Have you ever had the feeling of getting "Lost in Translation"? I'm pretty sure everyone who comes to Japan would surely experience it at least once. And this is one of the more memorable experiences that would make it into my OMFG travel entry. Suffice to say, it was a pretty messed up day cos it was a simple form of miscommunication.
What happened was that we accidentally refunded this Suica card which was an EZ-link card and also used to store luggages. Our original intention was not to refund the card but to actually top up 500 yen into it, so I picked the calculator, pressed 0 to signal that the card had no value, den I pressed 500 yen to show that I wanted to top up an amount of 500 yen. Sounds simple? Apparently, the station attendant was so enlightened that he took our empty card, and refunded us 500 yen for the card! Now we have no card to retrieve our luggages and when we tried to explain to him that we wanted the card back, he kept flashing his "X" sign posture with a "dame ni" meaning "cannot!!!"
What happened next was a series of events leading to us leaving and entering the station multiple times until i think the officer there see us until sian liaoz, getting a lady to write a message in Japanese to communicate our intentions, and waiting for the very nice locker uncle to help us. We screwed their locker system btw...
The whole thing took 2 hours, screwed our plans for the day a little, so I officially term it the day we got SUICA-ed. Yet I was totally thoroughly amused about the whole experience though I was pretty sure my companions were pissed!
Uncle to the rescue!
Rainy weather again...even Doreamon near our hostel has to be taken care of!
This set meal consisted of both the don and soba which was really value for $$
Wasabi grated by ourselves
My dessert and yoghurt from the convenience store
What happened was that we accidentally refunded this Suica card which was an EZ-link card and also used to store luggages. Our original intention was not to refund the card but to actually top up 500 yen into it, so I picked the calculator, pressed 0 to signal that the card had no value, den I pressed 500 yen to show that I wanted to top up an amount of 500 yen. Sounds simple? Apparently, the station attendant was so enlightened that he took our empty card, and refunded us 500 yen for the card! Now we have no card to retrieve our luggages and when we tried to explain to him that we wanted the card back, he kept flashing his "X" sign posture with a "dame ni" meaning "cannot!!!"
What happened next was a series of events leading to us leaving and entering the station multiple times until i think the officer there see us until sian liaoz, getting a lady to write a message in Japanese to communicate our intentions, and waiting for the very nice locker uncle to help us. We screwed their locker system btw...
The whole thing took 2 hours, screwed our plans for the day a little, so I officially term it the day we got SUICA-ed. Yet I was totally thoroughly amused about the whole experience though I was pretty sure my companions were pissed!
Uncle to the rescue!
Rainy weather again...even Doreamon near our hostel has to be taken care of!
This set meal consisted of both the don and soba which was really value for $$
Wasabi grated by ourselves
My dessert and yoghurt from the convenience store
With our plans ruined and poor weather, we were pretty much stuck in Tokyo, but hey, there's always aplenty to do in Tokyo and I suggested going to Akihabara (秋葉原), the Electric Town and mecca of all Japanese anime, manga, cosplay, toys, figurines, AV and land of the otakus!! It is indeed a place loud, flashy and colourful. Oh, and it was a place where we randomly strolled into the display corner and used the computer to check our NUS exam results!
We reached this M Pop place which was a 5 level sex shop and mainly sold sex toys and all sorts of costumes. They even sold weird stuff like girls' used panties and a man-bra. Overheard the other guys back in the hostel about searching for this and they actually bought one to wear in the hostel. Crazy people! Seems like Japanese girls are not an inhibited lot, the majority of them were hanging out around the upper levels, trying costumes and browsing the sex toys. Heck I was even standing beside a lady in the S&M section who was examining a whip for purchase, and then checking me out. No I assure you I'm not into that S&M shit! The guys seem to prefer the basement levels with all the Japanese AV.
Disturbing pic..but I tell ya, I saw this guy actually dressed in a French maid costume walking in Akihabara...that was even bloody more disturbing!
All sorts of costumes...you name it..they have it
All sorts of costumes...you name it..they have it
As one of the guys back in the hostel describes, he was rather confused over the Japanese obsession over schoolgirls and the borderline pornography that is portrayed in their manga and anime. I'm equally stumped too.
Otakus in action! Being curious Singaporeans who's always interested in a queue, went to check it out!
Seems like it's a launch of some new anime series with free CDs and posters
Another 5 level sex shop, but only this time dedicated entirely to porno DVDs. The famous AV factory!
Otakus in action! Being curious Singaporeans who's always interested in a queue, went to check it out!
Seems like it's a launch of some new anime series with free CDs and posters
Another 5 level sex shop, but only this time dedicated entirely to porno DVDs. The famous AV factory!
There were lots of promoters dressed in various costumes handing out brochures. Likewise, lots of Japanese girls dressed as maids handing out leaflets to promote their maid cafe, another trendy thing in Akihabara. While I heard some of them were not allowed to take photos with passer-bys, I tried my luck and landed a cute one! :p
I'm not exactly sure what happens in a maid cafe, but here's one example
I'm not exactly sure what happens in a maid cafe, but here's one example
Nikkō (日光)
Not to be confused with my arrangement here in my blog, Nikko is in the Kanto region like in Tokyo but a 2 and a half hours train ride out. While it's more shrines and temples, Nikko is significant as it is the site of the mausoleums of the Tokugawa Shoguns. And to honour these shoguns, the shrines and temples are very much more elaborately decorated and flashy as if to show off their grandeur. Add in the mysterious forest setting of tall cedar trees the shrines are situated in, it makes a worthy side-trip from Tokyo.
Rinnō-ji Temple (輪王寺)
Sorin-to, where Buddhist sutras were stored in it and is regarded as a treasure
Forest way into Tōshōgū (東照宮). I would imagine it would look even better in fall.
Elaborately carved sacred animals, most notably; the elephant
The famous "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys
Yomei-mon Gate (陽明門) in the distance
Note the lavish ornate carvings on the Yomei-mon Gate
The Sleeping Cat, one of the sacred animals in carving in the Temple.
On the way to the mausoleum
The resting place of dynasty founder Tokugawa Ieyasu
Not to be confused with my arrangement here in my blog, Nikko is in the Kanto region like in Tokyo but a 2 and a half hours train ride out. While it's more shrines and temples, Nikko is significant as it is the site of the mausoleums of the Tokugawa Shoguns. And to honour these shoguns, the shrines and temples are very much more elaborately decorated and flashy as if to show off their grandeur. Add in the mysterious forest setting of tall cedar trees the shrines are situated in, it makes a worthy side-trip from Tokyo.
Rinnō-ji Temple (輪王寺)
Sorin-to, where Buddhist sutras were stored in it and is regarded as a treasure
Forest way into Tōshōgū (東照宮). I would imagine it would look even better in fall.
Elaborately carved sacred animals, most notably; the elephant
The famous "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys
Yomei-mon Gate (陽明門) in the distance
Note the lavish ornate carvings on the Yomei-mon Gate
The Sleeping Cat, one of the sacred animals in carving in the Temple.
On the way to the mausoleum
The resting place of dynasty founder Tokugawa Ieyasu
Bad weather caught up with us again and plans to head down to Lake Chuzenji were scrapped. Some random food encountered along the way...
Yakult packaged in a different way
Refreshing Nikko beer!
Fried red bean dough...it's pretty famous here in Nikko
It's salty yet sweet at the same time with the red bean filling in it
Smiley orange juice
MOS burger
Refreshing Nikko beer!
Fried red bean dough...it's pretty famous here in Nikko
It's salty yet sweet at the same time with the red bean filling in it
Smiley orange juice
MOS burger
Kuramae Shrine Festival
On our final day in Japan, we were very fortunate to catch a festival at the Kuramae Shrine next to our hostel, and it was close to our departure for the airport! While we missed the Sanja Matsuri (三社祭, this huge festival held at Asakusa) by a week, this event kinda made up for it. Although it was not as huge in scale, it was exciting to see the kids from the neighbourhood jostling and dressed up as the adults pull the portable shrine (mikoshi). We even met into a friendly Japanese uncle sipping on his Asahi beer and recognising us as Singaporeans. He even has friends in Jurong. Wows!
A fitting goodbye to the land of the rising sun!
On our final day in Japan, we were very fortunate to catch a festival at the Kuramae Shrine next to our hostel, and it was close to our departure for the airport! While we missed the Sanja Matsuri (三社祭, this huge festival held at Asakusa) by a week, this event kinda made up for it. Although it was not as huge in scale, it was exciting to see the kids from the neighbourhood jostling and dressed up as the adults pull the portable shrine (mikoshi). We even met into a friendly Japanese uncle sipping on his Asahi beer and recognising us as Singaporeans. He even has friends in Jurong. Wows!
A fitting goodbye to the land of the rising sun!
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