Archive for the ‘Tokyo’ Category
Its Late. Im Lazy.
Quick update.. that will be filled up with details soon:
- Michelle Ong is here! Whoohoo. Living in my little space. She’s one crazy, unpredictable girl. ♥
- She brought goodies from home: CURRY. BAK KUT TEH. PANDAN FLAVOURING. TOMYAM. CHICKENRICE FLAVOURING. KAYA. She can live here forever, if she keeps bringing these for me. Heehee.
- Oyasumi (Holidays) in 2 days !
- Guns N Roses are FREAKING CRAZY AWESOME. Although they were about 5 cm tall from our seats – it was a greaaaaaattttt, LEGENDARY NIGHT!! (: LIVE & LET DIEEEEEE!!!
- I am loving my GNR Tshirt. I’m going to wear it SOON.
- There was a crazy long line to get souveniers after the concert – it was crazy long. Japanese do love their souveniers.
- We met the craziest dude in the whole of Tokyo after GNR. I laughed so hard it hurt. Oh yeah, and he’s a metal rock singer in Japan, from Australia.
- I love Harajuku. Went there with Nancy & Susan today. Love. It. & bumped into Perttu & Elina too. How random. And I took 30mins to find Nancy, but I spotted Pertty & Elina not once, but twice. How crazy is that?
- Its insanely cold. I don’t do cold! Freaking hell. And, and, and, the sun is out so nice and bright, it makes me feel all paradoxical. Cos I do not feel the heat!!!! Although I am glad I am not feeling the humidity and melting away, like back home.
- Ayaka is an awesome singer! I love that girl. She’s so cute & pretty and has an amazingggggggg voice!
- We went to Ruby Room, it was an open mic bar night. It was awesome. Very cool.
- Nights out with Ann, is always crazy. She’s been good (ie. mostly sober) for the last 3 nights we’ve been out. Very proud of her. (:
- I cannot survive on 2 hours sleep, if the night before was spent partying. Although I did do really well in Japanese class. I got a “Subarashi!”. HAHAHA. I fell asleep 3 times on the train when I finally headed home… and I think I was standing up for 2 times out of those 3.
- I finish my ceramics course on Tuesday. And I’ve seen most of the pieces I’ve finished – and I LOVE THEM. (: Its so Japanese. The way I learnt it here is soo different from what I did back home, and I can’t decide which I prefer. Although I think I learnt more skills from this sensei than I did the last time when I learnt it a few years ago.
- I miss Mayjean Lim. WHY must you be in Australia?
- I love Ann Soelberg.
- I love Tokyo. I love Japan. I never want to leave.
Night world.
Oyasuminasai.
ikitai!
Tokyo has been amazing. I can’t believe how fast time flies. Every minute I stay in my room or school or not go somewhere exciting that I’ve not been to, seems like a minute wasted in this wonderland. However, living and traveling/touring a city is so different. So I can’t afford to do all that all the time, in terms of money and in terms of time. Oh, I wish I could.
Things still on my list (and its only for Tokyo):
- Ginza
- Imperial Palace
- Tokyo Tower – apparently not worth going up… but.. but.. *thinks of ‘Love Revolution’*
- Observation deck on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
- Rainbow bridge at night
- Yoyogi park
- Harajuku – again. Properly.
- Odaiba
- Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum
- Various art galleries & museums
- Nikko – ok, its outside of Tokyo.. but it still counts.
And I’ve been here 2 months. Didn’t even scratch the surface of Tokyo.
Projects are piling up. Research papers need to be outlined. Professors need to be consulted. Interviews need to be conducted.
And my new room just pulls me in to just keep me here in its warmth and comfort.
Typically. Tokyo.
There is only one place in the world, the stations get like this. One chance to guess.
Something I took a few weeks ago, just in case you complain I don’t blog!
♥
Your infrequent blogger.
ju
it makes that difference.
A nice hot mug of tea on a cold, wet night. Tis nice.
I wish I had a huge huge mug. Not this cup I have now, which is an excuse of a mug. So I had to make tea two times, and I still want more. Mugs to me are huge, minimally a Starbucks Grande, but I love the Ventis.
The weather has taken a turn for the cold. Its incredibly cold. I’m not used to this, not for a Singaporean girl who has only gone to temperate countries in the summer. Seoul was cold too, but there was no rain. Although it meant that I could wear my boots for a proper reason.
Many days I wish. I wish that I could do something about everything. Like write a novel, take a spectacular photograph, make an cute stop motion film, mold something beautiful out of clay, create an interesting painting, redecorate my whole room, start up my dream cafe, open a bed & breakfast, open a backpacker’s inn, design my own clothes, relearn piano-playing for the sake of music and not taking grade exams. And then, I’ll just imagine it, and I’ll think it, and then I’ll slowly forget, and everything’s back to the same old.
Tomorrow, I’m going to sign myself up for ceramic classes. Which was the plan since before I came to Tokyo. My pottery tools are sitting at the corner of my room, waiting to be used.
Its interesting how you never feel lonely, until you want to be with someone. And the person is not around.
Day 3 meant Tsukiji.
(Warning: LOTS of photos.)
A cold morning, waking up at 5am to get to Tsukiji market before the Tuna auction ended. Took the first few trains heading toward Tsukiji and then it started drizzling and got really wet. Maybe that’s why there was no smell at all in the market, cos of the cold! Best fish market ever. I hate the smell of wet markets in Singapore, I think I never breathe through my nose when I’m there.
We weren’t sure where to go when we arrived at the station. So we just followed people. We assumed they were going to the right place. And we did end up at the right place. So all was good. (:
- First views of the fish in Tsukiji Market
- Roe – lots!
- Unagi! They look kind of scary and gross swimming in there. But… just think of the taste!
- Tuna sold at the auction (I’m assuming). They are huge! Its just so amazing seeing the whole huge tuna go pass by you, and then another one over there, and there. And then being cut up, being sliced, apportioned. Its just so amazing seeing it as a whole instead of being in my food alone.
- Here are my parents with the tuna!
- Fishy fishy, all in a row.
- Tuna being mistreated and hauled around, and cut up. They are so big, and heavy! They just chop off bits of it and its like all over the floor – okay not all over, but you know what I mean! – and there was a tail on the ground, then fins were coming off too.
After checking out the fish market, we then found the auction room, where the tuna auction was being carried out.
- Its all busy busy in the auction room. Bells will be ringing where the tuna to be sold will be. They will be shouting all sort of numbers to the crowd, hands will be raised, and then the tuna will be sold. So exciting.
- Look at the rows and rows of tuna.
- Dragging away the ones that have been sold.
- So much going on at 6am in the early morning. All the tuna to be sold, all the buyers busy calculating their worths and their ability to purchase.
- Dragging the tuna about.
After the auction was over, for us at least because tourists were only allowed in during a fixed time period, we headed back out and checked out the rest of the market!
- Here I am in the middle of the huge huge super cool Tsukiji fish market.
- And here are my parents in the cool Tsukiji Fish Market.
- Here is the anago man! Slicing the anago. I thought it was unagi, but he corrected me. And he also warned us when those crazy car things were zooming around next to us, how nice. (:
- Check out the cool octopus!
- Here is Pa with the man cutting up the fish
- And now Pa & Me
- Here I am.. somewhere in the middle of Tsukiji
- Slicing up the fish. With full concentration.
- Check out the long knife. I’m just imagining the sounds of swords slicing through the air. *shing-shwhing*
- Slicing up the tuna with precision.
- Tsukiji. Wow.
- Here I am with a whole fridge full of tuna pieces!
- And my parents with same fridge of tuna.
- Then whilst trying to get out of the fish market, we ended up in the fruit & vegetable market. Those are people buying the veges/fruit. It was quite amazing.
- Here we are in the fruit/vege section
After finding our way out of the market, and finding out where the other market with all the food was. We made our way there, and went to find breakfast! And I got to choose unagi! 
My parents love me.
- Then we went to eat unagi. Because I’m pathetic and don’t enjoy sashimi.
- Here is Pa with his unagi-don!
- And Mum with hers!
- And happy me with mine! YAY!
After this, we went back to the hotel to sleep. I wonder why.
After waking up too soon, forced to by my parents, we went to get my apartment stuff done. And check out awesome ramen we had for lunch!
That night we dumped all my stuff in my apartment. And I had Takopachi! LOVE!!
