toei) is the higher ticket prices. Expect to pay 30-40 yen more per trip when buying individual tickets. This can be gotten around with some special passes (see below).

Otherwise the only other disadvantage is that transferring trains on the Metro is a more complicated affair, there is less redundancy so lines meet only at specific stations.

Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway Map. Again for reference only. Expand for larger.

Toei Subway
While the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation is not as major a player in public transport, it is mentioned here primarily due to its affiliation with Tokyo Metro and to avoid some possible frustration.

Both the Tokyo Metro and Toei are government run subways. Take note that while the two companies do collaborate in part and share some common train stations, it is important to note that the two are very much separate entities. Further confusion arises from the fact that Toei labels its lines in an identical way and worst yet, both Toei and Metro show train maps with both companies’ lines together.

However, know that should you ever transfer between Tokyo Metro and Toei lines you will be charged for both. You will be alerted to a Toei transfer by another ticketing gate inside the subway. The price is slightly subsidized if you had come from a Metro line, but still a lot more than if you were to take a single carrier. Transport by Toei, in general is also more expensive than even Tokyo Metro.

Toei Subway can be identified by its fan icon (usually green). Both Toei and Metro also use a blue and white train logo to denote subways. Toei runs just 4 lines: Asakusa (Rose, A), Mito (Blue, I), Shinjuku (Leaf Green, S) and Oedo (Ruby, E). Avoid whenever possible.

Toei Stations have a fan sign.

IC Cards

IC Cards are prepaid smart cards that can be used to pay for your fare. If you’re from Singapore, you should be pretty familiar with using one already. Up until 2009, Singapore’s EZ-Link cards were identical to those used in Japan.

While it is theoretically possible to purchased paper tickets to travel, having to do so is infinitely more complicated and troublesome. Without one you’d need to calculate the exact fares for each trip and purchase extra tickets every time you transfer. As such, it is pretty much necessary that you get one as soon as you step down into Japan. In the previous transport guide, I mentioned an amazing Narita Express and Smart Card bundle that foreign tourists are able to purchase at Narita Airport.

Both JR and Metro have their own different IC Cards. JR East using “Suica” which is a Japanese pun on so many levels while the Tokyo subways have the “PASMO”.

The cost for Suica is 2,000 yen and contains a 1,500 yen value and 500 yen deposit. PASMO has a 500 yen deposit too but a minimum value of 1,000 yen. You can refund any remaining value and your deposit at the ticketing machines at any of the respective companies’ stations.

Suica. An indispensable tool while in Tokyo.

These days, both cards can be used interchangeably within Tokyo. Still, I’d recommend getting the Suica over the PASMO if you are traveling outside of Tokyo as well as it can be used on JR lines nationwide. Chances are if you’re traveling to say Osaka in Kansai, you’d still need to get their local equivalent (the ICOCA) to travel on non-JR networks but it’s always good to have a backup. Further good news is that starting next year, you will be able to use the Suica outside of Tokyo on non-JR lines too.

Other than on transport, the card is also accepted as a form of payment at all convenience stores and some departmental stores around the region, being interchangeable with 7-Eleven’s nanaco for example. So you don’t have to be too worried about having too much money in your card. In fact, I would recommend paying for stuff through an IC Card as much as possible, since dealing with Japanese coins is especially irritating.

Tickets and IC cards can be purchased at these machines.

For both Suica and PASMO, there is the option of purchasing a special registered version instead. They can be purchased in the same way through normal ticketing machines but you will be prompted to enter some personal identification information (your Name/Birthdate/Gender). Enter your name here as it appears on your Passport.

Should you lose a registered Suica or PASMO, you can get them replaced (for 500 yen or 210 yen respectively) and still get back your original card’s balance. Pretty neat.

Special Passes

Almost all railway companies around Japan offer a variety of different discount tickets for commuters, the most basic of which are 1-day unlimited travel passes (often called Free Tickets or Free Passes) that allow you to take as many trains from any particular network as many times as you wish in a single day. These are especially useful especially for tourists who tend to hit up a whole bunch of different destinations each day.

For JR, this is called the Tokunai Pass and costs 730 yen. It covers all JR buses and trains in the 23 wards of central Tokyo. Due to the already low price of JR tickets, a Tokunai Pass isn’t always a must get. As a rule of thumb, you’ll need to make at least 4 trips in a day to make it worthwhile. Though this isn’t that difficult if you’re touring.

If you had preplanned the day’s activities or foresee yourself doing a lot of shopping or station hopping, then it might be a good idea to purchase one in the morning before you make your first trip.

Both Metro and JR companies offer one day unlimited travel passes.

For Metro, there are 1-day and 2-day Open Tickets which cost 600 yen and 980 yen respectively. Considering how much Tokyo Metro tickets usually cost, these are a godsend. If your hotel happens to be located on a convenient Metro Station, get one. Just 3 rides is all it takes to make a 1-day ticket worthwhile. You might end up spending even less than if you traveled by JR if you keep to just Metro lines with a 1-day pass. And with a 2-day pass, you will just need to take a 2-way trip each day to cover the cost.

Both of these tickets will allow you to save quite a bit of money in the long run, and with proper use Tokyo’s transport which is thought of as being expensive ends up being cheaper even than if you were to make the same number of trips in Singapore.

Tokyo Metro also offers a combination pass with Toei Subway, that allows for unlimited travel on both companies’ trains. But given the high price of 1,000 yen, I wouldn’t recommend getting one. If you find yourself spending enough on transport to make the pass worthwhile, you are most probably doing something wrong.

In the end, don’t feel compelled that you have to stick to either carrier just to save few yen. You’ll lose much of the convenience and bring about unnecessary worry. But if you happen to know that you’ll be doing a lot of bouncing between stations or just want the luxury of not having to walk even for nearby destinations, both the JR and Metro day passes will suit you well.

Traveling By Train

Planning Your Journey

There is no stressing the importance of planning a train ride before you get on board. You can generally figure out what trains to take if you have an idea of where it is located geographically, but for new visitors it is best to plan ahead to save any future hassle.

Unfortunately, not even Google Maps does a good job of understanding Tokyo’s transport system. It is still useful to find out where places are located but the most recommended transport tool is instead Hyperdia. Key in any two stations and it will churn out the routes and trains to take.

Routes are organized by total cost and time taken, so it doesn’t necessarily always give you the smartest means of transport but it will make sure you get to your destination and on time, since it factors in train timings accurately even. It is up to you to make the best decision. Hyperdia is available in English and Japanese, since not even Tokyoites can claim to be familiar with all of the transport in Tokyo.

If you happen to have data connection in Japan, keep in bookmarked.

Some important things to pay attention to when taking down your itinerary is to not only take note of the stations but also the train lines that you will be using since there is often more than one line at each station. With that, it’s as easy as just finding the correct track for your route.

Just one of the many train networks in Tokyo.

Chances are though, you might not have an 3G connection in Japan. And it wouldn’t be very fun if you had a static plan for each day of your trip. In such cases, my advise is to have your route planned out at the station before passing through the gantry. You can’t rely on stations having a route map inside the station and many trains only show the stops for the route they are traveling on.

Still, not all stations have maps of other operators, so you won’t be able to plan out transfers between different companies easily.

Track numbers are labeled by number at each station and identified by color throughout.

It is only expected that each line runs in two directions, so make sure the train is headed in the right direction. You’d think that they’d just be at opposite sides, but because of the interconnected nature, trains on the same line traveling in opposite directions can sometimes be a few tracks away. The same can be said when transferring between trains, every station is different so keep a look out for signs.

Signs show the adjacent stops at each station.

Thankfully, signage at each track clearly show all the essential information. At JR Stations, these small little diagrams that can be found on the track’s pillars are precious. They show the stops that the trains on that track run through, as well as how long it takes.

Train maps on each platform show the exact time taken for the journey.

Train stations in Tokyo usually have an LED sign board that show you the direction the train is headed as well as the exact timing for the train. If you’re supposed to take the 7:30 train, be sure to take the 7:30 train and not the 7:29 or 7:31 train. At peak hours, the interval between trains can be as short as 90 seconds but if a train in Japan is said to come at a certain time, you can be sure it will be there on the dot, aligned perfectly to the tracks (else someone will be in trouble).

The reason why this is a concern, is because it is not uncommon for different trains to use the same platform in Japan.

Some platforms have different trains running on the same tracks.

When traveling on local lines, the most encountered alternate train on the same platform are “Rapid” (Kaisoku) trains.

These are identical to normal local trains (Futsu) but skip alternate stops to save time. If your destination is one of the missed stations, be sure not to board a Rapid train. Often, Rapid trains use a different color than normal trains. There is also usually a small sign on the train and the LED signboards along the boarding platform will also indicate if a train is Rapid. In the previous photographs, trains on the same track of the Chuo-Sobu (one of the most frequented) lines are colored Yellow and Orange for local and rapid trains respectively.

On certain tracks, there may also be “Express”, or “Limited Express” trains. These are trains that skip even more stations. As covered in the previous article, Limited Express trains are actually the faster of the two as they stop at a more “limited” number of stations.

Getting To The Destination

When transferring between trains or leaving the station for your destination, simply heading to the nearest exit is a great way to get lost.

This is especially true for expansive stations like Shinjuku where your track is just one of many dozen, or better yet the 200 different exits to choose from. As such getting out the correct exit is top priority. The wrong one could be quite a distance away and completely throw off your bearing.

Exiting through the correct exit is of top importance.

Thankfully, signs throughout the station will point you in the right direction.

Boarding platforms can have multiple exits too and it is especially important to pay attention to them when making transfers. Signs located along, beside or above an exit show the correct exit to take for transfers. There is often no way around this except to take the correct one. The sign above points passengers to the exit for those transferring to the Tokyo Metro’s Marunouchi Line.

Exits are either labeled by direction or numbered when there are simply too many.

Usually, exits are labeled by direction (e.g. North Exit, South Exit) but when they are simply too many, they will be numbered instead. Every train station in central Tokyo should have a map of the station, as well as of the surrounding area beside the control station. JR Stations may also have boards on the platforms itself that show the correct exit to take for a list of nearby landmarks.

Note that maps in Japan are almost always oriented by facing so it can be confusing sometimes, even when you know where you’re going. It’s handy to have a compass on hand just in case. Thankfully, Smartphones should have one built in. Though I have had trouble with the accuracy of the iPhone’s.

When meeting someone at a station in Japan, be sure to determine not only the time and station, but also which of the many exits you’d be waiting at.

There will be a detailed map at each station of the surrounding area.

End

If all else fails, do not be shy about asking for help. Popular stations have counters dedicated just for this with staff that are happy to help. You can also ask the ticketing conductors at every other station, and though they might not be as friendly about it, are obliged to help too.

The Japanese are usually rather forgiving if you make it clear that you are a tourist and can refund wrongly purchased tickets, or Smart Card credit should you enter the wrong terminal. In the end, do not be afraid to get lost or to make mistakes. It is surely part of the fun when traveling for the first time.

Share with us your tips and experiences for traveling in Tokyo!

Tokyo city is notorious among foreigners for having one of the most complex transport systems in the world. But even before we step into Tokyo proper and begin worrying about railways, subways and shinkansen, just getting from Narita Airport in the adjacent prefecture of Chiba to Tokyo can be a confusing venture for first time travelers, especially with the plethora of options available.

Before the nearer Haneda Airport was opened up for international travel late in 2010, Narita Airport would had been the only gateway for those coming to Tokyo. These days, it still remains the busiest airport in Japan thanks to its existing infrastructure, despite being 60 kilometers away.

This is just the first part of a duo of guides hoping to introduce some basic aspects of Tokyo’s transport systems. I’ve decided to split it up into more manageable bites to make it easier on both readers and myself alike.

This first part is particularly meant as an overview for first time visitors, or those looking for an alternate way to get from Narita Airport to Tokyo. We present an overview of the some of the smart transport options used by tourists and locals alike based on personal experiences.

Outside Narita Airport.

I Want Convenience

Limousine Bus
Cost: 3,000 yen
Time: 120+ minutes
+ Comfort
+ Stops directly at Hotels
- Possibly Most Expensive
- Slowest

Not quite a train, but I’ll write a bit about it anyways. The first option that is presented to you when stepping out of arrival are the various bus services in Narita, the biggest of which is the Airport Limousine Bus. Located at a counter immediately across the entrance and with actual buses stopping just outside, booking a Limousine Bus couldn’t be more convenient.

But the convenience doesn’t stop there. The Limousine Bus’s biggest plus is that it operates a great number of services to take you directly to major hotels all around Tokyo. And with so many hotels all around, even if you’re hotel is not on the list, chances are there might be one located a street or two from where you are staying.

Limousine Buses are large coach buses with comfortable heated seats and on board toilets. Add this to the fact that your luggage is taken care off by the staff and you have perhaps the most convenient transport option available.

Unfortunately, there is really no single perfect means of transport from Narita to Tokyo. Each featured in this guide have their own plus and minuses (though we’ve already filtered through those too ridiculous to consider). Limousine Buses come with some flaws, as they are the slowest and possibly most expensive option on this list.

Single trips on a Limousine Bus cost 3,000 yen. The most expensive choice here, though if it takes you directly to your hotel, may end up slightly cheaper than somewhere with multiple transfers.

Limousine Bus.

As a special discount to foreigners, you can get a Limousine and Metro Pass combination for 3,100 yen which includes a 1-day Metro Pass when purchasing your ticket at the airport. There is also a two way pass for 6,000 yen, with a 2-day Metro Pass.

Metro Passes a.k.a. Tokyo Metro 1-Day Open Tickets usually cost 710 yen when purchased on their own. So if you really do have a use for them, then this essentially cuts bus prices to about 2,390 yen. Still, expensive. Try not to factor this too much into your decision. As depending on hotel location and with the exception of one or two places, it may be completely possible to travel around Tokyo without ever using the Tokyo Metro Subway.

Note that even if you haven’t purchased a Limousine Bus ticket at the airport, you can get a return ticket at the hotel lobby of any serviced destination (otherwise, you’d need to visit the main center in Shinjuku).

The biggest issue with taking a Limousine Bus though is how long it takes. Even before factoring in traffic conditions, it will take approximately 2 hours to get to anywhere in Tokyo by the buses. Throw in a traffic jam somewhere and this can drag longer.

This is not to say that the journey isn’t pleasant, with Limousine Buses having some of the most comfortable heated seats ever (I almost always fall asleep immediately when taking the Limousine Buses) and also many more interesting sights along the way than if you were to take the train.

Overall, if you’re staying at a hotel serviced by Limousine Buses the convenience may outweigh the costs. This is particularly true for those traveling with heavy luggage and children. Just be sure that you can afford the long traveling times.

A nice tour through Tokyo streets.

I Want Speed

Keisei Skyliner
Cost: 2,400 yen
Time: 40 minutes
+ Possibly Fastest
- Expensive
- Stops at Nippori / Ueno Stations
- 20-40 Minute Interval

Perhaps through extensive marketing or because its name just clicks, the Keisei Skyliner remains the default option for most tourists arriving in Japan. That is not to say that it isn’t a bad choice as the Skyliner is perhaps the fastest means of traveling from Narita Airport to Tokyo in general.

The Keisei Stations are located right in the basement of Narita Airport. Getting there is simple. However, due to the variety of transport options available, purchasing the right tickets and getting on board the correct train can be confusing for local travelers, much less first time visitors. There is no good solution to this, except to pay attention to signs and muster up the courage to ask for assistance if genuinely lost. The alternative, getting onboard the wrong train can be disastrous.

Keisei has always operated the most used train routes from Narita to Tokyo. And since 2010, the Keisei Skyliner had undergone a facelift to ensure that it stays in the lead. The new Skyliner boasts that it takes commuters from Narita Airport to Tokyo in just 36 minutes.

Keisei Skyliner.

While this is true, the data is slightly twisted for stats. The 36 minute timing is from Airport Terminal 2, up to Nippori in northern Tokyo, which is kind of like boasting that the MRT can take you from Singapore Airport to Tanah Merah in just 10 minutes.

2,400 yen is a fair price to pay considering that you get reserved seats on a train zipping to Tokyo in such little time. You’ll want to add 5 minutes to the time though, since in truth, appart from China Airlines and JAL, Terminal 2 mostly operates domestic flights.

The biggest issue you will want to consider here when taking the Skyliner or any Keisei train for that matter, is that the Skyliner terminus is in Ueno. The two main stops that you’ll be dropping off at are either Nippori or Keisei Ueno, both are in the north of Tokyo.

As the name suggests, the Keisei Ueno station is a separate Keisei-only station that is a short distance on foot from the JR Ueno Station. So if you’re staying anywhere other than Ueno, I’d recommend getting off first at Nippori Station which is shared with train lines from other companies, such as the convenient JR Yamanote Line. Thanks to this, you’d be able to take a train to most central areas in Tokyo from Nippori. Note, that you will need to pay the separate ticket cost of this, usually 130 yen or more.

Another thing to consider is that Skyliner trains operate at a 20 or 40 minute interval (depending on the time of the day). So unless your flight happens to coincide nicely, chances are you’re going to spend a lot of time waiting for that train to arrive anyways.

Personally, unless you are in a great hurry where a few minutes would affect an important business meeting (or are desperately trying to catch a plane), high speed transportation like the Skyliner is hardly necessary. If you are in a hurry though, I would recommend making sure that the next train is scheduled to arrive soon before purchasing your Skyliner ticket, if not, you may want to consider the Narita Express as a better option.

Note, do not mistake Keisei City Liner trains for the Skyliner. I’ve seen bloggers humorously mix up the two. They run from the same stations but at the opposite track. It doesn’t help that the City Liner uses phased out Skyliner trains. Basically, City Liners are older luxury trains that now run on the normal local train tracks. They cost 1,920 yen and have reserved seats, but since they’re running on the same tracks as the Keisei Limited Express so the journey takes much longer.

Spacious Skyliner seats.

JR Narita Express (NEX)
Cost: 2,940 +/- yen
Time: 50 minutes
+ Stops at Many Central Stations
+ Fast
+ Free with JR Rail Pass
+ 1,500 yen for Foreigners!
- Expensive (But, See Above)

The newest travel option from Narita to Tokyo, the Narita Express has been operating for a while now but had more recently been upgraded to match the level of comfort and speed of the Skyliner. It is a special Limited Express train operated by the Japan Railway (JR) Company.

Unlike the Skyliner, the Narita Express stops directly at Tokyo Station as well as a number of other ideal stations like Shibuya, Shinjuku, all the way until Yokohama. It takes 53 minutes to get from Narita Airport to Tokyo Station by NEX and Narita Express trains operate at a 30 minute interval. This means that it is not only more convenient, but also possibly faster than the Skyliner in some cases.

The Narita Express excels at comfort. Seats in the Narita Express tend to be more luxurious than the Skyliner. Like in JR Shinkasen, there are even special “Green Car” seats for those with deep pockets (1,500 yen more). Since it is operated by the JR Company, the Narita Express offers easy transfer between the NEX trains and Shinkansen at Tokyo Station.

The Narita Express.

To Tokyo Station, the NEX costs 2,940 yen. Ticket to Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Shinagawa cost 3,110 yen. The prices actually fluctuate slightly based on the time of the year.

While the basic tickets for NEX might seem kind of pricey when compared to the other choices on this list, there are actually some secrets that make the Narita Express the best option on this list for the majority readers. Pay attention here.

Being a JR Train, the Narita Express is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass. So if you’re carrying one and intend to activate it on day one, the decision is already made for you.

For everyone else, take note, that there is actually a special discount offered to foreigners only available at Narita Airport. This special promotion lets you purchase a Narita Express-Suica Package for only 1,500 yen more than what a Suica would usually cost.

To get this discount, you will need to visit the JR East Travel Service Center at Narita Airport and present your passport. For 3,500 yen, you will get a 1,500 yen Suica IC Card with another 500 yen refundable deposit, as well as a NEX ticket for only 1,500 yen. If you’re visiting Tokyo, a Suica is something that you will need to get anyways and this offer will let you get a NEX ticket for half the price!

Except for a few fringe cases, the Narita Express is a very good fit for those who want the best balance of speed, affordability and convenience.

Lush interior.

I Want Affordability

Keisei Limited Express
Cost: 1000 yen
Time: 80 minutes
+ Cheapest Option
- Slow
- Stops at Nippori Station / Ueno Station
- Free Seating

At just 1,000 yen, the Keisei Limited Express is the cheapest option on this list. It is the most popular choice among locals and those running on a tight budget.

In addition to the Skyliner, the Keisei Electric Railway company also own the normal railway lines between Narita and Tokyo. The Limited Express trains are express trains that run on these local lines. It may be slightly confusing at first, but word “Limited” from Limited Express trains in Japan comes from the fact that they skip certain stops and are thus faster than regular “Express” trains.

If you’re living in any of the residential areas between Narita and Tokyo, then the Keisei Limited Express would be the default means of travel there. Like the Skyliner, the Limited Express stop at Nippori and eventually terminate at Keisei Ueno, giving it all the same benefits or rather disadvantages of the Skyliner.

Keisei Cityliner.

However, if you’re staying near Ueno (as we did in our past two trips), the fact that it stops here becomes a rare plus point for the Limited Express. For example, in our past two trips, we stayed at a hotel in Uguisudani (one stop away from Ueno). It wouldn’t had made sense to take the NEX down to Tokyo and backtrack, since it would had taken the same amount of time (and a few hundred yen more).

One thing to take note about the Keisei Limited Express, is that like all local trains, seats are not reserved and during rush hours, you may have difficulty finding a seat. This can be a hassle if your carrying heavy luggage. However, in practice, I’ve never had trouble getting a seat on the train, except in one case but there would had been seats then too if not for a family of discourteous tourists taking up an entire row to themselves.

Typical train interior.

If I were to recommend just one temple or shrine to visit in Japan, it would be Nara’s Todaiji. As the head temple of the region, Todaiji makes for the Japanese equivalent of the Vatican and quite possible the single most impressive place of worship in Japan.

Overview

Translated as the Great Eastern Temple, Todaiji was founded in 728 and is one of Japan’s oldest temples. In its original incarnation, Todaiji could had been easily considered one of the greatest wonders of its time. Sadly, the original temple and many of its structures had been lost by natural disasters over the years.

However, the current rebuilt Todaiji still dates back to 1709, making it one of the oldest surviving temples in Japan. Despite being smaller than the original, the main Daibutsuden building of Todaiji is actually the largest wooden building in the world and also houses the largest bronze Buddha statue in Japan.

Visiting Todaiji

Todaiji occupies a huge temple grounds in the former capital city of Nara. It is surrounded by Nara Park, which contains a number of other significant temples. It is said that the Japanese emperor at the time had to relocate the capital in fear of the growing influence of the temples in Nara.

Todaiji is 2.5 kilometers and approximately 30 to 40 minutes from Nara Station on foot. There are clear signs pointing you in the right direction all the way. While a rather lengthy walk, there are enough interesting sights along the way to be enjoyable.

View Larger Map

At Todaiji

Apart from its cultural value, Nara is also better known among travelers for the great many free roaming deer. We’ve previously highlighted the Nara Deer in an article of their own but I’ve included some pictures for reference.

Perhaps due to the cracker stands outside the temple, the largest concentration of deer in Nara call Todaiji home. Most of them hang around on the outside. The deer seem to have evolved to be rather intelligent at Nara and they know better than to disturb the gift shops here. Tourists are free game though.

Many a deer.

Harassing visitors.

Cute but dangerous.

Most of the deer are nice enough to keep out of the main temple grounds.

There is a donation box outside and you’ll be able to sneak a peek at the Daibutsuden through the gate but to get into Todaiji proper you’ll need to purchase a ticket. Think of it as a donation. The entrance can be found at the far left end of the gate (just beside the park’s toilet).

Entry to the main temple grounds costs 500 yen.

Majestic temple.

Also the largest wooden building in the world.

Even from a distance, Todaiji’s Daibutsuden is dwarfing. Moving in closer, the discolored, dust coated building clearly shows its age. However, this lends itself to Todaiji’s charm and it felt like we were genuinely experiencing a piece of living history.

The temple's age shows.

The size of the hall makes Todaiji feel a lot more open than other temples. It is perhaps for this reason that photography is not prohibited inside the Daibutsuden. Though the same signs that say that it is alright plead for visitors not to use any flash.

Immediately at the front of the hall you’ll find the 15 meter tall bronze statue of the Vairocana Buddha. For reference, the average height of one floor in a building is 3 meters, so you can imagine how huge it is. It is larger than even Kamakura’s popular statue that stands at 11 meters.

It houses the largest bronze Buddha.

Aged interior.

Smaller Kanon statue beside.

Immediately beside you’ll find a slightly smaller statue of Kanon. There are a number of other objects inside the temple, some of which were preserved from the original. There is also a model of the original Todaiji temple, with a comparison to the current version.

As customary of all Japanese temples, you’ll also find a stall selling Japanese Charms and other souvenir goods. Proceeds go toward the upkeep and preservation of the temple so it’s always nice to show one’s support.

Other statues and remnants of the old temple are stored inside.

For a more detailed first hand look at Todaiji, check out the previous photo tour of Nara here.

Images by Wilson.

Mention the Singapore Sling and it would be a decent conversation topic with any foreigners you meet. While few Singaporeans would actually order it themselves in the bar, the Singapore Sling is a world famous cocktail and an iconic drink for visiting foreigners. It is little wonder that brilliant local minds have started marketing a pre-mix version of the cocktail to be made available to the rest of the world.

This particular bottle of concentrated pre-mixed Singapore Sling was an impulsive pickup from the airport when I came back from the recent Jakarta trip. The lone bottle of Singapore Sling was hiding quietly among other bottled liqueurs on the shelf, an indication that probably no Singaporeans from a return trip would be willing to carry her off the shelves.

I did.

Singapore Sling on the rocks.

Even if instructions on the manual state that the concentrated Singapore Sling pre-mix can be enjoyed neat on the rocks, I will strongly oppose anyone doing that since without the balance of another souring agent like pineapple juice, the mix is too sweet and bitter to be enjoyed. A friend who tasted it even stated that the taste difference was not too different from cough syrup.

For the best results, it’s still best to mix 1/4 of the concentrated mix with 3/4 pineapple juice as on the instructions, resulting in a slightly orange red foamy concoction that is the iconic Singapore Sling.

To be frank, this Singapore Sling does taste a little different from the ones I tasted from different bars in Singapore, but every of those also serves a slightly different tasting Sling.

There are perhaps a million different recipes for mixing a Singapore Sling that one can find on the internet nowadays. With the relevant spirits and ingredients available it is really not too hard to make a Singapore Sling from scratch either, even though for a lazy man like myself will probably stick to mixing it out from a concentrate. Here’s a recipe I found online to build a Singapore Sling from scratch.

For those who are interested in original recipe, one of the scribbled recipes is still on display at the Raffles Hotel Museum.

Singapore Sling

1.5 ounces Gin
0.5 once Cherry Heering
0.25 once Cointreau
0.25 ounce Benedictine
4 ounces Pineapple Juice
0.25 ounce Lime Juice
0.33 ounce Grenadine
1 dash Angostura Bitter

Garnish: Cherry and slice of pineapple.
Shake with ice. Strain into an ice filled Collins glass.

Sling mixed with pineapple juice.

It is also good to know a little bit about the roots of the Singapore Sling. It is of course invented here in Singapore, by a bartender named Ngiam Tong Boon while working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore back in 1910s.

Raffles Hotel was the home away from home for Westerners stuck in the East during the colonial era. During that time gin slings were the most popular drinks ordered. It was then that the clever Mr Ngian created a tropical cocktail sling that was not only delectable but also easily recognizable. Since then, the Singapore Sling has made it onto the world stage.

Enjoy Singapore Sling your way.

As one of the region’s most prominent castles, Osaka Castle looks like just one of those mandatory sightseeing spots for vistors. Its claim to fame comes from being the seat of power of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of three famous Daimyo (beside Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu) of the Sengoku period and is regarded as the most formidable castle ever in Japan. While little of the original castle building remains in this age (it has seen heavy restoration), the wonderful surroundings do make Osaka Castle a worthwhile visit.

The beauty of Osaka Castle lies in the fact that the entirety of its original grounds has been converted into a park. This is especially impressive when you consider that it covers approximately 60,000 acres. It wouldn’t be possible to explain without this photo by 663h-san. Isolated from the rest of the city by its gigantic moat and with the lush greenery sprouting out of the walls, Osaka Castle looks like something out of one of Studio Ghibli’s animations.

Osaka Castle Grounds.

The remainder of the photos here were taken by Wilson during our previous Winter trip to Kansai.

Getting to Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle can be found at the appropriately named Morinomiya (Castle of the Forest) Station. The most likely means of transport to the castle is by the Osaka Subway’s Chuo Line. If you’re coming from central Namba or such, you will need to transfer from the Midosuji Line. For those holding a JR Pass though, there are also a number of stations on the JR Osaka Loop Line surrounding the castle. The trip here will take less than 15 minutes.

View Larger Map

While located just beside the station, it takes a 20 minute walk to navigate through the castle defenses to get to the main castle building. There are some great sights to be seen on the way though and we stopped to appreciate the view numerous times, despite being ill prepared for the snow.

Off in the distance.

Moat separates the castle grounds from the rest of Osaka.

Prepare for a walk.

Visiting Osaka Castle

Both the transport and entry to Osaka Castle can be covered by the Osaka Unlimited Pass. Otherwise, entry to the castle costs 600 yen. There is also a combination ticket with the nearby Osaka Museum of History for 900 yen. It is open from 9 AM to 7 PM daily.

I would point you toward the castle’s English site, but unfortunately (like the English versions of most Japanese sites) it is horribly outdated and information there is terribly sparse. Instead, you’d be better off trying to make sense of Osaka Castle’s Japanese homepage.

Osaka Castle.

Golden ornaments.

At Osaka Castle

All of the castle’s interior has been modernized and converted into a museum. A lift on the inside takes you up to the top which features an open air observation deck. Though only 8 floors high, the castle is elevated sufficiently enough to get a nice overview of the grounds and part of the surrounding Osaka city.

View from above.

For safety, the deck is grilled up. There were surprisingly strongs winds at this time of the year and the grills are there to prevent visitor’s stuff from flying off.

From here, you can also get a closer look at some of the golden ornaments adorning Osaka Castle. The ones at Osaka Castle are only coated in gold (the ones at Nagoya Castle use solid gold), but still decorations within reach had to be covered to deter vandals/theft.

Gold...fish.

They’ve managed to squeeze in a small souvenir shop here at the top and another on the ground floor. While floors 2 to 7 make up the Osaka Castle’s Museum. There are actually a great many things to see here are some rather interesting exhibits.

Photography is generally allowed except on the indicated floors, which house an impressive collection of menuscripts and correspondence between important figures of the time which would be otherwise damaged by the irresponsible use of flash.

Just one of the exhibits.

A famous painting recreated in figure form.

While not everyone will be interested, the things on display add some good value to the 600 yen ticket price. And history buffs will no doubt want to spend some time looking through the exhibits.

Kind of touristy.

The first and second floors do look kind of gimmicky though, with its souvenir shop and displays aimed toward tourists. But you can’t blame the castle for trying. Ignore it and it should be fine, unless you are of course interested in that sort of thing. For example, for a price, you can don a Samurai outfit to take a photograph with some of the castle’s golden ornaments.

Photos by Wilson.

In this second guide on how to get theater tickets for everything 48, we cover Osaka based sister group NMB48. NMB48′s ticketing system bears an uncanny resemblance to AKB48′s current online system so before anything, you’ll want to read up on How to see AKB48 in Japan first. This article will omit most of what has already been mentioned before, instead focusing on the differences when it comes to visiting the NMB48 Theater.

Ticketing Mechanics

Fans will need to register for a separate NMB48 ticketing account which is used to apply for the group’s tickets only. NMB48 offers most of the same ticketing options as AKB48 with the exception of Super Enpou/Super Long Distance and Couple/Family seats.

Instead, NMB48 has a dedicated sitting area and ticket type for Groups (グループ) that can be used by couples, families or friends alike. A minimum of 2 people are required when applying for/collecting Group tickets. Beyond this, there are just some slight (mostly positive) differences between how both sites work which is covered below.

Registration

First up, you will need to visit this site. Key in your email address and submit. You should receive an automated email to the specified address which contains a link to create a new account.

You will need to agree to a list of terms and conditions first, scroll all the way to the bottom and click on the right option (同意する). Next, fill up your details as follows.

User Information.

After clicking through, you will be ask to confirm. Click on the orange button to submit. You should get an email stating that your accounts has been created. The email will generate a password, like AKB48′s this password cannot be changed so you will want to keep a note of it somewhere.

Using the System

With the password, you can now return to the ticketing front page to log into the NMB48 ticketing system.

Personal Ticketing Page.

Once logged in, the NMB48 ticketing page is pretty similar to AKB48′s. The main difference is that the NMB48 system keeps track of all of your past ticket ballots which you can view at any time. You can also select an favorite member to mark as your “Oshimen” here, which is optional in this case.

Also unlike the AKB48 page, the Ticket Application option is always shown (it is hidden when there are no AKB48 shows to apply for). On the downside, you will need to click through one additional step to see the list.

List of available shows.

Unlike the AKB48 ticketing site, a list of performing members for the show is not shown within. Instead, you will need to check the main page for this information prior to logging into the system. When you have decided which stage to apply for go ahead and click the yellow selection button.

Application Page.

Here you will notice the biggest plus point for NMB48 ticketing. Unlike AKB48′s which restricts you to a specific time frame, you are able to apply for all the different ticket types as soon as they are put up (7 days before the show). For NMB48 shows, you are only able to apply for a maximum of 4 persons at the same time.

Unlike AKB48 shows, you will only be able to apply for 1 type of ticket. You cannot apply for both Enpou and General tickets. Even after submitting, you are allowed to modify your application at any time before the deadline but it will replace the existing bid.

Some important things to take note of. The deadline for all applications is 4 days before the show (until midnight). Results for all tickets are sent 3 days before the actual performance. Like with AKB48, NMB48′s own fanclub members get an extra draw the day before.

Should you win a show, you will get an email in your inbox that looks something like the one below. Another plus point for NMB48′s ticketing is that even if you do not get an email, you will be able to log onto the website on the day of the results to check the results as lost applications are reflected in the Ticketing History too. For AKB48 ballots, you are simply left guessing.

Example winning notification.

There is a chance that you will get a Cancel Machi (Cancel Waiting) opportunity in your email instead. Additionally, NMB48 allows you to apply for Cancel Machi from 8 PM on the day before a concert all the way until 8.59 AM on the day itself.

Cancel Machi applied for in this way are also given out at random and you will only be made known by 1 PM on the concert day. Needless to say, this is a pretty unreliable method of getting tickets. But in the case of NMB48, it seems that a lot more people do not turn up for shows (sometimes as many as nearly 50) and thus a lot more Cancel Machi are given out.

YES Namba.

Winning (and collecting) a Ticket

While the Donki building is one of Akihabara’s most prominent landmarks, the NMB48 theater is easily missed. It is located along a side street at Nanbasennichimae where the only indication of the theater is literally a hole in the ground.

View Larger Map

These days, NMB48 should be a lot more known in Osaka but back in February last year, the locals and even some working around the area could not point me in the right direction. That’s because YES Namba building which basement NMB48 rents to hold its theater shows is better known for its Junkudo Bookshop.

My best advice is to look out for the more prominent NGK Building. You’ll find the NMB48 Theater in a hole just opposite. Most of the time if you’re entering from the main entrance to the Nankaitori (南海通) area, you will just need to turn right at the first major junction.

The NMB48 Theater is sealed off to the public at most times. There will be a barrier and security staff next to the staircase leading down to the theater. You will need to flash your winning email to pass. Ticket collection is from 2 hours up until half an hour before the start of a show. Bring along identification (your passport) as well.

I am told by Michael that the NMB48 Theater now holds live streams outside of the theater. It seems viewing is normally restricted to those holding Cancel Machi only. To view, you will need to wait until everyone else has entered the performance hall and then ask the security for permission (and show your Cancel Machi email) to go down to the theater. You will be asked to leave before the hi-touch session.

Seating Arrangements

The hall in which NMB48 performs their stages in is more spacious that AKB48′s. It is also much better equipped. The stage is higher than AKB48′s. However, it holds a smaller number of customers, about 238 as opposed to AKB48′s maximum of 250.

Of this, 100 seats are given to General Tickets, another 90 to NMB48 Fanclub members and the remaining 48 spots are filled up by Enpou, Group, Women and Students. Note, these numbers differ for each show but as a rough guideline, the 6th to 9th rows are reserved for those with Group, Women and Students/Children tickets. Enpou seats are pretty far back and occupy the 10th and 11th rows of the theater (2nd and 3rd last rows).

General Tickets and Mobile Fanclub members get to occupy the first 5 rows. All tickets are numbered and you will be guided into the theater by the staff in order.

Those holding special tickets actually enter the hall first but sitting is limited to the restricted sections. If you arrive late and General entry has already started, you will have to settle for seats at the back.

Inside, all of AKB48′s theater rules apply. Such as not being allowed to stand up during the performance. It’s best to simply behave.

Finally, a note that quite a bit of the stuff mentioned here differs from that mentioned in our own NMB48 Live Impressions post. As some of the ticketing mechanics and sitting arrangements have changed from when theater shows first began last year.

Photos by Melkul.

Since we started writing about AKB48, one of the most asked questions we’ve been getting is how to get tickets for the AKB48 Theater in Akihabara. Unfortunately, the official site has no instructions in English for regular tickets but I’m sure others have answered this question before.

In response to those who have requested for this information though, here it is, part one of a series of guides on how to buy tickets for AKB48, SKE48 and NMB48 theater shows. This guide focuses on the first, applying for tickets for the AKB48 theater in Akihabara, which also happens to be the most difficult of the three due to a rather complicated ticketing system.

First up, for those looking to get tickets to non-theater AKB48 concerts check out this guide instead. Unfortunately, due to health reasons Toshio no longers provides ticket pre-ordering services but the rest of the information there still applies.

Ticketing Mechanics

First up a brief explanation on how the AKB48 Theater ticketing system works. You’ll need to understand this to make sense of the rest of the information. If you already know about this and just want instructions on how to operate their website, skip below.

The AKB48 Ticketing site keeps a schedules a list “stages” that will be performed and the members performing on that given day. These used to be put up up to a month earlier but with the girls busy schedules, they are only now put up a few days in advance now. You can decide which shows you would like to apply for here.

Each show accommodates up to 250 people. Tickets are obtained by random lottery which you will have to apply for at their ticketing page.

For each ticket, there is only a short 1 day window when you can send in your application. Applications for General Tickets open up 2 days before the concert date (starting from midnight until 8 PM Japan time). These bookings are then consolidated and you will be made known of whether you win the tickets one day before the actual concert date (usually at 3 PM).

For example, if the concert is on Friday, applications would be between Wednesday 12 AM (the night of Tuesday) until Wednesday 8 PM when the window closes. You would then be sent an email on Thursday at 3 PM if successful.

No emails will be sent if you do not win. A listing of what shows you are applying from can be seen in your main screen (after logging in) but will simply disappear if unsuccessful.

This bulky system is a testament to when theater applications were sent by mail and sorted through manually. AKB48 may have introduced a spiffy new interface for users but the backend is still remains the same.

Note, the odds of actually winning any seats are horribly not in your favor. There are only 250 places in each show. Previous data provided states that the ratio of seats in the Akihabara theater to hopeful fans is between 1:50 up to 1:200 for special shows.

Registration

Before you can apply for tickets, you will need to register online at the AKB48 ticketing page. Below is a step by step process on how to do that.

To register for an account, send a blank email to regist@akb48.co.jp. You can leave the subject and contents of the email blank. You should receive an email giving you a link to the registration page shortly after that.

Registration Confirmation.

Click the link and you will be brought to a page of sorts asking if you would really like to register. The top option is for those who are part of the mobile fanclub already, the bottom option is for non-fanclub members. Chances are you’ll be choosing the second.

Next up, you’ll be required to enter in your details.

Details.

Once done, you will need to go through a couple of confirmation screens. If everything is fine, you will be sent another email with your AKB48 login password. This automatically generated series of gibberish will forever be used to log into your AKB48 ticketing account. It cannot be changed, so keep a record of it somewhere.

Using the System

Now, you can visit the AKB48 ticketing page and login by entering your username and password at the top right hand corner. Doing so will bring you to your user page that looks something like this.

Main Screen.

When there are shows that can be booked, you will be able to click on the first option here. Doing so will give you a list of currently available shows and ticket types you can currently apply for. In this example there is an Enpou show available.

Available shows.

The details of the show are displayed, in particular the members who will be performing. Click on the link to begin the application process. In the following application screen you will be able to enter the names of up to 9 other people accompanying yourself. You will need to put their names as it appears in their identification documents. You aren’t allowed to have duplicate applications by the other people attending the concert and those caught doing so will be banned from the theater.

Booking Screen.

You will be asked to confirm your details before sending in the application. And just like this, you have successfully submitted your ballot. You will receive an email immediately which is a receipt of your ballot. Do not get too excited yet. Should you actually win a ticket to the show, you will receive an email that looks like this the next day.

Successful ballot.

If there is no notice by 3 PM the next day, it means that you have not won a ticket. It is possible that you may win a “Cancel Machi” (Cancel Waiting) ticket instead as well. Which is not an actual ticket for the show but rather a chance at getting a ticket. See below.

Ticket Types

There are actually various ticket types available at the AKB48 theater. Fans are actually allowed to apply for all the types which they are eligible for. Except for Family, Female and Normal tickets which are all alternate versions of the same thing. You will usually know the results in time to apply for the next bracket.

Apart from throwing money at every temple or shrine you come across, the best way to increase your odds of getting a ticket for an AKB48 show while in Japan is to apply for as many ticket types as possible.

Note, that for all tickets other than family/couple seats, it is possible to apply tickets for 1 to 10 persons at once (6 for Super Enpou). As far as I can tell, applying for tickets as a group does not affect your odds of winning negatively (in fact it is better than applying separately). Also, by applying as a group, you will be able to sit together.

An important thing to take note of is, if for some reason any of the members in your winning group cannot make it, do not cancel your ticket reservation. As long as the person applying is able to make it, the rest will still be admitted normally (the remaining tickets will be given out to those holding Cancel Machi, more on this below).

If all of those applying are unable to make it though, you are required to cancel your tickets in advance of the show. Failing to do so will result in a bad strike.

The basic ticket types to look out for are 遠方 (Enpou), ファミリー・カップル (Family / Couples), 女性・小学生・中学生 (Women / Children) and 一般 (Ippan).

Super Long Distance (Super Enpou) (up to 6 seats) (from 1 month)
Super Long Distance or Super Enpou as most people call it is a new type of arrangement specially for foreign fans. Non-Japanese may apply for Super Enpou up to 1 month in advance of their visit to the theater in hopes of getting a show. Super Enpou tickets are not available through the normal ticketing methods, instead you will need to send them a direct email.

Note, they do not always open up the Super Enpou seats for shows and based on feedback from fans few are lucky enough to actually with Super Enpou tickets too. Applying in advance doesn’t help either, since they often lose your application in the flood of other emails. In fact it may be counter productive.

My best advice for those seeking Super Enpou is to apply for the least popular shows (Team K and formerly Kenkyuusei/SDN48 shows). Also, it may seem strange but the odds of you getting Super Enpou when applying in a large group (at least 3) seems to be higher, possibly since they would recognize the demand then.

The biggest plus for Super Enpou is that you will always be given the 6 front most seats of the left block. For more information on how to apply for Super Enpou tickets, check out the official site here.

Long Distance (Enpou) (up to 15 seats) (5 days)
15 seats in the last middle row of the theater are reserved for Enpou or Long Distance ticketing at each show. Anyone from outside of Tokyo can apply for Enpou, making it one of the most sought after tickets. The odds of winning Enpou are low but you will want to apply for it anyways.

Provided you have selected your place of residence as somewhere other than Tokyo, Enpou tickets are available for ballot exactly 5 days before a given show. If successful, you will be given notice on the next day (4 days before the show). If not, you will still be able to apply for one of the other ticket types when the window opens.

Mobile Fanclub (up to 100 seats) (3 days)
Fans who belong to the Mobile Fanclub are given one extra chance to apply for seats 3 days in advance of the show. If you are reading this, chances are you would not be eligible. But for reference, Mobile Fanclub seats are identical to normal seats and is purely an extra chance for members.

Family & Couples (10 seats) (2 days)
In each show, 10 seats in the 5th middle row are dedicated to family and couple seats. To be eligible, you will need to have at least a male-female couple (Japanese aren’t the most progressive when it comes to some things) and up to 2 children or elders. Should your children be unable to make it after apply, it is still possible to enter without them as long as a couple remains.

Family, Couple, Women and Children tickets all replace the standard tickets as they have to be applied for on the same day instead of General tickets. The odds of you winning aren’t that much different from normal tickets due to the scarcity of seats and there is no clear way of calculating the probability. Such seats are recommended for when you require special seating arrangements.

Women & Children (10 seats) (2 days)
Another 10 seats on the 6th middle row are given out to a combination of female patrons, as well as grade and middle school children (6 to 15 years old). This is another alternative to general tickets.

General (all the remaining seats) (2 days)
What remains of the theater’s 250 seats sans all of the above are given out to the rest of the public. This is your last chance to get tickets when both Super Enpou and Enpou fails. Entry into the theater for General tickets are explained below.

Due to the fact that you are only notified of General tickets 1 day before the show it is nearly impossible to plan a trip to Japan around General Tickets. In fact, with number of people applying for AKB48 theater shows, it is never a wise chance to depend on winning a ticket at all.

Akihabara's Donki (Don Quijote) Building.

Cancel Waiting

This special ticket type is kept separate as it is not actually applied for. Instead, when you apply for a normal show ticket there is a chance that you will receive an email stating that you have won a “Cancel Machi” instead.

A different number of Cancel Machi emails are given out at each show. When you win a Cancel Machi, what you actually win is a spot on the waiting list to get a ticket should someone else not show up.

Sometimes people have conflicting schedules or applying from outside of Tokyo to try their luck only for their employers to deny them leave. But whatever the reason, there is always a certain number of people who will not be able to turn up for each show so a Cancel Machi is not a completely lost cause.

Thankfully, each Cancel Machi comes with a stated number too. In the case of Cancel Machi, this number is your position in line to get a ticket. If this is a small number like 10 or less, there is actually a pretty good chance that you will be able to snag a ticket at the last minute. It is up to you if you would like to try your luck.

Unlike regular tickets, it is not necessary to cancel Cancel Machi if you do not wish to turn up. But if you do decide to, you will need to come to the Akihabara theater half an hour before the show during the Bingo draw to get any unsold tickets.

The Cancel Machi also serves as a special ticket in certain cases. While fans who have not won any tickets are usually allowed to view the performance from a life stream just outside the theater’s doors, during very popular or special shows the 8th floor of the building is completely sealed off from the public. When this happens a greater number of Cancel Machi are given out to act as “tickets” to visit the floor and see the show from outside.

Winning (and collecting) a Ticket

Should you win a ticket, you will be sent an email that looks like this 1 to 4 days in advance of the show.　You will need to print it out or have it on your cellphone to flash when collecting your tickets at the AKB48 theater counter.

You will need to visit the theater between 2 to 1.5 hours in advance of the show to collect your tickets. For certain shows, you may be required to present your email to the security staff guarding the escalator downstairs to let you up into the theater too.

When collecting the tickets, you will need to bring along identification (your passport) bearing the same names you have entered into the ticket applications and cash for the tickets. If everything checks out, they will slap on a Gigaband, a kind of security wristband on you, to prevent tickets from being resold. Be careful not to take this off/damage it between the collecting the tickets up until after the show or they might not let you into the theater later.

Seating Arrangements

During entry those holding any special tickets (Super Enpou, Enpou e.t.c) will be escorted into the theater first. For everyone else holding General tickets, you would have gotten a ticket number in the email sent to you.

The ticket number does not represent your actual sitting position. Instead, it represent the block in which you will be entering as. Fans will begin queuing up outside the theater entrance in their respective blocks in advance of the show. There are markings on the theater floor indicating where you should stand.

About half hour before the show begins, the staff will hold a ballot via bingo to determine in which random order the blocks will be entering the theater. You are free to choose from any of the remaining seats when you enter except those marked for staff. An important thing to take note of, switching seats at any point is strictly prohibited as it may be considered a sign of some sort of seat selling. You are able to leave the theater, but only after everyone else has entered.

The AKB48 Theater has become quite well known for their “pillars of death”, a set of two wide foundation pillars that split the stage up into 3 parts. The first two rows in the center block are the best and most sought after seats. Due to how small the Akihabara theater is, those on the first row are less than 3 meters away from the stage!

The first row at either of the side blocks are fine too but avoid sitting anywhere near the pillars at all costs in any of the first 4 rows. Pillar-side seats on rows 2-4 are usually the last to fill up. The pillars are really a lot more disruptive than one would think, you will be completely blocked from seeing the other 2/3rds of the stage. Also, the camera crew film from in front of the pillars so those to the side are not spared.

The only time you will want to sit here is if you are absolutely sure a favorite member spends most of her time hugging the side stage, however the choreography of newer performances have the side members switching sides about halfway into the stage. Also, it makes for a terrible experience if this is your first time seeing AKB48 live.

If you cannot get into the first two rows, the next best choice is actually to get the first standing places. There are only 7 closely packed rows of seats in the theater and those on seats will have to remain seated throughout the show so those standing will get a surprisingly clear overview. Also, you can generally be a lot more excited without getting kicked out.

Behaving

Anyone who has ever seen any AKB48 Live On Demand (LOD) video can attest to how boring the audience in attendance look. This is hardly their fault though with the AKB48 Theater in Japan enforcing a ridiculous list of restrictions. Rub the staff there the wrong way and you’ll find how easy it is to win yourself a lifetime ban.

Instead of providing a list of offenses, the best advice is to simply, behave. If you’ve been to any AKB48 concerts outside of Japan, know that pretty much everyone who has attended such a concert would already be banned by theater standards (myself included, if only for using UO Light Sticks). The theater staff can be especially accommodating once they learn that you are a foreigner but it is best not to take advantage of their courtesy. Stay in line, follow the example of the other fans and avoid causing any trouble and you should be safe.

Best of luck to your applications and to those who have successfully won tickets to the theater, congratulations and have fun.

As the first and oldest Buddhist temple in Japan, Osaka’s Shitennoji (四天王寺) is an expected stop on most visitors’ itineraries. Regarded as the chief Buddhist temple in Osaka, the Asakusa of Osaka if you wish, Shitenno translates to the four heavenly kings, to which this temple is dedicated to.

Getting to Shitennoji

Shitennoji is located in the south east central area of Osaka. The nearest station on the map would be the explicitly named Tennoji Station from which it is a 10 to 15 minute (1 kilometer) walk away from.

Entrance to Shitennoji costs 300 yen for the temple grounds (pictured here) and another 300 yen for the temple’s private nature gardens. There is also an onsite treasure museum showing off various collected relics, but is under renovation for earthquake proofing until next year. Entrance to the main temple grounds is covered by the Osaka Unlimited Pass.

At Shitennoji

As Japan’s first Buddhist temple, Shitennoji draws many influences from classic Shinto Shrines. In fact, they have a torii gate at the entrance to the street in which Shitennoji is located.

Big gate ride next to the main road.

The actual grounds on which Shitennoji stands is pretty huge. There are a great number of buildings here, most of which are open to the public for free. The temple also boasts excellent facilities for its visitors and I was surprised to find an air-conditioned waiting room and various seats all over the grounds. It is also completely wheelchair friendly. It’s nice how much thought has been put into for its older visitors.

Another large gate.

For this article, I’ll be looking mostly at Shitenno Temple proper as most people know it, its iconic red pagoda and zen gardens. Like most other Japanese places of worship photography is not frowned upon, but out of respect, keep your cameras when indoors.

Dharma Wheel.

The original Shitennoji temple dates back to 593 A.D. But those looking to be floored by a visit to Shitennoji may be disappointed to learn that the current buildings standing are from the 1960s. Still, for a “must-visit site”, Shitennoji does make for a pretty sight.

Zen Garden.

Sheltered off from the surroundings by the red walls, there isn’t as much a sense of awe as when visiting some of the country’s more impressive monuments. Rather than a great peacefulness to be found at Shitennoji, at least on this morning when the temple was devoid of any other visitors.

Geometric patterns.

Tiny pebbles.

Shitennoji’s entrance, courtyard shelter and the Shitennoji Temple Tower are coated in a bright orange-red lacquer. Needless to say, beautifully coordinated. All of these buildings seem to stand on top of a sea of pebbles as the buildings in the courtyard are fully surrounded by the zen garden. This was unlikely to have existed in the original temple but rather a more modern addition. Still it can be a worthwhile visit for those who appreciate such experiences.

Pagoda.

Images by Wilson.

Kinkakuji is just one of the many famous temples and shrines in Kyoto. Literally translated as the Golden Pavilion Temple, Kinkakuji gets its name from being coated almost entirely in paint containing real gold flakes.

Kinkakuji is the second most visited temple in Kyoto after the extravagant Kiyomizudera. Unlike Kiyomizudera though, Kinkakuji is located quite far north to the border of the city. Thankfully, it is also situated beside Ryoanji, another famous temple.

Getting to Kinkakuji

Kyoto isn’t as well connected by train as other cities. Instead, there is a complicated network of buses. The cheapest and most direct means to get to Kinkakuji is to take bus #101 from Kyoto station. Getting there takes 40 minutes and costs 220 yen.

Note: Be sure to leave early if you plan on visiting other sights in Kyoto. Most temples close between 4 to 5 PM.

View Larger Map

At Kinkakuji

Entrance to Kinkakuji costs 400 yen. One of the highest I have encountered. It is not possible to see the temple from outside otherwise as a large wooden gate has been constructed. Still, that doesn’t deter visitors both local and overseas who flock here in throngs to see the famous golden temple. If you’ve already come this far, then the fee will be a necessary evil.

Kinkakuji greens.

To be honest, there isn’t much to do at Kinkakuji other than to witness the famous landmark itself. Such is the case that many who had expecting more from the hype have left disappointed. The temple is surrounded by a beautiful amount of nature though, which you view from an allocated viewing spot in front of the pond.

Postcard shot of Kinkakuji.

The temple grounds isn’t very large and most of it is taken up by the greenery. There is a short route for you to follow that starts at the front of Kinkakuji and brings you to two different omamori (Japanese Charms) stands before ending at another souvenir shop at the exit. While I appreciated the historic value of the site, this was perhaps the part I liked the least about Kinkakuji, since it was by far the most commercialized out of the many temples and shrines I have visited. The path does lead you up the side of a hill though, which gives you a nice elevated view of Kinkakuji.

Closeup.

Overall, Kinkakuji makes for a nice side trip in Kyoto provided you have the time or are in the city already. But if you’re making it a highlight in Kyoto, it might come off as a disappointment, especially when compared to some of the other historic sites. It also certainly helps if you have an interest in temples and shrines in general. But I’m sure one wouldn’t be visiting Kyoto otherwise.

Gold leaf coating.

Images by Wilson.

While Akihabara will probably be the first place in Japan that springs to mind when talking about all things geeky, Nakano Broadway is as important a landmark to the dedicated otaku. Located in the western outskirts of the city, Nakano is home to Tokyo’s true, less publicized Otaku Heaven.

Getting to Nakano

Nakano can be found three stops away from Shinjuku on the JR Sobu line. The trip is conveniently covered by the JR Tokunai Pass. At Nakano, exit the station from the North Exit (turn right when you leave the gantry) and you’ll see the Nakano Shopping Mall in broad daylight. Follow this opening air shopping arcade which will lead you straight to Nakano Broadway.

View Larger Map

Note: Most of the shops at Nakano Broadway are pretty against photo-taking and unless it is obvious you are a foreigner some even get pretty unfriendly about it, thus the scarcity of pictures.

At Nakano Broadway

Due to their widespread portrayal in media or perhaps through their own perpetruation of the stereotype, otaku tend to be pictured as bespectacled anime, manga and figure collectors. But in its original form, the word otaku seems to carry the meaning of enthusiasts and otaku interests cover a far wider spectrum in practice. This is especially true in Japan, where people are provided the content necessary to become otaku for all sorts of interests, like train, vintage camera or Disney otaku. While Akihabara may satisfy the need for the stereotypical otaku, Nakano does the same for a wider audience. If someone is collecting it, you’ll find it in Nakano Broadway.

Nakano.

Nakano Broadway is most famous as a market of sorts for otaku to peddle items from their personal collections. This is mostly through capsule box stores that provide the chance to rent cases for the otaku to display their wares (more on this later) but in recent times Nakano Broadway seems to have been overtaken mostly by a certain chain called Mandarake and to a lesser extent TRIO.

Mandarake
Starting as a used manga shop in 1987, Mandarake has now expanded to own a total of 23 stores inside the 3 floors of Nakano Broadway alone. There are another 4 shops around Tokyo and more spread around the rest of Japan. Mandarake even calls themselves the “Rulers of Time” now.

Each of the Mandarake shops in Nakano specialize in a different sub-genre of second hand otaku products. Many of these shops still sell items related to anime or manga, such as one shop specializing in soundtracks or another solely dedicated to boys love and otome products. But with 23 shops, most of the other imaginable obsessions are covered. There are Mandarake’s for classic video games, vintage toys, cosplay and card games among others.

Patrons can trade in their old goods at the Mandarake Buy Back Stand on the 3rd floor. It’s a shop space larger than most stores in Nakano that is constantly filled with people pawning old toys and comics for money to purchase newer attractions. A somewhat depressing sight. However Mandarake is well known for offering reasonable prices for old items and the shop advertises a transparent list of items that they purchase and the prices popular items would fetch.

One of the Mandarake-owned Shops.

TRIO
Next on the list is TRIO. Though it started as a second hand poster and magazine shop TRIO has evolved into the idol equivalent of Mandarake. Though not nearly as large a presence as Mandarake, TRIO carries a rather extensive collection of second hand idol goods spread over three shops in Nakano.

You’ll find the first TRIO branch on the third floor. This shop is dedicated entirely to male idols such as those from Johnny’s Entertainment. The first TRIO that you will likely run into though is TRIO 2, the largest branch.

Located just beside the main escalator into Nakano Broadway and along the same corridor as TRIO, TRIO 2 carries all of their magazines, photobooks, as well as movie and idol related posters. TRIO 2 also has an entire section dedicated to AKB48 goods and a rather large collection of collectible photos. TRIO 2 used to have the most affordable and popular place to get these photos and customers would come early each day to see what new items were being put up. Unfortunately, the prices aren’t as reasonable anymore and they display most of the stock at the new branch at Akiba Culture Zone now.

You’ll have to take the stairs down one floor for the third TRIO 3, which contains what little Hello! Project, Idoling!!! and SUPER☆GiRLS merchandise they have. About half of the shop holds the remainder of their Johnny’s goods.

Old toys for sale.

Capsule Boxes
Until recently, the biggest draw for Nakano Broadway comes from having more capsule box shops than anywhere else. One such example is Cube Style. For about 3000 yen a month, one can rent a display case here to put whatever items you would like to sell. The shop will then help take care of any money transfers and you can come back any time to collect your earnings or add and replace the items sold inside the rented case.

Capsule shops are rather popular at Nakano, since it allows one to eliminate the middle man, as unlike in Singapore the shops do not take a commission off your sales. The high traffic of otaku coming to Nakano Broadway for the explicit purpose of purchasing such goods also helps. The capsule boxes at Nakano are always fully booked.

The recent boom in demand for capsule boxes (largely due to the market for AKB48 photos) has prompted many other capsule shops to spawn in Akihabara too. Unfortunately, the supply now exceeds the demand and many of the boxes at the newer shops now remain empty. Also, if you’re looking for a bargain for AKB48 photos, you’ll be disappointed. Read more about there here.

Figure or toy collectors will benefit the most from capsule boxes. As the prices for those are already transparent, second half figures will almost always sell for less their original price (unless it is particularly rare, or the seller especially delusional). If you don’t mind getting your toys second hand, do spend some time looking around the shops here. I personally recommend checking out BOW WOW at the far corner on the second floor, as I have consistently managed to chance upon good finds there.

Other Shops
Many of the small shops around Nakano Broadway cover all manner of other interests, there are shops selling old enka records, ball jointed dolls, yo-yos, stamps, vintage books and expensive sound equipment and many more niched products. You can find a listing of shops at the Official Nakano Broadway website’s Floor Map.

It may be a little forward of me to tout one of our sponsors so directly like this. But with the NATAS Travel Fair going on right now at the Singapore Expo, many are taking this opportunity to sneak in less than honest travel “deals”. It’s a similar situation to computer fairs in Singapore.

Below is a short collection of knowledge acquired from my previous trips and through the fortune of having friends who have worked in the travel industry both in Singapore and Japan. Perhaps it might look like common sense to the more experienced travellers.

First off, if you’re looking for short guided tour packages, NATAS does offer some attractive options. You can see some of the deals they are offering online at the NATAS Travel site. This once a year fair brings together travel agents around Singapore to help plan your holiday for the upcoming April peak season. There’s another NATAS fair, NATAS Holidays in August, which focuses on the end year period instead.

If you’re going down this weekend beware of hard sells and those claiming limited deals. We learned the hard way during our last trip, that feeling rushed to book a hotel or flight can lead to devastating results.

Not the cheapest. But ANA comes with many perks.

With the internet at everyone’s disposal, you’re not going to find flights cheaper than at the source directly. I really advise readers to book their flights directly from the respective airlines and look out for their offers. Going through a 3rd party source will almost always be more expensive. The only thing you’re really saving on in tour packages is on accommodation, when the travel agencies negotiate for group prices.

But if you’re planning to go free and easy, NATAS offers little choice. And the only offers available for free and easy tours are far too limiting. Before you go jumping onto decisions, take some time to do some homework and compare the prices elsewhere. A little slacking off could cost you potentially hundreds and there is no excuse with the convenience of the internet. Evidence shows that 91% of travelers book their flights and hotels online now. It’s the smart thing to do.

Those were different times.

I’m going to plug Agoda a little bit since it’s our sponsor. Agoda pioneered online hotel bookings back in the 90s when it was called Planet Holiday. These days, it’s owned by Priceline.com one is one of the world’s largest hotel booking sites. They have offices in ever part of the world, including Singapore. The reason why you don’t hear nearly as much about Agoda as other bookings sites is because Agoda doesn’t have a public affiliate program. There is a strict process to become an Agoda Partner and membership is limited to quality sites and big names like PayPal or Google only.

The secret is, that instead, as one of the oldest travel sites on the internet, Agoda’s tightly controlled reseller system is actually adopted by the other newer hotel booking sites. I’m not excusing Agoda’s clunky user interface (they’d get a lot more bookings if it wasn’t so unintuitive) but they’re main focus is selling a platform rather than direct sales.

Agoda provides a content management system to hotels for them to manage their hotel rooms themselves. And in turn, Agoda also provides their hotel booking API for other hotel sites to adopt. Truth is, many of the other travel sites utilize Agoda’s API to resell hotel booking services, adding a few dollars on top as “service fees”. Which is why chances are, if you’re willing to go to the source directly and brave Agoda’s non-Web 2.0 interface, you’ll end up saving a noticeable amount of money, which can be better spent on other things.

I’m going to provide a comparison here between Agoda and other sites. We’ve put in identical dates. You can see the differences. Note, both prices are before taxes (these are imposed by the Japanese government on hotels).

Candeo Hotel Uenokoen on Booking.com. Average of $164.50 a night.

On Agoda. $140 a night. This is higher than usual though.

This is not to say that Agoda is for everyone. The Agoda system provides a convenient means for medium sized hotels (most 2-3 star) to manage their bookings. If this is what you’re looking for, then Agoda is a fine match. It still benefits you to look around a few places though. Sometimes certain hotels forget to update one of the platforms, or prefer to focus on a single one. When this happens, you’ll might be able to get the same room cheaper. I recommend checking out Expedia directly as well, which is another popular platform. Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor and Hotels.com are all resellers of Expedia.

Chisun Inn Hommachi on Expedia.

The same hotel on Agoda.

However, smaller establishments such as home stay and dormitories see little use for this system and are under represented. You are also better off booking larger hotels in the 4-5 star range directly, as they often have their own independent websites and systems to manage their bookings already.

Agoda is also not a very good place to turn to if you’re looking for last minute hotel bookings (few are). Hotels only set aside a certain number of rooms to be sold by the system and they tend to sell out about 2 months before the check-in date. Agoda does not mark up the prices of hotels at the last minute but you’re not going to find any discounts, or many choices if you’re going to book your hotel at the last minute.

Instead, Agoda specializes in “early bird” styled specials. Rewarding users who book at least a couple of months in advance. This is only a natural thing when it comes to traditional travel agencies, but is not implemented by more online sites for some reason. This of course is where Agoda truly shines. You won’t find a cheaper option whenever a hotel goes on offer on Agoda.

A final tip. Though it may sound selfish, if you’re traveling in a group be the one to do the booking. Between 4-7% of the hotel fees is turned into credits which you can use to offset subsequent bookings when you book from Agoda directly instead of resellers. You also get cash credits for reviewing the hotel after your stay.

Maidoru! SUPER☆GiRLS (My Idol SUPER☆GiRLS) is the group’s unique combination of social network and fan club. It serves as an all in one portal to everything SUPER☆GiRLS as well as a personal log of one’s own fandom.

Most importantly, fans take on the role of “support producers”. And through Maidoru, fans are able to push the rankings of their favorite members in real time and vote on actual managerial decisions for the Avex idol group! Here’s our step by step guide on how you can jump in and help shape SUPER☆GiRLS today. Membership is free!

Introduction
As an integral part of the SUPER☆GiRLS concept, My Idol is perhaps the most novel idea in recent idol history since AKB48 had brought “idols you can meet” to the masses. But while Akiba idols had existed in the past, this is truly the first time that technology and idols have come together so ingeniously.

In essence, My Idol is a real life experiment in gamification theory. At its most basic level it allows users to keep track of their “achievements” while supporting the group. Every SUPER☆GiRLS item purchased or event attended provides the user with a unique “key code” that can be entered into the user’s account for trophies and PP (Producer Points), the site’s “currency”.

Thankfully, Avex has chosen to make profiles viewable only by oneself. Were they public, I can only imagine the elitism and mad buying sprees that would unfold.

Though fans are able to use PP to unlock various cosmetic upgrades for their account, the main purpose of PP is that of “pushing power”. Each day, fans can use PP to vote on various “statistics” of their members. This data translates into a direct representation of each member’s popularity or to put it cruelly, worth. It is only good business that Avex takes into consideration this information when producing the group.

Additionally, users are able to vote on other more significant decisions from time to time, such as which CD covers go to print. If you sign up right now, you can decide who and what will be featured as the B-side to SUPER☆GiRLS’s next single which will be released in April.

Even if none of this interests you. Maidoru is still a one stop place for all SUPER☆GiRLS information. You’ll find the most updated news, schedules and even lists of future media that the girls will be appearing in. For once, you can enjoy being kept constantly in the loop.

Getting Started
An important thing to take note of is that the Maidoru site can only be accessed by mobile phone. Any smartphone or iPhone will work fine. Alternatively, you can download the User Agent Switcher plugin for Firefox, which will allow you simulate an iPhone. After installing the plug in, you will need to go to Tools > Default User Agent and switch the selected option to iPhone 3.0. User Agent Switcher is a useful application that will allow you to visit many Japanese sites that are otherwise unavailable.

When you are ready, you will be able to find the Maidoru site here. But before you begin, you will need to register for an account. To do so, send a blank email to: info@ikusei.supergirls.jp. It is fine to leave the subject and contents of the email blank.

Login Screen.

Registration
After a blank email is sent, you should receive an email almost immediately. Clinking the link inside will bring you to the following registration page to key in your particulars.

If you haven’t noticed already, I’ve implemented a new script below to allow our authors to add notes to images. This should make it easier for us to create similar guides in the future. Mouseover the images to see the labels.

Registration Screen.

Provided there are no errors, you will be brought through a few instructional slides once you are done entering your details, . You can click past these. Eventually you’ll reach a screen where you will need to choose your “oshimen”, the member you want to support in Maidoru. Choose away. Note, this can be changed freely later on but you will get a respective “first oshimen” trophy for the person chosen here.

After making your decision, you should be brought to the main screen below.

Main Screen
The main screen is where you’ll be brought to each time you first log into My Idol. Here you’ll be presented a summary of the latest updates (at the top of the page) since you last visited the site. There’s also an overview of your points as well as a listing of your oshimen, her status and latest blog updates.

By default, all users will be able to select only one oshimen. Early last year, they released a key code that allow you to gain an additional oshimen, however that promotion has expired. It is likely that iDOL Street will hold such a campaign again at a later time.

There are three cosmetic selections you can make that will affect the look of the main screen. They are the Trophy (your displayed avatar, which also serve as achievements), Title (to describe yourself, also earned through fulfilling certain conditions) and Design (the site theme or layout, which is purchased using PP at the PP Shop). More details in another section below.

Main Screen.

The next most important thing on the main page is the PP distribution chart for your oshimen, or “Ninja Stats” as I like to call it.

As mentioned above, a huge element of Maidoru involves fans using their PP to vote on various attributes related to their oshimen. Each day, fans will be able to distribute 10 PP among any of the member’s 6 statistics. Some of these statistics are common among all the members, while others are unique to the individual. For example, Kano Kaede’s (pictured above) 6 statistics are her Singing Ability, Looks, Dancing, Miracle, Service Spirit and Positiveness.

The total PP distribution for each previous day is collected and displayed. As you can see, most of her fans tend to agree that she ranks pretty high in the looks department.

As an added bonus, your total lifetime PP contribution is tracked and you are given a ranking among all of the particular member’s fans. With the first being the person who has given up the most PP to that member. Again, this information is only displayed to yourself.

Personally, I don’t really care enough to get involved but there are few actual other uses for PP. Normally, you will be able to generate at least 10 PP each day. You get 5 PP for just visiting the site and another 5 PP for visiting your oshimen’s blog through the site. At the same time, PP contribution is capped at 10 PP a day (per oshimen).

Nagivation
You’ll find this navigation menu at the bottom of all pages while using Maidoru. The menu gives you easy access to key pages of the site. Considering how much you’ll be using it, it would had been better if it were located at the top but all things considered, the My Idol system is pretty intuitive as far as Japanese user interfaces go.

Most of the icons and names should be self-explanatory if you’re able to understand some basic Japanese. If not, you can mouseover the highlights below. Clicking on the icons below will bring you to the respective part of this guide.

The last unmarked icon is for “SPC Contents”, the SUPER☆GiRLS equivalent of a fan club membership. The fan club integrates nicely with My Idol and can be unlocked by entering a key code. But unless you purchase a fan club membership, the icon simply links to a page explaining how to subscribe.

Main Navigation.

Status Screen
The status screen is an overview of all of the user’s own statistics. For the most part, most of the information here is identical to the main page or lifted from other pages and is thus redundant. The only two pieces of information that really differs is the user’s rank (based on their PP contributions) and a user level statistic.

Instead of using points to vote, users may spend a certain number of points to increase their “User Level”. Users begin at level 1 and can increase their level up to a maximum of 20. The amount of points to increase one’s level increases with each upgrade. This number if completely cosmetic and serves no actual purpose for now.

Status Screen.

Idol List
As the name suggests, the Idol List is a listing of all SUPER☆GiRLS members. Clicking on any of them brings you to their respective “Idol Member Details” page (see below). There are also links to the girls blogs and BBS (a board where fans can post messages relating to that particular member).

In keeping with SUPER☆GiRLS transparency, all of the members are actually ranked here in order of the number of blog views they have received over the past 7 days. This ranking is updated daily.

Idol List.

Idol Member Detail
Clicking on any of the girls on the idol list will bring you to a in-depth profile page of that member. There are more details here than even the main or status pages and you will be able to view the PP distribution for the other members too.

For the uninitiated, this serves as a tool for familiarizing yourself with the different members. While hardcore fans can keep track of the girl’s progress here. As a sample, here’s Mirei’s profile below.

Profile.

Messages
The Message Screen is the mailbox where you’ll find messages sent to you by My Idol. These are mostly news updates and announcements.

Message Screen.

Schedule
The schedule is a calendar of events lined up for SUPER☆GiRLS and the individual members. This is particularly helpful since all of their 3rd party media appearances are tracked too. You will be informed in advance of whatever variety programs, radio shows or even newspapers they will be appearing in. No having to run around fan sites scavenging for whatever traces of unreliable information.

Schedule.

Collection
There are a number of different vanity options for Maidoru, all of which come together in the user’s “Collection”. These can be unlocked by completing specific objectives (called missions), entering a key code or by redeeming a certain number of PP at the PP Shop. Once unlocked, you will need to visit the respective collection screen to select the cosmetic option you would like to use. The types of unlockables are listed below.

Collection Screen.

First are “Titles”, which as the name suggests are honorifics that are displayed next to the user’s name. Only one title can be active at a time. These range from the starting title of “Fan” to more ridiculous ones like “Blog Watcher”. Most titles are unlocked through “Secret Missions”, which are simply objectives hidden from the user. You will be able to unlock additional titles over time simply by using the Maidoru site.

Trophies are Maidoru’s achievements. They can also be equipped as avatars. You unlock trophies from normal site usage, as well as entering particular key codes. For example, the trophy shown in this guide was unlocked by entering the key code from a copy of the iDOL Street OFFICIAL BOOK Vol.1. Achievements can also be earned from just about any live event (they hand out key codes at such events) or for supporting your Oshimen for an extended amount of time.

Designs are the skins for the My Idol site. You start off with a few free ones to choose from and additional themes can be purchased with PP (approximately 150-200 PP each).

The only current Digital Contents that are available are wallpaper downloads for your cellphone. These are unlocked for a small amount of PP each. The first SUPER☆GiRLS album also came with a key code to unlock ringtones here.

Finally, there are Utility Items. There is currently nothing here. Up until October last year, fans could use 1,000 PP to send private messages to the members (limited to 5 per member each week). There are occasionally other special items you can redeem from time to time.

For example, just yesterday fans could use PP to land themselves a role in a SUPER☆GiRLS CD Drama. There were 3 female slots for 5,000 PP each and a single male role for 10,000 PP. Like, how crazy is that.

Mission List
Missions are the next key component of My Idol SUPER☆GiRLS. Here you’ll find a list of available missions and completed hidden missons. Shown missions are anything from attending SUPER☆GiRLS upcoming concert to purchasing the latest B.L.T. magazine.

The aforementioned polls through which major decisions are made also take the form of missions. Every so often, Maidoru will present users with a survey to decide the outcome of production issues.

There are also daily quizes, which test the user’s knowledge about the individual members or pose questions from the girls’ appearances in magazines or television. Thankfully, you’ll be able to find most answers online in time. If you’re having trouble with any quiz, you can always drop me a message on Twitter too.

Mission List.

Also, here’s how a sample quiz looks like. This one references information from one of the member’s blogs.

Sample Quiz.

After selecting your answer, you will be prompted to confirm. Select the second option to do so.

Confirm Answer.

Success!

Simple quizes like that tend to reward 10 PP. Quizes that require external knowledge (such as from magazines they appear in) reward 30 PP. Everything else seems to reward between 10-15 PP per 100 yen spent. For example, a concert (which ticket costs 3,000 yen) rewards 300 PP.

PP Shop
A list of whatever you can currently redeem PP for is available at the PP Shop. The only things that are regularly in stock are a bunch of wallpapers and site design options.

PP Shop.

Even if you can’t understand a word of Japanese, worry not. As clicking on any item will bring up a preview. You can review it here before choosing to spend any PP.

Buying Preview Screen.

Oshihen
As mentioned above, fans will be able to change the member they are supporting. While there are no immediate penalties, you are only able to change your Oshimen at the end of each month.

Oshihen Button.

How this works is that a oshihen button will appear during the last 3 days of each month. During this time, clicking on the button will bring up the option for you to change your oshimen. You can change your oshimen at any time, or any number of times during this 3 days freely. And on the 1st day of the following month, whoever you had last selected would become your new active Oshimen.

Reference below.

Oshihen Screen.

Clicking on the oshihen button will show your current active oshimen. Click the second option (変更する) to begin changing you oshimen. From here, you’ll be presented a listing of all the members in a screen identical to when you first selected a member during registration.

Member Select Screen.

Finally, you will be required to confirm you selection. Again, choose the rightmost option.

Confirm Change.

This will bring you to a success prompt. However, you will be free to continue changing this selected member as many times as you wish, or even back to your original oshimen within the 3 day window.

Next Month's Oshimen.

And that’s it for this guide on how to use the My Idol program. If you have any questions or spot any discrepancies feel free to let us know.

This guide on concert light sticks has been in the works for a while since I wasn’t quite sure whether to push it out, but here is it anyways. This is a certain collection of common knowledge about the different types of light sticks you see people brandishing at concerts. While idol concerts primarily referenced, this information might prove even more useful for fans of other artists where such weapons of mass euphoria are not as common.

If someone were to keep tabs, there’ll be a concert going on somewhere in Tokyo for every day of the year. Light sticks see such common use in Japanese concerts that they have become a necessity. You’ll find them easily available at departmental store. In fact, it’s reached a point where people aren’t satisfied with just conventional glow sticks anymore, and thus the variety of options to choose from.

This little guide aims to point out some of the different types of light sticks available, their cost and where to find them. We also scrape a little at the inner workings of these devices for the more curious minds. The main 3 brands to take note of that are mentioned the most in this article are Fukuoka based Lumica, the American OmniGlow company and Turn On, which specializes in LED light sticks.

Normal glowstick.

Normal Glow Sticks
+ Fairly Cheap
+ Relatively Lightweight
+ Long Lasting
- Not Particularly Bright

Glow sticks, light sticks, chemical lights. These are the normal light sticks that everyone has come to know of. They see use at all sorts of concerts, clubs and by ravers or glowstickers. More recently, the artsy fatsy crowd have re-figured that they could use them to write words on film at low shutter speeds.

While many a wota might find conventional glow sticks insufficient for their wild kecha needs, ordinary glow stick remain some of the most cost effective and reliable lighting devices. Plus points include being relatively cheap, easy to wield and in the case of the Japanese variants, impressively long lasting. Being disposal adds to their convenience and they come in an assortment of colors that should fulfill most purposes.

When it comes to normal glow sticks, the Lumica brand ones dominate the Japanese market as the cheapest commercially available ones.  They are surprisingly also the most reliable. The yellow one in the picture below continued to glow even after more than 24 hours (albeit rather dimly)! This is despite an advertised maximum lifespan of 12 hours. Individual sticks cost about 100 yen each (SGD$1.60) but are available in Singapore at all Daiso outlets for SGD$2.

For those living in Singapore, the alternative is to of course to get wholesale ones from the military supply market at Beach Road. These work just as about as well as only other chemical ones, though you may occasionally get a dud due to the low QC.

The ones at Beach Road go for as cheap as SGD$0.50 a piece, if you’re purchasing common colors (white/red/blue/green/yellow/red) in bulk. Do make it a point to bargain. The normal price point for purchasing generic light sticks in low quantities here is $0.80/piece. Elsewhere, at party shops or such, individual sticks still cost about $2 each.

Pink chemical light sticks from Beach Road.

While unknown to some, you can actually request for pink glow sticks at Beach Road too! These tend to  go for roughly $1.00 a piece.

Surprisingly, the biggest minus against normal glow sticks isn’t actually the brightness of the sticks but the cost that eventually stacks up. This is especially true for idol fans who go to lives on a regular basis.

Pretty much all generic light sticks work in the same way and are based off only a few different chemicals, as such many colors actually perform similarly. In general, the green and yellow ones are still the brightest, while also lasting the longest. The white and blue glow sticks are not recommended as they are the dimmest and also last the shortest. Note that the red glow sticks sold in Singapore often aren’t red at all but are simply white ones with a red shell and are thus not recommend either.

Another thing to note is that Japanese and American Pink colored glow sticks often use a white or purple base for its color and are thus some of the dimmest. In a rare case of Singaporean superiority, the pink glow sticks at Beach Road that use a red base are better.

Actual pink and actual red glow sticks come out brighter and richer in color than any white/blue/purple ones but are still significantly less effective than green and yellow ones.

Penlight.

Penlights
+ Lightweight
+ Long Lasting
- Flimsy
- Possibly Pricey

If you’re going to be consuming glow sticks on a regular basis, then getting a battery operated one might seem like a good idea. Commercial battery operated light sticks tend to last for a pretty long time on a single change of batteries, if you’re not particularly concerned on the brightness.

Each of the 3 brands mentioned above offer their own take on the standard battery operated light stick. Both Lumica and OmniGlow have their own versions that attempt to mimic the look of a regular light stick but when it comes to battery operated lightsticks Turn On’s “penlights” are the most popular choice.

Turn On specializes exclusively in making their penlight series of light sticks. Apart from usual benefits of a battery powered light stick, the sticks are the lightest option featured in this guide, beating even conventional chemical glow sticks when it comes to weight. They are also the most enjoyable to wield.

Turn On’s penlights can be found at many departmental stores and pretty much any toy or novelty shop that carries party goods in Japan. Thanks to their ease of customization, they’re also the brand most artists turn to to provide their official concert light sticks.

All battery operated light sticks have a single light-emitting diode (LED) inside. Penlights easily beat out normal glow sticks when it comes to brightness. And though they fall short of orange and yellow high intensity ones, penlights are still brighter than any diphenylanthracene based ultras, such as the blue, white and purple high intensity chemical lights.

Lumica battery lights are made to look like regular chemical lights.

Penlights come with batteries out of the box and have an astonishing lifespan. Mine were able to last for 6 months worth of AKB48 Singapore concerts (approximately 17 shows) on the OEM batteries alone.

Perhaps the only minus against pen lights are their cost. Brand new generic penlights cost 1,200 each (SGD$20). This one off investment pays for itself after about 20 concerts but it doesn’t help that replacement batteries can be pricey.

Standard sized battery powered light sticks from all brands require between 3 to 4 LR44 cell batteries. These cost something like SGD$2 a piece in Singapore or 200 yen in Japanese stores. As you can see, the price of the batteries alone work up to about the cost of a brand new light stick in Japan. Ordering the batteries in bulk direct from wholesalers will help elevate a lot of this pain.

Many artists, 48-family included offer their own branded pen lights by Turn On. These usually sell for 1,500 yen each but are often snatched up quickly.

AKB48 itself has stopped making battery powered light sticks through Turn On and existing ones can sell for as high as 10,000 yen ($160) on the second hand market. AKB48 now distribute their own light sticks, but from experience these aren’t as bright as Turn On’s and manage to be even more flimsy. A friend’s broke after a single use!

Note, a more specialized form of battery powered light sticks are the “light batons” that are available at Don Quijote outlets. Like DIY stick, these are usually powered by Double or Triple A batteries and are even brighter than standard pen lights. Also like DIY sticks, these tend to consume batteries faster but come with the benefit of being in a size covered by rechargeable batteries. Take note though that while you can use them at all other concerts, such devices are banned at the daily AKB48 theater performances.

High Intensity Light stick.

High Intensity Light Sticks
+ Ultra Bright
- Short Lifespan
- Expensive

High Intensity Light Sticks are a type of specialty light stick that trades a typically long glow duration for a short burst of brightness. These see little practical military or industry use but have recently gain popularity with concert-goers, wota and glowstickers thanks to their unique purpose.

They typically last for between 5 to 15 minutes. Both OmniGlow and Lumica offer their own versions for between 157 – 262 yen (approximately $2.50 to $4.20) a piece, available at normal department stores. As you can see, they cost far more than the normal counterparts due to their specialized nature.

If you haven’t already figured, normal light sticks involve the mixture and resultant reaction of two chemicals that produces its glow. To simplify things, we can split colored light sticks into two main groups, those with a yellow-green hue and blue based ones (white/blue/purple). As with regular glow sticks, yellow and green high intensity light sticks are among the brightest (as these use a version of the yellow-green fluorescent dye that is quicker to react).

But of all the available ones, orange colored high intensity light sticks produce the biggest bang. These use a completely different dye that reacts aggressively to produce the brightest possible light. At the offset of lasting for the shortest amount of time.

Due to being the most common color available, they have since been referred to as “UO”s or Ultra Oranges, a named derived from the only two English words printed on OmniGlow’s packing. In truth, there are “ultras” for every other color too.

OmniGlow Ultras.

As with regular chemical lights, blue, white and purple high intensity glow sticks are not recommended.

As there are no chemical alternatives to produce significantly brighter versions of these colors, blue based ultras simply add in more hydrogen peroxide (the glass vial inside glow sticks) so that the chemicals react faster. The result is that while these sticks do glow slightly brighter, it they still under performs the orange, yellow or green counterparts.

In Singapore, some military themed shops have begun to import orange Cyalume brand high intensity glow sticks. Unfortunately, as they are meant to last for 30 minutes a piece, these do not glow as brightly as the 5 minute ones made for concerts.

Size comparison.

To counter Lumica’s more attractive prices, OmniGlow have in recent years introduced a new line of their Ultra light sticks. The new 6″ ones are fat and thick as you can see from the image above but are actually also flat. OmniGlow brags of it being 4 times the size. These replace their older Ultra series of light sticks for the same price of 262 yen.

Alas, when it comes to glow sticks, the actual amount of liquid inside means less than the proportion of chemicals. To retain the same brightness and duration as regular high intensity light sticks, the proportion of mixture is kept the same and as such, the OmniGlow’s 6″ Ultras do not glow any brighter than normal high intensity light sticks…they are just bigger. This makes them certainly more comfortable to hold, but it hardly justifies the cost.

Lumica have also recently released their own counterpart to these larger flat sticks at a more affordable price of 189 yen each.

Brightness Comparison.

If you’re in Singapore and in need of 5 minute high intensity glow sticks, do drop me a message. I import them in fairly large quantities on a regular basis. As you can see from above, the ones I have in stock are identical to the regular sized Japanese ones. Also as they are made specially for concerts in mind, they also break must easier and react instantly for maximum brightness with no shaking required!

I have them in the following colors: orange, blue, green, yellow and red.

The orange ones seem to glow especially bright and come recommended. This is followed by the yellow and green ones of course. While not as bright, the red ones glow a really deep red that may be a little niche. The blue ones are not really recommended as they do not compare well with the other colors. If you are in need of any, you can find me at any AKB48 related concert to get them at $2.50 a piece.

Specialty Chemical Light Sticks
Various

Lumica’s primary business is chemical glow sticks for the purpose of both industrial and entertainment purposes. And it is perhaps for this reason that they have the widest variety of chemical lights available. Apart from the usual 8-12 hour and high intensity light sticks, Lumica have developed some other novelty light sticks such as 2-hour ones that glow just slightly brighter than the 8 hour versions, pastel colored light sticks (in baby pink and baby blue) and even chemical light sticks that changes between 3 colors (orange > yellow > green or red > purple > blue) over a 20 minute period. I won’t be explaining them in detail, since they don’t differ enough from regular chemical lights.

DIY sticks.

DIY Sticks
+ Possibly Brightest
+ Possibly Cost Effective
- Cumbersome
- Actual Work Required

Like many a Jedi, the most extreme of wota eventually take a crucial step to make their very own battery powered light stick.

At its simplest, creating your own custom light stick involves purchasing a LED torchlight and attaching an existing or custom plastic tube to the top. This requires a certain amount of effort on the part of the wielder but as most tend to opt for high powered Gentos or Cree LED flash lights, the result is the brightest (if not blindingly powerful) light stick that you can possibly wield.

On it’s own, a Cree flash light will cost anywhere between $20-$30. The more powerful ones from the Japanese company Gentos can go for slightly more than $40 each. The brightness of these torches are measured in lumens with torches providing anywhere between 100 to 700 eye melting lumens. Keep in mind that the output of a normal chemical light stick is about 4 lumens.

For practical purposes, we wouldn’t recommend anything over a couple hundred lumens and even then you’re going to need some serious padding to keep the light in. Next, you can either use a piece of plastic to form a tube around the torch or if available, find an acrylic tube that can fit.

A paper to filter is required to give your DIY light stick some color if you want it to display anything other than white. Due to the strength of such LED torches, it can be difficult to find papers that are translucent enough to dissipate the light without being completely opaque.

Finally, the top of the tube has to be sealed off  (it’d simply be a torch light with a tube attached). This is usually the least glamorous part, since it can be quite difficult to find a cap that will fit nicely. Most choose to simply tape off the top or cover it with some sort of reflective material like aluminium foil.

Just an observation but light stick creation or modding is less prevalent among AKB48 fans than other wota and otaku, perhaps because they aren’t allowed at the AKB48 theater. The bright glow of a DIY light stick will definitely catch a lot of attention but it can also be rather distracting.

There are a few additional plus and minuses to making your own light stick. Some have managed to work in a screw on tube to their torches or found some other means to swap the colors of their filter. Such torches also tend to be powered by Double or Triple A batteries which can be recharged, meaning that there is no need to purchase expensive cells like commercial penlights. On the downside, DIY light sticks tend to be pretty heavy.

Ultimately, there is no single best type of light stick to suit every purpose. Instead, users will have to choose from whichever best suits their concerting needs.

Have more notes about light sticks? Help share your knowledge in the comments section below.

If you’ve been with us for a while, you would know about the discount offers available when traveling around Japan. I always wondered why there weren’t any similar free and easy plans for when Singapore. But there is now. With the new See Singapore Pass by iVenture, you’ll an immediate discount of over 40%. Best of all, it’s not limited to tourists.

The See Singapore Pass covers many of the country’s main tourist attractions such as entry to the Night Safari, Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, Underwater World and Singapore Flyer. As well as guided programs such as the Singapore River Cruise, Tekka Market Breakfast Tour or Singapore Walks.

Some of the Attractions covered by the Passes
Night Safari
Singapore Zoo
Jurong Bird Park
Underwater World & Dolphin Lagoon
Singapore Flyer
Singapore River Cruise
Snow City
The Original Singapore Walks

Ordinarily, these would cost quite a bit (anywhere from $20-$40 each, with most leaning toward the higher end). To counter this, iVenture provides two different types of passes. The See Singapore Unlimited Pass and the See Singapore Flexi Pack.

The See Singapore Unlimited Pass operates almost identically to the Osaka Unlimited Pass at least in the attractions aspect. It doesn’t cover transport, but it does allow you free access to any of the valid attractions for the respective number of days.

Unlimited 1-day – Adult: S$79 – Child: S$49
Unlimited 2-day – Adult: S$99 – Child: S$59
Unlimited 3-day – Adult: S$139 – Child: S$89
Unlimited 5-day – Adult: S$179 – Child: S$119

For the Unlimited Pass, the two day pass looks like a good option. If you were to say, hit up the Singapore Zoo/Night Safari on the first day. Then visit the Jurong Bird Park on the second. You’d still have enough time for a leisurely evening at the Singapore Riverside and Singapore Flyer. This would amount to savings of almost $30. Of course, you could end up saving more if you did a tour style excursion to more areas in each day.

iVenture's See Singapore Pass.

The new Flexi Pack is also particularly attractive. It comes in two versions, a 3 ticket or 5 ticket type. With this pass, you will be able to gain entry to the respective number of attractions over the stretch of a month.

Flexi Pack (3 tickets) – Adult: S$69 – Child: S$49
Flexi Pack (5 tickets) – Adult: S$109 – Child: S$69

This is a low commitment package, that lets you save a bit less in exchange for greater flexibility and the freedom to visit the attractions at a leisurely pace. It’s a great option for those who are spending more than a couple of days in Singapore. This will be the pass of choice for locals too.

For more details and to purchase your pass online, visit the official See Singapore Pass website. You can collect your pass at the Singapore Flyer and at 313@Somerset Orchard.

One of the most frequently asked questions on the travel forums I frequent is whether to purchase a Japan Rail Pass (or JR Pass for short). This special pass covers all transport owned by the JR company throughout the country, including unlimited free rides on the usually pricey bullet trains.

Purchasing the JR Pass

The catch is that the Japan Rail Pass can only be purchased by foreigners who are arriving as a temporary visitor (holiday visa) and only from outside of Japan. You will need to apply for a Rail Pass Exchange Voucher ahead of time from your home country through a travel agent.

If you’re from Singapore you can get it conveniently online from the Nippon Travel Agency website and they will deliver it to you free the next day.

When you’ve reached Japan the Rail Pass Exchange Voucher can then be traded at JR Train Stations for your actual Rail Pass. You will be required to present your foreign passport and also fill up an exchange form. If you’re in a hurry, you can print out this online copy of the exchange form to fill out ahead of time.

Exchange vouchers.

Saving with the Rail Pass

On a day by day basis, the JR Pass works out to be quite hefty amount to pay for transport. Zipping around on a bullet train, it is often easy to forget how big a country Japan is and that these are distances normally covered by planes.

Still it always works out as savings if you’re going to be taking the shinkansen even for just one of the days covered by the pass. For reference, a one way trip on a shinkansen would cost you anywhere between 10,000 for nearby places to 20,000 yen or more when traveling further.

The price/day ratio gets more economical when purchasing the JR Pass for duration longer than 7-days. You have to ask yourself if you’d really be using the pass enough to make it worth your while. But it ought to be beneficial as long as you’re taking a two-way trip every 7 days.

Anything more than that results in large savings with the added benefit that pass can be used to cover local transport in places where JR has a foothold (which turns out to be most major cities).

Traveling by bullet train without a pass is costly.

JR Pass Types

The JR Pass is available in 7, 14 and 21 day varieties. Each gives the wielder unlimited rides on all JR Company related transport for the respective number of days. There are also two versions, the Ordinary JR Pass as well as a pricier Green version. The Green JR Pass allows for seats on the VIP sections of shinkansen (which usually includes some refreshments) but as you see below, costs a lot more. I wouldn’t recommend it.

7-Day Ordinary: 28,300 yen
14-Day Ordinary: 45,100 yen
21-Day Ordinary: 57,700 yen

7-Day Green: 37,800 yen (+9,500 yen)
14-Day Green: 61,200 yen (+16,100 yen)
21-Day Green: 79,600 yen (21,900 yen)

Regular seats in bullet trains aren’t that bad. They are already a visible upgrade from what you’d get on an economy class flight. If you find yourself spending most of your day on bullet trains or enough times to make Green seats worth it, then you’re clearly doing something wrong. The only time you’d want to get Green tickets is if you happen to bouncing around Japan on business and your company is footing the bill.

You can save yourself quite a bit and enjoy yourself much more by bringing your own food onboard (such as the wide variety of packed lunches available at train stations) on days that you actually use the JR Pass.

The ordinary seats aren't as bad as you'd think.

Train Types

Note that for shinkansen, this is limited to the normal Hikari, Sakura, Kodama or Tsubame trains only. As with purchasing regular shinkansen tickets, it will cost extra to upgrade to the (slightly faster) Nozomi, Mizuho and Hayabusa trains but there is usually no good reason to as they cover identical routes.

Most tracks alternate between Nozomi and Hikari trains so be sure not to miss your train or you’d have to wait an hour for the next. Hyperdia is the best place to check travel routes and timings.

It is best to get one of these before boarding a Shinkansen.

Reserving Seats

Normally, it would cost more to reserve a seat on a shinkansen when using regular tickets. But what many people fail to realize is that you can get reserved seats on bullet trains for free even with the ordinary JR Pass. Just head to the ticketing counter (they are split up by destination) ahead of the train timing to book your seat.

Placing your reservations early will ensure that you get the best seats. Like on a plane, always choose to get the front most seats in a cabin if you can. There are also different types of cabins that you can request for. You can ask for non-smoking cabins, as well as special “quiet cabins” on very early or late trains that will shut off the lights to let you sleep.

More information about the JR Pass at the Japan Rail Pass official website.

Whether your destination for your next holiday is to Singapore or Japan, Google Maps makes for a great alternative to other travel programs when planning your itinerary. The combination of searchable areas of interest, simplicity of use and pain free map sharing with your friends is hard to beat. Better yet, almost everyone ought to already have a Google account and My Places, users can plan their itinerary easily using custom maps.

Google Map's My Places.

My Places integrates fully with the existing Google Maps functionality that everyone is familiar with. Searching for attractions and plotting out the route of transport between any two places is quick and painless. Like Google Docs, you can grant access to friends and collaborate together on a single itinerary too.

Note though, the transport maps aren’t as comprehensive in Japan as they are for Singapore. Google Maps’ directions functions for Singapore are pretty awesome, flat out beating even the local StreetDirectory.com in terms of accuracy. I’ve ended up with out dated bus routes and even outright erroneous information when trying to plot out transport routes with Singapore’s Street Directory but never with Google Maps.

Planning with Google Maps.

You can right click any area on the map to add a placemark. You can input details of your destination and change the icon to match your needs. There are a generous number of pre-made travel themed icons provided right out of the box but you can also load in your own custom graphics too. I also find it generally useful to color coordinate your goals some way or other.

Marking your accommodation on the map is a given. With your hotel or hostel marked down, you can easily find the distance and means to travel to other destinations.

Creating a new placemark.

This being Google, the easier way to plan and create placemarks is to search for existing marked areas. There are two ways to search for places, through the search bar or by choosing “What’s Here” on any area of the map to find nearby places of interest.

Google Maps itself is a community effort and many places of interest may have been marked out by other users on their maps. Often attractions, restaurants etc already have their details filled out (such as their telephone number and opening hours) by the businesses. You can import these places of interests (complete with their details) as placemarks onto your own map by just clicking on the “Save to My Maps” option.

Import detail community information to your maps.

And now with the magic of smart phones, you can access your itinerary on Google Maps even while on the go. An active 3G connection while traveling would be too costly, so instead save the area of the map you’re visiting for offline access on individual days. As a last minute resort, you could always make use of the free Wi-Fi at cafes too.

It is only appropriate that Japan, a country made up of 6,852 islands to be home to some of the largest and most amazing aquaria in the world. Kaiyukan (better known overseas simply as the Osaka Aquarium) is one of the best examples. The iconic building houses a large variety of aquatic life from the pacific region, including rare specimens that exist in in few other aquariums worldwide.

Getting to Osaka Aquarium

Osaka Aquarium is located at Osaka Bay (the Kansai equivalent of say the City Hall area). One can only envy how fortunate the local kids are to have grown up with such an enriching establishment right smack in their city. The nearest stop to Kaiyukan is the Osakako Station on the Osaka Chuo line. It’s a 20 minute ride from the central Namba area to Osakako and another 5 minute walk from the station to the aquarium.

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It’s good to know that Kaiyukan is located right alongside another popular attraction in Osaka, the Tempozan Ferris Wheel. A port themed shopping complex called Market Place connects the two.

The Osaka Bay area no doubt makes for a popular date spot among local couples. You’ll find many cafes and eateries along the route from Osakako Station up to Osaka Aquarium, with more restaurants within the Market Place mall itself. The entire area is collectively known as the Tempozan Harbor Village.

Just beside the Tempozan Ferris Wheel.

Visiting Osaka Aquarium

The Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan is opened from 10 AM to 8 PM daily. A good time to go is early in the morning (before 11) to make it for the feeding sessions but you’ll have to contend with the crowds then. The place is known to be ridiculously packed on weekends so avoid it then. Alternatively, you’d want to go in the evening when ticket prices are discounted and the aquarium is much more peaceful.

Normal ticket prices for the Osaka Aquarium is 2,000 yen. Children age 7-15 enter for 900 yen while tickets for those between 4-6 costs 400 yen. There are also various discount schemes available from time to time but below is a list of the permanent ones.

The tickets.

Those holding the Osaka Unlimited Pass can get a 100 yen discount off their tickets (but is not additive to other promotions). There is an after 4 PM special which allows you to get 300 yen off each ticket when purchased in a pair.

If you don’t already have any transport pass of sorts, a better deal would be to get an Osaka Kaiyu Ticket which is sold at the local subway stations.For 2,400 yen you get an entry ticket to the aquarium as well as unlimited rides on the local trains and buses for one day.

On their own such tickets would cost you 2,000 yen and 800 respectively so this would effectively nett you the highest discount among all the options above, provided you take at least 4 train rides in a day (which isn’t difficult as long you’re making a couple of stops elsewhere from a hotel).

At Osaka Aquarium

The journey through Osaka Aquarium begins with a series of elevator rides up to the top of the building. As a gauge, the Kaiyukan is about 8 floors high by normal building standards. The top entrance floor houses fuzzy animals like the capybara, sea lions, otters and penguins.

The top floor entrance.

Is where you'll find the capybara, sea lions and penguins.

Climate controlled environments.

Also at the top.

Large variety of aquatic life.

But below the entire central space is taken up mostly by the giant tank that accommodates the aquarium’s largest inhabitants. You’ll find the chief attraction, a female whale shark called Yu-chan. Kaiyukan is one of only 7 aquariums in the world large enough to house such a creature (with 3 of them being located in Japan).

The main highlight. Kaiyukan is one of the few aquariums in the world to house a whale shark.

Largest tank in the aquarium.

The path through the aquarium spirals downward around the central tanks. Apart from the obvious supporting columns, all of the water bodies here are almost completely see through. While the central area houses the larger animals, the circumference is home to the other tanks that support the other amazing creatures like the octopuses, sea turtles, plethora of different fishes and the two breeds of dolphins here.

While trips to other oceanariums often involve degrading outdoor feats performed by the animals, a visit to Osaka Aquarium is like entering another world.

The name Kaiyukan literally translates to “Playing in the Sea Pavilion”. The aquarium aims to respect the dignity of the creatures living here by recreating as natural an environment for them to live in. There is certainly something amazing and surreal about being surrounded all round by a man made ocean of these rarely seen lifeforms.

Complete viewing area.

The Osaka Aquarium makes for a really educational trip. Detailed statistics of each of the animals that call Kaiyukan home are prominently displayed. Interestingly, this is not limited to just scientific data.

Each specimen has been lovingly named and a breakdown of the individual creature’s personality is also provided. Local children can watch the aquarium’s inhabitants grow up alongside them, while it’s convenient enough for enthusiasts could come to meet the creatures from time to time.

Giant manta.

Ocean sunfish.

There are simply too many specimens featured here to list down individually but notable is the rarely seen ocean sunfish. The Osaka Aquarium is one of a handful of places where you can see this deep sea fish, on account of how difficult it is to provide suitable living conditions.

Kaiyukan is also the only aquarium in the world to house a spinetail mobula. The giant manta spans over 2 meters long and seeing it glide through the water without any effort is a rather astonishing sight.

Beautiful reef fishes swimming in a continuous loop.

Giant Japanese spider crabs.

The lowest section of the aquarium is home to rare deep sea denizens, such as the Japanese spider crab. There’s also an amazing collection of jellyfish on display, from tiny ones up to some as large as half a meter. A returning exhibit is the display of huge edible jellyfish, a type with large bells. They weren’t around during out last trip but could be seen back in 2008 and have returned again right now.

Big collection of sea jellies.

From tiny ones like these.

To larger varieties.

No attraction is complete without a visit to the souvenir shop. Osaka Aquarium’s souvenir shop is located at the base of the aquarium and can be accessed without entering the actual aquarium.

The large store carries an assortment of ocean themed goods, many of which are branded exclusively for the Kaiyukan name. The Kaiyukan logo is a simple but effective (and cute!) interpretation of the symbolic building with the whale shark.

Souvenir shop at the base of the aquarium.

Cute plushies.

Ocean themed souvenir snacks.

Official Kaiyukan Gachas.

For more information, check out the Kaiyukan’s official English site.

After having introduced the general concept of Ramen Champion Singapore in the previous post, I’ll slowly be covering the six different stalls one by one. Out of all 6 stalls, one particular stall stands out for being very unique among the other more commonly seen Ramen styles that have been brought over to Singapore and that is Bario Ramen.

For those who are not familiar with what kind of Ramen Bario serves, Jiro-style noodles is the only choice here. Essentially that is, a bowl of porky shoyu soup, paired with extremely thick noodles, topped with bean sprouts and chunky char siew. For added flavor, there is also one inch of suspended fats covering the whole bowl. Sounds rather overpowering? That’s because this style of Ramen is meant to be like this.

Bario Ramen, Jiro-style Ramen.

As mentioned before, the bowl Bario serves is Jiro-style noodles. This is derived from the immensely popular Jiro Ramen back in Japan. Jiro Ramen, which once was a cult phenomenon capturing the hearts and bellies of its loyal supporters had managed to catch on with the general public. From then on this style of Ramen boomed, and a numbers of imitators started appearing, each doing their best to copy Jiro’s massive bowl of goodness.

Among all of the other imitators, Bario had become rather successful in creating the Jiro-style noodles. In a few short years, they managed to open 3 chain shops to their name, spreading the love of Jiro-style noodles in Tokyo itself. Singapore is their first overseas venture.

Interestingly, the name “Bario” seems to be a word play of sorts. But one thing is certain, バリ男 with the Kanji word “men” written on is definitely warning that anyone attempting their bowl of noodles should be manly enough. Even to be as manly as the Bario staff themselves, who don on a Bario version of the superman T-shirt. Wished that I could buy one of those tees.

Expect to see the Bario beeper every time due to the large crowds trying out of curiosity.

To be frank, out of the six Ramen stalls, Bario is considered my favorite of the lot. Yet I usually don’t recommend it to due to the fact that those with a weaker stomach will suffer from its after effects the day after. The thick cut bread flour noodles can easily cause indigestion and the huge amounts of pork fats only contributes to an upset stomach. Not good.

Also, the sheer volume from a bowl of their Ramen is enough for the average person to be full for 1 or 2 meals. It is a tough bowl to tackle. In fact, some pride themselves in being able to handle this kind of Ramen with ease.

Regular sized Bario Ramen, a is Small size available.

So what constitutes a bowl of Bario Ramen?

A familiar tonkotsu based soup is used, but since there’s also huge amount of pork parts used aside from the usual bones, I’ll just call it the porkiest soup ever. See the deep brown soup with the suspended white pork fats? A specially chosen shoyu (soy sauce) gives the soup its characteristically overpowering flavor. Definitely not your usual store bought shoyu.

The noodles are made with bread flour, and sculpted into an udon sized thickness. Considering that a regular bowl of their noodles should consist of around 350g of noodles, that equates to enjoying a whole baguette in compressed noodle form. Even for those who opt for a smaller bowl of Bario Ramen, know that there should be at least 200g of noodles in there too.

To top it off, large amounts of boiled veggies (usually bean sprouts and cabbage) are piled on top of the almost overflowing bowl of Ramen and paired with some chunky Japanese char siew. I’d try not to give the veggies a miss, since they are the only stuff in the bowl that cleanses your palette while tackling this bowl of noodles.

Some say that among everything that is within the Bario bowl, the hardest thing to tackle would be the char siew itself. True? You’ll have to be the judge.

If you look closely, the thick layer of suspended pork fats should be pretty evident from the photos itself. It acts as added flavor for the already very sinful bowl of noodles and also helps keep the bowl of Ramen hot while eating. Be careful not to get scorched by the soup.

Bario Ramen 2nd attempt, with max garlic and chilies.

As recommended by boss himself, a bowl of his Bario Ramen is best enjoyed with some raw minced garlic, chilies optional.

Like the idea of fighting poison with poison, one can add copious amounts of garlic to their bowl to make the usually porky soup slightly less overpowering. Dried chili flakes are of course provided, knowing that the Singaporeans must have their fix of spiciness in everything they consume.

Interestingly, there is a scale written for the different amount of garlic and chilies added to one’s bowl. Probably a way to taunt diners to eat the way the boss feels that his noodles should meant to be eaten. To become the most manly as you can be, 3 large spoonfuls of mince garlic is required. 1 or 2 spoonful of garlic respectively dictates that one is manly or slightly manly (but all are still respected for simply attempting this feat).

In English, "For being a man, thank you".

Bario is now the hottest bowl of Ramen to be savored by diners visiting the Ramen Champion, as it seems to draw the longest queues in each of the several times that I have visited. This is of course fueled by its novelty among of the other bowls of Ramen served, this is the most unique of the lot. Will it really win over the taste buds and stomachs of the Ramen loving Singaporean community? Only time will tell.

During each of my visits, there was no lack of brave friends trying out Bario Ramen. This allowed me a chance to gauge the consistency of the bowls they served. And to be frank, little details start to get missed out once the crowds gets insane.

One evident difference was that for the bean sprouts during my first visit, the head and the tails were picked out but that wasn’t the case in subsequent visits. Yes, the taste and other stuff mainly stays consistent but those who like to nick-pick will be able to draw out these small details without any difficulty.

For now Bario Ramen remains the top bowl to try, if only because of its sheer uniqueness and novelty. For those looking for a challenge in a bowl of Ramen, this is it. For the rest who don’t adore queue times or simply want a more familiar fix of Ramen, I’ll also be covering the other 5 stores at Ramen Champion once I have the chance, so stay tuned.

PS: For people who are manly enough to finish the bowl till the last drop (no cheating), there’s a little added surprise written on the bottom of the bowl.

Lake Chuzenji is a large 20,000 year old crater lake located along the side of the impressive 2,486 meter tall Mount Nantei, the Tochigi Prefecture equivalent of Mount Fuji. In ancient times, mountain streams such as Chuzenji were respected and worshiped as sources of water and thus life. These days, the area is a popular retreat (particularly to local tourists) who come to marvel at the natural sights and enjoy the surrounding hot springs.

A large lake in the mountains.

Visiting Chuzenji

JR Pass
Mount Nantei and Chuzenji are part of the city of Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture, 125 kilometers north from Tokyo city. For those holding onto a Japan Rail pass of some kind, there are bullet trains to the Tochigi capital city of Utsunomiya from Tokyo. From Utsunomiya, you can then transfer to a local train on the JR Nikko line. The total trip should take a couple of hours.

Note though that the JR Pass doesn’t cover travel within Nikko. That’s because all of the local buses in Nikko are run by the Tobu Railway Company. So you’re traveling up the mountain, you’ll want to get a local bus pass from the Tobu-Nikko station. The 2 day pass costs 2,000 yen. But is immediately cheaper than a trip up and down the mountain.

Tobu Passes
Alternatively, the Tobu Railway Company runs a train service between Tokyo’s Asakusa and the Tobu-Nikko station. Fortunately, the company does provide two different bundle passes that covers a return trip between Tokyo and Nikko.

The first pass, The World Heritage Pass (3,600 yen) covers a return train trip to Nikko, basic entry to two shrines and unlimited bus rides between the shrines over a 2 day period.

Unlimited bus rides may seem like a pretty good deal until you realize the bus services here end at 4 PM. Also, what they don’t tell you is that most of the important sights in Nikko are within walking distance from the station.

But a single trip between Asakusa and Nikko would usually already cost 2,600 yen so, you’re always better off purchasing one of the passes anyways just for the train ride.

To visit Chuzenji though, you’re going to have to get the All Nikko Pass. It costs 1,200 yen more than the World Heritage Pass but expands the use of buses to cover trips up the mountain. A single trip would usually cost 1,100 yen one way. Better yet, the buses take you all the way up to the Yumoto Onsen hot springs resort so the pass will be especially valuable for those staying overnight. The All Nikko Pass costs 4,400 yen and lasts up to 4 days.

Torii gate on the road to Yumoto Onsen.

At Chuzenji

Lake Chuzenji is less than 100 meters by foot from the bus terminus at Chuzenji. Despite being more than a thousand meters above ground, it is surrounded by a small community of shop houses that survive off visitors, onsen resorts and peaceful homes.

Small shop houses at Chuzenji-ko.

Restaurants here serve vegetarian cuisines that owe their roots to the many Buddhist temples that used to call Nikko home. The local specialty being Yuba (bean curd skin) and freshly picked ingredients from the mountain. Gift shops sell pickled versions of the mountain vegetables and Tochigi Lemon Milk, the more commercialized prefecture omiyage.

The main road forks at the lake, with one road ending at the nearby Mount Hangetsu and the other bringing you all the way to Yumoto Onsen. The route to Yumoto is overlooked by the towering Mount Nantei, while holiday homes litter the two kilometer road to Hangetsu.

Mount Nantei.

The start of Lake Chuzenji.

The lake itself is a grand sight, supplemented by the fact that you’re looking at it up in the mountains much like Lake Ashi at Hakone or the Fuji Five Lakes. During good months, the lake is open for activity but we ended up visiting in Winter this time round. The lake is closed during this time of the year due to the sub-zero temperatures and harsh winds.

The lake extends much further to the West.

Not far from the lake, back in the direction of the bus terminus you’ll find another famous landmark related to Chuzenji, one of Japan’s three greatest waterfalls, Kegon Falls.

Short walk in the other direction.

Kegon Falls is the principal exit of Lake Chuzenji’s water. You can clearly see the water seeping through the cracks in the volcanic rocks only to fall 97 meters into the underlying Kegon Valley. It’s a pretty amazing sight and is especially popular sight in Autumn for its red foliage or in Winter when the rest of its surroundings freezes up.

If you can afford the cash, there’s a special elevator that will take you to the base of the waterfall for 530 yen for a more picture perfect shot but for the more thrifty, it costs nothing to appreciate it from above.

Kegon Falls.

You can check out this past photo post for a more detailed looked at Lake Chuzenji and Nikko.