Adventure Accounting

Departure Day. Ugh.  My flight from Narita Airport was at 10:45 am. I wanted to be in the airport two hours before that. As early as 6:15, I checked out of Nishitetsu Inn Nihombashi and withstood the cold morning breeze of Tokyo. It was a windy walk going to Tokyo station. That was 20 solid minutes of walking. I boarded the posh-looking Narita Express (N’ex). This ride is also covered by the JR Railpass . There were lockers where you can leave your luggage and you’ll have to key in a passcode. I was feeling clingy to my stuff and I didn’t wanna figure out the whole passcode thing so I kept my luggage in front of me. Narita Express It was a one-hour ride going to the airport. I watched the Japan scene float by. Played some tunes in my Ipod. Anything to ignore my hunger pangs and to forget that I was leaving Japan. Be mindful of the stops. Some airlines depart at Narita Terminal 1 and some depart at Terminal 2. The names of the stops are shown on the screen...

I packed my last haul of Kyoto souvenirs in my luggage, bid a warm farewell to the staff of Gojo Guesthouse , hopped on a bus and waited for the next train that will bring me back to Tokyo. My apologies for the crappy pictures. My handy Canon S95 was killed by a deer inNara park and I had to resort to using my Nokia N8. My heavy luggage and heavy laptop bag I still had time to choose my bento box. A lot of locals seem to buy these often. So it is not just-for-tourist thing.     Lunch on the shinkansen Pocky Almond Crush. Yumyum!

Buses are the main transportation around Tokyo. You need to learn how to ride a Japanese bus. Riding the Japanese bus is quite intimidating at first. You are in a foreign land, with foreign characters. An English translation is not guaranteed. So it’d be best if you come ready. Buy the Kyoto Bus Pass. It is a pretty good deal for JPY 500 – you can ride the bus all you want for a day. You’ll just have to add a bit if you want to go outside the zones (no biggie). I bought mine from Gojo Guesthouse . You get the pass stamped in the bus with the date, and just have to show this to the driver when you get off the bus Each bus stop has a schedule that is precise. The bus closes its doors before the time so be at the bus stop before that. They have different schedules for weekends. Take pics of the schedules for your reference. The city center has a lot of buses. They have a map where you can find the bus locations. You may need to cross streets... properly (follow...

Fastfood Chains Yoshinoya dinner for ¥ 490. I got some combo meal: Rice, Miso soup, beef, salmon and some side. The beef was perfectly tender, the salmon was just so-so. There is something about the Japanese rice that somewhat makes the meal perfect. The drink is a complimentary cold green tea. You can order separate beverages if you want. Yoshinoya meal The store layout is very functional. The store has a somewhat depressing atmosphere like the vending machine restaurants in Tokyo . You go there to eat.  You don't really wanna hang out here McDo meals are relatively pricey (compared to the prices in Manila of course). But I like their fries better. I had two large fries for my meal. A fastfood meal is not complete without fries. Mos Burger. Mos Burger is a popular burger fastfood chain that originated in Japan. Maybe something like their vesion of Jollibee? I didn’t really feel the Japanese-touch in the burgers. Ask for the English menu when you order....

Japanese culture is shown again and again in anime. Eggs in soups, sitting on the floor barefoot/with socks, the chime of the school bell, and the tatami rooms. I wanted to try staying in a tatami. I was willing to pay the price of JPY 8,000 to 10,000 even for just one night just to try it.  Luckily, I didn’t have to because I found a tatami-style dorm in Kyoto: Gojo Guesthouse . I was quite apprehensive about the place because the website was very basic, but functional - not a lot of frills and whatnots that I usually see in dorm websites. The review in Tripadvisor was overall positive so I decided give it a try. I emailed my request, and I just had no confirm my arrival weeks before my arrival date. Didn’t have to pay any downpayment. If you cancel/change your reservation on the day before arrival, they require 50% of total charge. If you cancel/change your reservation on the arrival day, they charge 100% of the room rate. Pretty reasonable. Don't miss the ...

Time to use the Japan Rail Pass again. The trip from JR Kyoto to JR Nara station took almost an hour. I felt the fatigue creeping in my me that day so I played snoozefest with my alarm that morning. It was around 10am when I landed in JR Nara station. Train heading to Nara An officemate went to Nara the previous year and I was enchanted with the roaming wild deer in Nara Park. It would be fun to meet a Bambi in person. Bambi Nara Park is a 25-minute walk from JR Nara Station – says the tourist information person. You can also take public transportation going there but why rush? Walking is always part of the adventure. I made a stop in CoCo Curry House for some filling mid-morning “snack”. Passed bu Kōfuku-ji Temple. A bunch of Japanese schoolboys offered to take my picture. I forgot to change the settings back to "Vivid colors" mode.  I was giddy with excitement to see a deer.Weeeeee! One approached me cautiously.  Any...