Tokyo Post Mortem: Day 1, 2 & 3

So finally I’ve sorted out the thousand pictures that I took whilst in Japan. Believe me, it was literally like I had no life, arranging the pictures, editing some, deleting some, choosing some to be developed, etc.

So hear, I present to you the Part 1 of my Tokyo trip post, comprising on Day 1, 2 & 3. Enjoy!!!

DAY 1: KLIA, NARITA AIRPORT, SHIBUYA

Flight out from KLIA was a midnight flight at 11.30pm. I’ve ALWAYS ALWAYS hated night flights. Because I’m always so excited to go on a holiday, I prefer to fly off early in the morning. Waiting the whole day to get on the plane makes me so freaking restless and butt-itchy the whole time like it did the day I left for Japan.

So anyways, as usual… I always travel in my specs, simply because its more comfortable and it doesn’t irritate my eyes. Plus, I was damn proud to wear my new Calvin Klein specs that my mum bought for me!!! Isn’t my mum the best?????

I know.

At Dome @ KLIA waiting to board

The flight was a LOOOONNNNGGGG 7-hours. I watched “Enchanted” on-flight and tried desperately to get some sleep on the place. I don’t know bout you, but I HATE HATE HATE air plane seats. They’re so freaking uncomfortable loh. My butt was aching and I went to the toilet countless times JUST to stretch my legs.

STUPID ECONOMY CLASS. I swear, in future… I’m gonna earn so much money that I’ll ONLY travel business or first class……………. Simply because my beautiful-million-dollar-ass does NOT deserve to sit on mediocre, stinky econs seats. Period!

So I ended up NOT sleeping a single wink the whole night. Landed in Narita airport looking like SHEEEEEET…

Don’t say I didn’t warn ya

We waited one hour at Narita for our limousine bus to take us to our destination (Sheration Miyako Hotel) where our host (Angela) was supposed to wait for us.

Before I go on, I HAVE to talk about this Angela woman. She’s the wife of my mum’s close friend, Paul. For a Hong Kongese, she speaks perfectly GOOD English, is super hospitable and absolutely gorgeous. PLUS, she’s an ACTUARIST at AXA. Can you IMAGINE how incredibly smart this woman is???? Her company literally pays for her accommodation at a multi-million dollar apartment in the heart of Tokyo… which coincidentally, was our “base camp” . How lucky, right???

I know.

Upon reaching our accommodation at Shirokane, we got changed, and immediately hit the biggest obstacle in staying in Tokyo… THE SUBWAYS.

To give you a rough idea, THIS is how the Tokyo subway lines are like:

 

Pretty small here, but you get a rough idea, no?

It was pretty brave of mum and I to attempt the subway on the very morning we arrived in Tokyo, after a terrible night’s sleep (or the lack thereof) in the plane.

But we worried NOT, for we have JUST what we needed: MY BRAINS

 

Ms. Jakun wearing the Le Coq Sportif hat that her DanDan bought for her

 

… And with the mother, Jakun Senior

We headed for Shibuya which was like one of the busiest places in Tokyo (again, pretty brave of us).

At the busiest road junction in Shibuya

 

With my ” OLDer sister”

The first thing I noticed as soon as I stepped onto the streets of Shibuya was the VAST amount of people walking…

So much so that from afar, these cute little Japanese looked like ants in their nests

Pretty amazing actually. Something that Malaysians will never do, but I don’t blame us (Malaysians)… it’s too freaking hot here to walk without feeling sticky and sweating like a pig. Also, maybe that’s why Japanese are so healthy… even the elderly walks everywhere! Respect, man!

We went into some random shopping complex to do a little window-shopping… YES, WINDOW only.

See! No shopping bags

After an hour or two at Shibuya, we realised that we were too tired to enjoy ourselves. Afterall, we did not sleep at all the previous night. So we headed home and slept the remainder of the day and night away…

DAY 2: SHINJUKU, TAKASHIMAYA TIMES SQUARE & ASAKUSA

We woke up the second day feeling a 110% better compared to the day before. Got changed, and left home to explore more of the Tokyo that we anticipated to see for so long.

At the garden where we stay

 

Shaddap. I know I look damn fat

We braved the subway once again, this time, feeling less daunted than the day before.

Even my smile looked more beautiful after a good night’s sleep

We stopped at Shinjuku, another busy area of the Tokyo city.

They call it… “sheen-ju-koooo”

We went into one of the complex (Tokyu Plaza) and bought our brunch which came in really cute bento boxes. It’s actually pretty much pre-cooked & pre-packed meal… well-suited for budget travelers, travelers on-the-go and for the busy locals who just want to grab a quick meal in between work.

After purchasing our “lunch boxes”, we seriously regretted, not because it wasn’t delicious, but because we couldn’t find ANYWHERE to sit down and eat. Plus, we were told that it appears impolite to eat in public.

Finally, after ONE HOUR of walking around looking for a quiet place to eat, we discovered that on top of most major complexes, they have a roof top garden area where most people go to either, smoke or to just sit and relax. In our case, it was a heavenly place to eat… because it was SOOOOOO windy and quiet!

My mum damn layan my cam-whoring urges lor

After our super-satisfying meal, we crawled the streets of Shinjuku.

Shinjuku

 

At the Pachinko (birth place of slot & game machines)

 

 

Vending machines galore!

 

Oooo, ADULT shop

 

SHOE shopping, where I bought a pair of Skechers

 

 

Its funny how colorful Tokyo still looks, despite this picture being a black & white

We left Shinjuku after a few hours and headed to the popular Takashimaya Times Square, a building popular for its high-end shopping and cafes.

 

In the streets near the Times Square

 

In front of Takashimaya Times Square

 

Having tea in one of its many posh cafes

 

Outside the Times Square, trying to be cute

 

 

CAMWHORE in action @ Tokyo!

Our next destination was Asakusa. This place is a little far, but nonetheless worth visiting. Anyways, it doesn’t really matter because the subway lines are so convenient, it HARDLY felt like it was far away.

Btw, may I sidetrack?

Nooooowwww, WHO said I cannot take public transport? Shame on you, man/woman. Mastering the train system was NOT easy and I managed to navigate my way around without the help of a map by the end of the trip.

KUDOS to moi, pls!

Anyway, where was I?

Asakusa, riiiiight.

As mentioned, its worth going because its like a giant flea market, with tiny little shops everywhere selling souvenirs, FOOD, Japanese dolls, clothes, SHOES, Japanese snacks, Japanese dried seafood… in short, think CHEE CHEONG KAI!

And whilst you’re there, pay a visit to the famour Senso-ji Temply located VERY near the flea market area. Its BEAUTIFUL.

To religious fanatics, visiting a temple does not mean I’m “converting”. I go there to understand another culture, another religion and to camwhore with the amazing architecture. Happy?

 

Asakusa

 

Mushi mushi >.<

 

Shopping for dried seafood, and bought dried scallops, seaweed & dried puffer fish meat *nyuuummm*

 

  

Shop shop shop!

 

Eating Oyako Don (rice with chicken & egg) and Sashimi

 

Near the Senso-ji Temple

 

 

GIANT lantern

 

The shrine. Looks gorgeous, no?

 

 

Errrr, random

 

We found this random adorable dog sitting in it’s owner’s bicycle basket. Made me think of my dogs back home

 

My mum thought the bike was super HOT and wanted to take a picture sitting on it. I think she would’ve looked better if she weren’t holding all her shopping bags…

DAY 3: HARAJUKU

The whole of Day 3 was spent in Harajuku. A place well known for its extreme “fashion” (if we could call it that).

A note to Kok Wui: If you want to see Harajuku girls, you will have to wait for the later post

As usual, whenever mum & I reached a destination, the first thing we’d do is to look for FOOD.

At a cozy little restaurant. Had Udon & the BEST tempura I’ve ever had

After food, we walked around and shopped a little.

My mother, ppl… my mother

OKAY, for the record… she did NOT buy that. I will NOT let her

Anyways, I didn’t take much pictures of us shopping and walking around Harajuku that day because I forgot to take out spare batteries and I want to save up the remaining batteries for the Meiji-Jingu Shrine (ALSO, located at Harajuku).

 

The beautiful walk towards the shrine

 

The everyone-must-take-picture-here bridge

 

The water was NATURAL spring water. REALLY cool, and was supposed to have “cleansing” properties

 

The temple area

 

I loike this

 

Ppl typically write their wishes/prayers on these wooden boards (sold at 500yen, if I’m not mistaken), and hand them near the… you can call it the “holy tree”

While we were there, mum & I were lucky enough to witness a Japanese wedding ceremony, FIRST HAND!!!

It was amazing, totally different from our Chinese wedding ceremonies. In Japan, weddings are solemn. Very subdued and quiet. ALMOST like *touch wood* a funeral march, if I may say so. But hey, if their culture is made this way, I have to say its quite a pleasant change from our super-noisy Chinese weddings… lolz!

The bride & groom with the “TAI KUM JEH” & relatives

 

The girls had to wear traditional kimonos and they look super sweet, man

After the temple, mum & I walked around some more. Did some shopping (Harajuku is like a shopping haven btw), and the next thing we know, it was time for dinner… somehow, traveling with my mum & I, you’ll guarantee NEVER to go hungry…

We were desperately looking for a Japanese restaurant, but funnily enough… Harajuku has all the Western restaurants in the world (French, Italian, American fast food chains, etc), but no Japanese!

Finally, we turned into this teeny little lorong and found a quaint little side street stall which sold Asian food (think Pudu’s Wai Sek Kai). We settled for that stall and later found out that it was indeed one of the local’s favorite spot for food! What luck, right?

I know.

Good thing we were early too. A good 15 minutes after we sat down, a line has formed along the little lorong… filled with people who were waiting to dine there as well.

Plus, don’t think that the place served cheap food just because its in the back-street. Diners there drink RED WINE & imported beer, hokay?

Damn pai seh. Mum & I ordered only warm water >.<

At the dingy-but-super-popular-and-expensive-food-stall

 

Despite the ridiculous price, we had to agree with the locals. Food there was SUPERB. Period!

We left for home shortly after. But before that, we paid a visit to my all time favorite caffeine-loaded outlet…

 

STARBUCKS!

I can’t get through a day without coffee. I was seriously having caffeine withdrawal symptoms loh, cuz ever since our arrival in Japan, we had not have a single sip of coffee. Felt tonnes better after that *ahhhh*

My post-caffeine face

So there. THIS post pretty much summed up my Japan trip from Day 1 till 3. Keep a look out, there’s more on the way!!!

Cheers!!!!

NatC.