I've been to a couple of beautiful places here and abroad but I must say, Japan will always be on top of my favorite places list. I've always been fascinated with the country (and its culture, of course) ever since I was a kid so I made it a point for it to be my first international trip destination back in 2009. Ever since then, I've always wanted to come back. If only I could afford to visit every year, I definitely would. Oh and if they didn't have crazy strict working ethics, I'd probably move there. It's simply my happy place.
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| Obligatory plane photo. Nope, we didn't agree on wearing stripes. |
So this year, we finally decided to go back in celebration of Nee-chan's graduation. The dates for our trip were supposed to be the blooming peak of the sakura trees but it rained the weekend before our trip so the pink blossoms weren't as abundant as before. :( Sucks but sakura or no sakura, the visit was still worth it.
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| At KIX station |
Our flight got a bit delayed so we left Manila around 4:00 PM and arrived in Kansai International Airport (KIX) past 9:00 PM. Our check-in time at the hotel was 10:00 PM and it's an hour away from KIX by train (which is still the fastest and cheapest way to go around Japan) so we obviously couldn't make it on time.
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| Look, it's a Harry Potter train! |
Now Japan is famous for its crazy railway system. If it wasn't for Nee-chan, I'd totally be lost even though I can read Hiragana/Katakana. Good thing, she still knows her way around. I, on the other hand, already got a little disoriented on my first train ride back in Japan. Aside from Japan, I've been to Singapore and South Korea which also have organized public transportation systems. I've been to SG and SK twice and on each visit, I've always used one rechargeable smart card for every form of transportation. It's simply convenient and really worth your money as you get discounted fares. You just tap and go! However, Japan's railway system is so big, they have one card for each railway company.
So if you'll be using multiple lines during your trip, you're better off buying one-way tickets.
