Japan May 2008 Day 1 & 2

Hello all!

I shall finally update on my Japan Trip.. It's gonna be a long entry so I'll do it day by day.. I took like 900+ pictures but please be assured that I've dramatically cut down the number posted on this blog.. =D Okie.. So let's start..

Day 1- 30 April 2008

My Mum sent my Grandma & I to the airport for our check in.. Met the tour leader, Avril and got our seats.. Still had time before boarding so we proceeded to T2 to visit my first ever work place- Chen Fu Ji Noodle House.. Can't visit it unless I fly because it's located inside the transit area.. Cool right? Haha.. Saw a few of my ex-colleagues and ate something there first.. Got a 10% discount too.. Hehe..

You see that Fried Rice there? It costs $18 per plate.. Hehe..

My Grandma bought Chivas Regal & Royal Salute for her Japanese friend at the DFS and then we proceeded on to board the plane.. It's been 5 years since I last rode on Japan Airlines.. Quite a comfortable ride and I still didn't eat the plane meal.. Hehe.. Watched Beauty & the Beast on the TV in the plane.. Fell asleep after that, woke up and arrived at Narita Airport.

Day 2- 1 May 2008

Firstly, Happy Labour Day!

Met the local tour guide, Danny; a Hong Konger living in Japan for 12 years already.. Transferred to Haneda Airport for our domestic flight to Hokkaido.. Man.. I really hate non-direct flights.. The thought of having to take another plane was enough to dampen my spirits.. But I was so tired, I fell asleep even before the plane lift off.. Haha.. Anyway, my grandma's friend came to meet us at the airport and we passed him the liqour before boarding..

Headed to this place for our lunch.. Finally a solid meal on the ground.. Haven't had anything proper since 10pm the previous night.. Haha.. It sold lots of fresh seafood and local purchase inside it..

Oh yeah.. This is the lunch.. I finished everything up.. So hungry.. Haha.. The rice and pork is nice though..

The first picture I took with my grandma there.. Avril thought she was my mum.. Haha.. Sorry for the haggard look.. I've been flying for the past 12 hours..

After lunch we proceeded to the Chitose Salmon Aquarium for a short visit.. It was an impromptu trip not included in the itinerary..

It was nearing the Boy's Festival and thus the many carp fishes.. The tradition is to hang up the carp fishes so as to remind the boys to be as strong and determined as them I think..

Coincidentally, the park outside the Salmon Aquarium had a number of Cherry Blossom trees.. Hehe.. So happy to see them.. My first time seeing real Cherry Blossoms.. The trees were a little bare cos the season is almost over..

These were still pretty though.. Hehe..

The white cherry blossoms..

The pink ones..

This tree was still filled with cherry blossoms though..

My grandma said this picture would look artistic and told me to take it.. Haha..

Teatime! See the ice cream I'm eating? It's homemade and so fresh.. Completely different from any Ben & Jerry's or Marigold ice cream.. That's a salmon bao my grandma was eating.. I wished Singapore sold Salmon bao.. It was really good..

Headed to the Sapporo Beer Factory later on.. Pictures were not allowed so we only managed to take this one.. The guide brought us around explaining the steps in making their beer.. Seriously, I was not in the right state of mind to be hearing about beer processes after the long flight.. It's like listening to a history lesson after a night of rushing a project.. The only thing I managed to remember was about the machines being able to rush out 900 cans of beer every minute! Haha..

Next up was the Ainu Musuem, Hokkaido's minority tribe..

This statue was erected back in dunno what year to protect and overseas the village.. It was crafted out using only human hands and tools.. No machines.. Cool right? I thought it looked like Santa Claus in a Ainu costume though.. Haha..

A picture take with the Ainu tribe.. Danny said their skins were a little fairer than normal Japanese and their eyes were always red.. By the way, the guy beside me is a really fantastic entertainer.. He could speak a little of Hokkien, Cantonese, English, Chinese.. He knows "Paiseh" lah..

The wide open lake that beckoned me to take a picture with it.. It was super clear and calm.. There were fishes in it too..

Welcome to the Ainu Village! We were the last group of visitors there as we arrived at 445pm.. The closed at 5pm.. Haha.. So we were practically rushing about to take pictures and see the performance..

A warm campfire on top of the stage they were going to perform on.. There were some fishes hanging on top the ceiling as well..

A dance they usually did to celebrate everytime a successful hunt.. I think they caught a bear this time.. Haha..

And this is the bear they caught.. I decided to take a picture with it.. Hehe.. Dunno why I was in this pose.. Haha..

The last stop of the day was the Noribetsu Hell Valley.. Didn't know why they called it that.. It was just a sleeping volcano with lots of sulphur in it..

My grandma said the toilet entrance looked cute and asked me to take a picture with it.. Japan toilets are really clean.. Even the rest stops ones are..

Finally we stopped off at our hotel for the night.. It was a hot spring tatami mat type of hotel.. We were encouraged to wear the Yukata for dinner and so I did..

Hehe.. It's those type of dinner introduced on Japan Hour.. I only kneeled for the picture.. Haha.. It was too painful to kneel thruout the entire dinner..

There were so many things to eat for dinner.. But so good as well.. I cleared it all up cos I was too hungry.. Haha.. Very nice especially the hotpot..

Went out shopping after dinner in the Yukata and we saw this huge cherry blossom tree near the hotel..

The next highlight was the hot spring bath we went for at the hotel.. It had an array of hot springs including a icy cold one, an open air one and a sauna.. They had really good facilities as well with a luxurious shower area with different type of shampoo and soaps and a freshen up area with different night creams to try on.. No pictures though because cameras are not allowed as everybody is stark naked in there.. Haha.. Slept str8 after that..

Okie.. This is Day 1 & 2.. Stay tune for updates..