Day 1: Flight to Tokyo. Overnight at Tokyo.

Our trip started with an afternoon 2:40PM flight to Haneda, Tokyo. We managed to secure our tickets at about RM1000 a person with all the meals, insurance, baggage allowance and seat selection options. We landed at Haneda Airport at about 10:30PM. The expected weather was sub-zero temperatures, and from the plane window, we could see a white, snow filled landscape.

We had to go through customs, claim our baggage and head to the Shuttle Bus terminal before the last bus to our hotel.

As you can see from the photo above, we have decided to stay at Hotel JAL City, Haneda Tokyo. We selected the hotel based on the location (about 20 mins via the shuttle bus) from the airport, as we needed to catch a very early 7:40AM flight the next morning. The other reason why we choose them is because they provided free shuttle service to and from the airport.

In any new country you visit, you'll have to look for some local cuisine. By the time we checked in, it was already closed to midnight, nevertheless I had to look for some food. We found this Ramen looking place across from the hotel where we stayed.

When we entered the place, we realised that it was such a tiny place, fitting at most 10 people in the small restaurant. As you can see from the photo below, that is "half" the restaurant's sitting area!

 

Next you'll need to purchase your meal ticket from the vending machine. Since I can't Kanji, and my darling is able to decode some of the Kanji and ordered us some Ramen. You could probably ask some locals there, and just point on the pictures available around the restaurant if you ever get lost for ideas.

The meal was great. Ramen texture was good, and the soup tasty.... probably a tad too much Ajinomoto too. Yes you'll also notice the rice with the Ramen, which we have no idea how it works, but it seems that some of the Ramen sets always comes with rice.

The room at Hotel JAL City, Haneda was tiny. I didn't expect anything else as all the stories that I have heard from friends travelling to Japan. The space was effective utilized, with just enough room to walk around, but not much room even to keep your bagged opened!

Better get some sleep, as we have a 7:40AM flight to catch!