After all the planning, research, countless videos, posts etc landed in Haneda Airport at 6 am , to a bright sunny day . Cool weather, and while taxing the runway to the gate got to see Mount Fuji very clearly, as though it was welcoming us to this fantastic country.
Immigration was a breeze. Filling up the form in d flight was much more easier, since very few basic details are needed. Immigration was a breeze, was completed in 15 min . Then next 30 to 45 min finished withdrawing cash from 7bank ATM ,immediately on the left of arrival gate exit. Collected my Japan WiFi with a powerbank. Was relieved to get welcome suica card. There was no queue, so it was very quick . From there went to JR East service center, to collect my JR GREEN PASS for 14 days.. activated it next Saturday. Did one seat reservation, since at hanenda Airport due to the volume of visitors, reservation restricted to 1. Balance reservations will do it in Couple of days.
I am a huge train buff. Loved trains from childhood, it just fascinates me. Given a choice would travel the world on train . Ha ha ha.. so yes the JR PASS MORE THAN WORTH it's value for me. Can't speak for all. I have many inter cities journey planned.
Left the airport by 8.30 after completing all the formalities which was Indeed exactly as mentioned by many in thiz forum .
Dropped the luggage at Hotel Villa Fontaine ,Shiodome . Wonderful hotel . Staff excellent. Facilities are very good .
After dropping the luggage, started my list of activities for the day. Went to Teamlab Planet by train . Straight from Shiodome to Shin Toyosu by odeo line. This place was magical, definitely worth the time and money. From there got a bus, train to Sensoji Temple. It was crowded as expected but was good . Very lively . Tasted quite a few local delicacies.
From there went to Tokyo Skytree. For me personally it was an ok experience. Even if someone misses it out, its ok. Again it's a personal choice ,having seen many towers across different cities , this was an ok experience.
After that returned to the hotel. 1st day was very productive, fruitful, satisfying
Would love to thank this Forum friends, especially Dr Shibuyoko, global, dave, dhk lin etc... my 3 weeks itinerary could be fine tuned better due to the inputs from this forum
