Japan - Tokyo Day 4

Day 4 we went to Mt Fuji.  The best thing about our trip was that it was clear skies all the way, we could actually see the entire mountain.  Did you know that that only happens 76 days out of the year?  Man were we lucky..

We departed for the 5th Station at Mt Fuji, but it was too icy so we only managed to get to the 4th station.. sucky thing was that the shopping was on the 5th station.. there was only a tiny kiosk on the 4th Station.

We had Japanese set lunch again and then we headed back to Toyko, where we went to the Metropolitan Government Building to see the entire Tokyo.  I didn't take any pictures, but it was breathtaking.. Japan is just so huge and condensed!

We later headed on to Shinjuku for some shopping.  We were to meet at exactly 6.30pm to head to the dinner place at 7pm (we were walking).. and guess who didn't show up by 6.30pm?  Yes.. Datin and her daughter.  Turns out they were too busy shopping at H&M.. boy was Edwin pissed.  But that's like so typical Datin behavior.. only care about herself.

Dinner was held in a basement and was Chinese.. I didn't enjoy it cos they were practically throwing food at your table every 10 seconds.. and we felt like we had to eat in a rush.. in fact.. the entire Chinese dinner (about 9 courses) finished in 30 minutes.  It was simply ridiculous.  Experienced this last time I was in Japan too.. what's with Chinese and rushing people?

We checked back in to Keio Plaza Hotel again for the night, and I bought a chocolate eclair that was coated in gold dust.. it was YUMMY.. too bad I was so full that I only managed half of it.  And we tried the Japanese layered cake.. can't recall what it's called.. but it's nothing to rave home about.. the layers were so thin that it's like a sponge cake.. hahaha..

Japan - Tokyo Day 3

Day 3, we checked out of our hotel and headed towards Hakone, where we stopped by the Peace Park for a quiet reprieve.

Isn't that giant bonsai tree cute?

We stayed about half an hour, enjoying the quiet tranquility of the place... although after that, we were more interested in the vending machines, that sold pretty much any drink you would be interested in drinking, be it coffee (which actually came out hot in a can!) tea, grape juice etc.. or if you want ice cream.. they have that too!

After the Peace Park, we went to the Owakudani Valley, which is pretty much a crater that exudes sulfur.  At the top of the crater, they have hot boiling sulfur water, where they boiled eggs, which is said to give you 7 extra years to live.  Boy was it a trek up that hill..

If you're wondering why the egg is black, that's just what the sulfur does to it.. the inside is still white, like a normal hard boiled egg.  People here eat it sprinkled with plenty of salt.. although I enjoyed mine plain.  It's not cheap though.. 100 Yen for 1 egg and it comes in packs of 5.. we could get it at the souvenir shops at the base of the crater.. but it's not the same as getting it at the top of the crater, right next to where the eggs are boiled.. come on.. it's "fresher"!

Lunch was at a local restaurant and after that.. we headed to the GOTEMBA FACTORY OUTLET!  

Woo hooo.... now this is what I've been waiting for.. unfortunately, we were only given 2 hours to shop.. so off I went.. telling my parents I would meet them back in the bus in 2 hours.. 

Look at what I got straight away at Burberry.. I bought PrincessBling that short pleated skirt, and a new Burberry Blue pink bag for myself.. it now acts as my work bag.. and I absolutely adore it.. can you believe that the skirt costs more than my bag?  I also ended up with a pleated skirt for myself from Tommy Hillfinger, 2 book clutches and a card holder from Kate Spade.  And that was the end of my shopping spree.

We were meant to meet at the bus at 4.30pm, and as I arrived at the bus on 4.30pm on that dot, one of the tour group members, "fondly" nicknamed Datin ran out of the bus saying she didn't see Prada.. and just HAD to go there to buy a bag.. we ended up waiting an extra half an hour for her.  Inconsiderate?  Not the first time she made us wait.

After that, we transferred to our hotel in Lake Kawaguchi, where we had an awesome view of Mt Fuji.  The hotel we stayed in boasted a hot spring bath and they serve traditional Japanese food.

I for one.. am glad to miss the hot spring bath, as you have to be totally NAKED to go in.. but decided to give it a go after mumsy's insistence (hey.. you got to try it at least once!).. you're given like this TINY towel to maintain modesty (well yeah.. if the towel wasn't opaque!) but good thing there weren't any body in the bath when we went.. so I wasn't as shy.. just ran for it into the hot spring and submerged myself into the hot water, with a wonderful of Mt Fuji in the distance.

Dinner was served traditional Japanese style, where we had to sit on the floor.. not pleasant as I tend to lose feeling in my legs by sitting cross legged for too long!

Love that they had shabu shabu with fresh seafood available.  And oh.. the glorious Japanese Rice!  hahaha.. droolz.. 
We all adorned the traditional Japanese Yakuta, which was provided in our bedrooms.. and oh, get this, we were sleeping on the floor...

Ahh.. I feel totally Japanesey now.. and what's better than waking up to the fresh mountain breeze to this view?

Yep, that's straight from my bedroom window.  I was so tired that I actually fell asleep at 8.30pm that night.. and boy was it a good night's sleep.. even if it's on the floor..

 

Japan - Tokyo Day 2

Day 2 saw us having a tour of Sumitomo's factory.. naturally we had to, since they were the one sponsoring our tour.  Since Japanese are very punctual people, we had to leave right on time, and we arrived exactly at 9.30am, where we were ushered into a room, where we had place cards.. which reminded me of high school or something.

There was a presentation on the company, then we were taken in two groups to the factory to see how the excavators were actually made.  Of course, pictures were forbidden.. not that the group actually cared.. I saw cameras being carried and photos being taken!

After all that, we had a buffet lunch sponsored by Sumitomo which was pretty good.. there was a dessert chef making strawberry shortcakes on the spot.. it was so good.. I think Tom's got his inspiration for strawberry shortcake from Japan!

After that, we went to Ueno Market to see the Sakura.. unfortunately, the weather was too cold so the Sakura were late in blooming...otherwise, it would have been spectacular!

There was a zoo with Pandas as well.. but after walking to find Sakura.. we walked back to the zoo to find that it promptly closed 5 minutes ago.. damn.. and it would have been the first time I've seen Pandas!  Comforted myself with a really milky mango soft served cone!

Lookie what I found on the way.. a Whiskey Van!

Dinner was also sponsored by Sumitomo.. this one was going to be on a cruise, with French Food!!!!  Unfortunately.. due the shocking tardiness of the group (not us..) we made it to the docks at 6.58pm .. and the cruise was leaving at 7pm!  We ran onboard and was seated in the dining room.

Smoked Salmon with some potato stuffing

Seafood chowder.. super fresh

Dessert!

Dinner wasn't much to rave about.. had better French food (by the way.. main course was chicken.. forgot to take picture before I devoured it).. but the sights was fantastic.

Yeah yeah.. cliche pic.. just had to take it with the wheel

Our Cruise Ship

It was 9.30pm by the time we left the ship.. tired.. full.. satisfied.. thanks to Sumitomo for the treat.. gocheso sama (Thank you for the treat)

Went back to a second night at Keio Plaza Hotel.. where they didn't have the air conditioning working during winter.. and windows that couldn't be opened.. so it was super stuffy in the room.

Yes!  We found this anime being dragged around by an ang-mo taking pictures.. it's really a head mask!

 

Japan - Tokyo Day 1

So we were given 4 free tickets to Tokyo, Japan by one of our suppliers of Sumimoto Excavators and I was lucky enough to be one of the recipient of this tickets.  It is a 5 day Tokyo tour and I for one could not wait.

Dead from Excitement :P

So anyway, we flew out to KLIA, only to learn that the transfer counter for Japan Airlines would only be opened 3 hours before flight time (we were there 4 hours before).. so what on earth are we going to do for 1 hour in the DOMESTIC terminal where there is absolutely nothing to do?

FINALLY we checked in and waited for our flight, and would you believe, we had literally the LAST 2 seats in the plane.. oh well, at least we could recline our chair without worrying about anyone behind us.  The flight was pretty smooth, and I was asleep in no time (since we were on a midnight flight).. dreaming about what good things were coming ahead in Tokyo.  Woke up for breakfast, which was mushroom omelet, nothing to rave about.. certainly didn't feel Japanese! 

So we arrived at 6.10am and flew through immigration.. then we had to wait for the rest of the tour group, who incidentally decided that they didn't have to fly through immigration.. so that killed an hour.. I was walking around and walked outside to find that it was FREEZING.

We met our tour guide, Edwin who hurried us all into the bus, and headed to our first location..Asakusa Kannon Temple in Nakamise Street.

Asakusa Kannon Temple

Where you purify yourself

Family Shot!

 There was also a long street where they were selling home made crackers, souvenirs, and other stuff like Kimono and Yokata!

The place was simply PACKED with people.. I was getting bumped left and right.. thought people in Japan were supposed to be so polite.. I felt like one of those pinballs, being bounced from left to right!

Check out that huge ass lantern.. can't remember what it is .. think it's the centre of Tokyo or something like that.  I don't read Chinese.. but that represents something.


Lunch was typical Japanese Tempura.. what I love about Japanese meals is that they give you so many small bowls of condiments like pickles and tofu!

I have a new found love of rice.. for those who didn't know, I went off carbohydrates as a drastic way of dieting, and rice was one of those things where I could take it or leave it.. so I left it.. until Japan.. LOVE LOVE LOVE their short grained rice!  So there goes the diet! hahaha


Wasn't too fond of the piece of grilled Salmon fish though.. I have a thing against red colored food.. hence I don't go near Salmon, RED Tilapia.. but I love tempura!  Needless to say, we all gobbled up our food and left to go to Ginza..


Now Ginza is a HUGE street where they sell all the branded stuff like Gucci, Chanel.. and Burberry Blue (you can only find that in Japan!).. we were only given 2 hours to shop.. so I ran for it.. unfortunately, I couldn't find anything to buy.. Did you know that Chanel Japan is more expensive than Chanel Malaysia???


Anyway, time flew by and we boarded the bus to go back to our hotel, Keio Plaza Hotel.  We checked in, then excused ourselves from the tour to have dinner with a family friend, Mark.


He took us to the 53rd floor of a building where they were serving authentic traditional Japanese Food.  The view was spectacular.. so spectacular that I was in such awe that I forgot to take a picture.. infact.. I forgot to take pictures of that whole night.. including the food.. but we had amazing things like home made Udon, Japanese pancakes, sashimi (which I carefully avoided) and other traditional fares like beancurd sticks.


Was stuffed to the max when we we returned to the hotel.. thus the good night's sleep on a full stomach... ahhh.. couldn't wait for Day 2 in Tokyo!

Who I Live For

What keeps me motivated and makes me get up to face each day again?  Why, my babies of course.  Hunter, Lupo, Maximus and Lightning.  They are my pride and joy, the ones that I would sacrifice anything for (mostly food.. haha) because I love them so much.  They don't judge and they love me for who I am.

Hunter and Lightning.. best buddies

Maximus.. love his huge nose (must be foochow! haha)

Lupo.. such a loving dog

Lightning.. looking rather confused at a camera pointed at him

Aren't they a bunch of lovelies?  I just love that they get so excited when they see you coming.. Hunter starts licking me all over (not the face though!) and Lightning is the attention whore who pushes everyone away to get to you.. Max is the gentle one who will wait patiently for his turn to be loved (although sometimes he gets impatient and pushes everyone away) and Lupo.. the coolest dude.. he exudes a cool factor.. as if he can't be stuffed.. but in reality just wants to be loved too.

So there you go, my babies are who I live for everyday.. I missed them so much when I was away in US of A and Japan.. I woke Lightning up when I got back and he looked dazed and confused, until he heard my voice again.. and came running to me as if he hasn't seen me in a long time.. then again, I was away for an entire week in Japan!

LOVE!!!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

On a fine sunny day, we took a 2 hour drive to Monterey Bay (Home of the clam chowder) which boasts one of the largest aquariums in USA.

We arrived at around 12pm.. after driving through masses of artichoke and strawberry fields.. Our first aim of the day was to go to the aquarium and have a look inside.. I had been to the aquarium before, so I wasn't as excited as the rest of the group.

 Just look at the awesome blue skies behind me.. it was a nice warm sunny day as well.. 

This aquarium boasts a few tanks.. the best one would be the deep sea tank.. where they have Garoupa like.. a meter long I reckon.. and I'm not exaggerating.. maybe they use magnifying glass.. I don't know.. but it's HUGE.. and blue fin tuna.. and this crazy looking fish called the 'Sun Fish'.. go Google it.. you'll see what I mean by 'crazy looking'.

Just look at the blue ocean.. if you're wondering.. that's a Sun Fish and a Blue Fin Tuna in that picture... hahaha.. and that's me.. starring at the crazy looking fish..

They have a Jelly Fish tank.. which was so fascinating.. although I must say.. they're creepy.. but PrincessBling managed to take a few awesome pics of them.

Too bad Jelly Fish stings can kill a person.. that's enough to give me a phobia on them.. but they're great for eating! hahaha..

Say hello to Mr Seahorse here.. of course he's a fake!  I doubt Sea Horses come in this size..but I must say.. there are some pretty funky Sea Horses.. like the leaf ones..Just take a look at the picture.. can you believe that that is really a seahorse??

 Poor fellow.. I can imagine him thinking life sucks looking like that.. then again.. it's a good camouflage for predators.


And thus was my day at the aquarium.