TOKYO ~Day 1~

This is the 4th time I visited Tokyo but the first time I'm blogging about it!

DAY 1 (20/3/2009)

Took the night bus from Shinjo station at 9.40pm and reached Tokyo at 6am. I looked so haggard from the the lack of sleep.



Then took the JR to Okachimachi, found a Mac, had my all-time favourite McGriddles, rested for about an hour, and finally washed up in the toilet. I love McDonald's. ^^



Walking along the Ueno area, I saw this shrine and decided to pay a visit. Inside, there were lotsa lotsa 絵馬s with 合格祈願s, cos this was the time of the year when results of entrance examinations would be released soon.





It started drizzling as I walked further down and reached my first destination of the day - 東京大学!



It might sounds weird to be visiting a school suddenly... but this is the most prestigious and sought-after university in the whole of Japan where only the top of the top students can enter. Hence I was curious in what it was like inside.









Somehow, although it looked pretty normal, I couldn't help but feel a sense of elitism in the air. Ok, maybe it was just me thinking too much. =P



Continued to walk in the rain to Ueno Park. Even the birds were hiding their heads away from the rain.





Tired and thirsty, I decided to take a 30-min break in an internet cafe.



The rain finally stopped and people started to stream into 上野恩賜公園 for some early 花見.



The only さくら (sakura) that had bloomed.



All the rest were still つぼみ (buds).



Visited a shrine and a temple in the park.





Then I came to Ueno Zoo, and was delighted to find that it was a "Free Admission" day! How lucky!





Saw quite a number of animals... but somehow I wasn't really that excited after having visited so many zoos and farms in Japan over the last 2+ years.





What got me excited was this penguin spot... Guess why??



Cos this was where Doumyoji and Tsukushi had their double date with Yuki and her jerk boyfriend! Hee~



Somewhere in Ueno Park, there's also this statue...



which i later realised was the meeting place of the double date! ;p



Next, I went to Ameyoko, a stretch of street stalls selling seafood and clothes.





As I was eating my Salmon & Maguro Don, a weird Ojisan sat beside and kept talking to me. I wondered if he was drunk and was feeling quite scared actually, but still responded to his words politely for fear of agitating him. Lucky he didn't follow me out of the shop! Phew~



After that, I took the JR to Shibuya, for no special reason but to see the famous scramble crossing, gaudy billboards and Hachiko the dog!





Ayumi's new album!



My real target was Ebisu actually, and as I walked along the railway track, I saw lots of graffiti and couldn't resist trying to act cool with it.





Fine... it was a failure =P

And here I was, at Ebisu Garden Place. Why did I come here?





Because this is where Doumyoji and Tsukushi always meet at for their dates!



2 花より男子 locations in a day... am I a crazy fan or what?

It was very windy and cold while I hanged around the place for quite some time before finally approaching a tourist to help take this picture for me.



Then I went to the dance studio where I had planned to take a Punking Beginner class. Although I had already expected that taking a single class for non-members would cost quite a bit in Tokyo, I still couldn't help feeling a tinge of regret after paying my 3650yen (>50SGD) for a 2-hour class by some unknown instructor. Nonetheless, in the end I was glad I went because there were only 3 students in class that day and the instuctor really went through the basic motions of punking in detail, complete with countless practices until we got the hang of it. I could feel that I really learnt something and was able to appreciate the gist of punking better. Moreover, the instructor was a really cute yet sexy lady!



After the class, I called Judy, Jessica's Malaysian friend whom I would be putting up with for the night. She told me to meet her at 11pm at Yokohama for overnight karaoke with her friends. As there was still some time before 11pm, I decided to go to Ebisu Garden Place again for the night scene!



This was where Doumyoji and Tsukushi had their wedding in the movie!



Dinner for that night was KFC cos I started craving for it after seeing the big signboard from Ebisu station.



600+yen (>10SGD) for a 2-piece chicken set. Expensive and not as delicious as our crispy chicken AND fast-food restaurants in Japan do not give chilli sauce. Oh well~



Took the JR down to Yokohama...


...and waited in the cold for about 30mins for Judy, who was out drinking with a group of friends. But I didn't hold it against her cos she was already kind enough to take me in even though we had only met once in Kobe before. Anyway, we then went to meet her group of Malaysian friends who are living in Tokyo for karaoke. I was totally lost in their all-Cantonese conversations, but sometimes they would suddenly go "中文! 中文!" for my sake. Haha~ so funny. They were really a group of high-tension people, singing lots of Cantopop and Japanese rap songs.

Unfortunately, I was already dead beat after spending the previous night on a bus and walking around the whole day. By 2am, I really couldn't control myself anymore and dozed off in the karaoke room...

(to be continued~)