i ♥ tokyo [ part I ]
Destination: Tokyo
Dec 14 – Dec 19 2009
When I told my parents that my company trip was to Tokyo, the first thing they uttered was “wah… so expensive!”. Seriously, I would never have thought I’ll get the chance to see any part of Japan until I’ve seen most of Europe and the Americas… but fate has brought me there and boy did I enjoy it. Plus point – I got to bring my hubby along, so it ended up like a second honeymoon for us (since our actual honeymoon was derailed by a death in the family). Furthermore, with 2 avid photographers (my colleagues) and a multitude of amateur pic-takers (including yours truly) along for the trip, we ended up with more than 3500 pictures + videos combined! I managed to cut it down to 94, and separate it into 2 posts 
Malaysia (JB) —> Singapore (CHANGI) —> Malaysia (KLIA) —> Japan (Tokyo)
The longest roundabout way to get to Tokyo… and me and my husband did it! We left our house in JB at around 4pm and reached Changi airport by about 6pm. Parked our butts at TCC Coffee as we waited for the rest of our mates to arrive (8pm). Ordered a super cheesy lasagne and some potato wedges, plus we both indulged in their delectable selection of coffees. *yummmm*
Took the 9:20pm flight from Changi to KLIA. Then we hopped aboard the 11.35pm flight to Tokyo. All in all, I think I managed to snatch around 3 hours of sleep. It was torture. We arrived in Narita Airport at 7.15am (6.15am Singapore time) *yaaawwwwwnnnnn* Customs and immigration was packed so it took us about an hour just to clear customs. Then we bought tickets for the NEX train bound for Tokyo!
The journey took us approximately one hour. We had our first glimpse of Tokyo as we exited Kanda train station.
Finally, we are walking the streets of Tokyo!
We stayed at this place – Hotel Fontaine
The weather was pretty cold, with temperatures hovering around 10 degrees in the day and plunging to 2 degrees at night. Thankfully I brought enough clothing to keep myself toasty warm. Me and hubby love travelling in autumn/winter because we can walk all we like and not break out in a sweat!
I used a public toilet in the hotel and was at a loss as to which control flushed the toilet. There were so many buttons to press, and none of them worked. Actually the controls were only for the bidet and toilet seat warmer, the flush is a typical latch by the side of the toilet! *sweat* One thing I must say, ALL the toilets in Japan are clean, dry and comfortable! Some of them even have extra “sounds” to disguise the sometimes disgusting noises you make when u use the loo… so advanced! I shudder when I think of the toilets in KL.
Majority of toilets in Japan have bidets
Now then, first meal we had in Japan was from a vending machine. You choose what u want to eat, put in money and press a button. Well, the food doesn’t drop out the bottom of the machine, but the ticket does. Then u take the ticket to the counter, and the guy cooks you the food. One doesn’t even have to speak japanese to order! Plus, the wax food outside is great in helping you make your decision!
This place served up a mean Katsu Don
Condiments to go with your food.
Extremely Hungry, but just couldn’t resist cam-whoring first! LOL
First train ride – we took the underground from Otemachi station and went through Shinjuku interchange on our way to the NTT ICC building near the Hatsudai station (keio line) to view their art exhibitions. With our NEX ticket, we bought a Suica card. It’s like the Singapore EZlink and we can use it for rides at all train lines.
NEX & Suica Card(left), in the cabin of a typical japanese train(right)
Shinjuku interchange – trains can be boarded at so many different levels. Finding your way can be quite scary at first.
NTT ICC – NTT InterCommunication Center located in Tokyo Opera City Tower is about combining technology and art. Too bad we aren’t allowed to take pictures of the exhibit! I loved how they combined shadow detection with radio frequencies, and the way they displayed a timeline about technology using tangible items placed in glass boxes in the floor…
We had dinner at the nearby vending machine restaurant – plenty in the area we’re staying at, then we went to walk akihabara (one stop away by train). After that, I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep + excitement, I collapsed in bed at around 9pm.
A vending machine for food. No pics, you gotta remember the jap writing to order!
Day 2
The view from my hotel
Breakfast was a curious affair. We have been spoilt by large continental breakfasts served in SEA hotels, from sausages to fried eggs to nasi lemak and porridge. The hotel we stayed in provided breakfast… here’s the list – hardboiled egg, salad, soup, spaghetti/potato in mayo, assorted buns with butter and jam, orange juice, coffee and tea. Well, at least they provided breakfast!
Today, our group split, with 1/3 going to Disneyland, 1/3 to Disneysea and 1/3 exploring Tokyo. I was part of the latter group and our target was – Omotesando, Harajuku, Meiji Shrine and Shibuya. First off, top up our Suica cards~
This was a guessing game! Lucky for us, we can identify Kanji (which is similar to chinese but pronounced differently)
We arrived at Omotesando and was impressed. The buildings in the area are pretty unique and there are many big brand names with stores in the area. The tree-lined streets are beautifully designed with huge pavements for shoppers to stroll along.
Omotesando Hills (behind us) is a classy shopping complex
Loved how the way this building placed their signboards
Small lanes off the main road holds many surprises, with little stores selling art/designer clothing and quaint cafes serving coffee and cakes as well as roadside hawkers selling cheap bento sets in plastic boxes. Japanese like cakes filled with cream like these sold at Hararoll, a store we came across whilst exploring the backlanes.
A van selling coffee. You enjoy your drink lounging in chairs out in the open, watching the world go by
A super cute menu… *kawaii*
Fashionistas strutting their stuff
Kiddy Land, the infamous toy shop, has 5 floors filled with gadgets and toys galore that cater to the kid in you.
Where adults can be children again!
Some of the things they sell really amused me, like Darth Vader chopsticks and maid uniforms… and these energetic dogs that gives the duracell bunny a good run for his money :p
USB Humping Dogs – stick one into ur USB port and watch it repeatedly hump your comp/laptop
Waiting for the others still lost in the wonders of Kiddy Land… we were so heavy we bent the railing *whoopppss*
Lunch was at this amazing Ramen store. It was below ground level. This placed served crazy good ramen *yum* The char siu practically melts in your mouth and the egg was cooked just right! The gyoza we ordered was delicious too. Thinking about it makes my mouth water!
Waiting for the others still lost in Kiddy Land… we were so heavy we bent the railing *whoopppss*
First taste of the soy sauce soup… *mmmmm*
With our stomachs filled and our ramen craving satisfied, we headed on down to Harajuku and the Meiji Shrine. Unfortunately it was a weekday and the gothic lolitas and such were not out and about. Fairly disappointing… until I paid a visit to the Meiji Shrine! It is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine is located in a forest of evergreen trees covering an area of about 175 acres. The amazing thing is that, like Central Park in NY, this area is surrounded by the concrete jungle that is Tokyo. Once I walked into the gardens, the hustle and bustle of the city was left far behind, and a feeling of tranquility envelopes me in its embrace.
One passes through 3 such ‘gates’ (torii) to get to the shrine.
Peeking out from behind torii number 2.
The 3rd and final torii. The entire slow walk took about 20 minutes.
We experienced the ritualistic washing of the hands and rinsing of the mouth before entering the shrine. I won’t go into details, you can read more about it here but by no means were you supposed to drink straight from the ladle! One must pour the water into your left palm, and drink from there! Instructions were sadly only available in japanese, so quite a few misguided tourists were contaminating these ladles >.<
The purification fountain for washing up before entering the shrine
We were lucky to see families in traditional costumes visiting the shrine. The females had on such colourful kimonos in rich silk fabric. Those dresses must cost a bomb!
Children running about in traditional costumes
We paid our respects to the deity by throwing some yen into the offering box. We then bow to the altar twice, said our prayer, clapped our hands together twice, then bow once again. There were also places where you can hang wooden plaques on trees (approx 10SGD) or put ur wish in writing and drop it (plus some yen) into a box. I opted for the second option – didn’t really want the whole world to know how horrible my handwriting actually is =.=
Wrote a wish, placed it in an envelope together with some money, and dropped it in the box. *prays that it’s granted*
Finally, as the sky grew darker, we went to Shibuya – the place of shopping malls and home to the famous Shibuya scramble crossing.
Really creative building at Shibuya
I saw a great installation there, the Masaru Ozaki 25Cube Tree. Plus, I managed to get into this great Bape store designed by these incredible interior designers Wonderwall. Yugop created Wonderwall’s website! Next we stumbled upon Beams, another place I’ve visited virtually many many times. So glad I could finally set foot inside one of their stores.
We tried to find a place to sit and watch the crossing from above but we had no luck. The MCD and Starbucks were packed… and the japanese really love to smoke in enclosed places. *cough* *cough* However, the madness can still be felt at ground level, as we joined the crowd of people invading the intersection from all sides at once… just no nice pictures to show.
[END OF PART 1]
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