Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Just returned from Japan past midnight.
Japan was so fun! People are so polite, sometimes with a gracious bow. They looked handsome and pretty, dressing up to the ninth, mostly in Toyko. Toilets (where I patron every so often haha) are so clean.
Did not encounter much difficulty in getting around since I could speak a little basic japanese and some know english as well. Still remember talking nonstop with an old lady while waiting for the bullet train (shinkansen) in kyoto. She asked if I was from China! I told her I was from Singapore and out of a blue she started asking about the religion practised in Singapore (perhaps she visited Kyoto since it is a place of temples and shrines). She said I need to spend 3 years in japan to speak fluent japanese.
Japan is not so expensive afterall with proper planning. Bought a checked-shirt that was on sale from muji in tokyo's ginza for only SGD20 plus? In singapore's muji i would have to pay over SGD60. Ate quite alot of yoshinoya there as well. Though the yoshinoya there isn't quite the same as in singapore. It's truly a japanese 'teishoku' or set menu served at your table. It's cheap. About SGD6 per set that could feed the cows with its rice portion?
It's been raining throughout the trip (april is rainy season) and I could not even see mount fuji. Perhaps it means I shall return to japan in future? This time to climb to the summit to see sunrise when the path uphill opens in the months of july and august only. Wore raincoat for quite a few days. Was in hakone - a moutain resort - where we forgotten our raincoat and I had to "take" one umbrella that was left in the toilet. A white, transparent umbrella that was a hip all over japan. Could be bought for 100 yen from the 100 yen shop (just like daiso).
So we had a change of our initial plan. Did not manage to go Yokohama. Because I was lazy to take any more train rides.
12-14 April - Tokyo
14-15 April - Overnight on bus to Kyoto
15-16 April - Kyoto (half day morning), Osaka, Kobe
16- 17 April - Overnight on bus to Tokyo (enroute to Hakone)
17-18 April - Hakone
18-21 April - Tokyo
Shall upload pictures when I get them ready in a week's time.
Total damages for the trip: S$350 only spent on shopping. Haha.
Labels: Japan 12-21 April 2008
|Melvin Ng| 12:10 pm|
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