This is my third trip to Japan. The purpose of this trip was simply to experience the grandeur of the Japan Alps and to see the colorful flower fields of pink moss, known to the Japanese as Shibazakura, Nemophilia, and Fuji. This trip was a chance for me to lug my bags, take trains, buses, taxis, and walk to various tourist destinations with a small group of friends, unlike my first and second trips to Japan, which were with tour groups.

This trip, I didn't fly direct, but chose to connect in Vietnam because I couldn't afford the direct flight price of Thai Airways. Choosing to connect like this saved me almost 7,000 baht on travel expenses. This trip, I chose to travel with Vietnam Airlines.

I departed around 7 pm and flew for about 2 hours before arriving at Hanoi International Airport. I waited for my connecting flight at the airport for about 2 hours before boarding again, heading to Nagoya International Airport.

I got a window seat on both legs of the flight, from Suvarnabhumi to Hanoi and from Hanoi to Nagoya. However, the flight from Suvarnabhumi to Hanoi was at night, so I couldn't take any pictures of the ground below. But the flight from Hanoi to Nagoya was in the morning, so I was able to see the aerial view of the flight path. The terrain passed through high mountains, rice fields, and urban communities.

It takes about 4 hours to fly to Nagoya International Airport.

After picking up our luggage, we continued our journey. My destination for today is Toyama City.

From the airport, we take the train at Central Japan International Airport Station to transfer to the Meiteteu Line.

After exchanging our JR tickets, we boarded the Meiteteu line train to Toyama. The seats inside the train were quite spacious, and the seats were large and very comfortable.

Knowing that I had another 4 and a half hour train ride ahead of me, I decided to grab some provisions in the form of a bento box before boarding. This set me back 700 yen, and I also picked up a bottle of water for 108 yen to enjoy on the train.

Upon arriving at Toyama Station, I headed straight to my accommodation to drop off my luggage before continuing my journey to the city of Himi.

Himi City is the hometown of the famous cartoonist Fujiko Fujio, so it's no surprise that the city is full of drawings of characters from the cartoon Ninja Hattori in many places. To get to Himi City, I took the train, which also had cartoon drawings on the carriages.

The journey across the sea, with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop, was breathtaking. It took about an hour to reach the city of Himi.

Our program in Himi City is to watch the Clock Town show by the cartoon character Hattori. Upon arriving at the train station, we asked the staff what time the Clock Town show was and where it was located. The staff looked at their watch and said that the show would start in less than 10 minutes.

The taxi stopped to drop our group off at the foot of the bridge. We all looked left and right for the Clock Town sign. Soon, there was music and the cartoon character Hattori appeared. The cartoon character would pop up, pop down, and spin around to the music. The performance lasted less than 10 minutes. I thought to myself, did I take the train for an hour for this? But anyway, it's better to come out and see the world than to sit in the hotel.

This city is truly the city of Ninja Hattori! Everywhere you go, you see the cartoon character on lampposts, mailboxes, and walls. It's everywhere!

The patterns on the manhole covers are very diverse.

After leaving the train station, I was afraid I wouldn't make it to the Clock Town show, so I had to take a taxi. On the way back, I decided to save money on the fare, so I chose to walk from the city center to the train station. While walking, I tried to take a different route than the one I took in the taxi. I walked through the city center until I saw the sea with the snow-capped mountains in the background again. Then I walked through the back streets until I reached the train station. It was quite a workout!

On the way back to Toyama City, I also took the Ninja Hattori train. When I arrived at my accommodation, it was already quite late. After dinner, I rested and saved my energy for the next day's program.

This morning, I started at Dentetsu Toyama Station to take the Toyama Chiho Railroad to Tateyama Station. The journey takes about 1 hour.

The view is beautiful all the way. The closer we get to Tateyama Station, the higher we climb. Tateyama Station is at an altitude of 475 meters.

From Tateyama Station, you will need to take the Tateyama Cable Car. At the Cable Car station, there is a screen displaying the temperature at each point on Mount Tateyama. The lowest temperature when I was about to go up was -2.4 degrees Celsius.

It takes about 7 minutes to ride the Tateyama Cable Car to the Bijodaira Plateau, which is about 977 meters above sea level. Then, we will continue on the Highlight Bus.

The Highlight Bus is a hybrid vehicle that takes you up to the heights, passing by the 350-meter-high Shomyo Falls and the 500-meter-high Hannoki Falls, which are formed by melting snow and flow down from a pair of cliffs. It is said that this waterfall is the highest in Japan.

From the landscape where you can see lush green mountains, the higher you go, the green starts to be covered by thick snow.

At this point, I can no longer see the green of the forest. There is only the white expanse of the massive snow wall. The path that once offered a distant view of the mountains has now become a snow wall that runs parallel to the road surface.

Throughout the 23-kilometer journey, I must admit that I was thoroughly captivated by the scenery on either side of the road.

Then the Highlight Bus came to drop me off at Murodo Station, which is 2,450 meters above sea level. Before I could even get off the bus, the snow started to fall and welcome me. It was just a light sprinkle, I wouldn't mind at all, but it was falling like a summer sale. Before I could even get used to the cold, the snow came crashing down on me. I got off the bus and ran into the station immediately.

The Murodo Station was packed with tourists escaping the biting cold, leaving barely any room to walk. I waited inside the station for a long time, but the snow showed no signs of stopping. However, waiting any longer could affect my other plans, so I decided to head out to the Snow Wall.

Due to my lack of preparation for the freezing conditions and blizzard I'm currently facing, I only have one shirt, a sweater, and a thin plastic raincoat. Just a few steps out of Murodo Station, styrofoam-sized snowflakes hit my face relentlessly. It felt like being slapped in the face, causing both pain and numbness. I had no choice but to retreat back into the station to regroup. After waiting for the blizzard to subside slightly, I decided to head back towards the snow wall.

Tateyama is known for receiving the highest snowfall in the world, with an average accumulation of 7 meters. During heavy snowfall years, the snow can pile up to a staggering 20 meters, equivalent to the height of a 10-story building.

Every year from late April to May, the Alpine route becomes a snow road carved into massive snow walls, gradually decreasing in height after June.

I didn't walk long on the snow wall before I had to give up. I couldn't stand the cold anymore. I guess I'll have to go back to the station and regroup.

I had a hot udon inside the station, which helped to warm my body up nicely. The price was 850 yen.

After the body temperature began to return to normal, we continued our journey by taking the Tateyama Tunnel Trolley Bus, an electric bus that runs inside the tunnel. This is the only place in Japan where this bus service is available.

The tunnel has been extended in some sections to allow trains to pass each other. We took an electric bus for about 10 minutes to reach Daikanyama Station, which is 2,316 meters above sea level.

From Daikanbo Station, we continue on the Tateyama Ropeway to Kurobe Daira Station, which is 1,828 meters above sea level.

The Tateyama Ropeway is the longest unsupported ropeway in Japan. During the 7-minute ride, I was barely able to move due to the crowded conditions, which were reminiscent of a can of sardines.

From Kurobe Daira Station, we have to take the Kurobe Cable Car for another 5 minutes to Kurobeko Station. Along the way, there is a detour to allow the Cable Car to pass each other.

From Kurobeko Station, we will have to walk through the Kurobe Dam to reach Kurobe Dam Station.

The Kurobe Dam stands at an altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level, with a dam height of 186 meters, making it even taller than the Bhumibol Dam in Thailand (which stands at 154 meters). This arch dam is the tallest of its kind in Japan and can generate up to 10 billion kWh of electricity per year.

As I walked out onto the dam crest, I felt a sharp pain in my nose, perhaps due to the extreme cold. The scenery around the dam was breathtaking, with snow covering the treetops and wisps of mist clinging to the mountain peaks. I wanted to stay there for a long time, but the cold was unbearable.

At the end of the dam crest, you will find the Kurobe Dam Station. We will need to take the Kanden Trolley Bus to Ogizawa Station.

The Kanden Trolley Bus is an electric trolleybus. It took us 16 minutes to reach Ogiwara Station by bus.

I noticed that each type of vehicle that takes tourists up to the top of Mount Tateyama is very environmentally friendly. The vehicles are electric, which minimizes pollution. It's a very nature-friendly way to travel.

We then took a bus to Shinano Omachi Station, the final station on the Japan Alps line. The bus ride took about 40 minutes.

Let's take a look at the Japan Alps route. You can see that there are many different ways to travel.

Cr: http://www.alpen-route.com/en/introduction

It was an impressive end to my Japan Alps trip, even though I had to endure terrible weather and encountered large groups of tourists. But what I took away was a positive experience, a little adventure during my journey along the Japan Alps route.

From Shinano-Omachi Station, we boarded the JR Oito Line train bound for Matsumoto Station, which took approximately 50 minutes.

Upon arriving at Matsumoto Station, I headed to my accommodation.

Our accommodation for tonight.

I arrived at the castle rather late in the evening, so I didn't go inside to see it. I just walked around the outside to enjoy the atmosphere. Matsumoto Castle is located on a flat plain, surrounded by walls and a moat. At dusk, when the castle lights up, the reflection of Matsumoto Castle falls on the moat surrounding the castle, creating a clear reflection like a mirror.

After dark, it was time for dinner. I looked for dinner near my accommodation. There were many restaurants to choose from.

I ordered a set for today.

After lunch, I went straight back to my accommodation, completely exhausted. Today was both tiring and hungry. I guess I have to recharge by sleeping and resting, to store up energy for the next day.

The morning atmosphere in Matsumoto is so refreshing. The weather is cool and comfortable, and the flowers are blooming in competition with each other.

This morning I have a program to visit Matsumoto Castle again. This time I will visit the inside of the castle as well.

I arrived quite early. There weren't many tourists yet, so I took another walk around the outside to soak up the atmosphere.

Matsumoto Castle is a prominent cultural landmark and the heart of Matsumoto City. The castle's black exterior and the surrounding crows have earned it the nickname "Crow Castle." Built in 1590 by Ishikawa Kazumasa, the castle served as the residence of past lords and remains beautifully preserved to this day. It now houses a museum showcasing a wealth of Japanese history and information. Matsumoto Castle is considered one of the three most beautiful castles in Japan.

Unlike most castles, such as Nagoya Castle and Osaka Castle, which were destroyed by war and rebuilt to resemble their original appearance, Matsumoto Castle has survived intact due to its avoidance of war damage. As a result, the castle's original structure has been preserved to this day. The interior, however, has been completely rebuilt.

Near Matsumoto Castle, there is a small pedestrian street called "Frog Street" because of the frog statue at the entrance. This street is lined with souvenir shops, sweet shops, fruit and vegetable shops, and even a shrine.

It was time to embark on my journey to Tokyo. I boarded the LTD. EXP Super Azusa 14 train, which took about 3 hours to reach Shinagawa Station. From there, I transferred to the JR Yokusuka Line for another 40 minutes to Noborito Station. At this station, I stored my luggage in a locker before continuing my journey to the Fujiko & Fujio Museum, also known as the Doraemon Museum.

In front of the station, there is a Doraemon doll.

Getting to the Fujiko & Fujio Museum is easy. There is a shuttle bus waiting for tourists in front of the train station. You will know which bus to take to the museum by looking at the bus.

At the bus stop, there are footprints painted on the ground to indicate where to queue for the bus.

We have arrived at the Fujiko & Fujio Museum, also known as the Doraemon Museum.

The front features a display of the Doraemon model.

The Doraemon Museum is located in the suburbs of Kawasaki, where Professor Fujiko worked. It is a 3-story building with a total exhibition area of 5,500 square meters. The construction cost was around 720-800 million baht. Inside, there are 50,000 pieces of Professor Fujiko's work on display. The plastic figures and Doraemon souvenirs that Professor Fujiko bought from abroad are all displayed on bookshelves that are 805 meters high. Photography is not allowed inside the museum.

In addition to the exhibition space, there is also a theater showing short films, a comic book reading room, and various activity rooms. There is also a souvenir shop. You can take pictures in this area, but photography is prohibited inside the theater.

Outside the building, there are also life-size statues of various characters, posing for photos with tourists.

Admission to this museum requires advance ticket purchase. Tickets are not available at the museum entrance. The admission fee is 1,000 yen per person.

We had such a good time exploring that we didn't realize how late it had gotten. We decided to grab dinner near the train station before heading back to our accommodation.

Most of the restaurants near the train station are beer bars, and there are almost no restaurants that are specifically restaurants. In front of each store, there will be staff standing to call customers and hold a menu for guests to see to help them decide to use the service. Judging from the price of each menu, it is not expensive. It is acceptable. But surprisingly, when the bill is checked, the price is higher than normal. When I sat down and looked at the food menu item by item, the price was the same as the menu. But I had to stumble upon the last item because the shop would also charge for the hours we spent using the service in the shop. So I see.

After the meal, we traveled back to our accommodation in Shinagawa City.

The atmosphere in front of our hotel.

This hotel offers both breakfast and a shuttle bus service to and from the train station. The shuttle bus runs on a schedule. My destination today is Katsuta City.

The JR train has both single and double-decker cars.

I took the Yamanote Line for about 2 hours and arrived at Katsuta Station. Then, I took bus number 1 to Hitachi Seaside Park, which took about 20 minutes.

Hitachi Seaside Park in Hitachinaka City is a famous tourist destination in Ibaraki Prefecture. It is located by the sea and has an area of 2 million square meters. The park entrance fee is 400 yen.

Hitachi Seaside Park is divided into different zones. If you don't feel like walking, there are bicycles for rent or a tram service available. The tram fare is 500 yen per person. As for me, I chose to walk around the area first so that I could take pictures while enjoying the garden. The first spot is a rather large lawn where many Japanese people were having picnics.

Next to the lawn is a poppy field with both orange and red flowers.

A short walk further will lead you to the highlight of Hitachi Seaside Park, the Kochia Hill flower garden, which showcases seasonal plant varieties.

During my visit, the Kochia Hill was painted blue with Nemophila flowers. The entire hill was a sea of blue, with small paths winding their way up the slope, contrasting beautifully with the green of the grassy hills. It was truly a magnificent sight.

Let's take a closer look at the Nemophila flowers.

On the side of the Kochia Hill, there were many restaurants setting up booths. I even had the chance to have a picnic under the trees, surrounded by Nemophila flowers.

After being mesmerized by the beauty of the Nemophila field, I had to take a ride on the park's tram to see the rest of Hitachi Seaside Park. My legs were simply too tired to walk any further.

The tram takes you around the park. There are many other interesting gardens, but due to my limited time, I can only take the tram to see the garden.

There is also an amusement park. It's past noon, so I should head back to Tokyo.

The day's journey is not over yet. When I arrived in Tokyo, I continued my journey to Odaiba by Yurikamome, a driverless train, one of the symbols of Odaiba.

The Yurikamome is an automated, driverless train that is controlled by a computer system. It is a rubber-tired train that runs on an elevated railway and is guided by side walls.

I chose to ride in the first car of the train, standing right at the front. This gave me the opportunity to admire the beauty of the route. Along the way, we passed many interesting points, which really amazed me.

Odaiba is an island that is the center of entertainment in Tokyo. It is an artificial island created by reclaiming land from the sea. The Rainbow Bridge connects Tokyo and Odaiba Island.

I got off at Daiba Station, just as the sun was setting. As the train doors opened, I ran as fast as I could to find a spot to capture the last light, with the Rainbow Bridge as a backdrop. The beautiful light gradually appeared, and a cruise ship sailed by to admire the beauty of the bridge.

I walked a little further and came across the Statue of Liberty, with the Rainbow Bridge in the background.

My stomach started to growl, so I had dinner at Aquacity Odaiba. After dinner, I headed to Diver City Tokyo Plaza to watch the Gundam Show.

The Gundam RX78-02 statue stands in front of the mall. It is life-size according to the proportions set in the anime. I must say, the Gundam is very cool!

Next to the Gundam statue is the Gundam Cafe, but I didn't go inside because I had to follow the members of the trip to buy models before the mall closed. After that, I had to go back to the hotel because I was really tired from the whole day.

The next morning, I had one more highlight to look forward to: visiting the pink moss field at Fuji Motosuko Resort.

Starting from Shinagawa Station to Yamanashi Prefecture.

As Mount Fuji came into view, we all got very excited.

It takes about 2 and a half hours to reach Kawaguchiko Station. This train station is very beautiful. The station looks classic with Mount Fuji as the backdrop. The train patterns are also full of Mount Fuji in various forms.

From Kawaguchiko Station, I walked out to wait for the Shibazakura Liner Shuttle Bus in front of the station. The round-trip Shuttle Bus fare and admission fee is 1,900 yen per person. When I went, there were a lot of tourists, so I could barely move while on the Shuttle Bus.

From Kawaguchiko Station, it takes about 30 minutes to reach Fuji Motosuko Resort. This resort is located near Lake Motosuko.

Shibazakura, also known as pink moss, is a small flower species native to North America. It measures about 1.5 cm and resembles cherry blossoms, but blooms and flowers on the ground. It comes in pink, red, purple, and white colors.

As you walk inside, the resort will have a high-angle viewpoint that looks similar to a skywalk in our country. I recommend going up to see it.

The view you see will be like this. I think that coming to see the pink moss field here is very beautiful. Because there is Mount Fuji as a backdrop as well.

Besides pink moss, there are many other beautiful flower species here.

I need to make a little time because there is still 1 program left for today. I also have to allow time to queue up to go back to Kawaguchiko Station again.

I returned to Kawaguchiko Station again to prepare to go up to the 5th floor of the Fuji viewpoint. I stood waiting for the bus at the same place as the Shibazakura Liner Shuttle Bus, but this time it was the line that would go up to the 5th floor of the Fuji viewpoint. The round-trip fare is 2,100 yen.

The car stopped to drop off tourists at the multipurpose building. Inside the multipurpose building, there are many restaurants and souvenir shops.

From the multipurpose building, I walked down to the parking lot to see the other side of Mount Fuji. The view here is amazing! In front of me, I could see the snowy peak of the mountain piercing through the clouds.

Then walk back up to the viewpoint. You can see Fuji in its entirety. Fuji is wearing a hat at this time. The height of the Fuji viewpoint on the 5th floor is 2,500 meters above sea level.

The entrance to the Komitake Shrine is located on the side of the multipurpose building.

At the shrine, there is a viewpoint where you can see the lake.

This train taking me back to Tokyo is so stylish! It's decorated so cutely, both inside and out.

Upon arriving in Tokyo, it's time to grab a bite to eat before heading out to soak in the evening atmosphere.

We've had enough to eat, so let's continue our walk to Shibuya, the center of youth fashion in Tokyo.

I stopped by to take a picture of the "Hachiko" statue. The story of Hachiko has touched hearts around the world. This loyal dog would sit and wait for its owner to return from work at Shibuya Station every day. One day, the owner died at work, but Hachiko continued to wait at Shibuya Station every day, unaware that its owner had passed away. In the end, Hachiko died in front of the station. Tonight, I'm ending my trip in Shibuya.

This morning I have another destination that I am looking forward to, which is to see the fuji flowers at Ashikaga Flower Park.

I took the Shinkansen Nasuno Line to Oyama Station, then changed to the JR Ryomo Line to Tomita Station. At the station, there was a flyer recommending a visit to Ashikaga Flower Park. I recommend picking it up, as it includes a discount on admission to the park.

From the train station, I walked for about 1 kilometer and arrived at Ashikaga Flower Park. The entrance fee according to the ticket is 1,300 yen. I used the discount from the flyer and got a 100 yen discount.

The garden is decorated with a wide variety of flowers.

The star of the show here is undoubtedly the Wisteria flower, also known as Fuji in Thai. This garden boasts Wisteria trees that are hundreds of years old, including the one pictured here. The flowers grow in clusters with flat petals.

This tree is also a hundred years old, but it is a different species from the first tree. This tree has round, fluffy flowers.

There are also white flowers, but not as many as the light purple ones.

The yellow flowers also exist. From afar, they look similar to the Cassia fistula flowers in our country, but the flower clusters are much smaller.

Before heading back, I stopped by the souvenir shop, which had a variety of small plants and snacks. The souvenir shop is located right at the entrance of the garden. At the snack stand, they offered samples of the snacks, and I ended up trying so many that I was full.

For the return trip, I used a taxi in front of the park because I couldn't stand the sun anymore.

From Oyama Station, I headed to Kawagoe Station and took a bus to Kawagoe Little Edo, one of the old towns in northern Tokyo that was once part of Edo City.

The old wooden bell tower, a symbol of Kawagoe City, has been telling time for over 390 years. Today, the bell tower still rings four times a day: at 6 am, noon, 3 pm, and 6 pm.

Walking through the alleys, you will find old temples and shrines from the Edo period.

You can walk around and enjoy yourself.

This is Kashiya Yokocho, a famous sweet alley in Kanto, especially for sweet potatoes, a specialty of Kawagoe. There are also old Japanese toys on display. However, when I visited, most of the shops were not open. I don't know if I came at the wrong time or not.

I came to close the Japan trip near Shinjuku Station.

Waiting to capture the last light of the day near Lumine 1 department store.

To conclude the trip with an automatic ticket vending machine, take a look at the train routes here. There are many routes available. Anyone who wants to travel by train should study the route carefully before traveling to avoid wasting time.

On my last morning in Japan, I had to leave early. I took the LTD.EXP NARITA Express 5 train to Narita Airport, where I boarded a flight to Hanoi International Airport.

During the flight, I tried to scan the horizon for Mount Fuji, but I couldn't find it. I only saw some high peaks with snow on them. Soon, the outside visibility was obscured by clouds.

The food on Vietnam Airlines is also delicious.

The captain flew at a very high altitude. The ice flakes were visible through the window.

We then arrived at Hanoi International Airport. We waited for our connecting flight at the airport for about 2 hours before continuing our journey to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The view from the flight path is beautiful.

The in-flight meal on the Hanoi-Suvarnabhumi route consisted of dim sum, glass noodle salad, and a dessert similar to jelly.

The rice field area during the preparation of the plot, when the sunlight shines on the rice field, it looks shimmering. I am reminded of the atmosphere of the terraced rice fields in Yuan Yang.

And then I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport safely.

This trip to Japan was a perfect one for me. I saw everything I wanted to see. Mount Fuji showed itself off, the flower gardens were beautiful, and the weather was perfect. I hope that my fourth trip to Japan will be soon. Japan is a country that I never get tired of visiting.