Japan trip

haha i've been back from Japan for ard a week and finally got some time to get ard to posting some stuff on the trip.haha here are some pictures cos we dun intend to upload them onto facebook :P

The picture on the left is a reminder that we went during the swine flu period and thus poor us wore masks on our flight to and back from Japan.

This is our nice hotel room.. it's called Toyoko Inn. You gals can check it out one day if u all are intending to go Japan. It's quite decently-priced and very clean! The below shows the size of 1 single bed which can fit like two of us.

This is the very VERY nice ramen tt we ate on our first day.

Subsequently our meals kinda went downhill as they couldnt compare to this ramen. It really rocks cos orders are made through a vending machine and subsequently u can even indicate ur options like Less oil, no Spring Onion etc. and omg the taste is so so so good and beat Ajisen hands down! oh oh and the cool thing is u eat in this area which has this red cloth thingy and thus, u can't see the waiter etc. Meantime, there're walls beside u so u can't see ur neighbours. Totally perfect for anti-social pple! The pictures here are of the counter and the nice ramen we ate! oh oh and the egg inside the pic rocks too! the egg white portion is hard boiled but the egg yolk is soft. You can eat this kind of egg in Singapore, i heard they have it in Holland V and i ate it at Marutama (The Central) too!

Views of and from Tokyo Tower:

On our second day, we made our journey to Mount Fuji. Or rather the lakes ard Mount Fuji. We heard stories of how beautiful the flower plains are. Unfortunately, when we were there, all we saw were lallang haha and erm gardeners planting the flowers. HAHA SUPER sad case. However, the journey there really rocks cos' we really saw the suburb areas and they're really rustic and pretty. Haha love letter amongst the mountains:
The cute train that brought us there:
Haha too bad it was really cloudy so u can only make out a rough outline of Mount fuji in the distance. Ok i have to admit that the lalang did provide some sort of a rustic feel. HAHA if only the lalang were flowers instead. :(
oh oh and on our trip there, we bumped into this Taiwan lady who was very very nice. She opens a cafe near the station. She wanted to bring us ard free of charge but being kiasee Singaporeans, we were highly suspicious of her and were a bit wary of her. We even imagined the worst things like how her coffee might be spiked and we would eventually all be robbed. Fortunately or unfortunately, we bumped into other Singaporeans, who came into her shop as well. So she offered to bring us all abt and haha, we eventually agreed to go cos' we decided there were more of us and thus she is less likely to succeed in robbing us all. She took us to tis area which was really foggy and was famous for all its farm areas. haha looks a bit ghostly hor
A post-card quality shot of Mount Fuji taken on our trip back when it was less cloudy. Mount Fuji is SUPER pretty! and i wanna go back and see it again!

Meantime, in case i bore you guys to tears, i shall summarise our temple visits and pick out the ones which i feel were more interesting.

First of, there's Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion). Unfortunately, it's under reconstruction. However, the greenery ard it is REALLY pretty.. there's also a cool sand and rock art piece which is supposed to represent zen i think..
The forest floor which is covered by moss:
Ginkakuji under reconstruction:
Meantime, this is Ginkakuji's sibling - Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)
Kiyomizu dera (清水寺)is another unique temple. Supposedly the water there brings good health and thus for a token sum, u can drink the spring water (? I tink), like these kids in the picture.

In addition, Kiyomizu has a love shrine which sets it apart from other temples. Legend has it that if you were to walk a distance of around 18m between 2 love rocks successfully, you would be able to find true love. If you need guidance in accomplishing this task, it would mean that you'll need guidance of another person in seeking your true love. haha when we were there, the pple trying to complete the task were mostly primary school kids. Thus, we ended up feeling too paiseh to join them and take up additional slots.
We also stayed in a Ryokan during our stay in Kyoto. Here are some pictures of it and silly us in the Yukata. haha ok the picture of us in Yukata is damn unglam and never to be made public.

Many-course breakfast, which looks really pretty but is secretly not very nice haha

More pictures of ultra nice and delicious food:

Okonomiyaki:


Tempura:

Back in Tokyo, views from one of the highest building in Tokyo - Tokyo Govt Metropolitan Building:


In case you're wondering, the picture above is a real photo and not a photo of the model. haha those are real tiny people not figurines HAHA

Disneyland was really pretty too.. haha let the pictures do the talking:




On our 9th day there, we went Yokohama. Apart from a retro Ramen musuem, the views from Yokohama were spectacular as well.
I quite liked Yokohama. Though there were no cool attractions, the place was generally more spacious, laid-back and less hectic compared to Tokyo. Views were really spectacular especially at sunset and we even spotted a newly-wed who were having their photos taken!

I suspect that Marina Barrage derived inspiration from Yokohama..


Finally the last highlight of our trip would be the trip to Tsukiji Fish Market. HAHA the chefs are really cute and farnie and the sushi(s) are really the best i've ever eaten! my chef is the guy most far in on the left and i think he's very very farnie! haha cos' there was this ang moh who came in and ask for just Miso Soup which she pronounced as Mizo Soup. and thoughout the meal, he couldnt resist poking fun at them by saying Mizo soup? Mizo bank (which i think he meant Mizuho Bank) oh and I totally love the uni and the prawn head thingy.. DAMN NICE!




haha the abv kinda sums up my trip to Japan. Haha as u can see, i am totally perked up by food. haha fortunately there were many flights of stairs in Japan which we have to scale, at times with our luggage:



Now we all are a lot more pro in climbing stairs haha! wah this took super long.. haha i hope i successfully post it!