Today marks the start of the second part our journey in Japan as we prepare to move to our next accommodation in Tokyo.
But before that, a few shot of our current stay at Shinsaibashi Weekly Mansion.
Disarray small but very cozy sleeping area.
Attached bathroom with surprisingly a bathtub!
Microwave to warm up bentos and those Nissins cup noodles. Also the clean water kettle saved us the effort of purchasing drinking water.
Small tv and fridge. Not as impressive as in Taiwan where we get to watch more channels. In Japan, they practice pay per view.
Easy to use air-con cum heater. Till today, I still think the bed and breakfast we stayed in London has heating facilities. Just that Blamer and I were too inexperience to operate it and too shy to ask the owner how.
Sadly, we got to return the tickets.
On board the Nozomi to Tokyo. I think it is the fastest train in Japan because it gets to skip more stations than the Hikari. But the cost is much higher than Hikari tickets.
Yippee after braving the rain and cold and much help from the friendly people of Japan, we finally managed to locate our next accommodation. A word of advice, if you are planning to explore Japan on your own and move from place to place. Travel LIGHT! And I mean really light! I think we lost a couple of pounds lugging and dragging five pieces of luggage through the stations.
First glance from the door, and I guess you can pretty much make out the whole room. Space is definitely a luxury in Japan.
Basin and electric stove.
TV, phone and internet cable.
Small but well equipped bathroom. Again it comes with a bathtub. Yippee!
And most importantly, a big comfortable bed!
Transferring to Tokyo used up most of our time. Another lesson learned when traveling is to avoid shifting accommodations unless absolutely necessary as it usually takes up a day of your time. If not try to arrange for those overnight train rides where you get to save at least one night of accommodation. As such, we only got to visit Mitsui Outlet Park for the day.
And only Blamer managed to get what she wanted : ( I walked away empty-handed.
Guessed I got to cheer myself up at this happy looking restaurant instead.
Blamer still elated over her purchase.
A look at their menu tells me everything is quite economically priced.
And you can pick and mix your own tempura.
I ordered curry rice but am disappointed that it has no meat in it.
Luckily I had some tempura to go with my food.
Blamer ordered their beef udon.
Disappointed but still the curry was tasty enuf for me to clean off my plate.
It seems that the Twilight Trilogy has spread to the Land of the Rising Sun as well. Blamer insisted I take a pic of her with the poster.
On the way back, we came across a long queue of people waiting to buy a box of this chocolate. Suckers as we are, we bought a box too!
The Bank of Japan is headquartered in Nihonbashi, on the site of a former gold mint (the Kinza) and, not coincidentally, near the famous Ginza district, whose name means "silver mint".
Lotteria is a chain of fast-food restarants similar to McDonald's, taking the name from its parent company, Lotte. As it is considered to be a follower if McDonald's, it's not surprising that both sell similar burgers on their menus.
As Japaneses are pro-recycling, we often come across these in the shops. Rather than a single garbage bin, a number of specialised receptacles exist (liquids, paper, plastic etc) can be found at all Lotteria restaurants.
Alighted at Shinjuku to proceed to our next destination. Shinjuku has the highest number of registered foreign nationals of any community in Tokyo. Being influenced by what I saw in the movie Shinjuku incident, I was expecting to see lots of mafias/secret societies patrolling the streets. However, Shinjuku is just another stop along the Subway line and is home to hotels, department stores, specialist electronic and camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, located in Shinjuku, held the title of the tallest building in Tokyo from 1991 to late 2006. The building consists of a complex of three structures, each taking up a city block. The tallest and most prominent of the three is Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.1, a tower 48 stories tall that splits into two sections at the 33rd floor. The building also has three levels below ground. The design of the building was meant to resemble a computer chip.
As with all observatory decks, you will get a paramount view of the city buildings which look similar after a while. The green field in the middle reminds me of Central Park, smacked in the middle of the city. How I wish I can visit Central Park one day! *mental note to start planning*
Headed to Yodobashi Camera for some electronic shopping for friends. In Shinjuku, Yodobashi has several stores close together, providing a wide selection of electronics. We were brought to stores after stores to look at cameras, watches and audio-equipments. No pictures thereafter, as we were busy doing damages to our pockets :P
