I figured if I dont start now, I wont ever start, like what I did for my Israel trip. So whilst I can I am gonna start now!
First up, what greeted me was the shocking efficiency of the Japanese. This is the busstand for the Limo Bus, they are punctual up to the minute, I kid you not. Whilst we are used to buses coming at ten minute intervals (and being late in that event), the buses here come at times like 16:23, 16:27, 17:01 and so forth.
And everybody's moves are like synchronized as they scurry around moving your luggages into the bus and issue you tickets to collect your luggage and they holler the arrival of buses to various destinations (okay i am assuming the hollering bit, I dont understand what they are hollering in Japanese... hahah.. but must be right!)
And this is amongst the first picture I took of myself in Japan, on the limo bus. I was real happy to be in Japan because for once I can wear my clothes in ALL the combinations I think they look nice in, and WONT look out of place, or all over the top, because everyone is dressed so well / elaborately!
I am glad to say that many thought I was Japanese! (That's a compliment. I think Japanese men and women are hawt! The men are like SOOOOOO well dressed and the women, I mean, I wonder if their husbands recognize them without make up... )Actually i think the comments on Japanese dressing deserves a separate paragraph by itself and I shouldnt squeeze it in brackets! What I mean to say, is that ALL the girls are like SOOO WELL DRESSED, regardless of whether they work at Ginza (a la Raffles place in Singapore) or whether they do sales in the malls, it's like.. wahh! And they stick like both upper and lower lids with fake lashes, the individual strands kind? It's madness larh. I wonder what time they get up every day to get ready.
As for the men, I mean EVERYONE is in a suit! I was super impressed until I realize that the salesmen also wear suits, it's like default attire. But be that as it may, it's hard to look wrong if you are guy and you are wearing a black suit. I mean, if you are good looking, you look better. If you are not look goodlooking, at the very least you look sharp! And all the Jap men who carry bags all carry nice GUY-BAGS.. leather or otherwise, and you dont see any of the laptop bags that Singapore guys are so like to carry around. Heh.
It's farnee, I met ALH for lunch that day and was recounting the above to him.
ALH: Cant be everyone is so good looking right?
Me: Really larh. EVERYBODY looks super good larh.
ALH: What about the old people?
Me: Urm, the women in their 40s all are like well preserved larh. The men also. Actually you know what, I didnt see any old people in Tokyo. Unless we are talking about the REALLY old ones like 80 plus. I think old and ugly people dont exist in Tokyo.
ALH: HAHAHAAAA.
Really what. He laughed as if i was really biased and just obliterated the old people from memory. But really what. I really never see any like gross people in Tokyo. Except for the really gross ones.
So back to my pictures. The other thing that pleasantly surprised me was the DRUG STORES in Tokyo. (Drug stores my XXX lorh) These places are like DECKED with cosmetics larh. And it goes on for like floors! It is probably like 80% cosmetics (I promise I am not exaggerating) then the rest is like your normal WATSON stuff like plasters and biscuits.
I mean seriously, have you ever had such a choice of hairspray in your life? For girls?
Look!
Many had forewarned me about this sight. And many had predicted that I would go mad in Japan in these shops. But I didnt.
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Because I dont read Japanese. And everything is in Japanese. O well. Heh.
The other thing, which I already blogged about, is the vending machine food stall thingy. The picture wasnt clear in the previous post so I put it up again. What I wanted to eat is in the picture on the right side.I actually lost weight when I was in Japan - primarily because all the food was SO HEALTHY and in SUCH SMALL PORTIONS.. no wonder Japanese women are so "tall". I was seeing everyone eye to eye and I was in flats and they in heels. But back to the issue of weight loss, and i WALKED SO MUCH... but i put the weight all back on when I reached home - blame it on the local food craving ( you know, curry, char kway tiao and the likes of those things)
So this is the first of these vending machine stalls that I ate at. The girl was nice. I dragged her out and pointed at what i want and she told me the number that I should press on the vending machine.Actually most people in central Tokyo understand simple English, they just dont speak it.
This, is a love hotel. Just outside mine. Check out the hourly rates. Apparently such hotels are the norm in Japan - flats are so small that couples use these for a little bit of privacy. Well, if you ask me, all these tourbooks are written by angmohs. The place isnt so small what - it's like in Singapore. And I think the space in HK is much more limited in any event.
Another interesting thing is that Japan is pretty much handicap-travel-friendly. The traffic lights are highly populated areas (like the place I stayed at) play music when the green man is on. Different song for different areas. I took this picture because I thought it's farnee that the sign says it's for the use for the visually-impaired, like they can see the sign right. Hahaa.
Speaking of my hotel, I like it. There was this nice good looking guy at the front desk who remembered my name and room number so I didnt have to ask for my room keys whenever I returned... hahaha.. but seriously, it was VERY CHEAP, clean, and in a good location. Ikebukuro and along the Yamanote line which runs in central Tokyo, I will recommend it to anyone who wants a no frills kinda stay. Not to mention the very nice (and attractive) guy at the front desk who was so very nice. =PPP
This is the games thingy that they have all over Japan.. Pachinko they call them...
I also went to Shibuya, which was a little bit of a disappointment really. i expected the shopping be really good, this place i headed to is REALLY famous. but it is really like a high class Chatuchak - or Far east.. But it was nice, street fashion, except that i wasnt in the mood to buy street fashion clothes.. I did buy some SUPER BLINK accessories - which if I have the time I will blog about.
But i like this picture, because it is like in fairytales when the trees part from the clearing and you see the castle?? And excitement fills your heart cuz you are going into the fairytale castle?
I did feel somewhat like that. heh.When I was there, I met two very kind Japanese. One of them is Yuki, Jean's friend who became my friend. Yuki was VERY hospitable, she even offered to let me stay at her room when i was looking for a hotel one of the nights. She brought me clubbing and shopping with her very dear son here, Ryugen. He looks Japanese, except for his dark skin and head of curly hair. He is very cute he is... i bought him this tshirt that says, "Cool Hunk". Indeed he is.
Of course, we had to go to take neoprints. Here I was just snapping pictures before I got caught.heh.
I dont know why they dont let the men in. heh.
The neo-print area was filled with school girls, and pretty Japanese girls. But no surprise larh, with lighting like this in the neoprint machines, everyone will look good!
Just to illustrate how big and bright the lights are, here is Yuki inside the machine rummaging for change to take pictures. Yuki is real hospitable - she refused to let me pay for my meals. but lucky i move fast. =)
I cant find a scanner so I cant take a picture of the neoprints we took, suffice that it was very cute. Ryugen got really excited when we put him on the floor, he was just running around into other machines. And interrupting other girls taking pictures, but not that i think they mind. It's not everyday you get a cute little boy running into your room.
I also visited Mount Fuji on like the third day of my trip. I was very fortunate, because apparently you dont always get to see Mount Fuji. The weather keeps changing. I almost didnt see it because it was filled with clouds. This is the sakura at the base station of Mt. Fuji. Good larh, I also got to see sakura, which is also supposed to be super lucky cuz it was so late into spring already, all the flowers had withered. But at Fuji still cold so still have sakura.
so nice horh.
Again. 
And up at the fourth station (which was the highest we could go in the weather) got this uncle selling sotong. hahaha. i like.
Okay this is me sitting near the snow. This might be the first time i saw snow actually. Quite anti-climatic actually.
And we have Fuji!
And again!
This is Hakone, which is near Mount Fuji.. and it was soooooooooooooo cold and nice and windy there. That day i happened to be wearing fake lashes.. wah i tell you, so windy one of my eyes the fake lashes nearly got blown off lorh! 
Ducky cute. =)
So nice. It was probably the best place i went to in Japan. =)
Many Many SAKURA!!
Okay this is a picture with nice scenery. Then this random stranger ah ma's daughter, i asked her to take for me. Then the Ah ma thought i want to take with her (and why would i want to, since we are all random strangers. but since we are all tourists and I have a digital camera.. i thought i would pretend and let her take with me lorh. Afterall can take again right.. )
This picture so nice! Even ALH said so. =) heh. It was taken on the bullet train btw. =)
After Fuji I went to this high rise building at Ikebukuro to reward myself with fine dining. The view is good horh. 
I dont know about you, but sometimes when I am faced with great beauty (which is prone to hit me when I am in a high place, or facing a wide expanse of nature - be it fields or mountains but especially large surfaces of water), but when i am facing with great beauty, i usually feel so very lonely. It's like wah so nice, then you want to turn around and tell someone - it's like the expression of beauty completes your appreciation of it. You know, like taking it in. AND if there is nobody to express that to, meaningfully.. the awareness and consciousness of that beauty just swirls around on the inside of you and leaves you feeling, empty.You know what I mean?
So anyhows the restaurant that i went to was super nice, service very good, food very nice, waiters very cute and price very cheap. i even got a free bottle of wine. Hahaa.
So I shall end this post with my post card pictures of Japan. To illustrate the point about the expression of beauty completing our appreciation of it.
This one is the only pink sakura that I saw. Not bad lorh, even the very yim jeem P said I can use it on his online mag. Which btw has changed their name and you can take a look by clicking here.
This is another very lovely shot of Fuji.
I am going to try and blog about the rest of my trip (haunted hotel - YES! one of my hotels was haunted lorh).. but it's hard to upload so many pictures and etc. I am lazy, but I have to share my joy and stories with so many of the ppl I love, who have not seen the pictures!Japan was so good.. possibly the best thing I ever did for myself!
I am rambling, but I am really grateful for the sms-es and the emails and the msn conversations and the blog comments, that i had when i was away - and all the little things that were done by very many people, that reminded me that i am very much loved and thought about whilst i was away. It was little but i was v touched. (Yuarh somebody commented before that i very easily touched. what to do, tender heart what.. lol). But yes, thanks peeps!
Japan was good for my heart.
Indeed. =)
