Funny Announcement

Date: December 3, 2011
Flight #: QZ7782 by Air Asia
Destination: Singapore

It was announced first in Indonesian:

"Kepada para penumpang yang terhomat, sebentar lagi kita akan lepas landas. Harap agar anda mematikan semua telepon genggam maupun alat elektronik lainnya seperti iphone, ipod, ipad dan *pause* dan *pause* "i" "i" lainnya."


The Indonesian passengers laughed like crazy. But then it was announced once again in English:

"Dear passengers, we will take off shortly. Please turn off your mobile phones and other electronic devices including your iphone, ipod, ipad and another "i"."

Funny? Yes. But after a second thought, it's embarrassing.

Cakes - Japan

I love cakes. And I usually don't mind to spend money for delicious cakes. But in Japan I have to think twice to buy one but at the same time I drooled over the beautiful and colorful display around me T___T

A slice of cake priced around ¥500 about twice the price in my country. If you're not coming from Indonesia it's probably a sensible price, but it's quite expensive here. Still, when you're talking about Japan it's 'what you see what you get' so I was not disappointed in spending money for snacks and sweets. Excellent visual, excellent taste.

And since everything's expensive too, what else did I buy for my family but more snacks! LOL My Dad's hooked with the Hokkaido Cheese Cake as it's soft and easy to digest. I prefer the Mochi with red bean paste filling. Too bad I didn't take pictures from the boxed snacks that I brought home. I guess I was just impatient to taste them since the packaging was too pretty hahaha

Japan Visa, 2010

I submitted my visa application through a travel agent only 1.5 months before the trip. Normal process takes 4 working days but since I used a travel agent service I got it after 7 working days, fee was IDR 400.000,-

As long as you submit the complete requirements then you'll get it for sure, check THIS. You can find info on Japan Visa application HERE.

Let me summarize the requirements for visa application:
(1) Original Passport
(2) Fill in the APPLICATION
(3) Latest photo, color, white background, size 4.5 x 4.5cm
(4) Copy of ID
(5) Copy of ticket or flight booking
(6) Complete this form with your planned itinerary
(7) Latest 3 months Bank Statement
(8) Company recommendation -- not always asked, but I prepared it anyway.

At that time I applied with IDR 20.000.000,- in my bank account. I was about to go for 10 full days and was granted visa for 15 days. I hope nothing changed when I apply for my visa next year *crossing fingers*

Visiting Japan, 2010

Visiting Japan was a dream come true. I heard a lot about it from my father who had visited the country a few times, I met his Japanese sensei frequently when I was young and received some interesting souvenir from him. After I grew up, I was hooked with the music, drama, manga and anime. So I've been dreaming to visit it for a very long time.I knew that it would require a lot of money to go there. Everything's expensive but I believed that when the time is right, I'd definitely go.

Opportunity came when an Indonesian friend of mine moved to Tokyo because of her husband's job. It would be her last year living there so she told me that I should come then or I would have to spend a lot of money for accommodation in my visit. I checked the visa requirement, my bank account, ticket price  and suddenly everything matched!

Travel Period

I went for 10 days at the end of May - early June. It wasn't a really good season though. It was still rainy before it entered summer. The wind was freezing too at nights. The Sakura season was over already. Based on my Japanese friends' suggestion, the best time to travel was during end of April - May when the Sakura blooms or between September - October when the weather was not too hot nor too cold. Summer was hot, not to mention super expensive cause Japanese also travels during Summer.

Tickets

 I flew with Malaysian Airlines because at that time it was the cheapest that I could get. I paid IDR 7.000.000 for a roundtrip ticket of Jakarta - Tokyo - Jakarta with 1 stop at Kuala Lumpur. This was a regret because if only I purchased the ticket 1 month earlier I could have saved IDR 1.000.000,- but I was so determined to make sure that I could get my visa first. The flight wasn't so bad. The JKT - KUL - JKT sector was using a smaller plane so the seat was a little narrow to my liking, and unfortunately I got a middle seat between people I didn't know T___T But the KUL - NRT - KUL sector was ok, the seat was comfortable enough. I purchased the tickets online 2 months before my scheduled trip. If you have a flexible time at work or you can arrange your leave a few months ahead, I think it's fine to purchase your tickets 3 - 6 months prior to your planned departure date.

Accommodation

I was fortunate that I have friends who lived there. Like I said before, otherwise I would have to pay a lot of money for accommodation! The cheapest you could get for a hostel or a guest house was around

¥ 2.500 - ¥ 3.500 per person per night. Since I was traveling by myself, of course it wasn't comfortable to do so. Traveling in groups is a better option. For example, I will be traveling to Japan again in March next year. But this time I won't visit Tokyo, I'll go to Osaka and Kyoto instead. I will be traveling with another 4 people. With a little research, I could get a 4 beds room at this hotel with only IDR 1.500.000,- per night. After I divide the cost between 5 people that means we only spend IDR 300.000,-/person/night, same amount that we spent at a guest house in Osaka.

When it comes to accommodation you'll have to choose carefully. I always opt for a place near MRT / Train / Bus Station. Because even though it's not exactly in the city center, it's still convenient for your to travel around. And accommodations outside the city center are usually cheaper. But of course, it's depends to your travel destination too, what place or attractions that you want to visit and see. A little research on the town's highlights and attractions will be useful.

I stayed at Tokyo for a few nights before going on a little trip to Osaka - Kyoto - Nara. Before I left Tokyo I also got to stay for 1 night at my Japanese friends' apartment. And finally I got to spend my last night in Tokyo at a sauna place where my other Japanese friend worked. It was another surprising experience for me, so I'll make another post on it LOL All in all, I really spent only a minimum amount of money for accommodation in Osaka & Kyoto.

Public Transport

I took the Narita Express or N'EX from Narita Airport to Shinagawa Station where my friend was waiting for me. Fare was around ¥ 3.500 (will have to check again). Travel time from Narita Airport to Shinagawa Station was around 70 minutes.

Don't even think about riding a taxi in Japan unless it's only for a really really short distance! When I arrived, I was so tired because I couldn't sleep at all during the flight. I took an overnight flight that arrived in Tokyo at 7am. There's a baby crying the whole night long and I could tell from people's sighs that I wasn't the only one annoyed with it. But what could I do? It's a baby, and probably he/she didn't feel well. Anyway, I left afterwork and missed 1 night sleeping, so I was exhausted and sleep deprived. Feeling sorry for me, my friend decided to take a taxi to her home (thankfully it's pretty close to the train station). I almost chocked myself when I saw the meter started at ¥ 750! Apparently my friend's place was only 3 minutes away so we only spent around ¥ 1.000 from the station to her place *phew*

Bus fare was ¥ 160 for one trip in Tokyo (distance didn't matter) and ¥ 200 in Osaka. Train was pretty much around that too, depended on the distance. Shinkansen was expensive but the definitely fast! There are 3 types of Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka (512km of distance). (1) Nozomi -- the fastest, 2.5 hours. Stops at major stations only. (2) Hikari -- 3 hours with a few more stops and (3) Kodama -- the cheapest and took 4 hours cause it stops at every station. And this was the one that I took. I didn't mind the 4 hours ride cause the train was so convenient and I could enjoy the scenery outside. Kodama's regular fare was ¥ 10.000 -- one way, but my Japanese friend helped me to book a package from a travel agent. I paid ¥ 27.000 for a roundtrip Kodama ticket from TKY - OSK - TKY, plus hotel charge of 1 night in Osaka and 1 night in Kyoto. It's a lot of saving! Cause when I checked in at the Osaka Hotel, the regular published rate was ¥ 7.000/night and so was the Kyoto Hotel. So next time you want to travel from Tokyo to other cities I suggest that you also book a Shinkansen + hotel package from a travel agent that's also available online. Convenient and saves a lot of money.


On my return, instead of taking N'EX, my friend (who was going to fly to Bali on the same day) took me to a bus station. Though it took longer from the town to Narita Airport (almost 2 hours) it was more convenient because the bus stopped right in font of the gate. Fare was ¥ 3.000.

Here's an interesting sign at Narita Airport. I hope you're not bringing any sharp objects in your next flight to Japan ;)

Why oh why?

First, I haven't been traveling all around the world. I don't have that much money, so I always planned carefully about each trip that I have made. By the grace of God, I must say I'm blessed to be able to travel outside my country to some places.

This blog isn't created to brag about my little trips, but more like to share the funny and interesting stories of the places that I visited, including depressing experience such as losing my passport in another country LOL

Second, the stories won't be told in chronological order, but whatever I want to write or suddenly remember, I'll post. I hope there are enough pictures or info that I can provide too here.

I'll start posting one by one. And I hope you get to enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed the experience. Thanks.