Friday, May 30, 2008
Japanese Subway Metro
In this still very traditional Japanese society, it is interesting how the ladies are treated in the Subways.
Shibuya, Tokyo, 109 Tower
Shibuya, you get the cross junction where you cross the streets diagonally. In our orchard road, it seems that we are trying to imitate this right? Am I right? Ha.
There is this big display window with live models inside. They seems to be dressed up like singers and it was a massive 'greenhouse' in the middle of the streets.
109 tower is where you get all the tanned Japanese girls. They are called the 'black-face' and they have a typical look. Everyone tries to grab attention and stand out from each other inside the mall. It was a women's mall, only selling ladies wear. It seems like this is a success and there is actually a Shibuya 109-2, catering for menswear.
There is this big display window with live models inside. They seems to be dressed up like singers and it was a massive 'greenhouse' in the middle of the streets.
109 tower is where you get all the tanned Japanese girls. They are called the 'black-face' and they have a typical look. Everyone tries to grab attention and stand out from each other inside the mall. It was a women's mall, only selling ladies wear. It seems like this is a success and there is actually a Shibuya 109-2, catering for menswear.
Tokyo Tower
It was a rainy night in Tokyo, was cloudy and parts of the tower was covered. Still, the pictures turned out fairly nice with lights that the tower illuminate, giving it a orange skyline.
Tokyo Backpackers hosteL - The storm subsides..
Our new hostel is GOOOOOOOODDD! It's called Tokyo Backpackers, costing 2100yen per nite. Approx. S$27.50. Rooms are 6 men dorms, we've got a Dutchman, Marcel, stayin' in with us. He got stalked by a man earlier on his way to grab a bite at 7-11 nearby, after a full day on the plane from New Zealand this morning. Mr. Stalker followed our fren and kept watching him throughout his microwaved-meal 7-11. Fortunately, he's safely back with us, but with a bad 1st impression of Japan i'm sure.
Back to our hostel, it's further away from Shinjuku and Shibuya, two major shopping hubs in Tokyo. But on the flip side, it's nearer to Ginza (A major shopping st.), Asakusa (One of the main attractions which shrines, shopping streets and lots of local and gaijin "foreign" sightseers!) and Akihabara (where 1 main shop has more electronics than our whole Sim Lim Square combined)! So we're even here.
A sand in our shoe though is that we are not allowed to stay in the hostel btw. 11am - 4pm. Simply, if we want to wake up late, we can't. If we want to retrieve some items, too bad, if we feel sick, we've to stay out! The rules are pretty strict here.. 11-4pm is lock out time and no one is allowed to stay in.
What this means is that we are forcing ourselves to wake up earlier everyday and accept higher hourly rates! But we like this hostel's little luxuries so far and for the time being, as we're trying to forget the trauma of Yadoya guesthouse, we shall content with this little inconvenience.
Too much words mean nuts here. We'll upload photos of this place on the next BMD - Body Maintenance Day, where we stay in to recuperate.
Stuart, sleeping soon as waking up early tm for Yokohama
Back to our hostel, it's further away from Shinjuku and Shibuya, two major shopping hubs in Tokyo. But on the flip side, it's nearer to Ginza (A major shopping st.), Asakusa (One of the main attractions which shrines, shopping streets and lots of local and gaijin "foreign" sightseers!) and Akihabara (where 1 main shop has more electronics than our whole Sim Lim Square combined)! So we're even here.
A sand in our shoe though is that we are not allowed to stay in the hostel btw. 11am - 4pm. Simply, if we want to wake up late, we can't. If we want to retrieve some items, too bad, if we feel sick, we've to stay out! The rules are pretty strict here.. 11-4pm is lock out time and no one is allowed to stay in.
What this means is that we are forcing ourselves to wake up earlier everyday and accept higher hourly rates! But we like this hostel's little luxuries so far and for the time being, as we're trying to forget the trauma of Yadoya guesthouse, we shall content with this little inconvenience.
Too much words mean nuts here. We'll upload photos of this place on the next BMD - Body Maintenance Day, where we stay in to recuperate.
Stuart, sleeping soon as waking up early tm for Yokohama
It was all smiles on a chilly Friday night at Tokyo...
Smiling factors for today:
1) Moving out of Nakano to a new lodging space at Minami Senjo
2) Photo taking sessions at Sensoji Temple - Asakusa and Nissan Gallery - Ginza
3) Spending an awful amount of Yen on Japanese food
4) A joke about Marco getting beaten up by Geishas in the backlane coz he keeps taking voyeur photos of them.
5) Playing with tech toys at Ginza and Yodabashi (no fotos.. coz camera low batt then)
1) Moving out of Nakano to a new lodging space at Minami Senjo
2) Photo taking sessions at Sensoji Temple - Asakusa and Nissan Gallery - Ginza
3) Spending an awful amount of Yen on Japanese food
4) A joke about Marco getting beaten up by Geishas in the backlane coz he keeps taking voyeur photos of them.
5) Playing with tech toys at Ginza and Yodabashi (no fotos.. coz camera low batt then)
Ginza boys
Hi all, this is Stuart from another CPU in the Mac Shop posting blog comments after Marco.. Yes, i second that! This place is POWER! 4 levels of Apple in a building.. 1st and 2nd floors are the products gallery.. where there's tons of gadgets to play around with. then level 3 is a cozy dimly lit theatre with talks by the staff on how to use Mac products.. free and you can join in anytime to learn. Level 4 is something else which we haven' had time to explore yet.. after this post maybe.
too bad we can only leave words of fascination here as Peng' camera has run out of batt! right after we took photos with Nissan showroom ladies, fortunately! but still... there' so much to see in Ginza that we are contemplating returning to our new dorm (Tokyo backpackers) to retrieve more batt.. Today is a very happy day for everyone. Coz we have moved out of the sad dormitory at Yadoya.. It's real bad.. like a refugee camp. messed up, cramped claustropobic causing space, a bathroom that is so tight you can't bend over to wash your toes without your butt touching the icy cold wall tiles, dirty and littered floors with dried smattered grape on the floor, plenty of clothes (washed or unwashed who knows) scattered around from probably past decade's residents, having to brush teeth using a sink that's attached to the toilet bowl. innovative no doubt but who wants to think whether they are brushing their teeth with waste water or not! my goodness it is BAD. 1600yen per night but not worth the savings.. now we are at this new place.. seen it in the afternoon for a short while but was already pleased with the lounge and rooms.. much betta. i'm willing to pay for better lodging now.... we all are.
Tomorrow we will be meetin' my dad's good buddy, Tom Tyrell, in Yokohama as he has very generously invited us over to show us around. Thank you very much dad and Tom for the arrangement. We'll be meeting him tomorrow at his country club to watch a baseball game before going for lunch!
Catch ya again soon.. likely more often as we now have a better environment to get wired and communicate!
Stuart in a Mac shop in Ginza, in a very happy mood.
too bad we can only leave words of fascination here as Peng' camera has run out of batt! right after we took photos with Nissan showroom ladies, fortunately! but still... there' so much to see in Ginza that we are contemplating returning to our new dorm (Tokyo backpackers) to retrieve more batt.. Today is a very happy day for everyone. Coz we have moved out of the sad dormitory at Yadoya.. It's real bad.. like a refugee camp. messed up, cramped claustropobic causing space, a bathroom that is so tight you can't bend over to wash your toes without your butt touching the icy cold wall tiles, dirty and littered floors with dried smattered grape on the floor, plenty of clothes (washed or unwashed who knows) scattered around from probably past decade's residents, having to brush teeth using a sink that's attached to the toilet bowl. innovative no doubt but who wants to think whether they are brushing their teeth with waste water or not! my goodness it is BAD. 1600yen per night but not worth the savings.. now we are at this new place.. seen it in the afternoon for a short while but was already pleased with the lounge and rooms.. much betta. i'm willing to pay for better lodging now.... we all are.
Tomorrow we will be meetin' my dad's good buddy, Tom Tyrell, in Yokohama as he has very generously invited us over to show us around. Thank you very much dad and Tom for the arrangement. We'll be meeting him tomorrow at his country club to watch a baseball game before going for lunch!
Catch ya again soon.. likely more often as we now have a better environment to get wired and communicate!
Stuart in a Mac shop in Ginza, in a very happy mood.
Posting from Ginza, Tokyo Apple Store
Hi guys, Ginza is the up market store in Japan and we are in the flagship store now. Power. Now, this is life. Mac is selling a lifestyle to the Japanese.
May Mac take over the world.
Marco
May Mac take over the world.
Marco
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Shinjuku, Tokyo Japan
A vibrant shopping district with a Isetan Mens department store, where it is a shopping heaven for the guys, you can find the latest major and causal brands here. Everyone there are dressed up, so it is advisable to dressed up to do your shopping. Remember to get your tax refund back, though you have to watch out that the tax refund counter closes around 6pm.
Have a walk into Kabukichō after the shopping hours and you are at the red-light district of tokyo, the neon lights are colorful and the crowd is interesting to watch.
As you walked through Kabukichō, you will see lots of Love hotels around the region, completed with Pachinko and amusement parks, you even get rooftop futsal court and a baseball driving range.
At the end of Kabukichō, there is this Golden Gai,where there are lots of small pubs. The pubs are so small and it only fits in like 10 adults in the small space. There are news that the pubs only take in regulars but you could still check out the individual pubs.
Golden Gai
Yadoya Guesthouse, Nakano, Tokyo
Here are pictures of the room in Yadoya, Tokyo. It is place only meant for sleeping in. Now, i appreciate a living room.
Sure, at 1600yen/night, it may be the cheapest anyone can find in Tokyo. Still, everyone have the liberty to check out the living conditions first before you decide on staying here.
For the budget traveler, there should be no complaints for USD16 a night for a 8 men dormitory.
Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo
Visit the site here for the exact date that you are setting out for the Tsukiji Fish Market. There are certain days on weekdays even that Tsukijishijo is on off.
Time to smell the roses
Remember, no matter, how busy you are, tale time off to smell the roses*literally*, below are pictures of white roses that were in bloom around the Nakono, Japan
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Providing Towards Earthquake Victims
Along the streets of Osaka and Kyoto, there are Japanese supporting and asking for donations for the Sichuan, China.
Today, there are still news of aftershocks in the Sichuan province where we came back. Its a blessing to be out of the area for us.
But seeing more news of aftershocks shattering the homes of the Chinese people, is worrying, many beautiful places are being ruined by mother nature.
I'm extremely touched by Sim and Maki's guesture. They have a big guesthouse and it is offered to the Volunteers who are in Chengdu to help out at the disaster-struck area.
Check for updates here.
Today, there are still news of aftershocks in the Sichuan province where we came back. Its a blessing to be out of the area for us.
But seeing more news of aftershocks shattering the homes of the Chinese people, is worrying, many beautiful places are being ruined by mother nature.
I'm extremely touched by Sim and Maki's guesture. They have a big guesthouse and it is offered to the Volunteers who are in Chengdu to help out at the disaster-struck area.
Check for updates here.
5 Days 4 Nights in Osaka
Dear family, friends & loved ones,
We will be departing Osaka for Tokyo @ about 9pm today. Initially, the ultimate "plant" was to travel northwards up via Nagoya, Mount Fuji or any other small towns, then finally Tokyo. However, there were some blockups throughout our planning such as the inability to access WIFI zones in Osaka (need for subsription if we have guessed correctly) , Japanese websites with no English translations, finding it a little too expensive to go to Manga & Internet cafes etc; Thus leading us with limited choices but to head for Tokyo first.
The current "plant" will be to arrive at Tokyo first, as travelling from Tokyo to Mount Fuji will be much easier (in terms of costs, reservations and probably travel time etc) than from Osaka to Mount Fuji. This way, Marco e Crazy Horse a.k.a Hugger @ Kyoto can also book his ticket back to Singapore when we arrive in Tokyo tomorrow morning.
We spent most of our time in Kyoto yesterday. While walking along the streets of Kyoto packed with Japanese students, Japanese tourists themselves, Kimono clad girls and some geishas. Stuart and I managed to master some useful Japanese phrases while Marco was struggling with his own.
Let me just show off one of the phrases we've learnt : "様ぉおkウォンでr婦llととに"
Ok, I've just crapped those above with the japanese keyboard. Its kind of frustrating to use by the way...
Benny
We will be departing Osaka for Tokyo @ about 9pm today. Initially, the ultimate "plant" was to travel northwards up via Nagoya, Mount Fuji or any other small towns, then finally Tokyo. However, there were some blockups throughout our planning such as the inability to access WIFI zones in Osaka (need for subsription if we have guessed correctly) , Japanese websites with no English translations, finding it a little too expensive to go to Manga & Internet cafes etc; Thus leading us with limited choices but to head for Tokyo first.
The current "plant" will be to arrive at Tokyo first, as travelling from Tokyo to Mount Fuji will be much easier (in terms of costs, reservations and probably travel time etc) than from Osaka to Mount Fuji. This way, Marco e Crazy Horse a.k.a Hugger @ Kyoto can also book his ticket back to Singapore when we arrive in Tokyo tomorrow morning.
We spent most of our time in Kyoto yesterday. While walking along the streets of Kyoto packed with Japanese students, Japanese tourists themselves, Kimono clad girls and some geishas. Stuart and I managed to master some useful Japanese phrases while Marco was struggling with his own.
Let me just show off one of the phrases we've learnt : "様ぉおkウォンでr婦llととに"
Ok, I've just crapped those above with the japanese keyboard. Its kind of frustrating to use by the way...
Benny
Kyoto, Japan Day 4
Kyoto is a nice place to see old Japan. The Gion area is a traditional town with lots of Buddhist shrines. One shrine of interest in particular is one which pays tributes to the batteries of artillery soldiers and horse-riding soldiers of the second world war.
Shrines
Stone statues and carvings are erected in the premises of the shrine as a memorial to the soldiers of specific battalions and batteries.
The bigger shrines are of the Buddhist and the traditional buildings which houses them are more refined and elaborate than in Osaka.
Where's Weipeng? Try to spot him in the photo above.
Wedding ceremony in a Shrine
Japanese in traditional dresses hold their wedding ceremonies in the shrine, the ceremony is formal and solemn. There is a aura of dignity and happiness in the ceremony. The aura is not broken even when lots of tourists,both local and foreigners, are taking photos of the event.
People
As it was a Sunday, they was a huge crowded and it was a definite good choice to visit on this day. You will see kimono-clad ladies and even geishas if you are lucky. The young Japanese ladies had fun dressing up and shopping for traditional cakes and pastries.
_____________________________________________
The entry is incomplete due to the lack of internet time. Internet is very expensive in Japan and it is not readily available.
I'm guessing it is due to the fact that Japanese are holding highly fanciful CDMA phones which allows them to surf the internet and watch TV, Wi-Fi is not widely available.
Marco
Osaka,after day trip in Kyoto May 08
Shrines
Stone statues and carvings are erected in the premises of the shrine as a memorial to the soldiers of specific battalions and batteries.
The bigger shrines are of the Buddhist and the traditional buildings which houses them are more refined and elaborate than in Osaka.
Where's Weipeng? Try to spot him in the photo above.
Wedding ceremony in a Shrine
Japanese in traditional dresses hold their wedding ceremonies in the shrine, the ceremony is formal and solemn. There is a aura of dignity and happiness in the ceremony. The aura is not broken even when lots of tourists,both local and foreigners, are taking photos of the event.
People
As it was a Sunday, they was a huge crowded and it was a definite good choice to visit on this day. You will see kimono-clad ladies and even geishas if you are lucky. The young Japanese ladies had fun dressing up and shopping for traditional cakes and pastries.
_____________________________________________
The entry is incomplete due to the lack of internet time. Internet is very expensive in Japan and it is not readily available.
I'm guessing it is due to the fact that Japanese are holding highly fanciful CDMA phones which allows them to surf the internet and watch TV, Wi-Fi is not widely available.
Marco
Osaka,after day trip in Kyoto May 08
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