japan trip - day 6

finally the last day with itinery cos tmr is just hotel and airport.

morning to the famous osaka jyo (castle)...



the reflection is real pretty and the lines of sakura trees would be super pretty when it's the sakura season..too bad =(

and next to the best place...universal studio japan..the most fun..even better than the one in paris.


4d shrek simulator...quite cute la..the 4th D is water splashing at u when the donkey sneezed and when the spider dropped down to the ground, u also can feel something at the ankle..cool!


this hollywood dream, the roller coaster's to queue for one hour, the longest of all, actually think we quite lucky..normally pple queue for longer time...and it's super steep..almost vertical..damn scary so i scream thruout..so i'm not scared at all but abit paiseh.. cos got 2 kids in uniform and my mother beside me..no sound from them at all. the ride still allows u to choose music from jpop, classical, jazz and hiphop and the speakers are just right beside the ears..ok la..but i dun think it's worth the wait..


best ride of the theme park..spiderman...real superb..it's a simulator and yet omni theatre and like a ride cos the car tat we sat in moves from one screen to another and the dropping from the high building is super real..so i screamed again...manz thumbs up...totally worth the 40min queue


backdraft is not bad..din watch be4 but the fire is wah...really hot..the place is lined with gas outlets..like bunsen burners...blue flame to orange flame


ok this turkey drumstick is ridiculously ex,..but we are so damn hungry..we sacrificed lunch for the rides so no choice but to spend abt 9 sing dollars each on the turkey leg...and it's super not nice also..so hard..

jurassic park ride is alright..like in the movie where the car enter the restricted zone and the electricity for the fences were shut off and dinosaurs roaming abt and just when everyone was looking at the trex as we draw nearer, the car plunged down into the darkness! tat was sudden.
this place is so unique...3d 3d 3d then suddenly 2d...looks pretty..

at night ate at this 33 storeys high restaurant and we had the osaka night view..accord to the tour guide, it's a 500000 yen view cos the lights shimmer like diamonds..

interesting iron for the pants in the hotel. "clamp it" and then just wait for 10 mins...

3 cheers for ID

went vivo to see my dear fren's grad show...i was thinking wat kind of grad show when i received the sms lo..

the exhibition showcases 28 id students' works.. super cool. and zq's concept i think is one of the coolest..3 cheers for graduation! hehe...sg should really groom more of these id students.

more cool and fresh new designs should be in sg, regardless of fashion, furniture or gadgets. or maybe id students should sep one yr all over the world esp japan...actually spain also not bad la..to get influenced by their styles and return with new ideas which are fashionable.

congrats zq on getting some awards too...damn zai..jiayou ah...next time i ask u help me design.

by the way nus archi show is also there.

vivo also showing lamborghini and alfa romeo. quite cool..the world's most beautiful convertibles is alfa spider leh..and shucks i forgot the model but it really doesnt look like one tat won last yr, i think, F1 championship.

japan trip - day 5

morning to watch a kimono show.. my fav is a red one and also another yellow one..the rest is kinda plain and pale in colour..but then the gals also not pretty..sad case..
oh oh those 2 behind me are manequins leh...so real rite and they prettier also...
next to the golden temple..the entrance tix is like an amulet lo..ok la also walk ard it only..and we met geisha..dunno real or not..but then they really have to keep na expressionless face cos they are like trying hard not to smile..so ke lian.. and then yes so many sch excursions..and my bro keep wanting to take with the sch kids..ok la..they quite cute..cos they've rosy cheeks.. but no real pretty or shuai ones.

next...to_kiyomizu temple...a nominated piece for the new 7 wonders of the world. cool rite? hahaha actually it seems like another super old temple to me la..but it's super big..i wonder how many hectares it covers


haf the yuan2 (fate) thing also...it's like the tour guide gave us each a five yen (go en in jap)which has a similar sound to either you3 yuan2 or jie2 yuan2 la..ok it's just fate..then there;s these 2 stones with u are suppose to touch and close ur eyes, turn 180 deg and start walking to the other stone opposite, then if u can touch it when u open ur eyes, u'll find ur love soon. it's not easy to turn exact 180 deg with ur eyes close lo..then all the sch gals were trying and shouting directions to the one with eyes closed.
then there's this long queue to drink water flowing the 3 pipes which signify wealth, health and beauty..the 3 traits which any ningen(human) will desire to have. too lazy to queue haha..
and then the famous black sesame ice cream..only my bro likes lo..i just hate black sesame..yucks..i got a green tea with vanilla one..


and finally to my fav street! it's so so big!! but we've no time..sobz.. it's the best shopping street ever lo! the clothes, bags and shoes are so pretty..i think next time i'll really just go there and shop then fly back. but of cos it's kinda ex..but still..next we tried the takoyaki...the very original and famous one, accord to our tour guide of cos..but then it's not nice..haha..though the squid is very big compared to the one in sg..


and then our hotel tat night was universal studio hotel leh! just next to universal studio osaka..and of cos the interior design is very themey.

japan trip - day 4

next we finally went up to mt fuji 5th base station. then the tour guide mentioned abt how symmetrical the dormant volcano is. i din even realise tat it's very symmetrical, u mean other mountains are non-symmetrical? i din think of that. but anyway yea it's still pretty. snow capped mountains always look pretty.

we were real lucky. after shopping in the souvenir shop came out to take some pics and shortly after, it snowed! for abt 1 or 2 min. amazed..timing is super accurate la. haha compared to switz and finland it's really nothing but my bro is super awed by it, reminding me of how excited i was when i first witnessed snow too.

everybody is giving so much attention to mt fuji...we stopped at 3 or 4 places to take pics leh..mt fuji must be so proud of itself or was it herself?

he went to pick up some snow and then kenna frost bite -_-"
next to wasabi farm. wasabi = shan1 kui2 in chinese leh...quite far from it rite? oh but some interesting facts. it starts growing from a huge root, a storage root and it can only grow in places with flowing water.tried the wasabi ice cream...damn strong.. should be yummy if u like wasabi but not for me..there's even minty aftertaste..

isnt this pic nice? i really wonder how they make this pagoda...soooo white! it's the buddha tooth relic pagoda..too bad we cant go in and see. we climbed all the way uphill to see just the exterior -__- sighz

next another uphill, owakudani trail...to see volcanic gases and the water in which eggs after boiling turned black due to sulphur in it. the gases emitted are sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide lo..so poisonous..and it really smells bad la.. think the geysers i saw in taiwan are nicer. the smell is different too.
ok the egg not yummy de...it's super nua..it's like too soft..not q at all..and taste super funny. the egg smell is like super amplified..too eggy le..



next to shinkansen..the bullet train..but the one tat we took is not fast at all...cos my mother got sit be4 dunno how many donkey yrs ago..she also said the one tat she took is like totally cannot see the outside. then later we learnt tat the one tat we took is 200 plus km/hr de...the 2nd one we saw is 330km/hr...sobz why ours so slow..then i also know that the fastest bullet train is 500 plus km/hr in france and even shanghai's is 400 plus lor...the aeroplane run all runway also 200 plus wat..but in air is 900 plus..but then i still want to see the magnetic track...it zen zen doesnt appear magnetic to me.

pirates of the caribbean - he's a pirate

this video not bad...a quick review on dead man's chest and then this song keeps ringing in my ear alr...

showdown

before i continue with my japan trip entries..

thanks dr barry for lunch treat at guild house today!! yes it's only for staff so obviously first time eating there cos need to present staff card while paying.

on flight to narita airport, tokyo....music and lyrics.. nice leh! quite funny, so cool to compose a music, it's like layers after layers, first u do the piano, then the guitar and then the percussion..

next abit of letters from iwo jima only cos it was alr halfway thru when i tuned in... so scary, soldiers really shouldnt have to pledge to die the honourable way, instead of running to the next base to help, even with the risk of being bombed, they simply pull off the grenade and hit it onto their helmets and bomba! heads are just blown off like tat or the chest is left with an ultra big bloody hole! cmi...i think i eeks on plane, just hope it isnt too loud.


on_flight back from kansai airport, osaka...freedom writers...manz really damn nice la...so touching...i kept tearing lor..it's abt victims of racism and war..


and finally today, pirates of the caribbean - at world's end after the curse of the black pearl and dead man's chest. i agree with the most common critism which the plot being too complicated to follow..actually not v complicated la..it's just tat i cant fully rmb the story before so abit lost..sad case..ok but after googling back the story...can recall liao.. and so how great and awesome the effects and the characters were dun have to mention lo..everybody knows it. fav show..thanks to potc 1.

we shall fight. the wind's with us. that's all we need.

japan trip - day 3

next morning to asakusa kannon temple with a history of more than 1300 yrs..
along the way, we saw this pump station, clever design leh...it's overhead so save so much space for the cars to drive in then just pull it down to pump in oil.

the temple doesnt really look tat old though. then haf to drink this water which i forgot wat is it for. hehe but apparently roger din do it the correct way, actually suppose to scoop the water using the ladle then transfer the water to ur palm then drink from the palm, the remaining water in the ladle should be poured away not back into the fountain, aiya but mag also din tell us..i only realised after reading the instructions slowly.


then i tried the qiu qian thing. middle fortune..it's said tat if it isn a good fortune, hang it up and let the wind blow it away, many sch kids were doing it also.





next to it is the nakamise shopping street which is an authentic lane lined with vendors selling souvenirs. dunno why longi likes all those handphone accessories kind of stuff. pretty la but not practical wat..where can u hang it, it'll just be in ur way if u hang it on the hp. but the dolls are kawaii.


next off to palette town with the station called tokyo teleport station...cool name hor..if only it really exists. it's next tokyo bay and comprises the venusfort, which is a high class shopping centre with expensive looking interior design and of cos 5 digit goods.












anyway i'm more interested in wat's next to venusfort, the megaweb! toyota showcase. the F1 racers and motorcars which i learnt abt from the jdrama engine! scholarships were given to young drivers lo..but of cos it's an extrememly high risk sport.








the futuristic models

next to tokyo bay... saw the statue of liberty given to the jap by the french. then the cruise to the other side of the river.saw the tokyo tower from the cruise.

next on our way to mt fuji where along the way i saw this scary roller coaster...super high and steep...eeksss...


grp_photo...huge grp rite?and then we were dressed in yukata for a traditional jap dinner.


our_hotel is in front of lake kawaguchiko. super pretty scenery with the reflection in the lake.


at night went to the hot spring, onsen. not an open air one this time.
for the night, we'll stay in the traditional japanese house with tatami mat and slp in futons.