Furama Riverfront Hotel

The Furama Riverfront was the hotel that we finally decided on from the list of hotels that the Singapore Stopover Holiday had available for the dates that we wanted.  It was a step up from the cheapest hotel they had, but I do believe that in terms of the room and what we got, the price was worth it.

Check in was fairly quick and they had upgraded us to a room with a sitting area for free.  What was disappointing to find out during check-in, however, was the fact that we would need to pay about S$25/per day (about $20USD) to get 24 hours of wi-fi.  After getting free wi-fi from the small bed and breakfasts that we stayed in in Japan, this was a bit of a downer.

Unfortunately, I think James and I forgot to take the pictures of the actual bedroom.  I can't seem to find it.  But honestly, it seemed like a normal hotel bedroom in a slightly upscale hotel.  Like our three previous hotels/B&Bs in Japan, they provided shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste--the usual amenities it seems.

We do have pictures of the interior lobby, though.

And here are some views of the exterior.

What did cause James and I a bit of a shock were the prices of the food in the hotel.  On our first day in Singapore, we had decided to wait in the lobby and order some tea and soda while we did it.

Here is a picture of James after we got our bill for the Coke and the English tea we had ordered.

Our S$25 (20USD) drinks....

After these drinks, we seriously wondered whether we needed to have withdrawn more money for Singapore!

Luckily, Dewi disabused us of that notion and told us that it was only the hotel lobby that was overpriced.  Seriously, we ordered the same thing for room service and it was half the cost!

Kamogawa Ryokan

I was tired and my feet were killing me.  Once James and I arrived at the Asakusa station and oriented ourselves enough to be able to make the four minute walk to our reserved ryokan, the site of its sign was enough to fill me with joy.  Finally, I can put my feet up and rest.  Finally, I can internets.  You have no idea how much I was jonesing for some wifi access during the Hakone trip.  All I can say is, thank god I was too tired to feel the withdrawal.

Kamogawa ryokan seemed like small family ryokan.  Next to it is its very own café.  James and I actually saw the café before the ryokan and we thankfully made our way in and was greeted at the front desk by a young man who checked us in pretty quickly. 

The elevator going up to our room as well as the hallway from the elevator going into our room was...tiny.  The space was tiny.  Here's a pic of James in the hallway.  Sadly, I think we forgot to take one of the elevator.  Hrm...maybe I just think the space is small since James and I had gained some weight since the wedding....hrm...

Yunohana Onsen

The Yunohana Onsen was our “splurge” for the Japan trip.  It is known for its open air  baths  and recommended by one of my Japanese friends as a good hotel to stay in.  Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of pictures of the exterior of the hotel as I’d forgotten to take them on our arrival or our departure.  I also do not have any pictures of the baths since I thought they may frown upon my taking pictures of their naked guests.

Anyway, on with the review. 

We were picked up by a very friendly shuttle driver from the bus stop, where we were dropped off by our tour guide.  It wasn’t a private transportation, as we had also picked up several young ladies from another stop who also seem to be checking into the hotel.  At the reception desk at the hotel, a nice young woman explained to us our room and dinner/breakfast arrangements.  I’m glad James was there as I got a bit confused with her explanation :(    Maybe I was just tired.

Racing Against the Clouds!--Mt. Fuji/Hakone through Sunrise Tour Experience

Okay...you may think this is odd, but I'd like to begin this blog with our with how our day began.  Because we had to be at the Hamamasutcho bus station at nine AM and I was trying to play it safe, we skipped breakfast at the Sawaynoya ryokan and headed out to the metro by 7:30 AM.  You might be thinking that for me, this is real early--especially given the fact that I'm on vacation!

Well, you would be correct, except these days in Japan, I had been waking up by five AM and have been unable to go back to sleep.  So, go figure.

the Sawanoya Ryokan

The train ride from the airport to the Ueno exit was...HOT.  They had the heat blasting so hard, I felt like my legs were on fire (the heat was coming from the vents under the seats).  I was down to my T-shirt by the time we got to my exit as I had slowly peeled off layers.  It was a nice cool relief every time we hit a stop and the doors opened to let the cool air in.

Once we got off at the last stop of the Keisei Limited Express, it took awhile to get oriented.  Actually, scrap that.  We gave up on getting oriented and took a cab to get to our ryokan.  Here is a map that was made available through the ryokan's website:

Unfortunately, James and I had trouble figuring out where we were.  Even more unfortunate is the fact that it was close to ten PM at night by the time we got there and there is the possibility that the 25 min walk from the station can turn into a 2 hour one depending on how lost we get.  Hence, the decision to spend money on the cab ride.

Cab ride wasn't too bad.  We just showed the guy my map and off we went.

First impression of ryokan was at night and I didn't really get to see a lot of the outside.  But here are pictures that James took at dawn this morning:

The moment we stepped inside the Sawanoya, we were greeted by the owner, I believe, Sawa-san.  We filled out some forms regarding our stay and Sawa-san proceeded to give us a detailed map of the neighborhood, good places to eat, and orient us as to where the closest train station is.  He also gave us a map of the rail stations as well as a guide for Tokyo.  Which reminds me, I need to take a look at that sometime...

There are more pictures of the inside of the ryokan (eg lobby and public bath) on their website, but I figured I'll post some of them here as well.  These below are Hina dolls.  They've belonged to the family for generations and they are put up in celebration of Girls' Day in March.  The superstition--they have to get down right after girls' day, or it is said your daughters aren't gonna be marrying anyone in a timely manner :P

After the formalities of checking us in, Sawa-san took us to our room.  We had reserved a room that has its own private bath and toilet--call it a splurge :)  Once you enter our room, the first door to the right was the toilet.  And what a toilet it is!

I have to admit that I was a little intimidated at first.  I mean...what are those fancy buttons?  But heck...when I first sat on it...

*heavenly beam of light and angels' chorus plays*

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration.  But damn...the seat was warm and heated.  Ahhhh!  How nice!  What luxury!  I could sit there forever!  I didn't, but I so could have!  Oh, and when you flush, the sink on top of the toilet let out some water too for hand washing.  What convenience!

I didn't exactly get the nerve to start pushing the buttons until the next morning, which is actually around the time now when I'm writing this part of the blog.  There was a button for "spray" and a button for "bidet."  And then there was a knob for "water pressure."  There were two other buttons that had no translation...I assume that means that Sawanoya ryokan didn't want me touching it :P

And so, here comes the detailed description of me using the fancy toilet--may be TMI for some folks out there ;)  First I hit the spray button.  Hrm...the water pressure was so-so...and I'm beginning to think that it may not be for someone sitting down.  Perhaps that's supposed to be for boys and their plumbing?  So I hit the "stop" button and thought for awhile, before finally pushing the "bidet" button. Nice water pressure and temperature!  I still had to hit the "stop" button once I think I've had enough...but let just say say...It's a nice fresh feeling afterwards!

UPDATE: I've since been told by my ex-college roommate, Koko, that the "bidet" is to wash the front and the "spray" is to wash the back end.  The "bidet" often has a picture of a stick figure sitting down with water shooting up.  The spray has a picture of what i first thought of a a curvy "w" with water shooting up....but after this information from Koko, I guess it could be an attempt to show a butt crack.  Also, in some other public restrooms, you may see a button that has a picture of a musical note.  When you press this button, it simulates the sounds of a toilet flushing.  Apparently, this is to cover any "noises" you might make while doing your business, whether it is number one or number two.

And now I think I'm spoiled.  I may have to seriously do some amazon searches for a nice fancy bidet when I get back home.

Next up in our room description...the hallway...which James thought was our bedroom when Sawa-san first showed it to us.  I think of it more as a sitting area.  The bathroom with the bath/shower and sink is to the right while the actual bedroom is to the left.

So, onto the bathroom.  As mentioned, we booked a room with its own bath.  The proprietor says that while we do have this convenience, it would be a good idea to use the public bathrooms downstairs which he had shown us prior to our room since it is much bigger than the one we have in our room.  Unfortunately, as late as James and I had arrived these past two nights, we had both been to tired to even go through the motions of using the public bath.  The private one we had was adequate and it was a great way to soak up your feet (and whole body) after a whole day of walking around Akihabara.

And FYI, the shower itself had a pretty darn good water pressure and wonderfully hot temperature!  Just a note that you will not be able to turn on the water for the shower if you have the bath running.  So, it means you cannot fill your bath up while you shower the grunge off you.  You must do one and then the other. 

Below is a photo of our room.  I love how they have some tea leaves already for us if we wanted some tea.  They also provided us with some yukata (so, yeah, Pauline.  Check out your hotel.  You may not need to bring sleep or bedroom clothes if they provide yukata) and the origami on the futons were a nice touch. 

For me, sleeping in these futons were fine.  I just had to make sure I slept on my back, because the floors started digging into my side when I turned to my side.  I had an easy time adjusting to it, but it was actually a little to firm for James, I think.  He woke up sore the next morning :(  Unfortunately for him, all our rooms during our Japanese stay are gonna be like this.  Maybe our next place will have a thicker cushion.  The good thing about Sawanoya is they had an extra futon on the closet, so James was able to double it up.  At the time that I'm writing this blog, he is still asleep so I can't ask if it was much of an improvement from last night.

I've been waking up early these past two days (between 4:30 - 5AM), but I think it's good.  It means I'm not really crashing even in the afternoon.  On our first day in Sawanoya, we had ordered a Japanese breakfast.  It came with a couple of types of fish, a seaweed salad, pickled vegetables, tofu, miso soup, and sticky rice.

It also came with a nice traditional japanese tea.

And the miso soup came with these tiny kawaii mushrooms.

The food was delicious! I ate everything in my plate and even some from James's.  I don't know what the fish were, so I will differentate between the "big" fish serving and the smaller one.  The big fish went well with the sticky rice while the little fish came witha small dollop of strong wasabi.  They were both excellent.  It was overall a lovely culinary experience and I'm glad we had it.  My only reservation is that the fish and the tofu were cold...and I'm not sure if they were supposed to be.  Everything else was hot, so I don't know why they would be cold unless they were supposed to be.

Anyway, in terms of the drinks, I liked the traditional japanese tea, but James availed himself instead if with the bagged English breakfast tea that was free in the eating area.  The one thing he found really weird:  powdered milk.  He used them, but then...he had no choice :P

Well, I think here ends my Sawanoya ryokan review.  I've got a couple of more pictures below in case you guys are interested.

Here is our room key holder.  You leave the key with the owner if you leave the ryokan when you go out.  The ryokan front desk is locked after 11PM so you will need to get a night key from him if you expect to stay late.

Here are a couple of more pictures of the eating area.

And a couple of more pictures inside our room.

I hope you guys enjoyed this blog as we will be checking out of the Sawanoya in less than a couple of hours :)

James and I with Sawa-san

Getting There

It's been a long day.  I mean, really.  I don't even remember how many hours we flew.  I'm sure it's in my ticket somewhere.  But I'd like to write a bit about how we got here.  While I still remember it and while I can still be awake to do it.

First tip: If you are flying from LAX, and your terminal happens to be terminal B (Bradley something or the other terminal), go eat something at the food court upstairs after checking in with your airline.  You know you're there early (it's an international flight after all) so if you want some variety, eat something BEFORE going through the security check.  After the security check, you are stuck with deli sandwiches and pre-packaged muchies.  Not bad if you're not hungry, but remember...you got there early.

So we took Singapore Airlines as our international carrier.  We were able to choose our seats as soon as we reserved the tickets, so we picked exit row seats...in the upper deck. Our plane was an Airbus A380-800, and for those of you who haven't seen one, click on my link for it.  It is huge.  I never saw the main deck, but I think our bus had three sections--suites, business class, and economy.  I saw the business class (NICE!) and I of course sat on the economy class, but I never saw the suites in person.  Only in pictures.  However, after having seen the business class, those damn suites must be rockin'--in a non-literal sense.

Cool thing about the upper deck--less competition for the bathrooms.  The only sad part about this flight is the extra steps I had to take to go to the bathroom at the back.  The bathroom nearest me was for the business class only. But other than that, flying Singapore airlines in economy class was...superb.  Let me start with the food and beverages.  How cool was it that the first thing out the flight attendant's mouth when she addressed us was "beer, wine or orange juice to drink?"  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of our first meal before it got devoured.  But here's a pic of our dessert.  I decided to have wine with it.

We were served a "light meal" past midway our flight (I'm not even gonna mention the various other food stuffs that were offered in between).  Here is a mini version of our actual lunch.  The lunch had extra stuffs like salad and sushi...

As for the actual flight experience.  Restrooms were pretty decent.  Free toothbrushes and there was barely any line.  The other passengers were very respectful of your place.  My two complaints: guy hacking with lots of phlegm sitting behind me and lady who liked spending her time standing in front of us by the exit door.

Still overall a pretty nice flight experience that ended at the Narita airport.  Customs was a breeze...except for the part of me forgetting to write down (in English) the address of the ryokan we were staying at for our disembarkation stuff.  Luckily, I had a pretty detailed map of it from the website and the customs agent accepted it.  BOOYAH!

Narita airport...oh the toilets to choose!  No pic of this...I was a little distracted trying to go about my business so I didn't even noticed.  But James said the men's bathroom had four different options!  Anyway, after getting through customs, it took us awhile for our bags to get out and it took me slightly longer to communicate to someone that I was looking for luggage storage.

So, just an FYI.  Luggage storage by GPA in terminal 1 (where we landed) is past the exit that you go through after baggage claim.  Pretty much, you get your luggage, then show your papers and luggages again to someone before exiting that area.  Once you exit that area and unto where people actually meet other people who are picking them up, you will see a sign for airport information.  You can either ask them where luggage storage is, or you can turn left an walk PAST towards the sign for the railways.  In a counter to your left, you will see a sign for GPA.  They do the luggage storage in terminal 1.  It's not a coin operated locker.  I'll try to take a pic of it when we pick up our stuff.  But for James and my luggages (two mediums, two smalls), it is about 8000 yen to store for five days (and yes, the day you leave it counts, so we stored from 09Feb to 13Feb) and it counts as five days.

After that, we headed towards the signage indicating the rails and paid 1000 yen each to ride the Limited Express (90 min to Tokyo).  Here is the rail platform from terminal 1.

 And so begins our trip to Japan!