Thursday, November 29, 2007
Bye Bye Japan
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Our Last Day in Japan
What shall we do on our last day in Japan? We have one more day to go, but several things more to do. Ah Ma wanted to go to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro and we weren't too interested in more shopping, thinking of going to Ueno Zoo to let you see the animals.


Here's of a picture we took of the wonderful lights nearby Pek Kong's apartment:
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Of Sushi, More Shopping and A lot of Sight-seeing
We had been trying to decide if we wanted to go to Hakone. Firstly Ah Kong and Ah Ma have already been there in their previous trip to Japan. Secondly, if we were to go, we would need to wake up very early. Also whether to bring you a long. So, to make the decision, we decided to take the train to Shinjuku Station where we could inquire further about the trip to Hakone.

What was on the menu in Ueno? Sushi, of course! We haven't had sushi since we arrived and there's only a few more days to go before heading back to Malaysia. So we took the train, and by the time we arrived in Ueno, you'd fallen asleep. A blessing, as it was a sushi restaurant serving sushi on the rotary. As we had our lunch perched on our stools, you dosed contentedly in your stroller parked at the side of the restaurant (safe and away from harm!)After a yummy lunch, we headed to Ueno to buy more foodstuff to bring back to Malaysia as well as some food for Ah Ma to cook for tonight's dinner. Soon, we were on the train headed home to Akasaka to rest a little and to prepare for dinner.
We had decided that we would let you decide whether you'd be going to Hakone with us. Since we needed to leave Akasaka latest by 6.30am for our 7am train, we'd bring you along if you woke up. And guess what? You did wake up. Just on time for mummy to bathe you and off we went. With the stroller (despite Ah Ma telling us that it was not possible to use the stroller).
We arrived in Shinjuku Station with ample time to buy something for breakfast before looking for our seats in the "Romance Car", the train that is a faster train. I thought that having woken up so early, you'd sleep in the train. But nooo... you had something else in mind. You played and played in the train while daddy napped most of the way to Hakone-Yumoto and only decided to fall asleep around 15 minutes before we arrived! Sigh.. so mummy didn't get to nap. Oh well...
We waited a while in Hakone-Yumoto and soon the tram arrived and we hopped on the switchback train on Hakone-Tozan Line that first moved forward then backwards, zig-zagging up the hill until we arrived at Gora. When we arrived, there was a large crowd waiting to hop on the cable car to go up to Sounzan. Since it was still early and we didn't want to join the crowd, we decided to walk around Gora and wait for the next tram. It was quite a wait and as we waited the crowd got bigger and bigger. And when we got it, it was rather packed and the seats were VERY close together. As usual, you picked the best time to ask to be breastfed. So how? Luckily mummy had your (current) favourite rice crackers in my handbag, and so that kept you occupied and forgot what you originally wanted from me. Phew...
Next was to catch the gondola on the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani. That was one of the points where we could see Mt Fuji. It wasn't too clear that day, but we've had several nice shots of Mt Fuji already, so nevermind... Here's where the sulfur mountain was. The sulfur smell was quite bearable.. or so we thought. We bought the eggs that were boiled in the natural hot springs. Er.. forgot to take a picture of it. Too busy eating. Then off we went to climb the sulfur mountain. And I tell you, thank goodness we decided to bring the stroller. Hey.. we managed to push you up almost all the way. But the moment we neared the top, the sulfur smell was too strong, so we doubled back down to have lunch and off we went on the gondola again this time heading to Togendai.


Again, we missed the "pirate ship" that was to take us to Moto-Hakone, the last stop for our Hakone trip. But since it was still early, we wondered around, got you some more milk from the store and also came across this sign.. Daddy could not resist taking a picture of the signboard.


Sunday, November 25, 2007
Some Shopping Finally...
Compound of Meiji-Jingu Mae





Saturday, November 24, 2007
Hello Kamakura
We bought tickets for the Enoden and off we went. First stop on this train was Enoshima. We walked across the Enoshima Ohashi Bridge that linked the mainland to the island. Not a very short walk, but when we arrived, we saw many stalls selling souvenirs and also seafood there. So where to for the first stop? We walked and we walked and we walked first up the steep slope and then on steps and more steps before we came to this temple. It was a temple of the Dragon King. We continued walking and we came to this beautiful beach with many people carrying buckets and eagles flying overhead. Daddy stopped to take some pictures before we walked a little bit more to reach the Enoshima Iwaya Cave.


It was an interesting place, made up of 2 caves. Some parts were low and there was a bridge linking the 2 caves. We saw something interesting on our way to the second cave. I guess it was naturally made by the waves that come crashing in and out. Looks like a tortoise, right?

After exploring the second cave, daddy took you down to the beach to have a look at the little fishes in the water. I wonder what else was there...


Friday, November 23, 2007
Rest Day in Tokyo

We walked around, took some pictures and you enjoyed running around a garden too. There were many people enjoying the sun and the beautiful garden. As we were leaving you walked by yourself and lost balance. So... you had a bungalow on your forehead. It was all read and spotty as you'd fallen on the road. Poor little thing. Luckily you were easily consoled and continued the walk, jumping on the drain covers as we walked towards the exit.

Running around the Imperial Palace Gardens
We wanted to have a look at the Imperial Palace. Since it was a different entrance from the one we took, we had to walk a distance. That was when you started whinging and crying. We had to stop on and off to pacify you, but it only worked for a while before you started again. in the end, we gave up and mummy had to carry you in my arms, with you indicating that you wanted to be fed. We crossed the road, trying to make it to the subway station, but ended up on a park bench. It was a beautiful park, and so mummy fed you and you fell almost instantly to sleep. I had to carry you for a while more before we managed to put you in the stroller.


Thursday, November 22, 2007
Our Trip Out of Tokyo - Continued
Upon arrival, we were greeted by the residents of the park. See...


Family Picture in front of Todaiji

In Nara Park

Xmas Decoration in Hankyu Department Store
Oh yeah.. by the way, we saw this place that caught out attention on the way to Osaka on Monday. It was a factory with little babies showing their bottoms to us. Hehe.. it was a Unicharm factory, makers of Mamy Poko, the diapers that you are using.. Too bad it was too fast for us to get a picture.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Our Trip Out of Tokyo
We woke up early on the next day to head to Himieji again, as we were behind schedule. Since we had already booked our tickets, we knew the time and did not have to rush for the non-reserved seats. We arrived at Himeiji and took a cab to the castle. Hehe.. save our legs to walk the castle grounds. It was a beautiful castle, being a UNESCO World Heritage too..
There were times when we entered the castle area and needed to remove our shoes. It was interesting. We even climbed the castle. It was 6 floors high. Ah Ma gave up after the 3rd floor. You on the other hand obviously followed us. So you got "imperial" treatment, being carried up the stairs by Ah Kong or Daddy. They had to take turns. Mummy could not carry you, as the steps were narrow and rather steep. We even got to stamp on our brochure to "prove" that we reached the top. There were 2 groups of school children at the top too. They were there on a school excursion. How lucky...
After that, we headed back towards the train station. But before that, we had our lunch. Ah Ma insisted that we had lunch in Himeiji as she had read somewhere that wheat was grown in Himieji and so the noodles there is delicious. And it sure was. We all had udon cooked in different styles. And everyone agreed that it was DELICOUS!
Next we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto, our first choice location which we did not manage to get a room. And now we know why we couldn't get a hotel room. The crowd there was AMAZING! So many people in all the places that we visited. So where did we go to? First stop by cab was to Sangjusangendo a temple with 1001 Kanon, Goddess of Mercy. Too bad no pictures were allowed. So we only walked in to have a look pray a little and off we went to the second stop.
Where to? Next stop is Kiyomizudera, another temple. But we didn't see much of the temple, instead enjoying the wonderful scenery there. We took lots of pictures, but here's one of the beautiful view. Amazing, don't you agree?
We were a little late, so we decided to catch the later Shinkansen and so dinner was at Kyoto Station. We originally planned to eat nearby, but it started to drizzle just as we were leaving the station, so we doubled back to the station, walked around, looking at the many restaurants before deciding on one restaurant. Remember how I said before the food that we have eaten is great? Well, the food in this restaurant was... not the best. Too bad.. We did a little shopping before heading to the platform to wait for our train. And so that's the end of our second day away from Tokyo.
