Finally, my long waited annual oversea trip was realized in
Sep 2016!
After my Aussie trip in May 2015 (opps, I didn’t upload a blog here,
definitely a very long time since my blog about Kampar trip in 2014),
it was more than a year of waiting time indeed!
*** some of the information I was extracted from Japan Guide
website
7 Sep 2016, Wed
We managed to touch down at Tokyo at 11pm. After getting our baggage and pasmo card
(equivalent Msia Touch and Go card) we managed to catch on the last train to
our airbnb stay at Otaku area which is 15 mins (4 train stations) away from
Haneda airport. However, I wouldn’t recommend this stay as the house was so
dusty and some of friends who are having sinus problem were having quite a hard
time.
8 Sep 2016, Thu
I would call this day as Day 1 of my trip as the tour had
just begun!
We shifted to Shinjuku area today. Shinjuku station,
according to Wikipedia, it is the largest railway station in the world. It houses
interchanges to three subway lines and three privately owned commuter lines, as
well as several JR lines. In the morning, we were amazed by the train stations
as it was literally a maze! You would easily get lost as there are so MANY
exits! One of the interesting
facts I observed is the male working crowd are mostly in white shirt and
black pant. Seldom very seldom, I can see other colour of working attire other
than this mix and match.
After dropping our luggage at the train station (single
access to the coin locker cost ¥ 500), our first destination is Meiji
Shrine. Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū) is a shrine dedicated to
the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and
his consort, Empress Shoken.
Then, we went to have our lunch, Ichiran Ramen! The first stop entering the restaurant
is to get a ticket. Presuming there is no line, before getting seated, we have
to pay and select our ramen options (egg or w/o egg? more charsew? extra
noodles? green tea?) at the machine in front of the restaurant, then we headed
to our sitting. In most Ichiran’s, you sit in your own little booth. I guess
this kind of seating arrangement wasn’t
friendly for group sitting as you are being separated from your friends
by the little dividers.
OH MY GOD! This is SOOO GOOD!
After filling in our stomachs, we just walking along the
streets at Harajuku area and had some snacks around.
The second interesting fact about Japan is the fruits packaging is sooo nicceee, more than a present I would say!
However, the price would cause your jaw drop too! Look at
the price PER GRAPE! It is ¥1080 and I would
like to emphasize again it is only ONE GRAPE and it cost us almost MYR40!
9 Sep 2016, Fri
The highlight of the day was Tsukiji Fish Market!
(Drum-roll)
Tsukiji Market (築地市場, Tsukiji Shijō) is a
large wholesale
market for fish, fruits and vegetables in central Tokyo. It is best known as one of the world's largest fish markets,
handling over 2,000 tons of marine products per day. Along the street, you
can see some of the shops are selling fruits, food like one shop selling
different kind of tamago (egg) and rice rolls and we finally settled down with one less
crowded sushi restaurant.
THIS IS SOO DAMN FRESH AND GOOD! I never take shoyu (soya sause)!
The next stop of the day was Sensoji. Sensoji (浅草寺,
Sensōji, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple) is a Buddhist temple located in Asakusa. It is one of Tokyo's most colorful and
popular temples. The temple was completed
in 645, making it Tokyo's
oldest temple.
When approaching the temple, visitors first enter through
the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate), the outer gate of Sensoji
Temple and the symbol of Asakusa and
the entire city of Tokyo.
A shopping street of over 200 meters, called Nakamise,
leads from the outer gate to the temple's second gate, the Hozomon.
It is time to be fed again! We moved on to indoor activity
at Tokyo Skytree, new landmark of Tokyo which marks the tallest building in the
country.
Along the way back to Shinjukum we stopped by Akihabara (秋葉原), a district in central Tokyo that is famous
for its many electronics shops. In recent years, it has emerged as a center of anime
culture with a lot of stores specializing in anime, manga, card games, maid
cafes etc. Just a step outside the train station, Pablo mini cheese tart is a must stop place!
Y1361 for special come with 6 different flavours started top left withTorokeru Tsubutsubu Ichigo aka Melty Bits Strawberries, chocolate, original and second row left with matcha, mango and plum)
We ended our Tokyo night with an evening stroll on the
streets of Shinjuku.
Outside Shinjuku train station, we paid a visit to Hachiko
statue. Hachikō (ハチ公, November
10, 1923 – March 8, 1935), is remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his
owner which continued for more than nine years after his owner's death.
Look at the main junction of Shinkuju traffic light, when green light is on, people from different directions were moving to their direction. After deciding your destination, you just have to move towards the direction.
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