i didn't realized it was so hard for me to get to tokyo! right after boarding, we were told that the aircraft's communication system had broken down and the plane was grounded. attempts to fix it failed and we had to re-board another plane, going through all the security checks again. and so 2 hours after our scheduled departure, we were still attempting to depart from changi airport to reach tokyo. all ana compensate us was just a bottle of mineral water!!!5 years ago my attempt to go japan failed as ngee ann poly refused to fund the trip at the last minute even after winning the singapore robotics games despite getting all the paperwork and everything settled. 5 years later the plane broke down when i attempt to reach japan on a self-funded trip!!! angry!!
anyway soon we were flying off albeit 3 hours later. the plane is pretty standard. drinks are free-flow throughout the flight, service level excellent, and throughout the flight there were plenty of snacks going around. main course was excellent followed by yummy haagen-daas ice cream as dessert.
while landing at narita airport, we saw this interesting yet amusing sign:
cleared immigration around 10 20 and the local temperature is 16 degrees. stepped outside for a while and realized that tokyo was very windy. anyway, i like the idea of their airport - public transport centric. right outside the arrival halls are the different bus services, and further down the taxis.
right outside narita airport arrival hall
anyway we took the narita express to shinjuku. the fare costs around 3500 yen with a suica fare-card. then the narita express got delayed!!! in the end we took almost 90 minutes to get to our destination.we exited via shinjuku southern terrace exit to get to hotel plaza sunroute shinjuku, and omg, it's windy! i feel like i'm in a place with a powerful gigantic air-conditioner with the fan turned on.
searching for the southern terrace exit
anyway it's still way too early for check-in and the hotel kindly kept our luggage for us while we went for lunch and some exploration around the area.
around the shinjuku area, the streets are damn clean, but where are all the dustbins? i had a hard time trying to discard some trash.
after checking-in, we visited takashimaya and tokyu hands, which is just nearby. i bought an expensive burberry black label polo tee there. my first impression of excellent service is japan is overwhelming. after i paid for my purchases, i was not allowed to hold them until i was escorted out of the shop, where the sales attendant would then hand over my purchases to me. after that, as i walked away, the attendant would yell a "arigato gozaimasu" ~~~
the windy walkway to takashimaya overseeing a clock tower
well, during the night the temperature plunged to a single digit or so i think. anyway, for the first day, i still find the atmosphere cool as i did not perspire at all. though i was a little sick, this is something refreshing.
had a great dinner katsu don dinner for around 1000 yen i think. their potato croquet is just great! best of all, green tea and cabbage are free flow. tried to use some japanese but ended up in a mess!
went back to hotel after that and tried to make sense of their interesting tv programs.
purchase of the day
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