Japan Trip 2016: Day 1 2 Dec 2016 Fri - Shinjuku

We arrived in Tokyo ahead of ETA at 5:35am. Customs clearance was a breeze. We found ourselves with plenty of time on hand as we bought our airport transfer tickets for 7:45am to Shinjuku Washington Hotel. We used the extra time to top up my IC card and bought a Pasmo card for Juliane. We strolled around Haneda Airport and discovered Mt Fuji in the distance! :)

OMG! It is Mt Fuji!

The airport transfer arrived on time and we were at our hotel by 8:45am. As we couldn't check-in until 2pm, we stored our luggage at the hotel and roamed around the area. We were so thrilled to see the Gingko trees in autumn colours (bright yellow), walked along the streets to Shinjuku Station. We found Takashimaya and Tokyu Hands just round the corner. We got our Hello Kitty Takashimaya card and spent over an hour at the stationery section at Tokyu Hands lol. We bought a simple lunch from Takashimaya Food Hall and ate outdoors before returning to the hotel at 2pm. 

Our room, 2338 was small, just enough for two persons but the view was beautiful as we were on the 23rd level of a 25th storey building. Not long after settling in our room, Juliane fell asleep. It soon started to get dark and I made a bonus find, I could see Mt Fuji in the distance from my windows! I captured a beautiful sunset from my room. What an unexpected bonus!

After the sighting of a beautiful sunset, we set off to look for dinner at 5:30pm. It was completely dark by then. We made our way back to Takashimaya via the underground passage way which I finally found. :) At least, we would now be out of the cold wind. We saw beautiful light illumination (another bonus). We also had tonkatsu at 13F of Takashimaya and it was deliciously good! Somehow Japanese food seems to taste better in Japan!

Couldn't resist a sweet snack before dinner: wrapped crepe

Our first Japanese food in Japan

Our drinks for the night

Our goodies from Tokyu Hands

A fruitful first day for us. We saw Mt Fuji in the distance. We saw Gingko trees in autumn colours. We bought our stationery. I fixed up appointments to meet with two ex-students, one in Harajuku and another in Kyoto. :)