Japan Trip 2008 - Day 10

21 Oct Tues (Ueno-Tsukujijo-Asakusa-Ueno-Narita-Singapore)
Left and checked out at 615am.18 degrees.Gng for Tsukuji Fish Market.but nt for auction.maybe nxt tm den go see.took train from Ueno to JR Shimbashi Station 新桥 den chg Subway Asakusa Line to Daimon Station 大门, den chg to Oedo Line to Tsukujishijo Station.


followed e crowd and reached.quite near to the station.As expected, auction has ended. went to their wet market and saw the ppl there real bz.vehicles moving everywhere nonstop.really muz look carefully when cross road.lots of things to take in the wet market: scallop,mussel real big, moving abalone, big salmon roe, big crab, big octopus, fresh tuna, salmon, hamachi. feel like eating em.


went to one stall Umai Sushikan and ordered few sushi.else wasted e trip rite?


went for our last sightseeing spot liao.Asakusa Lei Men 雷门Kaminarimon. took back Oedo Line from Tsukujishijo Station to Kuramae Station. den change to Subway Asakusa Line at Kuramae Station to Asakusa Station.


lots of foreigners,esp hongkies. Its main attraction shld be the huge lantern with 雷门 printed on it at the entrance ba? Haa. Den will hv a long stretch of stalls until finally reach the temple. Weather was very sunny and blazing.



can try out this store.. that mk biscuits stuffed with red bean..instantly made and sell..the dough v thin with many red bean. taste juz fine. nt tat sweet. called 人形饼 7 for ¥500.


Haiz, weather too bright also nt gd, pics wun came out tat gd also. After tat, go to Ozeki Supermarket near there, think is located at the street opp the temple..woo~ food real cheap, at least my milk tea wa having offer at a price of ¥99! And oyster korokke~ and many more..can tk a look inside if u wanna buy jap stuff back to sg..


Back to Ueno, had our last shopping and last meal..Katsu Don ¥580 again. At Katsu 仙. As compared to my previous katsu don meals, I dun really feel it nice, meat was kinda hard, and the egg bit spoil my mood also..haha..and thus was nt managed to finish it.



From Asakusa, we took Ginza Line to Ueno Subway Station.back to hotel to pack our newly bought stuff! Real heavy..haiz..haha..dragged our luggage to Keisei Ueno Station and tk Keisai line train to Narita airport. Last usage of Suica and then refund at the JR East Travel Service Center. Reached airport ard 3pm and went for check in. NWA check in was v messy as we hv to chk in ourselves den stil hv to queue up for our luggage and seem like nt enuff staffs to organize abit and pple will intend to jump in the queue after self-check in. heng we reached there early. Had our food we bought at supermarket and went to Airport Observatory Deck. To our surprise, we saw sunset again!


Tis time, with clouds surrounded the sun somemore. Wat a nice peaceful scene to end the Japan trip..hee..Went inside Departure Gate early. The design was nice and walked past one shop that displayed papercraft. Really nice..



and duno y, my right leg muscle pain like hell, think sprained it when I tried to massage it a few moment before..haiz..but glad its okie when reached home.. phew..

hoo~ Bye Japan 2008.. i'll be back..~

Things that we have bought.. hee

Japan Trip 2008 - Day 9

20th Oct Mon (Shin Osaka – Tokyo – Ueno)
Latest morn of my trip.wakie ard 9 plus.today morn wun be gng anywhere,cos need to go back tokyo liao.luggage is full n heavy.jialat.but shld be able to fill up.ate my last brkfast at e stall opp hotel.hee-ordered Salmon Set for ¥390.hmm-heng din pour soy sauce.cos salmon quite salty, like preserved salmon.but managed to finish it in e morn! Cool.went back hotel rest n its time to leave Osaka liao.damn heavy e luggage.at least is nt tat far from hotel.bought one Unagi Bento ¥900, homemade pastel swissroll ¥399 at outside JR Shin Osaka ticket entrance and bread papa ¥210.


1215pm Shinkansen from Shin Osaka to Tokyo liao. tink spend most of my journey zz. Ha. tot will watch drama in psp.but only managed to do it for 15mins.ha.Unagi bento tastes nice.hee.finally ate unagi~ tat swiss roll too-inside has strawberry also..


ard 4plus reach hotel at Hotel New Park Ueno. Heng can chk in, at least can put down our luggage. The room was quite small.


Went shopping at Ueno, a lot of things to see. bought yakitori and Adidas sweater for ¥1490 (50% off).


Went Oicity and looked for Yakiniku stall Jojo-en at 9th storey tat Law recommended (cheaper for set lunch), but no chance to eat tat..maybe nxt tm..hee..



Had our last dinner ¥580 in Japan 2008 at Ueno Tenya. This stall sells tempura don / udon~ damn nice lor!! Can eat the flesh more than the flour..seldom eat tempura in SG, cos I feel the flour like too much liao, but this one really delicious. Can try it nxt tm, is located near another Station Okachimachi, but is juz beside the JR train track.


As today was the last day of using JR pass, so juz mk best use of it. looking for Daiso at Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku,100 Yen Shop, milk tea special.but was late le, most of the shops had closed. went JR Akihabara station, Electronic Town Yodobashi-Akiba. A building that has ard 10 storeys that sell electronic stuffs. quite ex. Jap HP also has their own designs with variety of colours, mostly flip phone.


had our last 三叶寿司 sushi at Shinjuku West. the trip was gd lo.cos was like having recalling session.hee.every shop has closed but still v crowded on e streets.time to go back hotel pack luggage le.

Japan Trip 2008 - Day 8

19th Oct Sun (Shin Osaka-Kyoto-Keihan line-Eizan line-Kurama-Kyoto-Osaka-Shin Osaka)
ard 820am went out for onsen(hot spring).woo~ my 1st tm outdoor. took shinkansen from Shin Osaka to Kyoto.den change JR Nara Line to Tofukuji 东福寺 den transfer to Keihan Subway Line to Demachiyanagi Station 出町柳 (¥260).


Den again, chg to Eizan Subway Line,all e way to Kurama Station (¥410). which is last stop.will tk ard 1hr journey.e Eizan line train v different from others cos v different from other trains,as it gt seats tat faced to e side window.tats v gd lo.like tat everyone can get to see beautiful scenery.supposed to hv autumn leaves along e tracks but none.tink too early-muz ard early nov den able to see more at e lower sea level places.haa.


reached Kurama Station. Those who r going to Kurama Onsen can tk their free shuttle bus provided to their Onsen.so is v convenient. it’s time to enjoy my onsen ¥1100~! refreshed after tat.dun feel like wearing shoes at all.


took shuttle bus back station.had Cold Zaru Soba ¥750 for lunch at Kotengu 心天狗. Nt bad.ha.. left Unagi in my food list nw.


shop ard near the station den tk train back to Shijo Ohashi (North) 四条大桥(北) Keihan Subway Line. walked along Nishiki Food Market there.lots of fish.ha.tink if i stay there,might buy some to cook.hee.bought some grilled stuff.fried tofu tat look like takoyaki,sweet potato + pumpkin + carrot,veg.nt bad-ard ¥350.bought takoyaki again.nt tat nice.


decided to go back Osaka liao, dun wan waste time here. Took bus back to Kyoto Station. Before gng back Osaka, had our dinner (Soba & Don ¥600) at Mengushi, one shop inside JR station. we customers have to stand and eat, mking me feeling rush in eating sia..


Took JR train back to Osaka and was our last shopping time at there le. We walked to where we went for first time. jux tat it's nite tm..well,in Japan, sunset happens ard 5pm one.so their 6pm is like our 8pm.and already can see many ppl on street liao.like no ppl working like tat.


bought one cup noodles for our supper.quite nice wor.can buy hm.big portion and only ¥100. haa.last 2 days of tour liao.really fast.gona work soon.

Japan Trip 2008 - Day 7

18th Oct Sat (Shin Osaka-Kyoto-Pure Water Shrine-Kyoto-Saga Arashiyama)
Took Shinkansen from Shin Osaka to Kyoto. Kyoto station is another look. Nicer than Osaka’s and Tokyo’s one. And try to find where’s tourist centre..haiz..lost..actually is at the main entrance there (where u can see Kyoto Tower). Get Kyoto bus guide and map from them. Bought sausage bread for brkfast.


Tk Bus 206 to Pure Water Kiyomizu Temple 清水寺. Standard bus fare ¥220. Went there as is more popular and more things to see. Alight at Gojozaka 五条坂. Have to walk uphill sia.


tired. The temple was crowded, maybe is Sat. and many gers wearing their kimono. Bought admission fee for ¥300. The temple was supported without wires, only wood.



Went for prayer for ¥100.well, din turn out gd for me.


had our small meal at Takinoya for Hot Tofu at a cost of ¥700. Nt bad.


Shopping along the street outside the temple. Can tk note of those cute stuffs tat can be bought at a rate (3 for ¥1050).


Took Bus 206 back to Kyoto Station. Next, we will be gng to Sagano Scenic Railway 嵯峨野観光鉄道 at Saga Arashiyama Station on Sagano Line. We hv to go to their small station Saga Torokko Station that catered only for this Railway route and buy their tickets for ¥600. Saga Torokko Station is jux beside Saga Arashiyama Station.



There’s a bamboo grove walk near this station also, planned to go after this 25 mins railway, but too late when we back to station. Cos quite ulu at nite when walking to there. We will be sitting Romantic Train from Torokko Arashiyama to Torokko Kameoka and hv to stand as no more space. Actually throughout the journey, the ride was kinda rush and fast. Cant really tk photos. Den halfway, gt ppl come n disturb.kinda disappointed.


FYI, Romantic Train is one of the activities. Another one will be Hozu River Boat Tour a one-way, two hour boat ride from Torokko Kameoka to Torokko Arashiyama for ¥3900. Finally reached Torokko Kameoka station and is near sunset le..walked along e path as we hv to go JR Umahori Station back to Kyoto.woo~ took pics of flowers with sunset. Reminded me of Cameron Highland Rose Farm.nice~.


another side of the station is plantation with sunset.its been a long tm no see sunset.


wanted go for bamboo grove.but too late and quite inside e neighbourhood. Took train to Kyoto and den took Subway to Karasuma Shijo 四条. Over there is like orchard. But nth much.juz walk along those bright lights area.haa..kyoto more on preserved food.


Bought one Puma shoes at ABC Mart.nth liao. Went 松屋 eat katsu don wif egg again. Juz miss tat egg..shiok.


walk awhile.Took Subway to Tofukuji 东福寺 so that able to chg to JR train. Took Nara line back to Kyoto. Den from Kyoto book Shinkansen to Shin Osaka.finally nt eating meal outside hotel for supper.

Japan Trip 2008 - Day 6

17th Oct Fri (Toyama-Tateyama Alpine Route-Matsumoto-Nagoya-Osaka)
Today will be Tateyama Alpine Route Day..4 tics to be prepared.


Leaving at 7am.had quick brkfast in hotel n rush train for 725am train from Dentetsu Toyama station (nt JR) to Tateyama 立山station ard 1hr (ticket is part of the route package).at the station, we have to chg the ticket to get the cable car ticket from Tateyama Eki to Ogizawa. From Tateyama,we took cable car to Bijodaira 美女平. 7mins.For this stop, everyone will jux squeeze in cable car,so bit hard to tk photos.


At Bijodaira, there’s 2 stops for us to go, is either go for Stopover (before reach Murodo) or directly go to Murodo. We of cos go for stopover, else the tic will be wasted.


When reached at the stopover at Midagahara at ard 945am (Jap time), started to wear my thick jacket, cold~ haa..on the way, was abit able to take pics. And the maple leaves r nt really red.weather was great wif few clouds.hee.and mountains looks great with sun shone on em.went further down,took lots of paromana view.ha.saved me alot of time also.


hee.took 1035am bus from Midagahara to Murodo liao,


tkg Tateyama Travel Trolley Bus at ard 1110am to Daikanbon (where u can see whole scenery from top).


From Daikanbon, we will be tkg Tateyama Ropeway down to Kurobedaira.

While waiting for ropeway, we ate some food samples,nice wor.milk almond.real gd.bought some hm too.this stop nth to se.haa.den but was able to feel strong wind n from inside can see beautiful view of outside liao.took some pics first.and who noes outside even nicer,as in wider angle to tk pics.go to the Observatory area. Able to see autumn leaves of colour mixture of green,red,yellow,orange,brown.jux great! With cable car as foreground.woo.haa.





Time up for Tateyama Ropeway down from Daikanbon to Kurobedaira. Here we can see another view of autumn leaves again..bigger and wider angle..nicee..went to the top for better view..




time to take Kurobe Cable Car to Kurobeko at 1220pm where we have to walk along the Kurobe Dam.


too bad nt able to see water at the Dam leh.as seen at those tourism photos.sian.but autumn leaves r gd enuf.Many obasan,ojisan went to all these.nvr see young ppl wor. Only those travellers.this place can be visited for autumn.As for other season,nt really sure.haa.


From Kurobe Dam, took Trolley Bus to Ogizawa (Last stop of the route) Today our timing was planned very gd.thanks to em.cos if missed one time,might hv to wait for a certain period.bit waste tm plus many ppl.might tk up time n place.at last stop,was v nice too but sometimes sun too strong also cant see anything.but nt bad liao.hee.heng ah.




ate Masu no Sushi there.nt bad-tasted like smoked salmon?abit. cost ¥750.


quite late le.ltr v long journey hm.1hr bus ride from Ogizawa to Matsumoto and Matsumoto to Kyoto 2hrs.den rush for Shinkansen from Kyoto to Shin Osaka.hate rushing.haa.but unlimited n fast.no choice.


and again hv to eat e same place (outside hotel) for 3times.haa.nt bad la,n cheap.no choice.came back too late-all closed.ordered Katsu Don.ha.and saw the chef pour one scoop of egg onto e fried breaded Katsu.damn nice leh.shiok!Ha.


jialat.been eating supper since day 1.cos lunch always nt a proper meal.tink wun gain any weight.haa.supper also digested by zz n walking from morn to lunch or evening.