Wednesday, November 15, 2006
` Wednesday, November 15, 2006
I LOVE TOKYO.
It's great that I got to round off possibly the last of my soon-to-be-minimal business trips with Tokyo, favourite city of all time. It never ever gets boring for me there. Give me a ticket to anywhere in Japan anytime and I'll be up for it in a heartbeat. The city always seems to be leaping along a step faster than anyone trying to catch up with its pace of change and the concept of 'all things new'. I'm breathless from experiencing all that I could in a short span of a week.
P.S. Shopping at Narita Airport was, to say the least, unbelievably excellent. They seemed to have overhauled and revamped the terminals a fair bit since the last time I visited in December 2005. Forget about stockign up on the snacks, cosmetics and what-not souvenirs in town. Just pack a spare carry-on and gorge yourselves silly with the numerous shops at the departure terminal's shopping mall. Prices for snacks are slightly lower too. Possibly answering the call of all Japanese skincare fanatics, Shu Uemura and Shiseido products are not available in the duty free shops priced way below the Singapore counters. All I can say is: get ready for shopaholics heaven (or credit card nightmare) just hours before stepping onto the plane home!
1. Hot piping ramen going for JPY480. Beat that. 2. My favourite all-time "Ginza Bakehouse" counter at Shibuya for to-die-for strawberry shortcakes. Drool. 3. Shibuya draped in its night-time glamour buzz. 4. Asakusa's Sensoji temple. Ever bustling. 5. Shoes galore at the gleaming new Lalaport Toyosu mall. 6. It's Christmas time at Disney World. 7. Electical lights parade. 8. Crepes. The next best alternative to a proper meal that can be found in most parts of town. 9. Who can forget the gorgeous fireworks finale at Disney? 