BlUrT BuRp...: JaPaN JaPaN..

It has been a long time since we went for a long trip (ok slightly longer than beach getaways) and to a cooler climate.. we have been planning for this trip since Aug and now that its over, I am quite depressed... but it was great and thanks hao for bringing me there hehe..

Day 1 - 1 Nov 2010

Cathay Pacific
I was so excited to finally NOT take budget air

sleepy.. it was an overnight flight

Transiting at HK airport..

I have not worn this pair of boots since we visited Paris and Barcelona in 2008
must have kept it for too long as after a bit of walking the leather started to peel and the sole gave way.. I threw them away once we reached Narita Airport

Day 2 - 2 Nov 2010

On the 7.33am Narita Express to Hakone..
we touched down at Narita airport at 6am..

The interior looks like in a plane..
its very comfy..

ok we were still sleepy as we only caught a couple of hours sleep on the plane..
It was so comfy that we were both asleep for most of the ride to Odawara.
Took us close to 2 hours to get there.

Our first ramen in Japan
at a ramen store in the Odawara station..

his ramen was nicer than mine..

From Odawara we had to change another train to get to Hakone-Yumoto station. we bought a 3 day Hakone free pass which allows us to take unlimited rides on their trains and buses in Hakone. Cost us 4900 yen (S$80) a person! Transport is really damn expensive in Japan.

The river running through Hakone..
its a small town in Japan near Mt Fuji - very peaceful and serene place

we had to find our way from the train station to our Ryokan hotel
on their local buses

Only 3 stops to the hotel.
we left our bags there as we were too early to check in..
First stop was to Gotemba Premium Oulet!

The journey there was long..
we took a bus outside our hotel, stopped somewhere along the way and waited for another bus which comes once every hour..
The face explains the very long wait..
We got to change to the Gotemba Shuttle bus after that..
but it was worth it!

many many stores at the Premium outlet.
Its a pity during the time we went Yen was very high so everything seemed pretty expensive.
We only bought a wallet for Daddy and a new pair of boots for myself!

Can see Mt Fuji from the outlet..

pretty..

There are vending machines everywhere in Japan..
Drink, Desserts, ciggies, ice-cream etc..
The drink machines dispenses hot canned coffee!

The sun sets quite early during this time of the year..
by 5pm it was dark..
we had to rush back for dinner at 7pm or else we will have no dinner - we were warned by the hotel staff

Dinner was quite a spread..
Appetizers, Shabu shabu, fish, dessert...

Oh initally we could not find the hotel as there was no name displayed..
but we saw my name somewhere and this was it!

made us feel so welcomed..

Day 3 - 3 Nov 2010

Breakfast at the hotel..
That's quite a lot to eat for breakfast..
It was weird having rice for breakfast..

Half boiled eggs

That's the exterior of the hotel..
Looks like someone's home..

Waiting for the Hakone Tozan railway train..

we had to change for the Hakone Ropeway at Gora Station..

waiting for the Ropeway to arrive..

transferring to the cable car at Sounzan station..

In the cable car to Owakudani..

Mount Hakone!
The area is still an active volcanic zone which explains the fumes and vapour coming from the ground..

Its cold up there so there is fog forming as we speak..
I tried to capture it but failed haha..

Having hot sweet potato felt damn good in the cold weather

Most people there were eating sweet potato so we had to too!

walking trail up to the volcanic zones
Beautiful scenery..

very blue sky..

the scenery made the walk so much more enjoyable..

Hot bubbling pool where they cooked the eggs..

Black eggs that were going for 500 yen (S$8) for 5 in a pack..
yes, very expensive but since we were there.. might as well..
The shell is black due to the sulphour present in the volcanic pool..

un-shelling the egg

There all done..

They believed that eating these eggs will prolong one's life by 7 years!
I made him eat more..

I had 1..
5 eggs are really too many for the both of us so we gave the remaining 2 away..
I think eating too many might kill us faster..

I seem to be surrounded by some mist..

Hao posing..
the scenery was really breathtaking..

I told him to pose beside his bike..
Fits him very well..

The lady was very nice and asked to go behind her cart and pose with her thongs..
The rice cracker cost 400 Yen (S$6.50) very very expensive..

so greedy..

sitting down enjoying the view and finishing our ice cream

The next stop was Lake Ashi.. we took the cable car to Togendai station..

the cruise rides on the Lake Ashi..
Its supposed to be shaped like a pirate ship

where we boarded the cruise..

There was indoor viewing and the outdoor deck..
of cos we were at the outdoor deck so that we could have a better view of the lake

boats in the lake and buildings along the coast

The wind was very strong and we were really freezing..
many people went into the indoor area but we persisted!

calmness..
it was however too cold and we got off at the next stop instead of completing the whole journey..
we took a bus back to the hotel.. we wanted to make it back before sunset to make use of our private outdoor onsen in the room while enjoying the view of the river by the room

Street shopping near Hakone-Yumoto Station..

Some pancake we bought along the street

We made it back to the hotel before sunset but it took us an hour to fill the onsen tub with water..

waiting for the tub to fill..
the ryokan living room area.
we took a traditional Japanese room so we had to sleep on the tatami
The room was quite big and kind of eerie at night as it reminded me of the movie "The Ring"

The private outdoor onsen in the room
its rather small..

the view of the river from the room and the onsen

ahhh.. enjoying the view while in the onsen

The outdoor onsen and the inside..

trying out the sepia mode

pretending to be a good Jap wife and making te for my husband haha..
The Yukata was provided to us and we were supposed to wear it when we were having our meals in the common dining area..

our last dinner there so we ordered some hot sake to try..
don't really like the taste though..

finished in 1 gulp..

he looks so happy..
i guess its all the food..

see the spread!
Yum!

Day 4 - 4 Nov 2010

It was our last day in Hakone and we had to check out by 10am..

last breakfast there..

I think he was sad to leave Hakone..
The next time we visit Hakone, we would want to stay longer..

We moved on to Tokyo where we will be spending 5 nights there.. we booked Sunroute Shinjuku Plaza and we were not disappointed! The room was small but adequate, very clean too. the location is so accessible to the shopping areas and near the subway and JR stations.

The small but cosy room..

toilet - it reminded me of the toilets on planes
and i love the bidet! i think i am gonna have one of those in my new home..

Day 5 - 5 Nov 2010

That's the hotel exterior.. looks ok only but inside is really nice..
Do not be deceived by its cover..

and one of the very important reasons why we booked this hotel was because it is very very near a Krispy Kreme outlet!

Donuts for breakfast! how unhealthy..
It was however quite disappointing as they did not have hot donuts..
They only made the donuts twice a day..

he is still enjoying them haha..

Morning coffee is important to kick start the day..
we were going to visit Takaosan so i needed a good start..

We took a train to Takaosanguchi Station which was at the foot of Mount Takao (Takaosan)

From there we could take the chair lift or the cable car half way up the mountain..

we chose the chairlift and it felt really insecure..

on the chair lift
we did not dare to move about as there was no safety belt or any kind of harness..

The lift only brought us to the halfway mark and we had to hike the rest of the way..

The start of our hike..

the halfway mark was quite high already..

he is always hungry..

10 Commandments..

washing our hands here is believed to bring us luck and wash away our sins..

we are both clean..

its autumn and some of the leaves are turning red..

We hiked for almost 2 hours and finally reached the top!

Proof that we made it all the way!

On the way down we stopped at the temple and bought some sort of a love amulet for Hao's friend.. we helped him pray for love.. The amulet consisted of a coin and a sachet..

after praying, tie the coin at the temple and keep the sachet with you..

He bought one for us too.. an amulet for happy marriages..

That's for us..

after praying we continued our hike down..

taking the chair lift down to the bottom

Dinner at First Kitchen - a fast food joint in Japan..
highly recommended by Sindy..
They seem to put eggs in everything.. and they seem very raw..
His pasta and salad both with eggs

my burger and fries..

Our 2nd dinner from Takashimaya supermarket..

Day 6 - 6 Nov 2010

We wanted to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market.. we could not make it to the tuna auctioning as it was too early and ew had to ballot for slots to go in.. too much of an hassle.. our main purpose there was to try the fresh fish!..

apparently that's most tourists' aim too..
the long queues outside all the small eateries..

the queue was so long..

we stood in line for a while and gave up after a while..

we settled for an eatery that served chicken instead of fish and because there was no queue.
It was very good.. although we were still disappointed we did not get to try the sashimi

Hao's chicken.. very good too!
Everything in Japan just taste so yummy..

We left the fish market and went to Shibuya for some shopping..

very very crowded.. there were so many people walking around..
the street was so vibrant and there were so many shopping places there..

we were trying to find the longest cross road which is always shown in the movies but i don't think this is it.. doesn't look long enough..

This is the female toilet. Its called the Powder Room..
Toilets are at the other side of the room..

and they even had chairs outside the powder room so that the boys can sit and wait while the girls doll up.. how thoughtful!

Nest Stop was Harajuku.. we wanted to catch some cosplay there but i don't know where they were hiding.. could not see any on the streets at all..

Meiji Shrine..

a wedding ceremony..

Another wedding couple..

all dressed up to attend the wedding

Writing his wish..

bless us!

Hand it at the bottom of the tree..

many many wishes under the tree..

throughout the trip he keeps playing with his iphone

food is here and he is still playing

Finish!

more food again from Takashimaya haha
we have 2 dinners almost everyday..

Day 7 - 7 Nov 2010

Odaiba is the destination.. mostly shopping places and the Rainbow bridge..

Japan is a very disciplined country and smoking is only allowed at designated smoking area like this.. smoking and walking on the street is not allowed.. tsk but you are allowed to smoke in restaurants.. kinda weird to me but we try to obey the rules too..

a mini statue of Liberty and in the background is the famous Rainbow bridge

they have food courts there too!

Fried noodles with egg

i love the meat shavings!

This explains how yummy it was

Hao posing with his new beanie from Daiso

The Fuji TV building..
quite a spectacular architecture

There is a very small casino in Venus Fort..
only 6 tables and you have to pay to play..
just like our casino here..

Starbucks in Japan is always packed with people..
and its pretty expensive too

In Odaiba there is a Toyota Showroom.. i like cars so this is a definite must to visit

concept cars which might or might not be marketed in the future

They call this an E-com ride..
it runs on a track that circles the whole showroom
you can get a feel of their smart cars..

a racing simulator..
He cannot be a racer..

sitting by the pier
enjoying the weather and sunset

It was only 4 ish in the afternoon and the sun is already setting..

our new bought-in-Japan shoes

packed dinner from the supermarket..
It would have been cheaper to eat out

Day 8 - 8 Nov 2010

This was our last full day in Japan.. since we did not get to try the Sashimi from the fish market we went back again to try out luck. It was a Monday so there might be lesser people..

Indeed there were alot lesser people when we got there and we did not even have to queue

Salmon, Scallops, roe and crab sashimi!!

his was all Tuna..
Mine was so much nicer haha!
we both chose the cheapest thing on the menu and it still cost us 1200 yen (S$20) a bowl..
quite worth it for the quality