So where did I sign off? Oh yes, Hakone and Mt. Fuji. That's the THIRD mountain that I visited but didn't get to see the mountain due to thick mist; the other two being Mount Cook in New Zealand and 黄山 (Huangshan) in China. All the more reason to return! (^_^)
Monday was moving day in the morning. Checked out of Fukudaya and into the cheaper K's Backpackers in Asakusa, an old part of Tokyo and where the famous Sensoji shrine is. The hostel, however, is very new - must be the newest I've ever stayed in. It's comfortable in the room albeit a bit squeezed cuz we went for a 8-bed dorm, and merry downstairs in the living room area. The place was swarmed with ang mohs, many of whom were from Australia.
In the afternoon, we spent about 3 hours at the Ghibli Museum. It's quite small but there was enough magic to keep me inspired and fascinated .
That evening, torrential rain fell. We were at Shimokitazawa, an older part of Tokyo where vintage clothing, antiques and quaint shops form an intimate retro landscape. I was there mainly because of the Doraemon Shop, whose owner is said to have a fine collection of Doraemon toys dating back to the robot cat's early days. Unfortunately, the store was closed and I didn't have the chance to return. Not on this trip but the next perhaps. Definitely.
Tuesday morning, just before I checked out (I was to move to a hotel in Odaiba for the Interior Lifestyle exhibition) we went up to check out the rooftop garden at K's. If I had stayed a bit longer, I'd surely try to spend some time up here. It's nice and tranquil in the morning but I wonder if smokers would prowl the grounds later in the day and night. Besides, it overlooks a cemetary, which spooked me a little ... hehe ...
We headed out to the Sensoji Temple in the morning for some prayers, wishes and photos. The by-products were souvenirs ... hehe ... I couldn't resist the Daruma dolls, which I had learned about from one of my favourite Jap dramas (cuz Mukai Osamu's in it!) - Hachimitsu to Kuroba. I'm giving them to friends so we can all make our wishes :). Here's how you do it: paint the right eye (pardon the pun!) while thinking of your wish, then put the Daruma on a high place. When your wish is fulfilled, paint the left eye. There should only be one Daruma doll at any one time so don't be greedy with your wishes. The Japanese would bring the dolls to the temple and burn them once their wishes have been fulfilled.After Sensoji, we went for a hearty, melt-in-the-mouth sashimi-don feast at Tsukiji. We tried one of "hawkers" in one of the cozy back alleys near the Tsukiji train station, but still some distance from the market. Good enough! We had our fill.
We decided to walk to Ginza to work off the meal. Both Pauline and I are not brand-crazed; we just wanted to have a look at the creative store displays and simply people-watch.
Pauline brought me to this massive toy store which had everything. Haha ... almost went nuts there. Temptations abound, in fact not just in this toy store but in Tokyo generally. It's really tiring trying to exercise self-restraint!!! Ugh ... Oh, and I have a new lust ... well, maybe not new, but renewed cuz we went into the Apple store and I fiddled with the iPod Touch and fell in love. Just like that. In love and in lust for the wireless connection and ability to MSN on-the-go (of course, wherever there's wireless network) on the iPod Touch. I shall place my order with Apple soon. Hehe ...
I moved into the Washington Ariake Hotel in Odaiba on Tue night without much incident other than having to lug my heavy luggage up and down the stairs at train stations. The Tokyo metro is not too difficult to figure out but there's plenty of walking. Now we know why the Japanese are such petite people. And cute - don't get me started on this ... (^_^)
Alright. Part 3 coming up next. And pictures.
