23rd March 2016
Took a domestic flight back to Tokyo from Hokkaido. Final leg before flying back to Singapore!
Find it quite amusing how their domestic flights are treated like boarding buses; not too classy, no passports needed, everyone in a common waiting area.
Well, because we had loads of healthy food along the way… Mark and I started having slight withdrawal syndromes for junk food.
So once we landed in Tokyo, I demanded for McDonald’s.
I’m crazy in love with Japan’s McDonald’s because they have MEGA MAC!!!
It’s like my favourite Big Mac, only better.
We took a long bus ride back into the city area of Tokyo, Mark started snoring super loudly… So many people were looking. 😳
But I find him so adorable! ☺️
After about an hour or two, we finally got to the city area where it was a tad closer to our next apartment!
I was super excited about our next apartment!
The owner of the apartment made it pretty challenging to find the keys…
Like most AirBnb apartments, the owner puts the key away in a box lock or the letterbox for the tenant.
This one took it to a whole new level! 😱 My feet were killing me, we had super heavy luggages to lug around… I was actually cursing under my breath.
First, they put a key in a box at a bicycle at the backyard.
There were quite a number of bicycles… Looking for one particular bicycle in the dark was an interesting experience. And when I finally got it… I found out that key only opened the condo lobby door.
So there was a second key!
It was hidden in another locked box in the boiler! 😱
Oh well, treasure hunt activity I guess. Was never so happy to enter the house.
The house was lovely! Rather large, when you compare to the other box homes in Tokyo.
24th March 2016
Breakfast at the little eatery nearby our apartment and I saw the cutest little pepper shaker!
And I saw this little ramp at the subway station for bicycles! This is how rampant their usage of bicycles are. Literally everyone has a bicycle there. They even have carpark-like buildings to park their bicycles!
And onboard to Enoshima!
The last station on that track, the place was a lot less rowdy and crowded. Buildings were a lot shorter, more homes than commercial buildings… It was a lovely little town!
See where Mark is pointing? We were at the tip of Tokyo and across the bridge is Enoshima Island.
It’s apparently quite a popular spot to the locals as well!
Hardly saw any non-Japanese people, and loved it! The experience was entirely different.
You could see up in the sky are some birds.
Those are hawks, to be exact. And they’re large and hardly afraid of humans. You’ll see several signs warning you against vicious hawks who hurt humans for food.
Mark read that Enoshima also had cats, so we were quite excited! We really missed our own little meow-meows… And this was the first one we saw!
Now, keep in mind I was thoroughly exhausted from all the walking for the entire trip… My feet started to hurt and so I decided to sit on the step to adjust my boot.
When I did that, the little guy immediately climbed on top of me!
The worst part was, I got scolded for sitting down.
Tried to shoo the cat away so I could get up… but nope, the guy just dug his nails into my jeans. I carried him.
And then sat on a bench, and was like this with him for 30 whole minutes.
Everyone walked by and went, “ねこちゃん！(Cat!)”, some even asked if he was ours.
That was how comfortable he looked sitting on me. He must’ve been so happy to have found a chubby human who kept him warm in the cold.
So after about 30 minutes, we decided we really should go see other parts of the island…
When I got up, he was super reluctant. Then he walked over onto Mark’s lap instead. 😒
But really, we had to get going!
So many people call me Crazy Cat Lady because I have 3 cats, but they fail to realise that actually Mark is loads crazier than I am.
He got so attached to that cat, he decided to name him Fluffykins.
Oreo, Milkie and Meowster (our own cats) are going to be so jealous if they knew… “Our human is a slut!”
Sight-seeing time!
Here’s proof that Mark is Crazier Cat Male!!!
He went around trying to pick up every cat he saw.
And I was there trying to buy ice-cream.
It was a long and tiring day… We had planned to see the nearby aquarium, but because we spent about an hour with Fluffykins… The aquarium was closed by the time we got out.
We then took the train back into the city and went crazy shopping!!!
Woohoo!!!
Poor guy.
And he has to put up with this till death does up part now! 😬
25th March 2016
Tokyo morning again!
And today we planned out to satisfy Mark’s aquarium-lust. Look at how excited he was!
I fell heads over heels in love with this milk pudding. Ordered two! Then got guilty over the calories… but worth it!
I don’t know why they had this height measurer at the door, but it just affirmed me that I didn’t grow.
Well anyway, after filling up on breakfast… We were ready to go!
Their streets look so lovely and picturesque.
Maybe the reason why I was so sensitive over that height measurement at the eatery door was because I’m short… Even tuna is taller than me!
Only in aquariums, would Mark be all camera happy.
It was an animalistic day! To Akiharaba to see a Cat Cafe!
They had several different types of cafes for different demands! Maid cafes, cat cafes, rabbit cafes, butler cafes…
Then subway home. 🙂 This train station reminds me of Braddell in Singapore. If you’re at the wrong side of the platform, you have to walk all the way out again.
26th March 2016
Officially the last day in Japan! Our flight was later in the evening. So we woke up early and headed to Tsukiji Market; famous market for its super fresh and delicious seafood!
I will forever remember this tuna sushi…
Mark and I had our fill to the brim of awesome and fresh seafood. That the idea of more sashimi sickened us. I know, I never thought I’d feel that way. But we somehow did.
And this box… Well, it was from Tsukiji Market. And it was considered the best. We had to try it!
We did, it was sooooo delicious and wonderful. But we didn’t enjoy it… #FirstWorldProblems 😢
Our load of luggage! It was very difficult to lug around…
Left the luggage under care at Tokyo Station and we managed to squeeze in time to catch some Sakuras!
Crazy excited because I’ve never seen them in real life before!
The outside of the park itself was already gorgeous!
They’re so high-tech, even their park ticket uses QR code.
And let the Sakura viewing begin!
Time passed almost too quickly and we had to head to the airport.
Was really disgusted with a couple of Americans (I’m guessing from their accent) at the airport.
They were apparently running late for their flight and talking rather loudly.
Them: Our flight is leaving soon! We need to check-in NOW! We cannot wait in line!
Staff: Yes, please wait in line first. I will open the express counter for you.
Them: Is this an example of you ‘Japanese efficiency’???
Seriously. Rolled my eyes on reflex there. You were running late for your own flight yourself, don’t go throwing the blame at others. And she was already doing something about it.
I’ll counter their stupidity with this.
Mark and I left our umbrellas by accident at the airport during our last trip. And I really liked those umbrellas. So this time, we bought a pair from Tokyo DisneySea and were determined to bring it back to Singapore!
However we left it on the bus that brought us to the airport… Which really bummed me out. And Mark went to the information counter and told her our situation.
We didn’t know the name of the bus company we took the bus from, we just knew how much we paid and the pickup point. The staff, using the information we told her, called every single bus company to alert them! Then she passed us this note to say that the bus will be coming to pick up other passengers, so they will hand us the umbrellas there.
HOW AMAZING IS THAT!!! I was prepared to just forget about the umbrellas, but they were determined to bring them back to us.
Total thumbs up!
Bye, Japan! You’re been amazing again. Don’t worry… With Mark around, we will most probably meet again.
XOXO, G.
Gera Shen 