Saturday, November 17, 2007

Tokyo Trip Day 3: 17 November 2007, Saturday.

We went to the Imperial Gardens, which surround the Palace, just beside the Tokyo Station. It is a big green area, beautiful and picturesque. There are so many people jogging around the garden, and it surely beats jogging in Singapore, since you get to warm yourself up and not perspire too.

A moat surrounds the palace.

We walked through the East Gardens, transited through the neighbouring Kitanomaru (北の丸公園) Gardens, and reached Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社). This is the most controversial shrine in Japan, and I guess if we travelled on tour-group, this place wouldn't appear in itineraries.

Entering the Yasukuni Shrine..

Nicely dressed up in traditional costumes.

There wasn't much to see here actually, and I didn't see the 'shrine-ing' of those Class A fighters or the supposedly 2.5 million war dead. Perhaps it was out of bounds. (Below) This is where they pay respects to the war dead. 'Clap twice', followed by a prayer, then 'clap twice' again.

There's a museum here, and it was totally propaganda, which was much to be expected.

A replica of the jets used during the war.

A part of a train that ran between the Thai-Burma Border. I wondered if this railway was the 'Death Railway'.

From here, we started to walk to Tokyo Dome City. We had lunch en route, at one of the street-side restaurants. It was a cheap combo set of rice+noodles at just Y530 (S$6.90)!


Tokyo Dome City is an amusement and shopping area. We were so lucky that a cosplay festival was held and SO MANY people were extravagantly dressed up in anime characters! It was a great eye-opener! But sadly, my knowledge of anime characters was very limited, so apart from identifying characters like 'L' in 'Deathnote' and some others, I could only admire at the costumes and hairstyles, and wonder how youngsters get so drawn into animes and mangas.

The amusement park at Dome City.

The Tokyo Dome is a baseball stadium.

Our next pit stop was Ikebukuro (池袋). It was packed with weekend shoppers. We went to Sunshine 60, the 2nd tallest building in Japan, just 2nd to the Landmark Tower in Yokohama. But we didn't go up the observatory deck, since we'd be admiring the city's skyline the next day, for free.


We walked along the Seibu Side of Ikebukuro. It was already big enough, and so we didn't have time to conquer the bigger Tobu territory, which boasts the largest department store in Japan.


Dinner was sushi! It was our only sushi meal in Japan, and it was simply delicious. Authentic sushis have wasabis inside, so it is the cook that determines how much wasabis you eat!

Excited followers of donuts.

人生是黑白的.
9:36 PM <3

>>>

The food stalls near the market are small businesses catering for 5-6 people at each time. In fact, Japanese restaurants are very small and cosy. giving people a homely feeling.

We had breakfast at one of the food stalls not far from the market. Weather was a little cold and so the hot noodles became heavenly. It was cheap too, just Y650 (S$8.50) !

The Kabuki-za　(歌舞伎座)

Ginza, at 10-plus in the morning, was rather quiet, but we can expect the area to be bustling and crowded towards the end of the day. The Ginza crossing was a big traffic junction where people can cross from any direction. All cars will stop and people will dash. We were early, so we couldn't witness the 'overcrowded' scene. (below)Even toilets in the shopping centres provide a 'washing' service. You can adjust the water pressure that sprays at you after you're done. Of course, the water is warm. And so is the toilet seat. But I prefer the toilet seat in my hotel, as there are 2 different spray-modes to choose from!

Donut craze in Japan too! Krispy Kreme has the longest queues among the different brands.

See? All queueing for K K.

Look at this 3-in-1 sink! The foam dispenser is automatic!

Then rinse your hands.

Lastly, wind-dry your hands here as well!

At Ginza, we also went into the Sony Building and the entire showroom was full of new high-tech gadgets that you really don't see elsewhere. Many of those uniquely designed gadgets are for their domestic market. They really leave the best for themselves huh.

This is a TV-computer.

The control buttons of this desktop are touch-glass!

Cool designs for laptops, only for the domestic market..

The scenic Rainbow Bridge links the Odaiba Island on Tokyo Bay to the city area.

Harbour view on Rainbow Bridge.

The Bridge has 2 levels of expressways, a train railway and a footpath. Guess what? We could feel the great vibrations of the bridge whenever a big vehicle zoomed past. Even the lamp posts and the metal fence at the edge were shaking vigorously. Scary!

View of Tokyo Tower from the bridge.

Odaiba Island has futuristic buildings, like this one here.

A buffet lunch. Not exactly great though.

Palette Town is a shopping and entertainment complex. There's this Toyota City Showcase. Futuristic-looking cars!

There's a long road track around the complex, where cars move automatically by itself, including turning! You can 'test-drive' here comfortably.

The Wonder Wheel, at 115m was the world's highest in 1999. Currently it stands as the 10th highest. Japan has no less than 8 big ferris wheel, with at least 4 in Tokyo! It was very cheap, just Y600 (S$7.80). We went up and the view was unparalleled! Of course, my legs got jelly at the topmost, from my fear of heights.

Next, we went to the Oedo Onsen Monogatari, a hot springs complex! We went in after 6pm, as it would only cost Y1987 (S$25.80).

We changed into the nice Yukatas and walked around in the complex, which was created to have a traditional atmosphere. The hot spring was a nice experience! The indoor public bath section has many pools, including a jacuzzi and a cold pool. The outdoor one was best. The air was cold but the water was 41 degC! Really a wonderful experience here.