melody

Go to Meiji Jingu Mae (Harajuku) station on a Sunday between 2 – 3 pm and you will be able see cosplay and Harajuku fashion. Before you shoot, do ask for permission. Some of them will pose for you while others will decline to be photographed. Bringing your cute kids will increase your chances of photographing them or getting a picture with them. Before that you may want to check out Meiji Jingu (Meiji shrine) which is free of charge. Some parts require admission fees which you can skip if you don’t want to pay. The thing about Japanese shrines is that the pavement is always covered in gravel, as though they’re testing your sincerity so proper footwear is strongly encouraged. After that you can have lunch at the famous Jyangara Harajuku (Kyushu) ramen. I liked the soup very much but the egg was a letdown =( nevertheless, as a tourist to Tokyo, you should still try it just so you can tell your friends, “Oh, I tried the famous Harajuku ramen!” cross this bridge walk down this street here&

Shopping in Tokyo – GINZA!!

I LOVE shopping, especially in Ginza Tokyo. Sorry, not many photos. Where got time?? Japanese brands such as Burberry blue (ladies) and black (men) label, uniqlo, fancl skincare and supplements, mikimoto pearls, namiki fountain pens from Itoya are cheap. I also find that the Forever 21 there is cheap with nicer variety not available in Singapore. I had to queue up with a large crowd to enter the shop in Matsuzakaya (near fancl) in the morning (open at 1030am). Before they open for business, they staff will sing some rara song then when you enter, they’ll stand on the stairs and applaud very enthusiastically… you feel like some VIP hahaha. I love shopping for shoes in Japan because they’re so super pretty =) the service is excellent. The (very handsome) salesman will kneel down, hand you a brand new pair of stockings (for hygiene purposes) and sing praises when you try on the shoes, “Kirei!! Kawaii!!” (pretty! Cute!) give comments about whether the size fits you, insert insoles if neces

Shibuya - Hachiko

I cried buckets when I watched the movie and almost cried when I saw Hachiko's statue :') Take Yamanote line to JR Shibuya station and get out from the Hachiko entrance and you will see a train carriage (model). Opposite the train carriage is Hachiko's statue.

Unazuki Onsen, Kurobe Gorge and Tateyama Alpine Route - Video

Enjoy! It's pretty long though... 7 mins.

Tateyama Alpine Route

I was REALLY looking forward to this part of the trip because I have seen the beautiful photos on the internet. But two days before we were supposed to reach, Kobayashi san sent me an email to inform me about a sudden maintenance that needed to be done at one part of the route. Usually people start from Tateyama and end up at Shinnanoomachi or vice versa. Because of this sudden maintenance, you can’t go from one end to the other. You have to stop just right before the maintenance part and turn back... your Tateyama Alpine Route won’t be complete. I just broke down and cried in the hotel room in Tokyo because I was so looking forward to it. And since we have already booked Unazuki-onsen, we can’t really back out. Chris consoled me that we will only miss out on walking across the dam so we decided to go ahead. From Unazuki-onsen station, it takes about an hour and 45 mins to Tateyama station with a transfer at Terada. The entire Alpine route takes about 6-7 hours to complete. We went abo

Hotel Review: Unazuki New Otani (5+5*)

We had to skype the hotel to make a reservation but once we established contact and got the front desk guy, Kobayashi san’s email address, everything else was very convenient =) Very conveniently located, within walking distance to the train station and with a lovely view of the Kurobe Tram bridge, I will definitely choose this ryokan hotel again if I go there again. They gave us a huge room (enough for 4-5 people) with a beautiful view of the river and the bridges. Hot spring is great (I had the hot spring to myself!) Check out the range of amenities!!! NICE! Japanese hot springs always sterilise the hair brushes... Singaporean salons should do that ya? The white shrimp tempura is superb!! And while you are there, make sure you drink lots of water cos Kurobe's water is famous!! If I didn't read it wrongly, I think it's the melted snow from Tateyama mixed with spring water. The +5* is for Kobayashi san. He is very good-looking..OK he is not very photogenic but he looks VERY

Unazuki Onsen – Kurobe Gorge Tram

A very quiet town, unazuki-onsen is where you go to get to Kurobe Gorge. It takes about 4 hours to get there from Tokyo with a change at Echigoyuzawa and Uozu. You also have to top up JPY1300+ towards Uozu because the train travels on non-JR line. Then you cross to the Shin-Uozu station to take a train to Unazuki-onsen, it’s non-JR. You then cross over to the Kurobe Tram station to board to tram to enter the gorge. Round-trip takes 3 hours. Basically you just sit on the tram and enjoy the scenery =) which I feel is nicer than Taroko Gorge in Taiwan. Take the cheapest most open carriage if you can stand the cold winds or the second cheapest which has windows so it’s not so cold. You can enjoy outdoor hot springs at Keyakidaira or Kanetsuri. I suggest at least one hour at Keyakidaira if you want to soak in the hot spring and more if you wish to eat there (we saw some udon shops). During Summer holidays and Autumnal colours, the place is very crowded so making reservations (via your hotel

Ryokan Review: Konanso (5*)

Nice view of the lake and they have a private family bath with splendid view of Mt Fuji (if the weather is good) which we booked but later cancelled because weather no good -.- the hot spring is very nice, with a resting area, massage chairs and many different yukata to choose from (ladies only). The staff here speak only Japanese. Pick-up available after 3pm but you must call them. We just went there ourselves cos when we were on the bus to the natural living centre, we passed by. Walking distance to ropeway and cruise station. Very family friendly (which we didn’t like cos kids are bleddy noisy -.-) Rate: about SGD$500 a night (include dinner and breakfast)

Kawaguchiko - Video

I have been to Hakone and I think Kawaguchiko is much nicer. Hakone is further away from Mt Fuji. One of the Fuji 5 lakes, Kawaguchiko is the most visited lake among the 5 but it was cloudy when we were there =( recommended places to visit and things to do include the Ukai music museum where the roses were in bloom (check the season) and you get to listen to a short recital by a Prague string quartet! The roses were so beautiful! My mother-in-law would have loved it! =D the natural living centre is where lavender will be in bloom in july and where you can see Mt Fuji (if it lets you). You can learn how to make blueberry jam (blueberries are grown near Mt Fuji) for JPY800 per person (min 2 persons) and take home your jam =) For JPY2000, you get a retro sightseeing bus ticket (it’s a retro bus), a cruise ticket and a ropeway ticket. The bus ticket allows unlimited rides for two days. You can request for the tour info staff to forward your baggage to your hotel/ryokan at no charge =) so

Shizuoka - Updated Video

I added in the stills as well so for those of you lazy bums who don't want to read (i know who you are -.-), this is quite comprehensive =)

Hotel Review: Associa Shizuoka (4*)

In terms of accessibility, this hotel is the best because it’s right next to the station. And the room is rather spacious. Expensive though. We took the room without breakfast and it cost almost $200+ a night. Shizuoka is indeed the home of green tea. Even the bathroom amenities are green tea based LOL The hotel lobby toilet is very sophisticated... so many buttons!! From top left: more water, less water, mop (it goes round and round LOL this one i went, "oooohhhh....!"), massage (it comes out in pulses pss..psss... LOL), next one donno, dryer, all covers down, top cover up toilet seat down, all covers up. From bottom left: stop, i don't know what's the diff between 2 and 3 cos they felt the same to me, bidet (for girls), water pressure, water angle and position. coolz =)

Shizuoka - Videos

Shizuoka – Oigawa Railway

I was really deciding whether to take this because it’s very expensive (about SDG$80-90 per person return) and the duration of the entire return trip takes one whole day. On the second day, it rained in Shizuoka so we went to take the railway. You have to get to Kanaya station, cross over to the Oigawa railway station (which is just right beside the platform where you alight) and order tickets in Japanese (the uncle cannot speak or understand English at all). In Spring and Autumn, the seats will be sold out very fast so reservations (via the Japanese website ) is necessary to avoid disappointment. The first part of the trip from Kanaya to Senzu is where the SL (steam locomotive) plies. This is the only place in Japan where you can take a steam locomotive. There is ONE round trip a day on normal days and 3 during peak periods. Of course you can take the normal trains that run the Oigawa route but most people will pay the extra JPY540 to take the SL. Along the way, you can see verdant te

Shizuoka