Stvn has been wanting to try whitewater rafting for a while and when he chanced upon a great deal on it, he asked if I would be interested. I am generally pretty open to any new experience however this I hesitated a little because I am a non-swimmer. He told me that it's probably just gonna be level 1 and 2 as it's for beginners. I relented. The ( Read more... )

Finally, I've reached our last day in Tokyo. We decided to spend the day at Shibuya, doing a spot of shopping, have lunch and make our way to the airport. We like the vibes at Shibuya and it's so vibrant. Stvn asked if I wanted to check out the statue of Hachikō and upon my affirmation went searching for it. Many people were already there and we ( Read more... )

Even though we didn't quite expect ourselves to shop at Ginza, a visit there was a must. I'm not sure if it is fair to compare it to NYC's Times Square but somehow that was how I felt. Between the two I say Ginza is much more organized and people really dress to the nines here. Very nice to people watch when I was not overly conscious about my own ( Read more... )

Asakusa was bursting with people and life when we arrived from the cruise. This is the place to go if you wish to get a glimpse of the remains of old Tokyo. Clearly, lots of people were interested as this place was positively the most crowded and disorderly among all the places we visited ( Read more... )

Following lunch we took a slow stroll and it brought us to Hama Rikyu Garden. We figure that since we are in Tokyo, we should at least visit one Japanese Garden. What is noteworthy about this place is that it has been created for more than 300 years! Today it features a traditional garden with moon-viewing pavilions and tea houses. During the Edo ( Read more... )

Based on this review, we decided to steer away from the packed sushi restaurants recommended in every guidebook. Sadly, we had a hard time finding Kagura Sushi, and ended up walking in a huge circle before finding it. Thank goodness we had some food in our tummy already ( Read more... )

Since it is highly recommended tourist attraction, we were super excited when the day arrived for us to visit Tsujiki Market. I was blown away by the sheer size and the variety of seafood and fresh produce that's available here. Also appreciative of the workers there who tolerated our presence as they continued with their work, whatever it may be. ( Read more... )

Japanese desserts - we have always loved and appreciated them. Somehow, the Japanese is superior in making really well-balanced dessert that's delicious without feeling too heavy. And they are the prettiest thing ever. Armed with a couple of recommendations from a friend, we sought out Isetan at Shinjuku. My goodness, there is a huge section on ( Read more... )

We decided to allocate one day for shopping and this day was it! Before we hit the malls in Shinjuku we decided to check out the view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. From the top, it is apparent how densely populated the city is. Housed in the same building is Tokyo Tourist Information Center and we popped in for a look-see (for ( Read more... )

Harajuku..I guess it is a place that one ought to visit just to get a sense of what the hype is all about. Personally, I felt out of place in this vibrant and fashionable neighbourhood and I agree completely with the tour book that says, "anyone over 25 is apt to feel ancient here." Oh yes. In any case, I enjoyed the visit to Meiji Jingu Shrine ( Read more... )