Japan is probably on every person’s travel bucket list, and it is easy to see why. The Asian country is not only aesthetically beautiful, but is also known for their captivating culture and traditions that remain alive in this modern age. And the food? Don’t get me started. Japanese cuisine is undoubtedly one of the tastiest and most intricate dishes around the world, and we love them for it. The people are incredibly friendly (and super disciplined wow), and they brought us anime. God bless them.
READ: Nagoya, Japan: Your Gateway to the Wondrous World of Castles, Charming Old Towns, and More
Filipino traveler and videographer Paolo Fernandez, together with his team, made a travel film on their recent explorations in Japan, shared it with us. Haven’t been to Japan yet? Take a peek and get ready to be enthralled below:
Below are words from Paolo himself, who shared with us a little bit of their itinerary and recommendations on the places they visited. Read on, you might find something valuable when you finally find yourself in the world’s largest city–Tokyo!
Words from Paolo:
It was my third time visiting Japan. After seeing Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya back in 2014, I returned last December 2016 to see Tokyo that time. The first time I took a glance at Tokyo’s scenery upon landing at Narita International Airport, I was still in awe even though I had visited Japan several times already.
It was nice to be back in the land of the rising sun and I was more excited that time compared to previous visits because I was traveling with my friends and not with my family so I had more freedom to do things that I wanted to.
We only had 5 days to explore the entire city of Tokyo so we made sure that our trip would be memorable and maximized. We stayed in APA Hotel in Shinjuku district. It was really a good place to stay in – very comfy and cheap as well. It is just walking distance going to Higashi-Shinjuku train station so no more worries for the transportation going to the nearest train station.
On our first day, we just toured around our hotel and met our friend who is living there. We didn’t have an itinerary on our first day because we landed in Tokyo by late afternoon so we decided to take a rest and just explore the vicinity by night.
On our second day, we went to Akihabara and witnessed several anime-related things. It is a must-see place especially those who really love anime! Afterward, we headed to Hachiko’s statue in Shibuya and I made some time-lapse of people crossing the wide pedestrian. We also tried eating cheesecake at PABLO and believe me that it was one of the best cheesecake I’ve ever tasted! At night, we visited Gundam Statue at Odaiba City and we’re lucky enough to watch the short augmented video presentation. Came the third day, we rose earlier to catch the bus going to Kawaguchiko Station at 7 AM. A lesson learned from on our end; we should have booked our tickets beforehand to avoid the hassle. But we were lucky and we were placed on waiting list and were still able to catch the bus at 7 AM! Just a tip to all those who want to visit Mt. Fuji by bus, book your tickets prior your target date of arrival so you won’t be overwhelmed by the time you arrive at Shinjuku Bus Terminal. The terminal was really busy and crowded so it is better to go there with your tickets and itinerary ready to ease the pain.
The land travel from Shinjuku Bus Terminal to Kawaguchiko Station takes 1 hour and 45 minutes. We just chose the right time to go there because the weather was so good and the sun was just perfect to light up Mt. Fuji. Good thing that it was not that cloudy so we could still see the great silhouette of Mt. Fuji. I did some time lapses several times so that I would have various options in choosing the right footage of Mt. Fuji! Kindly refer to the video to see the outcome. It is also advisable to plan your itinerary and whereabouts when going to Mt. Fuji because there are several locations to the scenery, we just chose the famous one which is Chureito Pagoda.
We spent the rest of the day in visiting Mt. Fuji and the nearby areas, we chose 4 PM to return at Shinjuku Bus Terminal. Around 6 PM, we were back at Shinjuku and took a Yakinuku dinner. It was much more expensive than the usual dinner but I think it’s a must-try because you’ll experience grilling meats on table top while drinking your beer.
On our fourth day, we were back at Akihabara. We tried playing in TAITO Station and luckily I got one cute stuffed toy out of several tries! Just a heads up that it could cause you so much addiction that you might forget you’ve spent too much already!
In the late afternoon, we went to Tokyo Imperial Palace and Tokyo Tower. If you’d like to witness more skyline views, it is recommended to go to Tokyo Sky Tree. At night, we went to Don Quijote and bought several goodies! If you’re a foreigner, you are entitled to tax-free if you’ve bought at least 5,000 Yen.
We didn’t plan many activities on our last day because we have an early flight going back to Manila. We had our breakfast in the airport after checking-in our luggage.
I hope you’ll enjoy watching our travel video. Hopefully we can visit Japan again soon.
Have you been to Tokyo, too? What are your recommendations? Let us know in the comments!
–
Creative Direction: Paolo Fernandez
Videographers: Paolo Fernandez & Yves Bernaldez
Editing & Animation: Paolo Fernandez
Vimeo HD Link: https://vimeo.com/200146819
Backstabbers Production
www.facebook.com/backstabbersprod
