Yesterday I went for my first big live event in Tokyo. It was my first big live for some time too. Ayaka was holding her 2nd last live for her Peace loving tour held at NHK hall, Shibuya. It was a helluva experience being so close to Ayaka man... This close ->|............................|<- You could feel her energy and power coursing thru you man. Her powerful voice hitting high notes sounded so pleasant to the ears. She even sang her new song, Jewellery days that's going to be out 7/4. During the concert, she stopped her repertiore a couple of times to chat with the audience. During the many instances of her talking with the audience, you could tell how 元気 or lively she was. Always prancing around the stage, and joking with us. Okie, before you think I'm another fanboy or Otaku, I'm not. Interestingly though, there were many around me. =(
Well, can't wait to hear her new release for Final Fantasy coming out in September. Too bad I can't take pictures in the hall.
Slack.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Romantic getaways
Today's topic is specially themed for couples interested in visiting nice places in Tokyo. I mean, seriously, don't bring the girl you're intrested in to Shibuya or Shinjuku, or for that matter Akihabara. Here are some of my favourite getaways. By the way, they sell nice magazines in convenience stores where you can get more information on good restaurants and places to go.
1 - Disneyland
Need I say more? This place is totally meant for couples or families. If you're a bunch of kinds and you find yourself in Disney... hmmm, getalife. Kidding. Anyway, its my favourite in the list, but I suggest getting the night pass which is much cheaper and just go in for the feel, atmostphere and well... magic-ness.
2 - Odaiba （お台場）
Its somewhere near Chiba, away from bustling Tokyo. You can find nice planetariums, an artificial but pretty beach, great skyline, big movie theatre, lots of shopping and restaurants, and theme parks. There's a sony gallery for technology somewhere there. For 500 yen you cn have some good fun. Otherwise, its nice to just chill out.
3 - Yokohama Minato Mirai （横浜ーみなと みらい）
This place is more like Odaiba but it has a more city feel. Its by the sea, has a nice big ferris wheel, a small theme park, nice restaurants and good attractions. Head over to the harbour where there's a nice piece of artificial grass patch where you can lie down and gaze at the clouds, see the yokohama skyline, etc. Its also where you can take a cruise to nowhere for about 2000yen and about 2+ hours. A bit more if you want to have dinner on-board. Then you can always take a lift up landmark tower for a 360 degrees view of Yokohama city from Japan's tallest building for 1000 yen. In good weather, you may be able to see Mt. Fuji.
4 - Korakuen （後楽園）
This place is better known as Tokyo dome. Its where you can find one of the better roller coasters in Tokyo other than at Fujikyu. Other than that, there're also many interesting rides, many of which are skewed towards being for couples. It is a great place to hang out too. Shopping is similar to those you can find at Odaiba, food too. The selection is less, but there's a nice atmosphere. Oh, and there's a Bubba Gump shop here too! Okie, out of point there. At night, there's also a nice musical fountain performance which makes Sentosa's one pale in comparison.
5 - Yoyogi Park (代々木公園）
This place is a Sunday place. Come here for a nice picnic. You can also enjoy the music of wannabe-bands strutting their stuff hoping to be noticed by music producers. Nearby, there's also a stage where occassionally there're performances. Sometimes you get interesting fairs around the NHK hall area too. At the park itself, there're many trees and benches where you can just relax and waster the day away. Nearby, there is the Meiji Jingu and Harajuku for shopping.
Slack.
1 - Disneyland
Need I say more? This place is totally meant for couples or families. If you're a bunch of kinds and you find yourself in Disney... hmmm, getalife. Kidding. Anyway, its my favourite in the list, but I suggest getting the night pass which is much cheaper and just go in for the feel, atmostphere and well... magic-ness.
2 - Odaiba （お台場）
Its somewhere near Chiba, away from bustling Tokyo. You can find nice planetariums, an artificial but pretty beach, great skyline, big movie theatre, lots of shopping and restaurants, and theme parks. There's a sony gallery for technology somewhere there. For 500 yen you cn have some good fun. Otherwise, its nice to just chill out.
3 - Yokohama Minato Mirai （横浜ーみなと みらい）
This place is more like Odaiba but it has a more city feel. Its by the sea, has a nice big ferris wheel, a small theme park, nice restaurants and good attractions. Head over to the harbour where there's a nice piece of artificial grass patch where you can lie down and gaze at the clouds, see the yokohama skyline, etc. Its also where you can take a cruise to nowhere for about 2000yen and about 2+ hours. A bit more if you want to have dinner on-board. Then you can always take a lift up landmark tower for a 360 degrees view of Yokohama city from Japan's tallest building for 1000 yen. In good weather, you may be able to see Mt. Fuji.
4 - Korakuen （後楽園）
This place is better known as Tokyo dome. Its where you can find one of the better roller coasters in Tokyo other than at Fujikyu. Other than that, there're also many interesting rides, many of which are skewed towards being for couples. It is a great place to hang out too. Shopping is similar to those you can find at Odaiba, food too. The selection is less, but there's a nice atmosphere. Oh, and there's a Bubba Gump shop here too! Okie, out of point there. At night, there's also a nice musical fountain performance which makes Sentosa's one pale in comparison.
5 - Yoyogi Park (代々木公園）
This place is a Sunday place. Come here for a nice picnic. You can also enjoy the music of wannabe-bands strutting their stuff hoping to be noticed by music producers. Nearby, there's also a stage where occassionally there're performances. Sometimes you get interesting fairs around the NHK hall area too. At the park itself, there're many trees and benches where you can just relax and waster the day away. Nearby, there is the Meiji Jingu and Harajuku for shopping.
Slack.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Tsukiji market
Thousands of people must have wrote on this market, and half of them probably hate it. My sentiments tend to lean towards the きらい side. I mean, why do you have to wake up to see people cut up giant tunas and get yourself tired and stinky, then queue for exorbitant sashimi, albeit fresh, not really worth it I feel. I mean, go to the wet market with your grandma in the morning for heaven's sake...
Nevertheless, it was an eye-opener and there really was a large variety of seafood. That said, I won't come here again. Oh btw, if anyone tells you "Go there early to catch them bidding for the tuna!" THat's a lie, ever since last year, its closed to publc. "Go there early to see them slice up the fish!" That's another lie, I went there at 8.30 and they were still cutting tunas.
Go there before 9am, and you should be able to catch an eyeful, but mind you... be ready to duck from dangerous zooming vehicles, bear the fishy stench and if you're a trigger-happy gaijin, prepare for dirty stares.
Petrol kiosks in Tokyo due to lack of space. More feasible than those u see in Rome.
Trucks they use to transport the big chunks of fish and barrels of ice. The only place you'll see this type of vehicles.
Gargantuan tuna
Sliced up into smaller pieces for sale to sushi shops and restaurants
The mechanical slicer
This poor man has no mechanical slicer... tough on him!
Eww...
Gimme a kiss...
Queueing to chomp on raw fish.
Whole bunch of raw fish sets for you to pick from, some includes yellow sea urchin meat. Argh! I don't like this place... haha but don't flame me if you like Tsukiji.
Slack.
Nevertheless, it was an eye-opener and there really was a large variety of seafood. That said, I won't come here again. Oh btw, if anyone tells you "Go there early to catch them bidding for the tuna!" THat's a lie, ever since last year, its closed to publc. "Go there early to see them slice up the fish!" That's another lie, I went there at 8.30 and they were still cutting tunas.
Go there before 9am, and you should be able to catch an eyeful, but mind you... be ready to duck from dangerous zooming vehicles, bear the fishy stench and if you're a trigger-happy gaijin, prepare for dirty stares.
Petrol kiosks in Tokyo due to lack of space. More feasible than those u see in Rome.
Trucks they use to transport the big chunks of fish and barrels of ice. The only place you'll see this type of vehicles.
Gargantuan tuna
Sliced up into smaller pieces for sale to sushi shops and restaurants
The mechanical slicer
This poor man has no mechanical slicer... tough on him!
Eww...
Gimme a kiss...
Queueing to chomp on raw fish.
Whole bunch of raw fish sets for you to pick from, some includes yellow sea urchin meat. Argh! I don't like this place... haha but don't flame me if you like Tsukiji.
Slack.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Yokohama
If I haven't mentioned yet, I actually don't stay in Tokyo. In fact, I stay in this place which is essentially in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. It is only half an hour from Tokyo, and the main station is pretty much as crowded as Shinjuku would be. However, it has its own beautiful sights like its port. Minato Mirai especially is a place where you could go for a romantic getaway, a ride on the ferris wheel or a cruise to nowhere for under 2000yen.
This is the landmark tower. Tallest in Japan. The elevator brings you up to the top floor in less than 20 seconds. And the view from it is fantastic.
A view of Yokohama Bay.
Ferris wheel from the top.
The view of the city at night.
Yokohama stadium.
Yokohama Bay bridge. Famous in case you don't know.
Chinatown. The impression you get is that everyone's selling big meat buns for exorbitant prices, and they don't taste as good as the ones you get in Singapore.
The ferris wheel which I've yet to try. Someday...
Slack.
This is the landmark tower. Tallest in Japan. The elevator brings you up to the top floor in less than 20 seconds. And the view from it is fantastic.
A view of Yokohama Bay.
Ferris wheel from the top.
The view of the city at night.
Yokohama stadium.
Yokohama Bay bridge. Famous in case you don't know.
Chinatown. The impression you get is that everyone's selling big meat buns for exorbitant prices, and they don't taste as good as the ones you get in Singapore.
The ferris wheel which I've yet to try. Someday...
Slack.
Friday, June 08, 2007
PACKED TRAINS!!
I've always wanted to blog this. The train traffic during rush hour here is すごい! When my Japanese language teacher told me that in Singapore, I could hardly imagine how amazing it was. After all, I've taken the New York subway, the London tube and Singapore MRT during rush hour too, what can amaze me further?
Well, you have to try it for yourself, and as much as it amazes me, we all hate it. My friends who came to visit me in Japan all said the same thing when I asked them why they hated Tokyo, "The trains are too damn packed!", "The city is too crowded". This is all thanks to poor urban planning according to an architect friend.
The standing area between seats usually has 3 rows of people, and the place next to the door is packed like sardines. When people need to get off and you're standing somewhere there, you'd be SHOVED out of the train, pretty roughly I might say. If Japanese are known for their politeness, everything dissipates into thin air on the trains. See them rush for the seat like hyenas pouncing on their prey. People pretending to sleep when needy people come along. Trains full of drunkards at night tipping left and right. Shoving and pushing to get on the train. Worst of all, molesters out to take advantage of the situation to feel ladies all over without getting punished. =(
Jammed pack on the platform.
Squeezing onto the train. Even ladies do it, leaning the body-weight against the person behind so you make a space for yourself. By the way, after I took this picture and before the door closed, 3 more people squeezed into this cabin.
Inside the sardine-packed train.
Slack.
Well, you have to try it for yourself, and as much as it amazes me, we all hate it. My friends who came to visit me in Japan all said the same thing when I asked them why they hated Tokyo, "The trains are too damn packed!", "The city is too crowded". This is all thanks to poor urban planning according to an architect friend.
The standing area between seats usually has 3 rows of people, and the place next to the door is packed like sardines. When people need to get off and you're standing somewhere there, you'd be SHOVED out of the train, pretty roughly I might say. If Japanese are known for their politeness, everything dissipates into thin air on the trains. See them rush for the seat like hyenas pouncing on their prey. People pretending to sleep when needy people come along. Trains full of drunkards at night tipping left and right. Shoving and pushing to get on the train. Worst of all, molesters out to take advantage of the situation to feel ladies all over without getting punished. =(
Jammed pack on the platform.
Squeezing onto the train. Even ladies do it, leaning the body-weight against the person behind so you make a space for yourself. By the way, after I took this picture and before the door closed, 3 more people squeezed into this cabin.
Inside the sardine-packed train.
Slack.
Boy's day
This is a back-dated entry which for some reason did not appear. Its about Boy's Day which occurs every year on May 5th. It falls in the long chain of National holidays the Japanese affectionately call the Golden Week, coz its the week when nearly all Japanese go on vacation. Some say this holiday is the Japanese version of the Chinese 端午节... the dumpling one which falls on the 5th of the 5th lunar month as well. On top of that, this festival also welcomes in the spring after the long chill, but then again, spring comes at different times in different parts of Japan. For more info on Boy's day, click here for Wiki!
We were supposed to attend a festival, but coz I only came home at 7am that morning, hmm... by the time we got there, everything was over.....
However, we managed to catch pictures of this Koi flag hanging outside somebody's house. The kid's called Taro.
And we also ate the official bun for Boy's day!
Slack.
We were supposed to attend a festival, but coz I only came home at 7am that morning, hmm... by the time we got there, everything was over.....
However, we managed to catch pictures of this Koi flag hanging outside somebody's house. The kid's called Taro.
And we also ate the official bun for Boy's day!
Slack.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Disney Sea Tokyo
Last week I had a bunch of friends come over from Singapore, okie, 1 friend and her bunch of math-teacher-friends, and we went over to Disney Sea to see what's the hype about. Turns out to be pretty different really, not just the ride, but also the characters and themes and feel was slightly different. For example, my friend was collecting popcorn containers and she saw someone carrying one in the shape of Pooh's honey pot. But that was not available in Disney Sea, coz Pooh is a Disneyland character!
The train into Disney Sea, which we didn't take coz we figured that we should take a nice 20mins stroll in the cool breeze.
Mickey mouse parade.
Water all around. Venetian gondola?
Although this looks like Venice, Disney Sea Tokyo is still pretty much a Japanese place. Most people here are Japanese, and naturally the shows and stuff are in Japanese too. Too bad if you can't understand. Gwen fell asleep thru one of the 4-D shows. =)
More fake boats and the Tower of Terror in the background.
Look like Titanic?
Not-so-Indian tandoori chicken and nasi goreng.
The nautilus.
The volcano starts bellowing smoke and rumble once in awhile to add to realism. Hmm... but not very majestic on my cam.
The bunch of us in front of the Tower of Terror. Anyone going to Disney Sea MUST take this ride. I shall not be a spoiler. ^^
Slack.
The train into Disney Sea, which we didn't take coz we figured that we should take a nice 20mins stroll in the cool breeze.
Mickey mouse parade.
Water all around. Venetian gondola?
Although this looks like Venice, Disney Sea Tokyo is still pretty much a Japanese place. Most people here are Japanese, and naturally the shows and stuff are in Japanese too. Too bad if you can't understand. Gwen fell asleep thru one of the 4-D shows. =)
More fake boats and the Tower of Terror in the background.
Look like Titanic?
Not-so-Indian tandoori chicken and nasi goreng.
The nautilus.
The volcano starts bellowing smoke and rumble once in awhile to add to realism. Hmm... but not very majestic on my cam.
The bunch of us in front of the Tower of Terror. Anyone going to Disney Sea MUST take this ride. I shall not be a spoiler. ^^
Slack.
Ramen Museum in Yokohama
Went to the ramen museum on a rainy day, so that was the only thing we did that day other than alot of shopping. Well, when you enter the building this is what you see. Kinda shocking really, since I was expecting a museum rather than a time machine bringing me back into the past. Basically, the ramen museum is a remake of the olden days of Japan. Pretty funky and very similar to olden Singapore I feel.
An old sweets stall! Good old mamah stalls.
More pictures of the old shops. Look like a movie from the 70s showing at Princess. Hmm... but what do I know about the 70s...
Yummy Kumamoto ramen. This one's pretty light, I still prefer the spicy Kanto Ramen like those in Tokyo. =)
Pictures of different ramen, check out the ramen served in a claypot from Susaki（須崎).
Slack.
An old sweets stall! Good old mamah stalls.
More pictures of the old shops. Look like a movie from the 70s showing at Princess. Hmm... but what do I know about the 70s...
Yummy Kumamoto ramen. This one's pretty light, I still prefer the spicy Kanto Ramen like those in Tokyo. =)
Pictures of different ramen, check out the ramen served in a claypot from Susaki（須崎).
Slack.
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