Japan Nostalgia

Rain has always been my favourite weather. There's just something refreshing and soothing about it (until lightning strikes, that is). It's been raining these few days, and I keep remembering my two trips to Japan.

On the first trip with my cousins, it just kept raining, due to the typhoon. Then it also rained during the first half of my second trip with my mom. The rain there was the "renyai-renyai" type, my favourite type of rain :D

Moreover, my friend Sze is going to Japan today. Have a great trip, dude!

With all this, I just remembered something. During my second trip, I wrote a Japan travelogue. It was up-to-the-day updated (yea I blogged about the previous day, in Japan!), so feedback from my relatives, friends and even foreigners in forums welcomed the detailed writing. Unfortunately, I closed my previous blog, Level UP!, so the travelogue got eaten with it.

Encouraged by my relatives and friends who wanna read it again, I have brought it back! It took quite a while, but it was way worth the effort! Now in the sidebar, you can see all the 16 days of my Japan trip writing. At the bottom of each page, you can click on "Newer Post" and "Older Post" to browse day-by-day.

So ahbonk.net presents, the imported Japan Trip 2006 Travelogue! You can also click the following pose-of-the-day to access the pages:

Day Fif+Sixteen - Tokyo and Malaysia (NOOO!)

Drat, I'm back in Malaysia. Two weeks in Japan is really too short.

Sorry that I haven't been updating it, since I'm already into crazy work and all. Nevertheless, I still find time to update trip's last two days. Hope my memory is fresh enough to talk about it in detail.

Let's start with Day 15, which was last Saturday (22/4/2006).

We wanted to go to Tokyo University (known as Toudai in Japanese), the number one best university in Japan. Dzaid and I came here on the second last day we were in Tokyo, which is exactly what happened with this trip!



This is the side entrance of the University. It's a little backdoor. When I came here at first, I thought we took a big risk 2 years ago by simply going into the Toudai through here (what with the dodgy entrance and all), but Dzaid and I found out that visitors are welcomed.



The buildings in Toudai look similar to the ones in my mom's previous uni (UKM). Of course, the scenery and weather here is completely different.



We took a nice walk through the campus before reaching the main entrance. Quite few students though. Maybe because that day was a Saturday.



Ah finally some students. The campus area is very big, so riding a bicycle seems to be a good choice. But it's ok la, I just roll through.



Almost reaching the main entrance. You could tell because you could see a bunch of students walking through that doorway at the end. Ah, the intellectual atmosphere.



Earlier before this pic was taken, the students had some training with the fire extinguisher. Somemore got one guy shoot some water towards another student. So THAT's what they do here in Toudai.



Now I'm in the doorway. One more doorway to go through before reaching the main entrance.



And finally we reached the famous clock tower on the main street of Toudai. And this seemed like the place for my daily pose! Love Hina fans should be very familiar with this scene.



I really love the presence of the clock tower. It's like a symbol saying "You made it!". And there's quite a nice small park in front of the tower. How relaxing. Two groups having a picnic, then two boys playing ball. Darn, I wish I brought some onigiri from 7-Eleven to eat here.



And what is the clock tower without the A-Star students to appreciate its presence, right?



Quite a coincidence that a motorbike was parked at the back of the entrance, so a nice camera shot is in order.



If I were to study here instead of APIIT, I would be in this faculty...



...which is located right here!



It's spring, but there are dried leaves lying around. Cool.



And dried leaves look good on the ground, right?

We got hungry, and Mama belanja-ed me yet again! This time, she wanted to thank me for being the "best tour guide in the world".... uh... works for me! :D



So we came into this restaurant and bar. Most of the people are seated at the proper tables, since it's lunch time anyway.



It's like I'm in some medieval tavern, minus the vending machine where we ordered our food.



And this was my lunch! Omuraisu, or Omlette Rice. It's something like Nasi Pattaya, but the egg is softer and more... uh... melty-like. Truly delicious! Thanx, Mama!



My mom had some fish instead, a little on the western side (as usual). She said it was a little too salty, but overall it's quite tasty.

Next, we wanted to go to this temple, which is currently at the center of media attention. More on that later.

The only way to go there is obviously through the trains.



Osaka! Haha, only Azumanga Daioh fans would know this stupid joke.



The train station near the temple was actually quite canggih.



Just check out the way they distribute the flourescent lights. Felt like I was in the brain, looking at the neuron circuits.



This is the park outside the temple. Feels like Kyoto all over again (oh man, I miss Kyoto...)



And here we are! This is the super controversial Yasukuni Temple. This place honours 14 Japanese war criminals. The prime minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi frequently visits this temple, so countries like Korea and China protested that this temple is an indication that Japan still does not admit their horrid military past.

Well, like my mom said, one country's criminal is another country's hero. So we just leave it at that (I really dislike politics anyway).



Whenever there's a temple, there must be the O-torii! This one is not orange though.



The japan flag waving proudly in front of the temple.



Yup, security here is a little tad tighter than at the other temples. Must watch out for those pesky protestors who are willing to burn the temple down at any chance they get.

I didn't do much shopping, so my mom gave me some time alone to do it in Akihabara from 4pm (again, thanx Mama!) while she stayed in the hotel till night time (Sorry Mama). Actually dragged her along with me for shopping once (remember Shibuya's Mandarake?), she got bored... fast. So I dowanna make her go through that again.



Akihabara on a Saturday. Seriously super crowded!



Almost every street in Akihabara was like this! I really shopped on the wrong day, but it's not like as if I had a choice. I was here only for 5 days, after all.

I shopped like mad. Really mad. Imagine, only 5 hours till all shops are closed.

At around 8pm, I realised that I bought too much stuff. Had to buy a bag to contain 'em all!



So here's the bag. This is the first time I own a bag which has both a roller and the shoulder straps. Benri desu ne (Very convenient).



And my goods filled the bag to the rim!

And then, the dreaded day came, Day 16. I didn't sleep at all, coz I dowan the night to end! But the world goes around, and life goes on. I had to leave.

The flight back to Malaysia was at 10:30 am, so we had to wake up early (or rather, my mom had to wake up early). We left the hotel at around 6 am.



No one's awake yet. Bye bye everyone. Have fun in Japan. (wu... wu... wuaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!)



Tokyo at 6 am. Already very bright.



Bye bye Japanese railroad. Bye bye Japanese sky. Bye bye Japanese birds.

ok ok enough of being sentimental. Since there won't be many pictures taken on Day 16, I took the opportunity to teach you all how to buy a train ticket.



Easy onlyyyy. Just look at the map, then at the destination station, you could see the price of your ticket. Just press the value of the ticket like so...



...then put in your coins or the yen notes...



...then out comes the ticket and the change. Simple right?



The Japanese are very concerned about handicapped people. At the crossing, a song or tune will play if the light becomes green, so that blind people will know when they could cross (and the direction too). Also, there's braille writing on most of the elevators. Here, a textured trail helps a blind person to go to the train platform.



Then once the blind man feels the circles beneath the foot or using the walking stick, then it's time to stop. This trail will lead the blind person to the priority seats (seats for special people).

We had to change trains at Ueno station, where we could take a direct train to Narita airport.



One bag for my clothes, and one bag for my toys. What a drag (literally!).



My mom smiling at the camera, saying "haha I have to drag only one bag!".



I dunno why, but the Narita airport was really congested. This is just the line to the check-in counter, we were not even near it yet!



Some more, this is the line for only MAS flights!



And just look at the crowd going into the Departure Gate! Then I just found out that the security was very tight. People had to even take out their jackets and coats, and put it in the x-ray belt thingy.



It was like only yesterday that I took this kind of shot, but instead going towards the Narita Airport. That was 2 weeks ago. *sigh* Time travels so fast.



I wanted to get a taste of Japan just one more time! This was my brunch, Tempura Soba. It was average though. -_-"



On one of the TVs, there was the professor from Astro Boy teaching people to use condoms. Wow, kid shows nowadays.



I'm sure some of you Malaysian readers are laughing at the company name on the truck. To those who don't understand, don't ask. :D



And that's my flight. My first hint that Malaysia was near.



Bye bye Japan. See you again two years later... hopefully.



I didn't sleep the previous night, so I paid the Sleep God a visit from miles above ground.



And this is the last daily pose. I'm facing the camera this time coz I'm going back towards Malaysia. Cool concept eh? :D

And that ended my Japan trip! It was really fun, and I really saw the cultural and historical aspects of Japan this time. And not to mention the aesthetics part too! The cherry blossoms, as well as the cherry bosoms *wink* *wink*

Thanks for reading my travels in Japan. Appreciated all your comments, really made me realise that blogging about my travels LIVE from Japan was really worth it! Hope you continue coming into the blog to witness my journey towards my two ultimate missions in life: to be a great game designer, and to obtain Japan PR status!

ok I've been blogging too long already. It's time to continue work.

Day Fourteen - Tokyo

OMG, tomorrow I'm going back!! Damn it lah! I mean, sure I miss all my family and friends in Malaysia, but not Malaysia itself!

Man, I wish I had the money to bring all of you here, then get our visa approved to stay for a year... I'm sure many of you support this idea :D (eh I just realised that these sentences rhyme! hahaha) Then I better start blogging and get my ass into gear!



We were on our way to lunch, so we went to this Bandar-Utama-Centrepoint-like area. A lot of people ride bicycles here, coz you can tell by the dedicated white lane just for bicycles.



There are a whole lot of 'em parked in front of the complex. This is only one row of bicycles among six of them.



And we have reached the complex: the Lala Terrace of Minami Senju, which is 15 minutes away on foot from our hotel.



Mama wanted to belanja me makan because I've "been a good tour guide" (thank you, Mama!), so I chose this place. The 100 yen plate sushi shop (oh, plus 5 yen for tax)



Yup, it looks almost the same like the one in Kyoto...



...except that Kyoto does not have this touch screen menu. It's actually more than just a menu.



Once you're done with the plate of sushi, you put it down the slot like this...



...then it will increase the plate counter on the LCD by one. This is to ensure that you don't have a table full of pagoda plates while you eat. Then once you're done, you press this pink button, where the waiter will come to give the bill.



Oooooh yummy raw squid.



Seems like a normal salmon sushi...



...until you see the side! So darn thick! This was really satisfying!



This is another favourite of mine. The squids look so cute... but they are more delicious than they are cute :D



This is raw tuna with slightly raw egg. Never seen this before, but this is also tasty.



This is the recommended sushi, smoked tuna. I'm not really fond of tuna, but this one might convert me if I eat enough of it :D



And finally we have dessert. A humble cheesecake.



Every 5 plates, some sort of slot machine will start...



...if we win, we get one of these toys. There's even game balance in the slot machine. The more plates, the less symbols, so the more chance to get a prize. Too bad we were not so lucky. Maybe have to eat 100 plates, then only can get.



All in all, we ate 15 plates of sushi. Thanx again, Mama!



Oh man it's such a beautiful day. Better hurry to the next destination.

We took a train to Tokyo station to go to the Imperial Palace.



On the way there, I saw this advertisement. Now there's this software for the DS where you can translate some Japanese text (or choose some preset sentences) to another particular language, then you can show the phrase to the person who couldn't understand Japanese. Good for travelling.

You can also learn the language via this software as well. The languages available are Thai, Chinese, Korean, English and German. I hope that there will be a version for us english speakers as well.



ok sorry for that distraction. And here we are, at Tokyo station, which is the oldest station in Tokyo. As you can see, the station is still preserved in the original state (but inside there is completely modern la haha).



There were a few artists outside who were also admiring the old architecture.



There were many tall buildings around the station, a very rare scene for us Tokyo travellers (since we're normally around many shops that only have 10 floors max).



Came here with Dzaid two years ago, so I kinda know my way around. We had to choose between two paths to the Imperial Palace: a tar road or this bridge. Wasn't hard to decide :)



Crossing the bridge will get us here: a simple modern park. Wow, the sakura tree here is still blooming. It's already almost a month since the first day of the Tokyo bloom. Normally, the sakura bloom would only last 2 weeks. Our luck with the sakura is simply amazing.



I quite like the fountain at the background, which was spraying a mist of water rather than shooting jets of water like the one on the right.



If you see the park from the top, it looks like a fish. You should download Google Earth, then you'll know what I mean.



Flowers like these are beautiful, no matter whether they're surrounded by mountains or concrete tiles.



And this is the Imperial Palace AREA. This building is NOT the Imperial Palace. Can't take a picture of it, since I need special permission to get in. Whatever it is, this kind of old building surrounded by a gorgeous lake is good enough for me to take a nice photo.



Ah, the fusion of the old and the new.



The area of the Imperial Area is H-U-G-E and vast.



Told ya we can't go in.



You can see these trees growing throughout the area. These trees might not grow straight upwares, but the random arrangement and trunk shapes are beautiful. A garden fit for the emperor.



We had to walk down this path...



...to get to this beautiful bridge. This is the bridge to yet another entance to the Imperial Palace. How come we never visited this area before, Dzaid?



See, even this guy is amazed at its beauty.



Foreground item, background scenery, clear sky. The formulae to a good photo (good by my standards, of course).



We took another route back to the train station, so we had to go through this park. It's so nice to sit down here, read a book with the hot sun ray and the cool winds hitting your face. This is what the Chinese call "Damn song!" (the song here is not LAGU yea)



These people work hard to make sure that the grass is cut and the sands on the grass are fresh.



We stumbled upon MORE sakura trees in the park, so it's photo shoot time! Heeeeey, my mom looked cool here...



...I wanna look cool too! (Deja vu, anyone?)

Remember the time in Kyoto where I wanted to throw myself into a bed of flowers and sleep?



Well this is close enough (poor Sakura petals).



As we walked on, we saw this horse carriage on the way to the Imperial Palace. What a way to treat the VIP. I felt a sudden urge to hijack the carriage just like in some anime (i.e. Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X), but I resisted it eventually.



(if )ians already know about this contraption. In fact, I showed them a demo of how to use it two years ago, and here I am again.

It is a big display utitlizing many LED lights to show graphics. Moreover, the display will respond to any movement close to the screen (just be close, don't need to touch it), so there were some cool mini-applications that demonstrate the interactivity of this piece.

I will show the full video in this blog when I get back to Malaysia.



Of course, the floor tiles must also be cool-looking as well.

We took a train from the Tokyo station to our next destination...



...Shibuya, the youth district! This is the famous Shibuya crossing, where around a hundred people will cross at any allowed time! A very busy street, I'm telling you!



This is the pose of the day. Blocked by a few people, but this is Shibuya after all.



Oh darn, I almost missed the dinosaur! This is the dinosaur that Scarlet Johanssen saw in "Lost in Translation". This is one heck of a big projection, which is also what Shibuya is famous for.



Shibuya is full of young people (and one senior malay lady :D)



OK! I WILL!



Since this is the youth district, english songs are played everywhere we go. This is one little sad part of Japan's youth culture, being heavily affected by the west.



Remember this place, Dzaid and Dina? When we first came here two years ago, we bought our onigiri here...



...then we sat here and ate our lunch. How nostalgic.



This is also the famous shopping complex of the district, the Shibuya 109. If I took the picture of the complex in the center, you can see it forking the road into two, similar to the famous Time Square scene in New York.



Dzaid and I came to Shibuya for one reason: to go to Mandarake, which sells almost any type of merchandise for anime, game and manga fans alike! Sorry, Mama, for dragging you to a place like this.

After that, we took a train to the next station...



I saw this poster on the way there. Spongebob the Movie. hahahahhahahah so funny. Keep remembering the stupid scenes from the movie (MY EYES!).



And this is Ikebukuro! Dzaid studied his Japanese here around 4 years ago when he was doing the homestay thingy.



My mom wanted to try some Sakura-related food, so there's only one place that I could think of: Sakura Cafe.



This cafe is dedicated to Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars), a Sega lineup of games and anime (originally a Sega Saturn game). The girl on the right is Shinguji Sakura, a typical kimono-clad beautiful lady. Haha that's clumsy Erica on the left.



And here are some plush dolls sitting in the souvenir shop. After this shot, I was sounded by the waitress that I couldn't take pictures here. Whoops, really forgot about that.

Well let's leave it to your imagination, shall we? We ate three small cute scoops of Sakura-flavoured ice cream, with preserved Sakura petals on top. I liked it, while my mom said it was ok, coz she prefers creamy ice cream while I like fruity ice cream. To sum it up, my mom likes Haagen Daz while I like Baskin Robbins.



For our dinner, we ate at McDonalds in Ikebukuro.



The McValue set here comes with these selection of drinks. So lucky lah the Japanese. I don't like fizzy drinks, so I hate Malaysian McDonald's selection of just fizzy drinks with the set. Bleh :P



I got as clumsy as Erica and spilled the orange juice on the table. When I informed the waitress to just clean the table up, she got me another fresh drink of the same size! Ahh, Japanese customer service. Never fails me.

And for the last picture of the day...



hahaha so lame! Didn't know McDonalds here caught up with the Da Vinci Code fever too!

Today will be the last full day I'm in Japan. Our flight back to Malaysia will be quite early tomorrow, so I won't be able to update my blog early in the morning. You gotta wait for me late at night, where I will update two days' entries at once.

Tomorrow is a sad, sad day. I gotta utilize the day today as much as possible.

So off I go to buy a bunch of stuff... See ya!

Day Thirteen - Tokyo

What?! Day 13 already?! And today is Day 14, wuuu wuu wuuuuu~ I'm leaving from Tokyo the day after tomorrow. Time travels so fast. Too fast, actually.

Well anyway, we left quite late yesterday because of the foul weather and also the long blogging session -_-" So today I woke up at 7:30 am and write my blog to make up for the lost time yesterday.

Enough of useless details, let's see what happened yesterday:



Yesterday we went to Tokyo Tower. As you can see, Tokyo Tower is quite close to Roppongi, which was the artsy place that we visited the day before.



This building bears no significance whatsoever, but the reflection does.



And there it is, the Tokyo Tower! It's mainly used as a communications tower. The middle of the tower emits radio transmissions whereas near the top emits television tranmissions.



There's a church near the tower, and there was this Japanese girl practicing her choir singing skills on the street! Japanese girls already have high-pitched voices, so you can imagine how high the pitch of her voice can go, especially if you sing for the church choir.



OK sorry, back to the tower. It's painted orange not only because of it's the colour of traditional shrines, but also because it was enforced by some aeronautical law so that oncoming planes could see the tower clearly. After all, it IS 333 meters high.



Yup it looks like an orange Eiffel Tower. Tokyo tower is taller (Eiffel Tower - 320 m) and also lighter (according to the brochure).



We took the lift to the 150m high observatory...



...to see this beautiful bird eye's view of Tokyo city!



Of course you can see Tokyo city from all angles, so these signs help to indicate the direction of the view.



Look at all those buildings! I like this view coz it's not obstructed by tall buildings, so I could see how packed up the buildings are just to save space.



Yup, that's the rainbow bridge that we have visited the day before.



There are also landmark indicators like this one. Again, there was a slight mist, so no Fuji-san for us. *grrrr* Why is that mountain so elusive? Purposely run away when we see it... drat.



Whoa, I felt like as if Tokyo is my creation, and was in the middle of admiring it.



Hey, why cannot see anything wan?! (Yup this is another sooooorrr haaaaai pose)



There is also a touch screen kiosk to show which buildings are what.



As you know, Japan is well-known for vending machines that just sells anything under the sun. Here, we have the makeshift camera and film roll dispenser.



Here's a nifty gift for those who visits the Tokyo Tower. First, you put in money...



...then it will dispense this gold coin.



After that, you pay another 50 yen and place your coin in the designated area...



...type in your name, then press Start...



...press the button to push the coin up...



...and voila! Your name is stamped on the coin! My mom didn't put the coin upright in the slot, so the name come out senget a bit, nyeh hahaha.



This is as close as I can get to overcoming my fear of heights.



Wooooooo~ Scarrryyyyyyy~



When we got back down to the first floor, there was already a crowd of students entering the tower. Thank god we didn't join the crowd.



Before we departed, we bought some crepe. Unfortunately, this is one of the yuckiest thing that I've eated in Japan so far. Too much whipped cream and the crepe was not hot at all. Bleh :P



My mom definitely agrees with me. Our stomach was so full of whipped cream... ugh... I get sick just thinking about it.



It's time to say goodbye to our tall orange friend.

We had to take the JR train to the next destination (there was the subway nearby, but we have Japan Rail Pass, so why waste it?).



During this trip, I'm always amazed at the artistry of the plastic food items. They look so real. My friend's friend is in this business of making plastic foods and I'm telling you, it's a big business!



I could just lie and tell you that I ate this for lunch!



Just look at the texture of the plastic meat! Simply astounding.



There was also this kiosk where you could clean your glasses for free. That man is putting his glasses into a compartment where air blows very fast.

Our next destination is the Sony Building! We took the entrance from the train station (and we didn't go out of the building into the streets), so I didn't take picture of the entrance. Damn, I forgot.



When we were climbing the stairs, every step that we made produces a sound. So if you climb up, you can hear the do-re-mi tones, with the last do produced on the last step.



As I thought (thanks to my years in (if )), there were infrared sensors on every step.



I dunno why this M5 is in the Sony showroom, but it sure looks cool (and in my favourite car colour too!).



This is the latest Sony walkman. Very slick. Trying to fight with the iPod, I guess.



Ooooh, a pink Vaio. Want me to buy this for you, Nyin? In your dreams!



Small MP3 players arranged nicely. I saw this in the Vaio shop in Berjaya Times Square.



I dunno what is this Owner-made business, but I'm sure that makes Vaio owners feel at home (including me, although it's the company laptop).



Wow, another Vaio PC. Damn it, I want one!



This looks like a more advanced version of the Blu-ray disc player that I saw two years ago.



This is the next generation of disc, CD, then DVD, then Blu-ray Disc. Dzaid would know the details, but all I know is that it has the space capacity of a modern hard disk! Playstation 3 games would also be on Blu-ray Disc. Supposedly, it's has some anti-piracy lock (although I won't be surprised that it'll be hacked a few weeks after release).



Sony's photo printer. So cute.



This is Sony's electronic dictionary. You can also read e-books on it. Very small, unlike its price.



And this is the big Sony PDA. It's like a very thin version of a tablet PC, so you can use it on the train while standing to do your work, plan the schedule ahead or read e-books.



And check this out, a Vaio lab. *droooool* :P~~~~~



The toilet in the Sony Building is, of course, very advanced. This is also what Japan is famous for. Here, we have the arm of the toilet seat. Those two blue buttons shoot out a fast jet of water to your ass.

Just now in the hotel, a British guy told me about his experience with the seat. He thought that the buttons were for flushing the toilet, so when he found out he was wrong, he went like "ooooooohh what a nice feeling". That statement is so funny... and kinda gross.



Here we have the advanced sink. To wash your hands...



...simply hover your hand below the soap tap (the soap is already lathered!)...



...and hover your hand below the water tap to wash the soap off...



...then dry your hands in this cool-looking hand dryer.



You thought that I would forget to do the pose of the day? Never!

My mom went back early, while I go to Akihabara to do some shopping (and playing too!)



Anime and games are widely celebrated here in Japan, so advertisements on them are everywhere! Galaxy Angel II is coming out, with brand new characters, including the main character Apricot Sakuraba, Milfunne's sister.



I had my dinner at Yoshinoya. This is super delicious! A mini sukiyaki. Darn, if only they had this in Malaysia. Pouring the egg into the sukiyaki did the trick. Sweet! (literally and figuratively)

Alright that's all. Since our JR pass expires tomorrow, we will take the Yamanote line to the popular districts today. Mata ashita.

Day Twelve - Tokyo (Part 2)

Onwards to Part 2, which is to the Fuji Television building itself!



We climbed the staircase since the escalator was not working *grumble* *grumble*. I'm so proud of my mom, at 60 (whoops shouldn't say that) and still can climb this many stairs!



Another view of the big ball of the building. It actually houses an observatory deck, where you can see the whole Tokyo from there. We wanna do that, but elsewhere, not here.



The mascot of Fuji Television. He always like to tilt his head, I dunno why.



The admission to the Studio Promenade is free, so we took the escalator down to enter it.



Ooh, a studio is open. I wonder what they're shooting now...



...the Hazmer, Mama and Kawaii Girl show! (ok ok I dunno her name)



This is the girl who took our picture earlier. The way she stares out the window is so elegant. Ok guys, pay up!



I don't even wanna know what this is.



This is a picture that we took in Kyoto a week ago... Just kidding! This is a mini-model that they use to shoot a funny sketch film. They will take a close-up shot of the buildings or alleys, then they super-impose the live action actors on it.



This is me announcing a major disaster. In Chinese, we call this kind of face the "Soorrr Haaaiii" face.



A shot of their studio. When you walk through the promenade, if you're lucky enough, you can get a glimpse of a Fuji show live.



Well well, more Chibi Maruko!



Hai, sensei!



Outside the promenade, there's some filming on some exercise session. The front is an aqua (oh man [pun not intended]) with girls following his lead.



And we say goodbye to Fuji Television station.

My mom wanted to buy something electronic for a friend, so we went off to (where else?!) Akihabara, the Electric Town of Tokyo.



Remember yesterday I mentioned that there are free English small lessons in the train? Well, here it is, explaining the difference between LATE and LATELY.



We did some shopping, then after that, I come to my favourite place to eat in Akihabara, Matsuya. Dzaid and I ate here 2 years ago countless number of times.



Here, you choose the food and order through the vending machine. The vending machine will issue a ticket indicating the food that you ordered.



Then you go to any seat...



...and present the ticket to the waiter. He will then give some water, salad and miso soup while they go cook up the meal.



And this is my meal! Ah, I SO miss this! This is Beef Karbi Rice set. The meat is freshly grilled, so it's very juicy and crisp at the same time. Man, I'm getting hungry even looking at this pic!



Well, the salad goes to my mom, of course.

We wanted some snack to eat at our next destination, so we entered this bakery. The staple food in Japan is rice, but bread is getting more and more popular. There's even a famous stupid and funny anime called Yakitate! Japan that features the various bread-making techniques.



This is one of the most famous bread in Japan, the Melon bread. Very sweet and tasty.



Just look at the array of breads...



...with their various shapes and sizes.



This is the other famous bread in Japan, curry bread. Here, it's in a shape of a doughnut (hmm but where's the center hole?)



On the way to our next destination, we saw this ad. Hey look, BM! Oh damn... Malaysia is looming over the horizon...



A guy playing the Gameboy Advanced SP in the train.



This ad is simple but creative. The white lines show the potential that Microsoft sees in your business. The tagline of this ad is "Your potential, our passion".



Another simple ad of the same concept.



Welcome to Roppongi Hill! This is a dedicated area where the elites and the artists express themselves. A very artsy area.



This is the Mori Tower, an office building in Roppongi.



From the hill, you can get a good view of the city. Lighted up is the Tokyo Tower, which we will visit today.



"The tokyo tower is within the palms of my hands." - Mama.



To make this place appear more elite, a lot of frameless glass windows were used on almost all buildings here.



Here, I'm having my melon bread and curry doughnut that I bought earlier.



Oooh Da Vinci Code museum, in conjunction with the upcoming movie of the same name. Too bad for my mom that it's coming soon.



Check out the Louis Vuitton shop.



Upon closer look, it's just a bunch of coloured glass. Very artsy.



Even the signboards here have better design than elsewhere.



The Mori Tower as seen through the rooftop of a shopping complex.



This is one way of putting ALL the floor maps of a shopping complex in one display.



Oh how nostalgic. I was here 2 years ago, amazed at big display of numbers indicating the time, temperature and other info. Still amazed by it, of coz!



From the shadow alone, you know that that's my mom.



This place has its own identity. See the six circles in the logo? The arrangement is so consistent that even if you take out all the lines, people will know that this is the Roppongi Hills logo...



...as clearly shown in this example.



Even some buildings surrounding it bear the same six circles in the same arrangement.



Alright that's enough for the night. It's time to go back to the hotel.

Ah so many pictures! Been wasting time blogging, it's time to head out! Mata ne!

Day Twelve - Tokyo (Part 1)

Wow yesterday I took damn a lot of pictures! Around 200+ of them! It was a big task to shortlist the pictures to just 80 of them. Even so, for this entry, I had to break it up to 2 parts. Wouldn't want to stress your Internet connection through my little humble blog :D



I planned to take my mom to the Fuji Television Station in Tokyo Bay area, which I went 2 years ago, so we had to travel by the JR train.



Thank god I memorized some of the famous station names in Kanji, or else we would be in quite pinch!



The train that we're taking is on the Yamanote Line. Travellers to Tokyo cannot avoid this train line, since it circles into the major areas of Tokyo.



After that, we had to change trains to something similar to the LRT back home.



This is the driver of the train, checking whether all the passengers have safely boarded. (ok ok it's an unmanned train haha)



This is the famous rainbow bridge in Japan.



Very similar to the San Francisco bridge, but still very beautiful.



The cool thing about this train is that it runs through the bridge!



Road vehicles go through the bridge beside us, while we travel the middle. Neat!



That's the famous big ferris wheel in Tokyo, similar to the one in Yokohama, for those who have visited Yokohama before.



And finally we arrived at the Fuji Television station! The fusion of straight blocks and the center big ball in the middle amazes me till this very day. Heyyyyy my mom looks cool here...



...I wanna look cool too!



And this is the pose of the day. Had to wait for that train to pass us, but it was worth the wait!



I just noticed that I like to merge one foreground item with the background scenery. Looks cooler, I guess.



There's a beach in front of the television station where you can have a nice view of the bridge with cool bay winds.



What big anchors! I wonder how big the ship is!



We sat on the beach to eat our lunch, with the combined front-and-back view of the television station and the bridge.



This is the first half of my lunch, Soba bread, or as hoshi-chan likes to call it, the mi goreng bread! Suddenly sounds so... mamak-ish. But this bread is delicious! Now that I think about it, putting Indomee in bread should be tasty as well. I'll try that once I go back home.



And this is the second half of my lunch. The salmon sashimi onigiri. Yup, looks like an oversized salmon sushi. Tastes ok, but not that fresh, since I bought it at the convenience store...



...but with this kind of view, whatever salmon also will taste fresh!



There were some birds hanging out near our lunch area, looking for a quick pinch of bread. My mom was generous enough to give some bits and pieces of her sandwiches.



My favourite shot of the day (and it's shot by my mom!). The proper title of this picture shall be "My mission to stay in Japan". :D



OK lah Mama, you also can have a nice similar shot.



Tourists could ride this cool-looking boat around the area, but we've seen enough rivers and lakes to last a lifetime.



There is a shopping center near the Fuji Television Station, so we walked around a bit to just check it out.



Wow, Star Trek fans (or trekkies, as they call it), rejoice! Now you can teleport to other places using the Tokyo Teleport Station. :D



This is the Sony Style shop in the shopping complex. Dzaid and I visited this shop two years ago, but of course in this kind of shop, things change frequently!



Just check out these dazzling mobile phones! I wish I could buy one and use it in Malaysia. Too bad the system is not the same :( The designs look so cool and slick. Darn.



I'm not really in touch with the PC world, but this is the first time I've seen a Vaio Personal Computer.



The living room areas in the shop are quite cozy. You know why this couple is looking elsewhere? Coz on the other TV is Kung Fu Hustle! That movie can attract ANYONE's attention!



Ah, the PSP. Ok... moving on...



I am not an (if )ian if I don't visit this place. It's the science exhibition of Sony! Too bad I can't take pictures of the exhibits...



or else you could see the Sony Data Tiles in action! Really cool stuff. You can check out a demo of the exhibit @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmD8EKWxD4M&search=sony%20data%20tiles.

Don't worry, (if )ians, will let you guys know the details of the exhibits when I get home (if I'm not too busy at that time -_-")



This is the statue outside the Fuji Television Station. My mom was happy to see this, coz there's a proper woman statue, whereas the man is represented by a huge stone blob. Shows how useless we are. haha.



Some manga (Japanese comics) lovers might be familiar with that building on the left. Every so often (dunno how often) there will be an exhibition where amateurs can set up a booth and sell out their manga creations. There will also be professional studios looking out for new talents as well. Those who watched the anime "Comic Party" should know about this building, at least.

Day Eleven - Tokyo (with a little bit of Kyoto)

Ohayou from Tokyo! It's a nice weather here in Tokyo, not so cold (good for my mom), so I wouldn't want to waste too much time blogging. So let's get on with what happened yesterday!



Had to wake up early in the morning to redeem for our mistake of not visiting Ginkakuji early the day before.



Ohayou Kyoto~ *yawn*



We reached the Ginkakuji quite early, so we decided to walk around for awhile.



Most of the souvenir shops are still closed. We only see kids in their uniforms going to their schools.



We arrived at around 7:50 am, but the temple only opens at 8:30 am. So wanna have breakfast first.



Of course, the location of the breakfast is as important as breakfast itself.



Cleaning up before visitors arrive.



And then we're in! This is the entranceway in Ginkakuji.



Wow, looks like as if we're on the moon or something.



And there it is, Ginkakuji (Silver Pavillion)! It's not really made of silver, because it is just compared to Kinkakuji (Gold Pavillion), which is really made of gold. Too bad we had no time to go there.



Let's take out the lake and put in some greens.



The garden around the Ginkakuji is very beautiful, that's why it's rated higher in a lot of travel websites compared to Kinkakuji.



Look at all the yen coins thrown here. Now the river can pack up and go on her own vacation.



There are moss building up at the foot of the hills here. Collected here are "Very Important Moss (like VIP)". Urm, okay.



Don't you just love Japanese gardens? This is definitely worth waking up early!



We took some steps to go up a small little hill...



...where we can have a sorta top view of the Ginkakuji.



More straight upward trees! Maybe the sun in Japan is always straight up?



Ginkakuji is one o-l-d temple. It's a world heritage, so it had to be preserved, despite it being modest looking.



The ugliest bridge in Japan. :D



Whoa, more people are coming, and we have to hurry to Tokyo too. Better get going.



I know this joke is getting old, but BIRDIE what the hell are you doing here?!

We packed our bags hurrily. Luckily, Nagano-san was there to send us off.



Since we're of the same age, it was easy to chat with him. He was also fun-loving, friendly and yes, he can speak good English. Every night, we just chat and chat and chat until he had to sleep at 12 midnight. Thanks for guiding us and making our stay an enjoyable one!



Off we go to Tokyo! Sayonara, Nagano-san. Iroiro arigatougozaimasu!

We took the seats on the Fuji mountain side, but unfortunately there was a huge blanket of mist covering most of the mountains. Oh well, better luck next time.



Before the checkpoint of Mount Fuji, I slept like hell, to catch up with the lack of sleep last night.



The conductor of the train. There was this old man who mistakenly sat in a reserved car seat. So the conductor was very nice to check whether the seat is taken (through the PDA, of course!). It wasn't taken, so the conductor reserved for the old man, and the old man paid him on the spot. Ah, convenience.



And we're here, in Tokyo!



Yup, this is Tokyo all right, full of people waiting for the next train. The train comes every 4 minutes, and there's still this much crowd!



From this picture, you can already feel Tokyo.



Heh heh for you guys. Thank me, people! It took quite a while to take this picture without her noticing!



To get to our hotel, we have to go to Ueno. Things have changed since I came here 2 years ago, isn't that right, Dzaid? Now they have a bridge where you can cross to Ueno Park and also the subways.



Last time we had to cross streets and what not to get to the subway. Now we walk above the streets instead!



Dzaid should remember this tunnel. This is the long tunnel that connects the JR station (above the ground trains) and the Hibiya Line subway.



And the pose of the day! Very different this time... no trees, no bridges, no rivers.



Yum yum, Tokyo spaghetti.



Now the government is really pressing their people to learn English. There were LCDs in the train that taught the people the difference between LATE and LATELY. Here's an advertisement for a language center that tells people that BAT and BUT are both pronounced BATTO, so which one should they use? Hey, how come they missed BUTT?



A school boy telling his girlfriend that he misses her so much (haha, just kidding).

And we arrived in our hotel, Hotel New Koyo. I came here 2 years ago, and I was satisfied with the place, so here I am again! It was awarded "The Cheapest Hotel to stay in Tokyo" by Lonely Planet, and it's really worth it! Go to http://www.newkoyo.jp if you ever come to Tokyo.



And this is the room. As you can see, it's not very wide but it's sufficient. It IS cheap, after all.



On the left is the room that Dzaid and I stayed 2 years ago.

My mom said that she's already very tired. But I'm all pumped up! So I went to Tokyo last night by myself.



Ah, Tokyo is so peaceful at night...



...unless you come to Akihabara! The electric city of Tokyo! Here, you can buy electronic stuff, play in the arcades and buy all the games, anime and figures to your heart's content (or should I say your wallet's content).



Before I came to Akihabara, I had to take the subway. This is my favourite shot of the day, coz there was also a train beside us, which is packed full of people. Oh what a coincidence, didn't see that lady there ;)



It was night time, but a lot of people were still sprawling into Akihabara.



I've never seen this game shop before when I last came to Akihabara, so I went in to take a look.



Some guys trying out the latest game. Here, they must PAY the full sum for original games, so they must try it out first to see whether it's worth it. Maybe I should tell them about Sungei Wang.



Oooh, Nintendo DS. Lee Ling, I hope you're taking care of my DS properly!



I went to the anime floor, and there were a bunch of posters on the floor. Yay, the second season of one of the funniest anime I've ever seen is now airing in Japan! Eh wait a minute, I can't see my favourite character!



Ah, that's better.



Outside some electronic stores, you can see an announcer with a microphone, shouting out the latest promotions like some vegetable seller in the pasar malam.



The last time I came here, I always went to Sega World to play arcade games. Sadly, it seems that the games there are not the latest ones (unless it's a Sega game, duh). Then I stumbled upon this place. Seems that this place is big! And the games from all sorts of companies and genres are brand new!



The new Bishi Bashi! Now you can play it online! When you play, you will seemlessly fight with others playing the same arcade game in another location! How cool is that!



This is the new Gundam card simulator. You buy Gundam cards bearing the Gundam mechs and lay them out on the game field. The machine will then read the card and transfer those locations to the game accordingly. Once you win, you get another Gundam card. Gundam fans, rejoice!



Whoa, Mario Kart arcade!



New gun game from Namco, Cobra the Arcade. It's very similar to Time Crisis (with the pedal to hide and all), but you drag the gun and target as many as possible before shooting, just like Zone of the Enders or Afterburner.



And this game is quite cool! The Idolmaster. You purchase a card where you can store the girl idols that you manage....



...then you have to train them using many mini-games to bring them to fandom! You can see your own idol singing on the stage, acting cute and all. One of the mini-games involve you focusing your camera on your idols so that you can get the perfect angled shot. Then your shot will be rated, in which it will affect your idol's image. Woo~ I so wanna try this (too bad I can't use the card in Malaysia)



Haha hoshi-chan, I have the feeling you'll like this poster.



Wow, Chibi Maruko chan has gone live action!

When I arrived in the hotel, I switched on the TV to catch up on the craziest variety shows available in Japan.



One of them is called Love Katsu, where the show attempts to matchmake five school guys and five school girls. The above shows their 3-minute date session. Later, a guy can ask one of the girls out and walk around the school, then finally give a confession letter. Too bad I'll know the results only next week.



This is another stupid stupid show. Four chefs have to cook some meal, then girls will wear some heat sensor bandanna thingy to detect how hot their body is after eating their meal. If the heat level goes to the maximum, then the girl has to kiss the chef. HOWEVER, there's also one gay guy among the girls, so if his level goes max first, then he has to kiss the chef!



This chef wasn't so lucky.



And here we have a talk show, where the chimp is the host! He will move his body and mouth, while a hidden person provides the voice. The whole show is like this, interviewing people and all, just like Jay Leno and David Letterman!



I'm updating my blog now in the hotel. There was this french guy sitting besides me pen drawing a statue of buddha. Really beautiful.

Alright that's all for yesterday! Today I try to avoid all the electronic stuff for my mom's sake and go to more scenic places.

Ja ne!

Day Ten - Kyoto

Well, today we PLANNED to go to the three major tourist areas of Kyoto: Arashiyama, Golden Pavillion (Kinkakuji) and the Silver Pavillion (Ginkakuji). Later you'll know why the word PLANNED is capitalized.

Before that...



...we haven't visited the nearest shrine to our guest house! This is the Higashi-Honganji Temple.



As you can see, it's between our guest house and the kyoto tower. Everyday we walk past it, and today's the first time we're visiting it!



Looks like we're not the only ones who decided to pay a visit.



A big part of the temple is actually being restored under that big grey factory-like building.

We had to take a bus to our first stop, Arashiyama.



Oh my god, look at the line!



Thank god that was not the line that we were gonna join :D



Yay, rail crossing again!



Wow a pink train. Nyin's favourite.



Finally, we have reached Arashiyama! Nothing like a river and a bunch of mountains to beautify my photographs.



This guy was really very good. He really controlled the strokes well to give those Sakura's a little pink slur into the distance. Oooh, Hazmer the art critic. This is all (if )'s fault!



A bunch of students enjoying the scenery. Well, we have already seen a few rivers, so it's off to the heart of Arashiyama.



But first, a little shopping! Here's a beautiful pair of Japanese sandals (or Geta, as the Japanese call it)



This is actually quite cute. Each coaster (yes, they're coasters!) consists of a different board game, with small little game pieces pinned into the holes given.



And this is even cuter! My mom got curious and tried to feel the fur, only to be shocked at the loud "meow meow" that was triggered by her touch. So funny!



Seriously I reely dunno what this is, but it looks fascinating enough.



Uh oh, Mama in a traditional craft shop. This is gonna take a while.



Look at the nicely designed handkerchiefs. Who in the world would want to blow their yucky nose crap on these beautiful things?



After we got out of the shop, we noticed that people also travel via rickshaws. It involves manual labour, so it's really expensive! I saw a customer coming up with 6,000 yen to pay the guy (that's 200 ringgit!). I should apply for this job. Seems like it pays well.



Wow nice umbrella. Comes with a nice price too. (18,900 yen = RM 605!)



I noticed that there are several souvenirs that is related to the owl. I asked Nagano-san about its significance to Japanese culture, he said "uuhh I dunno". Another french guest also mentioned that in France there are also many owl-ish souvenirs, but she also doesn't know its signifance in France. I conclude that the owl is chosen because it's cool-looking :P

Once we're done with the shops, we walked further and reached the most beautiful place in Arashiyama, the bamboo jungle!



And that's the theme of my daily pose today!



Ah it feels like I'm in old Japan, travelling through the bamboos towards the river to get some water for my family. Once I feel tired, I rest for awhile, swiping sweat from my forehead and looking towards the sun. *slap* Wake up, dude!



There was a cemetry near the bamboo jungle. Man, when the time comes, i wish my spirit would rest here to enjoy the view!



I really wonder how the bamboos grow so upward. The bamboos in Malaysia seem to grow in every angle possible.



A loving couple strolling between the bamboos. Oh yea, and my mom.



The only problem with this walk is that cars are also allowed to enter! And you know how narrow Japanese roads are! Every 5 or so minutes, we had to give way to cars to go through. Grrr... so annoying!



Again, thank god for the Kyoto Walk Guide Map, or else we could really get lost here! (Yea, as if the signboards in Kanji or chinese characters helped a lot!)

We stumbled upon a rest area that houses a restaurant that serves cheap food!



So I ordered Kitsune (fox) udon. It's called Kitsune udon because that square piece floating in the soup (ok ok I already ate a little, I was too hungry!) is usually cut into 2 triangles, which then look like fox ears. The kitsune bit is actually sweet tofu. This one, Sushi King oso got lah, hahaha.



My stomach was really grumbling, so the food to the tummy made me really happy!



My mom bought a bag of roasted chestnuts. Too bad I couldn't have this. Stupid gout.



It seems that this rest area is actually the station for the romantic train. Yes you heard me, the romantic train. It's called that because the train travels beside a beautiful lake. But with the amount of people sitting in one carriage, I can hardly think of it as being anything romantic.



There were also snacks sold in the rest area, but my mom was not particularly interested in them.

After the lunch, we pressed on to see what other scenery that Arashiyama has to offer. We walked through the Japanese residential area of Arashiyama.



Seriously, they take good care of their garden!



Wow a fruit tree. That's a sign that spring has started.



Just check out this map. A few lines, with names to tag the roads. Nice and simple.



I dunno why, but I'm just attracted to traffic lights and this kind of mirrors, especially when it comes to taking pictures with a beautiful scenery at the back of them. Can't explain why.

Half way through, we entered this shop that had many neat animal-related earthenware.



I *intentionally* arched my tummy forwards to be similar to the tanuki (raccoon dog). Really wan!



Haha these frogs look like they're singing.



Shhh, the wise frog speaks.



This is quite well-crafted. Actually it's one block of earthenware, but with the appropriate contours and lines, you can see the legs, ears and face.



We stumbled upon a shop that sells bamboo-made crafts. My mom was immediately serve green tea in this bamboo cup! Wanted to buy it, if only the price was not too expensive (1,200 yen = RM 40).



I love these figures! They wittedly use the curve of the bamboo parts and make it look like a girl's body. Nice!

In fact, I bought the middle girl (for myself, sorry people :P). Smaller and the least expensive of the three.



So.... so... puh-reety.



As usual, I like to take shots of the flowers together with the mountains :D Let me know if this is getting too old.



On the way back to the bus stop, we saw this bamboo factory, where they prepare those bamboos for other shops to create more new bamboo-like crafts.



Oh this time the rail crossing involves only those who walk. So this is a different type of rail crossing ok!



It's the romantic train!

We took the next bus to Ginkakuji. Once we arrived at the destination, we saw this:



Cool, and the logo of the shop is really a flower! Oh man, this reminds me of Malaysia. I dowanna go baaaaaaaaaack! waaaaaa~!

The following scenes were captured on the way to the Ginkakuji:







And guess what? We arrived at the temple at 5:15 pm, and it closes at 5 pm! AARRRGHHHH!! Our last full day in Kyoto! To be honest, I was totally disappointed and I wasn't in a good mood for the following 3 hours!

Then I found out, I haven't had my dinner yet. :D

So my mom and I have decided to wake up super early tomorrow before our tokyo trip to see the Ginkakuji. We have to sacrifice seeing the Kinkakuji, which I will see on my second trip to Kyoto ;)

Since we had a lot of time left, we decided to go to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.











And we say goodbye to Kyoto's sunset.

Oh no! Battery is running out! Better submit this blog fast!

See you in Tokyo, everyone!

Day Nine - Kyoto

OK I have to update my blog fast, coz today's the let's-visit-all-the-popular-locations-in-one-go day. So I'm in a hurry now, so excuse my commentaries if they seem... uh... short.

Yesterday the weather was good and sunny...



...fully approved by my mom, of course!

I heard that the Nintendo's first HQ is in Uji, so we headed down there. I actually just wanted to go there and take a picture and that's it!, but we just found out that only the factory was there. We had to go somewhere else to see the HQ.

Oh well, since we're here, might as well walk around.



I dunno what the heck this is, but it looked cool anyways.



Check out my mom's pose. Looks like one of those Micheal Jackson spin dance moves.



My mom wanted to buy some scroll paintings. Just as we were talking about it, out popped a Japanese painting shop! To my mom's dismay, as you can see here, the scrolls usually cost 38,000 yen. That's about 1,300 ringgit! Eh, it's nice, but it ain't worth that much, especially for me.



There were various scroll paintings for sale, but all too expensive.



At least this cat is affordable enough!



This is a very nicely decorated shop, with a few surprises hanging here and there.



I actually didn't want to go in, but I... couldn't... resist... the cat's... invitation. Nya~ nya~.



This is my and my mom's favourite painting. Such simple lines, yet depicts something so strong and passionate.



Uji has a lot of shops selling green tea, coz green tea leaves in Japan were first planted here in Uji! We bought some green tea sachets and I bought some green tea cookies. (if ) is gonna have some brand new snacks!



Yup, there's even green tea ice cream.



Practically, you can merge whatever food item with green tea, as this menu suggests!



This is one of the World Heritage temples in Kyoto, called the Byodoin temple. But have to pay lah, and my mom wants more variety in her travels, not just temples after shrines after temples after shrines. We're gonna visit the two most famous temples today anyway!



This is the park in Uji. Very peaceful place. I bet there's a river beyond these steps, it just looks like that kind of place.



Up we go...



hah! I knew it! A river!



Isn't this the life you've always wanted?



This guy seems to be looking for a quick meal.



A boat sailing through the Uji river. And where there's a river as beautiful as this, there's a beautiful arch bridge that goes with it.



And yes, the daily pose! This time, it comes with a river and a bridge! Yatta!



Japan just love to make walkways with trees lined up so nicely like this. In anime, sometimes love confessions are made in this kind of place (but of course, it also normally fails due to some nicely timed distraction).



Woooh, I could stay here all day!



My god, what did you feed him, dude?!



Oh, another bridge, orange this time. This is near the boat rental place.



And this is the view from above the bridge.



Heh heh I love this picture... The composition of the Sakura blossoms, the pagoda, the mountain and the clouds... oh wait a minute... the weather doesn't look good.

Man, were we distracted or what! According to the information center in Uji, we had to go to Tokufuji train station to find the Nintendo HQ. Then the train counter lady mentioned that the HQ is actually near another station!

Once we reached the station, we went out into the unknown. No tourists were in sight, obviously.



Always wanted to take a picture of the rail crossing from the pedestrian's perspective. Again, becoz I saw it in anime and drama.



Dunno why, but it reminded me of a scene from Initial D the Movie. Luckily Jay Chow was not in sight.



Finally found it! Although reconstructed, this is where one of Nintendo's oldest office was built.



ok ok must show proof that I'm here.



Yea check out the year on the plaque! Of course the company was established way before that in 1889, creating playing cards and all. But hey, for a video gamer, 1954 is old enough for me! :D

After that, we took note of another HQ located "near" this one (no, mr. security guard, it was not near at all... the map you gave me was out of scale, man!). So off we went.



The map was a little confusing, so I really had to figure out where I was. As Nagano-san of our guest house mentioned to me when he saw this picture, I was half desperate and half hopeful (haha good one, Nagano-san!)



On the way, I saw this apartment. Nice pattern, with beautiful trees to boot.

Then... it started to rain! GAK! My poor mom, I dragged her all the way here just for my cause. Sorry Mama.

After that, we reached the place! My mom took shelter somewhere while I go around the building.



This is a newer branch of Nintendo in Kyoto.



My mom wasn't around, so I had to take picture of myself with the logo. It took a few tries before this picture came up.



Imagine. This is where dreams are made.



Hopefully I could work here someday. But I have to wait till I level up first.

Then we reached the hotel. Today's the day I go to the onsen (hot springs)! My mom didn't want to bathe naked among other women, so I left the hotel on a personal journey towards public nude bathing!



I'm set! IKE~! (LET'S GO~!)



Oops, forgot my map. Had to go back to the hotel to get it. What a bad start.



Don't you just love the fusion between the organic and the non-organic?



I needed to change trains in order to get to the Onsen in Kurama, a VERY remote area. The distance between the two stations is quite a bit, so I had to walk. I was walking right beside the Imperial Palace, which is pictured here. Hopefully we have time to go through it later today.



This is a neat stone compass. Luckily, knowing how to play Mahjong helped me in identifying these characters :D (left side - east, right side - north)



Yup, another river. Such an adventurous couple, those two.



Sometimes, if the weather is good, some people will set up their musical instrument and sing their hearts out, just like the girl guitarist in Hiroshima. And they're unlike the Buskers in New Zealand, coz they don't have hats to put your coins in. They do it purely to express themselves.



These three were quite good. I'm sure the river really enjoyed their music.



Other than buses and trains, people here seem to like using the bicycle. In a few places, there are sidewalks with a dedicated bicycle lane.



Ah, the sun is going set soon. Better hurry before it gets dark.



Well, looks like my ability to take picture of birds improved!



This is the train that goes uphill to the rural area of Kurama.



As you can see, there was only me and that small sleeping boy on the train. I hope you didn't miss your stop.



Luckily, as I got out of the station, a free direct bus to the Kurama Onsen was waiting, as if I'm the expected VIP or something.



Yes, they use vending machines everywhere. Even the ticket to the Onsen is generated by the machine.



There were two onsens, the indoor one and the outdoor one. I chose the outdoor version, since I wanna show my body to the world!



This is the male entrance. Darn, I was hoping that this was the konyoku onsen (mixed hot springs). Oh well, better luck next time.



You can put all your personal belongings in a locker, in which you could strap the key to your wrist. Then you place the dry towel and your clothes in these baskets before dipping yourself in the hot spring.



ok girls, this is where you have to stop. Sorry la, the kids are also watching.



And it was a refreshing bath! Just look at my rejuvenated face.

Alright, that's all that happened yesterday. Today will be the big day where we visit the very famous shrines in this district. Then tomorrow, it's time to go to the big city, Tokyo.

Mata ne!

Day Eight - Kyoto

Well the sun is finally out today! Man, it was so chilly yesterday... it was raining even! My mom really couldn't stand it, so we had to cut bits and pieces of our trip yesterday. But it's ok. It's all about compromise while travelling with someone else... don't wanna be like those partners in Amazing Race...



Yesterday, we took a bus to Ohara, a small rural Japanese village, which is around an hour's bus ride away. Ohara is represented by the two Kanji characters on the display.



Well this is our bus driver, so we'll be leaving it to him for our safe journey. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!



You can either put in your coins (just like Intrakota) or swipe your card. The cool thing is that the coins for the bus fare are inserted in the red box that you see here...



...into this coin change box just below the red box. Here you can break your change by inserting your yen note (or even a big yen coin), which will then have coins spilling out into the bottom bowl. After that, you can give the bus the exact change for your fare.



That's my mom, all cozy and warm, away from the cold weather outside.



And that's me, acting cute and all.



It was very jammed on the way to Ohara. Pictured here is the shopping arcade that we went on Day 7 - Kyoto.



The sakura petals are still on the trees, despite all this rain. Wow, lo