Japan Day 10 P3

Can't believe that we have been blogging about our Japan trip for the past 1.5 months. Our biggest project thus far ~ I just looked at our Japan trip pictures folder & realised that we still have 6 more days of journey to blog about. Hopefully I can finish it before leaving for another trip end of May.

The last part of Day 10. After our shopping trip in Ginza, we went back to our apartment to put our bags before venturing out for a more relaxed activity :)

Another outlet near our apartment

Leecher fishing for coins in his newly purchased coin-pouch.

Erm, I think this says "Pork Cutlet Curry with rice"

Off the Ueno Park for our picnic! 1st picnic in a foreign country - a pity I couldn't buy a nice picnic basket along. I almost wanted to get one of those wooden baskets from Tsukiji Market, but Leecher managed to veto against it :( (Leecher here, I just realised from other photos on the web, the tree behind us is a cherry tree, which during the cherry blossom period, would have been really beautiful)

Ueno Park was established through an imperial land grant to the city of Tokyo by Emperor Taisho in 1924. The official name of the park is Ueno Onshi Koen (上野恩賜公園), translated as "Ueno Imperial Gift Park"

Frog fountain near the entrance of the park.

Our spread! We even brought an apple along, so healthy :)

Though it was simple fare, but what matters is we got each other as company :) We sat at the park, sharing the bowl of curry pork cutlet (not forgetting fighting for the last mouthful, lol), testing out Leecher's poor memory as we walked down memory land (which loser be banned from taking a bite of the apple) & talking about everything under the sun.

The prized apple! As usual, I had most of it while Leecher can only look as I bite into the juicy & crunchy apple ... Japanese fruits are really fresh and I can't get enough of them!

Ueno Zoo is Japan's oldest and most famous zoo. It is located within Ueno Park and home to over 2600 animals from different species, providing visitors with learning experience about the animals. We didn't venture into the zoo for we felt that Singapore Zoological Gardens would be better :) must support local brand!

The famous bronze statue of Saigo Takamori walking his dog stands in this park. Saigo Takamori was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed as the last true samurai.

Ueno Park's fountain - one of the main attractions of the park. The place where we can view the autumn colours but sadly, nothing can captivate me after what we have seen in Kyoto.

Tried to portray Leecher as the thinker, but no matter how I tried to capture the mood, I just couldn't get the "thinking" aura. Maybe the fault lies in the object rather than the subject.

Ducks swimming in the pool ~ familiar sight from our Taiwan trip in 2007. Except the ducks have more companionship as compared to those in Taiwan.

Walked over to Ameyayokocho Market, which is a busy market street along the Yamanote line tracks between Okachimachi & Ueno Station. It is also the site of a black market after WWII. The name "Ameyoko" is a short form for "Ameya Yokocho" (candy store alley) as candies were traditionally sold there. Alternatively, "Ame" also stands for "American" as a lot of American products used to be available in the black market.

My fave snack, courtesy of XiuHui's recommendation. I was full of praises for this snack that Leecher finally caved in & brought a packet for his colleagues, wa ha ha ... Anyone going to Japan please let me know, I need to munch on these lovelies to perk me up for the busy schedule ahead!

Ended the day with packed beef bowls, in the comfort of our apartment :) Another day of adventure awaits ....tomorrow!

Japan Day 10 P2

To continue from where Leecher left off, we headed over to Ginza (銀座) for shopping!

No no, we didn't take the Metro & walked from Tsukiji Fish Market.

The famous Wako building with the now-iconic Hattori Clock Tower. The building and clock tower were originally built by Kinataro Hattori, founder of Seiko.

Can't wait to start my day in Ginza!

Leecher was feeling upset as he couldn't get his morning cup of caffeine, as we were there at 8.30am! Well, we forgot that we were up pretty early for the fish market and didn't realise that it was that early when we reached Ginza. Most of the stores opened at 9.30am during weekends. Thus, we had to loiter on the streets for 1hr while my poor ears suffered from Leecher's constant rumblings.

As we roamed the streets, we came across this sight ~ hmm.....what's going on?

Long queue before the store is open? According to the dummy's guide, this meant that we have to join in the queue!

Baumkuchen, known as the "King of Cakes", is a kind of layered cake known in many countries throughout Europe. When cut, the cake reveals the characteristic golden rings that give its the German name, Baumkuchen, which literally translate to "Tree Cake". To get the ring effect, a thin layer of batter is brushed evenly onto a spit and allowed to bake until golden, after which, the process is repeated.

Baum Kuchen layer cake from Nenrinya Bakery Cafe, Ginza. Looks like our kueh lapis? In fact, baumkuchen is softer and lighter in taste as compared to kueh lapis. The coating of icing on top helps to reduce the buttery taste, which can be quite overwhelming after a while. Of cuz, the price tag differs tremendously. This small piece of baumkuchen costs 735Yen.

Love the Fancl white Xmas tree! So pretty & princessy :)

Shopping loots! I was busy emptying the products on the shelves into my basket(s). There are actually more bags, but I don't have the energy to lift it up for picture taking, so make do with just one.

9 packages of Fancl Cleansing Oil, which translates to 18 bottles. Leecher was amazed at how much I can buy. Well, the packaging looks so enticing!

What's a trip to Ginza without visiting Burberry?

My big shopping bag as compared to

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Leecher's small bag. LOL

Lesson learnt - the shopping bag increases proportionately to the amount spent in the shop. So want a bigger bag, buy more!

Japan Day 10 P1

Rise and shine! Today we tried to get our bums out of bed as early as we could, but sad to say we failed to make it for the morning auction at Tsukiji fish market.

Blamer and I tried to be adventurous by finding our own way there from the JR station.

It was freezing to the bones but a few street signs and helpful passersby later... ...

Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market! Although it is more commonly known as Tsukiji fish market. The market handles more than 400 different types of seafood from tiny sardines to 300kg tuna, from cheap seaweed to the most expensive caviar. Overall, more than 700,000 metric tons of seafood are handled every year at the three seafood markets in Tokyo, with a total value in excess of 600 billion yen (approximately 6 billion US dollars). Tsukiji alone handles over 2000 metric tons of seafood per day.

The market opens every morning except Sundays and holidays at 3:00 AM with the arrival of the products by ship, truck and plane from all over the world. Particularly impressive is the unloading of tons of frozen tuna.

The auctions usually end around 7:00AM. Afterward, the purchased fish is either loaded onto trucks to be shipped to the next destination, or on small carts and moved to the many shops located inside of the market. There the shop owners cut and prepare the products for retail.

In the case of large fishes, example tuna and swordfish, cutting and preparation is elaborate. This man here is trying to cut up his freshly bought tuna with a band saw.

Other fresh produce from the stalls located at the "outer market" (jogai shijo). I learned from some travel shows on TV that you can actually purchase and ask the stall owners to prepare sashimi right at their stall. But I guess we ought not to be so adventurous this time and stick to the sushi bars.

One of the highly recommended sushi bars on the web.

Judging by the crowds of people waiting to get in, seems like Blamer and me hit the jackpot.

But I must say, it was a really, really looonnngg wait. I think we stood for more than 2hrs in the queue before it's finally our turn.

It's a very small outfit with at most 12 guests at each side served by a max of 3 sushi chefs. No wonder we had to wait for so long.

All the fresh ingredients right in front of us. However, Blamer and I didn't really get the chance to look at their menu. The sushi chef took one glance at us and said, "Set?" To which we replied, "Hai, set," and we were quickly ushered to our seats.

This is the first time we are experiencing authentic, freshly prepared Japanese sushi right at the counter. *excited* The table setting with the wooden block which I presumed should be for the sushi.

First up, Nigiri of Toro (fatty tuna) sushi and squid sushi. The tuna sushi was heavenly.

Grilled eel and yellow-tail sushi

Another one of my favorite. Sea urchin and sweet egg omelet.

Tuna and salmon roe maki

Last but not least, another round of the heavenly fatty tuna and for the first time of my life, I ate raw shrimp! It was sweet and crunchy, not a hint of fishy smell. I must say the freshest sushi I ever had.