The Land of the Rising Sun

Weather was sure chilly in Tokyo. I did bring enough clothes for both Ashley and myself, but most of the time, my deardear didn't want to wear the knitted cap, muffler and gloves tt i brought. She doesn't like "additional" things on her (atypical of a girl?). Most of the time, we would point out other kids who are also wearing the same things, n then she'll agree to put it on.

The first couple of days we were there, Alan has to go to work so Ashley n i would juz laze around in the hotel. I tried to go out on my own, with Ashley once. But did a U-turn at the subway station. Why? 1stly, Ashley didn't want to walk on her own and insisted on being carried. 2ndly, the haversack containing our barang-barang was rather heavy. Even if i can carry Ashley all the time (which i most definitely can't) plus the haversack, i wont be able to sight-see or window-shop at all. So, in the hotel we stayed, only venturing to nearby shops n marts for buying lunch. Luckily, there was a hotel lounge which is free for our use 24/7. It's vv spacious n comfy. And for the 2 days we were there, we were practically the only ones there. If i weren't worried of caffeine overdose, i'd treat myself to the free flow of cappucino the whole day long (yeh! tt's how addicted i m...)


Where we went/What we did:
- We hit the few major spots in Tokyo - Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, Ueno market, Asakusa temple and Nakamise market.
- I tried and failed in my 1st n only bargain of dried scallops in Ueno market. Hahaha...
- The piping hot pumpkin n apricot pies sure was deeeelicious in Nakamise market.
- The people in costumes (which we had eagerly anticipated to see) was disgustingly few. Only a handful, which we captured some in pics.
- The subway stations r huge, one can easily get lost in it! No wonder Shinjuku is named as the most busy subway station in the world!


What we missed:
- Disneyland. Haiz... Ashley came down wif fever on the nite b4 our planned day in Disneyland. So, the plan went ka-poot! Till next time, then, Mickey Mouse!


What we saw:
- A sea of blacks, beiges, grey, browns. I mean the winter coats. In subway stations, with the swarm of people passing thru, I seem to drown in all these colours. Of cos, we were also part of the blacks.
- Japanese r Starbucks fans! Every Starbucks cafe we went, it's all full. But i wonder whether it's bcos they really love Starbucks coffee or they dun hv a choice. Unlike here where we hv Spinelli, Coffee Bean, Gloria Jeans, J.Co, etc, the main coffee cafes in major shopping areas in Tokyo r dominated by Starbucks.
- Lots of yummy mommies pushing their baby darlings around, looking young, hip n sexy! Yeah, sure was eye-candy!
- Lots of small eating cafes in subways. One moment, you could be slurping down a deliciously piping hot bowl of ramen, and the next moment, you r in the train on your way home.
- Noticed a different set of practice in supermarkets. The cashiers doesn't help customers pack the groceries into plastic bags. Instead, they will give you plastic bag n after u hv settled the payment, you need to bring your basket to the counters in front to pack your own groceries. (Hmmm... wonder if i buy a trolley full of stuff, how will they know how many bags i need???)

Pics will be up soon... when i find time to upload it...