Tokyo Day 1 - 29th July 2012

Today marks the first day of my journey in Tokyo. Yan Ting and I met Meiqin and her friend, Tricia, at Harajuku Station, where we visited Meiji Shrine. It was pretty boring and as the shrine was very commercialized, it was very crowded and we were unfortunate not to witness any weddings going on. We then headed for Harajuku where we walked down the streets and had lunch at Lotteria. I had a delicious shrimp burger and just like Mos Burger, they had delicious iced tea! After lunch, we visited H&M, F21 and even a couple of other shopping malls. We also walked down Takeshita Street, where we were constantly bombarded by an influx of teenage fashion. It appeared as if the entire age group of 14-17 was walking down the streets while we were there! As we visited the shops and were constantly tempted by their offerings, I got the chance to chat with Tricia. The DSLR she held in her hands proved to be an easy conversation starter and in no time at all, we were chatting away. On the other hand, having Tricia around meant that Yan Ting had someone to keep her company and look after her while Meiqin and I chatted and hung out with each other. Soon, it turned dark and we headed for Shibuya to check out the famous Shibuya Crossing. It was really packed and we went to a sheltered linkway that overlooked the crossing. While Yan Ting and Meiqin went to buy their Starbucks tumblers, Tricia and I were busily snapping away at the crowded cross-junction. After we were all done, we headed for Minami-Shibuya where we had dinner at a cosy restaurant named Ippudo Ramen. As compared to the Singaporean branch, this branch in Shibuya is supposed to surpass it by leaps and bounds. I ordered the spicy Ramen, with an onsen egg for 760yen + 100yen. The taste of the soup and the springiness of the noodles completely astounded me and I even bought an extra serving of noodles to go with my remaining soup! Interestingly, there was no service charge but we were given free iced malt tea that was constantly refilled. We chatted and laughed and had a wonderful time of fellowship. Soon, it was time to part ways and we headed for Shibuya Station. At the station, Yan Ting and I took the Yamanote Line towards Ueno but we unknowingly missed the station and ended up at Tokyo Station. We took the 2nd last train from Tokyo Station to Ueno station, left the station, ran to the Metro Station which was 4 flights of stairs and 300m away and arrived at the Metro Station with a minute to spare before the last train arrived. It was a harrowing experience! Eventually, we reached our hostel safe and sound. Praise the Lord! =)

Arriving in Tokyo 29th July 2012

The overnight bus brought us to Tokyo Station at around 7:30am today morning and we lugged our bags to the station and eventually, with much hassle, arrived at Asakusa Station where our hostel was a brief 3minute walk down a back alley. The hostel is pretty small but at least the private room is rather spacious and the bed reasonably big. The hostel is divided into 3 stories with the rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor while the first floor is for the living room, kitchen, toilet, shower cubicle and luggage storage area. Our room is on the 2nd floor and there are two shower cubicles on the floor too. My bed is on the bottom of a double-bed arrangement and it is the double bed further away from the door.