Where are you?

I haven't been able to blog recently partly due to work and mainly too pre-occupied with my reading. I have read 2 books since I came back from holiday. In addition, the weather makes it hard to do anything else except wanting to snuggle comfortably under the warm quilt with Big Elf. I'm so glad winter is officially over now. No more freezing cold in the morning. I will inform you all once I finish blogging about my Japan trip. =) Bear with me please...

I have also been deeply saddened by the disappearance of a friend. I received an SMS from my best friend informing me of our ex-classmate from school who went on a solo hike at the Glacier National Park in Montana, US and has not return since. He was due to return a week later as planned but had not contacted the family since. I have mentioned the incident many times and I don't really want to repeat anymore as it causes me to be in distress. However, you can easily follow the news from the link here.

For those who know who I'm talking about, his name is Yi Jien and you can read Yi Jien's mum's response towards the situation.

What I'd really like to blog about is how Yi Jien has been a part of my life. Like so many others, every handshake is planned by God and this I have held on and believed to be true throughout most of my life.

Yi Jien's father, the late Rev. Hwa Chien used to pastor my church and our family came closer to the Lord through him. My family has been one family that was so spiritually fragile at one point and it was a great opportunity to seize to bring us together as a family to know the Lord better and to be held and bonded together in Christ. Rev. Hwa Chien took up the mission and held us under his wings by mentoring us particularly my brother and my dad. His love and concern for us was so strong that when he left Sitiawan to move to Seremban, he entrusted us to another leader of the church and to hold her accountable in order to watch, guide and pray for our vulnerable state. My family was balancing on a brink as one after another family issues emerged and it could either destroy or pull the family together.

We were forever grateful when Pastor Hwa Chien (we used to address him as pastor rather than reverend then) dedicated time for my brother who used to be a rascal at school to mould him and to lead him to the right direction and most importantly to make him feel accepted even to an outsider. I was young then, so that was what I understood from what I saw. Every evening, Pastor Hwa Chien would come to our house, riding his old motorcycle to fetch my brother. We entrusted my brother to him, so none of us questioned my brother what the 'escapade' was about or how it went. I do not know if my brother was a changed person overnight, but I do know that the Lord has a hold on him and His words will remain in my brother through Pastor's help. This I know, because I too experience the same counselling from Pastor albeit briefly.

I lost hope in life at one point, much to the point of ending my life. I caused so much griefs and pain to my family that when Yi Jien went missing, I could totally identify with what his family went through. Only difference is, my family was not as spiritually strong in the Lord as Yi Jien's mum and wife are now. Their strength is admirable, and this is what knowing the Lord does to people. Without knowing the Lord, we have no hope and without hope, there is nothing to hold onto.

For many years, I have been struggling with my past experiences. Although I am still not ready to share every detail of it, I am glad that I have found courage to be able to encourage and help others with my story.

I too, went missing for 15 days. My case was totally different of that with Yi Jien as mine was a choice made solely by myself whereas Yi Jien's missing was all supernatural which is beyond his expectation. For me, it was definitely this experience that shaped who I am today, something ugly which God had turned into something beautiful. My family experience turmoil like never before thinking they have lost me forever. But in hindsight, this commotion set my family to a stronger relationship with the Lord and a better understanding who God is. This is definitely God's grace and mercy divinely shown to us at that juncture of our lives.

In the middle of the ordeal however, I did come back. I was then sent (much to my parents disinclination) to stay with Pastor Hwa Chien, Aunty Kim Guat (whom I dearly love and adore), Yi Jien and his brother and sister in Seremban. My parents trusted Pastor Hwa Chien and his family to look after me and to counsel me like how they did to my brother before. I don't remember how long I stayed with them but I knew it wasn't long. Pastor Hwa Chien and Aunty Kim Guat was not able to watch me 24 hours a day, so understandably, Yi Jien took up the responsibility to accompany me as it was also school holidays then.

I never thought much about Yi Jien throughout school days, except he was more immature than me. As far as I know, he was never a bad boy. More often than not, he was always targeted by bullies in class and I always hated it when the bullies started picking on him. I could never do anything but watch. I felt for him and wished he would stand up for himself. Amazingly, he always managed to deter the bullies from pursuing him. He would take it all and not fight back, perhaps exchanging a word or two, but never more. He knew it was pointless. Yi Jien was very tall even for his age, yet he was so sloppy. Always loved to drag his feet when he walked and he hunched badly. Probably he wanted to be standing equally in height with the rest who were never up to his stature.

So there I was, all messed up as a person and I was entrusted to Yi Jien. He took me to pin bowling, and taught me how to bowl. He was good I must say and we played a game or two. I excused myself in the shopping centre to go to the toilet, and when I came out, he was there waiting for me. He must have followed me to the toilet! He must have thought I will go missing again and he must have listened to Aunty Kim Guat, to not lose sight of me. I doubt he understood what I went through at that point, yet he seemed to be responsible enough for me. He was sensitive enough with my fragile emotions and he didn't ask any question. He was just there as a friend and cheering me up.

For a long time, I couldn't forgive myself for what I did to this family. I ran away from this family and away from my family the second time. My family entrusted me to this family yet, I have caused them to fail my family. Of course, my family knew it wasn't their fault, but they felt responsible for me and were sorry for what happened.

One of my greatest regret today is that I never had a chance to apologize to this family and now that Pastor Hwa Chien has gone to be with the Lord, I wished I was bold enough and mature enough to apologize earlier. I am still waiting for Yi Jien to come out alive, so that I have a chance to apologize to him. The Hwa family may have already forgiven and forgotten about the whole incident, but it meant so much to me to ask for forgiveness. For Pastor Hwa Chien, I will never forget that time, when the whole incident was finally and truly over, he came back to Sitiawan and ministered to me and my family. He knelt down in front of me and asked that I let go of my past and severe all ties to my past. He then prayed with me. I couldn't bear for someone as highly respected as him to be so humble and to go down on his knees with me to ask for forgiveness from our father in heaven. It was heartbreaking to have to go through that. It was totally an overwhelming experience for me. The rest was up to me to allow God to heal and change me.

I want to take this opportunity to apologize to Aunty Kim Guat, for loving me, for forgiving me and for shedding your precious tears for me. I didn't deserve it at all and I want to thank you and your family because you all definitely impacted my life and many others too.

Taiwan/Japan Trip ~ Part 2

Our next destination was Osaka. We had the one chance of a lifetime to try the Shinkansen ie bullet train. It was a sublime experience! It was easy enough to get on the Shinkansen. From Shinjuku, we had to get to Shinagawa (or Tokyo but Shinagawa was nearer) to board the Shinkansen. Using the JR pass we had, it was easy.We got ourselves some lunch for the journey to Osaka.

We got onto the bullet train and was all settled.. until I almost screamed out, my watch!!!! I last saw my watch in the bathroom near the sink. I didn't pack it because I knew I wanted to wear it the next day!

Drama No. 2: When we checked out of Sunroute, Big Elf was in the bathroom, and I told him to check the bathroom. He lifted the towels but didn't see the watch. Of course, I took it for granted to check again, and sure enough something was left behind, yet again!!

However, I was lucky because we will be spending the last day in Shibuya, which is only 3 stops away from Shinjuku using Yamanote Line and 1 stop away using Shonan-Shinjuku line. So, I can always steal 15 minutes to get back my watch. Only problem is, I only pray the housekeeping lady will be kind enough to keep my watch as lost and found item.

We stayed at the Ramada Hotel in Nakatsu. Very convenient for us because Ramada Hotel is just above the Nakatsu train station. Hotel was not as nice as Sunroute of course as it was slightly cheaper. Next we went to Namba for lunch. Had a very nice set lunch, which I was told very "Kyoto" style. The restaurant was inside a shopping arcade called Donguyasuji.


We then went to Dotonbori which is one of the main shopping district in Osaka. You can actually find some cheap clothings there. I bought 2 tops in particular and several ties as gifts(100% silk). Still no better than the 100yen shop in Harajuku!


For ladies, one particular shop which you can buy lots of skin care product is this shop called Matsumoto KiYoshi. I'm not sure if it's the cheapest around but it definitely has a huge range of local brands. I bought so many skin care products and I just went berserk as they are pretty cheap too for my standard.

Had ramen for dinner (not again!!!) but the ramen shop is also highly recommended. It doesn't look too appealing, but it did taste awesome!We spent quite some time in Dotonbori and enjoyed ourselves very much!

We then took the train to one end of the line to Cosmosquare where the world trade centres are. Unfortunately, it was late and when we arrived there were hardly anyone around. Afraid of being mugged in Japan (although unlikely), we solemnly headed back to our hotel and called it a day.


Next day was dedicated to Kyoto which I was looking forward to as well. Took the JR line to Kyoto and when we arrived, we purchased a whole day ticket (only cost 500yen) for unlimited travel to some major sightseeing area in Kyoto. I was told about Arashiyama but unfortunately, it was out of our ticket covered area, so we had to let that go.

We went to

1) Sanjûsangen-dô Buddhist Temple - more for historical, architectural reasons and probably the garden outside of the temple. The incense inside the temple really triggered my asthma attack. By the way, I started having shortness of breath since Taipei. I dismissed it thinking it was because I was exhausted due to the non-stop walking around.


2) Kiyomizu Temple. The most tiring part was the walk up the hill. However, we were being distracted by the shops along the lane. Apparently, one of the most famous sweets sold in Kyoto is this called Yatsuhashi. One bite of the sweet, sent us wanting more. They have lots of flavours ie strawberry, mango, green tea, black sesame, red bean, peach etc and it was really yummy. They even have it wrapped in a nice box, perfect as gift but be warned, it can only last for a week, 2 at the most.

3) Ginza the geisha district. We expected to see some women in kimonos but to our disappointment, there was almost none, plus it was only noon time. Perhaps, their activities start at dawn. However, we had a fantastic lunch, okonomiyaki! The restaurant was not what we expected at all, and we had to sit on the floor, japanese style. The guys were dreading it, but it was a nice experience I'm sure for everyone. The food was delicious, set lunch too. Had Japanese lemonade, I wish there were more because I was so exhausted! There were a choice of pork, beef and squid okonomiyaki! Nice!

4) Golden Pavilion ~this place is absolutely must-go for great photo taking sceneries! The sceneries were absolutely breathtaking, I'm not sure how much more to stress on the beautiful creation.. but please visit this place when you go to Kyoto! Entry fees was only AUD4!







5) Finally at night, we went back to Ginza for dinner. This time, we could see beautiful women walking along the streets! haha.. And again, the guys felt more comfortable with me around so no one will approach them.

I guess, that's all we could do for only 1 day in Kyoto. It was an amazing place!

Continue..

I think it was a bad idea to leave this post for too long. When I blogged about Japan, all my experiences were still fresh in my mind. Now, I have to rely on the photos to relive those moments again. Oh well, I don't blog for living, so please don't blame my complacency.

Ok, next day after Kyoto (also our last day in Osaka) we visited Osaka Castle, a tourist attraction not to be missed. However, it was so crowded on that particular day. Probably because it was weekend. The heat on that day was full on too. Just a tip, if you purchased a train day pass, remember to use it to get 100 yen off the entry ticket. Inside the castle, it was a great relief to have air-conditioning. There are 7 floors in total, and every floor has a different display mainly (an obviously) on the history of the castle. Somehow, I began to appreciate Japan's history more and my liking for Japan just grew exponentially.

We had to get back to Shibuya on that same afternoon. So we parted with our friends and agreed to met in Shibuya t a said time. Back at Ramada Hotel, we got ready to check out until I started looking for my spectacle's case. My specs are really fragile and I love it enough to not break it, hence I had safe-keep it in the hard case. Yet I couldn't find it. Unpacked almost everything out of the luggage bag just to find it in my handbag!!! I couldn't have been more careful knowing I still need the case, so indeed I didn't pack it away. Time was running out, I had to practically shoved everything (which I so carefully and neatly packed the night before) into the luggage bag and head towards for the train station. Since I lost precious things already by then, I made sure I glanced the WHOLE of the room before I left.

I probably missed the part about calling Sunroute Hotel the first day we arrived at Ramada Hotel. Thank God they found my watch and kept it. It will be in safekeeping until I get it back from them. How nice..... which is why we had to head back to Shibuya earlier than our friends so that there's time to get back my watch.

We arrived Shibuya in the evening and I must say, I was so thrilled with the hotel. Unfortunately we only spent a night there (the truth is, we cannot afford any more than 1 night), else it will be an amazing experience. I was already running out of clothes so I was looking for the last piece of dress I had bought in Taiwan. I checked the first bag... not there, then second bag... not there too! It's not right, I thought. I kept looking until I got frustrated that I literally poured all my stuffs all over the floor!!! Big Elf was really shaking his head at that time..

Drama No. 3: Of course, you would have expected, I didn't find the dress. I have no idea where it was. I was very sure I brought it to Kyoto and I made sure I checked the room before we left. Still, it was no where to be found. Although it only cost me AUD10, still I absolutely LOATHE losing things that I like.. it was frustrating, it was tormenting...bells are tinkling at my ears.. hoarding.. hoarding.. materialistic..materialistic!

I had to make a move, pronto. I had to time to lose as I had to get to Shinjuku and Harajuku, the 100 yen shop for the last time. My slight merriment was when I got back my watch. At least now, I can pompously say I lost 2 things only rather than 3 (sigh, comforting myself here). I also managed to get to 100 yen shop at Harajuku and did my last shopping. I absolutely love this shop, all the more reasons to love Tokyo!

Finally, the "Auld Land Syne" song was played. Time to go. I tugged the bags closely to me and headed the station. When I reached the station, I knew something was wrong amidst lost in translation. I stopped passersby to find out what's happening with the crowd at the station, but I couldn't understand what they were trying to tell me. All I knew was that the train was not going anywhere, I'm not sure for how long and I'm not going to wait. Praise the Lord that Harajuku station was only 1 station away. I decided to take a walk. The good thing was, I knew my ways around better now.

It didn't take me long to reach Shibuya. As I walked up the road nearer to the hotel, I co-incided with our friends who arrived Shibuya. I was surprised as Big Elf expected them since several hours ago. It was almost 10, mind you. My first thought was Big Elf must have been starving!!! Of course, I began to comprehend what the whole train ordeal was all about. There was an accident which caused massive delays! oThroughout our whole trip in Japan, there were at least 3 or 4 accidents that we encountered! Not a very good thing, was it?

I got to the hotel room and Big Elf was out. Part of me was glad that he wasn't starving. Yet, part of me didn't want him to be lonely!! Anyway, he got back half an hour later and took me to the top floor bar, where we enjoyed some cocktail and a beautiful city view. We were highly impressed!! Also, be prepared to spend at least AUD50 for just 2 drinks.. I never spent that much on liquids before!! Goodness me!!
That concludes our final night and our trip in Japan.

To conclude, it was an unforgettable experience. We truly lost with words when describing Japan. Our only advise is to not visit Japan during summer!

p/s: When I transitted in Taiwan on the way back to Sydney, I took the opportunity to email Ramada Hotel asking about the dress, if I left it there. Guess what??? They found the dress!! It was unbelievable man... I am dumbfounded with myself!! No words to describe myself..
They are so kind to agree to keep the dress until I ask them to send it to me. Of course, for a 10 bucks dress, it's not worth it to get it sent here. Thank God, I have a friend going to Japan in Oct, hopefully she will be able to help me collect the dress! I am so glad that throughout the whole time, Big Elf didn't say a word to me about me losing stuffs (what more to say to people like me??).. he just shook his head inexorably!

Taiwan/Japan Trip ~ Part 1

============== Warning: This blog entry should be ideally read in parallel with all the photos I uploaded in my photo album. ========

We had a wonderful time in Taiwan and Japan. In fact, it was more than an awesome trip. The trip was a revelation to me. We didn't really plan for this trip much earlier than we should, everything was planned and booked in about less than 3 weeks time before we flew. We went with 2 of Andrew's friends, Michael and Sunghoon. Jetstar was on sale, but after much dilly dallying, we missed the sale. However, we were lucky enough to get a pretty cheap flight to Japan with China Airlines and the upside was the flight had to transit in Taiwan (there was a choice between Hong Kong and Taiwan, so I chose Taiwan as I've never been there). Goodie, I thought to myself, we would literally kill 2 birds with one stone.

We flew on Big Elf's birthday. I felt so bad that I "forgot" to inform his friends (you know la, guys don't remember each other's birthday, it's normally a girl's thing), so none of his friends wished him happy birthday. Oh well, he didn't feel anything either, so that was alright. Anyway, flight to Taiwan was really good. I was paranoid and worried throughout the whole journey because I heard and read about China Airlines, being the most "unsafe" airline. Thank God, journey was fine. Food was alright, nothing too unusual nor fancy.

We arrived Taiwan in the evening. We had no idea of how to get to the city and to our hotel. As we walked out of the departure hall, we saw a placard and our hotel's name written on it. So we enquired, and it was roughly TWD1200, which will send us right to the hotel's front door. So, that's only AUD12 each for the 4 of us. We went for it, as the journey was about 45 minutes to the city by car. Finally, as we were waiting outside the airport, we were surprised that our "taxi" was a black Mercedes Benz! Felt so posh for a minute there.

Journey to the hotel wasn't as long as I thought probably because I was engrossed with watching the view along the way. We arrived at the hotel, checked in and quickly got ready for dinner. We stayed at San Want Hotel along Zhongxiao East Road (one of the main street in Taipei). It was almost 10 when we arrived at the nearby dim sum place ( cannot remember the name of the eatery). Nice place and food was nice too, the restaurant was a bit of the pricey side, but we were so anxious about trying genuine foreign food, so throughout the whole trip, we weren't too skimp on money.

One of my favourite, "har gao", Taiwanese/Chinese style. It's nice but I guess, I'm more used to the Hong Kong style dim sum since I grew up with it. After dinner, or rather supper you may call it, we just walked around the streets and into smaller streets. Everywhere is closed though, so there weren't much to do. However, there were lots of little cafes around where people were just merely having drinks and meeting up with friends I guess. This is what you call, the supper culture in asian countries.

On the next day, we had a full itineray lined up for us (of course the guys did most of the plannings). Thank goodness our hotel comes with buffet. Food was alright and I particularly liked the rice congee. There were so many selection of dishes to go with the porridge, pickles mainly and of course, pork floss!! I topped my congee with pork floss, mountain high!! Andrew liked their coffee, I don't know how it compares to the coffee here, but if he says it's good, then it must be good as he's very passionate about coffee. The good thing about the hotel is that it's really convenient. It's just above the Zhongxiao Dunhua train station and along the streets, there were lots of shops and a big shopping mall, one of them being Sogo.

The rail line in Taiwan is apparently one of the best in Asia, and we do admit it's really easy to ride and convenient too. Our first stop is to Dan Shui (as recommended by our hotel's receptionist). Dan Shui is basically the last stop of the train towards the north and basically it's a town by the seaside. It's popular for sunset viewing but we had to go to the night market, as it was our the only night we have left. So, we only managed to walk around some streets in Dan Shui.


The street that we visited.


One of the things I bought was the sunglass (for AUD6, I always lose them, so I don't buy expensive ones after I lost one really good one which my mum bought for me during uni days). Also got myself a nice little brown carry bag..


We had lunch at a traditionally set-up restaurant. Our first ramen, very nice albeit small portion. Also comes in wet form.

Taiwan was also heaven for us, as we are bubble tea fans. We practically drank bubble tea as often as we can find them. It's also cheap for the amount they gave us. It's pretty expensive over here in Sydney and EasyWay being the only shop that sells bubble tea.

Our next stop was Ximen Ting. This is like the must go place if you visit Taipei according to everyone I know. it was good, unfortunately, it didn't do much to me. It was just a very busy place with lots of shopping (yet it's not my kind of shopping and things are pretty expensive too). Just before we left Ximen Ting however, I happened to bump into several shops selling dresses and I quickly grabbed a few dresses (for only about AUD10 each). It made my day!! So, after spending a couple of hours there, we then headed to Shilin night market. I was actually looking forward to the night market more than anything.

We had dinner at the night market (which is a separate area from the shopping area). My taste bud was opened to something delicious which I've never tried before, stinky tofu!! In fact, it wasn't stinky at all to me. However, the first bite, will send you craving for more. It's really nice if you like tofu for a start.
Another famous dish was "o-jien" or oyster pancake. We tried and we didn't like it probably due to Sitiawan's influence. Sitiawan has a nicer "o-jien" I reckon as they are crunchier.

That was all the time we had in Taiwan, short but fun! Food wasn't that impressive, particularly the night market. Such a big place, yet they all sell pretty similar food. Shopping was not bad, although we didn't even have the time to check out the shopping malls on the street where we stayed.

Our flight to Japan was the next day in the afternoon. Flight was only about 3-4 hours. Going to Taiwan wasn't as bad as Japan, because we can speak Mandarin and even Hokkien if we have to, but Japan is a totally different place altogether. Communication would be a big issue as most of them don't really speak English!! All the more we were excited!

Arriving at Narita Intl airport safe and sound. First drama: I realised I left my newly bought sunglass on the plane. I did check the pouch attached to the seat in front of me before leaving the plane, but guess what, I didn't check the floor. It must have fell down on the floor while I was asleep. See, the talent in me has surfaced! I knew something like this will happen, that's why I will never buy anyhing expensive for myself!

Thank God for the guys as they just knew what to do and where to go next. We went to the JR counter to get our passes. The most suitable pass for us was the 7 days unlimited travel on JR line pass. Since our trip was slight more than 7 days in Japan, we had to also get a subway pass. The 7 days pass is really worth it, it also includes travelling on Shinkansen. It cost about AUD300+ but the Shinkansen alone would cost about AUD200+ to and fro Osaka. So, it's really worth it for anything wishing to travel in Tokyo.

We headed to the city. Due to some mix-up at the travel agent's end, we had to stay in Tokyo a day earlier than we planned. So, we picked Ochanomizu, slightly cheaper and also because it was close to Akihabara, which will be our first stop for visit. The journey from the station to the hotel was absolutelly ridiculous!!
It was stairs all the way. We had to carry and drag our luggages and by the time we arrived at the hotel, we were exhausted. The weather didn't help a single bit. It was absolutely hot and humid in Japan. Anyway, I'm glad we tried this hotel called Tokyo Green Hotel Really small, but the toilet design is genius!! Space were used wisely and it felt like being in a luxury train ride with an ensuite bathroom!

So our first night in Ochanomizu, everything's closed, streets were pretty quiet and we managed to find a decent restaurant around where we stayed called "Watamin-chi" which really sounds like Vitamin C! Had some sushi and teriyaki chicken (the gross part of the chicken like giblets) and a nice cocktail drink, after which we all headed back to the hotel for an early night's rest.

Next morning, we walked to Akihabara, which is really about 2-300meters walk. Now, this is where the busy activities are all centralised. Akihabara is the main electronics area and for electronic geeks, this definitely is not to be missed. They have all the latest trend mobile phones and almost everything you can think off. Unfortunately, of course we can't purchase any mobile phones because there would be a 2 year lock-in contract. I guess that explains why the guys chose to stay here. We surveyed every store than we can find on the price of an Ipod Nano 8GB. Apparently one shop sold the cheapest for only 20800 yen (~AUD208), even cheaper than duty-free Sydney. Big Elf couldn't resist it, he had to get one!

We had brunch at a tonkatsu place. A new experience because apparently we have to order firstly by purchasing a ticket for our meal using the ticket machine places outside (sometimes inside) of the shop.

SO, Akihabara was like I said is mainly electronics. It wasn't really for me, but thank goodness I found some places that sells other stuffs like cosmetics and sourvenirs. So, at least I kept myself occupied with these shops.

Our next stop was Shinjuku. This was to be our base for the next 4 days. From Shinjuku station, we got out at the South Exit (or southern terrace exit) to get to the hotel. So, we checked into Sunroute Hotel and much to our delight, it was a better room than the previous one. Although it says 3 star hotel, really that was because they don't have a gym nor swimming pool. The rooms are at least 4 stars. They are great for that amount of money we paid. It was also close to the station and pretty central too. The hotels in Japan and Taiwan probably gives the most amenities to anywhere I've been too. You don't really have to worry about bringing your toothbrush for holiday there, perhaps just your dental floss and mouthwash!

One thing I love about Japan is their state of the art washlet, the bidet style toilet. It is absolutely amazing. There is a control to heat up the toilet rim, there's bidet to wash your private part after the business is done, but of course ultimately you still have to use the toilet rolls yourself, but if only they have a dryer in there too! The toilet cover even opens up by itself when you enter the bathroom! How cool is that?? They basically have it installed in most places in Japan except probably the public toilets in the park and the train station.

Alright, enough with that. After settling down and resting for a little while (I was busy checking out the hotel room that I didn't have time to rest, how suaku ~ coming from a village), the guys were hungry and we spotted a restaurant just a block away from the hotel. Again, ramen (I think our friends are really fond of noodles) but can't blame them because it wasn't easy looking around for places to eat. We were either:
a) wasting too much time walking around or
b) couldn't understand the menu posted in front of the shop or
c) didn't know what the restaurant was serving at all or
d) too expensive.

We only went for the obvious ones like this one, which has noodle pictures splashed on the wall inside the restaurant. Easy enough, we just chose whatever we saw and ordered. The ramen, however turned out to be unbelievably good. Beef and pork was superbly soft and it practically melts in your mouth. It became one of our favourite restaurant instantly.

Oh yeah, back to the hotel. I was relieved and happy to find out that they have a guest lounge with free internet. No other hotels we stayed in Japan has it, in other words we have to pay for internet usage. This hotel, however is free, except you can only hope there isn't anyone there before you when you want to use the internet. There's also free coffee and tea at our dispense. Truly a guest lounge!

We then took a taxi to a nearby town called Harajuku, we were too exhausted hence we had to take a taxi there. If by train it was only 2 stops away. The street which the taxi stopped us took me to a shop which was probably the only shopping place I've ever wanted to go in Japan. It was all so unexpected! I saw the shop from outside and thought, it must be good as there were many people in the shop! I parted with the guys, because we don't have the same shopping interest (It was a good move!). I stepped into the shop and after looking at a few things, I got frustrated.. there were no price tags! I had to resort to asking a lady beside me how much does it say it cost?? (Spoke in English, then translated in Japanese, Sore Ikura deska? ).. Of course thank Goodness she replied in English, "100yen.. evrysing 100yen". I quickly thanked her, and I was all beaming.. I found my shop!! I didn't even keep track of the time but we all did agree to meet in an hour's time. I was taking my time and looked at everything slowly. Unfortunately, the "Auld Land Syne" song came out and my first instinct was, "what?? the shop's closing soon???" and true enough the announcement came. I gushed upstairs to quickly take a peep of what else they have and there were 4 storeys!! Oh no, and I promised myself, I will go back.. I definitely will go back there.

So I met up with the guys, we walked around the streets in Harajuku, and finally sent into a tempura restaurant for dinner or even supper if you may call it. I wasn't particularly hungry but the tempura looked nice. We even tried some local beer, Kirin, but I prefered Asahi.

After taking a stroll down the streets, we decided to go back to Shinjuku and to Kabukicho (kabukicho is just next to Shinjuku, divided by this big shopping building called Lumine). Kabukicho is the red-light district of Tokyo. However, the "activities" weren't too obvious if you are a lady. When our guy friends was walking with us, no one approached them, but when they weren't with us, say a few feet ahead of us, we could see that a man (on several occasion) would approach them and would whisper to them. Afterwards, I was told, they needed my presence in order to walk places like Kabukicho nd Ginza (in Kyoto) in peace!!!Alright, so that concludes the day.

The next few days were mainly visiting places of interest such as the Imperial Palace, Ueno Park, Asakusa and Roppongi Hills. Roppongi Hills is a must go particularly the Mori Building for the Tokyo City View. It is spectular and it's so densely populated. On a clear day, you might be lucky to get a view of the Mount Fuji.

Generally, it was hard to find a cheap and nice sashimi restaurant. So, we took the advise of some ACS forummers and went to the food court of either Takashimaya or Isetan. We went to Takashimaya and the food on display looked so lovely. They do have sashimi in wet market area and it's probably much cheaper than any restaurants. I was later told that salmon, apparently is very expensive in Japan and Japanese prefer tuna than salmon.


On that day we parted with our friends. They went to other places like Odaiba and we went our way. We had whatever we wanted to eat, without the fuss of getting concensus on meals. Had the chance to try out speaking Japanese from the phrasebook (which was God-sent). It was extremely handy to be able to converse a little in Japanese. We also found out the reason why there were no wastebins in Japan. I was told that Japan feared terrorism, hence all wastebins has been discarded and we can actually hand our rubbish to any sales assistant, and they will be more than happy to bin them for us.

The last day in Shinjuku, our friends went to Ginja, we however went back to Ochanomizu because Big Elf found out about a street full of shops selling musical instruments ie mainly guitars. He was excited and "persuaded" me to go with him. Of course, I had to go being the submissive wife. But the plus side was we found a very cheap sushi place. I had a really fair share of my Ikura (Salmon Roe) and Tobiko (Flying fish roe) in Japan!


Oh, we also saw this beautiful church called, Holy Resurrection Cathedral also known as Nicholai-do. Not much of a history there except it's the main orthodox cathedral in Japan.

It was a very productive day for Big Elf I would say because he managed to buy his dream fretless bass guitar, which you can hardly find in Australia. So, this purchase alone made his whole Japan trip! Good on him!