Japan May 2008 Day 6

Day 6- 5 May 2008

Woke up damn early for our domestic flight back to Tokyo.. Took us about 2 hours to reach Chitose Airport.. Our bus driver said Bye Bye to us and honked his horn loudly as he waved us off.. It was so sad to say Bye to him.. A very funny and cheeky bus driver who likes to race me to his bus.. Danny told us that Japanese like to be bus and taxi drivers because it's very stressful to be working with other people as you have to see their 脸色 and respect them always.. Being a driver allows to just be alone with your vehicle and don't have to face the reality of the working world.. And do you know hiring one bus for the day costs about USD$1000- $2000?

Oh yeah.. A very funny incident I just remembered.. On the first day after we returned to the bus after visting an attraction, Danny said to the bus driver, "Tatayima!" which actually means "I'm back!" like you see in those Jap dramas whenever they return home.. All the tour members heard him wrongly lah.. We thought he was telling the bus driver, "大姨妈!" Haha.. Super cracked up lah.. We're like thinking how come a guy would tell another guy about period.. Haha..

Anyway, checked in and this is a picture of Chitose Airport.. A small airport in Hokkaido.. But lots of things to shop and look out for..

My grandma said that this was a cute display and told me to take a picture of her in it.. Haha.. Some dried seafood showcase I think..

And this is the small bus they hired for us in Tokyo.. Super tiny compared to our previous bus which had 40 seats.. This one only had about 30 I think.. And the driver was not as nice as our Hokkaido one..

Ok.. So the first stop at Tokyo was an added attraction into the itinerary, Odaiba.. It's my second time there.. Last time was about 4 years ago? Anyway, we passed by the main Fuji Television Building and saw lots of fans gathering outside.. They only let a limited number of people up that ball of theirs everyday..

Ok.. As it was the last day of the Golden Week, there was like a humogous crowd in the district of Odaiba.. It's known for its trendy shopping places and eateries.. Danny said he was scared to bring his daughter and wife there.. Haha.. Shop until won't go home..



Ok.. So this was lunch.. At first we were like going, "Oh man! Steamboat again?" But it turns out that this is Suki Yaki.. A very sweet soup base type of steamboat with meat and vegetables as the main ingredients..

See the egg over there? You're supposed to crack it into a bowl and dipped your cooked meat into the raw egg and eat it.. It was too adventurous for me so I ended up cooking the egg in the end.. Haha.. But I love Suki Yaki cos the soup is so sweet..

Ok.. So these are some of the image of the Odaiba district.. They even have a beach below the shopping centre.. Some young boys were practicing their skate board acts also..

This is a miniture popcorn machine that you can buy home and make your own popcorn just in case my GV friends do not have enought of it at work.. Haha..

I think this the 蒲公英 that I hear in songs all the time.. Quite nice don't ya think? It was growing near the harbour of Odaiba..

And this is the train that takes people from Odaiba to Tokyo I think.. It's completely not operated by humans.. Just like the sky trains in our airport..

And this is the Odaiba Ferris Wheel.. It costs 900 Yen for one round of 16 mins.. But there were like so many people so we gave it a miss..

Welcome to Palette Town! No idea why they called it that.. Haha.. But it comprises of a Toyota Showcase and a shopping centre called Venusfort..

And this is the Toyota Showcase.. I came here last time too but it was just a look and go experience..

A little car that you're able to ride for free however, you'll have to wait like 150mins cos the queue was like so bloody long lah.. =(

Hehe.. Look guys! I won a car in Japan! It's on its way being shipped to Singapore now..

And this is sort of a makeshift racer car type of arcade game that you can for free.. But again the queue was too long..

Went for this Mega Theater ride.. Sort of like the Sentosa Cinemania.. Sit in a cart and watch a movie and move along with it.. This time it's a race car kind of ride.. Not fun at all cos there was just jerking all the way..

I won another 2 cars and my grandma won this car from the future.. It has no gear and steering wheel.. Just a joystick like those in an aeroplane..

And can you believe that this was an inside of a shopping centre? Makes you shop happily as well.. Too many things to see but no time..

Odaiba Ferris Wheel again..

Venusfort! They had Zara in there too and lots of nice clothing.. Bought a pair of pants for 3900 Yen.. About SGD$52 I think?

And lo and behold! This is the Tokyo Tower.. Quite an old building already.. Didn't stop as well.. Just a look and go thing..

Headed to our hotel on Mt. Fuji and stopped at the Peace Park halfway up.. The weather turned frighteningly cold there..

Had to climb like 4 stories to get to the top of the park where the main shrine is..

I think this is the entrance for people with super human like powers.. Haha.. The wooden stuff I'm standing on are actually slippers! So huge right?!

Hehe.. Just being cheeky here.. Nan Wu Ao Mi To Fo.. Must be sincere in praying.. Haha..

Damn.. The shrine was undergoing renovation.. But it looks damn nice..

Ring the bell loudly for all your wishes to come true! Gong!

Donate some money to the dragon god and pray sincerely for all your wishes to come true..

Ok.. The place started to fog like crazy when we were leaving.. Just like those in Genting..

And we saw this lorry in the park.. Have I told you guys that I just love the lorries in Japan? They're all so tiny and cute.. Like Lego toys like that.. Haha..

Oops! The park guy came to ring the bell at 6pm meaning that the park was now close! Haha.. We were the last people there.. On New Year's Eve, the monks would ring the bell 108 times before 12am to celebrate the New Year.. Forgot the reason why le..

On the way up to Mt. Fuji.. There was a terrible jam there.. And because of the dark and foggy weather, I wasn't able to take a proper pic of it.. Had to climb over to Bao Ling's seat and to the front of the bus to grab this pic.. Damn..

Finally, dinner! We were like starving so badly on the bus that we just headed str8 for dinner without even going to change first.. Anyway, the hotel is located up in a hill so the bus can't enter.. What we had to do was to transfer to a minibus and our luggage was taken up in a seperate cargo van.. Just a short 30 sec drive lah.. Haha..

Haha.. We were all just posing for the cameras! Dunno how many we took also.. All the different types of expressions..

And this is my room for the night.. The tatami bed is so comfortable.. The room was so huge lah.. It could take up to 6 people but there were only 2 of us in it..


And this is my grandma.. She said she looked like those bandit gang leader.. Haha.. I think she looks more like a taekwondo person.. Haha..

And this is me in the Yukata.. Sorry for the girly expression.. I was forced to by my grandma.. Haha.. Anyway, we went for a hot spring bath after that.. Saw all the other tour members also.. No pics though.. The facilities were not as good as the first one.. Took some pics with Avril but have to wait for her to send.. Very tired after that.. Time to sleep..