Month: April 2008

Was talking with my Mom on the phone when Pearl called me over to a Timberland shop in Terminal one Changi Airport. She knew I wanted to buy a good pair of sneakers and that one took her fancy. ‘Dear, what do you think of this one’ I think its very nice for you… WILL THE PASSENGERS NICHOLAS… PEARL… PLS BOARD FLIGHT…’ we ran… that’s how we started our trip to Japan.

We are married 10 years now, hence this trip is our second honeymoon. Initially I thought of going to a beach resort nearby as I really wanted sun, sea and slack, but I think that may not be the best way to mark our tenth year. We talked about going to Japan when we were dating, and this would be the best time.

Saw 2 and a half movies on the Japan Airline flight, I Am Legend (loved the Bob Marley quote ‘The people, who were trying to make this world worse… are not taking a day off. How can I’), American Gangster (I love true stories) and half of The Great Debaters (the plane had to land).

Upon touching down, we headed to our first hotel of the trip, Hotel Narita Marroad which was just beside the airport. After putting down our luggage, William our tour guide brought us to Elms for dinner and some shopping as that was a nearby heartland mall. We were given a short time, hence my very smart shopper wife suggested we pack back and spend time shopping instead.

Can you believe it, we actually spent a few hundred Sing Dollars there.

At this mall, we were given a 5% discount voucher and I manage to remind Pearl about it only after we have bought our stuff. We went to a cashier and showed her our discount voucher. She knew what we meant and went to get her supervisor. Together, they voided the whole 3 receipts that we had and started scanning them all over again with smiles. Talk about service. In Singapore, I think the black face alone will already spoil the whole shopping experience.

We got back to the hotel, ate our simple take out dinner, had a good shower and soaked ourselves in the tub. It was a nice way to end our first day in Japan.

The only pity is that we found out that our hotel is quite a distance from the Tsukiji Fish Market as we initially planned to go there before day break. Oh well, good also, this means we will have more time for snoozing.

Ok, we are off to Japan! Its gonna be an interesting 9 Days. I’ll be bringing my digicam and Mac along with me, so i’ll be blogging on the road. Hope to get some good wireless along the way.

Ciao now. no no… its Sayonara… :)

View Larger Map

Yes i’m excited about the upcoming trip to Japan & i’ve plotted out the WHOLE trip’s destinations onto my Google Map.

This trip is via a group tour as Pearl and I don’t really want to be think so much on this trip, so we’ll just go with the flow and enjoy ourselves. The detailed itinerary is as follows:

30 Apr, Day 1: SINGAPORE > NARITA TOKYO
When we arrive at Tokyo it will already be 6+ in the evening. We will deifnately go out and explore the city.

1 May, Day 2: NARITA – TOKYO DISNEY RESORT
We will try to wake up super early, then go to Tsukiji Fish Market before day break to see traders auction for the finest catch of the day.

The original tour plan is to go Disneyland, but we are not sure if we want to do that. I mean American Culture in Japan? Strange right. We are not bringing our girls, so Disneyland might not really make sense to us full grown adults who were never into disney stuff. Then again its been paid for and our Disneyland passport offers unlimited rides on all attractions, so we’ll decide when we get there.

2 May, Day 3: TOKYO – YOKOHAMA – LAKE SAIKO (Mt Fuji Region)
In the morning, its a Tokyo Sightseeing Tour and we will visit the Asakusa Kannon Temple, then do some street shopping at Nakamise Avenue near the temple.

Next stop Tokyo Tower, Yokohama Chinatown, then Factory Outlet Shopping.

We will then visit the Ramen Museum, where we will find many types of ramen and even get to try them. Apparently its by a coupon system and our coupon can get us any Ramen we want.

Then from here on, we travel thru the valleys and will arrive at Lake Saiko in the evening. After dinner Pearl and I will prance around naked to indulge in a soothing and relaxing Japanese onsen at the nearby spa Izumi-no-Yu.

3 May, Day 4: MT FUJI – HAKONE – TOYOHASHI: Bullet Train Experience
In the morning, we will visit an ancient village and this area was once the village with the most gorgeous thatched roofs in Japan. This ancient village is located along Lake Saiko and this is where we will have the best view of Mt Fuji as i was told.

We will proceed up to Mt Fuji’s 5th station (subject to weather permitting). Its suppose to be cold up there, let see.

There is also suppose to be a visit to Owakudani Boiling Valley where we will absord some Japanese flavoured National Geographic Channel. lol…

In the afternoon, its Bullet Train time and its just for an experience. We will board at Hamamatsu and alight at Toyohashi which we will spend the night at.

4 May, Day 5: TOYOHASHI – KYOTO – OSAKA
Morning, we will go to Kyoto and visit the Heian Shrine; the most represented Shinto Shrine in Kyoto, and Kiyomizu Temple, one of the oldest temples in Kyoto famous for its unique architecture style.

We will also be going to the Nishijin district, world-famous for its traditional silk weaving and reputed to be the place for Japan’s highest-grade textiles. We will see a Kimono Show there. To bad the time at Kyoto is really short.

Its off to Osaka where we will visit Osaka Kurumon, Black Gate Seafood Market. Maybe will try try Fugu dishes, also known as the Poisonous Blowfish!!

Next Osaka Nipponbashi.

5 May, Day 6: OSAKA: Universal Studio
After Breakfast, we will visit Osaka Castle. Day 6 suppose to be Universal Studio, but then again, its the whole American culture in Japan thing which make us want to just go do our won thing.

Evening its shopping at Osaka’s finest and busiest shopping district Shinsaibashi Dotonbori.

From here on, our extended 2 day free and easy starts and we gotta quickly figure out where we gonna stay, what we gonna do. We’re gonna visit a friend and do some catching up as we have said we will come to Japan to visit him for the longest time and we are finally doing it.

the following are tentative.

6 May, Day 7: KYOTO free and easy
Maybe during the extra days, we will go back up to Kyoto to soak up more traditional Japan and explore as many places as we can.

7 May, Day 8: OSAKA free and easy
We will be meeting a friend of mine, whom i got to know from work previously. However we do have quite alot of time in Osaka, so if you have any ideas what to do at Osaka, do drop me a comment.

8 May, Day 9: KANSAI > SINGAPORE

Lets see how the trip turns out. Photos for sure, stay tuned.