Vikingess Voyages

Monday, July 28, 2014

40 Tourists Scams to Avoid This Summer

Anette 11:29:00 PM

Summertime is a time to travel and have fun, but at the same time it is also probably the season where you're most likely to become a victim of scams and frauds. Here is a useful list that sums up some of the possible scenarios you might want to keep in mind while traveling:

Thanks to Just The Flight for the infographic!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Tokyo

Sightseeing in Tokyo: Cruising the Tokyo Bay on a Yakatabune (屋形船) Houseboat

Anette 11:47:00 PM

For people who are visiting Tokyo and want a unique dinner experience the small ships known as the Yakatabune is certainly a great option if your budget allows it. The usage of these ships has a long history dating back to the Edo period (1603-1868) when they were used by the upper class in Tokyo to enjoy occasions such as cherry blossom viewing, and a trip with one of the ships can thus be a great way to enjoy a good meal while experiencing some prime Japanese culture at the same time.

Girls in yukata taking pictures of the ship

Nowadays the Yakatabune is more often than not used for more or less formal dinner events where people often gather in groups of 20+ people to enjoy both a nice dinner but also with the nomikai setting (our menu included the all you can drink - nomihodai)

Inside the Yakatabune

Inside the Yakatabune.

Raw sliced fish - sashimi - is of course a part of the dinner menu

Enjoying dinner

In addition to the dinner itself you can also enjoy various sights as you cruise down to the Tokyo Bay and Odaiba. Unfortunately the sky was quite clouded when we started the cruise, so we couldn't see the Sky Tree that clearly. However it cleared up a bit during our trip, and we could enjoy the view of Tokyo Bay from the deck of the Yakatabune boat. I've added a couple of pictures from the trip here for those interested:

The Fuji TV Building shining in various colors

Enjoying the sunset and the sight of the Rainbow bridge

For people who want to try out the Yakatabune cruise there are various options. One company offers the trip for 10.800 yen/person if you're in a group of 20+ people (more information here), another for 14,500 yen/person (13,500/children) if you're only 2 or more people (more information here).

Related blogposts

All blogposts from Tokyo

Recommended Hotels in Tokyo

More Tokyo hotels

Royal Park Hotel The Shiodome

Bunka Hostel
Tokyo

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nihombashi

Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu Hotel

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Tokyocafes

Tokyo Cafés: Rakuten Café in Shibuya

Anette 9:02:00 PM

The new Rakuten Café in Shibuya

It’s been about a month since the new Rakuten Café opened in Shibuya, and last week I finally had the chance to go there with some of my dōkis (coworkers) to check it out. The café is situated about 5 minutes away from Shibuya Station right by the Apple-store, so it was pretty easy to find.

Ordering coffee

You can try out Rakuten's Ebook Reader Kobo for free at the café

A description of the doughnut sold at the Rakuten Café

In the Rakuten Café you can find a selection of some of the best selling food products on Rakuten Ichiba, and the both the English and the Japanese menu comes with the typical “long page” format that includes detailed information about the various products. To be honest it looked a bit unfamiliar and strange to see the long page format in the English menu, but in the Japanese menu it looked quite nice.

Blueberry cake and coffee

Smoothie

As we had the day off we spent most of the day talking and hanging out in the café, and even though it was Monday there was a steady number of visitors to the café during the time we spent there. I'm glad we had the chance to go there outside of the weekend, as it certainly must be quite crowded during the weekend..

Enjoying the day at the Rakuten Café

This is actually already my second time writing about the Rakuten Café, as I also wrote a post a couple of days before the café's grand opening. Recently I’ve also written a number of posts about my work at Rakuten. Maybe you have heard about the Japanese word Shokugyōbyō (職業病)? Although the literal translation is Occupational Disease it can also mean to be crazy about your work (only buying things that your company sells, talking about the company all the time etc), so I have been starting to wonder whether I perhaps might have caught a mild Shokugyōbyō myself… Perhaps it's time to start writing a little bit more about things unrelated to my job.

Address:

〒150-0041
東京都渋谷区神南1-20-6
マ・メゾンしぶや公園通りビル1階・2階・3階
1F-3F RakutenCAFE, 1-20-6 JinnanShibuya-ku, Tokyo

Related blogposts

Recommended Hotels in Tokyo

More Tokyo hotels

Royal Park Hotel The Shiodome

Bunka Hostel
Tokyo

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nihombashi

Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu Hotel

About Me

A modern-day shield-maiden who loves to explore the unbeaten paths of the world. From her base in Tokyo, Anette takes on both rural and urban challenges, and on her path, she has overcome anything from natural wilderness and cultural barriers to commuting in overcrowded Tokyo trains.

Life is too short to be stuck on one page, and this mindset reflects the diversity of Anette’s blog.
Besides being a career woman she is also a globetrotter, with 39 countries and counting.
No challenge too big, no adventure too small!

・Read more →