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.....