This is the first image captured in Japan from the plane.. we took a night flight there and by the time we reached was already morning!! Japan sun rise very early wor... 6am is like 8am here already.
The plane landed successfully at Tokyo Narita Airport. And my tour started...........
09 Feb 2008Once aku step out of Narita airport... my first sentence was.. :" WOW.. so shoick.. so cooling!" with vapour coming out from my mouth instantly when i talk. Less than 2mins only... i change my sentence to :"WOW.. very cold leh... buai tahan liao".. hahaha... and i was shivering trying my best to keep my image till i reached the coach. Believe it or not? There is a statute of Liberty in Tokyo itself. How impressive ya!?
Situated near Odaiba Park. There lies Palette Town - largest ferry wheel in the world. and cost me Yen900(S$12) for a ride (Convert over... still cheaper than our Singapore flyer leh..). Sceneries up there was cool.. weather was cool also! look at the view taken from the ferry wheel.. nice wor...
Then we visited the Toyota showroom. I must say, getting a japanese car in japan is VERY CHEAP lo. at around $25k u can get a very decent toyota 1.6cc or above car. How cheap right? but their ETC (like our ERP) is damn expensive. Highway for large cc cars have to pay $50+ and parking is also expensive accordingly to the tour guide. Getting a car in Japan is cheap, but maintaining the car is very expensive.
Looking at those car, my saliva also drop. look at my dream car.. how i wish i can order one now!!!! ~ i shall be driving one soon! omg.. hahaha....
Ever wonders how our future car would look like? A car that doesn't require a driver, a car that doesn't requires our feet to step on accelerator and brake, our hand to control the steering wheels... the car just drive where we want to go. i tired that at toyota showroom. impressive, but they have to improve in order to go live on road. coz the speed is way toooo slow lo...
Venus Fort - the only BIG SHOPPING CENTRE i got chance to shop in tokyo. Not much time also, coz only have about 45 mins? this is what i hate the most about going holiday with tour group. always have to rush against the time.
When i spotted burberry blue label shop, immediately i cheong to there. And for the first time in my life, i spend less than 10mins to get myself a bag (Step in, browse through, choose bag, ask for new piece, Q to pay, pay, get GST rebate – ALL IN 10 MINS!!). and this bag does not cost $30 or $50 lo.. it cost me Yen26000! which is about S$350!! consider the brand... ok already la.. but after i bought it.. look at it.. suddenly i realised it is not that worth after all for blue label.. coz coz.. blue label bag is MADE IN CHINA! and not Japan. i felt cheated.... :-( [But nonetheless, after carry it for 1 week, I think I like burberry! Their online website look so cool, I’m getting another soon!)
First day was nothing much, after "so call" whole day of shopping, we head to hotel. Japan's sunrise very early, sunset also supper early. Their 5pm is like our 7pm..
10 Feb 08
Had a good sleep in the hotel, we set off around 9am plus to their domestic airport - Kansai Aiport. Domestic flight to Hokkaido which took around 2 hours. First thing i saw in hokkaido from the plane was white colour.. all the land covered with snow. it is soooo sooo soo BEAUTIFUL!! so white so pure!!!!! i love hokkaido instantly!!
Its weather is much colder than Tokyo. for 5 days i'm in Hokkaido the tempreture has always been below 0 degree. First station in Hokkaido - Ramen street. Where whole place sells ramen. According to our dear tour guide, Sam, any shop u go in sure sell good ramen. And good enough, the RAMEN WAS INDEED GOOD!!!!
after that... did some shopping in hokkaido.. tell u, their shopping not impressive one lo. u won't get anything from there.. its just like our... beauty world? lucky plaza those kind lo... S'pore i already never shop liao, u tell me where possible for me to get anything there. ended up, we got alot of fruits from the supermarket... strawberry.. SWEET DE LO.. banana - SWEET DE LO.. fuji apple - SWEET DE LO.. Grapes.. SWEET DE LO..their fruits are very expensive compared to here.. but nicer than here wor. Fuji apple here and fuji apple there are not comparable!
Another daily product in hokkaido which i must admit is super nice is their MILK.. dun know what they feed their cow leh... milk from hokkaido is very SWEET.. very NICE! u can never have this kind of flavour here.. nicer than meji lo... oh my.. i miss hokkaido's milk milk... imagine i had 2-3 glasses everyday.. u'll know how nice it is...
Walk around area around our hotel, they have alot of snow theme/fesitval to attracts tourist. so see alot of ice sculpture and fireworks almost every night. Tempreture at night is super cold lo.. imagine -12 degree.. omg.. freezing....
Actually to be frank.. i forgot what i did after ramen to shopping... forgot! omg.....
11 Feb 08
Went to a snow carnival...they called - Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival.. very nice but nothing interesting. see alot of sculpture made of ice lo.. took some picture and played the slide made of ice... fun wor.. whahaha. Took a photo with their "japanese monster'.. quite scary one leh.... very fierce looking and will chase after u one wor... ohhh...
After that, we went to Okhotsk Tower, not to go and have bird eye view, but this tower bring u to underwater and view the seabed! where according to Sam, if u r lucky u can see alot of sea angels swimming. it was nice, but we r not lucky enough. Luckily they have some in the fish tank. haha.. actually, can also see in Sentosa la. sama sama.. but nice..
Then, its the ice breaker cruise. the selling point of this tour!!!! indeed.. WORTH IT!!!!! never experience this before!! its a ride on ice breaking ship through the drift ice along the sea of Okhotsk. Can see a number of seals and sea gulls also oh! very thrilling, very exiting! and of coz.. VERY COOOOLLLLLDDDDD!!! let the picture tell everythng ba!
(This is seabed view)
(We're going to break those ice!!!! how exciting!!!)
(Look at these... omg... )
(We're going to cheong those drift ice apart!)
(Isn;t this little cute thing so CUTE??)
After the exicting ice breaking trip.... we head for lunch of coz. hhaa.. love japanese food!
Do u know something special about hokkaido that most drivers won't know. Look at the following picture and u tell me what is the red arrow for? Accordingly, only hokkaido have this sign oh..... how intereting..
Those red arrows are actually indicators to drivers. During heavy snow, road are likely to be covered by snow, hence driver cannot differenate between road and pathway or drain. so this arrows point at the road shoulder telling the driver to keep their lane.If exceed the arrow, ur car might travel down to the drain. smart hor!
Next, we went to Ginga-no-taki waterfall. can u imagine the weather is so cold that even waterfall froze! waterfall where no water is falling! Next to Ginga-no-taki waterfall is Ryusei-no-taki waterfall. also froze liao.... nothing much to see except take some photo and view the "waterfall" that does not have any water lo. ahhahaha
After that we check in to our hotel. This hotel is very GOOD! coz got hot spring! MY FAVOURITE MAN!!!!!! immediately after we check in, we head to hot spring liao.. grab any chance before dinner time to try its hot spring.. it was COOL!!! exactly just like those u saw in Japan hour lo.. u r in hot spring, snow is just right infront of you. u can see snowing and enjoy the COLD BREEZE while u soak in HOT SPRING.... omg.. i miss it now man... but when u stand up.. u'll know.. hair all stand up! hahahaha.. but i like it sooo much! after dinner, we went to their snow festival, to see fireworks and play some games. nice and interesting... after that i head to hot spring again.. whahahahaa.....
12 Feb 08
Went to Kita Kitsune Fox farm. Kitsune is Japanese word for fox. They keep hokkaido foxes in the farm. When u take a close look at the foxes' eyes, u'll understand how the word "HU LI" come from. they really look so cunning.. Foxes there damn despearate one lo... go in only.. see many pair busy mating liao. guess they must be damn bored, so mate lo... hahaha... there's one lugi best lo... insert his leg inside the female.. omg.. sight of it.. i pity the female so much. never know foxes like to go rough one.. abit to rough though. hahahaa
Next, we went to Tofutsu-ko, meaning “a lake where birds are always there” in Ainu language. Nothing impressive.. bought some bread to feed those swans.. they enjoy the bread, I enjoy feeding.. but jin cold lah… too cold to stand.. after short while… all rush back to coach liao.. coz beside those swans waiting for tourists to feed them, nothing else to see…
Then, we went to sulphur hill, forgot the name of that place.. but again.. beautiful one lo… sulphur is smelly, so can u imagine what “enjoyment” we had from the smell.. minus away the smell, every other thing is perfect.. and sulphur hill has given my camera a mark, coz I dropped my beloved camera there.. thank goodness it is still functioning well now… heart pain when it drop…
Next is Ainu village. Ainu are indigenous people living in Hokkaido by co-existing and living together with nature. Its like our kampong lo.. bought some souvenir there and my cute good wish cats for only Yen1000! Bought a nice bag there for Yen 1000 also!! Well.. at least I can get something there!
(Trademark of Ainu village is the owl. Spreading its wings to protect the whole village.)
Dinner that night was very special and good… for the first time in my life.. I eat like an animal.. whahaha… sound very cruel, but the taste is.. DELICIOUSSSSS!!!! Guess what I had?
I had LIVE FISH… not the sashimi we always eat.. it is real LIVE FISH.. on the buffet table u’ll see fish tank full of little fishes swimming, and you basically just take the net, catch the fishes u wan to eat, put them on the bowl, pour some miso sauce inside the bowl, bring to your desk, and ENJOY the taste of LIVE FISH.
Sound real gross I know, but trust me, if you r going japan, pls pls pls remember to try if u have the chance. U WON”T REGRET!!!! I had 2 fishes, after that I find it too sinful to carry on although I wish to.. haha.. well, at least must try the taste and it was tested and proven.. DELICIOUS!
13 Feb
Today, a challenging day! We r heading to SNOW MOBILE! This is a very expensive sport but very interesting and u can NEVER try in Singapore! Cost me Yen 10,000 (equiv S$140) for 45 mins ride… thrilling I must say… up the hill, down the hill… esp exciting when u go at high speed..!! I like!!!!! How to describe.. the whole area filled with snow, and u travel at high speed, strong wind blow against u and the weather is already super cold.. although expensive, but it is worth it!
(Getting all ready to start my adventure!!)
Next, we head to Akan Crane Center – a place to study endangered species of crane. And you can watch Japanese cranes on the snowy field. Cool…. Nothing much you can do there except taking picture. You are expected not to make any noise also as this might scares the crane away. If all of them fly away, where got crane to take photo leh. Ha.. Cranes are such darling animals, they only have one life partner in their lifetime. They met each other, have off spring together, live together till the day they part and they faithfully only have one partner in their lifetime. Even if the partner has passed away, they remain faithful.. cannot believe right? How nice if human behave this way as well…
(Nice right? The red colour dot on their forehead are said to be the most poisonous part, even human can die of eating it. Well, of coz they only use when needed, so dun offend them like offend me oh. Whahaha)
Nothing much after that, the journey to next destination require quite some time. So in coach most of the time. Must really give credit to Sam, for 3 hrs ride, he can talk non-stop for 3 hours. Not talking nonsense but history of Japan and some stories of Japan which I personally find it very interesting myself. Never once i enjoyed the long distance coach ride. Well done Sam!
An activity was organised near our hotel – Tokachigawa Festival “Sairinka”, meaning a unique fantastic light and sound show. Well.. I must say, ok only. I only wait for the fireworks to start, meanwhile, I played snow slide with Harry, I really enjoyed playing those slides made of snow! So exciting!!! And the fireworks.. is.. WONDERFUL!!!!!!
And of coz after the activity.. how can I miss my favourite – HOT SPRING!! Tonight’s hot spring and on top floor!! After “soaking” indoor, we went up to the roof top and continue soaking. The feeling was. SHOICCCCKKKKK!!!! Because it was snowing!!! Imagine you r soaking in the hot spring and snowflakes just falling on your face!! OMG.. I miss hot spring…
Takochigawa Festival “Sairinka”
14 Feb (V DAY!)
It is really an perfect idea to celebrate V day in hokkaido. But I realised ppl in Japan don’t celebrate V day. Very quiet. And accordingly, men in Japan will rec’d present while women in Japan have to give present to the guy they like on V day. I guess that is the reason why it wasn’t so happening in Japan. Hahahaha
And I also visited a very romantic town, Otaru Canal. The famous photo taking place will be this pefect angle to capture all the landmark in that town – ie, the Canal, row of warehouse and the Lamp. You got to see… very beautiful.
Along the pathway of Otaru Canal are shops selling musical boxes (all so special I almost wish I can buy the whole shop and at the moment I really thought I’m in wonderland! Can really day dream!!! But of coz, by looking at the price to those musical boxes, it bring me back to real life.haha). They have glassware shops and many café around. One interesting thing about their café is that – you can bring home the cup as a souvenir after you purchase their coffee. So cute right? I enjoyed myself there! Just imagine we are given 3 hours to shop and explore there you can imagine how nice is the place! Even visited the workshop where it demo how beautiful glass were made!
Look at the cute cups i got from the cafe!
Another delicious food we had in Japan.. EXPENSIVE somemore wor! Its their beef and abalones!!! It cost Yen5,500 (S$70) for a 200g of top grade beef. I forgot what u call those kind of beef, but basically their fats are well distributed that it melts in ur mouth when u eat it. (Sound like M&N huh? Hahahha) Omg.. till now I still can remember the taste! The cow good life wor, they got massage with beer everyday, no need exercise everyday.. just eat, slp, massage, enjoy. Then finally, we pay $ and enjoy their top grade meet. Nice! And the abalone! Omg.. it is LIVE one lo.. for one live abalone, it cost me Yen 5,500 (S$70) too. See it “dancing” in its shell, when they r about to place on the BBQ grill, I almost said SORRY to them. Very cruel.. while they r being cooked alive, the chef pour sake on them as well.. omg.. see the way they “dance” to death, I almost didn’t have the heart to eat.. But.. aiya, paid so much, wasted leh.. and trust me.. they taste DELICIOUS!!! A must have if u go Japan! ( Just remember to have vegetarian food when u r back to repent the “sin” made. Hahahaha)
The BEEF and the ABALONE!!
At night, Sam brought us to Susukino – their red light district. See those lady on their way to work.. really can tell whether they work there or not. Very commercialise place. Nothing much actually. So after tour around that area… I head immediately back to hotel.. BACK TO MY HOT SPRING!!!!! Hahahahah.. I LOVE HOT SPRING!
15 Feb 08
Nothing much on this date, we basically spend whole day travel back home.. how sad.. last stop before we leave Hokkaido to Tokyo, we went to Sapporo Beer factory. An educational trip, showing how beer is produced from step one till packaging. The plant that we visited are old plant, so it is not “live” as in they r producing the beer and we r viewing. So.. well, guess the most interesting part is, we get to drink free flow of beer after that! Ahhaa… Sapporo Beer taste good!
After that, we headed to Tokyo, then from Tokyo back to home sweet home.. SINGAPORE!
Omg…. I never spend so long on blog lo… and u guys never spend so long reading right? Haha…. FINALLY!!! Updated… well.. enjoy the pictures ba! Conclusion – I LIKE HOKKAIDO!
