Japan, Official Day 3

28th August 2009

Its finally my 3rd day in Tokyo. The weather was rather warm and humid due to intersection between seasons. Although its summer, I had no intention to escape home from Japan. The room was cozy, the food was yummy, the people were friendly, the shopping was perfect. I doubt anyone would like to stay in Singapore.



Nono, I don't mean Singapore is horrid, but just too peaceful to stay in and not happening enough. I guess I might be bored to death if my personal life aren't happening. It's not really that happening, but at least new chorus once or twice a week.



Yoshinoya was said to be tasty in Japan. Yup, it's true. I seldom had Yoshinoya in Singapore, not even after school. At the most, I only order salmon value meal. Oops.

Our destination were Ueno Zoo and Ameyoko.

Mmm, I used to see my friends ordering the beef bowl in SG. It just doesn't tempt me at all, but JP one does. You will only experience the same thing if you were here with me. The aroma simply filled the restaurant and everyone was holding almost the same dish - The Beef Bowl.

SG has no aroma. Nono, I mean no smell at all. This particular beef bowl in JP smell damn great and the rice ain't too sticky. The smell is 50 times stronger than our local ones, I recommend you to try at least once.

Next, we're on our way to Ueno Station taking JR right after our lunch. Here we are at Ueno, and so remember to exit from the park entrance if you want to visit the zoo. Otherwise you might be lost in that area. An updated information just incase any of you aren't aware, their last panda at the Zoo had passes away. Therefore if you were there for the panda, it might disappoint you.

After exiting from the park entrance, you will come across this signage telling you it's an approximately 5 minutes walk to the zoo. It wasn't really far, but I guess a 10 minute walk instead. Oh yeah, bring a cap as it's going to be hot and sunny. There aren't much shelter in the zoo either, it's all open air.

If you are lost, no worries. There's map everywhere you go. You might probably require some analysis as the arrows can be confusing at times. Near by the Zoo, you will see a cultural museum. I did not visit the musuem as it does not look attractive. If you have time, you can probably drop by and make a visit.

Refer to above picture.

If you caught glimpse of the area above, the Zoo is right ahead. Double - up.

Get an ice-cream cone if the weather is too warm. Always try to cool your body temperature to avoid heat stroke as it can be really warm at times. Currently, i'm takin it well so far. So far, So good.



Here we are, Ueno Zoo. I guess majority of Singaporeans are able to read chinese words.

Christopher look as if he's been tortured. Erm, perhaps it's all because of his tripod stand. He bought a light weight tripod, but after times you still gonna feel the weight. It seems to get heavier every minute.



It's similar to my laptop. At the first sight, I strongly believe my laptop to be light. After years carrying to my school whether rains or shines, I felt as if i'm carrying 3 watermelons to school. It's totaly similar cases. Laiyan should understand better since her laptop was heavier. Tsk Tsk.

This is the ticket booth. There ain't any usher of staffs to process you tickets, it's all machine done. The machines were all in Japanese, therefore you gonna use some common sense in understanding the little logos.

These brochures consist different languages. Therefore you need not worry about navigating around in the Zoo not understanding their languages. Chinese and English are considered rather basics in Japan. Remember to grab a brochures before you go on.

There used to be a panda in Ueno Zoo. It's a pity that it died a year ago. I might catch a glimpse of it if I'm one year there earlier. Never mind, not be be discourage as there were many other animals in the Zoo.



I did not post up all pictures of their animals as there were too many.

There are stalls behind selling souvenirs, toys and even food. Therefore you can purchase some easy bites or grab your bites at the teahouse/restaurant.

It's so cute to see Panda on a Trickshaw. It's tripod time and Christopher unwillingly set it up.

Below is a picture of Pagoda.



We aren't allowed in as it's under renovation. I could see ropes pulling towards the right. I guess this Pagoda might have survive over years through rain and shine. I thought it might be collapsing toward the left, therefore they are pulling it toward right.

It's Hitachi Property.

Majority of their animals were cage up. Therefore it's hard to picture them nicely when they are fence or net up. Overall, I did see many animals that I had not in my life.



Look at the Japanese squirrel below. It's really cute when they cuddle to sleep. Oh... So Sweet...

Look at that fella below.

He's making donation again. Fine, that silly boy rather donate to vending machine than me. Tsk.

Have you had any idea why he's smiling?



That silly boy was nag by me. During confusion, he pressed the wrong key. The ice milk tea he wanted turns out to be HOT MILK TEA. I'm damn happy giggling away. Wahahahaha. Just imagine, drink hot milk tea under damn hot sun.



The thoughts of it just tickles me. He was totally irritated by my self tickling entertainment and began to laugh at his own snoppy act. Haha.

Those little animals above are really cute. Oh... So cute...

Did you see the bird above?



Christopher was acting like a pro telling me about how such animals feed on death. He even told me it was a death eater. He simply feel proud about being knowledgeable when I cross over and read the signage.



The signage wrote "TURKEY"

Wahahahaha, what a classic joke of the year. Alright, it's not really his fault as the 2 birds looks almost 80 the same. Therefore he's confused about it. I shan't blame him but laugh at him.

Death Eater become TURKEY. Wahahaha.

This is a rest house with canteen inside. Coolest place to grab a bite and take a rest.

I'm quite a saddist, I simply enjoy torturing him into doing silly things. As an obliging boy, he usually do what i say. I make him stood behind the monkey for quite a period and laugh at him, saying they look alike.

Yesh, that's my retribution for disturbing him. He did the same to me.

We gonna ride in their monorail. Everything cost money, so does the monorail. It cost about 300 yen per person if i'm not wrong.

Digging for more moolah and coins.

Here comes my train.

In the Monorail.

From the Monorail, you can get a glimpse of the whole Zoo.

I guess you should know why I emphasize about cap in the beginning. Look at my eyes, I could hardly open them. It's semi close most of the time, haha. I'm just kidding, not that serious. But a cap will be good.

These penguin must be really immune to heat. The sun was hot and they stayed above the water.

Haha, I didn't know there is Jackass Penguin. Tsk tsk, sound like the Penguin kana jack in the ass. Sounds bad though but funny to me.

A big flock of flamingos.

Next, we went to the Vivarium. That is where you can see all the crawling animals.

Below picture shows me. I'm actually observing those wormies, snakes, or toad and taking shots of them. I had not seen most of the breeds honestly. Oh dear, I don't wanna be a frog in the well. It's a chinese saying which I usually apply to Ah Tard.

That's a crocodile below. Haha, everyone knew that. Take a look a the glass pane, it's all caused by the violent crocodile which kept banging against trying real hard to escape. It was not possible. But the scratches are really deep, which shows how desperate the Crocodile wanted to escape.

I seriously dislike lizard. I find no cuteness in them.

I think I've seen such big beautiful tortoise somewhere beside Japan. Australia or Bangkok perhaps.

They build their vivarium similar to cave-like.

Look at the picture above.

I seriously hate this kind of lizard. The most number of lizards I saw was at Yishun. Ah Tard name her neighbourhood "Bi4 Hu3 Qu1". Its horrifying to walk in her neighbourhood especially during night time. Almost every pillar you pass by, you can easily spot one of it. It disgust me seriously. I usually scream upon them.

Yes, I got a gloomy face. Million thanks to Christopher. He need to rest almost every moment. As long as the sun interface, he would try his best to avoid. He can read maps and he refused to help. Lazy kid, Lazy kid, Lazy kid.

Tsk, Arghhhhhhhhhh...

Behaving like a kid, he made another donation.

Drinking as well.

I usually hand the cup over to him. Usually, I will not finish the drink and claim that I can't finish my food or drink so that he will take over from me.



Why am I so bad?

Nono, it's not bad but cunning. Wahaha. In Japan you can hardly find any dustbin. Let's not talk about restaurant. You can hardly spot a bin for litters. You might find only recycle bin which is in a far distance usually.



If you are unlucky, you might have to handcarry all your rubbishes everywhere you go. During my first few days, I normally placed them into a plastic bag and into my own bag.This is why, I handover to him. Oops. Anyway, he knew it and got used to it years ago. Dustbin was just a plain excuses I made up. I usually does that to him in Singapore.

We went to the mammal house as we moved on. Mmm, phototaking is prohibited again and it was really dark in the house. Therefore our pictures were rather blurry. We can't on flash, as it might frighten the animals.

Look at the 2nd picture above.

It's a lion cat. It's really cute and I didn't know there's such mixed breed. Nah, it's not a mixed breed. In fact, it's really a cat. They name it lioncat as they look very alike.

Look at the video above. The little one was real cute. As I rotate my finger, it just went round and round again.

Behind me was actually a cage to hold big animals like giraffes or hippopotamus.

Exactly like Christopher face. Only know how to eat and sleep. Tsk.



We left Ueno Zoo after browsing a little more. We took a stroll in Ueno park. It's one of the biggest park and the air was really refreshing. I guess it might be better during Autumn. Look at the lake, they had little rowing boats on the surface of water.



You might even see lotus flower in certain area. Right now, it's not yet the blooming season.

This is a nature reserve park. Therefore peopl should never attempt to harm such beautiful enviroment and take away their natural essence. Turtles can be seen on surface of water. It's not one or two, but a big group.

We went to Kiyomizu Kannondo Temple next.



The Kiyomizu Kannondo Temple was built in 1631. Nearby is the Toshogu Shrine which was built in 1651 and was dedicated to Ieyasu Tokugawa. He was responsible for making Tokyo the capital and most important city in Japan. The path to the shrine is lined with large stone lanterns donated by feudal lords. It is Ueno Park's most famous religious structure.

We saw people drinking water in a ritualistic manner from this water trough next to the temple. Some of them may just rinse their hands or face before entering the temple. It was believed that the water could clense you heart and thoughts to make you feel better.

Both Chris and I did rinse ourselves before entering the temple.

Upon entering the temple, it's rude to take photos, therefore no photos taken in the temple. Remember to make a donation before you can ring the bell. The harder it is, the better. Chris and I rang the bell together.



On the left of the temple, you will see amulets for sale. I shan't say it's cheap, not expensive. Still Chris bought for his family and I got one as well. Christopher can't read chinese attempt to buy an amulet without understanding. On the amulet wrote "An1 Can3" (smoothe delivery-baby). Christopher wanted to buy the amulet when he only know the word "An1". He thought it means safety. Wahahahaha.



Luckily he didn't buy that for anyone, otherwise the person might laugh to death.

After getting our own amulets, I bought a tile. I'm not sure what it's name, but it's like a board. Japanese believes in writing their wish on it, hung it up can make your wish come true. I wrote quite a chunk, but it's confidential. You aren't suppose to tell anyone what you've wrote.

That's my wish. Shh...

This is where I hang my tile up. Btw, this cost about 500 - 1000 yen.

You gonna untie it knot and re-tied it up on the rack firmly.

Some people said that, by writing you unhappiness tied onto this rack and blew your troubles away. Remember to try so if you have troubles. My trouble usually come and goes, therefore I don't need to do so. Perhaps when there's a serious phenomenon.

Below is a tombstone build to remember great people who had contribute to the beautiful city.

Above picture show lotus leaves.



We walked passed this little roadstall and wanted to have a meatball stick to try. I believe that some of you tried the meatball stick at Ajisen. Taste like shit, I guess. I tried the one in Ajisen, they actually had sand like stuffs within.



We ordered only one stick to try as we aren't hungry. The friendly uncle gave us another stick for free. He said it was a gift for us. We had a hard time understanding in the first place.

He was such a friendly uncle, much thanks to him.

There he is (below) barbequeing our meatball on the spot.

Its damn yummy and I regretted for not ordering more. You can never resist such food. Their sauce was really the best, a little sweet and the meat was tender.

We are on our way to Ameyoko next. For tourist, do take note that you had to walk about 5 minutes along the train station to reach Ameyoko Street. Ameyoko (アメ横) is a busy bazaar-style market with hundreds of stalls that runs about 400 meters besides and under the elevated track from JR Okachimachi Station to JR Ueno Station. It is famous for its jam packed stores, bargain prices and a dingy, no-frills shopping experience.

Today, many shops offer things like clothes, accessories, golf clubs, fresh seafood, spices and dried food. Ameyoko is located alongside and under an elevated portion of the Yamanote Line between JR Ueno Station and JR Okachimachi Station. Walking from either station to the other is just as enjoyable and will take around 20 minutes. 20 minutes exclude your shopping, stopover and browsing. It has really alot of stuffs.

Although its just a market, but the fruits were neatly displayed.

They have got tons of shoes. None of them fit me as they come in sizes of S, M, L. My feet is really too small for them. Disappointment.

This is a stall I recommend everyone to try. They sell little cakes which smell really nice from far. It's an old shop, and they made use of very old baking methods and procedure. We bought a box to try.

It's shopping time.

Chris can't resist the temptation of the mini cakes. We opened it and try. It's really yummy.

I guess you guys could see a white portion in the center. I'm not sure what it is, but it's their secret recipe. The sweetness was just nice and the cake was soft and breaks apart in our saliva. MUST TRY!!!

This is a store which sells all sort of local products. Yeah, hungry Chris comb a big bag of food.

We bought quite alot of them as they were cheap. I didn't took any photo of the entrance, but do look out for this store if you wanna buy their local products at a better pricing.

It's dinner time and my legs are breaking apart. You can't see or feel the distance I had walked, you will never understand my feelings and thoughts. Its Paiiiiinn.

We had Katsu Curry for dinner. I love their Katsu Curry with chicken cutlet. Their rice were really nice, and I can eat a few bowl of it.

The skin was super crispy. I never had such crispy cutlet in my life and their curry was to my liking. You can choose different curry upon seating. They have Pork, Chicken and Vegetable curry. I chose Pork Curry. Drools.

Shopped a little more before we set off to Ahkibakara.

Here we go taking JR to Ahkibakara.

Outside station, you will see roadstalls. Have a bite before continuing your journey.

Akihabara (秋葉原) is an area north-east of central Tokyo that is most famous for its electronics stores. The area on the west side of JR Akihabara Station is called the Akihabara Electric Town (秋葉原電気街). There are hundreds of stalls and stores which, as a whole, sell a remarkable selection that includes every kind of personal electronic device imaginable. Akihabara is one of largest electronics markets in the world.

Many larger chains like Ishumaru Denki, Loas, and SofMap have multiple stores that focus on different types of goods.

Above picture shows Ishimaru Denki.Ishimaru Denki operates ten stores in Akihabara which is nearly half of all their stores. They are now partially owned by the Eiden and DeoDeo.

Christopher (below), as usual busily browsing at his camera lens. He was happily meddling around with it. Eventually, he find his camera sucks due to great variety in the stores. Tsk.

The stores are usually crampy and filled with lots of interesting stuffs. I did search for a new headset for my mp3 but in vain. Most of them were expensive until Christopher promise to buy one for me. Oh, everything seems hopeful. Grins.

Look at my gloomy face. I'm dead tired. I doubt I can walk further. I even fell asleep on one of their sofa. I never know Chris got a better stamina in shopping than me. I teared after walking for a ultra long distance. It's never ending.

Oh yeah, Akihabara is located at an important intersection of JR's rail lines which makes coming and going here very easy. JR Akihabara serves the Tohoku and Yamanote Lines which both run in parallel to north to Ueno and south to Tokyo and Shinagawa Stations. The east-west rail lines run to Shinjuku and to Suidobashi. From Shinjuku, take the orange Chuo Line (rapid service) and transfer at Ochanomizu Station. The local Sobu Line (yellow) continues east to Akihabara.

Ohhh, it's late again. We went back to our hotel using JR lines as usual.

Btw, below is all our super buys. Looks alot isn't it?

Although we had Katsu Curry for dinner. Due to Japanese big meal portion, my stomach expand eventually. We even had late night supper. Mac and Yoshinoya shall make the best.

We even add a soft drink plus a bowl of instant noodle. Woohoo.

Good nights everyone.