i wanna go japan..

look like my grad trip most probably won't be going to japan anymore le... due to some reasons... hai... all those planning i've done.. looking through webbies and maps.. i was alreadi visualizing mi walking in that area liao.. should i go alone instead? or maybe daji also really gian?

to wat degree have i planned the trip.. basically i've got the rough itinerary out le.. budgeting and stuff also roughly done le... since i'm not going le, i might as well share some stuff i've planned and that i've found out.. i'm not listing the details like how to move from place to place and stuff.. those u can find them online.. for now, i'm lazy to list them.. maybe i'll write them another time.. so i have a consolidated database that i can refer next time..

the first headache while planning is accommodation! staying in tokyo is expensive!!! then cheap place right u have to either walk a long distance from the nearest station, or take a number of transits between different lines.. imagine taking a luggage walking 10+ minutes to reach ur hotel, or doing transit from one line to another.. chui...

anyway, i've manged to found 1 hotel pretty near to Ueno station. Note that Ueno station is easily access if u touch down in Narita airport. the train from Narita stops at Ueno too.. The hotel link is here.. it says 3 min on foot from Ueno station.. COOL!

the station is the one with lots of camera icons ard it.. the hotel is hidden below.. the label tio blocked. it says "Google Earth - Hotel Suntargas".

perhaps the hotel is not veri beautiful or well-equipped.. it's ard 5000yen per head for a twin room.. that's ard 70 SGD.. not say very cheap, but ya.. cheap enough.. of cos, if i'm going for an even more budget one, i'll stay in those cheap cheap hostel! there are cheap ryokan in ikebukuro areas too. oh! and asakusa area too! check those areas for cheap accommodation.. 3000yen per head a night isn't a problem.. that's 40+ SGD a night!

next headache, argh~ moving around.. even though u might be happy bcos u got the jr-pass-and-i-can-freaking-take-unlimited-rides... er... JR pass is only for JR transports.. tokyo itself got other train service providers... =/ yeah.. so... how to know which train to take? so many different lines.. well.. that i dunno yet.. until i've experienced it myself.. but at least u can find out wat combination of train u can take to reach a particular place.. 1 major line you ought to know is the circle line, JR Yamanote Line (山手線).. this line circle around the central tokyo.. from there u can branch off into other lines to reach ur desire destination.. a famous tip i read from mulitple sites is that juz buy the cheapest ticket.. u can pay the balance at ur alighting station if the fare exceeds.. hahaha..

listing down some must-visit-places in tokyo, we have:

1. Tsujiki Fish Market, or at least the area ard it. The restaurants ard the market sells FRESH sashimi!!! com'on, they are just beside the market... comfirm fresh!
2. Asakusa. got a temple there... and a shopping street! it stretches from the Kaminarimon (雷門) to the temple.. lots of food there too..
3. Shibuya. shopping district for the young.. look at our hereen, far east, bugis, etc.. those are juz mimics to the authentic shibuya!
4. Akihabara. electronics district.. imagine sim lim square in japan.. not only that.. paradise for the otakus.. anime stuff, it's all there. and, *grin*, maid cafe. ho ho ho ho ho...
5. Ikebukuro. it has the Namjatown that i've mentioned in the "for sweet toothy..." post.. that district quite a lot of stuff as it is one of the major stop of the circle line.
6. Ginza. although i know i wont be buying anything from there, we should visit and see how is it like right? and there got the Mitsukoshi departmental store.. daji's fav..
   
7. Odaiba. it's an artificial island at the south tokyo.. Fuji TV building is there.. Palette town is there too.. think i remember there's a ferris wheel too..
8. Roppongi. another rich man place i think.. but nightlife there should be quite active too..
9. Tokyo Tower. how can dun go? it's like u go paris dun visit effiel tower lidat.. ahahaha.. there's other stuff there too btw.. wax museums and stuff..
10. Shinjuku. why did i leave this to the last.. of cos not bcos it's a red-light district.. oh yes, it's a red-light district btw.. oso a shopping place too lah.. but apparently everyone knows it by the former one.. anyway.. i left this to the last bcos i wanna talk abt something else too..

SHABU SHABU! i had my first shabu shabu in japan, in shinjuku itself... awwwww.. i can't forget the experience man... shabu shabu in singapore is kan expensive.. but there? that time i had a freaking buffet!! FREE FLOW DRNKS, FREE FLOW RICE, FREE FLOW MEAT, FREE FLOW VEGE!!!! BEAT IT!!! then i even took effort to find that particular restaurant that i had the shabu shabu.. i think i've located it.. but not too sure if it's the right one..

anyway, dun care if it's the one or not.. but it's located quite close to the shinjuku station too.. the station is somewhere along that bottom of the thick stretch of railways.. the restaurant name is mo mo paradise. they have several branches in tokyo too. watch out for the logo below..


oh.. have i told u best part of it? it's 1500yen for 90min time limit.. that's around 20SGD!! CHEAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay okay.. i think i'll stop here.. i'll talk abt the next part of the plan next time.. i do really need to sleep liao.. ciao~