Travel: Japan 2017 Day 4 // Walk: Asakusa, Tokyo // Final Fantasy Distant World Jirutsu Concert

09 December 2017

We checked out of Paddington Bear at Sagamiko Resort Pleasure Forest (what a mouthful) after having their provided DIY breakfast of croissant & ham (and some orange juice packs). All in all, I think it was pretty good value, considering the experience and the inclusions we got. A pity we did not get to spend more time to enjoy the illumination to the fullest as we arrived quite late. 

We caught the bus to Sagamiko station which is located just across the resort. I think the fare was about JPY 200-250.

And lovely manholes...

As there was a bit of time before check in time (usually 3 p.m.) at our chosen hotel for the day, we made our way to Asakusa as our companion wanted to buy a Japanese noren at Nakamise Shopping Street.

But as it was already mid-day when we arrived at Asakusa station, we had to fill some yummies in our tummies, so off we went to Tendon Tenya - Asakusa branch - for some tempura lunch. By the way there are quite a lot of tempura restaurants in Asakusa, but we could only fit one lunch session (sad), so we opted for this well known eatery.

Tempura Tendon Tenya

〒111-0032 Tokyo, Taitō, Asakusa, 1 Chome−9−1, 国立ビル

Their set meals are sooo good value for money, and very filling too. Tempura were all delicious and the tempura sauce was also well made. I think between the 4 of us, we paid about JPY3000

I have never gone to Asakusa before (surprisingly... haha). I just thought it is very touristy for a shrine (although no doubt very famous).
My opinion does not change after this visit.

The shopping street boasts shops and shops of souvenirs and snacks, and they were all packed when we got there. I guess this place is so popular with tourists.

 I didn't really take a lot of pictures here as we were strapped for time. But our companion did get her noren, and 1/2heart and I got some clothing for our furchildren. Here's Sake sporting the kimono we bought for him.
Unfortunately the kimono we bought for Senpai (our munchkin cat) is too small -_-

***

For the night, we stayed at Remm Hibiya, which is best reached/walked from Hibiya station. This area is very central to sightsee around Chiyoda, Hibiya, and Ginza

Remm Hibiya

Price paid: A$416.06

The room is veeeryyyy small, but I loved the massage chair they provided in-room (the white chair below by the window)

***

The main reason I made this trip to Tokyo was to watch Final Fantasy concert, that I missed because I had a business trip when they did in in Sydney. So I was sooo happy when I could obtain the tickets for this concert which was held at Tokyo International Forum (Hall A) in Chiyoda.

Final price was JPY 10010 per person per ticket purchased online through their official website (including tax), but hell it was worth every yen!

I have been a fan of Final Fantasy series every since my teen years. Although some of the games were more misses than hit (*cough-FF13-cough*), their scores are generally great, and some are so wonderful (Nobuo Uematsu-sama, thank you). I also love their modified scores from their earlier games (I love the rendition of Theme of Love/ 月の明り which was also played during the concert)

And the vocalists they had for the concert were brilliant. (for Sydney or probably assumably for any other countries apart from Japan, it was usually only choir groups for pieces like "One Winged Angel" or "Liberi Fatali", hardly solos from vocalists).

And the vocal highlight for me was the opera performance of Draco and Maria (though in Japanese). Such power.

So, Final Fantasy aside, in the advertisement/promotional packs given to us, I saw this:

HolyMotherF* - I just know I won't be able to go (as it coincides with one of my good friend's wedding), and I know I will somewhat regret not going T_T. XENOGEARS CONCERTTTTT!!!! My most favourite game ever (although they could have made the 2nd half of the game so much better than just monologues...). But Xenogears has a brilliant array of music scores which no doubt will be so fantastic in an orchestra.

*Rant over*

After the concert, we had dinner at a yakiniku restaurant (which again, I forgot to take pictures of due to the buzz I was still feeling after the concert. Haha).

This concludes the day's post. Until next update...