Off to the Land of the Rising Sun! (Part 1)

Our last holiday together, just the 2 of us, goes way back in early Jan 2009. That was even before I became a mom of 2! After that, it was all about getting pregnant, work work work, getting pregnant again, from being in a high flying career and into a domesticated stay at home mom. After 4 years, we figured we seriously needed a holiday together. And so Nihon it was!

The 12 days were absolutely enjoyable. We spent each day leisurely and at our own pace. Most of all, it was FREE & EASY because there were no little ones getting cranky, or asking for something to eat/snack every other minute, or asking for "shue shue" every half an hour! Our traveling bags were so light, we had the opportunity to shop till we drop! Hehehe....

There are just so many pictures I want to share on this blog. Let's start with Tokyo!

29 July 2013: Exploring Tokyo

Our first morning in Tokyo was rainy. We braved through the rain nonetheless for the entire day.
Must be the excitement being in a new place. Hehe.

First stop was the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. This is the oldest temple in Tokyo (year 645) and is apparently the most popular temple in the whole of Tokyo.

We did some shopping of course. Right outside of the temple was an entire stretch of street, called Nakamise Street dedicated to selling souvenirs. I must say the prices were reasonable. Not ridiculously overpriced like you would find in some places, even in Malaysia! You can find all kinds of souvenirs here. Good place to shop :)

Next stop was Shibuya. Saw the famous statue of Hachiko and walked across the famous Shibuya Crossing. Indeed this place is packed with people, day and night. 

Next stop - Shinjuku - famous for its red light district called Kabukicho

To end the night, we had a wonderful BBQ dinner serving one of the best prime beef. I cannot remember the name of the place nor the location now as the address were all in Japanese. We asked many people along the way, and finally found this place. It was recommended by a friend who lived in Japan for 3 years. Taste is absolutely wonderful, but a little pricey. Our dinner was close to Y9000 (RM300).

30 July 2013: Exploring Tokyo

We woke up at 3am this day, wanting to experience the Tuna Auction which happens in Tokyo's main market, Tsukiji Market. We got there by 4.30am and were told it was full for the day! Official registration happens at 5am and I really wonder at what time did all those people started waiting? They only take in 120 people each time. It was really disappointing we didn't get to see it, but nonetheless, we explored the market and tried the best sushi place in town.

Sushi Dai - the best place to have sushi served fresh. The place is super tiny, can only fit 12 pax at any one point of time. At 5am, the queue was already horrendous!

We waited for 1.5 hours to get in. Since we didn't have anywhere else to go, so we might as well just queue and see what the fuss is all about. 

OK, having sushi at 7 plus am was rather weird, but it's really the BEST place for sushi. Fresh and generous, it was worth it. We ordered only 1 set which comes in 12 different pieces of sushi all for Y3900 (RM140)

Next stop - Tokyo Tower. It's also called the "Eiffel Tower of the East" =.=

Next to Tokyo Tower is another temple called Zozoji Temple

And then, off to the Imperial Palace. Visitors are not allowed to enter the palace, so we just walked around the parks surrounding the palace

Trees around the park

We had lunch at the famous Ippudo Ramen, located near our hotel. It was indeed very delicious. Well worth it for the price of Y850 (RM30) and comes in a set with rice, gyoza and ocha. 

Strolling in Ginza. This is indeed shoppers paradise, with all kinds of brands and you have the entire building dedicated to a single brand! 

Even Asahi has a dedicated store. Perfect on a hot day!

Nothing much to see here - just the rainbow bridge and part of Tokyo city at night.  The rainbow bridge connects Tokyo City and Odaiba (a man made island at Tokyo Bay)

For tonight's dinner, we decided to have Yaki Tori. The menu is mainly grilled chicken in skewers (almost every part of the chicken). It's OK for first time. I would not eat this every other day though.

In Tokyo, or rather in most of Japan, almost everything is vending machine operated. Many ramen places in Tokyo, you actually buy tickets off the machine to get your bowl of ramen. You can also buy other things such as drinks, ice cream, cigarettes from these kind of vending machines.

Toilets are of course VERY clean and they have a variety of push buttons to play with. Even music!

 More upcoming posts on Japan....