Japan holiday

My first ever trip overseas (no kidding) at the age of 25 with my girl friends was to Japan. I was desperate to get out of the country and so I took the first opportunity that came along and I would say I had no regrets.
Japan in spring was like a sharp twinge in your head after eating a sweet sour lemon tart. It was refreshing and a real eye-opening experience. The people were the most polite I've ever met; their transportation so efficient and the food? Simple and affordable (if you eat in the small little street shops).

We stayed at Ikebukuro in Tokyo which was not exactly a touristy place and for that we were rewarded with the pleasure of eating in cozy little street shops and actually watching people cycling to get to work; mothers shepherding their kids to school in the morning and such. Also, that meant that I got a lot of curious looks as I don't exactly look Chinese/South Korean/Japanese (the likes of which would blend in more easily). Travelling with a group of Chinese girls but rattling in English was also another source of curious looks.

Day 1
On our itinerary was a trip down to Tsukiji Fish Market. You can find more info here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3021.html. But the place is stunning. We didn't make it early enough to see the tuna auction but by the time we reached the market was buzzing with life and not to mention fresh products.

The aim of the trip was to eat the freshest sushi for breakfast/lunch but that also meant queuing for hours. We stood in the cold for about 3 before we were rewarded with our meal (to me, 14 degrees is freaking cold seeing that the airconditioning in Singapore never falls below 16). But the wait was worth it. Although, I must shamelessly say that I got too hungry to take photos.

Moving on, we decided that after a good meal, we deserved to walk a little so we ventured to Ueno, hoping to see some Sakura blossoms! And we did! We were actually really lucky as it was nearing the end of the sakura season and most of the trees had turned green by then.

Ueno park itself, is beautiful. It is at times like these that I wish Singapore wasn't so hot so it would be this enjoyable to stroll down the park and just admire nature's beauty.

Day 2

We started the day with no plan in mind. Our only aim was to find a cat cafe and eat street food. So, we walked around Ikebukuro, exploring the many shops and admiring the Japanese sense of fashion.

Eating in Japan was a funny experience. As you can see, we had to buy our food from a vending machine which issue us with coupons to be given to the cook. We were amused by this process and yet impressed by the efficiency. However, having everything on the screen in Japanese was difficult for me as I couldn't tell what was pork and what wasn't. I try not to consciously eat pork, so as much as possible I wanted to avoid it. Thankfully there were some similarities in the characters between Chinese and Japanese so my friends helped to select the food for me.

First meal of the day consisted of a beef bowl with poached egg and miso soup. It was really affordable as well at only 600yen (about $7). I realised that in Japan, the portions are really big and generous and we were really wondering how the Japanese women stayed so thin. Seriously. So we shameless had to admit that we were glutton for when we stepped out of the little Japanese shop, takoyaki was awaiting us. 

With our bellies full, it was time to find the cat cafe. I must say that I'm not a cat person, although I love cats just as much . But my experience here only strengthened my resolve that dogs are much friendlier and we would have had a better time in a dog cafe.

 Absolutely loved this warning sign.

 Even cats (neko-chan in Japanese) have their own trains and sleeping carriages. They're spoilt rotten here and it's no wonder that they weren't too keen in letting strangers play with them as they know that they get lots of attention on a daily basis! 

 However, I must admit that they were very well groomed and well mannered as Japanese people are. I'm not sure if such a cat cafe venture would work in Singapore, but according to Frenchy, they've started one in the UK (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2290629/A-purrfect-place-unwind-Britains-cat-cafe-set-open-London.html)

So after my lacklustre experience with the cats, we decided to do something touristy - aka shopping and visiting Sunshine City! Here we went to the Aquarium and also an Observatory (which we later realised was a dating hotspot!).

 Just some highlights of the shows that we managed to see. On the right here was the diver surrounded by a school of fish. It was like he had a gravitational pull (as he wasn't feeding them anything) and they simply followed him everywhere he went.

And below we have the view from the Observatory, overseeing Tokyo. The place was dark, quiet and strangely romantic, so the three of us felt extremely out of place.

But of course the night would not be done without food, so off we went to another small street shop to have dinner. Here we have a sort of hot-plate dish served with sticky Japanese rice. Happy!

Day 3

The last and final day started to dawn upon us with that "awww I don't wanna go home yet" feeling. I was starting to get used to the temperature, finally and wanted to see more of Japan. So of course I'll come back here again someday. Japan is absolutely safe to travel even on your own and I think I wouldn't mind going by myself or maybe with Frenchy the next time. 

Tokyo Central Station

For the last day, we took the train to Tokyo Central, deposited our luggage in the lockers and began our little expedition into the Imperial Palace Grounds. But before that, of course we needed to fill our bellies. Tokyo however was different from Ikebukuro and offered no little street shops. Everything felt sterile and extremely ordered to me. So we had to settle for a small restaurant and the basement of one of the buildings.

 As you can see, the portion was much smaller than that we had in the other places we ate. So, my advise is - if you're on a budget and you eat a lot, then avoid the shopping areas and city centres. 

Visitors aren't allowed inside the palace grounds except for two days of the year - 24th Dec and 2nd January. So we could only take pictures from outside. The sun was bright that day and we saw lots of joggers having a run along the popular imperial palace route. It's like running to MBS in Singapore after work.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a certain sterility even amidst the beauty of this place. Perhaps it was the culture or just the fact that we were only allowed on the perimeter that enhanced my sense of distance from this place.

Moving on, we came upon the Statue of Kusunoki Masashige outside Tokyo's Imperial Palace. He was a 14th century samurai who is revered as a mark of Samurai loyalty. 

Next up, we headed to Shibuya, the 'hip' and 'trendy' part of Tokyo. And indeed, it reminded me so much of  Orchard Road. Youngsters dressed in all sorts of fashion- some even in the lolita costumes were parading on the Takeshita streets, unjudged by their peers. However, I was not one for crowded streets but Shibuya was a must-see as recommended by a friend, so we proceeded.

However, shopping streets, akin to Bugis street were not something that appealed to me, so we decided to head to a Meiji Shrine nearby. And it seemed that we were just in time as we managed to see two wedding processions happening at the shrine itself! I must say that Japanese weddings are so sombre - no offence, but I initially thought it was a funeral. Nothing of the noise and chaos of a Malay wedding, but I guess rituals are often differently practised. 

 On the board it read that those wishing to pray in the shrine had to wash their hands and mouth. It reminded me of the ablution that Muslims do before prayer and I think this idea of cleanliness and purifying oneself transcends religion truly. In all cultures, the sacred is often linked with purity an holiness and water is a vessel for the cleansing of the body as well as the spirit. 
I loved the firework-like shape of the trees.

Soon after, we had to return to Tokyo Station in order to take the train and monorail to the airport. As we said goodbye to Japan, I was starting to wish for home. I guess at the end of the day, I still want my rendang and nasi lemak and of course Frenchy. 

So the next few trips lined up are Bali, Rawa (Malaysia) and France/UK. Excited!