Day 7 - 1st Day in Tokyo

(Above) Tokyo Haneda Airport Control Tower Terminal

On arrival at Tokyo Haneda airport Terminal 1 (North Wing) at 1.35pm, after collecting our luggage, we will head for the tourist information centre on the 1st floor, Unit 3-2 to get free maps and information. The tourist information centre there is staffed from 9am to 10pm every day. (Above) Haneda airport terminal interior ( Terminal 1 for JAL domestic flights )

By the time, we leave the airport, it would most probably be about 2.30pm. We will head for the Tokyo Monorail Counter located on Basement 1 to purchase tickets. As we have arrived on a Sunday, we will be entitled to purchase the Monorail and Yamanote Discount Tickets allows passengers to travel from Haneda Airport Terminal 1, Haneda Airport Terminal 2 to anywhere on the JR Yamanote Line for ¥500(SGD$7.43). It is a reduced fare ticket that is only available on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, and it is extremely handy for access to the center of Tokyo or to the metropolitan areas.
(Above ) Tokyo Monorail

It is just right for us since to travel to our hotel in Shinjuku, we have to use both the Tokyo Monorail and JR lines and without the discount tickets, we would have to pay ¥660(SGD$9.80). We will most probably catch the 3.01pm monorail and it will bring us from Haneda Airport Terminal 1 to Hamamatsucho station(below).

(Above) Bustling Shinjuku

There we will make a transfer to the JR Yamanote line and proceed to Shinjuku station. We are reminded not to leave our tickets in the automatic ticket barrier since our tickets need to be reused for transfer to the JR line.

(Above) Koshu-Kaido Street , one of the oldest main streets in Tokyo, en-route to our hotel.

Once, we exit from Shinjuku station’s south exit and take a leisurely 15 minutes walk along Koshu-Kaido street(above) and turning into the intersection between KDDI Building(below) and Shirjuku NS Building where our hotel - Shinjuku Washington is located.

(Above) KDDI Building , a point of reference to guide us to our hotel - Shinjuku Washington
(Above) Where we will be staying in Tokyo - Shinjuku Washington hotel

By this time, we estimate it would be about slightly past 4pm. We will check into the hotel, settle down and have a rest before we set out at 5.30pm. (Above) Shinjuku station

From Washington Shinjuku hotel, we will take a 10 minute walk along Koshu-Kaido Street towards JR Shinjuku station. I plan to use JR Shinjuku station as a point of reference for us to move around the attractions of Tokyo.

(Above) Central layout of surrounding shopping areas of Shinjuku station

Basically, from what we learnt, there are three main exits at the station. The "East Exit" leads towards the high street shopping area; The "South Exit" leads towards the Times Square Shopping Centre and the "West Exit" leads towards the skyscraper and business zone. Arriving at Shinjuku station, we will take a walk around the station building as it is well known for its vast selection of shops and restaurants inside the station building as well as its underground mall and famous department stores in the area. They include the following :

(Above) Lumine EST facade at night


(Above) Snoopy corner at Lumine EST store

Lumine Est - above JR's east exit

Odakyu department store (above ) - above the Odakyu line concourse

Odakyu Mylord (above) - above the southern end of Odakyu line concourse

(Above) Cakes Galore! Sweet Treats! (Below)

LUMINE 1 shopping mall - above the Keiō Line concourse
LUMINE 2 shopping mall - above JR's south and Lumine exits

Keio Department store (above) - above the Keiō Line concourse

Keio Mall - underground mall to the southwest of the Keiō Line concourse

Odakyu Ace - underground malls beneath the bus terminal by the west exit.

In addition to the above, the Metro Promenade, which is an underground mall owned by Tokyo Metro, extends eastwards from the station beneath Shinjuku-dori avenue, all the way to the adjacent Shinjuku-sanchōme station with 60 exits along the way. We will probably shop till we drop or until the shops and stores close between 8pm to 10pm. Along the way, we will head for one of the many eateries in Shinjuku area. One good source of where to eat in Shinjuku can be found at the following URL : http://www.bento.com/ra-shinj.html

We will then head back to our hotel for a rest and also find some way to create more space in our backpacks for more shopping tomorrow.