Japan trip grand finale

日本の旅 Finale

Oops. An update that's been delayed just wa-ay too long!

Anw, loads of pics ahead~ Enjoy.

Automated machines. Dispensing sodas to bottled drinks to.. get this.. RAMEN. Have ya ever seen so much vending machines all lined up together like this?

Residing in this very pretty town, is the place where you can make the 1 & only music box in the world. Yes. Even right down to the music. And you'd be surprised that the vast library of music includes latest hits by japanese artistes! I even found Arashi's songs! ^^

They even had a museum of antique music boxes - those that run on scripted scores (those with holes in paper kinds). Damn nice. Damn expensive too.

Enjoyed a cuppa chilled coffee & tea with a slice of cheesecake. The delicate cups were souveniors to bring home!

Wow... how to resist this temptation??

They've got very cute road signs. There's even a flower pic to indicate the flower farm. Heh. Hokkaido, famous for their lavender & rock melon. So of cos, we had to try the lavender ice-cream & rock melon! But that 1 slice (x4 cubes) of melon costs like S$3?!

Our first traditional japanese hotel, which provided guests with yukata - 浴衣 & tatami. I felt almost half-jap donning the yukata. LOL!

Visiting the waterfalls, which is supposedly representing the feminism & masculinity of it. I think it's quite obvious which is which right? It was a lo-ong & arduous & exhausting journey up to see the spectacle. Most visitors only managed to reach mid-level before they gave up.

Hell Valley indeed smelt like hell. O_o It's actually an extinct volcano but due to the rich minerals & SULPHUR, this place was famous for its extremely-gd-for-the-skin hotsprings.

We also visited ISHIYA chocolate factory. ISHIYA is like THE chocolate only to be found & bought in Hokkaido. It was like stepping into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory! With all those cutesy animals & figurines singing & dancing every 30min. Damn.. did it have to rain?!

Had sukiyaki at night. Extra ordering of Kobe Beef & abalone. The beef is freaking ex! (Like $70??!) but it's definitely worth every single penny. =p~~

Hotel de Raisin. The most luxurious hotel of our entire stay. It was so huge, we had to walk to the next building just to go to the hotsprings. There were ALOT of kids there having their summer vacation. So enjoy huh...

A visit to Sapporo beer factory.

Japan's circuit??!

Whilst the rest of the tour went back Singapore, we took the train down to Tokyo. First stop - Asakusa! The 人形烧 was to-die-for. Dropped by Ginza at night. Ginza is definitely a high-fashion, high-end place. Check out the prices. O_o

Day 2. Off to Shibuya. That yellow building, Matsumoto KiYoshi. I officially named it one of my fav place next to Tokyu Hands to shop. Which girl doesn't like Watson? With all the stuffs ranging from cosmetics to toiletries going at 28% cheaper than normal price. Which is a gd deal since prices all around Japan are flat.

Japan MUJI! Bought 2 pens. =) Jap phones are juz so cool. Haix.

Tokyo Tower.

Meiji shrine.

Outside our budget-yet-still-not-that-cheap hotel. With FREE internet access somemore. When you're thousand and one miles away from home, being able to keep in touch with not only your friends back in S'pore but also those in Perth is indeed heartwarming. =)

There was this really cool 6-storey toy shop near our hotel. Bro very gian looking at those airguns & not being able to buy home. Instead, he bought a $70 Initial D car home.

He & his Fanta grape from Prince of Tennis.

On board the skyliner to Narita International Airport. Passed by some "very Singaporean-looking HDBs". And there was this guy few seats down the isle who can't freaking bother to tear off the price tag on his Mickey Mouse cap. Doh.

The food we had. Need i say more? =Pp~~

Home sweet home! And my prized possessions~~ =)