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We arrived at Haneda airport, and wandered around the airport shopping area. There were lots of fake cherry blossom trees.
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We spend the rest of evening walking back from the Tokyo Metropolitan Goverment building along the subways and streets of Shinjuku.
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The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁舎) is the tallest city hall in the world, with observation decks proving amazing views.
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Shinjuku (新宿区) has been a major secondary center of Tokyo and a commercial hub full of skyscrapers and retail shops.
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Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) is a large park and garden. It was originally a residence of the Naitō family, then became an Imperial Park.
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Character Street is a row of shops selling toys based on various character themes, located underground in Tokyo Station.
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The Imperial Palace East Gardens encompasses the former Honmaru and Ninomaru areas of Edo Castle and the Imperial Tokagakudo Music Hall.
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Today we are visiting DisneySea, a unique nautically oriented theme park, unlike the other Disney theme parks around the world.
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On the first day, we landed in Haneda Airport and took the train to Asakusa to check into the hotel. We then headed to Mitaka for the Studio Ghibli museum.
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Our return to Japan after nearly a decade! On arrival in Tokyo (Haneda Airport), we took the train to Asakusa and checked into our hotel.
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Venus Fort is a completely over the top shopping centre in Palette Town, Odaiba, designed to look like a medieval European town.
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Mega Web History Garage is a museum located at the basement of Venus Fort and features historic cars, motorsports and nostalgia.
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Toyota Universal Design Showcase allows a visitor to "touch and feel" various elements of Toyota design and innovation.
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Palette Town is a shopping mall and entertainment complex containing a giant red ferris wheel plus Toyota's showcase centre (Mega Web).
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Odaiba is an artificial island built from reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay. It has ultra-modern buildings looking like a science fiction film.
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Seiseki-Sakuragaoka was the inspiration for the location used in the animation film 「耳をすませば」 (Whisper of the Heart).
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Well, sad though it may be - eventually we decided we have seen everything and therefore it was time to leave Sanrio Puroland (sob!).
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Sanrio Puroland's parade (Believe) is a homage to all those fans young and old who have "believed" in Hello Kitty for most of their lives.
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The next show we watched was a version of the Nutcracker ballet, but starring Hello Kitty and her family. This ends with a cabaret show!
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The first show we attended at Sanrio Puroland is a fairytale called "Someday II" (obviously a sequel to Someday I).
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Sanrio Puroland hosts musicals, restaurants, attractions, and theme rides based on Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, and more.
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Today we decided to head out of Tokyo towards the sprawling western suburbs of Tama New Town. The commercial centre is called Tama Center.
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Today we are planing to do a day trip from Osaka to Tokyo via Shinkansen. We hope to visit as many sights as we can in a day.
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Our first trip on a Shinkansen (bullet train)! We travelled from Tokyo to Osaka, a distance of 515 km, in 3 hours.
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PENTAX SQUARE is a mix of photographic gallery (Pentax FORUM), users's education facility (Pentax FOCAL) and user club (Pentax Family).
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From Shibuya, we took train back to Shinjuku and explored the south side, as well as the side closest to our hotel.
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Shibuya is famous for the world's busiest pedestrian crossing, the statue of a loyal dog, and stylish fashion stores for young women.
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Akihabara is a suburb full of stores that specialise in electrical goods. Also known as Electric Town, it has everything an otaku wants.
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The Ghibli Museum is dedicated to the creative output of Studio Ghibli - an animation film studio featuring director Miyazaki Hayao.
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We had dinner at a ramen shop near the station. After dinner, we wandered around Shinjuku at night - particularly Electric Street (電気街).
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Harajuku has been epitomised in popular culture as a hang-out for rebellious Japanese teenagers with their own fashion style.
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The Hamarikyu Garden used to belong to a daimyo (feudal lord) during the Edo period and used for wild duck hunting and falconry.
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Shinbashi ("New Bridge") was a bridge built across the Shiodome River (since filled in). Today, it is a railway hub and commercial centre.
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The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁舎) is the tallest city hall in the world, with observation decks proving amazing views.
![](https://travel.christham.net/wp-content/uploads/2008-Japan/Area-around-Shinjuku-Nishigushi-station.jpeg)
Shinjuku is a major commercial and administrative centre with many skyscrapers, and the busiest railway station in the world.
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Our arrival in Tokyo from Sydney was early in the morning. The Qantas plane landed in Narita Airport, and we took the express to Shinjuku.