Assalamualaikum and Konnichiwa!
Sorry for the long delay. Life has been so busy nowadays... ihik!
And sorry, for now I skip the day 1 or day of arrival stories. It was just stories about our flight and how we slept in the airport hehe. Will publish that post later...or someday.
I'll try my best to make all my entries as informative as possible. Eventhough I know that nowadays, many have been in Japan (not like when it was 2 years ago), but I hope I can still help a little, especially the 1st timer.
So, let's proceed to day 2.
Pass used for the whole day : Suica (we reload 8000 yen because we still have few yens left from our 2014 trip). Suica for Malaysians is like Touch and Go. No special discount or privilege, just to ease your journey without having to buy the ticket at the machine.
Bungy Jump: Ryujin Suspension Bridge (100m height)
As I told you above, we slept in the airport mainly for waiting the earliest train to go to Hitachi-Ota station as the journey will take almost 3 hours. My cousin and I, both were so eager to try the bungy jump in Japan and after doing some researches, I found that the highest bungy in Japan would be from Ryujin Suspension Bridge (100m). Not only that, the awesome view I saw through the Google photos was so tempting that finally we chose it as our bungy place. Once we reached the Hitachi-Ota station, we took the bus that brought us directly to the Ryujin Suspension Bridge for 500 yen (you can ask the tourist information just beside the station).
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| The most missed drink, Van Houten cocoa |
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| There was a toilet there, maybe because it's a long journey train, and of course I tried. Though it was in an old train, the toilet was clean and well-maintained |
The view along the way was beautiful. There were hills and villages and we saw many persimmons were hanged outside to dry. I forgot that it was actually persimmon season in Japan.
And here we are!!
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| The parking lot |
Ryujin suspension bridge is actually Honshu's longest suspension bridge at 75 metres of length. Underneath the bridge, there is a dam with the bridge suspended 100 metres above the lake surface. Ryujin means Dragon-god, depicted by the dragon theme that was used to design and advertise the giant suspension bridge.
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Such a beauty, isn't it?
So actually I booked online for a 12.30 pm session, but we arrived early so the bungy team asked us to walk around 1st and come back later. Well, my cousin and I, we're actually not totally free from acrophobia, means that we are actually a little bit fear of height. We even avoided standing at the edge of the bridge, explaining why there is no picture of lake underneath from the bridge ahaks!
But once we wore the safety gear, and walked back at the bridge, the fear suddenly gone like magic! There was a group of 4 young men with us, but like a 'gentleman', they asked me to be the 'lady first'.
Along our path, we met many people, and by looking at our safety gear, they knew that we were going for the bungy jump (plus I heard them said "bungy" few times). And many of them gave us words of encouragement, and I found that sweet especially coming from the obaachan and ojiichan.
We walked until the middle of the bridge, and we have to take short stairs going under the bridge walkway to the deck (people can look at us from the bridge path through a glass window).
Along our path, we met many people, and by looking at our safety gear, they knew that we were going for the bungy jump (plus I heard them said "bungy" few times). And many of them gave us words of encouragement, and I found that sweet especially coming from the obaachan and ojiichan.
We walked until the middle of the bridge, and we have to take short stairs going under the bridge walkway to the deck (people can look at us from the bridge path through a glass window).
They gave us some prep-talk, and told us what to do; after the jump, we would bounce 2 times and after the 2nd bounce, we had to pull something so that our body will be in sitting position, signal them with an 'O' signal, then they would send something like a hook so that they can pull us back to the deck. And then, it was the time for the 1st jumper, ME!!!
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| Looks calm at the outside, but inside...... |
Standing at the deck, moving little by little forward, I managed to enjoy the view, the fascinating view, and the remaining fear was totally gone at that moment.
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| I believe I can fly!! At this moment honestly, I have no fear at all, only excitement! |
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| I even enjoyed the view, beautiful subhanallah |
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| I shouted 'Malaysia Boleh!!' while bouncing ahahhaha |
That's me, with a nervous smile. While waiting for them to pull me up, I used the time to enjoy some more magnificient views, from a place that not everybody would take the chance. All praises for Allah. It was so beautiful, it made me teared up.
While waiting for my cousin to finish (she jumped fourth), I talked with one of the staffs. She seemed so interested with us, asking where we're coming from, and what we planned to do after this. And she was so surprised when I told her that we will cover the Fuji Q Higland on the next day. She said that we were so brave and the activities were so extreme. Haha.
For the 100m bungy jump at Ryujin Bridge, it costed us 10 000 yen plus 3500 yen for photos from their professional photographer. Insurance was included in that price too. If you are considering doing the bungy jump but at a more less cost with lower height, you can choose other places that suit your preference by referring to this web: www.bungyjapan.com
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| Us with the certificate and photo CD. Pardon me, the lower part was kind of embarassing to be shown ahhaha |
After claiming our certificate and CD, we walked around the food stalls, looking for things that we can eat while waiting for the return bus. Finally we decided to try the shioyaki, fish that was salted and grilled, and it was oishii~ There were some souvenir shops there too. But we did not buy anything as we have many places to cover after this.
We took the bus back to Hitachi-Ota. We prayed in Hitachi-Ota station while waiting for the train. It was a funny situation but i should tell you that in other entry.
Light Illumination in Rikugien Garden
Light Illumination in Rikugien Garden
Then from Hitachi-Ota station, we proceeded to Rikugien Garden. Through my research, Rikugien Garden was one of the best night illumination to be enjoyed in autumn. It was only few minutes walk from Komagome station. Sadly, it was raining when we arrived, and we could not really enjoy the view, even at some point, due to the wet path, I regretted my decision for a bit. Still, it was beautiful, and we managed to eat dango there hehe.
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| Rikugien Garden |
Fangirling: 'Are You Happy' Arashi Concert Tour
And then, well, while doing my research, at 1st I did not know that on the day I would be in Tokyo, was the same day with Arashi Concert Tour 'Are You Happy?'.By the moment I realized the date, as getting the concert ticket was kind of impossible, I managed to ask my cousin's permission to take a peek at the site of their concert, which was in Tokyo Dome.
So here we were!!!
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| Are you happy?? Because I am! ^_^ |
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| Kyaaaaing!!! |
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| Pardon my polka dot shirt ahaks! |
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| yeah..chubby face..happy face |
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| Arashi!!!! |
And then, while trying to capture some sound from the dome, we walked around, enjoying the illumination.
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| Yes, Ultraman came for the concert too!! He's a fanboy ahahhaha |
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I forgot to take the picture of the concert goods stall. For those who don't know, in Japan (and Korea too I think), they will sell things like hoodie, towels, penlights (my favourite), uchiwa (my favourite too because it's cheap), and many other things that fans can buy only on their concerts. It may sounds rubbish but hey, everyone has their own hobby and interest right?. Well, the staffs, they were very efficient, and I bought few things, and I queued again, and bought more goods, and spent around 10 000 yen only here..huhuhuhu...
And after walking and listening for some time, we decided to call it a day. We went to the Iriya station and walked to our hostel, 1 Night 1980 Hostel. It was a very nice hostel, with capsules. And with only 2340 yen per night, they also provided us free amenities, like shampoos, shower gel, face and body towels that we can change everyday. Only that it is not too near (but not too far) from the station. But it was very comfortable, and they even have one floor specially for women and can only be accessed with security cards. That's surely a relief especially for lady travelers.
So I summarised our day with the cost (souvenirs and concert goodies not included of course)
Bungy Jump 100m : 15 000 yen (+3500 yen for photos and CD)
Suica reload : 8000 yen
Bus return Ryujin Bridge : 1000 yen
Rikugien garden admission : 300 yen
1 Night 1980 Hostel : 2340 yen
1 Night 1980 Hostel : 2340 yen
Tips to be more cost-effective : I planned to use the Tokyo Wide Pass that cover Tokyo and the cities around it, but I could not find any space of time to buy it before going to Hitachi-Ota. I will tell you more why is that using TWP is more cost-effective than using the Suica, later.
Anyway, feel free to ask if you have any question. I'll try my best to answer :)
And pardon me for my english grammar. im trying to improve huhu.
Nevertheless, before I ending this entry, I would like to share our video, enjoying the illumination in Tokyo Dome with Arashi Song (not from the concert, but they used Arashi song for the illumination.
Enjoyyy and see you in the next entry~
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but
the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does
not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
-Nelson Mandela-
