after leaving the cat cafe and walking in the residential area, i saw a mother and daughter across the street checking out this beautiful tortie.
Tortie was very coy and even posed for me!
Monday, March 31, 2008
cat day cont'd
after leaving the cat cafe and walking in the residential area, i saw a mother and daughter across the street checking out this beautiful tortie.
Tortie was very coy and even posed for me!
cat day
i re-visited this "home convert into a cat goods shop on weekends"
they had a eco-neko exhibition. eco is short for ecology (i think), or environment friendly. neko is cat in japanese. it is actually a environment friendly bag exhibition.
after nen-neko ya, i chanced upon this cafe that has 2 sister cats.
the black cat sat beside my bag while i had my delicious lunch
they had a eco-neko exhibition. eco is short for ecology (i think), or environment friendly. neko is cat in japanese. it is actually a environment friendly bag exhibition.
after nen-neko ya, i chanced upon this cafe that has 2 sister cats.
the black cat sat beside my bag while i had my delicious lunch
residents of the cat cafe
very hyper-active russian blue, checking out birds beyond the window 
american shorthair taking a break from the crowd exotic calico hiding in basket *leave me alone humans!* 
this american curl, no matter how i disturb it, just wont budge. haha..
this calico scottish fold has a simply bo chap look
so cute, i couldnt resist taking more pics of her
all about japanese cats
i went to a cafe that feeds stray cats. this cat was snoozing on top of the aircon unit
this sweet black and white one was in the cafe
i noticed most japanese cats i came across are chubby and plump
saw a man walking a very big dog in the park
at 1pm, i went to the cat cafe which i have made a reservation. it was packed with humans!
this sweet black and white one was in the cafe
i noticed most japanese cats i came across are chubby and plump
saw a man walking a very big dog in the park
at 1pm, i went to the cat cafe which i have made a reservation. it was packed with humans!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
bento accessories
loft is one of my favourite shops. in this section, i found many many types of bento boxes, and tools to make bento into the cute shapes they are. they even have a case to keep banana!
okonomiyaki dinner
later that night, i met my jap girlfriend whom i got to know in singapore where she worked for 2 years.
she brought me to this lovely okonomiyaki restaurant. i tell you, it is so much nicer than the food you find in takashimaya food court! of course lah, the price also different. hehe.. well, actually not that much difference. i think the dinner costed 5000 yen for 2 persons.
this is chicken cooked in okonomiyaki style. i loved the bonito flakes and mayonnaise!
this is yaki soba or fried noodles in omelette.
and last but not least, okonomiyaki ~ tada
she brought me to this lovely okonomiyaki restaurant. i tell you, it is so much nicer than the food you find in takashimaya food court! of course lah, the price also different. hehe.. well, actually not that much difference. i think the dinner costed 5000 yen for 2 persons.
this is chicken cooked in okonomiyaki style. i loved the bonito flakes and mayonnaise!
this is yaki soba or fried noodles in omelette.
and last but not least, okonomiyaki ~ tada
freezing thursday at kamakura
it was raining and freezing on thursday. i took a train to kamakura as planned, but alas, i could not walk from the north kamakura station to kamakura station as it was too cold.
i took a train to kamakura station, and walked 10 minutes to see the famous 大仏 or in chinese 大佛.
on the way back to the station, chanceed upon this interesting cat goods shop. they have very pretty postcards and ornaments.
i bought this jacket for 199 yen, which is only $2.60!
my dinner on wed 19 march
there was a supermarket near my hotel. so i went to do some grocery shopping, and da bao my dinner to eat back in my room.
it's yaki soba and tempura prawn.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
the japanese are losing it
today is both a happy as well as a sad day for me.
this is my 5th trip to tokyo in 3 year, and i realized that the japanese are slowly losing their manners and homogeous nature.
example, when i took the train from airport to the hotel, i spotted litter (!) in the 'always have been clean and spotless' train. then within the next few days, it became a common sight. bits and pieces of litter on the train floor and seats. yesterday, i even witnessed a mother and daughter pair, drank their starbucks drinks and left the empty plastic cups on the platform. horrors!!
then today, something traumatizing happened to me. as i was strolling along the yanak ginza (a typical 商店街), i was shouted by the owner of one stall for wanting to take a picture. and i was not even close to the stall. he literally shouted, OI, TORU NA!!! you can imagine the loudness, cos i was standing 2m away from his stall. luckily or unluckily for me, i knew exactly what he was saying, as my sensei had taught me in school.
i assume his business must have been very bad that day, cos other stall owners were busy attending to customers, and he had the time to shout at me.
anyway, i really didnt understand what his problem was, or why he could not have told me nicely. there are plain and even polite forms (which, of course, was taught to me in school). what he used was outright commanding and demanding form of speech.
so that is the sad news.
good news is - i saw many cats today. i went to a cat cafe, had lunch with a black cat sitting beside me, went to a cat goods shop which had 4 cats. i even saw a cat on the street!
well, all i can say is, the japanese are definitely changing, and are not so polite or conscious about manners anymore. i wonder if it's because of the influx of foreigners, or their society is growing tired of being righteous and polite all the time.
heck, i am going to miss the old japan.
this is my 5th trip to tokyo in 3 year, and i realized that the japanese are slowly losing their manners and homogeous nature.
example, when i took the train from airport to the hotel, i spotted litter (!) in the 'always have been clean and spotless' train. then within the next few days, it became a common sight. bits and pieces of litter on the train floor and seats. yesterday, i even witnessed a mother and daughter pair, drank their starbucks drinks and left the empty plastic cups on the platform. horrors!!
then today, something traumatizing happened to me. as i was strolling along the yanak ginza (a typical 商店街), i was shouted by the owner of one stall for wanting to take a picture. and i was not even close to the stall. he literally shouted, OI, TORU NA!!! you can imagine the loudness, cos i was standing 2m away from his stall. luckily or unluckily for me, i knew exactly what he was saying, as my sensei had taught me in school.
i assume his business must have been very bad that day, cos other stall owners were busy attending to customers, and he had the time to shout at me.
anyway, i really didnt understand what his problem was, or why he could not have told me nicely. there are plain and even polite forms (which, of course, was taught to me in school). what he used was outright commanding and demanding form of speech.
so that is the sad news.
good news is - i saw many cats today. i went to a cat cafe, had lunch with a black cat sitting beside me, went to a cat goods shop which had 4 cats. i even saw a cat on the street!
well, all i can say is, the japanese are definitely changing, and are not so polite or conscious about manners anymore. i wonder if it's because of the influx of foreigners, or their society is growing tired of being righteous and polite all the time.
heck, i am going to miss the old japan.
Friday, March 21, 2008
weather is kind to me
today started with light drizzle and very strong wind.
luckily, the sky cleared up, there was even some sun!
still, the cats didnt come out to play :((
tomorrow, i will be going to the cat cafe.
die die must see cats on this trip (yes, even if need to pay $$)
ps today is a day of taking wrong train. i did it twice!! after alight from my train, somehow feeling the excitement of rush with other passengers, i instinctively cross the platform to board the train. haha... luckily, it is a habit of mine to check the next station name, so as to confirm (er, yah lah, a bit ks). so had to turn back lor. wasted some time and some energy... hehe..
luckily, the sky cleared up, there was even some sun!
still, the cats didnt come out to play :((
tomorrow, i will be going to the cat cafe.
die die must see cats on this trip (yes, even if need to pay $$)
ps today is a day of taking wrong train. i did it twice!! after alight from my train, somehow feeling the excitement of rush with other passengers, i instinctively cross the platform to board the train. haha... luckily, it is a habit of mine to check the next station name, so as to confirm (er, yah lah, a bit ks). so had to turn back lor. wasted some time and some energy... hehe..
Thursday, March 20, 2008
kena played out
bbbrrrr!!!
it has been raining since i arrived. before i left, the weather was supposed to be around 15 deg.
today, i planned to go to kamakura. end up the wind was soooo strong, my umbrella almost flew away. the temperature was only 7 deg.
seven!!!!
and because i was played out the last 2 times (weather was warmer than forecasted, hero me brought only a thin adidas jacket. the type that can use in singapore office.
die lah..
heng i passed by a closing down shop. bought a windbreaker for only 199 yen.
199!! that is less than 4 singapore dollars.
heng ah...
kamakura - all i know is wind very strong, i didnt manage to walk from one station to another. i was happy to sit in the train and monorail. haha..
tomorrow i am thinking of changing plan to spend in shibuya and shinjuku. in the shopping malls lah. haha..
cats - i think they all hibernate liao. who wants to come out in this treacherous weather??
it has been raining since i arrived. before i left, the weather was supposed to be around 15 deg.
today, i planned to go to kamakura. end up the wind was soooo strong, my umbrella almost flew away. the temperature was only 7 deg.
seven!!!!
and because i was played out the last 2 times (weather was warmer than forecasted, hero me brought only a thin adidas jacket. the type that can use in singapore office.
die lah..
heng i passed by a closing down shop. bought a windbreaker for only 199 yen.
199!! that is less than 4 singapore dollars.
heng ah...
kamakura - all i know is wind very strong, i didnt manage to walk from one station to another. i was happy to sit in the train and monorail. haha..
tomorrow i am thinking of changing plan to spend in shibuya and shinjuku. in the shopping malls lah. haha..
cats - i think they all hibernate liao. who wants to come out in this treacherous weather??
Sunday, March 16, 2008
2 more days to freedom
finally! my itinerary is completed.
19th wed - arrive at tokyo check in hotel and proceed to bookstore
20th thur - holiday in japan, so better to stay in town than to visit tourist spost (and kweh sio with thousands of people). plan is to visit one cat cafe in 吉祥寺 and spend time in the town (maybe can get to pet resident cats?)
21st fri holiday in singapore - will go to kamakura 鎌倉 where there is a very big budda statue. will also drop by 江ノ島. heard there are many stray cats there!
22nd sat - will go to kawagoe 川越 also known as Little Edo. a bit touristy, but the cat 散歩 book i bought tells me there are some charming cats in this old rustic town. so...
23rd sun - will spend time in the hip towns of 自由が丘, 下北沢, do some light shopping
24th mon - early morning need to chiong to 箱根 Hakone! plan is to cover all the ropeways and cable car rides in one day, before retiring in this nice little hotel with hotspring!
25th tue - chiong to this outlet mall before making my way back to tokyo. will also change hotel to a ryokan without bathroom.
26th wed - slowly stroll around yakana
27th thur - as usual, go to ameyoko at ueno to buy pocky and other tidbits, before heading to narita airport
28th fri morning - home sweet home!
19th wed - arrive at tokyo check in hotel and proceed to bookstore
20th thur - holiday in japan, so better to stay in town than to visit tourist spost (and kweh sio with thousands of people). plan is to visit one cat cafe in 吉祥寺 and spend time in the town (maybe can get to pet resident cats?)
21st fri holiday in singapore - will go to kamakura 鎌倉 where there is a very big budda statue. will also drop by 江ノ島. heard there are many stray cats there!
22nd sat - will go to kawagoe 川越 also known as Little Edo. a bit touristy, but the cat 散歩 book i bought tells me there are some charming cats in this old rustic town. so...
23rd sun - will spend time in the hip towns of 自由が丘, 下北沢, do some light shopping
24th mon - early morning need to chiong to 箱根 Hakone! plan is to cover all the ropeways and cable car rides in one day, before retiring in this nice little hotel with hotspring!
25th tue - chiong to this outlet mall before making my way back to tokyo. will also change hotel to a ryokan without bathroom.
26th wed - slowly stroll around yakana
27th thur - as usual, go to ameyoko at ueno to buy pocky and other tidbits, before heading to narita airport
28th fri morning - home sweet home!
Friday, March 07, 2008
new discovery - new cat cafe in tokyo
Monday, March 03, 2008
toilet or no toilet
should i stay in a traditional ryokan with no attached bathroom, one night 4,000yen (approx $52) or a normal business hotel per night 6,300yen (approx $82)?
dunno whether can tahan 4-5 nights without private bathroom leh... so far, i only stayed 1 night in a ryokan (and that's bearable)..
choice between privacy and $$$!!!
dunno whether can tahan 4-5 nights without private bathroom leh... so far, i only stayed 1 night in a ryokan (and that's bearable)..
choice between privacy and $$$!!!
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