What A Wonderful World!!

Hi, Everyone,

This is a travel blog to be shared with all of you. I just came back recently from a trip to Japan, free and easy by myself. It was a 11 days trip covering cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, Mt Fuji and Nikko.

FEELINGS

I was sure very excited to be able to go for an overseas trip. It had been some time since I last went for a trip. I decided to choose Japan as my destination as I have never been there before and as it is a non peak season now, therefore it would be cheaper. Due to non peak season, major travel agencies did not have a confirmed trip for the period I chose to go. Therefore, I ended up going by myself on free and easy. I kinda worried cos I am afraid that there would be communication problem as I do not understand Japanese and don't know how to speak Japanese. I was unsure if the Japanese people are good in speaking English too. But I was still determined to go, I see this trip as a challenge for myself - to be independent and solve all the problems by myself that I encountered during this trip. Needless to say, I did encounter problems and thankfully I managed to solve it all because of those friendly Japanese people who helped me. Thanks so much to them.

PROBLEM #1: COMMUNICATION

My worries really happened. There was indeed communication problem. Japanese people do not really know how to speak English or they chose not to speak English. They did not even speak one complete sentence. They only can communicate to me on certain words. But still no worries, cos there is still one language that both of us can communicate with. One universal language that regardless of whatever race you are, everybody will understand. Not English, Chinese or Japanese language. But sign language. So wherever I wanted to go, I would show them the name of the tourist attraction in English (as even our English pronunciation is different), then they would point the direction to me. So I pointed the direction again to confirm that I got it right. Hehehe.

Actually, Japanese are very friendly people, but due to communication problem, they could not explain in detail on the direction to go to the tourist attraction. Therefore, they only could point a direction and once I reached that particular point, I would ask somebody again to continue my journey to the tourist attraction. My advise to you is that if you are travelling on free and easy, always ask for direction from those staff working in the railway stations and those policemen working in those police stations situated along the streets or those traffic policemen, as they know the streets better than anybody else.

PROBLEM #2: HEAVY LUGGAGE THAT I BROUGHT

As it was winter period when I went, I brought a lot of clothings with me as I am someone who can't stand cold. Therefore, I brought one luggage with wheeler for one person use, one haversack and one A4 size sling bag. Problems occurred when I needed to walk quite a distance from the railway station to the hotel (there was once I actually walked for one hour from the railway station to the hotel with my heavy luggage as I needed to ask for direction) and I needed to climb lots of flights of stairs as escalators are not commonly found in railway stations and walking to the elevators of the railway stations was a distance away and not necessary taking the elevators means that I would be able to reach the exit that I wanted to go (This would be further elaborated later). Therefore my advise to you is that if you want to go to Japan on free and easy tour, please choose a season when you can travel light. If you are bringing kids along, DO NOT go on free and easy, choose a tour package, cos you would be highly frustrated and to the certain extent of getting angry if your kids do not behave themselves.

PROBLEM #3: HIGHLY COMPREHENSIVE (EVER-CONFUSING) RAILWAY LINES

Let me tell you, man, Japan has a very, very confusing railway lines, especially Tokyo. To the locals, their railway system is highly comprehensive, but to a tourist who never been to Japan before, it is very confusing. Maybe because of their population is big and their land size is big, therefore there are so many railway lines. Besides the main Japan railway lines, there are a few subway lines and private railway lines, and not forgetting, their bullet trains (known as shinkansen). Imagine Tokyo station in Tokyo has more than 15 tracks. If you are going to Japan on free and easy, I would encourage you to buy the JR pass. JR pass allows you to travel on the main railway lines and shinkansen for unlimited rides. Of cos there are some limitations and conditions, but JR pass really can help you to save a lot.

PROBLEM #4: I TWISTED MY ANKLE. OUCH! WHY?

I actually twisted my ankle on my 5th day stay in Japan. Why am I so clumsy? Because of the time difference. Japan is actually one hour faster than Singapore. So when it is 12 midnight, it is only 11pm based on Singapore time, how can I fall asleep so early? I never sleep so early when I am in Singapore. Majority of the tourist attractions in Japan opens at 9am and closes at 4 or 5pm. To reach the tourist attractions at 9am means I need to wake up latest by 7am, which is equivalent to Singapore time 6am. That means that I have less than 5 hrs of sleep everyday. I am severely short of sleep. The problem was further exaggerated with the drain of my strength as I needed to carry the heavy luggage travelling from one city to another, thus I am very tired too. Not only that, Japanese people always rush themselves against time when they are at the railway stations. They are forever rushing in and out of the trains, rushing up and down the stairs. They even use escalators as stairs. Some even run against time. Given the population of Japan, it is very 'scary' as you saw so many people rushing during peak hours. So if you can't beat them, don't follow them. Let them go first and you follow last. Because of my lack of sleep, tiredness and joining the crowd rushing down the stairs, I actually missed one step and sprained my ankle. Lucky I managed to grab hold of the railings and did not roll down the stairs. If not, I couldn't imagine what would happen.

When I twisted my ankle, it was so painful and my head started to spin. I was so afraid that I would faint and I started to imagine the worse. I worried that my ankle was broken and I didn't know how to go to see a doctor in the clinic or hospital. I was worried that I needed to cancel my trip and go back to Singapore immediately and I would suffer a monetary loss as some of the hotel bookings I already paid online. As I didn't want to cancel my trip and suffered the monetary loss, I told myself to bear the pain and continue the trip. No matter how, I must continue the trip and go back to Singapore as per schedule to treat my ankle. Because of this determination, endurance and perseverance, I continued limping slowly to my next tourist attraction and went to a pharmacy after that to buy medical plaster. The medical plaster was my life saver as it did reduce the pain but the swell did not go away. My feet was still swollen but I am very grateful that I could complete my journey as planned. Therefore, the MORAL OF THE STORY IS DETERMINATION, ENDURANCE AND PERSEVERANCE EQUALS TO SUCCESS.

The following sections that I would be sharing with you would be some of the Japanese culture and some of the experiences I saw and learnt in Japan.

TEMPERATURE

I went during the winter season. The temperature is around 10 degree celsius. Quite cooling during the day given the number of pieces that I was already wearing. Hahaha. What to do. I am scare of cold. But at night, the temperature drop and can feel the coldness especially the wind keep on blowing and blowing. Oh gosh, i was shivering, so cold.

HOTEL

I actually got a chance to live in a few types of hotel during my stay in Japan. One of them is actually a capsule hotel. This is very common in Japan as these hotels are specially for those Japanese who work late and do not want to travel back home. Therefore they would just book for a night and stay in the capsule room. Most of the capsule hotels are only for men, some capsule hotels do cater for the women too. In such cases, there will be one storey specially for women only. Capsule room is very small with only the space for one mattress, a small TV, radio and alarm clock. There is not much space for you to put your bags.

Another type is actually a ryokan. A ryokan is actually a Japanese room, which means that there is no bed frame. There is only tatami mats and mattress. Some of the hotels will actually provide Yutake. It is a night gown that Japanese people wear at night.

A Capsule Hotel. There are two rows of capsule rooms

A capsule room, small but still comfortable

Japanese way of sleeping without the mattress, with the tatami mats on the ground

TV CHANNELS

There are not many channels available. All of them are in Japanese. Even those Hollywood movies are translated into Japanese when they are aired. Majority are variety shows, there are not much of dramas or movies. Some hotels actually have a service where you paid Yen1000 (about S$13.00) for a night, they will give you a card to be inserted in a device on top of the TV and you can get to see extra channels.

TRANSPORTATION

Their transportation are the most comprehensive and systematic. They actually have a timetable for both their railways and bus transports for both weekdays and weekends and their accuracy of arrival based on their timetable is 100% accuracy unless there is a technical fault or traffic accident. Therefore you have no reason to tell your boss that you are late for work because the trains or buses are late. Priority seats are always found in trains and buses. Priority seats are those seats specially for those elderly, pregnant mums or small kids. What I like about priority seats for buses is that each seat is separated by seat handles and on each seat handle, there is a press for the bell to ring. This provides convenience to the person who uses the seats as they do not need to stand up to press the bell while the bus is moving.

Buses

There are two types of buses in Japan. The first type is where you would take a ticket when you board the bus and the ticket will print which bus stop you board the bus. There is an electronic chart on the bus to show the amount to pay. The fares will be updated whenever the bus stops at a bus stop. So when the bus reached your destination, you will pay accordingly based on the amount reflected. For example, you get on the bus at bus stop #10 and you get off the bus at bus stop #15, then you look at the electronic chart and look for #10. The amount reflected below #10 is the amount you pay. Another type of bus is you tell the driver where you will be going and the driver will key in the destination. Then the amount will be reflected in the electronic signage beside the bus driver and you pay the amount at that point in time. There will be no ticket issued for such buses.

This is the electronic signboard where fares are updated when the bus reaches each bus stop

Railways

Before you want to board a train, always check the electronic signboard on the direction that this train is going. Don't be surprised that you see different directions for different trains at different timings. For example, at 930am, there is a train going to destination A. At 935am, there is a train going to destination B. And destination A and B does not belong to the same direction. If you got on a wrong train and wanted to go back to the original station, it did not mean that by going back to the opposite track, you can go back to the original station. Sometimes you needed to go to track 3 or 4 to go back. One important point to remember that for certain directions, they have normal trains, limited express trains and express trains. Normal trains means that they will stop at every stations. Limited express trains means that they will skip some stations. Express trains means that they will skip majority of the stations. Therefore, you must be very careful before you board the train. Don't be like me, I boarded wrong trains a few times before.

Some of the stations consists of a few storeys with different exits to allow you to go to different places or transfer to another line. Therefore, before you walked out of the exit, always checked with the staff if this was the correct exit to go to your destination. As Japan is big, different exits are actually situated very far away from each other. If you walked out of wrong exit, then you will waste a lot of time walking to the correct exit point. Getting lost is a common thing happened to me and when I wanted to go back to the original exit, I realized that I could not find the original exit. But no matter how, I still able to go back to the original exit after much time and effort. I learnt my lesson and always asked the station staff before I walked out of the exit.

When you are travelling on railways, be observant and you will know which side of the escalators you should stand in order to let others to walk up or down the escalators, as they do not have fixed rules on which sides to stand. Also look at the floors of the platforms, some platforms have rectangle markings on the platforms, that means you must queue up based on the markings painted as these are where the doors will open.

Some of the trains have "women only" cabin. These cabins specially tailored for the fairer sex so that some men would not take advantage during peak time where the trains will be very packed.

Different railway companies operate differently. Some trains have both pre-recorded announcer and a electronic signboard to notify the passengers on the next station. Some railway companies have electrical signboards and with the train driver announcing the station's name. Some railway companies do not have anything at all. If there is a pre-recorded announcer, then there will be an English announcement. The train driver will never make an announcement in English. Some train stations use pre-recorded announcer to announce that a train is approaching the station. Some railway companies actually employ a staff just to make announcement at the platform whenever the train is approaching. Sometimes you will see the announcer and the driver saluting to each other when the driver stops the train at the station. Sometimes you will see the driver making a bow at the station when the train is moving out of the station. I am not very sure of the purpose either.

There is no signage indicating food and drinks are not allowed and I also saw people eating and drinking in the railway train before. But no phone calls are allowed in the the train, so if you want to make a call using your handphone, you need to go to the connecting joint of the two cabins as there are doors for each cabin, thus you would not disturb the rest of the passengers (Note that Japan has a different network from us, so even if you have an auto roaming handphone, you also can't use it in Japan, so you need to borrow their handphone sets in order to use it in Japan).

Railway trains cabin. There are doors on both sides of each cabin, so if you want to use your handphone to make a call, you are supposed to stand at the connecting point and closed the doors before you make the call

Women only cabin. Guys, Get Out! We don't welcome you here!

Shinkansen (Bullet trains)

Taking a journey in Shinkansen is like having a car ride on an expressway. In actual fact, you can't feel the fast speed. The only way that you know that it is travelling on a fast speed is when another Shinkansen travel in an opposite direction. The very first impact when the other Shinkansen passed by you is so strong that the train actually jerked forcefully and when the rest of the cabins passed by you, the window panes are actually rattling. With less than 2mins, the whole Shinkansen passed by you. Wow ... ... Now I know how fast it is travelling. The normal speed that a Shinkansen is travelling is about 300km/h.

On average, a Shinkansen train has 15 cabins with 20 rows of 5 seats per row per cabin. That means it has a total of seating capacity of 100 passengers. Some shinkansen trains are actually two shinkansen trains joint together and some are of double layers, so the seating capacity increases significantly. Food and drinks are sold in a push cart in the train, so if you are hungry or thirsty, you do not need to worry. There is always an officer on patrol, he will walk from one cabin and another to make sure everything is in order. And whenever he left the cabin, he would actually bow to us before leaving.

Another Shinkansen train zooming by! Zzzooooommmm ... Now you see it, now its gone!

The interior of a Shinkansen train

This photo is taken in the lower deck of a 2-level Shinkansen train

Taxis

I am not very sure if taxis in different cities are of different prices. But taking taxis definitely demands a higher cost. I took a taxi at Mt Fuji area and the 0n board price is Yen680, which is equivalent to around S$8.70. The journey is about 15mins and the total fare is around Yen2200, which is equivalent to around S$28.00.

FOOD

The Japanese people specialist in the food they cooked. Thus it is difficult for you to find a restaurant that sell a large variety of food. If the owners sell ramen, then they only have ramen, customers can't buy sushi or bento sets. Because of this speciality, you can taste the best authentic Japanese food ever in Japan. The food is so good that you simply fall in love with it and can't wait to ask for more. Yum Yum. Some restuarants or food outlets have ordering vending machine. All the food they sell will be stated in Japanese on the various buttons on the machine, sometimes you may find pictures of the food but majority of the food they sell do not come with pictures. So after making your selection and making payment, you take the tickets from the machines and passed to the staff to proceed with the order. Japanese restuarants are usually very small with only a few seats, therefore you must not be particular about the close distance that you are between the guests beside you. To them, they feel cosy and warmth. Smoking is allowed in the restuarants and food outlets and they don't classified into smoking or non smoking zones. Even McDonalds provides ash trays for the customers.

VENDING MACHINES

Vending machines are commonly found in Japan. Vending machines that sell drinks, cigarettes and hot food. This is a good option to have as it provides convenience to the customers.

TOILET BOWL. EEEEE .... why toilet bowl?

Because even their toilet bowls are also very interesting too. I believed majority of you have heard or seen news before regarding some Japanese toilet bowls with special features. Now I have the chance to see them, use them and enjoy the experience. There is a type when there will be sounds of birds chirping and water flowing when you are using the toilet. There is another type where the seats of the toilet bowls are always warmed, so when you sit on it, your bums will feel very comfortable. This type of toilet bowls also come water spray, so when you finish, you can press the water spray button and water will be sprayed to your bum to clean it. You can even choose the water pressure level. Of cos there are also some toilets with special functions such as there will be a button for short flush and a button for long flush, this actually helps to conserve the water.

The words on the button is "big" and "small". That means long flush or short flush so as to conserve water

This is the type of toilet bowl where the seat is always warm and there is a water spray to clean your bum

WASTE / RUBBISH BINS

It is not common to see rubbish bins in Japan. When there is one, normally you will see 4 rubbish bins joint together. One is for can bottles, one is for PET bottles, one is for newspapers and magazines and one is for others. Japanese emphazied a lot of recycling, thus they have a few rubbish bins.

SHOPPING

Majority of the items selling in Japan are of high prices. Branded boutiques are commonly found and their boutiques are usually very big with a few storeys. I guess the Japanese are willing to spend when it comes to fashion.

Most of the retail stores and departmental stores open either at 10 or 11am and close either at 8pm or 9pm. Some departmental stores even closes at 730pm! Their window displays are usually simple with only a few props. Theirs are very distinctive in emphasing their latest collections. There is one cosmetics boutique that I was very impressed with their display. Even simple cosmetics items can create an effect of an artistic piece in the window display. From far, you might thought that it is a colorful piece of art and you walked closer to take a look, you realised that it was simply a collection of different colors eyeshadow joint together. Even the interior design of the store is like a art gallery. Their creative director is very creative and think out of the box.

FASHION

The Japanese teenagers are very particular about their style of dressing. They put in a lot of effort in styling their hair especially the guys. Every hairstyle is like a form of art as there are a lot of styles being featured in eaech head. Guys like to wear black, tight-fitting clothes to show off their muscular build while the gals emphasied a lot on their eye make up and they would wear short skirt with high boots.

NIGHTLIFE

There is not much nightlife in Japan since majority of the retail stores close quite early. Restaurants close later but also not too late at night. Therefore if you want to go back to the hotel late, the only option that you have is bars and pubs. Bars and pubs are not commonly available, you need to check it out first. They are usually concentrated in one area.

NIGHTLIFE (Extra curriculum activities for men!)

How do you know if a woman is working in this line or not? Normally you can gauge by her dressing. Her fresh make up and her dressing to the nines differentiate her from a working lady with faded makeup and tired look from her office job. Young women always like to show off their slender legs, they can't wear too revealing top as it is winter period, so mini skirts is definitely a must for them. For those mature women, they like to wear long western dresses of sweet colors such as light pink, blue and purple. Now who say mature women have no demand?! When there is demand, there is a supply. So how do you know if a particular street is a sleazy street? Normally there are signages outside the shops with women photos and prices on it. Another way is by looking at the taxis. If you see a 'taxi jam' with a long line of taxis queuing up waiting to drive into a street, that means that it is a sleazy street. As I mentioned earlier that taxis fares are expensive, therefore the night time is the only time where these taxis drivers can earn more money. All these that I mentioned is not mere heresay from others, these are actually what I saw in different cities but I shall not say which cities.

Another interesting thing that I saw is actually a pimp center. Outside the shop, there will be signages something like asking you if you want to look for night activities and they have a comprehensive database for you to help you to search. When you walk past this shop in the morning, you never think it as a pimp center but the shop is closed. It is only at night when the shop is opened, and when you look inside the shop, the staff are all men. Men who dressed like an executive with black suits and trousers. On their counters will be a few laptops where they kept their database. The shop is not brightly lit, they use dim green and blue neon lights to light up the shop. So when a deal is made, the customer will go to the love hotel first, then the pimp will go to a few shops down the street to pick up the woman (actually this depends on where the woman is working) and ask the woman to follow him. He will never walk beside the woman, he will always walk very fast with the woman tagging behind. If business is bad, these men will walk to nearly traffic junction to prey on the targets - men who dress well and look rich and the pimp will ask these men whether they would want to have extra activities for the night or not. Therefore, it is always better for you to walk along the main road when you are on the way back to the hotel at night.

Below are some of the photos that I took during the trip.

Japan, Here I come!

Bye, Bye, Singapore. I am flying to Japan! Bye, SIA! (This photo is taken when the plane took off at Changi Airport)

Wah, the clouds are so beautiful! Er, What is the name of these clouds? Oh dear, I forgot. My Geography teacher will be very disappointed in me!

Dusk is approaching. I get to witness dusk on the flight

Look, Mr Moon! Bye, Mr Moon. Mr Sun is going to be here!

TOKYO (4 Days)

SENSO-JI

This present temple dates from 1950. This temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy). The entrance is via Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate). The gate's protector gods are Fujin, the god of wind, and Raijin, the god of thunder on the right and left respectively. Ahead will be Nakamise-Dori, the temple's precinct's shopping street where you can find everything. A very popular street for the locals and tourists.

This is the Kaminarimon (Thunder gate) where you see the two protector gods

This is Senso-ji, the temple where many worshippers come everyday

Look, who I found under the lion's statue? Mr Pussy Cat. So clever. Hehehe

The Buddhist Goddess of Mercy

Plum Flowers. This is the season for plum flowers. This is commonly found in the parks and temples. Basically there are white and pink plum flowers. You will see elderly plucking these flowers, but I am not very sure what are they going to do with it

Nakamise-Dori. Wah! So crowded!

TOKYO TOWER

Tokyo Tower is a 330m tower with a grand observation platform of 150m high. You also can go to the special observation platform of 250m with extra charges. There is also an aquarium, wax museum and holographic mystery zones.

This is taken from Tokyo Tower. Valentine's Day is coming, so they purposely decorated the trees with lights so when you see from the top is it like a sharp of a key with a heart inside the key, representing you are the key to my love. Aw, so sweet and romantic!

This is actually the floor of the platform. So if you scare of heights, please don't look down.

ZOJO-JI

This is a family temple of the Tokugawas. It was situated beside Tokyo Tower.

The temple is very, very, very dark at night. There is no street lights at all. I better made this visit a fast one. Very scary. I saw a lot of tombstone at the back of the courtyard. I better leave this place fast. But I have not eat my dinner yet, my legs are all wobbly. Yeeeee, so scary, I want my mummy! Mummy, mummy, help me! Ah!!!!!!

IMPERIAL PALACE AND IMPERIAL PALACE EAST GARDEN

The palace is only opened to the public on 2nd January and 23 December. It is possible to at least get a view of the palace at the bridge Niju-bashi. The present palace was completed in 1968. It occupied the site of the castle, Edo-jo, where Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan. The original palace was destroyed in WWII.

The Imperial Palace East Garden's main entrance is through the Ote-mon. This was the main gate of Edo-jo. The garden itself was once the heart of the old castle.

TSUKIJI FISH MARKET

The day begins very early, with the arrival of the fish and its wholesale auctioning. The wholesale market is not open to the general public. You can go to the wholesalers' and intermediaries' stalls that sell directly to restaurants and other retail buyers. Be very careful of the motorised delivery carts that speed around the market.

When you are here, you must definitely eat at one of the restauarants situated in the market. Where do you actually get the freshest ingredients? No where, but here. Look for those restuarants with long queues. The time you spent waiting is definitely worth the wait.

I went to one restauarant named "Sushi Dai". Seeing that there is a queue, I decided to eat here. Even though there were only a few customers in front of me, about 10 customers, I actually needed to wait for 2 hours or so for my turn to enter the restuarant. Since I am not sure what to order, so I decided to order the sushi set. The chef will serve you the sushi piece by piece, after you finished one, then another piece was served. This is to ensure the freshness of the fish and also to let you taste the different type of fish. Thus, they would give you the sushi whose fish is of the lightest taste to the last one of strongest taste. They would also tell you which sushi is supposed to eat on its own, without dipping into the sauce, so that the sauce would not covered the taste of the fish.

When I had the first bite of the first sushi, it was so tasty and so good that I simply fall in love with it. The fish is so fresh and when you bite it, it simply blends into the rice perfectly, creating the perfect tasting sushi. Not forgetting the wasabi, the amount of wasabi that the chef puts in was just right that you would get a few seconds of spiciness shooting up your brain, not too spicy, not too blend, just right. The rice is also very soft and itself has a nice aroma to it too. Of course, the chef is young and handsome too. Heehee. In fact, the three chefs are all young and handsome. Maybe eating sushi that they make helps them to look so good. Heehee. When the salmon sushi was served, I was so surprised! This is the best freshly coloured salmon that I saw the first time. It was so rich in orange colored that it is of the same shade colour as the fruit orange. With such good tasting sushi and handsome chefs to look at, I finished my sushi set very quickly, but I did not order more since I was rushing to my next destination. But when I go to Tokyo again in the future, this sushi restaurant is definitely a must for me to go again. Yummy Yummy.

Outside the fish market, there is a row of food stalls. I did not try the food since I just finished my sushi set. But the food that they cooked have very good aroma too. You will see queues too. As the stalls are small, so the people just stand beside the high table in front of the stalls to eat the food. Very unique experience standing to eat your food.

ODAIBA / TOKYO BAY

This is a recent development in Tokyo. At Tokyo Bay, there are a few of shopping and entertainment complexes, together with amusement parks too.

The following photos are taken in Venus Fort. One of the shopping complexes in Tokyo Bay and the last photo is Toyota Mega Web.

TOYKO DISNEYLAND

This place does not need further introduction. All of us know Disneyland since young and all of us are all friends of Disney characters. The success of Disneyland attracts many companies to learnt from them and so now, let us take a trip down to Tokyo Disneyland and see how the success of Disneyland is replicated in Tokyo Disneyland.

Mickey and gang, I am here to see you all! My, Oh My. All my friends here, Mickey and gang, know how to speak Japanese. Amazing! Maybe its time for me to upgrade too!

"To All Who Come To This Happy Place

-- Welcome --

Here You Will Discover Enchanted Lands

Of Fantasy and Adventure, Yesterday and Tomorrow.

May Tokyo Disneyland Be An Eternal Source

Of Joy, Laughter, Inspiration And Imagination

To The People Of The World.

And May This Magical Kingdom Be An Enduring

Symbol Of The Spirit Of Cooperation And Friendship

Between The Great Nations Of

Japan And The United States of America.

MT FUJI (2 days)

Mt Fuji stands 3776m high and it is Japan's highest mountain. The climbing season on Mt Fuji is in July and August but of course you can climb the mountain in any time of the year, but it is advisable not to climb during winter period as the grounds are wet and covered with snow, unless you are a professional mountain climber. The mountain is divided into 10 'stations'. Normally, people without experience in mountain climbing will climb to the 5th stations. If you want to reach the summit, it is best to plan your time wisely so that you can reach the summit before dawn as being able to witness dawn on the summit of Mt Fuji is simply picturesque.

Mt Fuji on a misty day

These 2 photos are taken during the ride in the Shinkansen train. The 2nd photo is the enlarged photo of Mt Fuji summit

Saw this falling from the sky. What is this? Can anybody advise me? Hmmm ... Don't tell me that it is my friend, ET's flying machine had technical problems and fell off from the sky?! Oh dear, I must go and save my friend, ET! ET, don't be scared! I am coming! I am coming!

Japanese style of barbequeing. What I ordered is a set. The fish is still alive when it is served to me. Its mouth is opening and closing and its tail is still flipping. Ah!!!!!! Staring at me!!!! I told the waiter that it is still moving, the waiter said that it is fresh. Erm, fresh?! and the waiter also told me to wait for awhile before barbequeing the fish, which means let the fish to die first ... ... Noodles are served last after you finished the barbequed food. Pay close attention to the ladle. Actually one side is for the noodles and one side is for the soup, so useful and practical.

Lake Kawaguchi-ko, one of the 5 lakes of Kawaguchi-ko

These photos are taken in the Kawaguchi-ko cable car and also taken from Fuji Viewing Platform where the cable car lands

Lake Sai-ko, one of the 5 lakes in Kawaguchi-ko

FUGAKU WIND CAVE

Fugaku Wind Cave is a lave cave made by eruptions of Mt Fuji. There are about 80 caves around Mt Fuji and Fugaku Wind Cave is one of the most famous caves.

After visiting Fugaku Wind Cave, I wanted to go to Narusawa Ice Cave. As there is no direct bus to go to the Ice Cave, my only option is to walk. Based on the map, it showed that I needed to walk for about 20mins, so I began my walking journey. I walked about 30mins and there is no sign of any human activity as there is only one road and that road happened to be an expressway with a lot of heavy vehicles driving by. So my only option is either to continue the journey or turn back, so I decided to continue my journey, thinking that I may reach soon. I walked for another 30mins and I finally saw human activity, it was actually a stop over point for those truck drivers to rest.

There is one small food restaurant, one supermarket and one information counter. Therefore, I went to the information counter to check it out. With much difficulty in communicating with the lady staff there, she found out for me that there is one bus arriving at 540pm at the bus stop at the main road that goes to Ice Cave, but Ice Cave is closed by then! So I asked her to check the timing of the bus that goes to Kawaguchi-ko station (Kawaguchi-ko station is the main station where there are railway stations, bus stations and taxi stand), so that I can take a taxi back to the hotel. Taxi is the only option I have as there is no bus services by the time I reach Kawaguchi-ko station, and it happened to be the same bus that goes to Ice Cave. So I have no choice but go to the restaurant to have my late lunch and waited for one hour for the bus to come.

At 520pm, the lady staff from the information counter saw me and ask me why I am still here, so I told her it is still early and I don't want to wait at the bus stop in this cold weather. Hehehe. At 530pm, the lady staff came to look for me and asked me again if I am going to Kawaguchi-ko station and she actually pointed her mini van and offered to give me a ride! Since she is so kind and helpful, how can I turn her down? Hehehe. So I actually boarded her van and experienced a car ride in a Japan mini van. Throughout the journey, we talked to each other and she also pointed her house to me. Quite fun even though we had problems talking and understanding each other! Hahaha!

Erm, Erm ... ... I forgot the names of these formations. I am really a great disappointment to my Geography teacher. Anybody can help me?

Natural Refrigerator? What are they keeping here?

See the tins are so rusty but the plants inside are still fresh

OSAKA (2 days)

OSAKA CASTLE

This castle was built as a display of power by Toyotomi Hideyoshi after he unified Japan. This present castle is a 1931 reconstruction of the original. There is an excellent collections of displays relating to the castle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Osaka city. There is also an observation deck offering excellent views of the surrounding areas.

Pay close attention on the right side of the photo. That is actually an elevator constructed in the Edo period. Thus elevator is not a modern invention.

Scenic view of Osaka, taken from the observatory platform of the Osaka Castle

UMEDA SKY BUILDING

This is the most dramatic modern architecture. The twin tower complex looks like a space-age version of Paris's Arc De Triomphe. There are two observation galleries, an outdoor rooftop and indoor. You need to take a glassed-in escalator for the final five storeys to get to the top.

Elevator to the open roof top

Nightview of Osaka

This is taken from the ground floor of the building

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN

I did not really enjoy the trip to Universal Studios Japan, as a number of rides were under renovation and those mascots that I saw is those cartoon characters like Popeye, Pink Panther and Sesame Street characters. I did not see any superheros mascots. Seem like something is missing, without all these superheros mascots. Furthermore, the float parade is also being cancelled. Sigh!

TEMPOZAN AREA

Tempozan is the best of Osaka's growing seaside developments. It has several attractions such as the Gian Ferris Wheel which is the one of the largest ferris wheel in the world. It is standing 112m high which offers a bird's eye view of Osaka, Osaka Bay and Kobe. Next to the ferris wheel is Tempozan Marketplace which is a shopping and dinning arcade.

OSAKA AQUARIUM

It's is one of the largest aquarium in the world. There is a main tank and various small tanks that displays life found on the eight different ocean levels.

What is that strong fishy smell? Am I at a fish market? NO! I reached my destination - Osaka Aquarium!

It's so fun playing in the waters. You want to join me? The more the merrier

Wow, so many fishes. Hi, everybody!

Who slapped me? Swim out if you dare. Oops, sorry, big brother whale shark, so sorry. I don't know it's you.

Spiders Aliens had arrived! Run! I mean Swim! Swim! Save yourself. Please put on your spectales, it is not Spiders Aliens. It is Japanese Giant Spider Crabs. Oh, yah oh.

Wow, so beautiful ... who? You or me? I am talking about the jellyfish! Heehee, i see

KYOTO (1 day)

NIJO-JO

This castle was built in 1603 as the residence of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu. The interior rooms are fitted with 'nightingale' floor (floors that squeak at every move) and there are also concealed chambers where the bodyguards could keep watch. After pass the grand Kara-mon gate, you enter the Ninomaru Palace which is divided into five buildings with numerous chambers. There is the Ninomaru Palace Garden that was designed by tea master and landscape architect Kobori Enshu.

HEIAN-JINGU

This was built in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto. There is a big torii about 500m in front of the shrine and it is the main entrance to the shrine itself. The shrine is colorful replicas of the Kyoto Gosho of the Heian period. Its garden is also represent the garden in the Heian period with large pond and Chinese-inspired bridge.

GION

Gion is a very famous entertainment and giesha district on the eastern bank of Kamogawa. There are 17th-century traditional restaurants and teahouses. There are also art galleries and antiques shops where you can do some shopping.

I actually watched a performance at Gion corner. This performance is made up of a few sections covering on the art and culture of Traditional Japan.

Tea ceremony was brought to Japan by Zen Buddhists priests at the end of the Heian Period (12th century). A Zen priest named Sen Rokyu (1521-1591) established the tea ceremony in present form under the protection of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

The koto was imported from China about 1,300 years ago. This instrument was used as the Imperial Court for playing Gagaku, the special court music.

Flower arrangement was started in Japan since the 6th century, around 1,500 years ago when Buddhism first came from China.

Gagaku (Court Music) was introduced into Japan in the 8th century and it continued to flourish among the members of the imperial family, the nobles and the other upper circles of society, especially during Heian period (9-12th centuries).

Kyogen (Ancient Comic Play) pieces had been handed down from the 15th century. After 16th century, Kyogen became exclusive among people in the warrior class as one of their acccomplishments unter the patronage of the Shogunate at that time. This play (as you seen in the photos) is about the servants stole their master's sake to drink even though their master tied them up. Their master caught them drinking and drove them out of the house.

Kyomai (Kyoto Style Dance) was born in the 17th century and it developed during the Tokugawa period. Kyomai adopted the elegance and sophistication of the Imperial Court manners (There is no photo taken for this as the dance was recorded in video).

Bunraku (Puppet Play) developed over a period of more than 12 centuries as the popular entertainment of the people. This Bunraku art was established in the Eiroku Period (16th century) by Takemoto Gidayu, who is known as the founder and greatest contributor to the Gidayubushi, which is the music and dislogue of the puppet plays. This puppet play (as you seen in the photos) is about how a women went through great pains by passing a missing sword to her lover. If her lover could not find the sword by the deadline, he would have to face death.

YOKOHAMA (1 day)

SANKEI-EN

The beautifully landscaped gardens of Sankei-en feature walking paths among ponds, 17th-century buildings, tea-ceremony houses and a 500 year old three storey pagoda.

SHIN-YOKOHAMA RAMEN HAKUBUTSUKAN

This is a remen theme park that tells the history of the cuisine. The remen houses is a replica of a 1958 Shitamachi. There are 9 ramen shops where you can eat some fantastically good ramen.

If you are a ramen lover, this is definitely a must place you must visit. All the ramen shops here are the best in Japan. It is simply so tasty and mouth watering that you can't wait to ask for a second bowl. The soup is brewed so prefectly that the whole place is filled with aroma. Yum Yum. I also bought an ice cream called "ice cream pop". The ice cream is filled in a balloon shaped container. When you purchased the ice cream, the owner would cut one end off, so you are supposed to press the ice cream out slowly and eat it. If you pressed too hard, the ice cream would pop out and thus the name "ice cream pop".

CHINATOWN

There is a eight storey Yokohama Daisekai and it is a Chinese theme park modeling itself of the old Shanghai in the 20's and 30's. There are theatre shows, preformance, restaurants and shops. There is also a Chinese temple in the heart of Chinatown.

NIKKO (1 Day)

These are the photos of the town of Nikko.

TOBU WORLD SQUARE

"Let's Preserve Historic Remains And Architectural Cultures in the World!”is the theme of the Tobu World Square. The Park has 42 miniature, UNESCO-designated, World Cultural and Heritage Sites exhibited. You will enjoy looking at the cultural heritages in the world while developing a consciousness for the need to preserve and protect such historic structures. The exquisite reproductions was 1/25th of the original sizes of 102 historic relics and architectures in the premises, which are presently exhibited in the Park.

Flat Iron Building (U.S.A)

The World Trade Center (U.S.A)

Sphinx (Egypt)

St. Vasilie Church (Russia)

St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy)

The Duomo in Milan (Italy)

Versailles Palace (France)

Anandan Temple (Myanmar)

Angkor Wat (Cambodia)

The Great Wall of China

The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (Kaoshiung, Taiwan)

Himeji Castle (Hyogo)

In conclusion, I had showed you some of the sights of Tokyo and also brought you around the world with those whole renowned tourist attractions in the world. So what is your next destination? What is my next destination? Nobody knows, but Japan is definitely a place I will go again and Mt Fuji is definitely a mountain that I will climb. So let us start saving now!