Summary of itinerary: Tsukiji, Ueno, Singapore
6am - Wake Up Now Now NOW!
This was one of the rare times that we woke up shortly after the alarm sounded (i.e. less 赖床）. It was because:
1) We were going to Tsukiji, which according to Sister, would be a dead town by noon (the time we usually start our explorations)
2) We had to check-out of the hotel and deposit our luggage.
Good thing that we were not going for the tuna auction. Don't understand why it would be worth missing a night's sleep for that anyway.
So, goodbye room. We left behind a few bags of trash, which included the clothes we were discarding. Sister labelled them as "throw" in case the room maid thought we left them behind accidentally and returned them to us when we returned!
Today was the earliest time that we turned up at the cafe for breakfast of all days. Yeah... although we were going to pig out at Tsukiji later, Brother and Sister still thought we should eat something. Early enough for the soup today, finally! Nothing great about it actually. It's clear and like very diluted chicken/pork soup.
Actually, the cafe was more crowded early. It's really an odd place to have a hotel, but seemed like some of them were regulars. I too would definitely return if
1) there is a next time, of course.
2) I still cannot overcome the problems with the hotels nearer to town.
We checked out of the room, deposited our luggage and left for the Metro station. Today was Shichi-go-san, a traditional holiday where little children were dressed in traditional costumes and taken to the shrine. Don't think it would affect us much. Kids need to go to school, right? And we weren't going to a shrine.
8.15 am - The Legendary Japanese Rush Hour Train Ride
Our Pasmos were already drained since... forgot when, so we bought single-trip tickets. Made of paper, so retro lor! At least last time MRT still used a thin piece of plastic.
The train platform was very different from the other times we were there. It was quite packed, like Singapore's interchange stations, except Kasai was no interchange - just a regular neighborhood station. A train pulled up, full. The doors opened and the crowd looked as if it was absorbed into the train through the door. When it looked hopelessly packed already, a man hopped in and nudged himself into the newly-availed space. My jaw dropped. At home, it would probably be deemed impossible to board from the start.
Reality hit me. I had planned a trip on a Japanese train on a Monday rush hour. Wow. Waiting for the next less-crowded train was out of the question as the crowd swelled again even before the train left. At this rate, we might have to forget about boarding till past the peak hour! Walau jialat lor!
A station staff (that guy who shoves people in) must have noticed our predicament. He approached us and asked where we were going. When the train came, he asked the other commuters to make way...!! Damn paiseh can, people were rushing to work and here we were, tourists going to Tsukiji for fun. The door opened and like just now, it already looked impossible to board, but the station staff told them to make space and magically, space, there was! Once we hopped on, the rest of the vultures, already eying whatever leftover there would be, attacked mercilessly. If not for the station staff, we would be the ones with our faces squashed against the door. The train pulled out.
Next stop. The door opened. More people squeezed in, while the rest of us inside shuffled, trying to be like liquid that fills up every millimetre of space. Fortunately, cold air sinks, so I still had air to breathe.
Next stop. Argh door please don't open anymore... but it did anyway. Nobody was getting off at all (of course), but we have so many people forcing their way in, that I almost toppled!!! Sotong was terrified already and Sister was in a precarious situation where a salty pork hand might shoot from goodness knows where. By now, we had been pushed to the middle of the carriage already. I wanted to stay away from the door already. There's a very good reason why the designated wheelchair space was always at a boring corner!
Sotong was surrounded by butts now. A stupid guy even used my shoulder as a bum rest -_-;; Should I be evil and poke his ass? Act fast, before he farted on me! I nudged and fortunately for me, he got my point.
I was beginning to worry about how we were going to get off the train already. Although not much people were attempting to board now, people were not getting off either. How were we going to make people get out first so that we could get off?
8.30am - Monzennakacho Station 門前仲町駅
Ok here goes...
The staff at the platform shouted at the commuters inside to make way! They had been communicating (and were so familiar with the situation that they knew for sure that we would be still be stuck in the same position)! 超感动! Out of the hell hole! Thank you very much!
As it can be seen from this example, despite all the warmth we had been showered with before today, when it came to serious matters such as getting to work on time, nobody was going to smile at you and say "dozo". Fighting is still human nature.
All 3 of us were shaken from the nightmare. Brother toyed with the option of taking a cab from here, but I wasn't sure of the distance. Later stuck in traffic jam then die lor. Or scrap the plan and find something to do here first? Cannot ley, I don't know here got what. 乖乖 continue to take the train ba.
On to the next hell hole...
Here, we switched to the Toei Oedo Line 都営大江戸線. Don't recall any problem here. When we got down to the platform, a staff looked as if he was expecting us. Really love the subways for their communication :) This time, the train had a comfortable amount of space available. Looked like this was not along the way to the CBD. The staff saw us up the train. This time, we parked ourselves at the designated area. Dun pway pway. Skarly later a mass of people board at the next stop for all you know.
8.38am - Tsukijishijo Station 築地市場駅
After a relatively peaceful ride, we finally 到岸了!
You haven't experienced living in Japan if you hadn't been in a rush hour train! This was certainly unintentional!! Hopefully our first and last time >.<
My friend didn't encounter train madness during her visit although she went during rush hour too. Maybe because she stayed in Shinjuku area, where more people worked than lived?
Toilet break before going to Tsukiji. I wouldn't expect a decent toilet at a market. Somebody opened the toilet door that was supposed to auto-lock! Luckily I hadn't started doing my business! She apologized profusely -_-;; That's the problem with it, you don't know for sure if the door had been locked or merely closed. That was another reason why Brother should not stand too far from the toilet lah!
The station was very quiet. So not a lot of people come here to do their marketing huh. Saw a few elderly women and tourists, clearly people who didn't have to work.
Fresh air! Temperature was around 13°C, perfect for visiting a fish market.
An underpass built with cyclists in mind. How cool is that? Kasai had one too.
Try riding down the slope, anyone?
Japanese fatimah.
No tourists to follow, in fact, nobody that we could follow! No worries, it's actually very near only.
9.02am - Tsukiji Fish Market 築地市場
Here we were, at one of the world's largest fish markets! It's kind of strange to list a wet market as one of the holiday attractions when I don't even go to the one near my home anymore. Not sure if there's a place for me at all, but in the worst case, I'll just stone outside lor.
Reached at 9am sharp (almost), no worries about boundaries!
We started from the left side of the market, where there were small shops along both sides of an already narrow road made narrower by bicycles and scooters parked along it.
Look at those buildings! It's as if were transported back in time.
Wakao! Damn expensive
mushrooms! So precious ah? S$150 per box??
Really curious about them, felt like buying home to try, although I didn't know how they should be cooked.
Ah I think this is the taraba crab! A whole tank of them! HUNGRY!!!
School pupils can come here for a science field trip. Today, the lesson is on the food chain...
*school pupils gasping in horror and some bursting into tears*
After all the wet fish-market-like shops, we came across a clean shop selling packaged local produce. Sampling allowed! We weren't intending to buy anything initially...
O look, LAKE FISH! Gosh we missed it like crazy! This one tasted yum yum yum too! *Grabbed 1 packet*
Cooked sweet 虾米, not bad too! *Took one too*
The smiling shop owner invited me to try some seasoned 昆布 seaweed. Nice! *2 packets into the shopping basket, 1 for my friends and 1 for myself*
We never imagined that we would be trapped here, sampling everything in our path and having such a high take-up rate. Stop already! We did, and the shop owner, who was having the broadest smile she would have for today, bagged our stuff and threw in freebies like a packet of fried peanuts and more 昆布. The damage... ouch!
Lots of people stocking up, presumably for their restaurants. If only I can be like them and buy a boxful of crabs...
Wheelchair accessibility sucks. When the pavement got too narrow, I had to go onto the road.
What seemed like wooden blocks are actually
katsuobushi 鰹節, a kind of fermented fish, which is a delicacy as you can infer from the price tag.
Nara pickles. Tempted to buy more. But where were the oranges? :(
Approaching the seafood wholesale area... I think that giant banner was saying no flash photography.
Buy some lottery before spending it all on seafood?
Aww what a waste. Happens when stuff fall off overloaded carts.
For a second, I felt like scavenging the scraps.
9.30am - Tsukiji Seafood Wholesale Area
Venturing in... hey it didn't look so bad. Not too many people, no major obstructions on most corridors, corridors just wide enough for 2 carts side-by-side. Wide enough for me wheelchair too! Just the wet, slippery floor making the environment less than sanitary, but hey, it's a fish market, what do you expect? No issue as long as we don't laosai!
There were still carts driving about, but it's manageable. Those guys were still very nice to give way to me although I was the one encroaching on their space. At least, they were not showing on their faces... they must be somewhat displeased.
Looked like someone's gonna cook delicious soup!
Various types of shellfish. Bloody now, but knowing how they would taste on the plate makes it better.
Actually quite expensive hor? 1 tiny meat for ￥200?? Sure become x5 in the restaurant lor.
We passed by a pail of live shellfish and one of them shot water at my sister! Fishy water on her now, hold your breath!
Murderous-looking cutter to cut up frozen-stiff fish.
Not sure what the prawn was doing on top of those flakes?
Wow bright red shrimps? They can't be cooked, can they? If that's their natural color, doesn't it make them look, erm, asking to be eaten?
Wa hugeee chunk of fish!
Sorry, but after watching
The Cove and reading highly negative reviews about the taste of whale meat, I got curious about how bad it tasted. Canned whale meat! Most things taste nicer when preserved, right?
There were 2 types of cans, but the unsmiling, stubborn seller wouldn't allow us to mix and match. So attitude! And how come still got charge tax?? Would he be handing it over to the government when there's no proof of receipt?
Well anyway, we bought lor. Tourist mah.
Why did the octopus look like that? Btw, that's an octopus, right?
More shellfish! Cholesterol alert!
Lots and lots of sea urchin! *hyperventilates* I *really* should have bought a box and devoured it on the spot. Maybe it's the permanent cure for the cravings. Make myself damn sian of it and... move on to the next craving...
These cutters were everywhere. Didn't dare to go near at all.
Ahhh! I want to buy that box right now now!!
I used to wonder if the salmon would have enough eggs to go round, but I took comfort in seeing that they come in bunches like grapes. Not all eggs will hatch and not all hatchlings will get to grow up. So us eating it is mimicking nature. O, so much 歪理 for the sake of food.
Weird-looking fishes. Was the red one considered a shrimp or fish?
Fish that looked too yellow to be true. As if they were marinated in tumeric. Or just very jaundiced...
Frankly, I only saw these in souvenir shops before. Not nice to eat is it?
Sawed and thawed. How many days would I take to finish one chunk?
The meat got concentric circles, interesting.
Active fishes!
Eww (no pun intended), so bloody.
Odd-looking ley... such a long mouth with a tiny opening?
Overview of a stall. I just realized there were a lot of plastic bags hanging around.
Dry goods. I guess this must be a really fun place if you knew what to buy and most importantly, what to do with them after you bought it...
Check out the stall directory hanging from the ceiling, neat!
Looked cooked. And ouch to skewer through the mouth, but it implied the lips is the toughest part after cooking.
同类!!!
Do they sell the ink separately? Italian restaurant uses them right?
Some areas were impassable due to the clutter, so that's all for the seafood wholesale area for us.
O gosh looked at that mountain of styrofoam boxes! How many days' worth? Not one I hope?? Disaster if it were to collapse!
The carts and their drivers. Don't get in their way!
OOO wasabi, the original! Have you ever seen a vegetable so bloody expensive or not? (Ok, I don't know that 松茸 can fight or not, but that's a fungi, not counted) Obviously those we get in Sakae are fake!!
It looks like a strange pineapple. So will we get to taste the real thing later?
Tsukiji buzzing with life at 10.10am.
Freshly-bbq pork. Ahh the fragrance!
Uniquely-decorated Christmas tree. Never knew brushes could look so good.
Various sauces and vinegars. Can get so expensive!
Ok! Brunch time! Before the shops start closing at 11am! (according to Sister) Now to look for a sushi restaurant to taste for ourselves the difference of fresh sushi. There were several recommendations online, each warning of long waits, having to eat quickly so you can vacate the table for the next in line, famous restaurants which can afford to be yaya and tell you not to take photographs... I would have none of that. For me, fame didn't matter as much as freshness. I believe as long as the fish is fresh, it will taste good naturally! So don't bother looking for what famous restaurant. Any will do, as long as there's sea urchin and salmon roe!
10.20am - Tsukiji Aozora Sandaime 築地青空三代目
This restaurant had its menu displayed outside. Spotted all my requirements. Ok let's go!
We were led through a narrow corridor that was just wide enough for my wheelchair. The place was empty... erm... suddenly started wondering if there's anything wrong with them ^_^;; There were more seats at level 2, maybe all upstairs lah ha ha ha.
Hot towel! Shiokness!
There's don and sushi in the menu. Don looked great too, but sushi has higher priority, because last day already, yet haven't eaten yet! I just looked at the sets. Got picture somemore, no problem if you can't understand Japanese.
No salmon anywhere :( How could it be? I was thinking maybe I might get to try salmon belly.
Decided! Apart from the salmon, this had all I wanted. I wasn't sure if I'll like the raw clam, but I'll just eat. All 3 of us got the same set. It's gonna come up to S$60, but I'm prepared to pay any price, after
braving the horrid train ride coming all the way here! And so many pieces, I'm going to be so so so stuffed.
We raised our hand to request for our order to be taken. The lady who served us initially acknowledged us and strangely, went inside. A chef emerged to... surprise surprise, take our orders! Wa 受宠若惊! Now we can go haolian to people that our waiter was the chef haha!
Actually, the chef was nominated to serve us because he could speak Mandarin lah...
Ok! 3 sets of *pointed to picture*... By the way, why wasn't salmon on the menu? It would be perfect if it were.
Chef: 我可以帮你们做啊.
*3 pairs of eyes lit up* Really? Yay!
He asked if we wanted wasabi in the salmon. Not me. In a proper restaurant, the wasabi doesn't come in the sushi without seeking your preference. That's the way! So I don't have to either put up with the burst of flavor or scraping it out from the sushi.
Now to clear my nose to taste the food properly. Disgusting, but too bad!
After a short wait, the first plate was served... by the chef again! Wa didn't expect him to serve the dishes as well. *Touched* Presenting the first plate - 鮭 salmon. Take one each!
Salmon is the first raw fish sushi I tried in my life. And eaten countless times. But oh, this was
different! I'm sure it's not because I came a long way to eat this. It's really fresh and tasty! Mmm~ I want another piece already, but can't, more coming up!
The first of our sushi set. The chef gave us an introduction to the different types of fishes we had in front of us. One ear in, other ear out, dunno what I'm eating also! Don't say so much liao, I just wanna eat!
Top: Miso soup, 穴子焼き. I thought it was unagi, but upon googling, I found that they were 2 different fishes. But still tasted like unagi because my brain told me it was XD It was the second last to be eaten because sushi has appetite priority!
Bottow L1: 本鲔大トロ or better known as otoro, the fattiest cut of tuna. Looked like ham, but tasted X10
1000 better than ham! This melt-in-your-mouth goodness was heavenly shiok! Unbelievably creamy, comparable to uni.
Bottom L2: Dunno what ley. The menu said 11 items but the list only got 10.
Bottom L3: 赤身， the red-flesh fish. Our all-familiar regular tuna, with the same fibre in the flesh (which is why I seldom order tuna at home). But it's mitigated by the freshness.
Bottom L4: 旬の白身, or seasonal white-flesh fish. I guess one lah, because it's all white mah. Either this or L2 was the fish with long mouth the chef was talking about.
Bottom L5: 牡丹海老 ボタンエビ, uncooked prawn. I was apprehensive about this. Should I eat? Well, I had eaten an unthinkable, uncooked crab just days before, prawn should be sup sup sui! And I didn't regret it - never knew raw prawn could taste so good! Squeeze every bit of flesh out of the tail! It's on my menu now!
Bottom L6: Thick egg made in-house. Left to the last due to priority issues. Sweet and... dunno how to appreciate egg lah.
I had never eaten rice so fast in my life, 趁冷吃! And it was a challenge to stuff the whole thing into my mouth... so unglam to chew with my mouth open while trying not to have any spills. We were barely done with the first, and here came platter 2.
L1: 金目鲷の炙り Clearly recognizable. Its signature chewy, sweet flesh was unmistakable. Yeah the same fish we eat back home, the meat always stuck to the bone that one. Great when grilled too! A point off for being cooked - I want RAW fish! *ROAR* Left some of the rice behind... need some space for other goodies.
L2: のどぐろの炙り grilled Rosy seabass. Didn't remember much of it, but it must be good, because I don't remember anything being bad. Limit rice intake...
L2: Ah another apprehension. Raw shellfish アワビ. I was like... can eat meh? Aiyah eat lah! And it's like a guarantee that I wouldn't regret anything here. NICE! Chewy and sweet, no fishy taste at all. And now, I know アワビ is abalone!!! New item on my menu!
R2: ウニ sea urchin
roe. Yeah I used to think I had been eating the flesh. Creamy and flavorful, yes!
R1: イクラ Salmon roe. The restaurant marinated it themselves. Not too salty, just nice. Thumbs up! I want a bowl of it!
Stuffed to the max at the end! I was sorry that I had to leave some rice behind. I hope the chef wouldn't be offended. I really would have eaten them all if I could! So nicely-vinegared, Singapore's can't measure up in
any way. Any they don't anyhow fall apart. Impressive! Plus the attentive service, this restaurant is highly recommended.
The restaurant was full by the time we were almost done and a short queue had formed outside. Despite this, a lady was still standing outside promoting the restaurant to passers-by. So it was popular after all. It just showed that people don't makan so early. Bluffed by Sister.
11.45am - Tsukiji Outer Market
Now to walk off the sushi by looking at more food.
More fish roe! I wanna buy back!
Murder weapons. Surely these won't survive the customs.
Auntie making huge unagi rice balls. I want~
Gloomy sky threatening to rain.
Hey isn't this the same $1M note fish snack we saw at Kawaguchiko? So cheap here lor! Walau luckily never buy there, rip off ah! But ￥300 still expensive ley.
Lady's fingers snack.
Blueberries. What healthy snacks here!
Various takeaways, an economical lunch for a small eater. Good for them that their rice is sticky.
For some reason, the crowd seemed to be swelling. Though market should get quieter later in the day? Or maybe because it's lunchtime. How nice it would be to work around here, can come here for world-class lunch daily!
Seemed like we had come to a cooked food street. Would we be able to find the highly-raved 井上拉面?
Small eateries providing negligible counter seats. This wouldn't work in Singapore if the food is a main course.
Walked very long already, still haven't see the ramen. Like that also cannot find?
Ah here it is!
Men in suits, elderly, all enjoying their noodles, standing, the road just 1m away with vehicles pumping exhaust into the air. When they were done, they returned the bowls to a pail. So nostalgic, like in school.
Smelled damn fragrant! I wanted to run right up to it and grab a bowl! I know I'm damn full, but I want >.< Brother said don't siao lor, he's too full and the truth was, all of us wouldn't have space for anything for a long time. Pity. But 1 bowl 3 people share can right... Actually, hard to eat without a table also lah :(
Walking away... so sad :(( Next time? History would repeat itself, stuff myself silly with sushi and have no space again. 遥遥无期哦...
Hokkaido salmon, nice or not?
Salted herring roe. Wonder how it tasted like?
We came to a shop selling Japanese keropok, the stuff you see in Daiso, you know? I wasn't about to leave empty-handed. O, they have the giant cod fish snack too, and even cheaper! Buy! The corridor there too narrow lah, felt bad for blocking the way.
Spotted people filming. Didn't know who they were and people largely ignored them.
It had started to drizzle. Seemed like it always rained on the last day of wherever we were at.
Ready to end the Tsukiji chapter. A tip for prospective visitors: Be sure to check the operation days before coming down, or you will just be looking at closed shutters.
12.20pm - Heading to Ueno
According to the plan, we were supposed to go to Kayabacho to look for Sister's muachee shop, 田川堂, that is highly-recommended by her Japanese colleague, but obviously we were seriously too full for anything now. Skipping directly to Ueno. To get there, we had to find the Metro Hibiya Line Tsukiji station, which shouldn't be too far from here.
Walking in the direction that took us away from the market, in the rain.
It didn't take long for us to hit a station. Oops it's Higashi-Ginza, the station that's
after Tsukiji!
But that was stair-only, no lift in sight. It has got to be nearby. We looked around, but alas, couldn't see any. I wasn't expecting to use this station, so I didn't download its map. Keep walking...
We passed by a supermarket which looked very high-class and expensive, so we went in for a look. Not only were the stuff high class and expensive, they were also mainly organic and health food. Just when we thought we had seen it all, here's a vending machine for rice.
Atas all the way!
Hello Kitty fans, hyperventilate now!
Walking and walking... I know the stations were massive, but this was a bit too exaggerated ba? Before we knew, it had turned into a walkabout down Ginza!
Yes found the lift! Down we went! The station looked like it was undergoing renovation, boarded up everywhere. Took a toilet break and tried to head for the platform, but problem... no lift in sight. Didn't want to waste too much time looking, so I suggested asking the staff, but problem again... we were going to take Metro, but the counter there belonged to Toei. Ha ha ha... bo bian, thickskin a bit lor. Verdict: No lift. Boo lousy! Must be under construction.
Continue walking.
Pinkish cafe. Reminded me of P.S. Bu Bu in Taipei, a car-themed cafe.
Sister remembered this view from her first trip.
Wako store, Ginza's symbol.
Ahhh Chuo Dori, where we originally planned to come, but missed coz we were stuck (voluntarily) in Akihabara!
Ricoh Ring CubeThe rain had stopped, but the sky was getting increasingly gloomy.
An overview of all upmarket shops available in Japan. We entered none of them, because our goal was more important. Not getting distracted anymore!
... Wait... what was the goal again?
Looking for metro entrance, looking for metro entrance! We were now above Ginza station, walked 2 stations liao lor!
Even the police box was so classy. It looked totally like a jewellery shop.
朝日新聞社 Asahi Shimbun and 東宝 Toho, the Japanese film distribution company with the super-dated logo.
Must be super damn ex to HQ here!
Didn't go Shibuya to witness the famous pedestrian scramble, make do with Ginza with obviously fewer people... but also because the lights had been in the pedestrians' favor for quite some time. I'm starting to feel sorry for the cars already. O and people in cabs.
Saves a lot of time when you can walk diagonally.
Metro entrance must be somewhere here. It's GINZA, supposed to be synonymous with modernity right? It will be like really wtf if even Ginza didn't have a lift. Anyway the last time I checked, got lah. Which shopping mall would it be connected to now?
Out of the blue, tiles for guiding the blind appeared on the ground, leading round the corner into a small alley. After spending a few days in Japan, we learned that tiles = lift nearby. We followed and guess what, the legendary lift down to Metro! It's right at the blanked out area.
Wassup with the camouflaging! Not even a Metro sign sticking out of the building! Seriously, only the blind can find it!
There, a grand total of 50min spent walking from Tsukiji to Ginza, looking for a lift.
Yay go down now! And accessible to the platform! I love Ginza!
1.35pm - Ueno 上野
Here we were, at our last place of interest for the trip. We were able to resist Ginza because we were going to Ameyoko, a market street home to various trades and wares with price tags more wallet-friendly!
Before we even got out of the station, the shopping mood had already kicked in. We stopped by a pharmacy, the kind that sold lots of cheap toiletries, to buy some drinks. I spotted the highly-raved Mentholatum Medicated Lipstick, or 小护士护唇膏 as the Taiwanese call it.
Going for like ~S$1+ for one! Not twin pack, picture is for show only. So cheap, buy! Although I still had 2 Burt's Bees... It immediately felt like a best buy when a man came and bought one too haha.
Checked the map for the exit to take. Once outside the station, the fun began right ahead, beneath the tracks in the direction of Okachimachi station.
There were shops on both the left and right side of the tracks. Which fork should we take? Right, I say!
JR Ueno, visibly less crowded.
2pm - Ameyayokocho アメヤ横丁
On, your mark, get set, go!
It sure looked boring from here.
Another manhole cover. Didn't seem to signify anything to me.
If 人参<->carrot, then ginseng<->??
Anyway, short, stubby and cute carrots they have.
While we had such a tough time looking for 馬油 products in Kawaguchiko where it was supposed to be prevalent, Tokyo has them by the cartons.
I'm certain I didn't want to buy already lah.
Got livelier the further we walked. It's a weekday! Weekend jialat lor!
See their salesman so siao on!
Ah another fork! Left, I say!
Actually the choice was a no-brainer even to the clueless, because right side was like 90% less people haha. We gotta be where everybody is!
The first shops were the live produce. It was like visiting Tsukiji again.
Vinegar octopus.
Second and final chance at fish roe! Want to dapao home or not!
Don't want lah, need to marinate, I don't know how.
Because the stuff were very similar to what we saw in the morning, the camerawoman got lazy and kept the camera. 罢工!
Was looking to change my bag if I could find a suitable replacement, but I wasn't looking hard enough.
Shoes... kind of gave up already.
Plus the stuff weren't much cheaper. Like Hi-chew, more expensive ley. Just see see lor.
And soon we came to the end of the street. What next? Left, right or forward?
I wanted to go to Takeya, a bargain department store. According to my
memory (which could be very unreliable) of Google Maps while researching, it was on the left. A visual scan didn't reveal anything resembling a mall, so I was wheeled to the right. Nooo I'm dead sure it's on the left >_<
Matsuzakaya 松坂屋
It wasn't long before we came to a sparkling mall, Matsuzakaya. Very distinctive among the other buildings, which were merely short shophouse-like buildings. Let's go in and take a look anyway.
Here's a picture ripped off their website because the camera was still resting in the bag.
Matsuzakaya is a modern department store selling... things that are not so affordable to cheapo sotongs. Similar to other department stores like Isetan and e.t.c. Cosmetics also in counter-style, too poor lah :( After a quick spin, we were out of there pretty soon.
I wouldn't give up on finding Takeya. I was convinced it was on the opposite end. We were standing at a crossing, waiting for the green man to appear and wondering whether to cross at the same time. I must prevent ourselves from further divergence, so I suggested asking for directions. Nearest target... lady who was also waiting for the traffic lights. Just as we approached her and she responded very helpfully, the green man appeared and she spent the time pointing us to the right direction instead of crossing the road. And had to wait for the next round :X So paiseh! On a positive note, Takeya was indeed well-known as she had no problem understanding us (or she shops a lot too...!) and I was RIGHT about the location. 难得!
Japanese department stores have a thing for xx屋. We have already heard of 高島
屋， just not too long ago, 松坂
屋 and now 多慶
屋.
Takeya 多慶屋
Takeya was about equi-distance from the JR line tracks as compared to Matsuzakaya. Unlike Matsuzakaya, Takeya wasn't just a single building. Instead, it's probably leasing individual shophouse units from the vicinity, resulting in numerous branches in the same area each specializing in a certain category.
After crossing the road under a large flyover, the purple building was it.
A Building was the supermarket, but that would have to wait. Ladies Building first!
The first storey of the the Ladies Building was the toiletries department, which was too narrow and crowded to navigate. When the concept was "budget", it also implied that the racks would be arranged as close together as possible, wares would fill every inch of space and it would be a tug-of-war between claustrophobia and
oniomania.
The higher floors of such buildings were usually only accessible by stairs, but I wasn't going to back down yet without getting a confirmation. Who else, but my sister, would be the perfect scout? Probably very reluctantly, she went. The fashion department was boring, selling auntie clothes. She didn't look out for the lingerie :\ Wacoal also expensive in its home lor, this kind of pasar malam place was probably our only hope liao. Mai hiam lah. On a positive note, this lao kok building actually has a lift! Gonna check out the cosmetics only! Sister was assigned to accompany me while Brother said he would go walk around.
The lift was tiny for the number of shoppers. The cosmetics section was more spacious than expected, good! The variety was amazing, made more attractive by the price tag. I was looking for foundation and there were plenty around, except that most of them didn't have testers and they were actually refills, which probably explained why they were cheap. Now that's difficult... those with testers were too expensive. Found some Shiseido, but all refills and pressed powder :\ Then I got an idea. Use the testers to find a color match! The result was... why so dark?? Weird ley, I thought should be like 1 or 2 shades lighter?
And so I opted for something a bit lighter.
My Shiseido Aqualabel Moist Compact Powder, with SPF20, PA++, high coverage to hide pores (and wrinkles, but I don't have any that I would like to hide at the moment.) Should be a new range, since it's everywhere now. It's a refill pack. I will think about how to store it when I get home.
I decided that I was bored of my existing eyeshadows although I hardly use them. I want new one~~~
Kate Gradical Eyes in GY-1. I know I have something brown already, but I didn't like it. Look, there's a base color that I can use with my existing ones! The price written on the box was ￥1400, but not sure if I got it for less. I've never read up on Kate's reviews, but shouldn't be too bad since it's a mass market range by Kanebo.
Ok, get out of there already. Think everybody was sian liao. I paged Brother and we waited downstairs, but he didn't show up after some time. Bo bian, continue waiting... The sky drizzled again. 好凄凉啊...
Brother came with his hands full of plastic bags filled with Japanese keropok! He went shopping in the supermarket section of Takeya. It's a gem man, all the stuff you ever wanted, OEM-style, less the fancy packaging and at a fraction of the usual price! Even got Baumkuchen (that thousand-layer cake baked toilet-roll style) haha! I wanted to go and see, but Brother said too narrow, cannot. Probably like Sheng Siong.
4pm - Matsuzakaya Again
Sister wanted to go back to Matsuzakaya to look for shoes. At this time, it had started to POUR. Really thankful for our decision to get something waterproof instead of something furry! Japan's rain was very cold :(
This time, Sister went hunting on her own. Brother and I walked around. Nothing much here, things too expensive. Went toilet. They had the high-tech sensor sanitary bin too.
There was an events hall outside the toilet. They were having some sort of sale with a long line of people waiting to enter although the event would be closing soon.
Saw people carrying what seemed like groceries. So cheap ah? I also wanna see, but don't want to queue :P
Couldn't remember if Sister bought anything in the end, but now, it's time to go for dinner and then back to hotel. So soon. Too soon.
We could have taken Ueno Hirokoji station back, but decided to walk back to Ueno as there were more food options there. Also, not sure where Ueno Hirokoji was lah, although it's supposed to be nearby.
Fortunately there's a sheltered section we could take. The shops were mainly selling bags, discounted perfumes and beng beng stuff. Not looking... gotta find our food fast or we might be late! And the sales assistants were mostly beng-looking men. Scary.
End of shelter. Out in the open, but no idea what to eat. I was still not hungry as usual. Just walk...
A whiff of smoky fragrance hit us and we followed its trail.
4.40pm - Daitouryou 大統領
Rowdy Japanese were devouring yakitori over ice-cold beer on a rainy day in a lok kok, overcrowded shop with equally noisy chefs... true blue 居酒屋!
And yes, I'm sure you have already noticed - the camera was finally back in action after a 2.5hrs hiatus.
Looked nice! And we hadn't had yakitori yet. But there weren't anymore tables inside... even if there were, I would have a major problem getting there. The only available table was one on the outside of the shop, looked great, except that it's raining now... would we get wet?
The waiters noticed us looking
longingly at them, so very warmly, they invited us to sit down, assuring us that the rain wouldn't get us. And indeed we were dry, with the canopy ending about 20cm beyond our table. We were settled down very quickly. O my, hot towel available also? Touched!
Ok eat what?
Of course tori was not the only item that could be yaki-ed. There's vegetables, chicken, beef, pork, fish, spare parts and some other stuff that I couldn't understand from the words, mostly costing about ￥300 for 2 skewers. We ordered some pork, chicken, beef and sausage. They were flexible enough to give us 3 skewers instead of asking us to order 2 portions. Brother and Sister asked for rice too.
O, look at that bright yellow drinks menu beckoning! Today was Grant-a-wish Day. Now to fulfill Sister's wish to drink beer over Japanese food - order beer! So cold already still drink beer, dunno I can tahan or not!
While waiting for our food, we were served iced water (brrr). Then we wanted to take a photo of ourselves having a meal in such a special place. One of the friendly waiters offered his help, so we got another rare picture of us 3 together.
Here's our food! How divine the aroma was!
Yummy! I could muster the appetite despite not being anywhere near hungry. I used to think yakitori was just some weakly-marinated chicken grilled with soy sauce, but this meal had completely changed my view.
No more! Order again! *Gobbles* Damn cold wind, damn cold rain, damn cold beer, piping hot heavenly Japanese satay = Shiok! With affordable prices to boot!
We continued our way to Ueno station, the rain still beating down on us. An outstanding task - refund the Pasmo. Possibly the third last chance. Think about what we could do with ￥500! I thought a hub like Ueno would have a refund service, but I was wrong. Uh oh... don't tell me it's gonna be as elusive as in Osaka... I had a nagging feeling it's just that nobody wanted to admit that they provided this service. Didn't the traveler guide say that we could approach a business operator accepting Pasmo?
At 5pm, it was visibly busier than just now. In fact, I was starting to worry whether we were going to have a hard time getting on the train as it was rush hour again. We bought the single-trip tickets. Here's how it looked like.
So informative right? The Alzheimer's disease sufferer will not forget where he's going.
Actually, the crowd wasn't so bad lah. And we commenced the depressing last Metro ride.
6pm - Refunding Pasmo
Back at Kasai, I wanted to attempt the quest again as I wasn't sure if the airport had this service. The Metro staff told us to go outside. Ooo he was referring to the little kiosk next to the ramp that we always use to access the station. Pass by everyday, but never knew its function! Kasai is so cool!
The kiosk was manned by a guy who didn't know English. Shucks. We couldn't get him to understand what we wanted. We tried all the tricks we had in the bag, whether they had worked previously or not, to no avail. Meanwhile, the normally deserted kiosk started to grow a queue.
That was the heroine's time. A Mandarin-speaking lady was behind us and offered to help us translate. YES, PLEASE! The guy finally got it, and gave us 3 forms to fill in as part of the procedure. WTF! Want to return 3 pieces of plastic only, still got paperwork to do! So bloody kpo, make things so difficult for what? I tell you, these Japanese have a thing for forms! LL got to fill in lor, for the sake of $$.
The lady was a Taiwanese who had lived in Japan for a few years. We thanked her (for saving our ￥1500). She asked if we needed anymore help with our stay, but alas, today's our last day!
Gosh, returning stored valued cards were an adventure on their own. Buy single-trips if you want to save the hassle!
6.30pm - Back to Hotel
Like our last day in Taiwan, we were back with our arms full after packing our luggage nicely the night before. Repack time! We sat ourselves in the cafe (that was closed, fortunately) and shamelessly spread our luggage out like we owned the place. Well, actually we were taking up at most 2m² lah.
For the first time, I visited the hotel's public toilet. The passage was really narrow, but the unisex toilet was surprisingly roomy inside. And very clean too! So... either the staff did a great job or men here know proper toilet etiquette.
7.20pm - Walking Running to the Bus Stop
We had a bus to catch. But before that, we had a bus stop to find! According to the map provided by the bus company, it's after the Kasai station. Not supposed to be a problem, but it's complicated by the now-heavy rain and having to drag a trolley around! Pity that we weren't able to look around us one last time as we had to RUN. Me? Busy shrinking myself into my jacket, keeping my face low so as not to get rain and wind in my face. It was colder than Disney, around 8°C.
The part of the place where we took the Disney bus, looked credible as it's like a mini-interchange. The designated bus stop for the airport limousine? It's just a regular bus stop! We thought we got it wrong, until we saw spotted the service on the board. It better be right...
As I had mentioned before, a
reason why I chose to stay in Kasai was the direct bus service to Haneda Airport. It's jointly operated by Keisei and Limousine - the bus that comes will belong to either company. They reacted fast to the opening of new international terminal by extending the service hours. It was just about 1mth ago that the last bus was at around 7pm.
I know Brother hates taking bus and it's hard to carry me up and down, and ￥1000 sounded like a lot, but I still thought it's all better than having to carry all our luggage and change trains. FYI, getting to Haneda from Kasai by train is quite a hassle, involving 3 transfers + 1 transfer by foot. What's so bad about just getting our asses up the bus and relax?
Back to the present. We were supposed to take the 7.41pm bus, but it was late. I thought Japanese public transport is very punctual one? So we waited in the wind, never feeling more pathetic than we already were feeling about having to leave. I found temporary relieve in a heatpack, but the bus better come quick!
O yes it's finally here! Hey, the bus driver looked like a younger 阿部宽!
He helped us put our stuff in the luggage compartment and we boarded the bus, which was empty except for us and remained so for the rest of the journey. Eh... nobody wanna go airport on a Monday ah? Like this the service can survive or not?
The cool thing about Japan's roads was that road toll
did help to keep the traffic flowing smoothly. Confirm very expensive then? The service took us on the expressway, where we saw Tokyo Tower from afar.
The road got increasingly deserted as we went. 别把我们卖掉！我们不值钱!
8.14pm - Haneda Airport
The inevitable had to come. We arrived at the last destination of the holiday, Haneda Airport.
Here's our bags and our bus.
Into the warm comfort of the airport!
O, what a lonely place. We checked our flight. Damn, it's still on. It's too early for check-in. The lockers and bag deposit service cost an arm and a leg, so we were going to be walking around with them for a while.
The equally quiet check-in counters. How come no flights around this time?
Looked like entertainment! Let's go!
You can see the airport wheelchairs you have to use when they check-in your own wheelchair. Small hor? It pays to be not too fat.
8.30pm - Edo Market Place
Edo Market Place is a shopping street recreating the Edo period. But of course, it's just referring to the "feel". The wares are still what modern people want, like F&B and souvenirs. But not Edo-ish when I conjured an image of a place bustling with life, whereas now it's quiet like we were the
kempeitai walking around!
There's nothing we could do except to eat. Dinner-time mah. Eat now ley, otherwise got to wait till midnight. But we were so depressed about leaving, that nothing appealed to us.
Dining 24 羽田食堂 is a casual restaurant served budget signature Japanese dishes like ramen, curry, don, etc. The fake food looked really great, but somehow we were not appeased.
Because the cuisine's ain't focused! Like that cannot be good! *excuses*
Ok, then go look at the shop directory.
Hmm... not helpful.
Staring at the menu of Tsurutostan, specializing in udon. I'm still not hungry. Don't know what to eat. This was going to be the very last precious meal, don't waste it!
Just look at that queue! No thanks.
Nice ceiling. Movable? How to clean?
Still roaming and couldn't arrive at a consensus.
I'm a ramen-anytime, but the others were not so interested. True, don't keep eating ramen lah.
A traditional stage for performances.
What a pretty place!
For eating overpriced Kyoto tea-flavored desserts!
We almost succumbed, but ￥520 for the simplest soft-serve cone? Turn off! We still have a lot of yen left, but not for acting atas by eating ice-cream on a fancy bench, under a fancy umbrella lah. Later not nice how? Actually, don't think it would be not nice lah, as it's actually famous. But still, too expensive!
At 9pm, like the shops outside, even the airport shops started to close. I was still browsing a mini-mart when the shutters started rolling. Why! It's an airport, should be open 24/7 to entertain bored people who couldn't check-in yet!
It's really lonely now. There's really nothing we could do, except to eat. But even the restaurants were closing!!! Jialat lor!
9.30pm - Ariso Sushi ありそ鮨し
The conveyor belt sushi was still opened. I think we had been loitering outside more than once. Despite believing that I already had the best-tasting sushi possible in my lifetime just this morning, I was still game for more in its land of origin.
The non-counter tables were on the inside of the restaurant. Had to maneuver round the narrow corners to our 4-seater. The hot water tap was mounted to the conveyor belt, like Sakae.
And the chef molding sushi right at my side.
A Mandarin-speaking waiter came and greeted us. Looked like he was sent specially by the restaurant to serve us. How convenient, as long as they don't talk too much! He's a Taiwanese who went to live in Japan many years ago (er, to work as a waiter?). Singaporeans whose Mandarin is functional? Not many he had come across.
I could hear some Singaporean-accented English near us.
Back to the food. Actually, I just wanted to eat the things I didn't get to eat at Tsukiji. Just some cheap, common items, for quality comparison between here and Singapore. The waiter recommended their "甜虾", which according to him, was their star dish and many people specially came for it. And by the way, it's raw, although it's red. Well, he gave me the impression that the prawn was sweetened. He kept urging us to try it while "huh... sure or not..." was running through my mind. Ok lah try lah try lah.
*Flip flip* Wow,
blue-fin tuna! Wasn't that the fish that's endangered? All the more I must eat it NOW, before it goes extinct! 此时不吃，更待何时? Wait some more, really no more already!
What just happened to the resolution of eating something not too expensive? Help!
Ok stop ordering. The waiter must have felt we had ordered too little. I know, but we were not looking to stuff ourselves!
Our food arrived via the conveyor belt.
Family portrait first!
First, the evil otoro 大トロ on the golden plate!
Looked like ham. It literally melted in my mouth! Creamy~~ 1 piece wasn't enough for 2 (yeah we were sharing food meant for 1 again).
三国産 甘海老, or what the Chinese call 牡丹虾. Translucent and glistening, all the dark-colored innards removed. So it's the same as the one I had at Tsukiji? Red plate wor, better be good!
Ok the prawn was NOT sweetened. It was naturally sweet, as in meat kind of amino acid sweet. Yum!
The waiter came to check how we found the food. Great, but they would taste even better if we were left alone! No, of course we didn't tell him that. Like so 忘恩负义 hor?
Cannibalism alert! Ika イカ. Just look at it, bigger than the rice as spoken of in the legends.
Chewy with less irritating fibre. I might be biased, but I thought it was better than anything I had tasted at home!
O...k... I have no idea what this was. Something cooked, haha.
It must be tasty, because I didn't recall anything tasting bad.
And the mandatory salmon. Nice~ would have ordered the belly if they had it.
Either that I'm swakoo or Singapore is low-tech, but it was the first time that I saw restaurants calculating the bill by scanning the bottom of the plates. There was a chip embedded with the price. But that still doesn't answer the problem of cheapos secretly putting empty plates back into circulation on the conveyor belt.
We must be in some gourmet lucky streak today. Every single random eatery turned out fantastic! Huat ah! (to the restaurants)
10.05pm - Check-in Time
Wow look at the queue!
From the chatter around us, we already feel at home. All the depressed souls having to head home :(
When it was our turn, 2 ladies from ANA attended to me. Why ANA huh, outsourced? I had to check-in my wheelchair and change to the airport's wheelchair right now. Why so early~ it wasn't like that at Changi. They insisted, very politely. Ok lah, just trying my luck only. Not that difficult for me.
Freed of our large luggage!
Sister and I went to the washroom. When we were done, Sister bought coffee from the vending machine. Coffee?? Later I want to sleep one ley. Cannot bring home also, because cannot bring liquids onto the plane mah. Bo bian drink it lor.
Wow Cool Zone! Let's go check it out!
Cool meh? Shops closed liao :X
It's a observation gallery actually, but it's too dark outside and lights were reflecting off the glass.
Brother discovered what's really cool here. Gear up, get set, chiong!
10.45pm - Outdoor Observation Deck
It's the outdoor observation deck! Our last shot at autumn natural outdoor aircon before being thrown back into HOT tropical reality!
Boy, weren't we glad that we didn't check our gear in? It was still drizzling, and the wind was strong. Temperature was about 8°C. It was even colder than Disney day!
We were the only goons strolling in the rain. So dark, that it's probably a lovers' paradise when the weather is more comfortable.
Can someone cancel our flight, please?
I soon felt as cold as at the end of Disney day despite being out for just 5min. Go back!
10.50pm - Departure Area
We went through the customs. This time, I remembered the wider counter at the side. Look, still the same me, no plastic surgery!
A customs mascot that blinked its eyes. Can take a blue-screen picture with it I think.
TIAT Duty Free Shop demanding your last yen, which you handover willingly! They have a wonderful collection of booze that spelled C-H-E-A-P. While Brother was checking them out, Sister and I were happily browsing Japanese confectionery. I wasn't interested in most of the things there. Overpriced snacks... I know I'm going to bring back a lot of yen, but I also won't throw it away! Tokyo Banana, the hottest fad holiday to-buy, but I don't eat banana. Uninspiring preservative-packed muachee... hmm...
From a distance, I saw 白い恋人! *screamed like an infatuated teenage girl*
I thought it can only be found in Hokkaido? What is it doing in Tokyo? And it's the real McCoy! Yay I can get to try the legendary milk cookies that have been much raved about.
The chocolate-flavor was supposedly not as good, but since there's a box with mixed flavors, we bought that. This is not for giving away! ALL MINE!
O look, Royce chocolates! I love to buy chocolates (but not eat them) and I'm at it again now. More stuff for colleagues and friends? Nah, they already have keropok. Now all the choco will be mine and mine only~
Before I realized, the shop was filling up with Singaporeans going gaga over the same things. One even helped to move my wheelchair when I thought Sister was still behind me :X
Time always flies when you are happily shopping. Soon, we were out of time. Paid for our loots (what an oxymoron) and made the last trip to a Japanese toilet. Will miss it T_T
11.45pm - Leaving Home-bound on a Jetplane
What a queue into the waiting lounge! Fear not, we were directed to the business class queue. If only we were going to take business class back... fat hope lor. Either SQ doesn't do upgrades, or there are simply too many people rich enough to pay. This time, it was a SQ stewardess who wheeled me inside the plane. Obviously, she wasn't as pro as the guy back in Singapore as she tried to wheel me forward instead of reversing in. Nevermind, 万事有 Brother, can be fixed!
And then the forlorn wait for the plane to takeoff.
