Havent been on a real outing with Suki-san for a long time..
Out of the blue, we decided to find some places to play with our cameras..
Sg being such a shopping intensive city, nature is hard to come by.
This shalt be our very first target =D
The entrance albeit old, the place was relatively new to us..
Of course, the name spelt it all..
The main focus was our national flower or Vanda Miss Joaquim..
Pretty, so pretty..=)
Flowers are always one of cameras' best portfolios.
After repeated invites from the orchid keeper there, we finally went into his recommended "Jungle"..
Though some mess was created in there, we managed to clear all traces of crime..
LOL
Took a lil break before we went back to the sun..
The place could, in fact pass off as some getaway from the city..
What is one’s elixir may prove the other’s poison.
Welcome to the realm of different perspectives..
Capturing that moment’s view..
Made possible by two cameras..
Bringing you into the dimension of HER world..
照片中的相片，不可思议的另一个世界。。
It was Udders thereafter..
Some place which I always wanted to try after Suki and Odin's recommendation.
I love ice creams on waffles..
Just had to try them.
What caught my attention is that the boss of Udders actually recommended that I try the flavours before I confirmed my orders.
Concentrated milky unique ice creams..
The liqor filled ones are really strong.
Waffles wise,
The waffle-mixture had too much flour..
Perhaps of the thick ice cream, they should make its waffles lighter..
On the overall,
I thought Udders can do with more side snacks and finger food.
The ice cream market is a little too niche for a stable long term survival.
Good thing is that at least they do conduct ice cream workshops and provide ice cream catering to functions.
Interesting shop name with an equally interesting entrepreneurial concept..
Low cost setup with some cool attempts in creating an artsy ambience..
Callous toil came all in a package..
Office, family family, office..
Xmas forced itself through..
New Year day followed suit.
Jaded.
Youth passed us in delirious frustrations.
Calendars become useless pieces of paper binded by that round metal rings.
You’d flipped them one by one mindlessly, but only to find with dismay that those are times that passed into history.
Twentyoeight was history..
What had we done?
What had I done?
Edges of me worn.
Repeated buckets of cold water gradually wash off the sculpted motivation that was once so fine and defined.
*****
CNY is the period when you hear well wishes over and over again..
祝你 新年快乐 万事如意 事事顺利 身体健康 恭喜发财..
They felt bland and got us numbed..
Somehow I thought the greetings gradually became more diplomatic instead of sincere heartfelt ones.
And there was one particular one that I used to think it was not creative enough if you are looking for rich Chinese idioms to greet and impress the old folks..
祝你 身体健康
So plain and colorless..
Yet through its simplicity, felt it more as I grew older..
How many of us has actually ignored the significance of this simple greeting time and time to come?
Especially when we are in the pink of health..
No one really feels the importance of it..
Till we are really sick and uncomfortable.
Imagine having a simple migraine that accompanied us to work..
Imagine when we did not sleep well the previous night before and our necks have a slight sour feeling everytime we tilt our heads to that angle..
Imagine having a sore throat in complimentary to a running nose..
Imagine running a fever with aching bones and a strengthless body..
Imagine those monstrous mentrual cramps that penetrate your spine and render you weak and helpless..
Pain is such an underestimated word that only the beholder can understand..
Often ignored till it manifests itself..
Often brushed aside till it threatens..
Define human beings..
*****
It was loads of spring cleaning, necessary shopping and more dreadful reunions.
CNY approached and left me a sick glutton..
Was it really worth it to go through so much hassle for CNY?
After all these gone,
What's really left?
And yes, they are gone.
I refused to make resolutions.
I refused to start anew to a seemingly brand new year..
Enough of living in self delusions.
I grew so tired of life..
Fatigue drudgery pessimism
Linked, interchangeable, complimentary.
The festive seasons ironically made me feel the melancholy more than before..
Double attack..
The mental turmoil and the physical drain.
Both days almost had me reduced to nothingness..
PAIN
Sitting on the couch at my aunt's place, trying to manage a smile and show interest.
But what really went on in me were splitting head thumps and horrendous stomach cramps..
On the verge of crying..
Insomnia
Turning and tossing
My mind boggled with the day’s events..
Suddenly I smiled, suddenly I cringed and I forced myself to relax..
When the drift finally came so close, a thought dashed into my temple and I was jolted, once again awake.
Sub-consciously I felt daddy switch off the lights..
I thought to myself in that dreamlike state..
Oh gosh what time was it?
As I squeezed my eyes shut to sleep, I was mindful of the strain in my eye sockets..
My eyeballs were still moving when the alarm rang..
Did I sleep?
Nope.
The fever’s gone somehow and I mistook the drowsiness to be a usual early morning dread of being forced awake..
Till the floating delirium I felt in office the moments I was on my two wobbly feet.
Was home in no time.
The fever’s well gone for a proper clinic check up.
I really knew naught what to tell the staring face back at me what exactly was wrong with me..
Till she commented that my face was void of colors.
Oh well..
There is this side of me that continuously reprimands myself for allowing myself to fall sick..
The other side of me?
Simply tired.
At that point in time..
I need all the 祝你身体健康 possible..
Cos it sucked not having the energy to go about the daily life..
Felt awful when there was an insane tug on the mental mind at the same time when the physical state crumbled to deterioration.
Relatives
Left me thinking who they really are unmasked..
Social gatherings made me feel uneasy.
Nope definitely not in a state to mingle around.
Adult questions.
As usual buzzed through and meaninglessly never end..
There was no reason to feel pissed but I am.
I gave an equally ambiguous answer that I knew it would torment them..
Did it torture them?
Oh yes, cos they went asking my mom about it.
And I sadistically derived joy from that.
People should always know what questions to ask and when to stop.
Human beings are born to be able to think intellectually.
That includes EQ.
I have very very low tolerance for such mindless people.
Dont ask for the sake of asking the same thing every year..
Dont comment for the sake of it.
Make useful statements, share valuable experiences..
Tell me something that I do not know, inspire me a little on lost life.
Let me grasp the subtlety myself.
Human communication
I thought this is what it should be worth.
*****
Twenty years back..
I was sitting in my favourite position..
In a circle facing the rest of my fellow classmates..
Playing a much anticipated game every time I went to kindergarten class..
A class of twenty plus six-year-olds.
Madam Teo was there alright..
We were all waiting for her to "announce" the game..
Did she ask anyone for their hankerchiefs?
Or did she place a pack of cards in the middle of the circle?
None.
She explained the game.
She would start phrasing a sentence to the first classmate at the beginning of the "circle"..
And then the sentence was supposed to be passed down each and everyone..
Mouth to ear till it reached the last person on the circle.
If we all got the message right at the end of all, we would be given goodies each.
We did that thrice..
But every time,
Foreheads crunched up somewhere and eyes went bulging...
I could not get what the person before me was trying to convey and I did not know what to tell the person next to me..
At the end of it all,
It really amused us how the teacher's words could be distorted into some ermm weird languages..
*****
Art thou Communicator?
Who says human beings are the masters of communication?
Though human species are blessed with the power to think, they do think too much..
From elective listening, to deciphering the meaning and then selectively passing on information..
The end result will of course turn out differently from its source of intended motive.
I was a little mortified what I heard from her and him came up in different versions.
Sighz..
*****
irony @
4:22 PM
Thursday, February 19
The trip's finally done..
I was determined to follow it through.
And I did =)
Photos sorted out
All memories fruitfully recalled.
Somewhat a little empty inside now.
*Sheepish smile*
Shall let the pictures speak for the time being..
Xin Wang Cafe
Somehow became our hangout for casual dining everytime we patronised Marina Square.
Twice in a month..Same food both visits.o.0
Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay
Dear has never stepped foot there since its completion in Year 2002.
So we took a slow stroll around the bay..
At the beginning of the pathway towards Esplanade..We saw this very touching exhibition of Phillip Toledano's journal..Every picture came with a piece of his journal..Very warm and heartwrenching at the same time.."Days with my father"
"My mum died suddenly on September 4th, 2006.
After she died, I realised how much she’d been shielding me from my father’s mental state.
He doesn’t have alzheimers, but he has no short-term memory, and is often lost.
I took him to my mother’s funeral, and to the burial,
But when we got home, he’d ask me every 15-20 minutes where my mother was.
I’d explain carefully that she had died, and we’ve been to her funeral.
This was shocking news to him.
Why had no one told him?
Why hadn’t I taken him to the funeral?
Why hadn’t he visited her in the hospital?
He had no memory of these events.
After a while,
I realised I couldn’t keep telling him that his wife had died.
He didn’t remember and it was killing both of us, to re-live her death constantly.
I decided to tell him she’s gone to Paris,
To take care of her brother, who was sick.
And that’s where she is now."
This site is a journal.
An ongoing record of my father, and of our relationship.
For whatever days we have left together."
"I asked my father to look in the mirror, while I took his photograph.
Now, The things you have to realise about my dad is that he was a very handsome man when he was young.
When people talk about ‘film star handsome’, well, that was my dad.
In fact, he WAS a film star (of sorts), in Hollywood, during the 1930’s.
So when he looks in the mirror,
He sees a man ravaged, a man no longer beautiful,
and that upsets him deeply.
You see,
He’s still vain at 98.
In fact, his vanity can be quite extraordinary.
I tried to take him to the doctor a few months ago,
But on the way out,
he caught a glimpse of himself in the hall mirror.
He was so horrified with his appearance, that he refused to leave the house untilI found a ‘black pencil’ to dye his white hair with.."
"I find these scraps of writing all over the house…
They are a glimpse into his mind, the disquiet he tries to hide from me.
Where is everyone.
What’s going on.
How lost he feels."
"My dad spends enormous amounts of time in the toilet.
Because he has no short term memory, he can be in there for 2-3 hours at a time.
It’s both heartbreaking, and infuriating.
He’ll do his business, then stand up, and as he’s putting on his pants, say, “Wait a second - I have to go”
If you try and reason with him, and explain that he’s just gone, he’ll look at you as if you’re an idiot…"
"Eating is often a miserable experience.
I realise now why my mother cooked the same meals over and over, Towards the end of her life.
They were the only things my father would eat.
The ONLY thing he’ll eat with any regularity is eggs.
Scrambled eggs, egg salad, egg-drop soup from the local chinese.
He eats insane amounts of eggs.
And yet,
when I took him to the doctor recently, his cholesterol was down!
Maybe there are health benefits to an all-eggs diet!"
"Because my parents had me so late, my dad was essentially retired when I was growing up.
But for my ambitious, driven father, he wasn’t retired at all, just working on his next career.
Being an artist.
I have so many memories of him listening to opera, sketching, painting, sculpting.
Although he doesn’t paint anymore, he still sees. He still has the artistic impulse.
He was admiring the sunset,
Saying that he could make a ‘whole series’ of paintings around those wonderful colours…
The urge is still there, even if the physical ability is not.."
"Nothing cheers up my dad, like stories of my success.
So if he’s down, or obsessing about something, I’ll immediately conjure up a blossoming career.
I’m shooting for The New York Times.
The New Yorker.
Multi-million dollar advertising campaigns.
Sometimes it’s true, sometimes not.
But it doesn’t matter.
The important thing is to fill him with as much joy as I can.
His face bursts with happiness.
He’ll say “I have to tell ALL my friends, my son is famous!”
"I'm always amazed at my father's love for my mum.
It was a constant force, like sunlight, or gravity.
He never stops talking about her.
His gratitude for her love, for the relationship they had.
For the way in which she was the glue for our little family.
I love her so much but she drove me crazy.
My hair was too short.
My shirt too wrinkled.
I wasn’t standing straight.
She called me up once and told me not to go outside, because it was dangerously windy!
Now that she’s gone, I realize that I spent a lifetime resisting her influence, and now, I miss it.
I think she was right about almost everything..
She would have been very happy to hear me say those words."
"Sometimes, when we’re talking,
My dad will stop, and sigh, and close his eyes.
It’s then that I know, that he knows.
About my mum.
About everything."
We were too engrossed in reading the story as we walked down the pathway..
I was..
Very moved by this simple relation.
Did not take any pictures of the portraits up on the wall..
Obtained the above from the site:
Days with my Father
You can view the full story in the site too =)
Just,
Remember to cherish and appreciate
Your folks..
Your siblings
Your husband
Your wife
Your friends..
*****
CNY 2009
*I love my family*
*****
irony @
9:57 PM
Thursday, February 12
We were at the hotel lobby for the Sunrise tour meet up.
It was the last full day in Japan.
We were very reluctant to miss Fuji.
Therefore, we decided to throw in a one day tour to Fuji and Hakone.
The bus took us to Hamamatsucho bus interchange and we switched bus according to the package we signed up.
There was a package which the return trip was via shinkansen and the other was via bus.
We chose the shinkansen =p
Honestly speaking,
The bus trip to Fuji was considered dreadful after a full spoilt seven days of smooth driving and planning our own time and convenience to places of our interests in Hokkaido..
A very enthusiastic and cute elderly tour guide who spoke a heavily Japanese-accented English was allocated to our group.
He was giving a very wholesome introduction to Fuji and spoke the entire trip to the visitor centre.
Felt so bad when the two of us simply concussed the minute the bus started moving.
I couldnt help it when my carsickness was that..yes serious.
The Fuji Visitor Centre
The cold air outside stung our bare faces and gave us a refreshing perk.
Off to the restrooms, then to the souvenir shop.
I loved Japanese souvenir shops.
They never fail to carry authentic stuff that represent Japan so well.
But one thing I hated about guided tours..
There is no time freedom.
Every single stop was a rushed one.
Things were bought by grabbing them to the counter, no room for second thoughts.Then somewhere in the horizon we finally caught sight of the picturesque Fuji-san, partially submerged in low thick clouds.
The bus began its journey up the majestic Mount Fuji.
Snow was very much cleared by this time, but the fifth station remained closed.
As the our guide informed us, we were lucky that very day that we could move up to the fourth station.
The tours a few days back could not even go up to the fourth station.
2020 meters above sea level, Mount Fuji or 富士山
The highest mountain in Japan standing at 3776 meters
Although Mount Fuji appears to be a simple cone-type volcano, it is in fact three separate volcanoes, Komitake, Ko Fuji, and Shin Fuji.
The most recent, Shin Fuji (“New Fuji”), first became active about 10,000 years ago and has continued ever since to smolder or erupt occasionally
Hence Mount Fuji is classified as an active volcano.
According to the tour guide, the snowcapped graceful cone, Mount Fuji is known to be symmetrical from all angles.
Surrounded by Fuji Five Lakes (Fuji Goko), namely Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji,
It stood alongside Mount Tate and Mount Haku, one of Japan’s Three Holy Mountains.
The most popular period for the hike up Mount Fuji is from 1 July to 27 Aug.
And thousands of Japanese climb to the shrine on its peak every summer.
I thought perhaps one day I shall try to climb Mount Fuji.
Should be fun =p
At our pit stop, it was cold as usual.
It wasn’t as cold as Niseko but the wind was definitely spine chilling.
Saw many visitors took refuge in this little shop that sells ramen and sandwiches.
Cameras snapping away, Caucasian kids playing with the snow remnants, cold adults queuing for the corn and sausages..
There was much vibrant life on this quiet grandeur at this point in time.
The smell of charcoal-grilled corn greeted us the minute we stepped down from the bus.
There was a mid-aged man selling corn on a cob as well as sausages in the middle of nowhere on fourth station.
The sausages were huge, and the corn was longer than our faces.
Both of us could not finish the one corn that we were sharing.
But having the freshly-grilled corn on cold Fuji was really haven =)
Again,
We were quickly ushered back to the bus for our complimentary lunch at the Highland Resort nearby.
Our food was laid and spread out long before our arrival..
Gobbled them up quickly not because we were hungry, but because we wanted to walk around.
The resort had a very spectacular view of Mount Fuji.
As we were about to finish our meal, the tour guide suddenly asked the hotel staff to draw the curtains..
Gosh..
There stood the majestic pride..
Still partially submerged in clouds but it was an absolutely breathtaking view..
In no time to come, the restaurant became half emptied to this..
Found a Caucasian who was as smitten as us..LOL
On our way to Hakone, the tour guide began handing out origami papers and taught us how to create Mount Fuji.
He’s really adorable.
Hakone or 箱根
A popular tourist attraction well known for its onsens and its views of Mount Fuji.
Visitors come to Hakone to relax, for treatment at the health resorts, or to visit the parks and mountains
Its geographical feature is that:
Typical composite volcano generated by Hakone volcano
(belongs to Mount Fuji volcano belt)
According to the tour guide, the volcano collapses and then form a huge crater that is Hakone.
Lake Ashino or 芦ノ湖
Well-known for its views of Mount Fuji and numerous hot springs
A scenic crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Hakone volcano.
We took a pleasure boat cruise around the lake with the ending point at Hakone-en or 箱根園
This cruise was bigger than the one we took at Lake Toya and we could walk about at the deck of the small ferry.
Then off to the few souvenir shops located beside upon alighting from the cruise.
Hakone souvenir shops seemed to sell their trademark magic wooden boxes like hotcakes.
These magic boxes had many sleeves and secret compartments to it,
To which one must be able to find the sleeves one by one before you could open the whole.
And they were not cheap.
After some hanging out at the stores, we found this vending machine that had this hot red bean dessert that we found fascinating..
It was very yummy too!
Quickly slot in the coins and the bus zoomed us off to the ropeway.
During the short bus ride, the tour guide again explained the history of the ropeway and the “delicacy” that we had wanted to try badly =p
If we take one, we shall extend our longevity by a good seven years, taking two means a maximum extension of fourteen years..
Taking three will just increase your cholesterol and highly not advisable.
We were taking the Hakone aerial ropeway tram also known as Hakone Komagatake Ropeway to the top of Sounzan, the upper terminal of the Hakone Tozan Cable car.
During the seven minutes ride, we felt the impact of the intense strong wind on the ropes.
The tram was practically swaying from side to side..
And I felt Final Destination at that point in time watching our tram swing limply on the seemingly precarious ropes =x
But we did have a very clear and stunning view of the glowing Mount Fuji capped with translucent snow as it ascended gradually.
The view..
We saw Lake Ashino against the mountains that surrounded it..
And shimmered under the setting sun.
When the view of the Lake slowly merged into nothingness, the Great Boiling Valley came to sight.
The valley consisted of mud-colored rocks and the yellow sulphuric remnants were dispersed all over.
Smoke sizzled from beneath the ground =)
The deserted construction grounds saw half completed concrete barriers and fences to which dear told me those were created to prevent landslides.
The whole place felt like an amalgamation of Noboribetsu Hell Valley, Lake Toya and the Usuzan Ropeway at Showa Shinzan =)
When we alighted from the ropeway station, we came across the huge reservoir which the tour guide had told us just now.
The small reservoir was used to store onsen water drained from the nearby natural hot springs vents and then re-channeled to the numerous hot spring resorts.
Thereafter we popped over to the Great Boiling Valley just nearby.
Great Boiling Valley or Owakudani 大涌谷
A volcanic valley where sulfurous fume reeks and clouds of steam rises from crevasses.
A very strong sulphuric sewage smell approached us at the observation platform.
And damn, we had problems standing firmly on the ground.
The wind was like 30 km/h??!
So strong that we had this phobic feeling that the camera and the video would fly away if we did not clutch on tightly to them.
True enough, the gushing feisty wind came sweeping the video camera bag up..
A good thing was that we had the bag strapped to our bodies..phew.
We quickly proceeded to the stores nearby in search of our desired delicacy that the guide mentioned.
Popped into the first store, it was sold out =(
Quickly went over to the next shop and we managed to get the last pack!!
500 yen per pack and we could not explain our irrational burst of excitement.
The "delicacy" Kuro-tamago or black hot spring hard-boil egg =D
The boiled eggs actually turned black and smelt slightly sulphuric after being boiled in hot springs.
There was an actual site where the eggs are boiled to participate in the ritual egg eating.
It was..fragrant to the taste!
This would be our last stop for the tour.
Thereafter the bus brought us to Odawara Station to take the Shinkansen back to Tokyo.
Instead of a two hour plus bus ride back to Tokyo, the Shinkansen ride would take only 30 minuntes =)
Our tour guide passed us our tix and off we go into the station.
While waiting for the Shinkansen, we were suddenly startled by the loud train braking sound on the opposite track.
Then the train was gone.
That was my very first encounter of the speed of Shinkansen at 300 km/h.
Surprisingly,
We did not really feel the force in the train when the it was moving off or stopping.
The ride was quite smooth in fact.
Arrived at Tokyo Station in no time.
Took the Yamanote train line back to Shinjuku.
And we finally felt the rush hour of Japan.
In fact, it wasn’t much different from the rush hour in Sg.
People squeezed themselves in like canned sardines or bottled plasticine =x
If one had noticed, we weren’t much of a public transport analysts.
I had planned the entire Tokyo itinerary based on the JR Yamanote Line..
LOL
The station at Shinjuku was already a huge challenge for us..
This was just something I decided upon to minimize the time of being lost.
And my brain could only work so much for a ten days Japan trip =p
Back at Shinjuku,
We dropped by Starbucks again for some green tea latte.
Just like our first night in Tokyo, we had Starbucks in the drizzle.
Define deja vu..
Bought some instant cup noodles for dinner from a nearby Shinjuku convenient stall.
This was our “spread” =p
And the stuff we bought..
*****
Chartered the earliest limousine bus at 5:55am back to Narita Airport.
Had to wake up at 4 am =x
At Narita Airport, did a last minute grabbing of more foodstuff.
This was also when I finally found the brown rice green tea..
Aboard SQ 777,
I was surprised that I did not catch a wink.
Watched my movies and played Nintendo games =P
We had two full meals on board while watching movies and my favourite CSI =)
This, was a real holiday.
From the corner of my eyes caught a sight of this..
Such an irony when I happened to capture this movie scene at the same time o,0
We felt the reality sinking in fast just outside the borders of Japan.
Touched down back home, A heart-warming sms came in the minute I switched on my phone.
Don was at T3 alright waiting for us =)
Then..
He asked me help him buy wine and cheap perfumes..
LOL
Alright I shouldnt phrase it in this manner.
I was quite touched when he waited there for almost an hour and helped me carry luggage.
And I must have had that faraway and despondent look cos he asked me whether I had the feeling of not wanting to return home.
Perhaps..
*****
Had a hard time tuning back to life in Sg in fact.
Life in Hokkaido was so much simpler.
The people respected one another..
Stunning sights and awesome geography blew us far away..
Define that paralyzing emotions when nature brushed us by..
I cant explain..
The Japanese had to adjust their lives to a bigger force..
That is the forces of nature.
Back here,
We need not be afraid of volcanoes or landslides or even snowstorms..
In fact we knew very little about the world out there..
But we do make a lot of noise..
And what do we really have?
Suddenly I felt so insignificantly small..
Suddenly I yearned for a simple life just like the one in Hokkaido..
My job is the reason why this trip was made possible..
But it shall also be the biggest deterrant to my next trip.
Sighz..
*****
This entire trip,
We started from zero to something.
The ambitions on my part, the expertise on dear's part..
We made it work pretty well =)
I did not remember how I started my research on Japan and Hokkaido..
The language barrier made it almost impossible to get things done through online..
There was many planning bottlenecks, felt like giving up..
Wondered why did I ever put ourselves in such a position..
The stress and frustrations that we had been through..
That was history now.
From experiencing the good services in Japan, to the shocking cold weather, to snow in Hokkaido, to all those mountains and volcanoes climbing, breathtaking sights, skiing, hot springs etc..
Brought home a bag full of valuable experience and memories and photographs and videos and bruises =)
The overpowering feeling of earning your very own trip, to doing detailed research on a gracious country like Japan, living through a smooth trip, realising the places that I saw on the net on Japan hour and accomplishing things that we set out to do..This is something that I felt soooo damn proud..And I am lucky indeed.
Will I do free and easy trips again?Definitely yes.
And I will definitely be back to the eastern land..
*****
irony @
1:34 PM
Tuesday, February 3
Guessed we did not utilize the hotel much when we checked out at 7:15 am..
Had to search for the last petrol station as close to the Toyota Rental as possible..
Return the car and then catch the flight back to Haneda.
And we were too early.
Roamed about New Chitose airport for a while.
Bought more yummy snacks and then we checked the tiresome luggage in.
New Chitose was quite a bustling airport to walk about.
Sales promoters offered samples of food to passersby..
Foreigners pushed their luggage around the huge Xmas tree..
Cool skiers walked around with their skis tugged behind their back..Sending jolts and tinges of nostalgia down me..Well, all good things had to end.Settled down in a small eatery that served both pancakes and many varieties of omura..Just what we need.
We ordered a pancake and a curry omura.Finally learnt our lesson, no more two mains..
And yes, finally had a taste of green tea latte that did not belong to Starbucks.Dear had become a coffee man by now..Practically three to four servings of coffee per day.Checked ourselves in after breakfast..Taking flights is not tiring in fact..
Waiting is.Waiting to board the plane..Waiting for the plane to take offWaiting for the plane to land..Waiting for the luggage check out..
How much time in life did we actually spend waiting?A fifth? A third? But this was the whole idea of holidaying I supposed.
Spending some time to relax, taking a step back, taking life slow.
As we board the plane, the gentle snowflakes began to scatter outside..
Reminded me of the time when we just landed..
In fact, the weather had been exceptionally good to us throughout our stay in Hokkaido..
Spotted snowfall the minute we landed, to a few days of no more snow for us to move around easily, to heavy snowfall again for some serious skiing..
The best part, we did not meet sudden snow storms that would render us indoors..
Watching the snow dance outside the plane..
What a nice ending to our northern Japan expedition..
We drifted in and out of sleep again..
Somewhere in the midst of the sky, not far from heaven..This piece of backdrop caught my eye..Blue, ever a color that depicts melancholy so well..Shades of blue, the intensity, the aspects.
When we arrived at Haneda airport, we were so sleepy..Then we saw the colorful vending machines..There were hot beverages, cold caffined drinks..And then desserts!Just like that, we left our luggage by the side and gobbled them in the middle of the pathway..LOLThis was also the first time when we saw bento and rice burger vending machines.You'd see businessmen draped in big black coats and clutching on to smart briefcases popping in for a quick meal.Funny how the Japanese takes such good care of their poise and appearances but they are not particular on the way of dining.
Settling down back at Keio.. We had to choose between Sensoji Temple and Zojoji Temple due to the lack of time.
Judging by the distance on the Yamanote Line, we decided to visit the latter.
Hamamatsucho or 滨松町
Alighting at the station, we initially had no idea where and how to walk.
After some map digestion and clueless walking, we decided to walk towards the Tokyo Tower to which by dusk fall, it had become very prominent against the skies.
The temple was just beside Tokyo Tower.
Zojoji Temple or 増上寺
As we gradually edged closer to the Sangedatsu gate or 三解脱門, the sight of the partial Tokyo Tower against the temple's roof in the background was quite a steal.
Both locals and foreigners streamed towards that direction.
Perhaps it was close to the end of a day, the temple premise was a quiet one.
The human traffic, was in fact Tokyo Tower induced.
A group of monks were chanting in the main hall of the temple.
And they had robes that were similar to those of our local monks.
The sitting area in the hall was open to the public and followers could join in the chanting session.
The inner hall saw Buddha statues mostly made of gold, the pillars were made of wood and more gold, even the ceiling was magnificent.
Very different from the zen-like Meji Shrine we visited on the first day.
The outside of the temple housed a range of Jizo statues at the cemetery..
To which the statues were wearing tiny children's clothing or bibs, accompanied with toys and pebbles.
Taking a deeper peek into the meaning of Jizo statues, whose features made more babylike to resemble the children Jizo watches over:
Jizo or 地蔵
The offerings placed by the statues are usually by grieving parents who had lost their little ones or by thankful parents whose children had just recovered from a serious illness.
As Jizo or 地蔵 is usually seen as the saviour of souls in the underworld, his statues are common in cemeteries.
How about the Tokyo Tower?
Well we left the grandeur glowing in the background and proceeded towards the JR Station that was close to Ginza.
Yurakucho or 有楽町
Situated in between Ginza and Hibiya Park.
Alighting from the JR Station, we began our aimless walking for a last night in Tokyo.
Our directions were always influenced by the abundance of lights or the huge shopping brands hanging overhead.
Because such places would mean the low probability of getting lost.
Then we saw it.
The huge Muji signboard.
And the shop itself is so much more significant in size as compared to the SG counterpart.
It is a two storey building by itself and self-sufficiently sells almost everything necessary for a household.
There was the Café Meal Muji at the entrance, a Muji bread shop, then an immense Muji apparel department, body care face care department, shoes department, furniture department, utensils department, storage department, bicycles department (??!)..
o.0
Isnt it the Ikea in Japan?
Quite paradoxical how the name Muji is everywhere but in subtle locations on their products.
That is how simple the strong household brand is being marketed and how strong an awareness the simple brand has created =p
*****
Tokyo International Forum or 東京国際フォーラム
An exhibition cum concert hall and conference centre in Tokyo.
It’s impossible to miss the holistic structure the minute you stepped out of the JR Yurakucho Station on the Yamanote Line.
Perhaps of the illumination of the Xmas night lightings, the exterior of this eminence impressionistically epitomizes a metropolitan world.
There was no observation deck or area and the entrance fee is free.
Anyone can simply walk in for a visit.
The minute I stepped foot in the building, I thought the interior architecture has a striking resemblance to our very own Theatres on the Bay or rather, vice versa..
Just like Esplanade, the fundamentals of this splendor involved glass and metal, giving it a metallic high tech and crystal clear housing.
Of course this elongated boat shaped cultural building is slightly older and much much bigger than our own Esplanade.
This award winning complex piece of work gave us a breathless awe the minute we looked up to the ceiling and slowly transfix our gaze to its surroundings.
Don’t know why but I have a perchance of looking at each and every building’s ceiling.
The lofty ceiling did not disappoint me =)
We continued our stroll into the night and before we knew it, we came to Tokyo Station =p
*****
The night ended with us chilling out at the hotel lounge at the top floor.
The complimentary pass came together with every night’s stay.
Nice.
As I set sight to the night view..
The Tokyo view.
Impressive.
The candlelight flickers unfalteringly..
And then illuminates through the thick twirled frosted glass.
Bestowing a warm glow to the coffee and tea which accompanied it.
As I anchored my gaze upon it, the lethargy suddenly consumed me..
Gradually became conscious of the existent fatigue that had been put off previously walking in the cold.
*****
irony @
1:24 PM
