What is the most breathtaking thing to do over a weekend? Definately means taking a short break to Tokyo, the vibrant pulsing heart of Japan, where 12 million people resides and where I wandered along, in its beautiful neonlit streets and endless crowds hurrying about. My weekend getaway with my mom started with a flight to Japan, onboard Japan Airlines. The stewardesses, 2 of them Singaporeans, are very pretty. Well, at least, in my opinion, the young sweet ones. Our aircraft is a new, less than 1 and a half years old Boeing 737-346/ER. Plane number:JA611J. It was a comfortable flight, though it was quite packed.
When we reached Narita, we hopped on the bus (transfers are included in the package) to Ikebukuro, Tokyo. It was a slow, sleepy journey as we had encountered a traffic jam. No surprise as the expressway is like 2 lanes wide. Looking out the window, we can see cars, mostly Toyotas, a few BMWs and Mercedes and Hondas, passing us by; most are equipped with small TVs. After 2 hours, after reaching Sunshine City Prince Hotel, we jumped off the bus and checked in. It was already late so we decided to go to Ikebukuro train station to get some stuff to eat. We found a food hall in Seibu and had some "dim sum"-like edibles. By the way, train stations in Tokyo are huge labyrinths with exits everywhere and connections to giant shopping centres, and not to mention, an endless flow of people rushing here and there. After grabbing something light to eat, we went to Shinjuku, the colourful nightlife district of Tokyo. Passing Studio Alta, we went into a Ramen shop, where you had to buy a meal ticket from a machine, similar to a can machine and present it to the waiter. He then gives you a questionaire, which asks how would you like the noodles, soft? thick soup? with spices and garlic? It was a new experience for me and the ramen was delicious! Gochisosama deshita.
After the meal we wandered along Shinjuku, looking at the crowds of young adults and salari-men, and also many flyer-givers and Karaoke-promoters, donning huge blue raincoat-like attire. At Kabuki-cho (the red-light district), there were also smartly-dressed young men, waiting for customers, outside shops with posters of girls on them. But it was not at all a shabby place, neon lights replaced the sun and assorted colours filled up the surroundings. At the Hanazono-jinja, we caught our first sighting of cherry blossoms. Under the dim lights of the shrine, the few scattered pink flowers still looked beautiful. Shinjuku is undoubtfully a colourful experience. Walking around left us exhausted and we went back to our hotel for a good night's rest.
Day 2 began with a train ride back to Shinjuku and we took a South Exit to the Tokyo Metropolitan Office Building through a underground tunnel, kinda like a scaled-down version of Singapore's Citylink Mall. Unfortunately, the building was so quiet and we assumed it was closed, then we went to Shinjuku Chuo Koen, where we saw more cherry blossoms or sakura. Many trees are still bare though, with cherry blossoms buds on their branches. They wont bloom for another week or so I guess. We also visited the Kumano-Jinja, a 15th century shrine at the northwest corner of the park, where the homeless of Tokyo lives in makeshift tents of blue plastic sheets. After that, we checked out the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office or Tocho once more. We were directed to the basement by the sign on the door and soon, we were shooting up in an elevator to the 45th floor, where we had a spectacular view of Tokyo's skyline. Nucleated as the buildings are, it is a sign of a well-developed Asian city. We also had a bird's eye view of Shinjuku Gyoen and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park which we would tour around later.
Feeling hungry as we walked back to Shinjuku, we went to Lumine and MyLord shopping complexes to find some authentic Japanese food to eat. It proves to be a tedious task as most restaurants serve Italian pasta and pizzas. In the end, we settled for a restaurant called Cafe Est Est!, and I had a beef bowl. By the way, the Japanese wipe their hands with small wet towels before they eat. Miso soup is usually drank first, from the bowl itself. Japanese chopsticks are wooden, unlike their Chinese (plastic) or Korean (metal) counterparts. The Japanese say "itadakimasu" as to give thanks for the meal before eating and "gochisosama deshita" after the meal, meaning, "it was a feast". The bill is presented face-down with the meal, after which you bring to the cashier's table and hands it to the waiter. When paying, cash is placed on a plate next to the cash register instead of giving it to the cashier directly.
After our meal, we headed to Shinjuku Gyoen. I learnt that in Tokyo, if you don't know the directions, ask the nearest security guard, who are more than willing to assist. In a splattering of Japanese, I enquired, "Shinjuku Koen wa doko desu ka." (Where is Shinjuku Garden?) and we were soon directed on our way. At the park, you have to pay tickets at 200yen per person from a machine, kinda like those you get in the train stations. It was a wonderfully peaceful stroll in the park. We caught sight of sakura, in white, light pink, dark pink... and many Japanese photographers with lens twice as big as my camera eagerly taking photos of the beautiful flowers. Others just have picnics under the trees, an early celebration of Hanami, the cherry blossom festival. There we also saw giant crows bigger than chihuahuas with a "caw caw caw" call of a lower pitch than those we have in Singapore.
After our breathtaking view of Japanese flora and landscape, we took a train down to Harajuku, where we strolled to the Meiji Shrine. Outside the station, there was a band and a few girls in cos-play attire. One Singaporean misassumption about cos-play is that the cool and hip guys and girls dress up to show off. In truth, its actually school children who are rejected by their peers and ostracised who wear extreme gothic attires during the weekends to seek the attention they do not enjoy during the school week. Anyway, it was a long walk from the station to the shrine, passing the giant torii gates made from 1700 year old cypress trees from Ali-san in Taiwan and lush evergreen plants and trees. There we witnessed two wedding ceremonies taking place. Men are dressed smartly in black suits whilst the women go for the traditional kimonos. We also saw some people praying. The Japanese wash their hands and mouth with water from a basin of water before proceeding to the hall of worship, where they throw coins into the offering box, ring the bell, bow twice with hands together, clap twice and bow once more. Clapping of hands is to make sure the Shinto deity is listening and also for the sound which divided chaos into heaven and earth and gave rise to Japan.
After we left the shrine, we walked down Takeshita-dori, a fashion street for the younger Japanese teens. Goth shops and fast food outlets abounds. I saw a full gothic set for girls costing 14400 yen ($200). There was a four-floored 100yen shop called Daiso Harajuku with all products priced at 105yen (5% consumer tax). We bought some candy and I bought two Japanese cards. Then we walked down Meiji-dori where we got sort of lost as we wandered here and there. It began to rain and thankfully, my mom brought an umbrella. Strolling along the rather quiet streets, we finally reached a familiar landmark, a stretch of road called Aoyoma-Dori. There, we asked for directions (from another security guard) and got to Omotesando-dori, an avenue lined with huge, bare trees, with high-end boutiques like Louis Vuitton, it is also known as Tokyo's "Champs Elysees". We wandered down, past Hanae Mori Building before going to Oriental Bazaar, selling alot of tourists stuff and packed with Caucasians, to find a toilet. Relief came in the form of a key tied to a big grey plastic pole to a locked but very clean toilet on the 4th floor.
After that, we went pass Omotesando Hills, 6 floors of upmarket shops, resturants and saloons, to reach Harajuku, where we went into Laforet Harajuku. I had thought it might be a good place to get some authentic hip Japanese wear, but only girls attire was discovered there. Hungry enough, we went in search of a warm Japanese meal.
However, everywhere we looked, we could only find pasta and pizza restaurants. Apparently, western food is more popular with the younger crowds than traditional Japanese fare. We managed to find a small restaurant near some can machines. (By the way the can machines in Tokyo serve hot can ocha {Japanese tea}). And because dustbins are scarce, many people just throw the litter into the narrow space between buildings. Anyway, the menu at the restaurant was in Japanese, so in my best Japanese, I asked the middle-aged Japanese waitress, "o-susame wa nan desu ka." (what would you recommend?). She pointed at some Japanese words and I made out what she said, "katsu-don" which is breaded pork with egg in a bowl of rice, my mom had tempura with rice. It was a warm meal to perk up the cold evening.
After that we took a train now to Shibuya, paying the minimum fare of 130yen. It was a giant shopping district similar to Shinjuku. There, we used the Shibuya 109 building as a landmark and explored our way around, stopping to go into Tokyu Hands, a 6 story (with each story divided into 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and so on). There are many stuff to buy there, including stuff belonging to toilets (toilet bowl covers, soap bottles), the nature (seashells, feathers, minerals, fossils), on people (halloween costumes, collar pins, bags) and much more. We didnt find anything special to buy so we headed back to Shibuya 109, on the way wandering into Parco part 2. I did look at some waist wallet chains, which was really expensive. One plain coloured one which you can get for $10+ in Singapore costs a whooping $60-70 there. I find its too expensive even for authentic Japanese gear. After buying a dessert which looks like a plain roti-prata wrapping around cream and strawberries, we walked around Shibuya, breathing in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo's Saturday night. We then went to a fruit stall near the Shibuya station and bought some strawberries before finally ending our long day by a train (it was peak hour and the trains were rather crowded but not to the extent of becoming a sardine can) and a few minutes walk back to our hotel room. The strawberries proved very soft and delicious. Oishiine~
We woke up the next morning early, at 6.30 Tokyo time, which is 5.30 Singapore time. The sun had already risen. (kinda like 7am in the morning in Singapore) and we headed out to Ueno, by the JR Yamanote Line (ticket 160yen). It seemed the previous night was raining yet we had slept so soundly we were unaware of it. It was a cold day. >_< We walked around Ueno Park, in which there is a zoo. We did see some cherry blossoms and past by the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Walking along the perimeter of the park, we strolled by some apartments and housing before walking to Toshogu Shrine. The peaceful stroll through the park was a good way to begin our day.
After which we took a train back to Ikebukuro where we packed our bags as we had to check out at 11am. After saying "sayonara" to the hotel room, we went to walk around Seibu, hoping to buy some Japanese snacks. In the basement, where the food stuff are, there are many stuff to sample, and as many promotors welcoming, "Irrasshaimase! Irrasshaimase!" and when you show interest in the food, they will smile, "dozo" (please feel free {to try the samples}). We notice when the Japanese sample food, they cup their hand, with the knuckle facing upwards, then the food promotor will place a sample of food on the hand. I guess it's for hygiene reasons. Strict hygiene in Japanese culture can be seen along the streets, where people with face masks are as common as people with glasses. We also noticed right in the beginning of the day, people are queuing up to go in Pachinko Parlours. Anyway, after going to Seibu Loft, I had a bento-box lunch before we headed to walk around the streets of Ikebukuro. After a last min stop to buy a jacket, we went back to the hotel and awaited for our transfer to the airport.
Check-in was a breeze though there was some queuing. I noticed a Caucasian looking woman and her young children with many huge luggage. Only noticing her flight is to GRU and that the woman at the counter spoke to her in Japanese, I realised she's Brazilian Japanese, descendents of Japanese migrants who worked in Brazil's plantations after WWII. After that we went to the observation deck to look at the planes. There were some JAL 747-400s and some ANA planes. All blocked by buildings in one way or another so I didnt take much photos. Later I had ramen at a restaurant where everyone was smoking like no one's business. It tasted good. After which we took an escalator down to go into the departure hall. To our horror, we saw a huge throng of people queuing up there. I was fearful we would miss our flight. Thankfully, it went smoothly through th "anti-hijacking" screening (though I had to remove my belt) and we were soon on a yellow shuttle train to a Satellite building to catch our flight at gate C85.
Our plane is the same model as we took to Tokyo but its in the old Japan Airlines colours. The registration is JA602J and is about 4 years old. Our scheduled departure was delayed by 10 mins to 5.40pm and I was given the opportunity to take some more plane pics. I was glad to catch two American Airlines B777-200. Anyway, our flight had 6 Japanese stewardesses and 2 Singaporean stewardesses. One of them was very beautiful. Boy.. what does a guy got to do to get her attention. (Press the "flight attendent call" button of course! Nah.. wasn't that evil {or perverted}) For dinner, I had grilled "Hoki" fish with steamed rice whilst my mom had beef with noddles. It tasted great! After dinner, I watched Tim Burton's Corpse Bride on my personal screen. It was quite comical. Not a great ending but the show was filled with word-play and humour such as, "why would you want to go up there when people are dying to get down here". As we passed by the Philippines, I could see the bright lights in the city. It was a nice view. After that I learnt Japanese with the Language learning programme. It was cool. I learnt that for months, you add a "-gatsu" behind the number. For example, "Ichigatsu" for January, "Nigatsu", February, "Sangatsu", March and so on. By the way, the actor, Edmund Chen, and his family, were on our flight, and he kept getting up of his seat, and standing around, as though trying to show off. My mom said that he was "haolian" haha.. It was afterall, a very smooth, relaxing and enjoyable flight. We reached Singapore at 12.18am in the morning.
Though the journey was short, the experience had been truely amazing.
Shumatsu wa totemo tanoshikatta desu.
I was tired from the trip but refreshed and eager to continue with the unending path of a life's journey.
Here's a pic of my last meal as a 19year old kid. Chicken chop with Garlic sauce.
Here's a pic of my last meal as a 19year old kid. Chicken chop with Garlic sauce.
Ok... it looks abit too much of an urban jungle rather than an enlightening spiritual experience but hey, I am in Singapore. The tree spirits and wood nymphs now hides in concrete fingers reaching for the stars and a giant river where the duck-tours operates their cheesey tourist-dollar-sucking sampans from. haha.. Anyway, after my so-called mesmorising experience as a local tourist, I saw a crab in a small drain near my home, so I ran back home, grab a net and found myself a new pet for my birthday. Here's a photo of the rather disgruntled captive:
...I tossed into my Dad's Luohan (Flowerhorn) fish tanks to see the Flowerhorns munch on those unfortunate fish fry. They relished those catfish, gobbling each of them like some slimey popcorn with whiskers. What a delightfully sinful sight! MUAHAHAHA!!!
