So after landing in Narita airport, we took the airport limo to shinjuku. The trip to & fro airport cost us a freaking 6000yen per pax, that is S$100. But they included a 2 day pass on metro rail lah.. Still, it's expensive cos I'm paying for 2... -_-
My 1st picture was a bunch of toothpicks.. Haa..
This was taken when waiting impatiently for my katsu don.. Faster serve me, I'm famished!!!
Ahhh, my pork cutlet rice... Come to mommy!!! Yummzzz~
Went to settle bus tickets to go to Nagano for the next day.
William said after the big quake in March, they decided to save electricity by switching off the neon lights early. They're really concerned about the environment and very pro recycling.. Wish they can spread some of their culture over to us.. :P
Cath Kidston! But they're so god damn ex.. See only..
So, we booked the bus to go Nagano at 0750hrs on 21st Nov, Monday. William set the alarm at 0600hrs but forgot that Japan is 1 hour ahead of us. So ended up he woke up at 0700hrs and he happily went to shower and we were still in dreamland. After shower, he glanced at the clock and it showed 0720 already! Argghh! We rushed like mad. Only managed to brush teeth, changed clothes, packed up to checkout. Ran to the bus station like 3 mad people.. Mann, my lungs felt like bursting... I nearly die!!
The bus really move out on time at 0750hrs mann, I sat down like for half-hour straight with my eyes closed. Just a 15min run was enough to kill me.. I'm weak! =_=
So we were on our way to the Japanese Alps!
Along the way, there was a pit-stop for us to use the washrooms and to get some brekkie.
I was still tired so I stayed on the coach while they went to get some food.
Digging in his burger..
I really like their coaches.. Always so well equipped & places to put everything, including plastic bags to put your rubbish in.
Seeing more mountains gradually instead of buildings.. :)
Town within the mountains.. We've reached!
We wanted to see the Snow Monkeys right away, when it's still bright. Don't waste time!
Our guide was a Kiwi whose wife's a Japanese. He was explaining to us while we crossed this orange bridge that the great Hayao Miyazaki, who created Spirited Away got his inspiration from when he was in Nagano.
Here you can see a similar bridge created in the movie.
At the foot of the mountain. Roy so happy before the climb.. -_-
It was so cold that day that I had to have my hood up, to protect my ears from the freeze.
It was quite steep & wet at certain parts.
I was thinking if I were to bring J along, I will have to hold on his hand real tight if not, he sure run around & might just roll down the slope..!
See how steep?!! But maybe the tree trunks will break the fall.. Haa..~
More walking.. Sigh..
After a 30mins walk, we reached some sort of clearing with some residences.
I was asking Roy with the flowing of river so noisy how does the residents sleep? I guess they're already used to the noise.
Looking out for monkeys.. Don't see them yet..
See monkeys also need a ticket. 500yen is about $8.25..
Maybe they need money to buy food for the monkeys..
Ok, first monkey we saw that blocked us from crossing the bridge.. :P
Hot spring for the snow monkeys!
Aren't they having a good time?
We can't jump in to enjoy the onsen as the water is too hot for humans. Lucky buggers!
Ok, a picture with them.
Actually we took a lot of pictures but don't wanna bore you with too many pics.. wait you envy.. Haa...!
Catching ticks for friend.
Kiss your food before eating them. Haa...!
Rosy face after getting out from the hot spring.
*Not for young children's viewing**
Bye bye fur balls!
I must ask Yoyo what this board is about, she's a geo whizz.
It's gotten so cold that we rushed indoors for warmth. And the sudden temperature change fogged up my lens.
But it's a nice effect right?
Foliage
What a scenic view!
Paranomic view.
At the foot of the mountain was this old resting place that serve some refreshments for tired & hungry visitors like us. It looks old but it's completely clean.
Pic of us with the help of my sony's timer. :)
William warming his head in front of the heater fan.
The ramen was nothing to rave about.. But because I was so hungry & I wanted something hot, it actually taste quite nice somehow..
Roy's cold soba on a cold afternoon.
Back at the ryokan. Recept served us drinks while we waited for the room to be ready.
Each of these origamis were made from a single piece of paper, how cool is that?
View of the snow capped mountains from the lobby window.
Welcome snacks in the room.
This is a typical Japanese style room. At first we were wondering where are our beds?
We found the futons in the wardrobe. So we have to make our own beds? *scratch head*
Then the manager came in to brief us on the dos & don'ts and told us our beds will be ready after dinner.
Here's me dressed in the yukata. This is the attire for both dinner & bath time.
Full yukata attire.
Weather was so cold that it felt comfy in the layers of clothing..
Dinner's looking magnificient.
If you see mushrooms growing out from the stalk/cork/whatever, mean it must be very very fresh!
Just grill them lightly over the fire with a pinch of salt until you see droplets of water forming, you're good to go.
And seriously.. they're one of the nicest mushrooms I've ever eaten in my whole life! It's that good!
So after a scrumptious dinner, we decided to take a walk outside the ryokan cos we figured the public bath will be full of people. Our guide told us just a min's walk away there's a foot onsen so we decided to check it out.
It was so cold outside that we had to make a dash for it. The onsen is just by the roadside & anybody who passes by can just take off their shoes & dip their feet in. We're not worried about dirty or germs as the water was so hot it might just kill off anything inside. Also, the water just keep streaming out and not stagnant.
The water was so hot that we had to constantly dip our feet in & out.
Roy's foot was so red, compare to mine..
When we trooped back to our room, we're pleased to find the futons all laid out nicely for us.. :D
Their public bath was an eye-opener for us. I got the opportunity to see a lot of naked oba-chans (aunties) walking around. I quickly washed myself up and jumped into the water and hid there and kept on looking at their old boobs. They don't even give a hoot at my orgling.. Haa..
Had a good rest in our comfy futons. Breakfast was equally good with Roy choosing japanese while we chose western.
Mine looked a lot less compared to Roy's.. :P
Cracking an egg onto the plate together with chopped onions & butter.
I like it not too burnt, medium cooked.. :P
This was actually potato soup, the potatoes plucked straight out from their garden. Really lovely!
Nothing was wasted. I even packed all the buns, even though I din get to eat them.. Haa..
Details written in Japanese at our door. What does it say?
The quilt was so comfy that I just had to dive inside for another nap. I wanna pack one up to bring home!
Our kiwi guide beckoning to the train master to take a picture with us..
What's a picture of the train station without it's train master?? :D
Roy bought 2 of these pears, they were so crunchy & juicy!
Cheap 100yen coffee doesn't taste good though..
They even put blankies on the bench so that it won't be so cold for our butts. So nice...
Their local train.
A trip to yoshinoya is a must.
Curry rice too, with a lot of pickles..
Roy and I went to Ueno park on a sunny wednesday morning. This ojisan is so talented.
Really lovely..
I think I blended in quite well in terms of colour. :P
The water looks clear enough to drink! But I think it's for washing hands..
Love the sun rays..
Their ravens are seriously big, like cats!
Peace!
Exactly what I would have put, not forgetting world peace of course.. Heh..
I really love the lighting that afternoon so I made Roy pose for me.
Another self-held photog.
Glorious autumn.
Kids playing baseball. They were quite good!
Street performance.
As it's a public holiday (Labour Thanksgiving Day), the park, zoo & shrines were very crowded.
So nice to walk amongst the locals with the cold weather and all..
I wanted to try Papa Bread, the sweet potato flavour.
Roy said in this picture the bread looked like sai.. @#$%^^&!
Half a dozen of Krispy Kreame Original Glazed Donuts are a must buy must eat item there.
I love that what they describe in their pictures is exactly what you'll get when your food arrive!
It was super crowded that night, and Roy & I was the only couple to eat there. The rest all were strangers to one another. I reckon all the couples or groups will go to those better restaurants and not these kinda cheapo ones that we go to.. Hahaaaa!
I normally don't take raw spring onions but the way they marinated it with garlic or something just made it so tasty!
Went so well with the bbq beef!
Roy's order was always bigger/more expensive than mine..
Testing out the micro shots..
These little cakes cost a freaking S$51.. each! @_@
Taking a coffee break after dinner. There're so many coffee joints around shinjuku, very convenient.
Really a lot of singles around. And it's on a Thursday night at 10.30pm. Don't they go home?
We were fascinated with the bookshelf-like curtain, wonder if they have it here?
Coffee was ok but I still prefer our own kopi.
On the plane back home. Overall, the trip was good with some minor hiccups. Not easy to find good travelling partners but William's one of them! Wonder when will be our next trip together?
But right now, I'm just happy to be back home with J, my mom told me he would carry my picture around and stood at the door shouting for me.. Makes me feel so bad.. Haaa!
So likely this will be my last trip together with Roy, next time really have to bring J along liao.
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