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Wednesday, October 25, 2006

DAY 8, 4 OCT 2006
4th MORNING AT NAGOYA
1st EVENING AT TOKYO

Last meal at Nagoya was Japanese-style Curry Rice. I took a brave attempt n ordered a plate with Level 4 spicyness. Dere were 10 levels in total, but 5 was said to be the normal threshold for spice. The weather was not very co-operative, so the trip to Nagoya Castle was cancelled. Thus S.J n I decided to leave for Tokyo via the bullet train a.k.a Shinkansen. Once again, the dreaded spoilt luggage pissed the hell outta me, as I had to drag n drag all the way from Pat’s apartment to the Shinkansen station.  Tough luck landed us in a smoking cabin, but I heck care as I indulged myself into the sights and sceneries along the 2-hour train ride. Upon arrival at Tokyo, bad luck no. 2 happened. The pin from my watch dropped off while I wasn’t lookin n was no where to be found, no more wearin of the watch on my wrist, I could only keep it in my pocket. We had a hard hard time locatin out hostel. Somehow I feel that the Japanese are not very proficient with maps, the maps they put up at station exits are horrible. In the end, the hostel manager had to ride her bicycle n come bring us in at a forementioned waitin place. Khaosan was the name of the hostel we stayed in, n Asakusa was the name of the city we stayed in. The hostel does come fully equipped with toilets, bathrooms n computers. But, hostel guests need to share, and availability was a factor. To out horror, we were informed that the hostel had been fully bokked on the 7th, so we could only stay up till the 6th. As such, I decided to schedule my trip to Mount Fuji on the 7th.

DAY 9, 5 OCT 2006
2nd DAY AT TOKYO

It was drizzling in the morning. Another blunder was made when we packed our luggage, brought down to the reception as we were told to shift rooms, only to find out that arrangements had been made so that shifting was not needed, n we weren’t informed abt it. (*_*)||| We decided to occupy the rooms for the remaining days of our stay after the 7th, so we paid all in one shot for the hostel accommodation fees. We took the Ginza subway line from Asakusa to Ueno, n den the JR Yamanote line from Ueno to Shinjuku, n finally the Chuo line from Shinjuku, to arrive at Nakano. Our next stop was Nakano Broadway. The place looked seemingly innocent n ordinary on the ground level, but once u went to the 2nd floor n beyond, it was pure anime n manga. Mandarake had its main branch here. S.J went crazy with cells-hunting. Another 5-6 hours went by. Dinner was at Mac, as money was beginning to run low. It was either for food or for shoppin. A choice had to be made, n was made.

DAY 10, 6 OCT 2006
3rd DAY AT TOKYO

Another raining morning. Enquire abt trip to Mt Fuji at a travel agency, a subsidiary of JTB (Japan Travel Bureau). Booked to-and-return bus tickets to Mt. Fuji, thanks to S.J’s JLPT 2 communication skills with the Japanese lady. We managed to find out the deal abt the dreaddul 7th Oct. It was Japan’s National Holiday, so all major hotels and lodgings had been fully booked. I was denied of my wish to stay a night at the foot of Mt. Fuji n relax in the authentic natural hot spring. We then travelled to Akihabara, otherwise known as Otaku heaven. Visit wikipedia if u do not know wad Otaku means. Hell I’m not, okie! The day was spent goin in n out of shops sellin nothing but mangas, anime, costumes, dolls. Nightfall came by the time we finished combing a-third of the shops. Ordered Soba in another vending machine machine. A cheap meal, n rather fulfillin too. It was still raining, but strong winds blew this time round. We witnessed the true testament of the term “twisted metal”, cos’ the gusts blew the umbrella n caused the metal supports to bend into an odd shape. The umbrella was blown beyond repair.

*Before I start the part on 7th Oct, trip to Mt. Fuji, I would like to point out that S.J had been particularly worried and concerned for my own safety, as I would be going to the sacred mountain alone, with my half-bucket Japanese language n blurriness. His reason for not going being he had not brought the adequate clothin for cold weather. Thus, seeing it more like a “I must return safely” rather than a “I must go” scenario, I dedicated my excursion to 1 person. YOU.*

DAY 11, 7 OCT 2006
4th DAY AT TOKYO

Woke up at 6am in the morning, as the bus was leavin the Shinjuku West Exit Highway Bus Terminal at 0845 hours. The views and scenery before reaching the scared mountain was oredi spectacular. I could only imagine wad awaits me on the mountain. After a 2.5 hrs coach ride, I set foot on the 5th Station of the mountain. CCCCC~O~L~D~.. The temperature was below 15 deg C. Spent my next 4-5 hours on the mountain doing nothing but visitin souvenir shops n snappin photos of the amazing panoramic views from the observation sites. It was so chilly dere, my hands got numb within minutes, so much so I had to get a pair of gloves juz to keep my hands warm. Trust me, that place is ccccc~o~l~d~ As it was almost 2500 m above sea level, clouds were juz a few steps up my head, while the chillin winds brushed past my body with every step I take. Wow! This was even better than Genting Highlands!~ How I really wished that YOU were here. Boarded the return coach at 4pm n after another 2.5 hr coach ride, I was back at Shinjuku again. I walked ard a little n had my dinner dere, before meeting S.J back at the Asakusa Station exit. Found out halfway thru’ the return coach that I had lost my beloved ring at Mt. Fuji. Guess it muz hav fallen off when I removed my gloved to snap some photos. We had planned to stay at the train station for the night, n head off to the Tsukiji Fish Market the next morning to look at the auctions. However such plans were set aside when S.J pointed me to a capsule hotel. Coincidentally, the capsule hotel was right next to the station exit, n it became out place of stay for that night. Thus, by accident, we found ourselves spending a night in a capsule hotel, sleepin in a small capsule, equipped with a small tv n adjustable lighting. The balcony at the 9th storey provided yet another night view to behold at. A scene of the night sky, the acclaimed Sumida River n the streets of Asakusa left S.J n me dropping jaws. Once again, we showered in another public bath, this time with an indoor hot spring bath.

DAY 12, 8 OCT 2006
5th DAY AT TOKYO

The capsule hotel regulations state that all guests muz check out by 10am. So we woke up ard 9 plus, packed our belongings n left the place. We headed back to Khaosan, where we had deposited our luggage in their baggage storage room the day b4. We split off agin, S.J went to Akihabara again while I went to Harajuku. Harajuku was known as the fashion district of Tokyo, where all the latest trends, stylish-dressed guys and girls can be seen walking down the Omote-sando Hills. I found myself lost after all the clothes shoppin has been done. I couldn’t find the train station to take the train back. Thus, I decided to try my luck by continue walkin n hope to hop up at the next train station I come across. So, I walked from Harajuku, passed by Aoyama, n finally landed myself in Shibuya. Dinner was settled throught First Kitchen, a city convenience restaurant. I returned to Khaosan ard 8 in the evening. S.J returned to the hostel ard 9pm plus, feelin down n lookin upset, telling me he had something to tell me. Therefore, I went to find him at our room while he told me of his unfortunate incident at the Pachinko place that evening. He felt much better afew hours, n I felt relieved.

DAY 13, 9 OCT 2006
6th DAY AT TOKYO

We were both running out of Japanese Yen, so we decided to change the remaining of our SGD which we had brought along. Despite it being a public holiday, we managed to locate a foreign currency exchange service, all the way in Shibuya. Darn it! The exchange rate was 1SGD to 68.62JPY when the market rate was 1SGD to 74JPY. With the additional financial strength, both of us headed to Harajuku again to do shoppin for my cousin and HW. S.J was delighted that he found a blazer that he liked a lot for the price of 1900 Yen, as the store was havin a promotion. I tried my luck with the Pachinko machines. History repeated itself, n S.J was reminded of his unhappy incident the previous day.

DAY 14, 10 OCT 2006
7th DAY AT TOKYO

It was our last full day in Japan, time was not to be wasted. However, S.J kept draggin till 1pm, when we set off for Ikebukuro. After lunch, we went to the Yasuda Gate at Todai, short-form for Tokyo Daigaku, translated as University of Tokyo. According to S.J, this was the place to go for all the geniuses in the land of the rising sun. He had dreamt of enterin such an institution, but… Because of his delay, we reached Akabanehashi ard 6pm, when the night has come, failing which to catch the sunset view atop the Tokyo Tower. This was it, our final destination in Japan. Tokyo Tower. Paid a total of 1,400 JPY to reach the special observation gallery atop the structure, 250m away from ground level. The radiance of the night sky n the colourful city lights were jaw-droppin, awesome, inspiring and captivating. At the same time, many thoughts were runnin thru’ my mind. There were many thought-provokin moments. Suddenly, I felt very very lonely. Families were dere, couples were dere, friends were dere, all Japanese people. I was the solitary soul dere. S.J could hav been dere, but he said he short of cash n had oredi went up b4, so he asked me to go up alone. Yes, how I wished YOU were dere to share my joy.

DAY 15, 11 OCT 2006
8th MORNING AT JAPAN
LAST DAY IN JAPAN

Sharks! Overslept! Bad luck! Lost my newly bought checkered tie on the way to the station from the hostel. I only got to wear it for one day, n den I lost it. Damn!  The sayin goes Alls Well Ends Well. Yeah right man! I fell down on my last day in Japan again. Retardedly, it involved the stupid luggage again. I was pushin the trolley to the escalator, when I found out that the escalators weren’t meant for trolleys. Juz as I was about to push the trolley , I tripped again. Ouch! Another bruise. If my surname was Lee, I would hav undoubtedly be called “Bruise Lee”. Lols!~ We checked in late at the airport, n almost missed out flight back. We reached 9.40am at Narita Airport when the flight was supposed to take off at 10am. Phew, wad a close shave! Back in Singapore, we felt something was amiss when we didn’t see our luggage at the conveyor belt, so went to enquire with SATS Lost & Found. We were told that while we made it onto the plane, our luggage did not. So, our dear luggage would be flyin back via another airline, which would touch at a later time in the evening. Thank heavens! The luggage was couriered safely to my doorstep the next morning. Yeepie!! (: (:

the ball bounced @ 10/25/2006 11:07:00 PM