Kyoto & Osaka

After a 3-hour train ride, we set foot in Kyoto station, hip hip hooray! The magnificent Kyoto tower beckoned to us as we exited from the train station. I must say that the train ride was one of the most enjoyable I have taken. Japanese long distance trains are clean, spacious and best of all, you can have your dinner comfortably in the train as every seat comes equipped with a tray in front, like in an airplane.
We made our way to Kyoto White Hotel, which was a short 10 minutes walk from Kyoto station. I had forewarned my friends earlier not to expect too much of this hotel, as it was the cheapest hotel which came with an attached bath that Ms To and I could find. We knew that the hotel wasn't going to be great before we even got to it as it was located in a small dark alley which we almost missed. Here's what greeted us at the entrance....we had to leave our shoes there and wear the red bedroom slippers provided. Very homely indeed!
As soon as we dumped our stuff in the room (which was clean but not inviting enough for us to stay longer), we headed out into the chilly Kyoto night in search of....you got it right....SUPPER!
At a local ramen shop. When we got in, we tried to shift the tables but got a loud tut-tut from the owner. What's worse was when he commanded Ms To and I to move to another table which faced the wall. We suspected he did that because there were 6 of us but we ordered only 3 bowls of ramen.
Day 5: Temple hopping

Fresh new morning: Again, Kyoto tower greeted us as we stepped out of our hotel (or should I say guesthouse). I had a really bad night sleeping on the futon - not comfortable at all plus a certain red dot of light above me was very disturbing.
After a simple but delicious breakfast at Kyoto station, we were ready to set off to our first destination - Kinkakuji or golden pavilion, by bus! Taking buses in Kyoto was a relatively simple process. Just get a 1 or 2 day bus pass which will give you unlimited rides in Kyoto and it comes with a comprehensive bus guide!

Pretty pavilion. If I had taken this photo from another angle, I think I could have captured its reflection. Oh well!
A vending machine that dispenses oracles. As a true supporter of "all-things-inane-but-fascinating", Mr Lee paid some money to get his very own oracle. If you get a bad oracle, you are supposed to tie it into a knot at a designated place. Luckily for Lee, his was a "Very Good" fortune!
We had lunch at a pretty cafe serving hamburgers and pastas. Everything we ordered - spicy cod roe pasta, hamburger with brown sauce, etc was good! Next, we went to the Kiyomizudera temple (water temple), set atop a hill. The walk up was arduous but there were lots of shops selling food, candies and other niceties to distract us.
At the entrance of the water temple. We had difficulty taking a decent photo as there were many visitors and tour groups.
The pavilion below, I think, is the water temple. We didn't manage to get to it as it was quite a long walk from the entrance and we were all so tired from walking....

Such pretty nooks and crannies are aplenty in Kyoto. Here, we tried to take some "wedding" style photos. Ms To and Tyre doing the "I'm-coy-and-you're-macho" thing.
Mr Lee and I doing the "we're-in-our-rosy-little-world" pose. I kept sifting through my photos to find a decent shot of the Vongs but ended up laughing so much 'cuz the poses were very unnatural...haha.
This is something that we are very fond of doing wherever we go. Taking our own reflection in the mirror.
Day 6: Himeji castle and Shinsaibashi shopping in Osaka

All too quickly, we had to leave Kyoto. I wish we had more time in Kyoto as I love the place for its serenity and quaintness. The next time I go, I'll be sure not to stinge on hotels - I'll go all out and stay at the Granvia Kyoto!

Our next destination was to Himeji castle. On our way there, I spotted this cute retro bus! This made me happy :)
Every photo you take in Himeji is postcard material - it's that scenic.

Himeji castle in its finest glory.

Cute little ice-cream parlor. On our way back to the train station, we passed a 100-yen shop and though we were running late, we refused to pass the shop up. So in we went, shopped frantically and had to run all the way to the train station to catch the train to Osaka (truth be told, we did a lot of running on this trip chasing trains). Thank goodness we made it.
By the time we checked into Comfort Inn @ Osaka, it was already getting late. We went our separate ways to do some last minute shopping and reconvened at Shinsaibashi to have our dinner!
Dinner degustation menu

Crabs in various styles - sashimi, cold and grilled. All tasted divine!

Takoyaki. We asked the guy what's in the ball and he did a really comical "octopus" action. Apparently, the taco-pachi we find in Singapore are variations of the real thing as "taco" means octopus.

Ramen in tonkotsu soup. Delicious with a sprinkling of chopped garlic!


Day 7: Universal Studios

Coincidentally, the Halloween theme was on at Universal Studios. The good people at Disneyland ran the same theme when I was in the US 2 years ago!
The Halloween float parade!

The cool couple with their vintage cars.

I could never understand why people are so fascinated with the carousel. I used to like it as a kid, but I grew out of it as I got older. So it caught me by surprise when all my friends wanted to go on it. Choosing the "animal" to ride on was fun though. There was this sweet little girl riding alone on a unicorn next to me. We were amazed that her parents let her ride alone as she can't be older than 2 years!

Konichiwa!! The motley crew arrive in Tokyo

I've been urging myself to blog about the Japan trip ever since I got back, but somehow I end up playing "Who's got the biggest brain" on Facebook every time I try. Anyway, that FB application is currently down, and I've run out of excuses to put off blogging.


So here goes...the glorious Japan trip that took 6 good friends from metropolitan Tokyo to quaint Kyoto to vibrant Osaka and finally to tranquil Mt Fuji and Hakone.

Day 1 - Arrival in Tokyo + Check in @ our favourite Oakwood Apartments, Shinjuku

After checking in, we were all famished and decided to have an early dinner at a nearby curry ramen shop. Actually we didn't know it was curry ramen until Ms Vong pointed out that the shop smelled like curry. Like all things in Japan, the interior of the shop was tiny and there wasn't a table big enough to accommodate all 6 of us.

Yummy! The ramen was truly satisfying. Next stop - Odaiba, a man-made island half an hour from Shinjuku. Travelling to Odaiba was an adventure in itself, as we took the Yurikamome (special train) that uses the Rainbow Bridge and offerred spectacular views of the harbour and the Tokyo waterfront area. Replica of the Statue of Liberty and view of Rainbow Bridge from Aquacity .
I wanted so badly to ride on the ferris wheel - the notion of cuddling with a loved one on a ferris wheel in the still of the night seemed so romantic. However, we were all bushed and the ferris wheel was quite far from where we were, so we gave it a miss. I will definitely try it if I visit Odaiba again!
By the time we got back to Shinjuku, some of us (Ms Wong and Mr Lee are the usual suspects) were already craving for supper. So the Vongs and us decided to explore the dark and narrow alleys of Shinjuku which turned out to be Yakitori alley. Imagine having ice cold beer with yakitori, ooohh, heaven! We chose this small nondescript shop because it was not as crowded as the rest.
I was salivating when the food came and totally forgot about photos :( All 4 of us were huddled up on the 2nd floor of the shop. Check out the narrow and steep staircase we had to climb to get up there. Getting down was a real challenge too!

Day 2: Harajuku, Harajuku (mimicking the cutey pie voice recording announcing our arrival at Harajuku station)

Harajuku on a Sunday is where Japanese schoolgirls dressed as lolitas (maid costume) and goths come out to play . The Japs are truly a kinky bunch.
Shopping on Takeshita street @ Harajuku was gratifying, as the clothes were relatively inexpensive. There were also many shops selling socks at 3 for 1000 yen! I particularly enjoyed browsing through the "sale" racks for 1000 yen (S$13.50) bargains!
At this juncture, it started raining but between the 5 of us, we only had 1 umbrella. The Vongs and Ms To had to resort to zipping in and out of stores along Omotesandō Hills to avoid getting wet (they just refused to buy an umbrella!)
Junk Yard, a double-storey cool and retro used clothes store. I love the vintage dresses which were really affordable but I just couldn't find something that fit! Bummer!
Rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around Omotesandō, where the gals splurged on Agnes B bags. We also spent a lot of time in Kiddy Palace (which happens to be a 5-storey building). The Vongs and Ms To managed to get their brollies here! Not many pictures taken as it continued to pour and I didn't want to get my camera wet.

In the evening, we walked to Shibuya to meet Tyre. By the time we got there, we were on the brink of collapse. This is us catching a breather on the steps of 0101 Shibuya! I wonder if anyone mistook us as vagabonds or beggars.

Day 3: Experiencing the hustle and bustle at Tsukiji fish market

We woke up darn early to visit Tsukiji fish market as according to my guidebook, activities start at 3am! It's nothing like your neighbourhood fish market though. Over here, an amazing array of seafood is sold, and you will not believe how gigantic the fishes (especially tuna) can be! Plus there was a lively tuna auction going on!

Big fish. Puffer I reckon?
After the auction, we trooped down to the row of restaurants flanking the market and had sashimi for breakfast! Though fresh, we thought the food was overpriced. Still, a must-try, according to my guidebook.
Next up: Ginza. Mr Lee got really excited by this huge Apple store. Unfortunately, it was not open for business yet!
Took a train to Sensoji temple. By then, it was pouring cats and dogs. The rain was a real spoiler! As you can see, the clouds were really pouring their hearts out - my camera managed to capture the rain sticks. We sat around and took lots of "artistic" photos (of ourselves) at the temple.
Exploring the Nakamise shopping street was such a delight! It was fun trying out the interesting Japanese snacks and admiring the lovely packaging of sweets and such on display.
We headed to Ueno next for some bargain hunting! These ubiquitous drugstores are everywhere! And you can spend hours in them. I bought eyelash curler, mascara, body spray, travel-size shampoo, etc from one of these stores.
Below: at the Ameyoko market, 10 minutes from Ueno station. This is perhaps Tyre's favourite part of the trip (he even came back a 2nd time). Bargains for sportswear are aplenty, if you have the patience to dig and jostle with the crowd. And 'they' say there's no fake stuff in Japan, so the Nikes and Adidas were a steal for the price we paid! Everyone bought something here (except me I think) - even the not-so-sporty Kaywei went away with 2 sporty Adidas jackets.
After camwhoring at Sensoji temple with my uber cool Canon G9, everyone seemed determined to get the same camera! So we made our way to Akihabara - the electronics district.
In case you're wondering, no one bought the G9 in the end! Haha
After a very hectic day, everyone was complaining of aching feet and tired shoulders, so we made our way back to the hotel early. The Vongs and Tos wanted to pack dinner back to the hotel, so Vin and I decided to have a special dinner in celebration of our 3rd year anniversary. Check out the view from the 50th floor of Sumitomo building. The dinner, by the way, was undoubtedly the best Japanese meal we ever had, whether in Japan, Malaysia or Singapore!
Detoured to Kabuki-cho, the red light district on our way back to our hotel. It was bubbling with activity, the dark variety, of course. Here, we saw some of the best looking Jap dudes. I wasn't quite sure what they were doing 'cuz they were just standing around, but some of them approached and spoke to Mr Lee (only him, mind you), so it didn't take me too long to put two and two together!

The very inconspicuous love hotels located on a slope on the fringes of Kabuki-cho.
Day 4: Frantic shopping in Shinjuku before we head to Kyoto

Shopping at Shinjuku was lots of fun. There's such a wide variety to choose from! Some of my favourite shops/stores are Salut, Beams, 3 coins, United Arrows and Isetan! Incidentally, Salut is our all-time favourite shop, hands down. It's a lovely shop @ Lumini Est filled with pretty knick knacks and accessories for the home. Best of all, most items cost only 1000 yen (S$13.50) each. We shopped without restraint like there's no tomorrow and lugged 2 to 3 bags of goodies each (even Mr Lee had a few bags!) back to the hotel for storage.

Storing the items was a very stressful affair as earlier in the morning, the hotel staff had already compactly stored our luggage in 2 lockers. The very many extra bags from Salut had to be repacked to fit into the existing lockers and we wouldn't have managed to do it under our time constraint (we were rushing to catch a train to Kyoto) if not for sheer determination (to save cost) and teamwork. Well done!

The Wongs and Tos. All ready to set off for Kyoto. Check out the guys' luggage bags and the gals' sling bags! Same same!

Stay tuned for our adventure in Kyoto, Osaka, Mt Fuji and Hakone!

Is that me?

For the past two days, I've stared at myself in the mirror not recognising the reflection staring back. What stares back at me is a tired and resigned face. The eyes are sunken and dark, the hair unruly and the skin lacklustre. It is a face that does not smile.

People often say that when you give yourself less pressure and expect less of others, you tend to live life a happier being. Admittedly, the former is a nagging issue that I've been trying to come to terms with. All my closest buddies tell me that I should quit having such high expectations of myself, and that sometimes, I should let things slide a notch or two. Never mind if things don't go the way I want as long as I've tried my best. Unfortunately, what differentiates me from most people is not a question of whether I've put in my best or not but whether the effort was the best I could muster.

The thought weighs heavy on me, especially when I am at work. Adding to this pressure are real, physical demands that I am having trouble coping with. There were occasions when my eyes would just fill up with tears because I felt so helpless. I am tired, my resources are stretched and there are at least three urgent things at any one time that require my attention. To exacerbate matters, I expect myself to deliver all three tasks at a level of perfection that I set for myself.

In real life, I am hardly that strict with myself. I am silly and happy on most days, I couldn't care less even if I made a fool of myself, I can't be bothered with what others think of me and most importantly, I find lots of things to laugh about. I chuck that serious and no-nonsense mask that I have to wear to the office everyday.

From tomorrow onwards, I resolve to inject a bit of the real me into the office environment. I will try my best but I will not berate myself when things go awry. I will lower the expectations I set for myself. I will shed that stiff mask and be silly once in a while. I will find things to laugh about, even if no one else sees the humour. I will set aside personal time for myself everyday. I will remind myself that the world does not stop revolving just because of something I did. I will not take sole responsibility for something that is meant to be a team effort. I will not be so uptight at work and will instead take things as they come. I shall not be afraid of voicing my opinions and being the motor mouth that I am in real life. I will not be afraid of making mistakes or looking stupid in front of others. I shall be the same exuberant and colourful me whether at work or play.

There, I feel better already!