Saturday, September 08, 2007
Hello from the US!
very sleepy now... 19hrs flight to SF via seoul. was very impressed with the new plane boeing 777 - wider seats, more leg space, larger personal tv screen, handset stored in front and not at the side of the seat... ooh~ i watched so many movies - pirates 2&3, blades of glory, fantastic4: silver surfer, just follow law, a bit of 300 and listened to 2 violin albums (lullaby for zzz). ok... i will let the pictures do the talking.... yawnz... gotta sleep soon...
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Asahikawa Zoo
aching all over now.... trying my best... hope everything goes well...
well... here are my long awaited photos of my trip to the asahikawa zoo, hokkaido... we took 1.5hrs of train ride and then 40mins of a bumpy bus ride, before reaching the zoo. we were there about 15mins before the opening time and there was already a long queue of people waiting outside the zoo to go in...
the highlight of the zoo, the main reason why i made the freaking trip out and into the freaking cold... -7 degrees!!!, was..... the emperor penguins!!! the most exciting part was where the penguins were let out of their enclosure for a walk round the zoo. this only happens in winter and only when there is enough accumulated snow, to let the penguins get some exercise... we were very very close up to them... just abt an arm's length away...
here's some of the photos that i took...
well... here are my long awaited photos of my trip to the asahikawa zoo, hokkaido... we took 1.5hrs of train ride and then 40mins of a bumpy bus ride, before reaching the zoo. we were there about 15mins before the opening time and there was already a long queue of people waiting outside the zoo to go in...
the highlight of the zoo, the main reason why i made the freaking trip out and into the freaking cold... -7 degrees!!!, was..... the emperor penguins!!! the most exciting part was where the penguins were let out of their enclosure for a walk round the zoo. this only happens in winter and only when there is enough accumulated snow, to let the penguins get some exercise... we were very very close up to them... just abt an arm's length away...
here's some of the photos that i took...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Rabbit on Kachi-kachi Mountain
Went Lake Kawaguchi during the Jan trip this year. didnt had much luck with the weather and it was super cloudy. but at least it managed to clear up a bit during noon, and we managed to get some shots of mt fuji.
our 2,000yen pass included a free ropeway trip up the kachi-kachi mountain. had a very good, super nice view of mt fuji. there were many cute animal statues around the mountain... tanuki, rabbits, etc... some cuute~ rabbit shots...
our 2,000yen pass included a free ropeway trip up the kachi-kachi mountain. had a very good, super nice view of mt fuji. there were many cute animal statues around the mountain... tanuki, rabbits, etc... some cuute~ rabbit shots...
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Otaru Night View
i like otaru! small, peaceful town... sells lots of ornaments... and of cos their famous music boxes... made 2 music boxes myself... heehee...
some pics of otaru at night. it was snowing quite heavily at times, and it was quite difficult to get a clean, good shot. and i was so worried that the snow will go into my camera... but the snow resulted in the pictureque effect... i'm so glad i brought my tripod along, worth the effort lugging it around hokkaido...
i forgot the name of this building, but its opposite the music box museum. has an european feel to it, especially with the snow falling down.
the famous otaru canal... it was snowing like crazy a few minutes before and it just stopped suddenly. all the sudden, it was calm and peaceful, doesnt even looked like it snowed just now. the snow spoilt a lot of my photos and used up the last of my batteries... and it was a freeking freezing -3.6degrees that night.
some pics of otaru at night. it was snowing quite heavily at times, and it was quite difficult to get a clean, good shot. and i was so worried that the snow will go into my camera... but the snow resulted in the pictureque effect... i'm so glad i brought my tripod along, worth the effort lugging it around hokkaido...
i forgot the name of this building, but its opposite the music box museum. has an european feel to it, especially with the snow falling down.
the famous otaru canal... it was snowing like crazy a few minutes before and it just stopped suddenly. all the sudden, it was calm and peaceful, doesnt even looked like it snowed just now. the snow spoilt a lot of my photos and used up the last of my batteries... and it was a freeking freezing -3.6degrees that night.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Cute Kid
Couldnt resist taking shots of this cute kid i saw the at asahikawa zoo... kawaii!!! i wonder if its a boy or a girl...?
Tabiji at Hakodate
my fave at hakodate - the meal at tabiji restaurant in the asa-ichi fish market. another masterpiece meal. so superb. and very cheap. we ordered lots of food and the total bill came up to only about 3,780yen (sin$49). SO CHEAP! and for such high quality food! shiok!
here's what we ordered...
1) mini-don set (1,050yen, sin$13.65)
a mini rice set with 3 types of toppings, coupled with miso soup. 3 toppings are 3 of the most famous food in hokkaido - uni (sea urchin), crab and ikura (salmon eggs). the ikura is the best, very different from what is sold here which is preserved in lots of salt. the ikura is hakodate tastes very light and each eggs pops open when you bite into it.
2) Fish tei-shoku (1,050yen, sin$13.65)
we both ordered a fish set meal each. the fish portion was humongous. and it was the best tasting fish i have ever eaten. the meat was fresh and succulent and very light. mmm~~ yumyum!
3) crab cream croquette (630yen, sin$8)
ooh~ by far the most delicious cream croquette i have ever eaten. it totally puts the croquette that is sold at bugis to shame. this one has raised my standards for croquette to sky high... dun think i will eat the bugis croquette one again. haha~
here's what we ordered...
1) mini-don set (1,050yen, sin$13.65)
a mini rice set with 3 types of toppings, coupled with miso soup. 3 toppings are 3 of the most famous food in hokkaido - uni (sea urchin), crab and ikura (salmon eggs). the ikura is the best, very different from what is sold here which is preserved in lots of salt. the ikura is hakodate tastes very light and each eggs pops open when you bite into it.
2) Fish tei-shoku (1,050yen, sin$13.65)
we both ordered a fish set meal each. the fish portion was humongous. and it was the best tasting fish i have ever eaten. the meat was fresh and succulent and very light. mmm~~ yumyum!
3) crab cream croquette (630yen, sin$8)
ooh~ by far the most delicious cream croquette i have ever eaten. it totally puts the croquette that is sold at bugis to shame. this one has raised my standards for croquette to sky high... dun think i will eat the bugis croquette one again. haha~
Sushi
we ate sushi at otaru which is famous for its sushi. we ate at this place called "sushi yoko-cho" which looked quite good and the price range was within our budget... but the sushi was only ma-ma... i think we have better sushi locally and more worth the price as compared to what we paid in japan. this was the 2nd time i ate sushi in japan and both times i have the same thoughts. maybe a higher price range of sushi will be better but dun think i will want to try sushi out again in japan.
from top-to-bottom: ikura guntan sushi (220yen, sin$2.86), salmon sushi (250yen, sin$3.25), botan ebi sushi (880yen, sin$11.44)
Remnants of our meal. Ending up ordering a set of 10 sushi for 1500yen (sin$19.50) as it seemed much more worth the price, but the sushi range was.... so-so...
from top-to-bottom: ikura guntan sushi (220yen, sin$2.86), salmon sushi (250yen, sin$3.25), botan ebi sushi (880yen, sin$11.44)
Remnants of our meal. Ending up ordering a set of 10 sushi for 1500yen (sin$19.50) as it seemed much more worth the price, but the sushi range was.... so-so...
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Tempura Udon at Nikko
2nd best meal on our list. tempura udon and kusa dango at nikko. mecha oishii!
the udon is the best i ever eaten. chewy, tangy, not sticky. very light taste. the prawn tempura was humongous and there's also brinjal, mushroom and veggie tempura. i put the tempura into the udon and it still remained crispy and there was practically no oil coming out into the udon. the kusa dango was very good too. dango is glutinous rice ball and i think they mixed veggie into the glutinous rice to get the green color. the red bean paste on the dango was not very sweet. the best tasting red bean paste ever. yummy!
the udon is the best i ever eaten. chewy, tangy, not sticky. very light taste. the prawn tempura was humongous and there's also brinjal, mushroom and veggie tempura. i put the tempura into the udon and it still remained crispy and there was practically no oil coming out into the udon. the kusa dango was very good too. dango is glutinous rice ball and i think they mixed veggie into the glutinous rice to get the green color. the red bean paste on the dango was not very sweet. the best tasting red bean paste ever. yummy!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Best Meal at Lake Kawaguchi
my sis and i voted. and the result is unanimously.... "Best Meal eaten at Lake Kawaguchi"!!! ooh. we ate the houtou set for lunch that day. 'houtou' is the specialty dish at lake kawaguchi. it is consists of wide, thin noodles with lots of local vegetables. together with the set, came sashmi, 2 kinds of pickled mushrooms, fried fish, preserved fish, etc. very sumptous meal only for 2,625yen (sin34). cant get this in singapore at all, especially not at this price!
here's the pic of the 'houtou' set. 'houtou' is the steaming hotpot on the top right hand corner of the pic. the rest of the set is made up of the remaining 7 dishes. my sis also ordered the same thing, as u can see from the opposite tray... big spread for 1 person. haha...
close-ups of each of the small dishes in the set... in order of preference... 1st in place is definitely the houtou. 2nd came the sashimi, the tuna was good, for someone who doesnt eat tuna, and i actually finished it all up! the raw prawn was very good, very sweet. the raw squid was the best! very fresh and sweet... aahhh~ yummy!
3rd in place is the seasoned eringi. next is the tempura fish, with salad and spaghetti. 3rd and 4th spot is a tough fight bcos both tasted equally good.
5th is this seasoned/pickled mushroom, went super well with rice. last is the pickled fish. i didnt really like this as the taste was overpowering and too salty. didnt finish the fish. the yellow roe in the aluminium foil was okay. very crunchy.
i missed this meal the most after i came back. want to go back and eat this again~!
here's the pic of the 'houtou' set. 'houtou' is the steaming hotpot on the top right hand corner of the pic. the rest of the set is made up of the remaining 7 dishes. my sis also ordered the same thing, as u can see from the opposite tray... big spread for 1 person. haha...
close-ups of each of the small dishes in the set... in order of preference... 1st in place is definitely the houtou. 2nd came the sashimi, the tuna was good, for someone who doesnt eat tuna, and i actually finished it all up! the raw prawn was very good, very sweet. the raw squid was the best! very fresh and sweet... aahhh~ yummy!
3rd in place is the seasoned eringi. next is the tempura fish, with salad and spaghetti. 3rd and 4th spot is a tough fight bcos both tasted equally good.
5th is this seasoned/pickled mushroom, went super well with rice. last is the pickled fish. i didnt really like this as the taste was overpowering and too salty. didnt finish the fish. the yellow roe in the aluminium foil was okay. very crunchy.
i missed this meal the most after i came back. want to go back and eat this again~!
Oishii Ramen!
When you go Japan, you must eat their ramen! Their ramen tastes better than any other noodles in the world. even though ramen didnt originate from Japan. haha. pics from the courtesy of my sister. i was famished and already tucking into the ramen while my sis was still patiently trying to get a good shot. arigatou!
Sapporo
we found this nice ramen shop, apparetei, in the basement of the sapporo tv tower. it's ramen is super delicious. there were a couple of flavours - soya sauce, white miso, red miso, etc. we also had a short chat with the owner. he spoke a bit of english and has been to singapore better. rather kakkoi guy. haha.
white miso chashu ramen. most popular flavour in the shop. the chashu is perfect and the noodles is good. white miso soup tastes the best! the price is about 850yen (sin11.05 - cheaper than ajisen and tastes much better!).
red miso chashu ramen. a different type of miso from the above. we ate this on our last day before we left sapporo. the taste is slightly stronger and more salty than the white miso one. i prefer the white miso. will go back and eat the white miso one when i go back again. heehee.
Osaka
we ate the famous 'golden dragon ramen' at dotonburi in Osaka. it was also recommended by my fren who ate it during her last trip, i was very happy to find it. very yummy. the pig bone soup is very tasty and very light. it tastes very sweet and its not oily. the chashu is also one of the kind. very succulent and chewy. there are only 2 types of ramen in the store - normal ramen (600yen, sin7.80) and chashu ramen (900yen, sin11.70). the only difference between the 2 is 1 has lesser pieces of chashu than the other one. it's a very good buy, even for the 900yen one. there are no chairs in the store, only tatami-like platforms. then there is also a free flow of kimchi and vegetables to take. everything is self-service in this store, from taking the vege, taking your noodles and even returning the empty bowls is self-service. they enjoy very good business, and there are normally people waiting in a queue outside the store for a seat.
Sapporo
we found this nice ramen shop, apparetei, in the basement of the sapporo tv tower. it's ramen is super delicious. there were a couple of flavours - soya sauce, white miso, red miso, etc. we also had a short chat with the owner. he spoke a bit of english and has been to singapore better. rather kakkoi guy. haha.
white miso chashu ramen. most popular flavour in the shop. the chashu is perfect and the noodles is good. white miso soup tastes the best! the price is about 850yen (sin11.05 - cheaper than ajisen and tastes much better!).
red miso chashu ramen. a different type of miso from the above. we ate this on our last day before we left sapporo. the taste is slightly stronger and more salty than the white miso one. i prefer the white miso. will go back and eat the white miso one when i go back again. heehee.
Osaka
we ate the famous 'golden dragon ramen' at dotonburi in Osaka. it was also recommended by my fren who ate it during her last trip, i was very happy to find it. very yummy. the pig bone soup is very tasty and very light. it tastes very sweet and its not oily. the chashu is also one of the kind. very succulent and chewy. there are only 2 types of ramen in the store - normal ramen (600yen, sin7.80) and chashu ramen (900yen, sin11.70). the only difference between the 2 is 1 has lesser pieces of chashu than the other one. it's a very good buy, even for the 900yen one. there are no chairs in the store, only tatami-like platforms. then there is also a free flow of kimchi and vegetables to take. everything is self-service in this store, from taking the vege, taking your noodles and even returning the empty bowls is self-service. they enjoy very good business, and there are normally people waiting in a queue outside the store for a seat.
Crab and Prawn Buffet in Sapporo
One of the highlights and one of the most memorable parts of the trip was the.... food! Food in Hokkaido is cheap! and delicious! i have never eaten so much before on my previous trips. we were always looking forward to our next meal... haha~
our first dinner in sapporo. crab and prawn buffet in susukino. we chose the cheapest set and had 7 items - 2 types of crab (taraba gani, zuwai gani), prawn sushi, crab sushi, tempura sushi, tempura and chawamushi. 90mins was given for the buffet and we could order whatever items we liked from our menu as long as we finished the previous order. we also had a coupon that gave us 1 big glass of softdrink at no charge. all this for 3,675yen (sin48), which is impossible to get it for this quality and price here.
Buffet items. all items shown here except the tempura. the bigger crab leg is the taraba gani (king crab). it's my fave! the flesh from the leg is very succulent and very sweet. and the whole meat comes out when you pull it from the shell. waah~ tabetai~~!
the aftermath of our meal. all the empty crab shells. the jug is about 30cm tall and we filled it up to the brim with the shells. think we had 2 repeat orders for the crab. haha~
our first dinner in sapporo. crab and prawn buffet in susukino. we chose the cheapest set and had 7 items - 2 types of crab (taraba gani, zuwai gani), prawn sushi, crab sushi, tempura sushi, tempura and chawamushi. 90mins was given for the buffet and we could order whatever items we liked from our menu as long as we finished the previous order. we also had a coupon that gave us 1 big glass of softdrink at no charge. all this for 3,675yen (sin48), which is impossible to get it for this quality and price here.
Buffet items. all items shown here except the tempura. the bigger crab leg is the taraba gani (king crab). it's my fave! the flesh from the leg is very succulent and very sweet. and the whole meat comes out when you pull it from the shell. waah~ tabetai~~!
the aftermath of our meal. all the empty crab shells. the jug is about 30cm tall and we filled it up to the brim with the shells. think we had 2 repeat orders for the crab. haha~
Sunday, February 04, 2007
At Tomica Shop
One of the cars that I brought back for PrawnKing... Its one of the cars that need to be assembled on the spot... so the blue car was done first.... can see that the shop assistant in the background with the machinery... and she had to put on gloves and apron before she can start to assemble...
Passed the cars to PrawnKing already.... he says he's updating his blog now... cant wait to see his pics.... haha...
Passed the cars to PrawnKing already.... he says he's updating his blog now... cant wait to see his pics.... haha...
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Nodame Cantabile
This is my favorite drama from last season..... so this time i went Japan, i went to buy all current 16 books of the manga... haha... 390yen 1 book, not sold in singapore i think... super worth it... and i even carried it from hakodate to osaka to tokyo and back to singapore.... finally finished reading it... very nice story.. very funny! i wonder if they will do part2 of the drama.... it will be so fun~! next problem is... how am i going to get book17...
Now i can start working on my photos... hahaha... got so many to do... not to mention the backlog from the previous trips... hahahahaa.... here's my 1st edited pic.... all 16 books of nodame cantabile...
Now i can start working on my photos... hahaha... got so many to do... not to mention the backlog from the previous trips... hahahahaa.... here's my 1st edited pic.... all 16 books of nodame cantabile...
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Trip Review Day 7 to 13
Back in Singapore.... continue my trip review....
7th day - 17th Jan wed - hakodate
tour of hakodate today.... hakodate looks like san franscisco.... all the hills and slopes.... very nice place with small town feel... and the ice at hakodate is the worst!!! i fell down twice! argh... 1st time was my left leg slided while going down some steps... luckily i was holding on to the rails... else i will go tumbling down the stairs... 2nd time was off the pavement... and i fell onto my butt! more precisely, i fell on my tripod head and hit my tailbone.... my bone hurts... even till now! after i fell down, totally no mood to walk on the ice back to the tram station... so we hailed a cab and went back to hotel... that night... we ate KFC to compensate myself for falling down... haha~ luckily i fell down at night.... finished what we wanted to do liao....
we stayed at toyoko inn when we were at hakodate... the hotel is not bad... cheap too... got free breakfast of onigiri and miso soup.... then at night from 6.30pm to 6.50pm, there is also free dinner.... everyday is curry, except wed which served stew.... since it was a wed..... and we got back early... there was still some stew served.... we couldnt resist so we sat down and tucked in.... so yummy, so nice! the stew was creamy and the potato was very chunky and soft.... but the bad thing is there is no place for the luggage... the hotel provided luggage space under the bed, which is very inconvenient.... even putting the luggage under the bed is difficult....
8th day - 18th jan thurs - osaka
took 10hrs train from hakodate to osaka today.... very nice... saw the good scenery... only tokyo to osaka was a little boring... only buildings... but i got to see how nagoya, kyoto looks like from the train station.... haha~ then we went shinsaibashi, dotonborri at night... ate takoyaki, okonomiyaki and ramen.... yum yum!
9th day - 19th jan fri - osaka USJ
USJ day!!! Universal Studios Japan! we sat spiderman 2 twice! very fun! a new ride is being built at USJ... a huge rollercoaster that goes almost round the whole park and out of it... huge man... think it going to be open during summer.... looking forward to it!
I also managed to get all 16 books of nodame cantabile... heehee... read the 1st few books already... very interesting... so cute! make me miss the drama more...
10th day - 20th jan sat - tokyo
Supposed to go Nara today... but the luggage too heavy and too tired... went back tokyo earlier... ended up at ueno zoo... cos we were still thinking abt the time at the asahiyama zoo and wanted to see how the ueno zoo looked like... heehee... asahiyama is better than ueno.... then went to look for tamaki hiroshi's photobook... Book Garden at ueno had only his 1st one, which i bought... so went to Shinjuku to get his newest photo book...
11th day - 21st jan sun - lake kawaguchi
Ooh... mt fuji is majestic at lake kawaguchi... the mt was half covered with snow... but too bad today cloudy day.... cant get really good clear shot of mt fuji.... but luckily the clouds cleared up at ard 10am.... at least can see the mountain... got a bit of snow on the ground... not so bad... easy to walk... we had a very very good lunch... 2645yen only.. and a lot of good food... will post a pic of it later... went back at 6pm... didnt wait for the fireworks...
12th day - 22nd jan mon - nikko
aiyo so much snow at nikko up on the mountains! so horrible. worse than i have ever seen... not much snow at the bottom.. at the world heritage sites... but when we went up the iroha slopes to go to the kegon waterfalls and chuzenji temple... so much snow! and its considered a less snow year for them! and.... i fell down AGAIN! when we were walking to the chuzenji temple... abt 1km walk from the bus terminal... this time i did the splits... #$(*#))##... but the lucky thing is that we got a free ride out from the resthouse we had our lunch... so happy!!! no need to walk 1km back to the bus terminal among the snow... then we went to the world heritage sites where my sis had a lot of fun... Reached hotel ard 7pm and ordered dominos pizza to eat... yumyum and watched tv at the same time... then we panic when we packed our bags... too many things and too heavy...
13th day - 23rd jan tues - home......
headed off for the airport at 7am.... took 11am flight back to singapore... touched down at 1800... tired... dunno why me and my sis got sun-tanned only on our faces... but super nice trip!
7th day - 17th Jan wed - hakodate
tour of hakodate today.... hakodate looks like san franscisco.... all the hills and slopes.... very nice place with small town feel... and the ice at hakodate is the worst!!! i fell down twice! argh... 1st time was my left leg slided while going down some steps... luckily i was holding on to the rails... else i will go tumbling down the stairs... 2nd time was off the pavement... and i fell onto my butt! more precisely, i fell on my tripod head and hit my tailbone.... my bone hurts... even till now! after i fell down, totally no mood to walk on the ice back to the tram station... so we hailed a cab and went back to hotel... that night... we ate KFC to compensate myself for falling down... haha~ luckily i fell down at night.... finished what we wanted to do liao....
we stayed at toyoko inn when we were at hakodate... the hotel is not bad... cheap too... got free breakfast of onigiri and miso soup.... then at night from 6.30pm to 6.50pm, there is also free dinner.... everyday is curry, except wed which served stew.... since it was a wed..... and we got back early... there was still some stew served.... we couldnt resist so we sat down and tucked in.... so yummy, so nice! the stew was creamy and the potato was very chunky and soft.... but the bad thing is there is no place for the luggage... the hotel provided luggage space under the bed, which is very inconvenient.... even putting the luggage under the bed is difficult....
8th day - 18th jan thurs - osaka
took 10hrs train from hakodate to osaka today.... very nice... saw the good scenery... only tokyo to osaka was a little boring... only buildings... but i got to see how nagoya, kyoto looks like from the train station.... haha~ then we went shinsaibashi, dotonborri at night... ate takoyaki, okonomiyaki and ramen.... yum yum!
9th day - 19th jan fri - osaka USJ
USJ day!!! Universal Studios Japan! we sat spiderman 2 twice! very fun! a new ride is being built at USJ... a huge rollercoaster that goes almost round the whole park and out of it... huge man... think it going to be open during summer.... looking forward to it!
I also managed to get all 16 books of nodame cantabile... heehee... read the 1st few books already... very interesting... so cute! make me miss the drama more...
10th day - 20th jan sat - tokyo
Supposed to go Nara today... but the luggage too heavy and too tired... went back tokyo earlier... ended up at ueno zoo... cos we were still thinking abt the time at the asahiyama zoo and wanted to see how the ueno zoo looked like... heehee... asahiyama is better than ueno.... then went to look for tamaki hiroshi's photobook... Book Garden at ueno had only his 1st one, which i bought... so went to Shinjuku to get his newest photo book...
11th day - 21st jan sun - lake kawaguchi
Ooh... mt fuji is majestic at lake kawaguchi... the mt was half covered with snow... but too bad today cloudy day.... cant get really good clear shot of mt fuji.... but luckily the clouds cleared up at ard 10am.... at least can see the mountain... got a bit of snow on the ground... not so bad... easy to walk... we had a very very good lunch... 2645yen only.. and a lot of good food... will post a pic of it later... went back at 6pm... didnt wait for the fireworks...
12th day - 22nd jan mon - nikko
aiyo so much snow at nikko up on the mountains! so horrible. worse than i have ever seen... not much snow at the bottom.. at the world heritage sites... but when we went up the iroha slopes to go to the kegon waterfalls and chuzenji temple... so much snow! and its considered a less snow year for them! and.... i fell down AGAIN! when we were walking to the chuzenji temple... abt 1km walk from the bus terminal... this time i did the splits... #$(*#))##... but the lucky thing is that we got a free ride out from the resthouse we had our lunch... so happy!!! no need to walk 1km back to the bus terminal among the snow... then we went to the world heritage sites where my sis had a lot of fun... Reached hotel ard 7pm and ordered dominos pizza to eat... yumyum and watched tv at the same time... then we panic when we packed our bags... too many things and too heavy...
13th day - 23rd jan tues - home......
headed off for the airport at 7am.... took 11am flight back to singapore... touched down at 1800... tired... dunno why me and my sis got sun-tanned only on our faces... but super nice trip!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Trip Review Day 1 to 6
some quick update... sorry... no pics yet.... typing this while waiting for my clothes to wash and dry... no worries abt the earlier earthquake... didnt feel anything at all.... only saw got tsunami alert on tv.... 10cm waves on the eastern side of hokkaido...
1st day - 11 jan thurs - tokyo
went ueno (bought ｓｏｍｅ ｔｉｄｂｉｔｓ）， ｇｉｎｚａ uniqlo (biggest uniqlo in tokyo... my sis bought 1 premium down jacket, 1 fleece jacket, 1 scarf, 1 gloves, 1 cap... all for 133sin dollars), harajuku... (100yen shopping), shinjuku yodobashi (to get screen protector for my epson p2000, tried to find laptop bag.... but cant get 1 that i like), tokyo station (to get prawnking's stuff... so tokyo station (to get prawnking's stuff... so many! filled up half my luggage liao... no more space liao...)
2nd day - 12 jan fri - sapporo
took the 7am train to sapporo... had to change 3 trains... total journey 10hrs.... but it was a very nice trip.... 1st train... we travelled in eastern part of japan.... saw all the snow cap mountains.... 2nd train..... went thru the seikan tunnel.... undersea tunnel that connected japan main island to hokkaido.... 3rd train.... from bottom tip of hokkaido to sapporo.... it was -4deg when we reached sapporo at 5pm.... so nice! saw snow too!!!just under my feet as i walk.... shiok! went to eat crab and prawn buffet... yummylicious!
3rd day - 13 jan sat - sapporo
city tour of sapporo today.... went sapporo beer museum, tv tower, clock tower, odori park, mt moiwa, sapporo factory..... lots of sightseeing and shopping... confirmed that it is treacherous to walk on snow.... dry snow is ok.... its like walking on a sandy beach... worse is the wet hardened snow and the snow on the pavements at the crossings.... like ice skating.... skid and slided a few times..... imagine sliding in the middle of the pedestrian crossing where there are so many cars looking at u cross the road... so embarassing... some japanese ladies still can run across the roads in their high heels!
4th day - 14 jan sun - otaru
ooh..... i like otaru.... quaint little town... so peaceful.... and there was this town... so peaceful.... and there was this music box museum that kept playing smap songs... so nice.... snowed very hard today...... made 2 music boxes at the museum.... watched kimura takuya's new drama.... karena ichi zoku... mecha kakkoii!!!
5th day - 15 jan mon - asahikawa/biei
we went to the middle of hokkaido today.... 1hr20min train ride from sapporo.... went to the asahiyama zoo, the most famous zoo in ｊａｐａｎ... watched king penguins walk round the park.... so cute.... like the polar bears too.... then went biei in furano area.... to see trees.... transport is very inacessible there... so we ordered a limousine cab to take us on 1 of their tours.... patchwork road tour.... see trees.... these trees are famous ok.... dun play play.... but it was too snow covered.... ground and sky all white... the trees look like floating in mid-air haha.... snow here is different from otaru snow.... biei snow is light and fluffy... otaru and heavy and wet.... think its becos otaru is nearer to the sea.... it was abt -3 or -4deg when we went... it was considered a warm day for them, their normal temp in jan is -25deg.... watched sxs at night... very funny....
i spoke to the limo driver.... best time to go hokkaido is in july.... where all the colors are out.... but will be crowded.... and will need to drive ourselve ard....
6th day - 16 jan tues - hakodate
train from sapporo to hakodate.... hakodate is the coldest so far.... cos it surrounded by the sea... and the wet snow/ice is the worst.... Went Goryokaku after a hearty lunch at a popular seafood restaurant. I think the same restaurant was now Japan Hr before and the food is really good.... and quite cheap too... Total we spent abt 3700 yen and its abt 50 sin dollars... really worth it.... super yummy too.. cant get such quality for this price back in singapore... Goryokaku is normal.... the illumination also nothing much...
bought jap manga nodame cantabile.... but only got a few books.... very popular manga after the drama hit.... need to get books the remaining books from osaka and tokyo... should i get tamaki hiroshi's photobook? hm....
tmr is hakodate city tour... then we will be moving to osaka and then going back to tokyo.... so fast.... half of the trip over liao....
ok.... got to go.... clothes going to finish in the laundry... and there is a drunk guy behind laundry... and there is a drunk guy behind me in the hotel lobby.....
1st day - 11 jan thurs - tokyo
went ueno (bought ｓｏｍｅ ｔｉｄｂｉｔｓ）， ｇｉｎｚａ uniqlo (biggest uniqlo in tokyo... my sis bought 1 premium down jacket, 1 fleece jacket, 1 scarf, 1 gloves, 1 cap... all for 133sin dollars), harajuku... (100yen shopping), shinjuku yodobashi (to get screen protector for my epson p2000, tried to find laptop bag.... but cant get 1 that i like), tokyo station (to get prawnking's stuff... so tokyo station (to get prawnking's stuff... so many! filled up half my luggage liao... no more space liao...)
2nd day - 12 jan fri - sapporo
took the 7am train to sapporo... had to change 3 trains... total journey 10hrs.... but it was a very nice trip.... 1st train... we travelled in eastern part of japan.... saw all the snow cap mountains.... 2nd train..... went thru the seikan tunnel.... undersea tunnel that connected japan main island to hokkaido.... 3rd train.... from bottom tip of hokkaido to sapporo.... it was -4deg when we reached sapporo at 5pm.... so nice! saw snow too!!!just under my feet as i walk.... shiok! went to eat crab and prawn buffet... yummylicious!
3rd day - 13 jan sat - sapporo
city tour of sapporo today.... went sapporo beer museum, tv tower, clock tower, odori park, mt moiwa, sapporo factory..... lots of sightseeing and shopping... confirmed that it is treacherous to walk on snow.... dry snow is ok.... its like walking on a sandy beach... worse is the wet hardened snow and the snow on the pavements at the crossings.... like ice skating.... skid and slided a few times..... imagine sliding in the middle of the pedestrian crossing where there are so many cars looking at u cross the road... so embarassing... some japanese ladies still can run across the roads in their high heels!
4th day - 14 jan sun - otaru
ooh..... i like otaru.... quaint little town... so peaceful.... and there was this town... so peaceful.... and there was this music box museum that kept playing smap songs... so nice.... snowed very hard today...... made 2 music boxes at the museum.... watched kimura takuya's new drama.... karena ichi zoku... mecha kakkoii!!!
5th day - 15 jan mon - asahikawa/biei
we went to the middle of hokkaido today.... 1hr20min train ride from sapporo.... went to the asahiyama zoo, the most famous zoo in ｊａｐａｎ... watched king penguins walk round the park.... so cute.... like the polar bears too.... then went biei in furano area.... to see trees.... transport is very inacessible there... so we ordered a limousine cab to take us on 1 of their tours.... patchwork road tour.... see trees.... these trees are famous ok.... dun play play.... but it was too snow covered.... ground and sky all white... the trees look like floating in mid-air haha.... snow here is different from otaru snow.... biei snow is light and fluffy... otaru and heavy and wet.... think its becos otaru is nearer to the sea.... it was abt -3 or -4deg when we went... it was considered a warm day for them, their normal temp in jan is -25deg.... watched sxs at night... very funny....
i spoke to the limo driver.... best time to go hokkaido is in july.... where all the colors are out.... but will be crowded.... and will need to drive ourselve ard....
6th day - 16 jan tues - hakodate
train from sapporo to hakodate.... hakodate is the coldest so far.... cos it surrounded by the sea... and the wet snow/ice is the worst.... Went Goryokaku after a hearty lunch at a popular seafood restaurant. I think the same restaurant was now Japan Hr before and the food is really good.... and quite cheap too... Total we spent abt 3700 yen and its abt 50 sin dollars... really worth it.... super yummy too.. cant get such quality for this price back in singapore... Goryokaku is normal.... the illumination also nothing much...
bought jap manga nodame cantabile.... but only got a few books.... very popular manga after the drama hit.... need to get books the remaining books from osaka and tokyo... should i get tamaki hiroshi's photobook? hm....
tmr is hakodate city tour... then we will be moving to osaka and then going back to tokyo.... so fast.... half of the trip over liao....
ok.... got to go.... clothes going to finish in the laundry... and there is a drunk guy behind laundry... and there is a drunk guy behind me in the hotel lobby.....
In Hakodate!
Hallo!!! Finally managed ｔｏ ｆｉｎｄ a pc for use!
Ｈｏｋｋａｉｄｏ is great! Experienced snow for the first time!
Will ｕｐｄａｔｅ more later... going out for lunch now!
Bye!
Ｈｏｋｋａｉｄｏ is great! Experienced snow for the first time!
Will ｕｐｄａｔｅ more later... going out for lunch now!
Bye!
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