Ghibli Museum ジブリ美術館 Jiburi Bijutsukan

Going to Ghibli Museum is one of the weirdest thing I did.. Why? Because I only watched 2 Studio Ghibli's movies before going there and obviously I didn't really know most of the displayed items, characters or animations..

Since I only watched My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ Tonari no Totoro) and I Can Hear the Sea (海が聞こえる Umi ga Kikoeru) before going there, the only thing I want to see is Totoro.. ^^

Now, back to the topic, I went there on 20th February with my friends.. I think the ticket price is reasonable and worth it.. Only cost 1000yen but you have to buy it in advance. My friend bought the tickets for all 12 of us at Lawson convenience store.

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The official name for the museum is 三鷹の森ジブリ美術館 Mitaka no Mori Jiburi Bijutsukan or Ghibli Museum, Mitaka.

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Rikkyo's students group trip to Ghibli Museum, :)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

We must refrain from taking any pictures in the building, so, I only took some pictures while I'm outside.

We were greeted by a big Totoro doll near the main gate.. So cute!

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then we went to the rooftop to see a robot (I don't know what the robot is at that time),

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Omelette fried rice (nasi goreng pataya in Malay) for 1000yen (RM38) per plate? I'll pass.. Hehe..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

As there was too many people in our group, we split into 2 groups and end up walking back to Mitaka station separately..

This is from the other entrance,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Walking back to Mitaka Station,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

It was a nice experience but it doesn't mean much to me at that time. Based on my friend recommendation, I started to watch Studio Ghibli's movies a few days ago.. As of now, I've watched 6 movies after the trip, below is the list:

- Spirited Away 千と千尋の神隠し Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

- Kiki's Delivery Service 魔女の宅急便 Majyo no Takkyubin

- Howl's Moving Castle ハウルの動く城 Hauru no Ugoku Shiro

- Laputa: Castle in the Sky 天空の城ラピュタ Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta

- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 風の谷のナウシカ Kaze no Tani no Naushika

- Whisper of the Heart 耳をすませば Mimi O Sumaseba

After watching those movies, I was like, "So, that was Yu-Baaba from Spirited Away in the showroom.. and Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle!" "The robot on the rooftop is from Laputa: Castle in the Sky.." and "Jiji, the black cat is from Kiki's Delivery Service!" Haha.. Even though I only knew what I saw a few days after the trip, it's still okay I guess.. Well, good night ^^V

Ueno Park 上野公園 Ueno Kouen

Good evening everyone.. ^^ I have a few entries I want to post, so, I will try my best to do it.. After the snow fall, there's quite a number of things I did.. Went to Ueno Park, Ghibli's Museum in Mitaka (三鷹のジブリ美術館 Mitaka no Jiburi Bijutsukan) and boarded the Rapid Express (快速急行 Kaisoku Kyuukou) train to Ikebukuro. So, for this entry, I will write about my trip to Ueno Park on 16th February..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Actually I didn't have any plans to go there but since it was very near to the place I went for part time job interview (McDonald's Ueno Park), I decided to take a walk through it to get to Ueno Station's Park Exit (上野駅の公園口 Ueno Eki No Kouen Guchi).

A nice park and I really can't wait to go there in Spring to see sakura :)

Near this statue, there's an explanation board with the title 敬天愛人 Keiten Aijin. I don't know what it is actually. Hehe..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

This building is situated near the statue,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Next, there's the Tomb of Shogitai Warriors,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Explanation of it is available in the following pic,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

I would also like to introduce a street performer group I found performing at the park, it's GちょこMarble (G Choko Marble).. Click here to view their blog.. They did some balancing acts with their wooden chairs and what I like the most was the yellow balloon trick. ^^

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

As I walked further, found the Statue of the Imperial Prince Komatsunomiya Akihito,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Next, I found Ueno Zoo! Well, only managed to snap the pic of the entrance though.. Will try to go there someday..

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Before leaving the park area, I visited Toshogu Shrine situated near the zoo entrance,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

And finally, reached Ueno station and went back to Ikebukuro.. :)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

A few days later, I received an e-mail from McDonald's Ueno Park.. They said they can't hire me because I will return to Malaysia in August.. Darn it! I should've just lie to them (I don't think it is right to lie but I will have to after this.. If not, it is hard to get a longterm job *Took advice from a Japanese friend)

One Day Ticket 一日乗車券 Ichi Nichi Jyousyaken

Went for a trip around Tokyo with my friend from Malaysia on Saturday (29th January). I bought Tokyo Metro`s 1 Day Open Ticket for 710yen.. It was worth it! I recommend the pass to anyone who wants to go for a sightseeing around Tokyo without having to worry about transportation fees. There`s 2 types of 1 day pass I have used so far:

1) JR Tokunai Pass (JR 都区内パス) (used on 18th December 2010 - 730yen)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

2) Tokyo Metro 1 Day Open Ticket (東京地下鉄一日乗車券 - Toukyou Chikatetsu Ichi Nichi Jyousyaken)　(used on 29th January 2011 - 710yen)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

I used the JR Tokunai Pass only on Yamanote Line (山手線) since the place I want to go for sightseeing is accessible by Yamanote Line and in my opinion, Yamanote Line is the best line you can use for sightseeing.

On that day, first, I went to Shinjuku (新宿) to experience the breathtaking view of Tokyo from Tokyo Metropolitan Government building (東京都庁 - Toukyou Tochou). The height of the observatory (展望室 - Tenbou Shitsu) is 202m. The view was so great that I went there twice on the same day!

This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Some of the views from the observatory taken during the day and night,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Next stop, Harajuku (原宿).. Hehe.. Went to Takeshita St. and it was packed with people (obviously, it`s weekend, ^^)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Then to Shibuya (渋谷) and finally to Tokyo Tower! Can`t afford to go up to the observatory of Tokyo Tower, so, only took picture from the ground :)

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

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As for Tokyo Metro 1 Day Open Ticket, trip to some places is not as direct as using Yamanote Line as it involved a few transfers between the lines in the network. Here`s a snapshot of the train network (taken from Tokyo Metro official site),

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The 1 Day Open Ticket covers these lines:
Ginza Line (銀座線), Marunouchi Line (丸ノ内線), Hibiya Line (日比谷線), Tozai Line (東西線), Chiyoda Line (千代田線), Yurakucho Line (有楽町線), Hanzomon Line (半蔵門線), Namboku Line (南北線), and finally Fukutoshin Line (副都心線).

What I enjoyed the most was going to Sky Tree in Oshiage (押上). When my friend and I decided to go to Sky Tree after we saw an advertisement about it, we were at Asakusa (浅草) which is only 2 stations away but since Tokyo Metro 1 Day Ticket doesn`t cover Asakusa Line, we took the train from Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line to Mitsukoshimae (三越前) and transfered to Hanzomon Line to Oshiage Station,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

After the train ride, we finally reached Sky Tree.. The only word I can say is `Wow!`,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

Looks messy but I'm sure it will look better when it's complete,

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

From Ryugaku 留学 - Jepun

The current height of Sky Tree (as of on the day I visited, 29th January 2011) is 559m.

Hu.. Quite a long entry.. I'm typing this in Ikebukuro Campus Main Library.. Suppose to update my Kanji list, well, I still got time, it`s 7:44pm now, and library will closed at 9pm.. Bye for now..