Japan Trip with Sis

Day 1 - Arrival, Airport, Harajuku, Tokyo Tower
Ecstatic at the thought of going to the land of the rising sun and finding that unbelievable at the same time.
I mean, it's Japan, hello??
=D

And definitely because everything wasn't exactly planned a long time ago...

More like:
Me: Wanna go Japan? Free accomo... blah blah blah
Sis: Ok, on!

Everything sort of worked out by itself and by Monday, 28 April, we were set to go. =)
Knocked off from work and rushed to prepare myself...
Set off to Changi Airport.. =)

Spot our Flight!

Naughty boy came to send me off =D
Took a night flight so we could sleep onboard and start touring right away when we reach in the morning...
Little did we expect the comfort level to be... =(
Couldn't sleep well the whole night on board...

Nevertheless, we were elated to arrive @ Narita Airport...
OMG!Hehehe

Our ANA Flight

Couldn't wait to try their toilet~

Heard so much about them...

Didn't dare to press the "spray" button so I just played with the "flushing sound"

Kekeke...

Only tried the "spray" at Fiona's Apartment after she persuaded and assured us that it's "shiok"

Hahahaha

Yokoso Japan! =)

Off to the subway station!

To Shinagawa for transfer to Gotanda - where our apartment is =)

Suica & NEX package is a must to get...
Worth the money for first time travellers like us...

You might have heard about the exorbitant cost of transportation in Japan...
A taxi trip from Narita Airport to central Tokyo can cost you over 200bucks... Yes, in Sing dollars...
Their bus service (called Limo bus) would cost about S$50 for the trip...
Same goes for express trains like Narita Express (NEX)
Well, I did some read-up and found some cheaper train lines to reach central town (bout 20-30 over bucks) but these trains has got no reserved seats and all...
You do not want to squeeze with the locals (especially during peak hours and huge baggage)
So, I saw this package they have for tourists...
Suica and NEX package which consists of a ride to Tokyo + a Suica card (their ez-link equivalent) sold at a discounted rate =)
With that, Sis and I happily embarked on a comfortable ride to Tokyo... where all the exciting things await us! =)

Inside the NEX... our seat...

This was actually much more spacious than our flight seats!

So of cuz, we were prepared to doze off during the 1 hour train ride...

Leaving the airport.. Exciting!

I must compliment Japan's efficiency...

Their trains leave and arrive at the stations very promptly... and I mean VERY promptly, right down to the exact minute and probably second...

So make sure you never be late for the trains!

First few glimpse of Japan! =)

Sis and I are so easily excitable cuz we were amazed at every little things we saw...Japanese farms, house structures, people, cars parks with cars stacked above another...

And of cuz...

Shops inside train stations!

Ooo... Saw this ad..

Fiberwig~ My favourite mascara!

Hehe

Met Fiona at the Gotanda station and she brought us to...

Our humble apartment in Japan...

Our hostess - Fiona!

Rested out feet and proceeded to Harajuku - first stop of our tour!

The train station... Looks like those traditional inn right? Hur hur...

Edit: oo... Just wikipedia-ed...

No wonder it's designed this way...
Harajuku is "原宿" in Jap =)

Just behind the train station lies Meiji Shrine -

Shrine in honour of the late Emperor Meiji...

The crowd at the entrance.
There were a group of teenagers all dressed up...I was looking forward to catching some cos-play in action but these people were simply just dressed "gothic-ly"

Sis and I took a pic with them but sorry, not convenient to post up... =(

We took quite a long walk into the main shrine area but it was a nice stroll in the cool temperature with gentle breeze..

And you can actually see a lot of Japanese out for walks... Families, couples, friends and school children... Love their uniform!

Barrels of sake...

Me at the Torii - traditional Japanese gate

Finally reached the main shrine!

Right up is the central santuary...

The area where Japanese use the water to cleanse.

We have to use the wooden scoops to pour water on one hand to the other, wash our face etc...

Fun!

Just under this humongous tree are prayers left behind by worshippers.

You can leave your own prayers too!
=)

Lucky us, managed to catch a traditional wedding taking place. =)

Surprisingly, their procession seems to be a pretty solemn affair...

The guests or relatives are dressed in black, walking behind the couple and priest.

Didn't manage to see the bride's face but their traditional costumes look beautiful!



Next stop, to Takeshita Street

Just look at the crowd...

Pretty scary...

But I believe Japanese are civilised so no mad pushing =)

Sis and a took a rest @ the McDonalds and we saw a bunch of interesting girls.

All dressed up dolly with huge hair and super cutesy outfits (with Can-can!), they can't be bothered about the stares of onlookers... But that's Japanese youths and that's the only place people can dress like them and get away without criticism.

Love the culture there... =)

But of cuz, I can never be dressed like that, you will puke!

Met Fiona for our Tokyo tower tour!

Tokyo Tower up close

The view from the top...

Getting dark...

Us =)

Their interactive map...

You can point to any of the buildings and they will show you what they are called etc etc...

Fiona and her Kitty

The tower looks weird up close...

Don't ask me why, it just looks weird...

Definitely not what I expected from what I see on TV...

Their typical train...

There have got metal bars that act as shelves so commuters can actually put their bags on top!

Thoughtful huh?

=)

And all these...
Just the start of my exciting 6days Japan Tour =D