Japan Trip Day 1: Odaiba, Ikspiari

Surprise feels nicer when it comes unexpected. I have a great start of holiday as my NH804 flight was on ANA Star Wars plane! So much for the initial worry when booking the ticket as it mentioned that the flight would be by Air Japan which is a subsidiary of ANA or something. I was so tired from insufficient rest and did not find anything peculiar even though the Star Wars theme was played during boarding. I only realised it when I overheard other passengers saying that this was Star Wars plane.

I flew ANA before and the differences of the Star Wars and the normal plane are minor: there are some C3PO an R2D2 audio announcements, Star Wars cabin light show prior to the runway acceleration, R2D2 paper cups for hot drinks, Star Wars themed apron when the stewardesses serving meal, and Star Wars paper on the head rest. It was unfortunate that I did not really get to enjoy the Star Wars stuff as I was so tired. Thus prior to departure, I thought all the audio announcements and the cabin light show were irritating and disrupting my attempt to sleep. The cabin light show was actually very cool particularly towards the end as the lights and the audio were nicely synced as the plane accelerated and then took off to the skies

The seat next to me was empty which was good. I quickly invaded the leg space for my legs while the other passenger quickly invaded the seat space for her to lean in our sleep.  Fair enough. Haha.. As it was a midnight flight, only snack was given at the start. ANA was thoughtful that since there would be people sleeping, the snack was already nicely packed into plastic bag and they just handed out those plastic bags. I don't mind getting Lays potato chips although I found it quite weird to be a snack choice as it would make people thirsty. My only complaint about the whole flight was the absence of amenity kit in the lavatory. It seems that I would not be able to brush my teeth in the morning. It is just a minor thing but I suppose it is an example of how SQ is better than others.

I only appreciate the Star Wars staff at the end of the flight. Before alighting, I took a quick snap of the headrest cover. They also gave out Star Wars souvenirs upon exiting the plane. There were cards, postcards, etc and it was self-service. Aaargh I should have taken more cards and take the postcard as well. A stewardess carried Yoda plushie to wave goodbye. At the terminal, people also started to appreciate the Star Wars plane and started taking photos.

The headrest cover

The plane viewed from the terminal building

Taken from further inside the terminal building where there was fewer people taking photos

The souvenir card that I chose

The card is supposed to be a boarding pass. It would be much nicer if the date and destination are printed or written

The immigration and customs queues were not as bad as my previous trips. I hope this means it is not a really busy tourist season here. With that I had about 2 hours to spend waiting at the airport  because the airport limousine bus timing to Odaiba area is not as frequent as expected. The wait was not too long because I had difficulty finding the shower room and I even explored both wings of the terminal before finding it.

It was 1030 JPY for 30 minutes. It was purely a shower room and at least they also gave a water bottle. The shower room in KIX was definitely better as it was for lounge and shower room and there were more drinks. However by the end of the day, I think it was money well spent. Being able to shower after an overnight flight is really refreshing to start the day.

I am staying at Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel. I did not do a lot of research and my reason of choosing this hotel (other than to try something new) was because it is one of the Tokyo Disney Resort Good Neighbor Hotels. Ironically there is nothing Disney in the hotel except for a purikura machine with Disney theme at the lobby.

I am very lucky because the hotel location is very good. It is in between of 2 train stations: Ariake station (Yurikamome Line which I need to go to Diver City) and Kokusai-tenjijo (Rinkai Line which I need to go to Disneyland without changing at Tokyo Station as well as to link to JR Yamanote Line). Initially I got a bit confused as there is another station named Kokusai-tenjijo seimon and this belongs to the Yurikamome line. There are Lawsons, 7-11, and Daily Yamazaki konbinis near to the hotel too so all the basic necessities are covered.

After dropping my luggage, I was quite worried if the typhoon was still around as it was so windy. Again I was lucky because even though I was not oriented to the area yet, I ended up at Ariake station which is the correct station for me to get to Aqua City as I had not purchased tickets to Disneyland. It was hassle-free process so next time no worry if I still cannot buy it online using my credit card. Unfortunately my nightmare becomes reality as there is hardly anymore Aladdin stuff T_T It looks like those things no longer listed in the Disney store website are really sold out. Goodbye Rajah, Abu, and Magic Carpet T_T I am happy that the laughing figurines sets are on 50% sale. Hehe lucky I did not buy them in May/June previously.

Previously I never really explored Aqua City but I am free this time. I found a bookstore where there are samples of the magazines to flip. There are some magazines featuring AAA and lucky I never buy because there are only few pages of AAA. I also had lunch and it was a dilemma. I don't know why I always fall sick when I go to Japan :( I want to have rice but I worry about my sore throat. In the end rice won so I chose chicken karaage set. Sore throat and cough are less bothersome than gastric.

Next I went to Diver City and there is the photo stand again. The only difference from the one I had last December was that the photo booklet design is green now. Haha. So lucky I showered this morning so at least I did not look so chui in the photos. The photos taken with my own camera cannot make it because of the shadows while I look fat in the 1500JPY official photo. Bleah... I will definitely have to come back here to repeat.

From there I went to Tokyo Teleport Station to go to Disneyland. Yay!! Again there is hardly Aladdin stuff at Ikspiari Disney Store. Huhuhu T_T Surprisingly nothing caught my interest as Bon Voyage. I think I come here too often and the excitement goes down a little bit as there are not many new things. The journey from Maihama to hotel is only about 30 minutes and there is less walking as compared to transferring at Tokyo station so this hotel will definitely be my first choice if I just come to Tokyo to enjoy Disneyland.

It was still very early but I decided to end the day to get my beauty sleep in preparation for my photos tomorrow. Haha.. During check-in, I also booked the bus to Disneyland since the bus trip is about half an hour and the first bus is at 730am. It is comparable to taking the train and I get to save money.

The single room in the hotel is amazing: it is quite spacious for 1 person and a queen bed all to myself is fantastic. Instead of kimono to sleep, this hotel provides pajamas which means I get to 'save' my sleeping attire. Yay. I showered and took a nap first before having dinner and to take photo of this amazing view outside the window:

The train station seen here is Kokusai-tenjijo

Slightly angled view to see the both Kokusak-tenjijo and Ariake stations. There is a hotel in between the 2 stations and that would be an amazing hotel to consider in the future.

So far everything is great today and thank God for that. I am amazed that I was so worried to spend half a day alone at Osaka last year but now I feel so relaxed and am enjoying a solo trip here. Hehe :)