Shit happens

Due to a stupid ass volcano which i can't be bothered remember its name, my London flight with LiLi is canceled. I say this with utmost bitterness. We had planned to catch a musical and visit the Burberry factory outlet. I even changed for sterling to buy lotsa Marks and Spencer chocolates now ALL IS GONE!!!! I'm so unmotivated these days that i dread going to work every damn day and only looking forward to this single flight.

FML.

Hakone, Kanagawa

After so many photos i'm only on the 3rd day arghh i'm gradually losing stamina...

We left Tokyo and explored a heavily commercialized hot spring town Hakone (箱根）for a day.

  

Hahaha typical Shinkansen shot.

Travel buddy Bella!

Leaving Tokyo...

Can you vaguely see Mount Fuji?

There! now you can! XD

Cruising across Lake Ashi on a pirate ship AHOY! I am supposed to see Mt Fuji among these mountains but the weather was so foggy i can't see the peak at all. Pfffffffffftt!

On board the cable car. Panoramic view of Lake Ashi and the mountains. 

Ya la i know act cute. When you're in Japan, photograph like a Japanese! Never be ashamed to 自拍 in the motherland of 自拍-ism.

Ok we're now in the amongst the sulphur-spewing volcano Ōwakudani.

 I wonder what they're doing with those buckets of sulphur...

Lunch time! My curry katsu... which really looks like beef rendang... And the famous Kuro-tamago (黒玉子), black hard-boiled eggs from the hot springs. Apparently the consumption of one such egg increases one's life by 7 years. 

I know, it's just a volcano. Nothing much to offer the tourists so a longevity egg becomes a marketing instrument.

We then take the railway back haha one mode of transportation to another.

The train back to Tokyo was so pretty it is called the Romancecar.

We did not actually plan a day out to see sulphurous fumes. Our original intention was to join an organized tour to see Mt Fuji (which would include Hakone as well) BUT all tours were unexpectedly booked to the max so we decided to embark on our own quest to catch a glimpse of the celebrated mountain BUT weather was so bad i couldn't even get a clear shot of the peak. 

Bit of a disappointment but it's ok cos there's always next time!

:)

Bite me

I love the Twilight series. I know it's a little late to say this. Plus, it is really, TEEN fiction, but whatever. I try to live in a my fantasy world whenever i can. I watched the first movie and thought it was stupid. Then i picked up Eclipse at work one day which a passenger left behind and decided i might as well watch New Moon.

"You are the only reason i stay alive"/ "You give me everything just by breathing" -Edward.  Like, WHOA! Then Jake comes in with his.... muscles (i dunno a better word) and all of a sudden i find myself youtubing Eclipse trailers and interviews like any other screaming 16 year old fan.

I came across an idea that is particularly interesting to me. Why is there such a strong appeal towards vampires, blood, death and intense but forbidden love? Really, Edward is just this sexist over-protective psycho who sneaks in to watch his girl sleep, encourage her to lie to her parents and restricts her choice of friends and freedom of movement. It doesn't get any better that her blood is 'irresistibly sweet' to him.

People think it's the sexual appeal of biting and blood.... which i then agree as i recall watching an old Dracula film. When Count Dracula bites a scantily-clad Lucy there were moments where i hesitated to believe whether he was drinking her blood or they were metaphorically doing an animialistic sex scene. At moments when she was alone, Lucy simply could not resist his (sexual?) lure towards his lair.

So then Lucy died from the bitings, or metaphorically, the sex was so good!!! SO GOOD that she like, died.

I guess it's supposed to be abstract and artistic and blah but when i was watching those biting scenes i was so afraid that someone might walk in and think i'm watching porn. Hmph.



You see what i mean? This isn't even the movie that i watched but it just shows that others are the same. Bits and parts of the book are sexually-provoking in an obvious sort of way but in visual images they made it kinda grotesque. As a result when you are watching the movie, you get turned on yet turned off simultaneously.

Sorry, i was talking about Twilight right?

Metropolitan Tokyo

View from our 31st floor Hilton room! This is how it feels like to be staying high above the rest wahahahaha. It is primarily a financial district so we see a lot of men in suits walking around in the morning.

 

Aye..... can give you gaatttttsbiiii... i recognize that face anywhere...

 

 

 

 Ginza. Of luxury brands...

 

 

 Shibuya.

 

I always have the impression that Harajuku is filled with people in cosplay and weird cult fashion. Maybe it would have been if we hadn't arrived so late!!!!! Grrrrrr. I know i'm so stupid!!

I know right, my camera is really lousy with night shots. I'm quite proud that my hands are pretty steady without a tripod but somehow it produces this smudgy streaky effect with lights. Is my lens dirty? I tried wiping but still the same. I dunno man someone get me a new camera or something.




































YAI YAI Okonomiyaki!

I love mayo. LOTS PLEASE!

It was less that 10degree Celsius outside but when i stepped in my face started to heat up and i had to strip hahahahhahaha. The restaurant was so incredibly crowded that we had to wait outside. But they had  a portable heater outdoors with stools to sit on and blankets to cover ourselves =D Still not an okonomiyaki fan but a great dining experience especially with my yuzu shochu!

That's almost all the city photos (except for Kobe). The remaining days are all flooded with kampongs and shrines. HAHA i didn't come to japan to see more buildings (fact is that I've already been here previously. maybe i should add my old Tokyo tower pictures here to make it into a japan tribute).

Gah i really miss fluffy bread and over-friendly salesgirls at this very moment.

Asakusa, Tokyo

Asakusa (浅草) is a town with a high concentration of old buildings from the 50s and 60s. However, according to an angmo (politically correct: male north American Caucasian man) we met on a train, who happens to be teaching martial arts in Japan (irony, i know!), the town has been undergoing so many changes lately that it is sadly beginning to lose it's rural charm.






















The Kaminarimon, outer gate of the Buddhist temple Senso-ji.

Senso-ji.

A display of tiny plastic food keychains. Kawaiiiiiiiiii

My favourite! I hope it has cheese fillings....

My mochi is made of glutinous rice balls and.... some sort of a sticky savoury sauce. Think i prefer our regular mochi.

A knife shop! We figured it's the safest shop from a robbery...