Just An Ordinary Girl

Photo By: Elin Chow

Meguro river is one of the best place in Tokyo to enjoy the cherry blossom season, drawing huge crowds year after year. It is located in Nakameguro, near to Shibuya, in central Tokyo. Since we had already seen daytime cherry blossoms at Shinjuku Gyoen earlier in the day, we decided to visit Meguro river just to experience the stunning view of cherry blossoms at night.
The nearest station to the river is Naka-Meguro Station, not Meguro Station. To get from Ikebukuro Station to Naka-Meguro Station, you will need to transfer to the Tokyu Toyoko Line at Shibuya Station. You can get to Shibuya Station by the JR Yamanote Line. The journey takes about 15 minutes and costs 170 Yen. Alternatively, you can also get to Shibuya Station from Ikebukuro Station by the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line. But this will take about 16 minutes and costs 200 Yen.

It takes 4 minutes to get from Shibuya Station to Naka-Meguro Station by the Tokyu Toyoko Line. A one way trip will cost 130 Yen. From Naka-Meguro Station, it is about a 10 minutes walk to Meguro river. You can easily navigate your way there with Google Map or by following the crowds.

As soon as you arrived at the river, you will be amazed by the spectacular sight of cherry blossoms. Roughly 800 cherry trees lined a 4 km stretch of Meguro river, starting from a large bridge near Ikejiri Ohashi Station all the way to Fudomae and Meguro Station. The cherry blossoms usually bloom from late March to early April, which attracts tons of visitors every year.

The ordinary dull canal looked spectacular with cherry trees on both sides in full bloom. About 1 km of these trees are illuminated with lights in the evening. The lights are turned on around sunset (5pm) and switched off at 9 pm every night. The river is also lit up with red and yellow lanterns strung along the riverside, which cast a romantic luminescent glow on the water.



We enjoyed strolling under the canopy of pink and white blossom. It was a very pretty sight as blossoming branches make an arch hanging over the river, creating a magnificent pink tunnel over the water. We were glad that it was not terribly crowded on the day we visited, probably because it was a weekday. Well, it was still packed with people, but everyone was patiently waiting for their turn to have their pictures taken.


Viewing the cherry blossoms at night is a completely different experience. The soft pink petals are absolutely breathtaking and there are numerous trendy cafes and restaurants along the river where you can enjoy a meal with cherry blossom view.


Cherry blossoms at Meguro river can be enjoyed day and night. But we only get to visit at night due to time constraints. I believe it will be extremely beautiful in the day time as well. We spent about an hour strolling along the river while taking photos and admiring the view. It is an absolute great place to be in Springtime. We wish that we could stay longer to enjoy the view, but we were super tired after a long day.


If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 9D8N Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka Trip Itinerary + Overview for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 9 days in Japan. For anyone planning your first trip to Japan but have no idea where to start, you should read my "How To Plan A Trip To Japan" post.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on my 9 days adventures in Japan! You might also want to check My Wanderlust page for some of my other travel adventures

Photo By: Elin Chow
Official Website: Super Hotel Lohas Ikebukuro-Eki Kitaguchi

Leaving Shinjuku Gyoen, we took the train from JR Shinjuku Station back to Ikebukuro Station. We have left our luggage at Super Hotel Lohas Ikebukuro-Eki Kitaguchi (the hotel that we will be staying for the next 3 nights) earlier that day before we went off for sightseeing. So we planned to check in and take a short rest first before we continue sightseeing.

Super Hotel Lohas Ikebukuro-Eki Kitaguchi is located about 10 minutes walk away from Ikebukuro Station, near to the red-light district. It is pretty far, especially when you are dragging your luggage around and trying to navigate your way through all the people. 


The hotel was newly renovated in 2016. Warmly lit, the lobby was spacious with several comfortable couches.
The front desk staff was very polite, friendly and able to converse well in English. Check in was fast and efficient. There was also no check-out formalities at the hotel as front desk does not operate 24-hour. You can simply leave the hotel by 10.00 am.

At the reception, you will find a range of free gifts for the ladies, including face masks, bar soaps, combs, moisturizers, relaxing patch, mouthwash and etc. Each female guest is allowed to choose and take any 5 items from the tray cabinet every day. Well, it is a little unfair for male guests, but I believe guys would not really mind.

Next to the reception desk, there are two computer with internet connection and a printer provided for guests to use. There is a vending machine at the lobby where you can buy some drinks. Other amenities include guest laundry facilities and gender-separated Onsens (artificial gas spring).  Please note that people with tattoos are not allowed to use the Onsen

Next to the lift, you will find a large shelf offering a selection of pillows of different hardness, blankets and Yukatas. Guests are welcome to pick up their preferable pillow, extra blankets and Yukata to wear to the Onsen here.


Access to the room is via key code. You will receive the key code when you check in. It is great because you do not have to carry a room card key and worry about misplacing it.

We booked a standard double non-smoking room for 3 nights. The room was extremely tiny but cleverly designed. It comes with a large king-sized bed, a small writing desk, a mini fridge and an attached bathroom. Although it is small, the room is clean and well-kept and every space is well utilized.

There was a small compartment beneath the bed that provide extra storage space. This was also where we kept one of our luggage, so that we can have more space as there was not much walking space in the room.

It can be a little frustrating if you have more than one luggage because you can only open one at a time, right in front of the door. We struggled to do all the packing after a day of shopping in the tiny space.

It will be good that if you try to pack all your stuffs in one luggage to save yourself the trouble from opening more than one luggage. Also,it will impossible for you to open the door and get out of the room after you opened your luggage. So, you will have to close it up every time you want to get out of the room.


Other than its tiny size, the room was very comfortable. The bed was very firm and the area was pretty quiet at night despite being located near the red light district. Some other basic amenities provided in the room include coffee and tea making facilities, hair dyer and a TV. Free WiFi is also available.

There was no free bottled mineral water provided. But you will receive free bottles of mineral water if you opt out not to have your room cleaned. Clean towels will still be provided every day even if you opted out of housekeeping.


In the room, you will also find an air filter/humidifier to keep the air clean and fresh. There was no closet for you to store your personal belongings. You will find just a few hangers for you to hang your clothes (which is not enough if you have many clothes).


The bathroom was also extremely tiny, but it has everything you need; a washlet, sink and a soaking tub. There was no space for us to hang our clothes and towel when we shower.

Large bottles of shower gel, shampoo and hair conditioner are provided in the bathroom. At the sink, you will also find disposable toothbrush and toothbrush.

You will receive a free snack for every unused toothbrush that you returned to the hotel at the front desk.

The hotel offers free breakfast for all guests, which was available from 6.30 am to 9.00 am. Traditional Japanese-style buffet was served, consisting of rice, miso soup, rice toppings, salads, sausages, salmon, mackerel, an assortment of breads, cereals and fruits. You are required to clean your own table, throw away the leftovers and separate the utensils before leaving

The restaurant can get pretty crowded during breakfast time and you might wait to get a table if you late. Please try to have your breakfast as early as you can.

Overall, we had quite an enjoyable stay at the hotel. Service was great and even though the room was really small, it offers all the basics you will need for a comfortable stay.


If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 9D8N Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka Trip Itinerary + Overview for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 9 days in Japan. For anyone planning your first trip to Japan but have no idea where to start, you should read my "How To Plan A Trip To Japan" post.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on my 9 days adventures in Japan! You might also want to check My Wanderlust page for some of my other travel adventures.

Photo By: Elin Chow

It is the most wonderful time of the year in Japan when the whole city turns into a pink wonderland cherry blossom fever. There are several recommended cherry blossoms viewing spots in Tokyo, and among all, Ueno park and Shinjuku Gyoen are the most famous. Originally, we planned to visit Ueno park because admission is free. But we changed our mind later because we read that the park was often extremely crowded due to free admission. The atmosphere will also be noisy since visitors are allowed to bring alcohol and picnic under the trees.

So, we decided to visit Shinjuku Gyoen instead after reading that it will be less noisy and less crowded than Ueno Park. Unlike Ueno park, alcoholic drinks are not permitted within the park, as well as music, pets and ball games. It is a peaceful oasis in the busy city of Tokyo where people can enjoy taking a stroll, chit chat with friends and relax.

There are three entrance gates - Shinjuku Gate, Okido Gate and Sendagaya Gate. Most visitors enter via the Shinjuku Gate, thus there is usually a long queue at this gate. You might want to enter via the Okido Gate or Sendagaya Gate to avoid the long queue.

We entered the park via the Shinjuku Gate because it is the closest to the train station we were at. Shinjuku Gyoen is located just a short 10 minutes walk away from JR Shinjuku Station. The best way to get from Ikebukuro Station to JR Shinjuku Station  is by the JR Yamanote train line. It will take about 5 minutes to get from Ikebukuro Station to JR Shinjuku station and an one way fare will cost 160 Yen.

Once we arrived at JR Shinjuku station, we relied on Google Maps to navigate our way to Shinjuku Gyoen. You will see plenty of tourists heading towards the same direction too. There was a long queue at Shinjuku Gate at the time when we arrived due to security check. Security requires all bags be inspected for alcohol, which caused a huge delay at the entrance.
Passing through the security check, we arrived at the ticket gate next. Admission fee is 500 Yen and tickets can be bought from the ticket machines in front of the ticket gate.There was another long queue for buying ticket.

The park is usually closed on Monday, but it was open everyday during the cherry blossom season, from 9 am to 6 pm. Admission ends 30 minutes before closing. Near the entrance, there is a rack where you can find maps in wide variety of languages. Feel free to grab one and you can easily spend half a day exploring this huge park.
Shinjuku Gyoen is one of the largest and popular parks and gardens in Tokyo with a land area of 58.3 hectares, which is equivalent to the size of 12 Tokyo Dome. It is also one of the best cherry blossoms viewing spots in Tokyo, featuring over 1,000 cherry trees of 65 varieties that bloom at different times during Spring.




Some varieties bloom early, while some others bloom late. Due to that, the blooming period at Shinjuku Gyoen (from mid March to late April) is much longer than many other places in the city. As a result, you will able to enjoy cherry blossoms even if you are a week earlier or late for full bloom in Tokyo.
It was late March when we visited and the weather was still very chilly. The sky was pretty dull and grey, which was not so ideal for photos. It was very windy too, with occasional drizzle throughout the day.

Shinjuku Gyoen is the former residence of the Naito family in the Edo Period (1603-1867) and was later transferred to the imperial family 1903 who used it for recreation and entertainment of guests. The park was almost destroyed during World War II but was redeveloped and opened to the public in 1949.

The expansive grounds comprise of three themed gardens: an expansive English Landscape garden, a systematically designed French Formal garden, and a traditional Japanese Landscape garden. Each is beautifully manicured and absolutely picturesque.

Shinjuku Gyoen is popular with both locals and foreign tourists alike. However, I noticed there were actually more locals than foreign tourists when we were there.  I believe this is mainly because it is hard to find such wide-open green spaces in Tokyo. It is a great place to take a break, escape the noise of the city and enjoy nature in Tokyo.

There are more than 20,000 trees in the park, including cherry trees. You will find trees that are not native to Japan such as Tulip trees, Plane trees, Himalayan trees and Bald Cypresses. Majority of the cherry trees here have already reached its peak bloom and are scattered throughout the expansive grounds.



The pink and white blooms are indescribably beautiful, yet fragile. As the wind blows, hundreds of white and pink petals of cherry blossoms flutter and fell gently on our skin.  There are lots of photo opportunities all around the park.
The English Landscape Garden features expansive lawn surrounded by cherry blossoms. You can bring some food and enjoy a picnic underneath the trees. Just remember not to leave any trash behind. The atmosphere at the park was very peaceful and relaxing.  It is a great place to slow down your pace, have a snack or a drink and unwind. We enjoyed a stroll along the path, watching people and doing absolutely nothing. This is where you will find a moment of tranquility in the bustling Tokyo.




Even with hundred thousands of tourists invading the grounds, the park does not lose its charm or its calmness. The park is really large enough that you would not feel crowded during this peak season. There are plenty of space for you to lay out your picnic mat to enjoy the sun and perhaps for a nice nap.

< The park is very well-maintained and mostly wheelchair accessible. Most of the main paths in the park are wide and nicely paved, but there are still some areas that are entirely unpaved. Visitors in wheelchair might find these unpaved areas extremely difficult to access.


The Japanese Garden is made up of large and picturesque ponds, bridges and pavillions. It is much more smaller than the English garden, but is meticulously crafted and landscaped with two arched bridges.


The most striking feature is the DTT Docomo Yoyogi building standing majestically in the pond's background. At 892 feet, the DTT Docomo Yoyogi building is currently the fourth tallest building in Tokyo. It is also the tallest clock tower in the world after a clock was installed into the face of it in 2002.





The rest of the park consists of heavily wooded paths and is a nature lover's delight. All around the park, you will find plenty of benches to rest on while enjoying the beauty of the flora. There is also a beautiful greenhouse inside the park that we missed out for whatever reason. It is a pity because the greenhouse featuring over five hundred species of plants, is one of the must visit attraction in the park.





Is Shinjuku Gyoen worth a visit? Definitely yes! The park is beautiful at any time of the year, but particularly so in Spring and Autumn. It is an urban oasis with  spacious lawns, meandering walking paths, gardens and lakes. You can easily spend half a day here soaking up the stunning scenery.


If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 9D8N Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka Trip Itinerary + Overview for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 9 days in Japan. For anyone planning your first trip to Japan but have no idea where to start, you should read my "How To Plan A Trip To Japan" post.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on my 9 days adventures in Japan! You might also want to check My Wanderlust page for some of my other travel adventures.