day 8 - imperial palace, yasukuni shrine

day 8 (sat): shinjuku(新宿) --> imperial palace --> yasukuni shrine --> ueno (上野)

of all the days in japan, the weather on this day is the best in my opinion. cool and not too windy! headed to the imperial palace - a wide spacious area. there were plenty of sakura trees in full blossom in the park. spent a great deal of time strolling the park.

attempted to look for the nijubashi/megane bridge. the bridge is not as grand as i thought it would be, but still nice nevertheless.

walked over to ginza to collect some stuffs and managed to find a decent curry rice meal for lunch. for your info, ginza doesn't seem to be a place where one can easily locate good food. this curry house is located off the main road.

next up on the scheduled itinerary is the (in)famous yasukuni shrine in kudanshita (九段下). it's a happening and rowdy, as there seemed to be people rallying for all kind of things. didn't pray there as it was meant to honor japanese soldiers during the second world war.

it was a shame that by the time we reach ueno park it has closed for the day. however, ueno is unique in the sense that it is like a huge street market (pasar malam), and very crowded. however, the prices are not as cheap as i thought haha. well, the price gotta match the quality of the items sold.

returned to shinjuku and ate at the sushi place the other day. the staff there actually recognizes us lolx and we were assigned the same table! lol. will be returning to singapore the next day haiz. i gotta return to japan again.

day 7 - mount fuji

day 7 (fri): shinjuku(新宿) --> mount fuji

started the day extremely late today. the view from the window indicates a clear day, but it could probably be an illusion. was actually toying with the idea of postponing the trip to fuji, however reports from the weather forecast seemed to indicate otherwise. and so the trip continues, albeit late!

headed to east shinjuku for lunch. was walking around and saw a poster with this word: 食べ放題　（eat all you can）for around 1400 yen, or sgd20 (tax-inclusive). immediately we decided on lunching there. i simply love their buffet concept: drinks and desserts included!!

the buffet lunch

thereafter we purchased the train tickets to mount fuji. we got lost in the numerous platforms and at the end of the day managed to find it. took the train to otsuki, but along the way, we had to switch another train.

it was during the train switch that i realized tokyo's train efficiency does not extend to the countryside. the next train was a 30 minutes wait in the cold!! once on board the train, it was heaven! cushion seats, leg warmers provided below the seats, and the train doors do not open when no one is alighting or boarding to preserve warmth.

we switched to the fujikyu line and along the way, snow started falling. shit!! by the time we reached the kawaguchiko station, it felt like christmas! tried to claim the ticket for the retro-bus rides, but was told they had stopped operating. part of the reason given was we were too late! crap! what a waste of my money.

sakura tree outside the train


view of the mountains from a stationary train


temperature around -1 deg

another sakura tree in kawaguchiko

snow snow snow... went over to the other side of the station and managed to get some souvenirs for office and some exotic-tasting kit-kats for my friend. explored the area. due to the snow, mount fuji was completely not visible. depressed! felt like a dumbass wasting money for nothing.

snow, snow snow...

left: the curry soba
right: the kit-kat (strawberry cheese cake, wasabi and blueberry flavored)

honestly speaking, i prefer snowing to raining. it was way less messier and the sight of falling snow makes the environment surreal. went to try a small family shop to try some curry soba and sake to preserve warmth.

as night falls, we returned to shinjuku. lo and behold, now the damn beanies are starting to make their appearance again!! nvm... had some krispy kreme for dessert and concluded this depressing day.

day 6 - roppongi

day 6 (thurs): shinjuku(新宿) --> roppongi(六本木)　

due to the very comfortable temperature in the room, we started the day quite late. turned on tv, and crap, the temperature was in single digits. it was reported that hakone had snow piling up. the mount fuji trip was thus postponed and we decided to head to roppongi instead.

the moment we stepped out of the hotel, our breaths literally turned into mist. wow, it's raining. no wonder!

browsed around the area in roppongi. we had a sumptuous lunch there, and yes, it's katsu don again. their katsu don was addictive, and somehow the katsu seemed healthy as it's not oily at all. cabbage and rice free flow :)

personally i did not find anything extremely interesting in roppongi. maybe it was because i visited it during the day - the nightlife is reputed to be somewhat interesting. things were damn expensive. seemed like many things were sold at 20,000 yen ( around sgd300) and above.

anyway, here's some random shots from roppongi.

day 5 - tsukiji fish market, ginza

day ５ (wed): shinjuku(新宿) --> tsukiji(築地市場)　--> ginza(銀座)

took the oedo-subway line and headed to tsukiji-shijo for fresh sushi and sashimi breakfast. it's another windy day. followed some tourists who were also heading in the same direction.

walked around the market and tried an ebi-stick, peppered with wasabi. it was delicious!

left: no smoking sign pasted on the floor
right: the wasabi ebi stick

random view of tsukiji market

went around hunting for sushis. was intending to look for sushi-dai but then didn't seemed to notice it. anyway it didn't matter and we settled for sushi-sei - a deluxe sushi set. the setting reminded me of my game - sushi chef, where patrons are seated on a long bench where the sushi master will prepare your orders right in front of you.

the sushi store we ate in


some sushi i ate


left: note the damn thick tamago
right: snow-crab sushi and i forgot the other sushi

delicious!! went for another round of sushi as my friend wanted to try blue-fin tuna sushi/sashimi before heading over to ginza.

bought some chopsticks along the way (which did not make their way back to singapore, haiz). went straight to mitsukoshi. originally intending to hunt for a jacket, i ended up buying a full black label suit!! i like the suit though haha.

some kabuki theater along the way


left: ginza wako building, symbol of ginza
right: random shot of buildings in ginza

another random shot of ginza


my burberry suit after collection

walked around ginza, nothing too interesting. my friend went into dolce & gabbana store and i gotta practice my translation again. keeping my sentences simple and direct, i managed to minimize the hassle. gosh, i definitely need to further brush up my japanese.

some interesting cars in sony building - 1-seater emission free car

anyway, i felt a sense of accomplishment for today. got praised twice for my usage of japanese for today, yay!

anyway we tried to look for an eating place in ginza, but the place seemed to be void of eateries lol. headed back to shinjuku for dinner then.

taking the marunouchi line back - it had safety doors!


random shots of shinjuku at night

btw just realized we seemed to hear plenty of singlish for the day, so i presume they are from sg. 2 couples at the fish market, a group of hokkien-speaking guys at ginza mitsukoshi, some girls reading a local map at ginza, a handful of both guys and girls right outside the hotel and shinjuku west haha. din realized that tokyo is such a popular holiday destination for singaporeans haha.

had a great but broke day. tomorrow let's head to mount fuji, away from the city.