~Sakura sakura sakura~

Never had I thought that we will be able to see sakura blossoming during this trip. So the early morning walk to Ueno park was definitely rewarding. The sakura blossom week is actually the week right after we leave. So I was very grateful to be able to see some of the cherry blossom. Though it was not even 1/10 of the trees in the park but at least I get to see it. Lol. Both of us were like so excited!

We realised that we still have some times to spare after the stroll in the park and decided to check out Ameyoko Street. Totally regretted for not going around the place the night before. The street is bustling with people and food. And they've got pretty cheap fruits as well. Oh well, guess that gives me another reason to come back to Tokyo in the future.

That puts an end to my wonderful trip to Tokyo. Sayonara and Arigatou for those tiring but fantastic days!

From the New to the Old

Had to move from Shinjuku to Ueno today as the hotel we're staying in is fully booked. Shinjuku is like the modern Tokyo with skyscrapers and all. Ueno on the other hand is the older side. Could totally see the difference once we got off the subway. Left our luggage before rushing off to explore the older face of Tokyo.

Our main itinerary today is to just buy lots and lots of souvenirs along the Asakusa Kanon Temple. It is so crowded there. I guess almost everyone there are tourists. Haha. Could hardly walk around the place. I enjoyed the atmosphere although getting a nice shot of the place seemed so impossible. We were stuck along the street for so long. I find myself joining in the craze as things there are cheap and affordable for me. Lol

The Temple itself is very different from the Meiji Shrine. It is all crowded and noisy. Thanks to the publicity of the place. And it is soooo smoky too thanks to all the incense. I had tired out the fortune telling thing via the stick and phew, it says good thing bout my future. Haha.

The whole place is a very good tourist place as they also have lots and lots of food stalls with public seating area. I had my usual takoyaki and tried out the red plum in sugar coating. I ended up throwing the sugar coating away, too sweet. Luved the plum though. John also have some problem wif his sweet potato. Haha. It is tasteless. Perhaps I should have gave him the sugar coating. Lol. Oh and the takoyaki they sell is so cute! They use the small octopus with the tentacles making it looked like an art piece.

After all those adventure, we headed straight back to the hotel for a nap. Totally luv the bathroom concept. Its a really smart way of saving space and it looked classy too. Definitely more stylish than the previous one we stayed in.

Spent the rest of the night revisitng places in Harajuku and Shinjuku. Went back to the restaurant at Shinjuku where we ordered take out on the first night here in Tokyo. The fantastic tasting gyoza tasted as good as the 1st night here. No wonder this restaurant is always full with people. This is the last night of my vacation already? Argh, I dun want this to end!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Rain Has Arrived

Been checkin on the weather forecast since a month back. The prediction about the rain on Friday was indeed accurate. It was pouring so hard when we reached the Tsukiji Fish Market. And that is not the worst part. Apparently, the market was close for the day too as it was a public holiday. Double whammy, argh! We quickly rush into a small lil cozy restaurant for out sashimi. The price is a lil on the steep side but its ok as the product was really really fresh. Yummy.

After our breakfast, the rain stopped. Had it not stopped, we wouldn't have explored around the outer market and stumble upon the huge tuna fish, weird looking Hokaido grapes, tasty looking snow crabs and the busy busy market. The place just suddenly came alive when the rain stopped. We were wondering where all these people were hiding when it was pouring. Haha.
Not all the shops are open though, so we did not get to see Tsukiji at its most busy and chaotic state.
Decided to go indoors to Roponggi Hills as we feared that the rain will come pouring again. It is a huge shoppin cum residence development. The layout of the place is so confusing. The really need to do something bout this maze. Overall the center was huge but it did not appeal to me despite the great number of shops and restaurant available. Maybe the rain has dampened my mood. The cake that we had at the cafe was really really nice. Forgot the name of the shop. Hehe. It has a really mild and interesting taste.

Had lots of fun checkin out the adjacent TV Asahi complex. They house my favourite cartoon of all time. Doraemon! The blue robot cat from the future that has a pouch to carry all the gadgets in the world. Still remember how I have always wanted the own the 'Door to everywhere' and the "Time machine in the drawer'. If only fantasy can still seem as real as back then. Did not tour the center as all tour are in Japanese. Bummer.

By this time, the sun is now shinning bright. So we decided to head on to Omotesando, Tokyo's version of high end shopping street. All the familiar brands are there with oh so 'familiar' price too. If u get what I mean. But being Tokyo, there has to be some affordable shops there as well. If price is the problem, one can always head on inside to the small streets for local brands. And it is in these small street that I finally found the tasty Takoyaki! Hehe. After the disappointing one at Akihabara, this is so good. John was also lucky with his sweet potato it tasted really sweet. Haha.

The architecture along Omotesando is pretty impressive and cute. See it for yourself here.

Talking about cute things, Kiddyland is just plain fun. They have all sorts of Japanese cartoons merchandise here. Well, actually not all cos we couldn't seem to find those anime things. More like really kiddo toys like Hello Kitty, Miss Miffy, The Black Cat thingy and so on. Where is the once famous Kerokeropi? Hmmmmm.
Ended off the day with some really nice tasting Tempura. It was however our first encounter with a rude waiter here in Japan, maybe he is having a PMS. Lol. But its alright the tasty Tempura left a bigger impression in me.

Hakone on a Very Windy Day

Got up early in the morning. Had a great time staring into the sky from the room. The feeling is so calm and soothing. If only I can stare into the beautiful sky from my bed like this everyday as I get up. The breakfast was good, but the fish has bones! Up till now i am wondering whether the bone is actually edible. Lol.

Went downtown Hakone Yumoto after check-out to store our luggage so we can go sightseeing at ease. The process of storing the luggage was hilarious yet frustrating. It seemed to me that they ppl there cannot speak English at all. Us on the other hand has absolutely zero Japanese vocabulary. So the whole thing became a mass charade session.

Shoppin downtown for goodies is fun. The packaging are really amazing. They have samples on the goods sold as well. Making it easier to choose what to buy. We found another addiction the sour Japanese plum. My mouth is watering thinking bout it now.

Taking the train up to the Gora Station has to be one of the worst ride in my life. The train is slow, old and stuffy! Should have just took the dizzy bus. At least I can sit and it has better air circulation. The moment we reach Gora I was so relieved. The ride on the funicular up the mountain was alright. We were surrounded by trees so there is really nothing to be seen. When we finally arrived at the cable car station, the sunny weather suddenly became all gloomy and windy. Becos of this my hope of taking a pic of the Mount Fuji with me in it was dashed. Guess I'll jsut have to come back in the future. Lol.

The cable car ride to Owakudani was kinda scary. The wind was blowing so strong that our car is swaying side to side. There was this gal whu is so scared that she was frozen. :p The view from the cable car was quite good though.

It was so cold at Owakudani. Not only it has high elevation but also due to the thick thick fog plus the ever strong blowing wind. All photos were taking in super lightning speed while we were tryin to run into buildings for shelters. Lol.

Contemplated very long before deciding to buy the black egg. It is so expensive like a dollar for an egg. But they say eating it will make one live longer. Of course I don't believe in it. Haha. No wonder the call Owakudani sulfur valley the smell is so strong that I bet one can smell it miles away. *Overstatement, oops*

There is supposed to be a Mount Fuji vantage point here. Thanks to those fog all I could see is errrr fogs? Lol. We took the cable car down to Lake Ashi next. Boarded the pirate ship sightseeing cruise around the lake. Pretty cheesy design. They should have make it more Japanese instead. Took some photos at the town where the boat docked while waiting for the bus to take us back to Hakone Yumoto.

I wanted to get back to Tokyo so badly that time. We paid the extra surcharge this time around to get a better train. No more uncomfortable seats. Yeah! Slept all the way back. Upon reaching the hotel for check-in, we were told that they have to change out room as the one we were assigned to need to be fixed. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The room was 1.5 times bigger than our initial room. And of course no more supra tiny toilet! Happy!!!!!

We only explored round Shinjuku that night for more food and shopping before heading off to bed. Guess I still luv the city better. Hehe.

Ryokan Ryokan Here We Come!

Got up pretty early today to catch the train to Hakone. When we were asked whether we wanna reserve the better train called the Romance Car, we decided to opt out for it cost 870 yen per person each way. But we when actually boarded our train, we we horrified to find out that it was a normal subway train. Had to bear with the 2 hours long train rain on those seats. Argh! Must the Romance Car when we go back man.

Was so glad when we finally reach Hakone after that torturous ride. Couldn't think of anything but to head straight to the ryokan to check in. Man, the ride to there makes me dizzy. Up and down a winding mountain. After 45 minutes of long bus ride, we arrive at the town where our ryokan is. It is nowhere to be seen. Apparently it is another 15 minutes walk away. 15 minutes sounds short but with the luggage and after 3 hours of train and bus ride it is a pain in the ass.

We couldn't check in yet so we decided to go Gotemba Premium Outlets for shopping. The view on the way there is just marvellous. We manage to see Mount Fuji on the bus. From Gotemba town, the mountain is clearly visible. Such a beauty! We did not buy much from the outlet as bargains are definitely less attractive than in the US.

Finally at night, we manage to check-in our ryokan. The shabu-shabu meal served was one of the best meal we had in Japan so far. Hehe. Having tea and snacks while watchin TV is so relaxing. My only regret is not doin this long enough. Hehe.

Changed into the Yukata after shower so fun! The futon is so comfortable to sleep on too! Tried out the sulfur hot bath alone as my travel buddy is stuck to the futon after laying it down. Haha.
I luv traditional ryokan!

Imperial Palace, Ginza, Akihabara, Tokyo Tower: This time with a nap!

I still find it amazing that we did so much today after being so tired the day before. The day didn't start off too well as it was raining when we got to the park. Almost gave up our plan of picnic at the park. Luckily it stopped and penny pincher like us decided to get food from convenient stores instead of lunching at the restaurant. There are so many office workers in their suits in the park. So cool. Everyone looks the same from behind. Lol. The park was such a relaxing place to eat. By now, both of us are already addicted to milk tea in a bottle. Haha

Took some photos around the park. Can I say that I hate the fountain? It died on me the moment I had my picture taken Argh.

We then took a stroll to the Imperial Palace. Man it is so huge! We wanted to go to the east gardens we walked the wrong way. Thanks to me too busy taking photos. Haha. But its alright we manage to see the palace from the other side. It is only open to the public twice a year so we did not get to go in.Decided to check out the National Diet Building as well. Forgot our passports so did not manage to get inside. Oh well.

We head on to Ginza. Thinking of shopping around. There is so many departmental stores there. And mind u the price of things there are very, I mean very high!

We checked out the overhyped Sony Showroom and House of Shesheido. There is really nothing much here. Thank goodness its free, else I would have slapped myself for paying to get it. The spring bun tasting was the only thing that I really liked bout Ginza. Those buns are so tasty! The texture are just perfect. Fresh and soft.

We decided to head back to the hotel for a nap after the grave mistake of not doin so the day before. Turns out to be a wise decision indeed.

Checked out Akihabara the Electric Town at night. Guess we got up a lil too late cos most the shops are closing by the time we get there. But its ok as we are not intending to get any electrical gadgets anyway. The whole place reminds me of Mongkok in Hong Kong. Guess the place is also evolving into a Otaku heaven as the number of manga shop and cosplay cafe there seems to be rivaling those electric shop. Maybe in 5 yrs time it will be called Akihabara the Otaku Town. Haha.

Since we're still fresh from the nap, and Akihabara is closing, we headed off to Tokyo Tower. Had to walk more to get rid of the food we ate. The Takoyaki and Crepe we got at Akihabara tasted really bad, couldn't even finish it. Anyway, we did not head up the tower as the price is a lil expensive. Decided to just walk around it and leave.
On our way back, we stumble upon a temple for the unborn child. I totally freak out at his request to go explore the place. It was dark and no one is around. I stayed outside as he explored. But in the end, my urge to take photograph overcame my fear. Lol. So i joined him to explore and we took some pictures of the statue. Each statue represents and unborn child.

So that's the end of another day in Tokyo. We're heading out of town tomorrow. Hehe!

Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku. All in a day! I know I'm crazy!

Lookin back, I really think that I am crazy for squeezing all these into a day. No wonder my poor travel buddy end up being so tired at the end of the day. I ought to be slapped for not taking things a lil more slowly. Guess its the excitement, it overwrote my ability to think straight. Lol

Started the day with a breakfast at the hotel . It was a pretty normal but sufficient. Whu's gonna be having continental breakfast when ur in Tokyo anyway right. The morning feels so good. Off we go with the maps of the city. First stop on the itinerary is of course to get a bird eye's view of the city.

As we're walking along shinjuku, there is way too many distractions that stopped us from going straight our destination. The shopping places are not opened yet, so that saved us from wandering off too much. Haha. For a moment I was lost. Serve me right for not bringing out the correct map. But the clulessness lead us to the Odakyu counter where we can get our passes for our day trip out of Tokyo. Hehe.

Stopped by a ramen shop to have some noodles. We were so hungry after walking round and round tryin to decide on what to eat. In the end it is the budget coupon style ramen shop that got us. Its a pretty cool concept in which you select the meal u want from the coupon dispensing machine, pay for it, hand the coupon to the chef and tell him the noodle u want. Its all self service so they can really save. There is like only 2 person running the whole place. Smart!

After so much digression, we finally end up at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gov Building. Had a great time fooling around the foyer area. Hehe. The weather was so wonderful that day. All shinny and not too chilly.

There is actually 2 towers that one could visit. A north and a south. I forgot which one we went to first but of course, being the me whu wanna try everything, I dragged him to visit both the towers. Lol. The view upstairs was really nice. So glad that it is kinda clear that day. We did not manage to see Mount Fuji though. I spent the whole time ogling at the view while John as per normal is busy browsing all the kawaii products. Did i mention that the entrance is free? :D

Rushed off to Harajuku using the very very massive train network. Reminded me of the time back in Seoul when I first encounter this. It turned out that the trip made to the Meiji Shrine is very refreshing. A huge beautiful park in the middle of all those concretes. Once inside the park, the whole cityscape just disappears.

Silly me made John took so many photos of me and the shrine gate outside for I thought there is only one of such. As we stroll around the park to the shrine, we see more of those with the most impressive one right in front of the entrance to the shrine. *Blushes*.

Tried out the Japanese way of cleansing one's mouth and hand before entering the shrine. The water is so cold! Haha. There is so many people writting their wishes on the wood blocks. No I didn't spend on this. Rather have another Japanese meal. :p

Totally luved the inside of the Shinto shrine it is all so peaceful and quiet. There is no incense as well as this is not a Buddhist temple. So my eyes and lungs did not need to suffer from the smoke. Got some very precious cute souvenir there. It ended up that it is the only souvenir that I got for myself from this trip. Keeping it safe wif me. We were lucky enough to catch a wedding going on at the place too. It was all solemn and quiet just like the temple. No huge celebrations.

Headed on out to shop at Harajuku right away. Did not really like the things at Takeshita Street. The guidebook recommended it but totally preferred Harajuku Street instead. It have more cute small little stalls which sells more appealing products to me. Takeshita just seems messy to me. Even the 100yen Daiso here seems very messy and disorganised.

By the time we are done with Harajuku, both of us are so tired. But being the stubborn me, I insisted on heading on down to Shibuya to see one of the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. The crowd wasn't as thick as I expected it to be. So yea, it was a lil disappointing. We did not manage to get a seat at the starbucks to people watch either. Sigh. Went running around the crossing to take photos. Hehe. It was fun!


Spent the rest of the night figuring out the place. We're just walking around in circles tryin to get food. In the end we settled for Macdonalds. Lol. Ironic isn't it. Decided to shop a lil but we ended up wandering into basement of some departmental stores ogling at the wonderful food and dessery they sell. But man they are all so expensive. :(

If u think this is the end of the day, you're so wrong! There's one more stop to go. Back to the Metropolitan Gov Building for the night view. Really need to thank John for bearing wif me all these shit. I should really learn to be more relaxed at holidays. Think I'm still too accustomed with the backpackers way of travel. :p The night view from the top was good but definitely not one of the best. Guess after u been to NYC, everything else looks inferior. Having said that, I still think Tokyo trumps NYC when it comes to city light from the ground.

That's the end of the day. Man I never knew exploring can be this is exhausting..........

Its Like a Dream Coming True.

Got up as early as 3am. All those frantic last minute packing. Gosh being in the workin world really changed me. I would have be all packed and ready to go back then. Feeling super excited bout the trip. I know its only been 2.5months since i went on my last holidays but it is already suffocating me to be trapped here in this small island. As I rushed draggin my luggages to get a cab, I couldn't help but being thankful for stayin 10 minutes away from the airport. Save money and time. Hehe.

Gotten myself some breakfast once i checked in. So glad that Northwest screwed up my flight back in Oct. If not I wouldn't have gotten this wonderful deal. Called my travel mate whu is also boarding the place across the pacific. Both of us are so excited bout the trip.

Did not watch any movies on the plane as I was just sleeping throughout. I manage to take a couple of aerial shots upon touchdown to Narita thought. I can feel my heart shouting out with excitement. Ohio, Nipponland. Lol.

Reach round afternoon time but I am stuck in Narita for the next few hours. Need to wait for my very important companion to arrive. Decided to have a good lunch but too stingy to pay. Hence, I went all around the airport searchin for a convenience store. End up with a sumptuous meal for less than 500 yen. Hehe.

As I have a couple hours left to rot, I decided to plan my week long vacation. In a way I am so thankful that I have these extra hours to plan. This has to be the most disorganized vacation that I had in quite some time. Well, I've got no choice its all becos of busy busy work.

The long torturous wait finally came round evening time. So glad to see him again. We wasted no time and rushed for the next skyliner out to Tokyo. By the time we got the ticket it is already less than 10 minutes to departure time. Rushed downstairs to the subway and damn , I suddenly forgot how to use a magnetic stripe card. Lol. Thanks to getting to used to new technology. Lol. I needed John to remind about puttin the card into the slot. *Slaps Head* Manage to get on the train. Pretty comfy and nice ride. Slept througout actually. Lol

The transfer to the hotel was a disaster. Had to walk around the big big Tokyo station to change line. But luckily after all those navigating, we manage to get to our hotel. Now get ready for the bummer of the day. The hotel rooms are the smallest I've ever seen. But I'm even more amazed by the toilet. Its so tiny that if ur 6 foot tall, ur knock ur head on the ceiling if u ever stand up straight.

Alright that's all for today. Looking forward to exploring tomorrow!