The Tokyo Express

There is a reason why Northwest tickets are so cheap. There is hardly any service at all! That is not to say cheap airlines are lousy. I have taken cheap flights that are pretty good too! But Northwest Airlines is really lacking in service! Beverages are only offered once on the almost seven-hour flight, and even then, it was around the beginning of the flight! Meals are only offered once!

I took the plane at six in the morning. Around seven, drinks were being offered. Around eight, breakfast was served, but I must say, this is one of the worst airline food I have taken. Then there was no more drinks or lunch even though the plane touched down around two in the afternoon.

The pilot was nice though. Where I was sitting in the plane, I could not see the sunrise as it was on the other side. But I was able to see Mount Fuji amongst the clouds. The pilot pointed it out to us, saying the formation coming out of the clouds was Mount Fuji. Spectacular! Needless to say, I took as many pictures as I could before it disappeared!

I did not manage to explore Tokyo on my first day, as I was in the train most of the time. In any case, the skies darkened quite fast after I reached, so there was hardly any opportunity to explore the place. I just joined my friends for dinner and then a night’s stay at their hotel.

View of Mount Fuji in the clouds

A statue of Tokyo Station

The room in Villa Fontaine where I crashed for the night

Awaiting the bus to Haneda Airport outside Tokyo Station

Sights of Tokyo en route to Haneda Airport

Flying towards Hokkaido

I managed to explore more of the place when I came back from Sapporo. I took the train back on the third of January. Almost ten hours journey with almost no seats! By the time I reached Tokyo, my bum and back was aching! So I just checked into my hotel and crashed for the night.

The next day, I took the opportunity to explore Tokyo on my own. I went down to the Imperial Palace, the residence of the Emperor. The Imperial Palace is not as foreboding as the Forbidden Palace. In fact, it looks like a modern residence. But then, the ancient palace is in Kyoto, not Tokyo, since Kyoto was the old capital before Tokyo.

The grounds and lakes are lovely though. I took many pictures of the lovely grounds. There was an alcove above the garden where one could just sit there and rest, so I sat there for a while and just mulled over things. Then I proceeded to walk down and out of the grounds. The plaza opposite the Palace is great too! So is the Palace Hotel. The plaza consists of a small bridge with fountains and small lakes. Even in winter, there are still green plants and flowers! There is also a café which is not opened that early in the morning.

Then I went around more of Tokyo before going to Yokohama. After coming back from Yokohama, I went down to the Shinjuku district. It is a great place to shop with many skyscrapers. However, the skies were completely dark so I did not explore the place that much. All I did was to go to the clock tower and then looked at a few things.

Jimbocho district where my hotel is situated

In front of the Imperial Palace

Entrance to the Imperial Palace

Grounds of the Imperial Palace

Palace Hotel

Imperial Palace Plaza

A map showing the site of the Imperial Palace

Shelter for People Who Cannot Go Back Home?!

Part of the Shinjuku District

Clock Tower of Shinjuku

After that, I took the train down to the Shibuya district. Shibuya is another nice place to shop with tall buildings. Alright, this is Tokyo, everywhere is a nice place to shop! Everywhere there are skyscrapers and tall buildings! Where Shinjuku has more narrow lanes and alleys, Shibuya has more hip shops selling more urban wear. There is a long bridge linking all the shopping malls and buildings together. I stood in the middle of the bridge and just captured the scenery (whatever I could capture).

Part of the Shibuya District

Example of the Tokyo Subway Map

The next day, my last day in Japan, I decided to go down to the Ginza district. Ginza is an upmarket district with designer brands. There is a Chanel building, a Gucci building, a Louis Vuitton building, a Tiffany & Co, even Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani. The only thing I did not see is Prada! Needless to say, the things there are expensive! I went into the shops just to look see, but I did not buy a single thing as everything costs so much!

I had breakfast at a little café overlooking the crossroads, and even then, the breakfast of hot cocoa and Belgian Chocolate brownie costs me almost S$10.00! However, I did get a good deal! This was where I bought my iPod Shuffle, for a steal! So it was not a totally uneventful trip! The Nissan showroom was having a promotion on their new convertibles, the Z-Lady, perfect car for a lady! I went in to take a few shots, together with the girl who was promoting the car. Think my friend will be thrilled, since he was gushing about car shows with the pretty girls inside!

Ginza District

A very nice Chiffon Cheesecake

Last breakfast in Japan

My own iPod at last!

The Nissan Showroom

After that, I took the train back to my hotel, collected my luggage and went to the airport. Hence, concludes my Japan trip! The next time I make a trip there, I will want to explore Nagoya and Kyoto, where there are better things to see. Tokyo is just too cosmopolitan. Where Hokkaido is laid-back and traditional with more sceneries, Tokyo is just full of buildings after buildings. A good place to go for a weekend, but not for the whole week!

En route to Narita Airport - Bye bye Japan!

First Solo Trip

My first solo trip turned out well. Eventful, but more on the positive side than negative side. At least I did not get robbed or kidnapped or whatnot, all the things which my mum worried about. Anyway, I am quite capable of taking care of myself! Heck, I have been rather independent since young! I have been able to go places on my own even back in school!

Besides, what is so hard to find my way around anyway? It is not as if I would get lost! Who would ever get lost in a city? There are train stations, bus terminus and people to seek information! If one is high up in a mountain and stuck in the woods with nothing but trees, trees and more trees, than there is cause for panic, but no one can ever get lost in a city!

Being on my own part of the trip is really fun. This is one of the best trips I have had! I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but I really prefer travelling on my own and with friends rather than with my family. At least my companions are like-minded, so there is not much of a hassle accommodating everyone. We can wake up at our own time, do our own things. Even if we have to share the bathroom, everyone waited, but that is not to say we take advantage and deliberately take a long time!

With my family members, everyone has such differing views and insist on everything being done their own ways that within a few days, everyone was getting on everyone’s nerves! My mum would wake us up so early in the morning, then bug us into being fast in the bathroom before we even finished brushing our teeth! By the time the day started, we were already nervous freaks!

While conversing with my friend over dinner that day, I came to a sudden realization. For the past few years, each time I go away, it would be due to some upheaval. I did not deliberately go away because I was upset or whatnot, but it just so happened that something happened in my life which corresponded with the time I was due to be away, and I went away hoping for some peace and detoxification.

Coincidentally, this happened the past few vacations I went on. Life is never easy, and it just so happened more problems occurred the period of time I would be going away. But it is good to go away when you are down, as after a refreshing vacation, you come back happier and more relaxed than before.

Hopefully, from now on, whenever I go away again, it will be with a happy and peaceful mind with the aim of having fun and relaxing, and not because I am depressed or wishing to start life anew. And for this year, I am aiming towards that!

Australia ....

My aunt and uncle from Sydney are in town for a few days, as they dropped by after visiting my cousin in Malta, where they all took a trip to Sicily together. So we all went out for dinner last night, and we had Japanese food (of all things!).

Even though it is the nice Japanese restaurant which my uncle frequents, still, after eating all the great Japanese food in Japan (duh!), it is a big let down to eat the Japanese food back here. My taste buds have been attuned to the best, so now everything else seems a let down.

Come to think of it, my family seems to have great affinity with Australia. My uncle and aunt met while studying in the University of Sydney forty years back. Then they decided to uproot and move to Sydney, where my three cousins were born and bred. My first brother went to Perth to do his pre-university studies, and later attended college there.

Now, my youngest brother will be going to Canberra for his undergraduate studies. The best thing is that, the place where he will be staying will be next to a snow-capped mountain, part of a popular ski resort in Australia! Yeah! I told him not to come back during the winter vacations, I will visit him and practice skiing at the same time!

Not just that, quite a number of my cousins graduated from Australia. One met his wife while they were both studying in Adelaide. Now his brother is studying in Melbourne. I have another cousin who graduated from Queensland. My best friend herself spent one semester in Perth as part of an exchange program.

Another cousin did both her undergraduate and post-graduate studies in Melbourne. Now, her boyfriend is studying in Queensland, so she moved to Brisbane to be with him. Her sister’s boyfriend is now based in Sydney, so she, too, has sort of uprooted, and now shuttles between Sydney and here.

Australia is a place I have gone to the most, because of my relations. I have been to Perth twice, Sydney twice, Melbourne once, Tasmania once. Next time I shall go exploring at the Northern Territories, Queensland and Adelaide.

Thus, the next time I go down under, I need to spend a longer time there, shuttling from Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra in order to visit everyone! By the way, I have yet to watch “Australia”, starring, appropriately, the Aussie Nicole Kidman. Think it will be a nice show to catch!

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In Conversation ....

The day before I left for Japan, I was in conversation with a couple of friends. The first was my best friend’s ex. It started when I sent a normal Christmas and New Year’s greeting, a couple of days in advance. Since I would not be around on the actual day, I thought to send out the greeting earlier.

He then replied, “So where are you off to?” I was stunned. I asked, “Why, did she [my best friend] tell you I’m going away?” And he said, “No, I haven’t spoken to her in ages! You sending an advance greeting can only mean you will not be available on the day itself, thus I conclude you must be going away.”

Wow… he is still as astute as before! Still one of the few really intelligent, yet most humble guys I have come across! Well, those who have been reading my blog, is on my messenger and social networking profile will know because I as much as indicated I will be away in my status messages, but he is on neither of these, which is why I am still amazed at his sharpness.

The thing is, he gives people the impression he is just a simple heartlander, because of his laid-back and easygoing attitude. However, beneath that simple exterior lies one of the brightest minds I have ever seen. His attitude kind of puts people off, because on the surface, he seems as if he shows no interest in anything, but once you really get to know him, it is hard to keep up with his intellect.

The second person I was conversing with is an old friend. She was my schoolmate back in secondary school, and we have always remained rather close. We used to go to each other’s places and played with each other, I got to know her family members rather well, and vice versa. She is someone I would say a commitment-phobic. She had a series of relationships but all did not work out as her expectations were too high, yes, even higher than mine.

So imagine my surprise when she told me, “By the way, I am getting married next year (in this case, this year, since it was before Christmas when we had this conversation).” I know she has been with someone for almost a year, but she has been saying she keeps telling him she will never get married as long as her hair is still short (her hair is now shoulder-length), and he panicked each time she said she would be making a trip to the salon.

I was like, “What? You finally agreed to his proposal?!” To which she said, “What do you mean by finally? He has never officially proposed, only keeps going on about getting married!” I congratulated her of course, and she said he had it rather easy, just asked, she agreed and then talked to her parents and they gave their blessings, everything was done in just an hour!

Wow… no flowers or ring, no romantic notions, no candlelight dinner…. just a simple question and a simple answer. That was it. And she is now officially engaged! Even someone with such high expectations and who is commitment-phobic is now on her way to lifetime happiness! I feel so happy for her!

Which makes me wonder, what about me? Even though some people may disagree, I am definitely not commitment-phobic. I do not need long courtships or long years of dating, especially now at this age. As long as I find someone I can foresee a future with and vice versa, and who is willing to commit, I will commit. Even if it is just after a few months or so.

Some guys have accused me of not being willing to settle down. Maybe I should put it this way – I am not commitment-phobic, I do want to settle down, but that is not to say I just get myself married to just anyone. There is a big difference. I will not be with anyone unless my entire heart and soul is into it, and once that happens, I will drop everything to marry him once he asks.

Well, for those who have been following my musings, have I not been explicit enough about my yearnings to find a partner? In any case, the time when I was away, there were some deep conversations with my friends too. Like how we girls bonded together while indulging in the hot spring. And the last dinner in Sapporo with my guy friend after the other two girls have left.

We talked about what we want for a partner (both of us agreed that the person will be someone we can foresee a future with), shared more about our history and life before we knew each other, and that a guy asking a girl out or for a tour does not mean anything, which I agree! Just like a girl asking a guy out for a meal or movie, or tour, also does not mean anything!

Most people think there must be some amount of interest if someone asks someone from the opposite gender out, but the bottomline is, we ask people out if we feel comfortable with them (be it same gender or otherwise). However, being comfortable with the person and getting along with the person does not necessary mean anything! It does not mean I find the person potential or want to be with the person, which is why I ask the person out!

This is something a lot of guys do not understand, they think I talk to them because I am interested in them! For me, I enjoy talking, which is why I talk to just about anyone. That does not mean I like the person, therefore I start a conversation. Of course, there are people whom I will never talk to unless really absolutely necessary, but other than that, I really enjoy deep conversations with people.

Unfortunately, or maybe it is just the company I keep, there is hardly anyone I can really have deep conversations with. Most are just superficial. I do not want to assume that locals are not capable of deep conversations because there are many I have come across who are, but I see a difference between locals and foreigners.

For instance, on thirtieth December, we were invited to an open house at the ski resort, where one of the developers was promoting their new project, due to open in mid-2009. We were the first ones to arrive, and along the way, more people came streaming in. Most of them were tourists from various places, going there just to ski.

My friends and I immediately struck up conversations with the people there. They in turn could talk to us as if we had known each other for a long time! It is a good way to network. Unfortunately, it was one of my “off” days, as I had a gruelling day at the ski slope that I was totally shagged, so not in the mood to talk much. Thus, halfway through, I just sat around and listened to the conversations going on between the others.

If it had been anyone else I know, they would never go to any of these networking dinners. Even if they did, they would just go there for the meal, drinks, and then go off, without bothering talking to anyone else. At times I wonder, why do people keep to themselves? It is not a matter of being a private person. One can be a private person yet behave properly in a social setting, because it is really rude to just keep quiet and not interact with others.

Hot Spring Indulgence!

In Japan, besides sightseeing and good food, the only other thing one can indulge in is hot spring (or onsen as what the locals will say). There is hardly any hot spring in Tokyo, so it was in Hokkaido that we got our taste of hot spring! And quite a big variety we went to! A pity we were not allowed to take any pictures in the hot spring, so we can only enjoy the water and the surroundings around it.

Christmas Eve in Hakodate, the top level of the hotel is an enclosed hot spring. One of the girls and I went up together with the guy. No, it is not a mixed spring, males and females are separated. The pool faces a glass case which can see quite a lot of Hakodate city, but the water is so hot that my friend and I had to get out after ten minutes or so otherwise we would burn. The next day, we went on to Noboribetsu, the place for natural hot springs.

The hotel we stayed in had about seven kinds of hot springs. There is a kind of shower where the water falls down hard on our shoulders and let us have a massage, then there were cold pools and warm pools. There were pools filled with more sulphur than others (considering the colour) and even a sauna room! I tried the sauna but it was so hot that I got out after a few minutes! There was also an outdoor pool enclosed by rocks.

My friend and I went there. The water was forty-two degree Celsius, but all around it was rocks and it was snowing that evening. So we went into the hot spring where our bodies were submerged in warm water, yet snow was falling on our faces and the rest of our bodies. What bliss! Plus we got out to sit on the rocks to cool down, then when we got cooled enough we went back into the water again. This hot cold treatment is really comfortable! Imagine being in the hot spring with snow falling down on your skin! That was the place where we spent the longest time in the hot spring, more than two hours!

There was no hot spring in Sapporo, at least the hotel we were staying in did not have any, and we did not have time to go looking for one. So the next hot spring we went to was the one in Niseko. We were there from twenty-eight December to second January. The first night in NIseko, we went to a natural hot spring, where again, there was an outdoor pool enclosed by rocks in the open, where snow was falling. It was good, but the place looks rather dirty and run down.

The second hot spring we went to the second night was called Popolos, another one with an outdoor pool. There was a glass casing where we could see the skiers in the distance. My friend preferred that as she said that seemed to be the cleanest. The third hot spring we went to was in Prince Hotel, where it was another outdoor hot spring with wooden casing that allows the views of the ski slope.

The fourth day (New Year's Eve), we decided to go back to Popolos again. That day the ski slope was brightly lit due to the upcoming New Year's celebration. So from where we were at the hot spring, we could see the bright lights of the ski slopes and people getting ready in the distance. The fifth day (New Year's Day), we went to the Hilton Niseko Village, the other end from where we were staying. While our guy friend went on to do a few more rounds of skiing, we girls went to indulge in the Hilton Hot Spring.

Hilton really lives up to its name! There was an indoor pool with a glass casing that overlooks the trees and ski slopes outside. Then there was an outdoor pool that faces the trees and slopes and opens out to a carp pond. Going into the outdoor pool enables us to be captivated with the enchanting scenery facing us, it was as if we were in one of the pictures of a storybook! That was the best hot spring we had, especially since snow was falling, we could reach our hand into the pond and touch the carps and the water was warm and soothing enough!

That was an experience indeed! That was the last hot spring we went to as everyone was due to go off the next day. The only gripe was that I lost my watch in the Hilton hot spring! A Franck Mueller watch, a knock-off, but a limited edition one! My guess is that someone must have taken it while I removed my clothing and put it aside without realising it. A Franck Mueller is a Franck Mueller, whether replica or original! What a heartache it is for me!

But like what my friend said, we need to be more careful with our things. All of us lost something in this trip. One of the girls lost her winter hat, the other girl lost one of her gloves. The guy lost his return train ticket from Otaru and had to buy another one, but he found it in the end. All along I prided myself on being careful and not losing anything, but in the end I lost my limited edition replica Franck Mueller watch! It is really every man (or woman) to him (her)self and we really must take care of our own things while travelling! A big lesson learnt!

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Immersing In Japanese Hospitality ....

One thing about Japanese is that they are very hospitable, even to strangers. Where we turn a blind eye whenever we see tourists, Japanese are all out to help. Like when I first got to Tokyo, I was wandering around in the subway trying to find where to go, when a kind soul approached me and asked if I needed help. When I told her I needed to go to the Haneda Airport, she immediately brought me to the appropriate platform and told me when the train will arrive. It is really nice of her, although there are displays showing the train arrival and destination, so I can read on my own. Nevertheless, I really appreciated her help.

Then when we were in Hakodate, the cab driver who drove us back to the hotel, made a detour and let us down at the river side. He said it was a complementary service for us tourists. He asked us to pose at the river side where the big Christmas tree was at the background, and took photos for us. In halting English, he told us he is an amateur photographer and even showed us his compilation of photos he took around Japan. He also gave us a photo he took at the top of Mount Hakodate! He was so nice that we took a photo with him!

In Hokkaido, most of the people cannot really speak English. So when we were trying to order food and they had no way of explaining to us, they took out a real sample. For instance, there was a dish that consists of scallop, so the waitress took out a scallop for us. And there was a dish that consists of a certain fish, so she took out the entire fish to show us! In Sapporo, I was trying on a dress that cost 6030 Yen, and I tried bargaining for a discount. I asked the sales assistant if she could cut the price, but I forgot who I was talking to. She thought I meant literally cut the price tag, so she took out a scissors intending to cut away the price tag!

In every restaurant we went to, we were always treated with the utmost courtesy. They bowed when we sat down, bowed when we got out. Even when we went into the hotel, those who took the same lift as us would bow when they got out of the lift! In Niseko on New Year's Eve, we had dinner at a cosy restaurant before going to watch the fireworks. The waiter in the restaurant told us the timing of the bus was at nine in the evening. However the bus was delayed. He specially ran out of the restaurant in the cold without any coat and told us that the bus could be delayed as it was New Year's Eve! Wow, talk about customer service!

The bus came at that moment, so we got on the bus, but the waiter stood outside the restaurant and watched until the bus went off. Imagine how cold he must have felt! We gave him a big wave as the bus went off! Why do people here not go this kind of extra mile? When I was in Sapporo, I was lugging my luggages at the train station trying to go up the platform when an old man called me and told me that there was an escalator at the other side. He must have seen how I was struggling with the luggages! So I thanked him and found the escalator before going up.

When I was finding my way to the Imperial Palace, I stopped by a police box to confirm the directions. He had no idea what I was talking about, but he tried his best to help me by calling an English-speaking officer and translating for him what I wanted. So he confirmed that the directions were right so I thanked him and went on my way. When I met my friend in Yokohama, I was only expecting to see just her and her son, but her whole family (parents) came along. She even bought something for me and treated me for lunch! Her parents even bade me farewell and wished me a good flight!

Talk about hospitality! It is in their culture to be polite and nice to others! And they did it with a sincere heart, not because they were obligated but because they were really willing to do it. Japanese has a good national education on conservation and cleanliness. Finding a trash bin in Japan is even harder than finding a restroom (and there are already not that many restrooms even in public areas!), yet the place is generally clean and tidy. People keep trash until they find a trash bin or else they take home to throw. No one litters on the streets.

Even for recycling. I see children throwing paper, bottles and cans into the appropriate sections of the bins, instead of just throwing anywhere. If it is our local kids, they will throw their trash just anywhere! In Niseko, I saw people finishing their bottled drinks, and then going into the welcome centre just to throw the bottles into the recycling bin there, instead of the normal trash bin outside. They have no qualms doing this, as if it is part of their lives! We really should take a leaf out of their books!

However, Japan is a country full of rules. They do not bend the rules. For instance, in the train back to Tokyo, there were quite a number of empty seats, perhaps due to people who miss the train or whatever reason. Yet, because my ticket is not for a reserved seat, I was not allowed to sit down. The conductor does not care whether the seat is empty, as long as the ticket is not the valid one, I was not allowed to sit at the place. For us, as long as there is an empty seat, why not? But for them, they do not think the same way. So the seat can be empty all throughout the journey with many people standing in the corridor, but still no one can sit there if they do not have the appropriate ticket.

Furthermore, when I reached Narita Airport to check in, I was there one hour before the check in time, but was stuck in the queue for a long time because the self-service check in counter went down. Whatever counter staff available had to try to rectify the self-service check in machine, and did everything manually, so it took a very long time. I was in the queue for about an hour, when suddenly the announcement came that it was last call for me! I panicked, and was ushered to the late check-in counter.

I was steaming mad when I went there because I had already been queuing for so long, and now I was late! Worse was when I went to the late check in counter, both my luggages exceeded! The rule was that each piece of luggage could not exceed twenty kg, so my luggage was eighteen and hand carry overnight bag was four, making both twenty-two kg altogether. However, they said I exceeded so had to either check in one or else incur a penalty of 7000 Yen!

Can you believe it? I tried justifying that per luggage did not exceed, but they said luggage cannot exceed. When I tried to explain further, they conveniently said they could not understand my English! How convenient! In the end, I had to check in just my cabin bag and took my hand carry overnight bag onto the plane. How rigid! Other than that, I am rather impressed with the Japanese culture per se. I really do not mind going back there again!

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Back To Civilisation

I got a day off today since I am only due back to work tomorrow. I should be updating more on my Japan trip, but certain things happened that caused me to be distracted. First, my best friend sent over a Rosary from Vatican City where she was honeymooning. So sweet of her! Then we were exchanging messages while I was on my way to the airport yesterday. She told me that one of our classmate's dad passed away yesterday morning, and she intended to send a wreath over. So I told her to count me in.

After that, she said she wanted to go to the funeral wake today, and asked me to join her when I am back. However, her mother-in-law is uncomfortable with her attending a funeral wake so soon after the wedding, so she is not able to go. Perhaps one may deem it silly, but I guess she is doing this out of respect for her mother-in-law so no one can fault her for that.

Now, a piece of good news. I received an email yesterday that I have been shortlisted for an interview - at Cadbury! The chocolate factory! Wow! I can hardly believe that! It will be a dream come true if I can work there! Imagine, working in a chocolate company, who knows, one of the perks may be lifetime supply of chocolates? ;-p The interview is scheduled this Thursday and it will take just fifteen minutes, so I have only fifteen minutes to impress the two counsels who will be interviewing me! Hopefully this time round I can be successful especially in this uncertain job market situation!

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Transportation Around Japan

Happy New Year! Finally I am back from Nippon-go! It was not quite a white Christmas as I hoped, but there was still a relative amount of snow, especially in the more northern areas. This trip has been a real eye opener, namely to be able to acclimatise in extreme climates. It was ten degrees or so throughout Tokyo, then freezing point in Hakodate, then minus five around Sapporo to minus ten around Niseko, and back to about ten degrees again in Tokyo. Needless to say, now I am feeling very hot back in tropical weather!

I flew to Tokyo on the morning of twenty-third December, where I took a train from Narita Airport to Haneda Airport. I was trying to get my girl friends but for some reason, both their phones were down, local as well as Japanese lines. So I called my friend in Yokohama and spoke to her for a while, promising to meet up when I went back to Tokyo again. Then I took the train from Narita to Haneda Airport. That took about two hours plus.

It was really winter indeed, considering by four in the afternoon, the skies were dark. It felt like eight at night when it was only four in the afternoon! The Tokyo subway is one of the best systems in the world! If one can figure out where to go, which train to take and where to change, then one has no problem anywhere else! The only other comprehensive subway system I ever encountered was the London Tube. I have yet to try out the New York Subway though.

Thus it was not much difficulty figuring out where to go, as long as one is able to read Kanji. I have totally lost touch with the brief Japanese lessons I took back in school, so although I can still read very simple Hiragana and Katakana, conversing in Japanese for me is totally out. Since I only had one night in Tokyo before going up to Hokkaido, I decided to just camp over at the airport or something, so I proceeded to Haneda.

When I reached Haneda, my friend called and asked me to join them. The two girls went shopping in Daimaru at Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station itself is one of the biggest I have seen, with many exits and the central place to change to other lines, local lines, subway lines and Yaesu North Exit (there is Central North Exit, North Exit, as well as Yaesu South Exit, Central South Exit, South Exit, Central Exit) so you can imagine how confusing the place is! Furtheremore, I was lugging my luggage bag along with me.

In any case, I managed to find the Daimaru exit and met up with my friends. We then went for dinner. But it was past eight at night in winter, so most of the shops were closed. Plus that day happened to be the Emperor's birthday, so it was a public holiday. In the end, we managed to find a nice restaurant on the fifth floor of a building (Tokyo has so many buildings that they all look alike) and ate a good dinner of steamboat. Then we walked back to the hotel they booked where I crashed for the night.

The next day, we took a chartered bus to Haneda Airport to catch our flight to Hokkaido. We landed at Hakodate Airport, then took a bus to the town centre, where our hotel is situated. In fact, our hotel is right by the bus terminus and across the JR Hakodate Station. We were not able to check in before time, so we left our luggages there and went for lunch. After lunch, we enquired on how to go up Mount Hakodate, before going back to the hotel to check in. Then, we waited for our friend (the thorn amongst the roses) to arrive and proceeded to Mount Hakodate by bus.

Hakodate itself is a relatively small city. It was just a ten minutes' bus ride from our hotel (at one end) to Mount Hakodate (at the other end). We reached the gondola station and took the gondola up the mountain. The night view up the mountain was spectacular, except it was really cold! The wind was very strong! Unfortunately, due to the strong wind and fog during winter, we were not able to see as much of the spectacular night view as we liked. I daresay it will be much better during the summer! However, we managed to see the big Christmas tree from the top!

After coming down from the mountain, we went for dinner, then to see the big Christmas tree. Since it was Christmas Eve, we celebrated by drinking before taking a cab back to the hotel. The next day (Christmas Day), we explored the Hakodate Morning Market before taking the train to Noboribetsu, where we stayed for the day. We left Noboribetsu the following morning (Boxing Day) and took a bus to Sapporo. It was en route to Sapporo that we were caught in a massive jam due to heavy snow. I have never seen that much snow in my life! The grounds, houses, trees were all covered with layers of snow!

After reaching Sapporo, we checked into our hotel (just above the JR Sapporo Station) then took a train to Susukino for lunch. Then we took a train to visit the Ishiya White Chocolate Factory. I have been to the chocolate factory before, but it looks so different in winter as compared to summer, especially since snow was falling down! Then we took the train back to Susukino to wander and shop. The Sapporo and Susukino train stations have an underground mall with lots of shops, and the things are nice with pretty reasonable prices! I managed to get ski pants at just 1350 Yen (S$20.25) and a pair of Timberland boots (original, no less!) at just 13000 Yen (S$195.00). One can never get such a nice and comfortable pair of Timberland boots perfect for walking in the snow at such a price here! Not to mention a black sling bag I bought at 1050 Yen (S$15.75) to offload my stuff!

The next day, we went on to Otaru by train. Otaru looks really different in the winter. That day was snowing quite heavily so the temperature was minus five degree Celsius. We had a good time in the snow though, with snowball fights! We wandered around Otaru then went on to the Music Box Museum, which somehow had better variety the last time I was there. After coming out of the museum, we stumbled upon a sportswear shop where my friend and I managed to get ski goggles at a big discount of 1380 Yen (S$20.00) from the original price of 6500 Yen! Then we took the train back to Sapporo.

The next day, we took a bus from Sapporo to Niseko, and thus began our skiing holiday. The ski lodge we were staying in is run by a family and they were very nice to drive us around wherever we wanted to go! On our last night in Niseko (New Year's Day), we took the bus to Kutchan (the nearest town from Niseko), but being the Japanese New Year, the town was totally dark and all the shops were closed. We took the bus to the Kutchan terminus, then back again to Niseko. Needless to say, the bus driver looked at us in bewilderment! :-p

The next day, the two girls had to go off, so they took a morning bus from Niseko to Sapporo Chitose Airport for their flight home. My friend and I then took the afternoon bus back to Sapporo. The next day, he took the first train to Sapporo Chitose Airport where he flew to Nagoya, whereas I took another train to go back to Tokyo. There is no direct train from Sapporo to Tokyo. I had to take a train from Sapporo to Hakodate, then Hakodate to Hachinohe (north Honshu), then finally the shinkansen (bullet train) from Hachinohe to Tokyo.

As it was a peak period, I was only able to secure seats from Sapporo to Hakodate. From Hakodate to Hachinohe, I had to stand and seat in the corridor of the train. From Hachinohe to Tokyo, there was hardly any place to even stand, so I had to stand part of the way and sit on the corridor next to the restroom all the way! The trains ran on schedule. I took the 9:15am train from Sapporo and it reached Hakodate at 12:45pm. Then I crossed over to the next platform to take the 12:55pm train from Hakodate. It reached Hachinohe at 3:55pm. Then I crossed got down from Hachinohe and went up the escalator to another platform to take the 4:10pm shinkansen to Tokyo. Thus there was no waiting time at all and the trains ran pretty smoothly.

I reached Tokyo about 7:50pm. By the time I got off the platform in Tokyo Station, I was really shagged, considering the long train rides and the fact that I was lugging my luggage(s) around! I was too tired to take a train to my Tokyo hotel so I just took a cab, which took less than ten minutes. The next day, I walked down to the Imperial Palace as it was just ten minutes away from the hotel I was staying in, before going to Tokyo station and took a train to Yokohama to meet my friend. I spent the afternoon with my friend, then took a train down to Shinjuku district of Tokyo to wander around, and also the Shibuya district before going back to my hotel.

The next day was my last day in Tokyo. I checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggages there, and took a train down to the Ginza district to wander around. Ginza is a "branded" area, full of upmarket stuff. I came across all the big brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Tiffany's & Co, etc (all authentic!). I even saw a Nissan convertible roadshow and went into an Apple store where I finally got my 2GB iPod Shuffle at a very good price at 7800 Yen (S$117.00), complete with an English manual, ear phones, accessories and USB cables! Yeah! The iPod Shuffles I have come across here cost at least S$200.00!

After wandering around Ginza, I took the subway back to my hotel, collected my luggages and took the train to Tokyo Station, where I then took the Narita Airport Express train to the airport for my flight back home. So that is my Japan trip in a nutshell! More details to follow later, about my experiences, attempts at skiing, the great food and of course the photos and some first attempts at movie-making! I did not take as many photos this time as compared to previous trips, because the skies are dark by four during winter, so it is hard to take photos in the dark. Furthermore, batteries and the camera freeze and refuse to function at such cold climates. Plus, we took it really free and easy, did not go that many places. Stay tuned!

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