31st entry - Moving in with S (part 1)

On Monday (24 Jul) night, I moved in with my sweetheart S to a rented room, and we began a new chapter in our lives. This was a dream come true for me because I had always wanted to stay with my sweetheart in a place of our own - a place where we can be ourselves. Needless to say, I am very happy that S and I have grown so close now and that we have a chance to experience the ups and downs of life's journey together.

The Bed Incident

S bought a new bed for the house, as we had doubts about sleeping on the old bed that the landlord gave us (together with a bunch of old furniture, which had apparently outlived their usefulness but the owner could not bear to throw them away). A very good friend of mine offered to give us her Queen bed but we declined because we were not sure whether it could be dismantled and delivered to our place.

At first S went to buy a metal-frame bed from a furniture shop near our place; the bed was ideal because it was relatively cheap and could be dismantled and taken with us in case we wanted to move. The bed was delivered in the evening around 9pm by a woman and a man; the woman was apparently the lady boss and the man, her helper. After assembling the bed, we realised that one of the legs did not touch the ground.

Explaining that the man had over-tightened the screws of the bed, the lady boss tried to loosen the screws but in spite of all the adjustments the leg was still in the air. The woman then insisted that our floor was uneven. S then went to lie on the bed and rolled about, and the creaky noises could be heard loudly and clearly by all. By now, the woman appeared impatient and began to accuse us of being picky.

S refused to accept the bed and told them to return it. The woman's temper flared suddenly, and agreed reluctantly to take the bed back, but she demanded for $10 compensation for delivering the bed. We refused to pay, and the woman started to hurl abusive words at us. When they realised that we refused to budge, the woman and her helper just picked up their tools and left, leaving the faulty bed.

A while later, S called the furniture shop to find out when they were coming back to collect their merchandise. The woman answered angrily that they would return to our place after closing their shop, without telling us definitively at what time they would arrive. We waited for half an hour before we heard their cursing from the corridor outside our apartment. Their incessant cursing and swearing was accompanied by the defiant clanging of the tools. We merely stood at the door silently, and watched.

To our horror, we realised that they had neatly arranged the pieces of the bed and wrapped them up to be re-sold to future unsuspecting customer(s). We were thankful that we did not accept the bed, after we knew how unscrupulous these businessmen were. When the pair of "psychopaths" finally departed, S finally could not tolerate their verbal abuse any further and retorted loudly at the corridor "I hope you and your 3 generations will not prosper in your business!" The woman actually spit back at her (her putrid spittle landed on S's foot)!

We slept on our mattress for a few more days before another bed that S ordered had been delivered. This new bed was a wooden one, and this time we assembled the bed ourselves. It was hard work, and we even made a mistake halfway and had to re-assemble some parts. However, we felt that it was worth it because we had created a beautiful memory of assembling our own bed together as a couple. And the bed was very comfortable too!

With the horrific episode of the psycho furniture shopkeeper behind us, I reflected that the Bed Incident and subsequent assembling of our own bed collectively led me to learn something more about S that I admired. Firstly, S was intelligent, rational and knew how to remain calm even during trying circumstances. Had S started a quarrel with the unreasonable woman, it would not only be unhelpful to our predicament but also could have delayed the dismantling process even further. Secondly, S valued independence and took pride in doing something without help from others. Had we paid for the furniture shop to assemble the second bed for us, we would have lost a valuable chance to bond together. It was a satisfying experience that no amount of money could buy.

Hyperactive Pets

The landlord's partner kept 5 chinchillas in 4 cages in the apartment. Before we moved in, they were sitting comfortably in one of the two toilets that was not used. As that toilet became the one that S and I would use, the chinchillas were evicted from their homes and re-settled in the kitchen area, which was fine because nobody in the household cooked and besides, there was hardly any space left in the house to put them.

Chinchillas are by nature nocturnal, sleeping during the day and moving about at night. This behaviour was potentially disruptive to humans, especially when their activities created quite a din. Scratching and biting the cages, jumping up and down the different "floors" of the cages, throwing seeds and waste out of their cages ... Being a light sleeper, the startling and erratic noises they made drove me crazy and prevented me from sleeping.

S told the landlord about the noise and hoped something could be done. We were told that a few of the creatures would be transferred elsewhere in the near future, but this did not materialise. Strangely though, after a few weeks I grew gradually used to the noises that they made. In addition, I started sleeping on the side of bed further from the door, which was actually more because S feared that the airconditioning vent was blowing directly at me and the chill would keep me awake at night, but as a result I could hear less noise and sleep better.

In fact, S's consideration for me was evident in many ways (not just the chinchilla example) - from meals (S always asks me what I wanted to eat before we decided on a dinner venue and often respects my choice; in the mornings S often wakes up early to make breakfast for me) to laundry (S offered to do laundry for me in the weekends when I return to see my parents at my own place), and its S's the tender loving care and concern that made me settle in so quickly and happily at the new apartment. This is enough to make my heart grow fonder and fonder for S day by day...

A Bug's Life

Some time after moving in, we realised that we were not the only tenants in the 2-bedroom apartment. The landlord has free-loaders taking refuge in various places. If you have not guessed by now, yes - I'm talking about ants and other pests. They crawl everywhere - from the living room to the kitchen to the toilet and even the bedroom. Its really creepy how the trails they made, like gipsies crossing the desert, would appear in some places, disappear for a day or two, and then mysteriously reappear again.

The worst of the lot were the ant trails in the toilet that we were using. They made a long line spanning the 4 walls and it was difficult to hang our clothing with a peace of mind, as we feared the ants would hide in the fabric. S had to buy some pesticide chalk and draw a boundary around the area where we hang our clothes so that the ants would not get to them. Thankfully, the ants had kept away from the clothing hooks ever since.

Ants were not the only problem, unfortunately. When S acquired a Queen bed from the landlord at the previous apartment, we did not check carefully the nooks and cranies of the bed before sleeping in it. When we brought the new mattress over to the new apartment, we spotted a bunch of bed-bugs wrapped in the transparent plastic that was used to protect the mattress during transportation. Fortunately, we managed to spot most of the adults and killed them, but there is no way of knowing how many more bed-bug babies would hatch and start to feed on us in future ... *shiver*

30th entry - A Life-long Passion with Fruits

According to nutritionists in Singapore, everyone should eat at least 2 serving of fruits a day to maintain good health. The proverbial apple a day is no longer enough to keep the doctor away, especially when the typical Singaporean's diet usually contains plenty of preservatives and food additives or are grossly inadequate in the area of essential vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre - both of which contribute to a general weakening of our body's own immune system.

It is true that many essential vitamins and minerals can be obtained from supplements. There are many to choose from in the market these days, and pharmacies, supermarkets and "healthy-living" product stores have shelves full of all sorts of pills and capsules. I take supplements too - acidophilus and glucosamine capsules - to maintain my intestinal health and joint health respectively. But these supplements are good substitutes at best. My question is: why go for substitutes when the real thing is cheaper, available in abundance and variety (at least in Singapore) and tastier too? I mean, has anyone ever tasted vitamin tablets? If they taste good, its probably due to the food flavouring.

Nothing comes close to the taste of real, fresh fruits. The sweetness, juiciness, sharpness and unique fragrance of golden pineapple ... the saturine nectar, light aroma and soft, brightly colored flesh of ripen papaya ... the cheerfully yellow and soft, juicy meat of mango with its distinct sugary taste ... the fresh, thirst-quenching and satisfying crunchiness of watermelon ... the delicate, soft creamy sweet flavour of honey/rock melon (honeydew) ... These are only to name a few!

In fact, every fruit not only comes with its own unique appealing appearance, flavour and texture, but each fruit is also packed with its own unique blend of essential vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes and dietary fibre. The fruitspages website offers a table containing the nutritional value of many types of fruits. By eating a variety of fruits, we can ensure that we would have a good mixture of nutrients, enzymes and fibre. It is also important to eat enough of fruits - at least 2 pieces a day for a start.

Many people eat fruits after a meal, sort of as a dessert. I understand that we can take moderate amounts of fruits at any time of the day. However, for normal detoxification purposes, fruits should be taken in the morning before any other food (preferably eat only fruits for breakfast and refrain from other diet until lunchtime). For better absorption of fruits, it is prudent to consume them at least 30 minutes before a meal, not after. To aid digestion, eat small portions (e.g. between 100-200g) of acidic fruit and those rich in enzymes e.g. pineapple, papaya and citrus fruits after a meal.

Dried fruits and fruit juices (especially the ones available off-the-shelf, containing artificial flavourings and preservatives, and made from juice concentrate) are not good substitutes for fresh fruits. In fact, freshly squeezed juice may not be as good as fresh fruit as well, because some nutrition is lost in the juicing process. Also, fruits should be taken as far as possible with its skin, but of course, not all fruits can be eaten this way e.g. papaya and mango and orange and melon skins are edible (and in fact contain considerable vitamins) but they are hardly tasty!

Some fruits, like tomatoes, are better when cooked or taken with a bit of oil. Salads with some amount of olive oil dressing, vinagrette and salt to taste could be prepared with fresh fruits cut into small pieces. The fruits naturally enhance the flavour of otherwise bland vegetables and add sweetness to moderate its bitterness. Fruits like guava would greatly enhance the texture and nutritional value to any salad, without overwhelming its own characteristic flavour and taste.

Fruits can also be cooked in a variety of ways. Many of us are familiar with fruit jam, snacks and pastries. For jam, I prefer the sugar-free ones like St Dalfour's because they are not only a healthier choice but are also tastier. As for the others e.g. dried fruit crisps and fruit-flavoured biscuits - well, I can only say that they offer a close "semblance" of fruits at best. Certain pastries contain fresh fruits e.g. peach and mixed fruit tarts/tartlets and cakes, which would be better than fruit pies because the high-heat baking process destroys most of the essential nutrients of the fruits.

There is a particular fruit that I have grown quite fond of lately - dragonfruit. There are 3 kinds - white, red and yellow. The parent plant looks like a cactus, and the fruit looks like a wierd pineapple. The flesh is juicy and soft, and full of tiny black, edible seeds. The red-meat variety is sweeter than the white-meat one, but the smaller yellow-meat one from South America is the sweetest of all. The reason why I am fond of it is because my darling S went to the trouble of going to Johor Bahru (Malaysia) to buy 4 large pieces of red-meat dragonfruit for my parents, who like the fruit. S is soooooooo incredibly sweet - 100 times sweeter than the delicious dragonfruit ... :-)

29th entry - Trip to Tokyo (part 2)

My third day in Tokyo started with a half-day of meetings followed by a hosted lunch. In the afternoon I went on a city tour led by our Japanese counterparts. Our bus headed out across the Rainbow Bridge towards Asakusa, our first destination – a shopping arcade rich with colorful history and tradition, and was a well-known tourist area. Starting from a huge shrine at one end of the street, we elbowed our way through crowds of human traffic down 2 rows of shops before reaching the other end of the street, where there was a famous red lantern suspended above what was known as “Thunder Gate” in Japanese. The shops sold everything from souvenirs like fridge magnets and bookmarks, to low-priced kimonos (which I suspect was for tourists to bring home as a souvenir), to traditional Japanese fans and paper products and wooden carvings, to hand-made rice crackers and other traditional Japanese snacks. Unfortunately there was no time for time-consuming bargain-hunting and price haggling, as the group needed to make it back to the bus for our second destination.


Next, the bus brought us to Akihabara, a well-known electronics goods destrict. I heard that you could get just about the most technologically-advanced consumer products there, and prices are very competitive. At first I found a 7-storey shop selling nothing but sex videos containing any conceivable type of girl, and fulfilling any sort of sexual fetish or fantasy that one might have. I headed for a souvenir shop where interestingly, the shop assistants spoke Mandarin. I bought lots of stuff there, like postcards, coasters and bookmarks. There was even a photo studio cum rest corner corner where one could use the toilet, sit down and sip your own drink, and snap a photo of yourself in samurai clothing (complete with a wig and sword) with a beautiful Japanese garden in the background (a poster stuck to the wall). In the evening I chilled out at the spa and afterwards, I tried another sushi restaurant that claimed to sell Tsukiji seafood at the nearby Aquacity shopping centre. When I returned to the hotel, I revisited my itinerary in preparation for my own free day the next day.


My first real "Tokyo adventure" began after a hurried breakfast at the hotel. I took the Yurikamome monorail from Daiba Station just outside the hotel. The monorail took a scenic route across the Rainbow Bridge towards Tokyo City Centre. I alighted at Takeshiba and walked for about 20 minutes towards Hama Rikyu garden. According to Frommer's, this was considered by some to be the best garden in Tokyo. The most striking feature of the garden was its tranquility - its like entering a different world away from the noisy, polluted and congested urban sprawl surrounding it. Dense shrubs and high-sloping, rounded mounds on either side of the winding paths add a certain mystery to the garden, which has origins stretching back 300 years, when it served as a retreat for a former feudal lord and as duck-hunting grounds for the Tokugawa shoguns. What remained in the duck-hunting ground today were wierd structures not unlike giant tombstones with a wooden frame in the centre and a narrow rectangular peephole at the top of the frame. A huge pond in the centre of the garden was so calm that it clearly reflected the surrounding buildings like a mirror. The pond was spanned by three bridges and an interesting teahouse. I went to the teahouse and enjoyed a complimentary cup of cold green tea while enjoying the cool morning breeze.


An hour later, I walked about 10 minutes along the outer perimeter of Hama Rikyu garden and arrived at Tsukiji Wholesale Market. The vast compound was divided into fresh food and dried goods sections, with various Japanese food restaurants interspersed between the dried goods shops. From the entrance, I walked through seemingly endless rows of fresh vegetables and fruits stalls before reaching the seafood section. Much of the activity had taken place in the morning and by the time I got there many stalls were either cleaning up or displaying possibly half of their wares - fresh mussels and giant clams, sea urchins, scallops and all sorts of fish (even fugu or puffer fish). I chanced upon a filming crew on location at one of the stalls, presumably making a info-ed documentary about the fish. Asking around in broken Japanese (using only the words I picked up from my flight) I managed to locate the restaurants, where I bought a bowl of fresh sashimi with rice. Later, walking around the market compound, I found a shop selling dried fish flakes that were usually used as a topping for okonomiyaki (a savoury pancake). Surrounding the Tsukiji market were avenues of shops selling traditional Japanese foodstuffs and kitchenware - it felt like a gigantic bargain-goods shopping district.


By noon, I figured it was about time to move on to my next destination - Ueno. My dad, who had been to Tokyo a few times already, told me before I went on my trip that I should visit the place. From the tourist map, I gathered that it might be worthwhile to see it because there is a nice park and some museums around the area. To get there, I needed to take the JR Yamanote (circle) line from Shimbashi station to Ueno station. En route to Shimbashi station, I wandered into Ginza shopping belt and got distracted by the expensive-looking high fashion shops. I came to the well-known Kabukiza theatre where Japanese folk opera performances, kabuki, were staged. As I had neither the money nor the language ability to appreciate such shows, I prodded on until I eventually reached the Shimbashi station.

Like many railway stations in Tokyo, Shimbashi station was an interchange where many lines converge and commuters could hop on and hop off different lines going to various parts of Tokyo city centre and its suburbs. It also had shops and restaurants. I stood in amazement in front of a huge information board above ticketing machines and their queues of people, wondering how on earth I would be able to find my destination station and the fare I needed to pay. I had done all my research through various railway maps and so on but all the preparation came to naught as I was confronted with station names purely in kanji (Chinese characters but pronounced in Japanese), which were not indicated on the maps. In the end I gave up, and looked for the ticketing booth, praying that the man spoke English. Thankfully, not only was the man able to understand what I was saying, but he also gave me a cheaper 2-way ticket. I took the JR Yamanote line and headed for Ueno station.

Arriving at Ueno, I looked for the Ueno Park exit, which was quite easy to find. The park was a huge compound just across the road from the Ueno station. It connects a zoo, several shrines and many museums, including the Tokyo National Museum, the Orient Museum, the National Science Museum, the Shitamachi Museum, the National Museum for Western Art and the Tokyo Metropolitan Fine Art Gallery. No wonder then that I saw all sorts of people - old folks, school children, youngsters, tourists and even office workers there. Starting at the entrance, I explored the Shinobazu Pond which was almost entirely covered with lotus plants, and its neighbouring man-made lake where one can ride swan-shaped floats that you need to peddle like a bicycle on the water. Along the way, I saw a number of statues, including one of a samurai Saigo Takamori, an important personality of the late Edo and early Meiji Period who played a central role in realizing the Meiji Restoration of 1868 (from Japan-guide.com). Crowds of onlookers stood mesmerized as they watched bizzare performances by all sorts of buskers. I tried to look for a pagoda but ended up going to the National Museum instead. I thought of paying to get in, but changed my mind at the last minute when I realised that I might not have enough time. Instead, I walked along the perimeter of the park until I reached the Ueno station again. The station also had lots of shops, and I stopped at a 100JPY shop to buy some water and more greeting cards, as well as 2 paint brushes (which I thought was a real bargain).

My happiest moment in Japan came when I hit the well-known Ameyayoko shopping avenue, across the road from the Ueno Park and opposite the train station. The amazing shopping arcade was a seemingly endless row of shops selling clothes, assessories, foodstuffs, fruits, fresh and dried seafood, souvenirs, etc etc. I found among the shops some that were selling dried scallop snacks that my parents loved, which I bought at a discounted warehouse price together with a packet of dried fugu snack. At another corner I found a huge store selling all sorts of Japanese snacks and foodstuffs, including my mum's favourite Choya Umeshu, (Dento series)
a sweet plum wine which was only sold for S$15 (compared to S$30 plus in Singapore's supermarkets); and my favourite soy-sauce squid stuffed with Japanese rice. It was exhausting to cover the entire street, and just when I thought I had finally come to the end of the arcade, the street opened into a fork with shops down both lanes! At one point I was so tired that I simply could not walk any further and so decided to plonk myself down in a KFC outlet, where I discovered that a set meal costs more than triple in Japan compared to Singapore, and the "look-n-feel" of the meal is similar to MOS Burger. Seated next to me was this old couple (in their 80s) who I approached to ask for directions (just to be sure where I was on the map). I discovered that they were deaf and apologised for disturbing their, and when the old lady tried to motion to me to show her my map (presumably to allow her to point the way for me) her husband waved his disapproving hand in front of her (presumably to ask her to mind her own business and dont try to be "helpful" and give the wrong advice instead). When my legs had recovered their strength, I decided to continue my journey to the Imperial Palace, hopefully with enough time to make it back to the hotel in time to visit the spa (so as not to waste the voucher).

From Ueno Station, I returned to Shimbashi Station (actually it made more sense to go to Tokyo Station but I bought a return ticket so I had no choice) and walked to the Imperial Palace. Before embarking on my journey, I decided to deposit my shopping bags (containing 3 1-litre bottles of Choya as well as other merchandise that I picked up during the day) at a convenient locker at the station (for a fee of 300JPY). I had to cut through the Hibiya Park, which was about 15 minutes walk from Shimbashi and diagonally opposite the Imperial Palace grounds. Last century, Hibiya Park was the parade ground for the Japanese Army, and now Japan's first "western style" park has become an oasis for tired workers to have a few minutes repose from office-related stress. On weekends, the place was said to be popular among courting couples, but I didnt see that many couples when I was there (mostly old folks and families with children running around). The Park also has a library, public tennis courts (which were all fully occupied), 1 or 2 western restaurants and a flower shop, as well as an open-air arena where concerts are often held (info courtesy of mytravelguide.com). When I finally arrived at the Imperial Palace ground, I realised that I could only get a glimpse of the palace and a well-known bridge from the moat surrounding it, as the rest of the palace was off-limits to public. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the walk there and admired the willow trees and bonsai-like firs in the garden around the moat. Evening was approaching, and after buying a take-away sushi bento from a food-court near Shimbashi station, I took the train back to the hotel. After a rejuvenating spa, I returned to the room, ate my sushi dinner and waited for my darling S to call - S was so incredibly sweet to call my room everyday long-distance from Singapore as I missed S so much on the trip.

Next morning, it was breakfast as usual at the hotel. I went down to the concierge to book my airport bus limousine and set off for Tokyo Big Sight, a large convention centre at Daiba. I decided to set off on foot to take in more of the sights in the vicinity of the hotel. My first stop was the Fuji TV station, with its futuristic building and observatory tower, but it was not open - then I realised that most of the shops do not open till 11am. Next, I strolled over to Palette Town, which was a large 24-hour entertainment centre. I was fascinated by a bunch of guys playing a new type of Romance of 3 Kingdoms game using a stack of cards that they moved around on a sensor board (as though moving battalions of armies on a battleground). Each game was 200JPY (more than S$2) and I was amazed at how willing these guys were to part with their hard-earned money for a few minutes of gaming. Just outside the entertainment centre was an outdoor amusement park with a giant ferris wheel (costs 900JPY per ride, almost S$13). Tokyo Big Sight was about 10 minutes' walk away, which was a very unique futuristic piece of architecture (which reminds me of the Singapore Science Centre). I chanced upon an interesting trade-fair cum home exhibition featuring the latest in Japanese renovation technology. As the hotel check-out time was near, I decided to take the Yurikamome monorail back. I packed up and left my luggage with the concierge as I checked out, and went back up to the spa, where I relaxed and showered and ate a light lunch at the spa lounge before it was time to board the limo bus for the airport.

At Narita Airport, checking-in was not a big problem as there were several rows dedicated to JAL. I had time to visit some of the shops at the airport and bought some more souvenirs at a book shop (Kaizosha), as well as a snack - a pack of 6 pieces of unagi (eel) sushi for 490JPY (slightly over S$1 each) - in case there was a delay in in-flight service on the plane. The flight back was even more empty. I bought 2 bottles of Estee Lauder perfume on a promotional discount at the Duty Free Shop at Terminal One for my mom. By the time I got home, it was nearly 1am.

Overall, my Tokyo trip was a short but satisfying one, like an appetiser before the main course, tantalising my taste-buds for the delicious dishes to come. Of course, in my case I am not sure when I would ever get to taste the main course, and I guess it would depend on whether I need to be on a "diet" (in which case I might not be able to afford a main course after all). What I do know for sure is that I would love to visit Japan with S next time, so that we can both enjoy the main course together. Even if it will be another appetiser, at least S and I can get to savour it as a couple.

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...)