i've spent about 5 days (plus one extended day stay), so 6 days in japan.. it was really an eye-opener for me since i'd only seen japan from the windows of the transiting area of the tokyo-narita airport terminal.. it seems very different from what i thought it would be, though i was a little afraid because riots might start because of the recent japan-china conflict.. that's how paranoid i am.. :p lolz.. okok.. i'll start right from the beginning..

17th June 2005:
i woke up at about 5 plus in the morning on the day of my departure.. and when i just walked out of my room, my mom gave me a big shock that we were going to leave in 30mins time, or five thirty.. i was stunned for a second but when i woke up from my daze.. i ran towards my wardrobe and quickly picked out a shirt and a matching pair of pants because i knew that we had to arrive at least 2 hrs before our plane's departure.. i chose a brown pants and khaki shirt with a white tee underneath, all tucked in (because iwas taking business class, so i had to be properly dressed).. i'd never tried that combination before but it turned out quitre nicely.. :p when i got into the taxi waiting at the road, i suddenly remembered that i forgot to bring my walkman and fed my hamsters plus water my plants.. on the taxi ride to the airport, i murmured a silent prayer that they would still be alive and healthy when i got back.. (they were okay in the end, i thank GOD for that..) at the airport, we checked in our single trolley bag and went into the actual airport terminal.. my brother and i headed into the times/whsmith bookstore to purchase my books that i would read on the plane.. everytime i head overseas especially via airplane, i would always purhase a book from there, irregardless of the length of the plane journey, because its an excuse for me to buy a new book otherwise i would have no other chance as i'm too busy or lazy to visit the local bookstores.. :p from there, i bought 'black rose' by nora roberts and 'kingdom of the golden dragon' by isabel allende, of which both books are very good and are parts of trilogys, i intend to get the other 4 books.. :p on the plane itself, i settled comfortably on my seat settled with my book and my video screen thingy of which i watched 'ocean's twelve' which i missed as i was overseas at the time of its premiere and was too lazy to rent or buy the dvd.. interesting, but i sort of slept halfway during the show but made it up by watching the repeat on the second hour of its show during the 6hr 15min flight.. hate the breakfast..

i reached tokyo-narita airport around 1430 s'pore time, abt 1530 local time.. we decided to be adventurous despite my constant refusal to take the shuttle to our hotel.. i get motion sickness easily on a shuttle/bus when the journey is too long, so i kinda dont like to take these kinds of transport.. but we still took it, and it was horrible.. the bus was very stuffy and is filled with so many people.. i mean, if the scenery nearing to the city was still green and welcoming, i wouldn't be in such a bad attitude but the scenery above the streets (travelling on the rised highway) was grey and dreary and the clouds seemed to hang over the city's buildings as if there was a mourning season, it was terrible.. after a 2 hr++ ride, my queasiness started up as my stomach churned while the bus reached the city's shinjuku terminal station and then the bus turned into the some shinjuku washington hotel and half an hour later, turned a big round back towards the city area and reached my hotel, hilton tokyo, situated in the business district.. i have nothing but praises for the hotel. the minute i stepped off the bus, i was greeted by enthusiastic 'konnichiwa'(s) by some hotel staff.. (i realised that the greetings here are very different then of those japanese restaurants back in singapore but they are more sincere and are said by a pleasant smile and a linking of their eyes with yours.. unlike singapore where the restaurant staff just shout out greetings in jap because of their work and not that there mean it at all.. here, there is a significant difference..) my hotel room had a picturesque view of downtown tokyo and its blinking lights and boasts of 4 queen-sized beds of each member of my family.. this i didn't expect froma family sized room..it even came with a complimentary basket of fresh local fruits that i enjoyed very much due to the fruit freak in me.. and i found out later, after dinner, that they provided traditional kimono(s) of whatever you call the traditional dressing for males in japan.. which was very nice and which i donned it everytime i was in the hotel room.. when i changed into a comfortable pair of jeans, we went out for dinner at a nearby teppanyaki place which was recommended by the hotel itself..

the place, seryna, which i would greatly recommend to everybody heading to japan was really worth its price.. at 20,000 yen per person, or $320 (s'pore dollars) per person was a shock to me because i had never eaten a meal for such an expansive price before.. there, i had my first taste of foie gras or goose liver (the ultimate yumminess which literally melted in my mouth, and gave my new tastes that i had never tasted before), 3 types of local kobe beef (which is the best beef in the world as the beef literally melts in my mouth due to its overwhelming fatty content) and the locally caught live abalone that was cooked in front of your eyes (absolutely oishii when eaten with the restaurant's herb butter).. that was worth $320 for each person but it left a big hole in our pockets.. :p

the night ended with a stroll back to the hotel amidst the cool winds that came from the nearby seas..

18th June 2005:
i woke up to gwen stefani's 'rich girl' in the bright sunlight.. i thought that it was already eleven or twelve plus in the late morning but i found out that it was actually only nine plus at the sun rose early in japan at about 5 plus.. by the time my whole family got ready, it was time for lunch.. we walked all the way to shinjuku terminal station which was the city's main city hub and started to shop at the nearby obakyu shopping mall.. there, my mom bought 2 fila shirts and a jacket, considerably priced lower than that of s'pore.. then we headed down to the food supermart at the basement.. to my surprise, they actually let people try the food before they buy it as they sold mainly cooked food such as bentos, tempura, ramen (or chinese noodle as it is called there), fried stuff like chicken and pork.. what surprised me the most was when one of the sales stuff cooked a bowl of ramen in miso for me to try.. its not like in singapore when those sales people cooked small portions for you to try in tiny fryers or toasters at small stands but in japan, it quite a big thing.. they have designated giant cooking areas to specially cooked the items in front of you.. the layout is somewhat like a food centre singapore.. and the most shocking thing was that the man gave me a whole bowl of ramen that could very well fill a hungry stomach.. my family decided to share a bowl of sample noodles while a few other japanese wolfed down a bowl each.. of this ever happens in singapore, all the cheapskate and kiasu people would just stand round the stall and just continuously eat the noodles of which you can ask for a second helping.. you can also add the sample pickles that lay at the side to flavour your noodles.. another thing is that you are not obliged to buy the fresh noodles that the guy is recommending.. but we did anyway because they were really good..

and this went on for another 2 days at two other shopping malls such as keio plaza..

oh yeah, i also watched the mtv movie awards 2005 there on the local mtv channel too.. quite cool because it wasn't in japanese and i could understand too.. :p

20th June 2005:
ohayo gozaimasu, ueno! we took the convenient train to the small but bustling town of ueno for our next stay in japan.. i stayed at a hot springs hotel there in ueno.. but the place was a little boring because it lacked the shopping malls and glamour and glitz and cityish life of shinjuku.. yes, there were eateries now an there and places that you could shop but.. anyway, all three days there we shopped in the local area of the ueno station and ameyoko street where there were about 500 shops crammed side by side along the street that stretches about 400m.. there sportswear, shoes, fod, fresh seafood, cosmetics were sold.. but i didnt really fancy buying any shoes or clothes beacuse the items sold were exposed to the hot sun and well, didnt really appear well to me of the shopkeepers didnt even bother to pride themselves with their goods..

the hot spring at my hotel were gross.. i only went once though.. before settling myself into the hot water, i thoroughly bathed myself in the nearby shower and went to the bath clad in a towel.. to my ultimate horror, other old men came in butt-naked without cleansing themselves in the first place.. how guh-ross.. immediately left the place after showering and bathed about three times after i reached my room.. yucks..

my room was a traditional room where tatami mats were laid on the floor.. according to the traditional guidelines, the room was priced by the number of tatami mats laid on the floor.. and of course at night, while you were away in the evening, the hotel staff would arrange comfortable mattresses on the floor for you bed.. and that came with really warm and fluffy blankets that would send anyone into a deep sleep.. :p
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i bought very little stuff though
- 2 nike tees
- a adidas pullover
- lots of different flavoured pocky sticks (made there so of course must try)
- a little bottle of harimo (the famous little plants balls that look like balls of yarn that are harvested in some lake)
- lots of tidbits that are locally made and are really yummy..

some things i realised there:

the fashion there in japan is really different from that of singapore.. firstly, singapore is very brand-concious of what we wear, we need to have brands labelled on our clothes to consider oursleves fashionable.. however in japan, it is totally different because fashion in japan is not influenced by anywhere but made locally.. the japanese trend is that brandless = fashion.. many of the clothes that fashionable people wear are brandless and it is all up to the individual.. there is a sense of freedom and no one is ever a fashion disaster because everyone is respected for their own sense of style..

the service is a million times better than singapore.. when you meet owners or sales staff of their shop, they would always greet you with a 'konnichowa' or a 'ohayo gozaimasu' or something i cant seem to comprehend, be it a high class hotel or a simple small eatery or shop you see on the roads.. and they do it with sincerity, unlike those in shenzhen or singapore who dont usually mean it but do it for the sake of work.. i dunno but hey, i'm generalizing..

okok, i've to go already.. hands tired after this long entry.. i can write somemore but my brain is a little wootzy and tired from the long flight back.. i'll try to add more soon..

byebye..

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