28th entry - Trip to Tokyo (part 1)

Recently I had to travel to Tokyo on a working trip. It was a short trip of only 5 days, and after discounting the 14 hours of flight to and from Tokyo during daytime and the 1.5 days of meetings, I was effectively left with only 2 days of sight-seeing. I was grateful to be sent on this trip, as most of the expenses (return airfare on Japan Airlines, hotel accommodation with buffet breakfast, airport transfers and 3 meals) were covered – in fact, I only needed to fork out S$350! However, if I had a choice, I would not have wanted my first trip to Japan to be work-related.


To be sure, I have always wanted to go to Japan – I am not only a fan of Japanese anime since young, but also a lover of Japanese culture. My aunt, who works for a Japanese printing company in Singapore, used to give me tons of Japanese greeting cards that her bosses received from their Japanese friends and families, as well as books and pictures. I grew up watching Japanese anime like Doraemon (an adorable little sky-blue space cat who had all sorts of inventions for every occasion), Swiss Family Robinson and Heidi, which were all dubbed in Mandarin. Now I’m into anime with more mature themes like Twelve Kingdoms, although my all-time favorite is still Sakura Cardcaptor (as mentioned in my earlier entries).

I absolutely love the delicate taste of sushi and sashimi (raw fish) – udon/soba/ramen (thick rice noodle/buck-wheat noodle/thin wheat noodle respectively), tempura (fried vege and seafood with batter), okonomiyaki (rice/radish flour pancake with eggs and topping) and teppanyaki (Japanese barbeque) are acceptable too but these cannot compare with succulent and fresh raw sakane (fish). I have a strange fascination for geisha (more specifically, the miko girls learning to be geisha) clad in fine kimono, as well as for traditional Japanese musical instruments like the koto or shamizen (3-stringed guitar). How I would love to see a geisha dance with her pretty folding fan or umbrella, while sipping my cup of warmed sake (rice wine) or hot green tea, as tiny petals of sakura (pink cherry blossoms) drift wistfully onto the tatami (straw woven) floor from the garden outside … *sigh*

So, for my first trip to Japan, I would have liked it to be a long and recreational one – spending at least a year exploring all the quaint little villages spread out over the country; discovering obscure shrines and ornate Zen-inspired gardens; experiencing the different types of onsen (bathhouses) and inns; sampling the seasonal flavors of a range of Japanese cuisine; and witnessing its 4 distinct seasons and celebrating the unique festivals during each season.

Well, back to reality.

I flew Japan Airlines Boeing 777 to Tokyo Narita. The flight was virtually empty, and in-flight entertainment was good (similar to what Singapore Airlines’ offers?), but the service was average and the food was not appetizing. I learnt some useful Japanese phrases on an info-ed program found in the in-flight entertainment system, and diligently copied them down in my diary in case I needed to use them when I went sight-seeing. Upon arrival, I was surprised at how small the airport appeared to be. There were friendly elderly airport workers directing passengers to the immigration/ customs counters and even helping me to take my luggage off the check-in baggage collection belt. The airport limousine was waiting for me and my colleagues, and soon we were on our way to Odaiba where our meeting was held.

I stayed at Hotel Nikko Tokyo, located in Odaiba or Tokyo Bay front, an hour’s drive from Narita Airport. My tastefully-furnished and very comfortable room offered a panoramic view of the harbor area. Upon checking-in at 6pm, I was informed that there was a meeting at 7pm, so I quickly unpacked and took a hasty shower. After the meeting, I went to the nearby shopping centers, called Aquacity and Decks, for dinner. It was tough deciding between all the lovely restaurants, and in the end I chose a sushi restaurant at Decks that claimed to sell fresh fish from Tsukiji, a well-known wholesale/retail market south of Tokyo, just across the Rainbow Bridge from where my hotel was located. For just over 1,500JPY (S$21) I had 8 pieces of delicious sushi, including my favorite hotate (raw scallop) and uni (raw sea urchin).

In the morning I woke up at around 6am, and the sky was as bright as it would be at 7am in Singapore. I changed into a tee-shirt and shorts and went for a slow jog at a nearby park. It was practically deserted at that time, and the air was fresh but impregnated with the salty scent of the sea. The park was wide and spacious, filled with lovely flowers, pines and junipers, stretching for almost 1km. The next day when I went jogging again I even brought along my camera to take snapshots of the beautiful landscaping in the park as well as the Rainbow Bridge (“kill two birds with one stone”). Strangely, the park was practically deserted – reminding me of the Marina South Park in Singapore.

Back at the hotel, a continental buffet with Japanese dishes was served and one could take in the breathtaking view of the Rainbow Bridge while enjoying breakfast. Of all the dishes, I liked most the boiled yam, carrots, and shitake mushroom and lotus roots with soy sauce. The menu did not change substantively on subsequent days – in fact I didn’t think it changed at all! I took plenty of fresh cut fruits and salad, for fear of suffering constipation (a common ailment for me whenever I traveled). There was also a chef serving omelet, scrambled and sunny-side-up fried eggs.

My first whole day in Tokyo was essentially an entire day of dreary meetings. Lunch and dinner was hosted by our Japanese counterparts. Fortunately I had time to visit the spa in the hotel (it costs 3,200JPY per entry but hotel guests were given one coupon per night’s stay). It had an indoor swimming pool with a foot reflexology path along its perimeter floor, and there was a gentle current circling it (swimming against the current proved to be quite a workout for me, as I eventually realized). The spa included two Relaxation rooms for private Jacuzzi, massage and tanning using a machine, and two sauna rooms. There was also an indoor jacuzzi and an outdoor one which overlooked the harbor and Rainbow Bridge – a perfect place for lovers. I enjoyed the beautiful view of the Rainbow Bridge and harbor area just as the sun was setting, while soaking in the hot outdoor Jacuzzi, wishing that S could join me!

The spa was also equipped with an aerobics room and a tiny corner for a multi-weight training machine. The Men’s room was luxurious – our lockers had bathrobes we could change into in addition to long towels and shorter hair towels, as well as a mini dryer for our swimming gear. When one stepped out of the shower (with multiple jets spraying water at your body as though in a car wash), one was able to brush teeth, dry hair and splash all sorts of beauty products on the face and body before walking back to the locker area to change. There was even a rest lounge complete with a self-service juice/beverage bar. Such luxury!

Between the spa and the dinner, I managed to squeeze some time in the evening to do some shopping at Aquacity. There was a 100JPY shop selling stuff that locals used, which proved to be an excellent place for buying affordable and yet unusual souvenirs, like Japanese prints and greeting cards. Another interesting shop was selling Japanese products like sake, unique seafood and snacks. I was particularly attracted to a clothing shop selling trendy hip street-wear and bikini in one corner and summer-time kimonos in another corner. Most of the stuff on sale was expensive but if one could afford to splurge, there were fabulous and trendy designs to choose from. Most shops closed at 9pm, so when I went out after the dinner all I could do was take in more views of the harbor and Rainbow Bridge (the Tokyo Tower was visible but not very clear).

(To be continued in Part 2...)