As much as I love Japan I’m longing to write about other interesting stuffs! Hee… but I will finish the trip up with the last batch of photos to share.

I still can’t help but lust after the food! I spend a large portion of my travels seeking out the best food in the locals joints.

I happened to be jostled into a festival! Everyone was out on the streets celebrating the journey to the temple. Incredible atmosphere!

This is my last shot as I head to the airport.

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As some of you may know, these days 24 hours feels like 4hours. Time is just flying by! I’m not sure if it’s good that I’m making full use of every single second of my youth or if it’s bad that I’m depleting so fast I’ll look back and think what the hell happened… how did I get so wrinkly and wise so fast! I feel that I’m at that mid-way point…. too old to feel like I can get away with anything and too young to stop my adventures.

Anyways a couple of my friends requested I post up more Japan picture soon cause they are heading there in 2 mths time! Remember to buy me some yummies! I’m kinda bummed I couldn’t join their trip cause I’ll have to save my leave for a Cambodia Expedition I’m joining in July. I’ll be teaching English and Maths at the local village… while we try build a school for them.

Japan such a beautiful country I wish I could go back there soon. The next time however, I wanna make it a backpacking trip following the old trading routes of the Edo Period starting from Kyoto. I love visiting old castles and temples as much as I love their natural scenery and hot springs!

I edited one of the photos of Asakusa Temple to Sepia. And I’m amazed that nothing much has changed in centuries other than the outfits of the people. I can totally imagine being at that same spot 100 years ago having that same moment of cultural awe. Just that the crowd would be dressed in Kimonos and other traditional outfits.

I’ve been to Japan several times and the best way to see it is still by foot. Let your feet take you off the beaten track. The country is relatively safe and that makes it easier to simply explore and talk to the locals.

Some of the best food I have had was found in little street side store with their own regular patrons. The owners treat me as if I was an old family friend coming around for a home cooked dinner.

One of the perks of visiting a country or a city that you have visited previously is that you no longer feel obliged to go to all the recommended places of interests that they recommend to tourists. You can just re-visit the places that held your person interest and then spend the rest of the holiday wandering to local haunts and experiencing the culture in the eyes of the everyday man.

Finding places which beauty has been taken for granted by the people that lives in that areas but gain a fresh new take in my eyes… one of a foreigner not accustom to such natural splendor esp in urbanite Singapore.

I even caught some early blooming Sakuras when I was there… even though it was very early spring then and the golden week doesn’t start till April. If you’ve been a regular reader at my blog… you’ve seen that I love cherry blossoms…. so it was such a pleasant surprise to catch these rare blooms when I expected not to see any since I couldn’t arrange to be in Japan during their Golden Week.

Shopping in small towns also means I get to buy stuff at cheaper prices then in the heart of Tokyo city!

I’ll finish up on my Japan trip in my next post!

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This is a very overdue post!! Won’t go much into the details of where to go and what to do in tokyo cause I’ve done similar posts before… you can check the archives. But here are some pictures to share with you from my last Japan Trip! It was pretty cold but the food was good!!!

I love Japanese food and looking at these pictures really makes me drool. I ordered 3 egg tamagos cause that’s what I normally order in singapore. But those in Japan were so huge! Just look at the size compared to my face! And the rice is so little… I feel so cheated in Singapore!

I know Japanese desserts are usually too sweet for most people to handle. But generally Singaporeans fair better cause we have a pretty sweet tooth.

Other than just going to the countless of shopping centers and shops to browze… I took a off beaten road to see where the adventure would take me.

Found a natural bamboo forest! It looks just like the movie! And there was also a dead red fox in the forest…

The picture below is one of my favorite among my Japan photos.

Gotta run! But will share more pictures of Renzze in Japan in the next post!

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Quite a number of my friends have asked me if it is safe to travel in Japan alone. And the answer is a definite YES. During this trip I had arrived earlier in Japan as my family had some personal matters to attend to and came much later on Northwest. Traveling the streets alone was not at all intimidating! It felt as safe as going out in Singapore. In fact… By the time my family came I could bring them around for shopping and great food stalls as I had memorized the streets.

But naturally I saved all the best attractions for us to go as a family and one of them is Disney! I had been contemplating between Disneyland or Disneysea but in the end we decided to go to both as a treat for my little sister who couldn’t get enough of Mickey Mouse when she was in Disneyworld in the states.

DISNEYSEA TOYKYO

Both are amazingly enjoyable but I preferred Disneysea to Disneyland as it was newer and had less of a crowd. Disneyland was bigger but the queues were much longer and the rides are similar to the other Disneylands over the world. Nevertheless… if you have never been to any Disney theme park then pick Disneyland over Disneysea!

This time… the land park was decked out in Halloween theme and if you say “Trick ‘O Treat” you might just get a Disney candy!

DISNEYLAND

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This year I spent my birthday in Japan with makes it my 3rd consecutive birthday spent outside the sunny shores of Singapore. But unlike previous years… my family was with me for this one.

We spent the day going to Asakusa to visit the Sensoji Temple. It is one of the most famous centers for worship in Japan and also a major tourist cultural attraction. Although rebuilt after WWII… it’s architectural designs of the different halls have remained true to its original which were built and expanded from 628AD to the Kamakura and Edo period.

The Nakamise is a street leading to the main hall of the temple… it’s filled with souvenir and food stores that would give the visitor a feeling of how it would be like to shop on the streets of old Japan. Here… we had lunch and bought a couple of souvenirs and yummy traditional snacks.

These photos are taken at the Kaminarimon Gate (the one with the huge lantern)…. the Nakamise (street leading to the Gokuden)… during lunch… the pagoda… in front of the Gokuden(main hall) and it’s surrounding gardens. Notice that it was still raining with strong winds so it was really cold! My mum looked so cute all bundled up with her hood.

When in Rome do as Romans do… so at the temple like the locals… I threw coins… made a wish and also went to have ‘a fortune lot’ drawn for me to foretell my future and luck (my 1st time). And I drew lot 26 which is an excellent fortune (shang shang qian)! My sis also had a very good fortune… Dad had a normal good one but Mum had a Bad fortune. Mum was a little upset that her’s was bad so I bought her a health… safety & good luck charm to brighten her day!

This is my fortune…

And the English translation (found on the reverse) says:

” General: Trouble and disaster are getting off as time passes by, sign of the fortune is opening and coming to us. Your fame and honor rise all over society. Those old and ancient got renewed then you can get income again.
Getting success in life, and wealth, you are real busy and prosperous.

Depending on what fortune you are seeking: Your request will be granted.The patient will get well soon. The lost article will be found. The person you wait for will come. Building a new house or removal are both well. It is good to start a trip.Both marriage of any kind and new employment are well.”

Sounds like a good start on my birthday!

Later on that day after all the walking and shopping… mum decided to treat herself and me to a nice foot massage. It was heavenly! Their foot reflexlogy is slightly different from our local version as they use treatment powder instead of oil as the medium. The massage was soft but effective. With lounge chairs and soothing spa like music… we were soon snoozing away. They even heated our shoes while we were in treatment so that we would could slip into something warm before heading out to the cold.

This is us with our therapists =)

When we got back to the hotel… my family insisted that I must have a birthday cake for my 25th birthday so we got a small little cake to share just an hour before my birthday passed. My sis smeared cream all over my face so we were chasing each other all over the place. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer celebration with my dearest family.

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The last 2 weeks I’ve been eating nothing but Japanese cuisine. At first it sounds fine or even exciting.

But when I was actually in Tokyo I realized 2 barriers. Firstly… I am allergic to seafood which meant almost 70% of their diet was non-consumable to me unless I wanted to spend the rest of the trip like an itching red baboon.

Secondly, the cost was a killer! The cheapest meals are priced around 500 yen which is currently equivalent to around S$7 which consists of either noodles (soba or udon) or katsu don (chicken cutlet with egg and rice). They can be found in small little outlets all over Tokyo… their tell-tale feature is that they have a little machine outside the store. Put in your money… select the food you want and a piece of paper is generated. Proceed into the store and hand that paper to the counter… in a couple of mins you will hear a holler and dinner’s ready =) Pretty efficient! It cuts down miscommunication of orders as well.

Other cheap options included Japanese burgers or fastfood which still cost more then Singapore. Their normal regular meals are priced around 1000yen (S$14) and above while restaurant dining and buffets can easily be 3000 - 5000 yen (S$40 to S$70) per person.

As tourists We had to have our 3 meals a day outdoors and even though we mainly stuck to our 500yen meals… we did still managed a couple of good expensive meals. Alas… due to my dietary restrictions even these begun to bore my pallet… How I missed the spicy… oily and delightful local dishes! Jap food is just way too healthy!

However… their snacks and sweets are definitely nicer and more sinful! I was totally swept away by delicious crepes with cream and fruits…. their sweet pastries… Crisp cookies… richly flavored cakes… their creamy chocolate and custard filled doughnuts as well as the traditional red bean or custard filled pancakes. I bought some from Asakusa which were shaped with traditional Japanese symbols… and some from Tokyo station which were hello kitty shaped. Other shapes include kimono gals… doremon and Disney characters.

I’ve been back for a day or so and already I’ve gobbled down curry chicken and char siew & roast pork rice… YUMMY! All at such low affordable prices too! My next cravings are for chicken rice and soya beancurd!

These are some pics of the cheap 500yen food so you get an idea of it easily bored me… I didn’t take pics of the food we ate at the fancy places cuz it was just too weird to whip the camera out even if it’s for a quick snap!

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One of the first things I did in Tokyo was to get my hair done =) I simply loved how the japs layer and curl their hair… their cutting style was a perfect match for my volume deprived hair.

My salon of choice lies in the very trendy heart of Tokyo - Shibuya… and I simply adore what master stylist Hideyuk Kitazawa and colorist Mistsuharu Chiba did for me. Despite the language barrier they still managed to give me the end result I was looking for. They all gave excellent service and paid keen attention to give to a hairstyle that would suit my lifestyle. In fact.. all their customers walked out of their salon looking really good!

My sister waited hours for me at the salon so even though it was pretty costly… as a treat… I paid for her hair to be timmed =) She looks so much sweeter now!

Price-wise I think it’s comparable to salons such as ICON or MONSOON in singapore but in terms of service and customer satisfaction… I’ll go back there anytime! Hide and Chiba also gave me tips on the places to look out for in Tokyo… the kind that can’t be found in your regular travel guide… so to thank them I paid them a little visit on the last day of my trip to present them with tokens that represent singapore.

These are so pics of my new hairdo and the crew that helped! If you ever wanna get your tresses a new life in Japan just drop me a msg for the shop’s address.

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