If I’m in Tokyo, I like to pop in to the ranKing ranQueen shop just to get myself quickly acquainted with the current best-selling goods in the country. Goods are displayed in order of sale rankings and categories range from food, drinks, cosmetics, toiletries, stationery and a whole lot more (including insane/weird stuff you wonder who buys and why).
The Happy Matryoshka Bath Fizz was ranked no.1 for bath salts at the time when I was in the branch at Shibuya.
I bought it not for the fizz but for the 2 matryoshkas – the pink casing (with facial features + flowers outlined just like the cover!) and the innermost surprise doll.
What’s amazing about this is no details are spared! From the packaging, the product tag and even to the mini capsule.
Doesn’t the peanut capsule look like it’s shaped for a matryoshka?
Email this to a friend
Hello everyone! And hello 2010! This is the year where my oldest internet baby turns 10! A decade old! I’m so happy and proud. It hasn’t been easy. Well, it’s great to be back here tending to my youngest and to start the ball rolling, how about take a look at some random pics I took in Nihon?
Moon and Tokyo Tower at 4pm.
A lighted tower at 4:30pm.
Birds on a railing in Hakone.
Famous black eggs cooked in hot sulphuric spring water in Hakone.
Fuming sulphur vents.
I noticed this table with a stamp of Clara (and the free Heidi bag on the poster) on one of our stops and wondered where we could get it stamped on. Then my bro mentioned that he saw a page on Heidi on a coupon booklet given to us when we bought the Hakone Freepass tickets. We then began our journey in search for every stamp as we followed the recommended route to see and experience Hakone.
We had all 6 stamps and of course had to collect the free bags too!
i-swing, the 1-man vehicle on display at Toyota City Showcase.
Love the stamp carving pads by Mizutama and super love the Mizutama blog.
Canted window panels on Tiffany & Co.’s building at Ginza.
Rainbow Bridge and the Statue of Liberty at Odaiba.
We crossed the Rainbow Bridge by foot. If only I could capture the force on photo to correctly present a cold and a very mighty windy afternoon. So mighty that I feared I could be flung me onto the road! Despite that, it was a thrilling and refreshing walk! Utterly enjoyed it!
Travel jots:
- Exchange rate from the money changer at the airport:
SGD 1 = 61.58 Yen
- The cold air gave us energy but the warm (and sometimes stuffy) indoors, drained away the energy pretty quickly, then drove us all to sleepiness. Felt it the strongest during this trip.
- At Okadaya, items have to be paid for at their respective levels.
More pictures laid out at Flickr.
Email this to a friend
There’s a flashlight on the side of the desk in our hotel room, which is located near the Ueno Station.
Nicholai-do (Holy Resurrection Cathedral) is of Byzantine architecture, built by a Russian missionary, St. Nicholai.
The Cocoon Tower (aka Mode Gauken Cocoon Tower) in Shinjuku houses design colleges and a medical school. The basement is a huge mega bookstore, Book 1st, with 900,000 books!
I wish this sign (top right) on the JR train will someday appear on our MRT trains…”Please set your mobile phone to silent mode and refrain from talking on the phone.”
The Aoyama Flower Market has all things pretty…pretty flower bouquets for sale, a prettily illustrated blackboard and its own pretty book too!
The cool AssistOn shop in Harajuku.
Some zakka buys: grater with ceramic cup, faux wood Dymo tape, leather cords, beads and books.
Travel jots:
- Exchange rate from the money changer:
SGD 1 = 60.98 Yen
- New Izu Hotel
- A budget hotel near the Ueno Station. Very convenient to reach from the airport and vice versa. One straight train, no transfers required.
- I booked the semi-double room which is essentially meant for 1 to 2 persons. At 8,000 Yen (about SGD 124 or USD 81) per night, it suits my budget. Hotel rooms are expensive in Tokyo, by the way. But I don’t recommended it if you have claustrophobia because the room and its en suite bathroom are both very very small.
- The room, though cramp, has a desk, fridge, water pot, phone, clock/alarm/radio, TV, hangers, towel rack, shoe horn, mini shelf, hair dryer, flashlight, yukata and slippers. Shampoo and toothbrushes are also provided.
- The heated toilet seat is nice and warm on a cold day.
- Refundable deposit for LAN cable (500 Yen) and 2-pin plug (200 Yen).
- There’s a convenience store beside it and another one nearby.
- To get to the hotel from the train station requires climbing up and down the stairs of a bridge, but there is a Tokyo Metro subway exit which will eliminate all that exercise. At Ueno train station, go to the Tokyo Metro subway side and look for the “Tokyo Metro Pass Office”. Next to the office is a path leading to an elevator. Use that elevator to get to the ground level and walk as you would to the hotel as shown on the online map.
- Orange ring replacement gaskets for Luminarc/Borgonovo canning jars are sold at Tokyo Hands.
- The Kinkado is a neighbourly department store without the frills that is seen in posh mega stores. It has 2 buildings, each with a few levels. One building is packed with fabrics and sewing supplies while the other houses knitting, beads and other crafty supplies. You can find a collection of JR train buttons on the fabric side. It also sells cosmetics, accessories, clothing, etc. It’s across the street from the South exit of the Ikebukuro Station, from the Seibu side of the station.
- Fancl is still cheaper in Japan.
- Early March weather was cold. Average temperature hovered around 10-12 degrees Celsius, and dipped to 5-6 degrees at about 6pm.
I’m planning to collect all my jots on travelling to Japan, specifically Tokyo, and put them in one or more posts, which will hit the streets in time to come. It will cover jots on how to get to and from Narita Airport to downtown Tokyo, how to plan your visit, links which were helpful to me when I first step foot in Japan, and so on.
Email this to a friend
Hi everyone, I’m back and here with me are a few scenes from Vegas.
Convention venue + our home.
A picture next to the desk in the room.
The “Lion Habitat” in MGM.
The lions are relaxing in a state-of-the-art resort, costing 9 million dollars to build. Totally sound-proof and scent-proof against us, the fearful human spectators.
Hub’s kid-at-heart at work here, in a trolley at Target.
Exhibits from the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum, within the McCarran International Airport.
“Women’s interest in aviation was reflected in these children’s books of the 1930s.”
Jane, Stewardess of the Airlines by Ruthe S. Wheeler (1934) and Linda Carlton Air Pilot by Edith Lavell (1931)
Some zakka buys: Orla Kiely’s reusable shopping bag, unbleached cheesecloth and a Pyrex measuring cup with that all-important lid.
Travel jots:
- Exchange rate from the money changer:
SGD 1.532 = USD 1.00
- Visas are waived for Singaporeans but it’s imperative to fill up a travel authorization form online. Print a copy, just in case. Have to fill up a waiver card (similar to the form) before the plane touchdown.
- MGM Grand
- Arrived in Vegas past midnight and checked into MGM. There wasn’t a fridge or kettle in the room. Paid $10 for an air pot and $2.50 to have it delivered to the room. No self collection, pay $2.50 or live without boiling water. A friend had to pay $135 for a fridge! We also requested for 2 pairs of slippers but they were delivered free of charge. What a relief…
- There are 2 connecting doors, on opposite sides in our room that can link up to 2 adjoining rooms.
- Free ice from an ice-making machine near the lift lobby, on every floor.
- LAN connection charge = $15/day.
- The staff at the concierge was super helpful! They will print out Google road maps/bus routes to help you get to any part of the city.
- There is always someone smoking somewhere in the hotel, except maybe within the conference centre. Even the non-smoking floors have lingering traces of smoke.
- The Deuce
- The Deuce bus which travels along the Strip charges $3 for a single trip or $7 for a whole day pass. Announcements of places of interest, hotels and change to other bus routes are made before each stop and they are also shown on the monitor screen. We had to ride on the Deuce then switch to other buses ($1.75/single ticket) to reach K-mart and Target.
- In the direction towards the McCarran Airport, The Deuce stops at Town Square which has restaurants, and also Borders, Whole Foods, H & M, Banana Republic, just to name a few.
- On a particular leg of our journey, when we boarded the Deuce and was about to pay the fare, the driver said to us and to the rest of boarding passengers that we don’t have to! Free ride! And we don’t know why!
- It was good to catch the Bonnie Hunt Show, Regis and Kelly (with Anderson Cooper) and reruns of Home Improvement and Still Standing. Then almost every TV channel was reporting on Nadya and her 14 kids!
- The weather was cold + dry, causing some minor bleeding when we blew our noses.
(Prices in USD)
Scenes from Tokyo will be up next Monday.
Email this to a friend
Hello everyone and welcome to 2009! I shall begin with a few scenes from last year-end’s visit to Hong Kong and Macau.
Hong Kong
In a subway was this reminder not to push and not to rush. We desperately need this same message here! HODEE (Cantonese for ‘doing it better’) is the origami rabbit mascot. The link will show you how to fold HODEE.
Bumped into a chopsticks shop.
My sister’s bag was ’seated next to’ her while we dined at yè shanghai.
Macau
Welcome to my suite in the Venetian!
Overly luxurious! 2 TVs, 2 bathroom sinks, 1 shower cubicle, 1 bathtub, 5 pieces of hanging artwork…
Festivita Food Court, 3rd floor in the Venetian.
I didn’t get to stay in the Venetian in Vegas when hub and I were there some time back but now Macau has made up for it.
On Mount Fortress with the towering lotus-shaped Grand Lisboa in view.
A thin slice of what’s left of the Cathedral of St. Paul.
Travel jots:
- On the last day of the trip, we hopped onto a free shuttle service from the Venetian to the ferry terminal to catch a ride on the Turbojet that took us to the airport in Hong Kong. And because our flight was with Cathay Pacific, we could check-in the luggage (at the ferry terminal) that went straight to our plane. Those who were taking the SQ flight had to lug luggage onto the ferry.
- Travellers arriving by ferry from Macau to Skypier (the ferry terminal at Hong Kong International Airport) can claim the Air Passenger Departure Tax refund of HKD120. Kids under 12 are exempted though. A refund coupon should be given when you check-in for your flight at Skypier. Cash can be collected at a counter after security screening.
- HKD is widely accepted in Macau, even in cabs and street stalls, and you should tell whoever you’re paying to that you want your change in HKD. However do expect to receive some loose change in MOP (Macau Pataca). Since money changers back home don’t buy/sell MOP, I consolidated all the notes we had and quickly changed them at Travelex at the airport in Hong Kong.
- New Yaohan is the only Japanese multi-storey department store in Macau. 7th floor is a supermarket, 8th floor is a food court serving an international menu.
Email this to a friend
I’ve just been informed by Emma, the editor at Schmap Guide that my Marimekko photo has been included in the newly released 5th edition of the Schmap Helsinki Guide. How fun!
Email this to a friend
As a traveler, I’m aware of the greenhouse gases I contribute, so with that, there’s an extra trip to make:
Go Zero
, where
* $10 offsets an average trip including air travel, a one-night hotel stay, and rental car for one person.
* $25 negates air travel, four-night hotel stay, and rental car for two people.
* $40 equalizes the effects of air travel, four-night hotel stay, and rental car for four people.
Email this to a friend
Due to a tight tour schedule, we were given an hour to see the museum in Jerusalem. In silence we begged for more time but we knew it wasn’t going to happen.
We were given this visitor brochure (back then in 2005).
The layout of the atrocities of men and the accounts of those who live to tell.
Email this to a friend
«
