Yokoso Japan! Winter 2009/2010

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 Owakudani (which literally means great boiling valley), 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 me feared me could be flung onto the road! Despite that, it was still a thrilling and refreshing walk. Utterly enjoyed it!

Random 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.