Have you ever dreamed of visiting another country? Well, for me, yes. And fortunately, I was given that opportunity by our beloved company, Commude Philippines, Inc. to visit our Head Office in Tokyo, Japan and be able to explore the busy yet wondrous place of it. Of course, I was not the only one who was given that chance — we are four of many. It was actually an incentive for those employees who have served two consecutive years in the company. Interesting, right?
Since it was my first time to go out of the country, I made sure that every moment is very well planned and executed. Let me share with you our 4-day itinerary for that trip:
Day 1:
- Visited our Tokyo Head Office and had lunch with Shachou-san.
- Went home to our AirBnB and had a short rest.
- Went back to Tokyo Head Office and had dinner with the employees.
- Stroll around Shibuya and take a walk in the busiest crossing in the world — the Shibuya Crossing.
Day 2:
- Had a morning stroll in Tsukiji Market and eat the freshest sushi for lunch.
- Visit Hello Kitty and her friends in Sanrio Puroland.
- Be amused on the tallest free-standing broadcasting tower in the world — the Tokyo Skytree. Not only that it was made to be the tallest, but also to transmit digital terrestrial broadcasting in Tokyo. Can you believe that it is 634 meters making it also the second tallest structure after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa which is 828 meters?
- Had sumptuous late dinner in Kurugo or Black 5 in english. It is a famous Yakiniku place in Ikebukuro. We do not have a decent picture here for we are hungry and just came from Sanrio Puroland and Tokyo Skytree. So, peace from y’all! *wink*
Day 3:
- As everyone’s dream whether you are a kid or just a kid at heart — here comes our unforgettable experience in Tokyo Disneyland! It was my dream come true to finally see the ever famous Disney Characters who have become parts of my childhood.
Upon entering the amusement park, we are very excited to try on their rides. Even though every ride has a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 1 hour and 30 minutes waiting time, we didn’t lose hope as long as we are having fun! Guess what we have rode first? It’s the Big Thunder Mountain — a whirlwind kind of roller coaster!
And for the other rides, we will just let you experience those with yourselves since we cannot take more pictures because of excitement. Will that be alright?
Of course, we will not lose our chance to taste their famous turkey leg! Sounds different, right?
And that serves our lunch for that day! This turkey leg has a similar taste of ham. When we have tasted it, we actually thought that it would be better if it will be paired with fried rice or “Sinangag” in Filipino. Sound interesting. Hmmm…
Every Disneyland wouldn’t be complete without its signature castles. And here in Tokyo, they actually have the exact copy of Cinderella’s castle where you can actually walk through the story of Cinderella and how she attained her happily-ever-after. Let me take you to a quick tour in her castle.
And of course, the Cinderella story wouldn’t be complete without her signature and ever stunning glass slipper or the glass shoe, rather.
Who wouldn’t want have this, right? Every maiden in the town would really love to have this for it is unique and will serve as the key to the Prince’s heart.
Let us now leave the castle and move on with the parade! We have noticed how people find places just to see the parade without any fuss. Let us say we’ve just stayed in one place for a half and hour in the pathway where the parade will take place. We’ve even brought snacks to eat with while waiting. But, all of these were all worth it because you will not only see the Disney Characters but also got amazed on how sparkling and amazing how they put all the lights in every float. Take a look on these!
And lastly, we cannot forget the power couple of Disneyland — Mickey and Minnie Mouse! Minnie is just a shy type kind of a mice that’s why she is not facing the camera. Just kidding! It’s just hard to capture movable objects.
Finally, let us head on our super late dinner after a very tiring yet enjoyed moments in Tokyo Disneyland. At this point, we craved for something rich and flavorful. That’s why we opt to choose Ramen! And it is not just ramen, it is the very famous ramen in Japan — the Ichiran Ramen! Luckily, it has a branch near our AirBnB so we will not need to worry going home after.
After entering the establishment, you will be then assisted by their staff if you are a newbie here and will tell you to choose your orders in this kind of a vendo machine. It is different from the vendo machines that we have here in the Philippines. Orders chosen here will not be given to you right ahead coming from the inside of it. Of course, we want fresh, rich, and hot ramen! And we will not be getting it here.
After that, you will be given a piece of paper by the staff. It is written there on how would you like your ramen to be done. So better choose wisely! *winks*
And, viola! Here is now your ramen! As you can see there is a small window just in front of your seat — it is for serving your ramen straight from their kitchen without having any eye contact with the chef! Cool, right? And you can enjoy your ramen privately because of the boarders in between of your table. So you can slurp and munch anyhow that you want without being concern on your seatmate.
The 3rd day of our Japan tour has been the most tiring day for us — having to spent almost whole day in Tokyo Disneyland with rides to try and places to visit. And, maybe because we just wanted to seize every moment spent in this very disciplined country.
But of course, every moment has its ending and that will be our last day in Japan or our 4th day, specifically. Luckily, we had enough rest for we do not need to worry about our flight in the evening. Here is exactly what we did on our last day:
Day 4:
- Had a fulfilling brunch in one of the Tempura restaurants in Akihabara.
- Had a quick stroll in Akihabara for some anime goodies. As you all know Akihabara has been a shopping haven for electronics, manga, and video games. You can score different anime figures here as well as gadgets in very reasonable prices.
And that’s it! After that, we just went to Don Quijote to find goods to give to our loved ones here in the Philippines. I cannot provide you pictures from there for it is prohibited.
Then, we just head on the train station going to Narita Airport. At that point, my mood just suddenly shifted to being sad for I felt that time flies so fast that the 4 days that we spent there had already passed in an instant.
When we reached the Narita airport, we just checked in our baggage and waited for our flight to board. It was sad yet a very memorable experience for us especially to us first-timers who have been lucky to be given this opportunity to tour and get to know the culture of the country where our company was established.
Kudos to Commude Co. Ltd. and Commude Philippines, Inc. and to all of the staffs — both in Japan and in the Philippines! We are very much grateful for this very rare chance that not all of the companies can be so much generous in their employees’ benefits. We promised that we will work harder in the days to come! Domo arigatogozaimashita!
Mata chikai uchini aitai desu, Japan! We love you and hope to see you again soon! *wink*