People are always talking about how awesome Tokyo is and more often than not they come back speaking in Japanese -_- (which is quite annoying, please don't). However I've also heard that things are very expensive there and of course there is the language barrier - which is why I never went until this year!!
However, I'm a freaking convert now. I FUCKING LOVE TOKYO!!! The Japanese are so... evolved. I've never been to a country that made me feel like my own country is inadequately developed, not even NYC. But Japan made me feel that way!
There are literally no rude people there. Everyone is other-centred, quiet, polite, and ALWAYS SMILING WTF. Even in 40 degree c temperatures!! Gadgets there are way more advanced than any other place. Everyone and everything is optimized for efficiency. Everybody recycles! It's great for tourists to abuse =D
Products there are of really high quality... Toilets, electronics, clothes... especially FOOD! Everything is yummy! And expensive. But worth it!
OK enough yakking. Photos!!
Arrival at Narita airport greeted by a cute mascot as per Japanese norm.
We flew JAL. Pleasant enough but ironically the food is TERRIBLE! Worst food I've had in an airplane!
Weird or what considering Japanese cuisine is famous worldwide.
I've been pestering Ming to let Mike and I join him on a holiday in Tokyo coz his uncle has a place in Harajuku. Free accomodation plus awesome tour guide (Ming) who will confirm bring us to eat good food!! MUAHAHA
Just so happened the Jipaban team (including Tim) was going to go to Tokyo for an exhibition so Mike, Cheesie and I tagged along!
See I'm so clever I go to Japan with people who can speak Japanese (Cheesie) and people with accomodation (Ming). Muahaha!!!!
Took the Narita Express train to Shinjuku, and met up with the rest in time for dinner.
Say hi to Hachiko! If you watched the Richard Gere film of the same name (I did and I cried like MAD), you'd know Hachiko, a shiba inu doggie, is famous because it came to the same spot everyday to wait for its owner to come back from work. This would not have been amazing if not for the fact that after its owner died, Hachiko still went to the station everyday at precisely the same time... for NINE FREAKING YEARS!
Watch and learn nasty Pumpkin!!
A bronze statue of Hachiko is thus erected at Shibuya station!! The film protrayed the station as being very quiet and and kinda rural but in actual fact Shibuya is super crowded!
Tokyo streets
Day 2, back at Ming's uncle's apartment...
Jipaban girls getting ready to go
Tim and Ming
Cheesie and I!!
It was freaking 40 degree celcius or something so I HAD to tie up my hair. Sigh... I don't know how Cheesie managed to have her hair down. That's how vain she is.
The gang walking ahead... Poor Tim didn't bring shorts so he wore jeans everyday! Sweat must be dripping down his legs wtf.
Can you see why we are friends?
Our footwear. We were determined not to wear slippers (or wear as infrequently as possible) coz the fashionable Japanese girls are MAD and they've already start to wear fur, boots and nordic prints (the in things this autumn) even though it's fucking sweltering hot!
On our way to the famous Meiji temple we passed by Harajuku street, where we spotted old men in... G strings. Or sumo pants??
They are covered by the person in jeans but I assure you I saw their ass cheeks!
Since it was my first day there and I already saw weirdos I thought I'd see more outrageous dressing but to my disappointment most other people were normal-ish with the exception of some blue/purple/green hair. :(
One thing I hate about Tokyo is the walking.
Call me lazy but I can't stand walking 15 mins to the subway, taking the subway and walking another 20 mins to your final destination. ESPECIALLY IN BAD WEATHER.
Already so sweaty and gross and exhausted, how to enjoy whatever it is you are doing!!?
And yet in this 40 degree weather we walked about 40 mins to Meiji temple!!
There was a steep slope up and you wouldn't believe the amount I sweated. It wasn't pretty.
And with every dripping step I kept thinking to myself "FUCK FUCK FUCK EVERY STEP I TAKE NOW MEANS I HAVE TO WALK THE SAME STEPS BACK OUT." :(
But finally we arrived
We saw a procession...
They were walking very slowly and dressed in black so we didn't know... Was it a funeral or just that weddings are very serious there? Or is it something else?
If its a wedding I'd never have it in that weather man... Imagine how sweaty those men's balls are!!!
It's literally the temperature of a sauna!
Here's where people made wishes
Cheesie damn kiasee and wrote her wish in Japanese in case the Japanese Gods don't wanna read Chinese or English. LOL
I guess her wish is "I want a sponsorship from Liz Lisa and a handsome Disney prince to fall in love with me and to stay skinny forever. With current boob size. TYVM"
Ming and Tim writing their wishes. I guess Ming's wish is "WORLD DOMINATION!!!!1111 And a fighter jet." and Tim's is "Kitteh to love me 4eva".
But all these idiots forgot to read the instructions and put their wishes into the box with an envelope - but without donations!! MUAHAHAHA!
And this Mike lagi best, he put in his wish with money - but with no envelope!!!!
SO NOBODY'S WISHES WILL COME TRUE BUT MINE COZ I READ INSTRUCTIONS
After visiting the temple, we wanted to go walk around in Harajuku and have lunch.
Then I saw the one thing that made me believe in Japanese spirituality - they heard my whines afterall:
I saw a taxi. Someone took a taxi to the ulu temple and it was EMPTY. I RAN to the taxi and I yelled, "Who wants to cab with me???" Amazingly enough only Cheesie did. The rest didn't mind walking wtf???
I knew Japanese taxis were expensive but I didn't care anymore. $50, $100 - I'd pay it as long as I get out of the freaking scorching sun!!
It was BLISS!! Aircon!!!!! AND IT ONLY COST US $11sgd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best $11 I've EVER spent!!1111
When we reached Harajuku we were so ahead of the rest of the walking group we had time to shop...
Cheesie even bought some clothes
And eat a Harajuku crepe - the muthafucking best thing you can eat in summer!
Filled with cream, ice cream, and strawberries.
Comes in many other flavours too. YUMS
Must... camwhore
Cheesie and I sat down on a bench nomming our delicious crepes and we sighed, thinking of the rest of them still walking.
They insisted that we missed out on their awesome therapeutic walk though, where they bonded and talked about concubines wtf. BUT CREPES AND AIRCON???
After joining the rest... Mike and I snapped a pic in the world famous street (thanks to Gwen Stefani). It is surprisingly small, like bugis street but not that many smaller streets and no upstairs level!!
And we go to a convenience store to get DISNEYLAND TICKETS for tomorrow!! (yes you can do that wtf)
Something that's in all the convenience stores
Everyone waiting for the tickets
In a store which sells socks and lingerie. You can see Cheesie's very interested in the furry bras.
I also liked them but I didn't buy coz I think it would cause sweaty boobs in SG weather. But Cheesie is irrational when it comes to shopping lol
My lunch: Pasta served Japanese style.
For some reason they only have westernized food in Harajuku.
Mike's seafood pasta.
Poor Cheesie had to translate what's what on the menu for everyone.
After this Cheesie and I went to Shibuya 109 while the rest of them went to visit our famous monuments... Due to our different flight timings we only had 2 days to shop together so we wanted to spend a day at Shibuya 109!!
Tadah!!
It's much smaller than I thought actually, only 8 floors and the mall is circular.
Here's the crowd going in...
Once you step in it's like going into a different world!!
All the clothes are kinda the same (they all look like the season's trends) but they are all so pretty!!!!!!! Most of the shoppers there are girls in their teens to late teens and they are all UBER FASHIONABLE!!! Amazing make up and accessories and shoes! Just looking at them is interesting enough but you also have all the merchandise to frazzle you. It was a glamourous confusion.
Especially the shoe shops are full of muthafucking chio boots you can't find anywhere else!! Fringe boots, fur boots, aviation boots... Madness!!
Think Liz Lisa has the prettiest clothes but all very expensive and... impractical so I didn't buy.
All the furry things I missed out on :( I NEED TO GO BACK
All the furry things I missed out on :( I NEED TO GO BACK
Cheesie posing at a Peach John store... I bought furry pink leg warmers there. Sigh... Being irrational again. No chance to wear them at all.
Last picture!
Ok on hindsight I shall split it into 3 posts.
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