first and foremost.
sorry for taking so long to update this. I kinda got lazy and kept procrastinating. anyway, here it is (:
PART THREE . (last and final part)
I have few missions when I come to Japan.
- Buy a stuffed panda toy. (Don't ask me why ;D)
- Buy something related to Lee Byung Hun (My favorite actor!)
- Buy something related to Big Bang (My favorite band!)
- Buy a CD.
- Buy a magazine.
- See Big Bang posters on the streets.
- My sister's mission ; Get a shoulder cat. (Click on the link if you're clueless.)
And I want it to get
done by today (Day Five, because we're heading to SHINJUKU later on).
Day Five (20th November 2009) ; Mt. Fuji ~ Tokyo
Uhuh, today was the day I really expect for MANY things to happen. But whether my expectations was met or not, its for you to read on ;)
Again, woke up at 6am.
Had breakfast at the same area we had our dinner last night, and AH, bumped into the Thai group again.
Meh, nothing much for breakfast. But guess what? The weather cleared, and Mt. Fuji (which was just facing our hotel) exposed herself to us. My mum was grinning from ear to ear, and snapped many pictures of the mountain.
outside the restaurant. you can take picture with the Mt. Fuji here.
our tour group (except it is the affiliated one with the Japan company)
and the main guide's name.
After breakfast, we boarded the bus and bade farewell to Japan's icon.
And whooh, the Thai group's bus was just beside ours, and my sister (now sitting at the window seat), helped me to steal some shots of the guy.
see that three small figures there? the middle one is him. LOL.
But sad to see that........... He smokes. (his 'cute' image is now crumbled, and he even 'styled' his hair, which is so not my type)
So we left the Mt. Fuji.
Had toilet breaks again.
This time, something in the toilet caught my eye. Look at this sign;
Now, which mother will do that do their own child? These caution signs are so common sense.
And look at their cubicles, it ain't a cubicle anymore. More like a cylindericle.
Those are the doors to the cubicle, mind you
So, one hour in the bus. Took a nap, while the main guide just talks.
..And now, we reached Tokyo, the central of Japan! .. But no shopping just yet. We have to visit yet another temple, Sensoji temple. In a part of Tokyo's downtown, it is best known for its many temples.
But this time, we drift by, toss some coins into the "wishing well" and went to a "mini" shopping street nearby. (Probably we got sick of seeing too many temples)
Nakamise Shopping Street ~!
They sell food, souvenirs, "carry-able" snacks (LOL), and idol stuff as well. Not as much as Sanenzaka though. And it's not uphill, it's just straight flat road.
Most of the pictures here were taken from my sister or from my mum's cam (my camera's space kinda got deflated)
what's this? it's keychains of superstars!
guess who? ;) it's Byunghun :D
mission accomplished ! Panda toy obtained (1) !
YAMASHITA TOMOHISA !! He's hiding behind the snacks.
the rice biscuit uncle.
After walking a whole stretch, we stopped walking and took some photos.
this is where we walked.
Saw a really fancy guy with really high clogs.
(click to enlarge!) and I mean, really high.
.. and look at this random shopkeeper. He's actually beatboxing or lipsynching (to himself) to some inaudible music. Probably just to entertain himself as not much customers were there.
COOL! LOL.
At 1.15pm; lunch!
After lunch, we waited for the bus. (More like, our bus.)
guy on the carriage : "WHUT?"
that's not our bus.
Boarded, and left to Ginza!
highway.
gakuen! (school)
Ginza ; a high-end shopping district. A branded good shopping street. Louis Vutton, Coach, BURBERRY, LANVIN, LeSportSac, etc. etc. all here.
The first thing the main guide told us when we went down the bus to shop, was ;
"If you want the toilet, you have to go to Toy Park (points to the shop across the road). 2nd floor."
(click to enlarge) TOYPARK!
My dad and mum were ; "....."
My sis and I were ; ":DDDDDD"
Went in and WHOOOO. The whole level is filled with stuffed toys. The next level, it's 'Action Figures' from every movie (mostly Gundam and Transformers). Anime figurines are abundant too. Then the next level, 'Nintendo DS games', and it gets more boyish-er as the levels go up.
taken from their official website~ but you get the idea.
8 floors of toys! Recommended to visit to all figurine/games/plushie lovers. ;)
Just found out that none of us took pictures of this place. Was too fascinated by the toys until we forgotten.
.. Of course, we wouldn't forget the toilet. Because that is exactly what my parents came in here for.
Then we went out. Because we did what we supposed to do. And then just walked arounddd.
Branded stuff doesn't catch my eye yet.
My mum went to UNIQLO, a department store (which sells clothes at reasonable price). But the place is too crammed. So my dad, sister and I, went to a fine dining restaurant, Ginza Bunmeido, just to sit and blow the time away, while my mum shopped alone. (We had an hour to spend at Ginza.)
No joke. A piece chocolate mousse like this costs RM40. Topped with two cups of Hot Chocolate, for my sister and I. Estimated at least RM120+ for a simple meal like this.
spiffeh.
high class dining!
My dad said ; "You better take a picture, because this is called Fine Dining in Japan."
Then my mum finished, and she joined us. She didn't order anything though. Just sipped some of my hot chocolate.
Left the restaurant, and walked for a while. Went to the bus when it was time.
Now now now, it's time for. SHINJUKU. The place that I had such high hopes on. When we reached, (10 minutes drive from Ginza) it got quite dark already.
I wonder what is that guy trying to do, standing in the middle of the road?
Shinjuku, still not familiar? It's one of Tokyo's big cities.
..and it has lower end shops, which are so our type ;D
I spy Bae Young Jun!
BETTER STILL, LEE BYUNG HUN's most recent movie poster! ❤
(L-R: Kimura Takuya, Josh Hartnett, Lee Byung Hun ❤)
"I Come With The Rain"
My sister said she can find her Shoulder Cat here. With the written address in her hand, we walked around to find it.
There it is ! "OIOI Marui One"
Went into the shop, and tried to find the cat.
Went to toilet first though.
even their toilet has this fancy background.
mission complete! / shoulder cat obtained (1)
Yay. Bought it.
Next target, CD's. I tried looking for HMV, but everything's written in Japanese. -_-;
If it was in Korean, then maybe it's possible. :P
Dad and Mum wanted to sit down and have a break. Me and my sister was still determined to find the shop. We were allowed to roam freely around the area for 20 minutes.
we had ice cream wraps while taking a break for awhile.
.. But still failed to find. Ended up going to Tsutaya CD Shop. Not bad, we thought we can find some K-POP. But I only manage to see BigBang CD rentals.
Ah, don't have K-POP. There's 5 floors altogether. We're at the 4th floor now, but as I checked my watch, only a few minutes left before 20 minutes is over. So we went downnnnnn and back to my parents.
saw this on the way down to the 3rd floor. K-POP, but where?
Back with the tour group, now we are heading for dinner.
it looks like a showcased food or something. rofl. spotlights!
So we were looking back at the pics we took. My sister scrolled back to this picture,
And with that, we were half-way to crying.
It SHOWS that KPOP is on the 5th FLOOR.
HOLY. We missed it! Dammmmnnn. So yeah, we were so upset during dinner till we don't have much appetite.
I even told my dad. He even said "If our hotel is walking distance from here, then I'll bring you.". Thanks dad.
At least that cheered me up a little. So I even kinda prayed for our hotel would be nearby.
Done with dinner, and walked to some street (we just followed the tour guide and the group).
founded out that this area has HMV too, well, after the trip. -_-;
I had the feeling that here has it, but my dad didn't want to go in, because they stated there "Railway station."
Saw a lot of night pubs, some with pictures of half-exposed girls on the shop front. We were like clueless as we followed the tour guide blindly, who clearly didn't state where we were at the moment. (But we were walking towards the bus)
[After a few days of this whole trip, I checked it up the net, and it is the Kabuki-cho, which is known as the 'sleepless town', which is a prostitute/whorehouse and other peverted thingies. So yeah, we walked into a red-light district without knowing it.]
welcome, to the whore-street.
sea of humanity
Lotsa handsome guys standing there, waiting for something. Most of them were tall, lean, and have their hair dyed to brownish-blond, but I think they were the 'puppets' to lure customers. Huh.
Sorry, no pictures. ): Memory ran dry! ): ):
Then got into the bus and left to our hotel. Keio Plaza (as written in the itinerary).
But wait! The main tour said "we had some problems with the arrangement of the Keio Plaza hotel, so we booked Tokyo Dome Hotel for you guys instead."
TOKYO DOME HOTEL!?!?
THE HOTEL BESIDE TOKYO DOME!?
THE PLACE WHERE ALL K-STARS/J-STARS HOLD THEIR CONCERTS THERE (plus baseball matches)?!
Gosh, I was SO happy to at least stay BESIDE that area. WHOAAA.
So who went to Tokyo Dome before?
None other than ; Big Bang, TVXQ, Rain!
And upcoming recent (by the time I updated, it was over. LOL) is "Four Of a Kind" concert, which is going to be attended by my favourite K-Actor, Byunghun, Song Seung Hun, Won Bin and Jang Dong Gun! (The four Korea's BIG actors/representatives)
RAWRRR.
tvxq ~
rain ~
(Boo, there's no Big Bang's picture. -_-; So hard to find).
ALL THESE PERFORMED IN THAT STADIUM. WHOOOOOOOO!!
I tell you, that place is SO beautiful. Why? Because that area is a THEME PARK in the morning (it is called Tokyo Dome City)! At night, it's lighted up so much!
it's prettay i tell you! gosh!
But we went to our room to load our luggage first. Dad felt extremely sleepy and tired. So my mum, sister and I went out to stroll around before we slept. Time? 9.30PM. (Japan time, Malaysia time, 8.30PM)
Well, this is our LAST opportunity to have fun at night before we stay at Narita Airport Hotel tomorrow (Trust me, that place is NOTHING).
Pics spamming of the Tokyo Dome surroundings!
(c) flickr @ Ballet Lausanne
we MUST take a picture with this aosidjaosdkjals building!
the huge outdoor TV that shows commercials, etc. but it's on baseball atm.
Stairway to the unknown.
Laqua is Tokyo Dome's Shopping Center
it was lighted up but it's not opened.
the shops there close really early.
something we can't see in Malaysia.
SANTA COLONEL SANDERS! :D (the KFC old man)
KFC has Ice-cream too?!
place to sit. damnnn niceee.
their staircase of lights.
a Naruto printed pillar (:
It's so cold at night. But really worth it to walk around. I'll be regretting SO MUCH if I didn't walk around there, I tell you.
Went back to the room and slept at 11.30PM. So many things to see and do, but so little time. ):
===
Day Six (21st November 2009) ; Tokyo ~ Narita
So let's see what we've accomplished yesterday (and the day before).
Buy a stuffed panda toy. Buy something related to Lee Byung HunBuy something related to Big Bang - Buy a CD.
Buy a magazine. - See Big Bang posters on the streets.
My sister's mission ; Get a shoulder cat.
Hmm, not bad. Except for the whole
"I-skipped-the-freaking-5th-floor-of-the-CD-shop" issue. And so I thought I could get that done by
today.
--
Woke up at 6am again. Brought our luggage down.
the feeling of "just-woke-up"
view of Tokyo Dome in the morning.
Had breakfast and checked out.
christmas tree in the lobby.
And left, to Tokyo Disneyland. Well, I was half praying that the ride will take a longer time, because I was so freaking sleepy (and I wish I could sleep more in the bus) but my prayers were not answered. ):
on the way.
YAMASHITA TOMOHISA!
bright and sunny Tokyo morning.
girl student.
Had the WHOLE day to spend there. (It sucks, because I thought we could fulfill our missions)
Ooh, and guess who we saw again?
the guy in black -cough-
The Thai bunch. LOL.
Anyway, walking on..
cuuuuuutee!
Saw a lot of parades. "Christmas Fantasy" and "Jubilation". We even managed to see "Christmas Fantasy" twice. (just to kill time)
the crowd, 30 minutes BEFORE the parade.
a dustbin? no! a POPCORN BUCKET.
see the divider thing? is to divide the audience and the parade
it's a snow mouse! so freaking adorableee
daisy.
i call them ; the retarded deers.
pooh.
buzz.
the cool-looking staff. oh, and pluto.
goofy
the gingerbread dude.
minnie.
Oh gosh, the atmosphere there is so Christmasy (Although it is just end of November!)
Had lunch.
curry rice. it's not spicy at all.
And went to ride rides.
-Space Tour. A 4D ride. Based on Star Wars.
They bring you to the outer space while R2D2 screws up the whole system, which sends you flying havoc in space.
- The Pirates of the Caribbean (the BEST!)
They take you inside to the Pirates of Caribbean world by a boat. There's no strong movements while in the boat.
(although there's a small drop down, which caught people off-guard. thank god for the people in the front boat who screamed, warning us boats behind ;)
the house which house the rides. inside, there's a long queue you have to go through.
the boats we're riding on.
in the ride.
Jack Sparrow robot. it moves though, so it's computerized.
but it still looks surprisingly hot as the real one.
**Recommended to all Pirates of the Caribbean fans!
-4D ride, Based on "Honey I shrunk my kids". (I can say that is is HELLA boring. rofl.)
They "accidentally" shrink you into a small tiny man, and all the humans do is just walk around and look at you. And when the dog comes.. you guess what will happen. :/
Boring ):
- Another ride in a boat, "It's a Small World."
Hmm, well, they bring you into the "world" which shows many races, and their cultures (all portrayed with moving dolls), while in the background, "It's a Small World" plays repeatedly in different languages, depends on which part your boat is heading to.
oh yeah? I don't seem that happy after riding it. :/
you get the whole picture, do you?
goodbye.
Hmm, and we just walked around. We don't really feel so fresh (yes, we were really tired), so we don't have the mood to be all adventurous and stuff.
Walked around until it starts to get dark (5pm). And by 6pm, it's goodbye for Tokyo Disneyland.
two Minnies are lost.
(Sister and I)
woooh~ playing piano while cycling.
this might seem insignificant to you, but this is where Joo Ah Min (MC Mong's girlfriend)
took her picture here when she came to Tokyo Disneyland.
weee.
(c) allkpop.
while waiting for the toilet. nice ;)
i went to the "gulls" toilet.
familiar? it's a gigantic snow mouse toy in the souvenir shop.
now you know :D
rested at a restaurant. bought fries.
queing up. the menu.
nom nom nom. 2 cups of fries. hungreh.
it's getting darker.
.. and darker.
...even darker.
..and darker
... so we left.
Dinner time.
Boarded the bus and left. We were driving to Narita at the same time, so the restaurant is located at Narita. (Outskirts of the city, not much streetlamps, so it's dark. It's quite hidden too, the restaurant.)
It's BBQ buffet. All types of meat are raw, you just take it and BBQ it yourself (:
dinner!
Oh, not to mention they have D.I.Y food there as well. Like,
a cotton-candy making machine!
And another one (which I didn't take pic of), is 'Make your Own Crepe.'
My dad was very proud of himself when he tried to spin the cotton-candy thread into a lump, so he decided to show me that he was a pro in making the crepe as well.
LOL. But phailed. So cute, my dad. (:
Hmm, not much pictures taken here, since the only surviving camera is mine. And I'm only left with 10MB worth of memory to take 5 pictures only!
Went
to the hotel, Narita Marroad Airport Hotel,
which is just a 10minutes drive away from the restaurant.
It's olddd and shaaaabby. ):
Gah, no pictures of the room. Everyone's camera died.
...And BORING. There's nothing there except for a convenience store.Obviously, I can't complete my mission.
Just went to the room, and had a small discussion with my parents in their room about what to put & what not to put in our hand-carry bag tomorrow. Our things in our luggage were divided into seperate bags so that we won't have to carry extra bags tomorrow.
Went back to our room and just sleep.
By the way, this was the last day with our bus driver. So we felt sad leaving him after a long 6 days with him. ):
Day Seven (22th November 2009) ; Narita ~ Kuala Lumpur
Well, the last day that I have to wake up on 6am. (Not including schooling days~ Heh.)
the view outside.
Breakfast.
the hotel from outside.
Packed, and left to Narita Airport. 5 minutes drive.
our shuttle to the airport.
car park.
everyone's so sad.
in the bus. we're reaching.
By 9am, we were already checking in the airport. Our boarding time is 10am.
Did a little souvenir shopping. Bought some snacks, and bought a J-POP magazine (just for the remembrance).
gate to KL.
the sadness.
By 10am, we flew back to KL, our home.
hunnie, the new family member. heh.
hunnie and my lunch. onigiri !
Watched G.I. Joe again. Heh. Reminds us when we just left to Japan.
Reached Malaysia at 6pm (Malaysia time).
Got a taxi, who brought us home by 30 minutes or less. (our house is quite a fair distance from the airport).
The end.
=
Thank you for sticking with me throughout the whole trip recap. It was really fun reading all your comments.
:)
When I wrote this, I felt like I went back there again. Gosh.
==
Extras in the next post.
:)
