Yokoso! Japan!

Hello from Terminal 1 of Narita Airport!

Finally I am here not anymore as a transit passenger (I've been to this airport 8 times for my travels to/from the United States during the past years). I am now a bona fide traveler of Japan and I and hubby are here now waiting for our flight back to Singapore. This concludes our 9 day trip to this lovely country. This winter holiday is actually a treat from my hubby so I could unwind and take a break after having gone through a stressful job (awww ♥♥♥).

Anyways, I would like to share with you some photos representing the highlights of each of the days we were there:

Day 1 - Our first destination was Kyoto. And lo and behold, I discovered one of the best discoveries of all time for cola addicts like me: the zero sugar, caffeine free Coke! I first discovered this heavenly drink in California back in the year 2005 and I tried looking for it here in Singapore but nada. I wish I had a way to hoard a hundred bottles of this back to Singapore but I only managed to squeeze in 6 bottles in my already bursting luggage :p

Day 2 - We went touring around Kyoto and we didn't miss walking around Gion, the popular area of geishas. And of course, there was one thing we needed to do while in this area - dress up like one! So that's me in the photo as a maiko, an apprentice geisha ;) Malvin dressed up as a samurai.

Day 3 - We went to Nara to see the ancient Buddhist temples. Nara is also popular for having wild deers roaming around as since ancient times, the people in Nara believed that the deer is a heavenly animal. There were soooo many deers to our surprise, really. They were sooo cute and gentle and you can buy deer snacks and feed them. Some of them are so polite that they even bow to you! But of course, there are warning signs like in the picture above to remind people that they are still wild deers and so caution is still needed. I love it how the Japanese just makes everything cute including warning signs like this.

Day 4 - The start of our stay in Tokyo. We went to Akihabara district, which is popular for electronics, computers, anime, manga and video games. At night, Akihabara is full of neon lights and oh my gosh, you'll see lots and lots of adult shops. In the photo is me in my sexiest form ever, hahaha :p

Day 5 - Another one of my childhood dreams came true! We went to Sanrio Puroland - the land of Hello Kitty and friends! Weee!!! I felt like I was back to being 8 years old. I love love loved this place and even if the place was designed for kids, we were surprised with how profound the messages were in their shows. In the photo is Kitty and her family: (from left to right) Mama, Kitty's mother; Daniel, Kitty's brother (and all along I thought Daniel was Kitty's boyfriend!); Kitty; Mimi, her twin sister (you can distinguish Mimi from Kitty by looking at which ear they have a bow on); and Papa, Kitty's father.

Day 6 - Do you know the story of Hachiko? If not, better google it now! He's Japan's most famous dog and his story is so heartwarming that everyone loved him so much they named a train station exit after him. The Hachiko exit in Shibuya train station is where you'll find a statue of Hachiko and the most famous Shibuya crossing, the busiest road junctions I've ever seen in my life. It's actually quite fun joining the throngs and throngs of people crossing the street.

Day 7 - And then there was snow! Although we did experience some light snowing in Tokyo, in Nikko was the real deal. This was actually my first time to experience walking and playing around in snow. The snow started out mildly when we arrived there but it got stronger in the late afternoon. And although we were freezing after walking 1.5 kilometers, it was truly a fun and memorable experience. I found myself singing Christmas songs in my mind, hehehe :p

Day 8 - If there is one touristy thing that I am happy to skip in my travels, it would be going to museums. But if all museums are like the Ramen Museum, my gosh, I would definitely not miss it! Hahaha, yeah, the Ramen Museum is where you can eat different kinds of ramen where each type is a specialty from a particular part of Japan. Don't be surprised if you'd have to queue for 45 minutes to get a bowl of ramen though because this is seriously the queueing time to get one, but definitely worth it!

Day 9 - After one week of eating Japanese foods, we decided to have Western food for our last meal in Japan. Where else? Hard Rock Cafe, of course. ;)

Ahhh, Japan, oh Japan. I so much loved every day of this trip. I love Japan, I love the politeness and friendliness of the Japanese people. I will definitely come back here again and again and again. :)