Exploring TOKYO and the Bullet Train! – Jet Set with Muni and Annette
[Music] hi I’m oi and I’m manette we are a motherdaughter Duo who are tackling the globe one country at a time join us to see how we explore each City while traveling with my two boys under the age of three on this episode we’ll be exploring the enormous city of Tokyo as well as showing you our experience on the B train the neighborhoods of Shinjuku Shibuya as well as Harajuku and some surprises that you’ll just have to see by tuning in in order to get to Japan we took juu Airlines from ICN in Soul to arrived in Tokyo you can think about this as something similar to Spirit Airlines like we have over here if you are traveling from another destination in Asia I highly recommend using this Airline because it actually was a really great experience I purchased these tickets on booking.com a few weeks prior to our vacation and the process was very seamless it’s the first time I’ve used either of those companies booking.com and jedu Airlines and I can honestly say that I would use it again once we arrived in Narita Airport we actually disembarked from the plane onto the ground versus directly into the building which was was a surprise we have made it to Tokyo another country check if you’ve seen our first few episodes you know the bathroom is the first place I go after we arrive to any destination and before leaving out for an Excursion and this was no different the bathrooms here were clean Super high-tech and easy to use after a quick pit stop we were on our way to meet our driver and to walk the far far far far distance from the terminal to the parking garage I can truthfully say in all of my years of flying I have never encountered a parking garage that was farther away from the airport than this one we walked for at least 25 minutes in order to get to the car that our private driver had arranged for us this thing is going fast Cleveland Hopkins with thankfully Mooney arranged for a private driver to take us from the airport to Tokyo man that was a far walked we walked and walked and walked but luckily the driver helped us with our luggage even though I was sweating I was glad that we had the assistance on this leg of our trip there were five adults and two children it just did not make Financial sense to try to stay at a hotel therefore we found an Airbnb that was large enough to accommodate all of us in the trendy neighborhood of Shibuya this Airbnb will be linked down below and I can say that honestly it was the best case scenario when it comes down to a stay in Tokyo a lot of the hotels that I was seeing online were very old small dingy and didn’t have a whole lot of space for the kids to roam around this Airbnb was actually three floors the first of which had a nice bathroom a living room and a full kitchen there were complimentary slippers as taking off your shoes in someone else’s home home is customary in Japanese culture on the second floor there were four bedrooms one of which was a traditional Japanese bedroom where you could actually sleep on the floor while the other bedrooms had large comfy traditional beds there was a water closet with a separate tub and shower room I remain quite surprised at how much space there actually was in this Airbnb when you think about us being downtown in a major metropolitan area perhaps the best thing about this Airbnb was the surprise on the third floor which was a beautiful balcony from this balcony we could soak up the sun as well as see a lot of the sites of downtown Tokyo by the time we arrived we were desperate for food so we went to the closest grocery store which was Lawson’s the real MVP of our entire Japan trip to see what snacks we could find a lot of the things that we saw were in Japanese of course we don’t speak Japanese so it was challenging to figure out what to eat but ultimately we were able to load up on some bananas some rice packets some fresh fruit as well as an impromptu Uber Eats delivery from Good Old McDonald’s don’t judge us y’all those fries are reliable all right first morning in Tokyo how do you feel I feel good got a CO nice sleep 5:00 a.m. that’s a full night to you yeah I went to sleep early M good for you yep he’s good we’re going to go to breakfast yes cuz I’m hungry you know it’s late for me to eat getting around in Tokyo was much easier than it was in Korea because we could use Uber to get everywhere we had to go we didn’t even have to speak Japanese we just had to input the information the pickup and the drop off spot and we were golden we went to go get breakfast and we decided that we needed the traditional American pancakes after a long search online Mooney found the pancake place this place was small but it was quaint and you can see them preparing the food right in the back there was a long table with lots of other customers and once we were seated we were eagerly anticipating our food we had pancakes and eggs and it was delicious how was breakfast breakfast was good I feel absolutely some good old pancakes to start the day start it up so unfortunately because we decided to stop for Yummy pancakes we made ourselves quite late for our reservation to do go-karting or Mario carting as they say in downtown Tokyo to get from where we had breakfast in the neighborhood of Shibuya to the Tokyo go-karting place in asakusa it actually took a about an hour in an Uber it started off as 25 minutes but with the traffic it kept going longer and longer and longer however the staff at Monkey cart were so accommodating we arrived 3 hours late but they still let us participate within 20 minutes we were already briefed trained on using the go-karts potentially changed into costumes if you wanted to dress like Pikachu or other anime characters and we were ready to go out the door it is a legal to drive with your phone and your hand in Tokyo so we don’t have any footage but we can promise you it was well worth the ride just went go carting how was it guys fun fun fun mm it’s done it’s done my oldest daughter was still on her quest to find fabric to make her products or souvenirs from her trip abroad to Asia so we went to the fabric store and my goodness there was so much stuff in there it was almost overwhelming they had Fabric and yarn and buttons and scissors and anything that you can use to have a sewing project she was in heaven there was so much that she wanted but she settled on some Denim and some Tweed and she paid and it was good Gigi how are you feeling my dear I’m okay hungry thirsty tired I need a magnet thank goodness it was done because I was starving I was ready to get something to eat that took forever it’s a little ironic but we decided to get Korean Fried Chicken in Japan we searched and searched menus from different restaurants and that’s what we chose crazy huh we made this decision because my sister had yet to try her Tech Bui and I wanted to try the famous Korean Fried Chicken as an African-American I have high standards when it comes to fried chicken and I would say this was probably a six and a half to seven out of 10 after finishing our food we stepped right outside the mall to encounter Shibuya Crossing also known as shabuya scramble Crossing which is one of the most famous intersections in the entire world during peak times of the day which this clearly was you can see as many as 3,000 people Crossing it simultaneously I think that that is so amazing and I did not choose to go inside the melee we continued walking because I wanted to find the Adidas Harajuku store to my surprise it was only about a 15-minute walk away from the shabuya Crossing in the store they had some limited edition just for Japan clothes shoes and accessories and you know I had to get something to go home with it overall was a really really great walking Excursion shop to we drop this is the drop part of shop to your drop oh my goodness I was so tired how I hate shopping not online in Japan the showers are a little different they’re kind of tricky sometimes you have to lift the lever you have to turn a button you have to press a button turn a dial once you figure it out though the water pressure is is great one thing I can say about the people in Japan they take showers with good water pressure the showers are located in a separate wet room where everything in there can be wet so don’t put your clothes down talk about excited the next morning we were ready to tackle the bullet train of all the things to do in Asia that was at the top of my list I wanted to go 200 mil an hour so I was excited it was everything that I expected to expected it to be be and then not because I wanted to go 200 M an hour but it didn’t feel like it honestly tackling the bullet train has been one of the most stressful travel experiences that I have had up to date I originally purchased the tickets online on the official website 3 weeks before we left at that point in time there were still good availability from Tokyo to Osaka I did not know at that time time that you were supposed to select a seat that has extra luggage space for an oversized bag and I also didn’t know that my sister would be transporting a huge 80 lb suitcase therefore we almost ended up getting kicked off of the train because we just did not have a seat that could accommodate so much stuff it also wasn’t super clear where we were supposed to go not many of the signs were in English and I was in line with a lot of fellow Americans and European Ians who had no idea what we were supposed to do and where we were supposed to go luckily we got to the train station about 2 hours early and we had time to explore we realized that instead of going to the right we should have gone to the left and it also took quite some time to figure out how to get the tickets from my phone into a physical ticket so that you could insert it into the Turn Style and receive a receipt on the other end the the staff there and the condu conductors did not speak English whatsoever so we really were on our own wandering around the train station attempting to figure out where we were supposed to go there were no elevators so for us who had this abundance of luggage as well as the stroller and the baby it took several trips five to six trips in order to get everybody up the stairs and ready for the train we debated and debated and debated what we were going to do because we were told that we had too much luggage and that we couldn’t get on on the train until 700 p.m. tonight I was so stressed out ready to melt down no one was around to help us there was no communication whatsoever so we just said let’s just try to get on the train and see what happens and if they kick us off they kick us off lo and behold we got on the train and nothing happened we’re on the train we’re on the train for now I’m over Japan thank you very much peace out not coming back it’s too much Never Say Never saying never well we’re here so we going to have fun in no but this train the thing that I wanted to do the most has caused us the most stress for sure but we’re here alhamdulillah even if they kick us off the train we’ll still be closer to oaka than when we start it on the bullet train there was lots to see and do the seats were comfortable um you had lots of ample leg room it even had a footrest so you can put your feet up to kind of alleviate the pressure um there we had reserved seating and the seating allowed us all to sit together and over the seats where where we could store our luggage everybody’s suitcase fit there except for my daughter’s who had a giant suitcase and overpacked but that’s another story the bullet train offered services um the first thing that happened was some attendant came by and they offered us hot towels so that we can sanitize our hands so we washed our hands with the hot towels and we thought we were going to get service not so you had to order anything that you wanted to eat and drink from an app that was the information was located in the back of the seat pocket but for some reason our app wasn’t working of course we had limited Japanese knowledge and a kind person behind us had to help us navigate the system you had to pay in the Japanese currency of course we did not have enough we scrambled and scrambled between all the adults in the party and we eventually had enough money to purchase our snacks which were fine there was no complaints about that they walked you to the walk they they walked the snacks to you on a tray and then you were able to finish it just like in an airplane when done they would come by and take away your trash on the bullet train of course you’re going to have to go to the bathroom after being on the train for a long time and the bathrooms were clean there were some that were just like the airplane very small but clean and you didn’t feel like you were moving 200 M an hour and there was supposedly another bathroom that was family style and you were able to go in there if you had a baby and needed to change diapers or nurse or anything like that and before we knew it the 2 hours had passed and we finally arrived in Osaka I was so excited to see that they actually had an elevator unlike Tokyo tune in next week for tackling Osaka
On this episode of our amateur travel show, we will take you through our trip to Tokyo Japan. We will also give you a sneak peak into our experience with the bullet train (Shinkansen). Here you will see the neighborhoods of Shibuya, Asakusa and Harajuku! You will also find where to get an American breakfast in the city of Tokyo. This video series is perfect for anyone wondering whether they should take a trip to Tokyo or is unable to physically make it there themselves. This video was made with a ton of love and laughs. We hope you enjoy it!
0:39 – Jeju Airlines
02:47 – Shibuya Air B N B
04:14 – Lawson’s
05:17 – World Breakfast All Day
06:43 – Monkey Kart Go kart
07:15 – TOA Textile World
08:17 – Nara Fried Chicken
08:40 – Shibuya Crossing
09:18 – Harajuku
10:35 – Bullet Train
Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18110817?source_impression_id=p3_1715963306_Aji82vBy9Eim01gu
Jeju airlines : https://www.jejuair.net/
https://www.booking.com/
World Breakfast all day : https://www.world-breakfast-allday.com/
Mario kart downtown : https://www.viator.com/tours/Tokyo/Go-kart-tour-Shinjuku-drive-metroporitan-area-with-Iconic-Photes/d334-210466P1
OFFICIAL bullet train website: https://smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app/
TOA Textile World https://www.toa-ltd.com/
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Hello YouTube! We are Muni and Annette, a mother – daughter duo who is tackling the globe, one country at a time. We have always spent our most precious moments together bonding over travel shows like Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and House Hunters International. We have decided to finally get off of the couch and start taking matters into our own hands. We are complete amateurs with film and video, however we are having a blast bonding, exploring and teaching other mothers that it is never too late to learn a new skill or pursue your dreams! Join us for all of our adventures, successes and travel fails right here!
#tokyo #japan #japanvacation #japanwithkids #shinkansen #jejuair
#toddlertravel #asiatrip #harajukufashion #harajuku #shibuya #shibuyacrossing