it's been 2 weeks since i've been back from japan, yet memories of the trip remain so fresh n vivid. it was truly an experience, it being the first totally free n easy trip i've been on with my friends. everything was done by us. the planning of places to visit, hostels to spend the night, places to eat, getting here n there, spending within a budget... the process was fun but the trip itself was much more...

japan was everything i tot it would be, perhaps even better... the food, the people, the culture, the environment, all so appealing.

i always tot tt food in japan was very expensive, n we set a pretty high budget for food. turns out it was the least of our worries. we had pretty good food for affordable prices. in fact we tried to eat the various types of jap food... sashimi, tepanyaki, udon, ramen, yakitori, curry, tempura, tonkatsu... the list goes on... the rice in jap is also so yummy! super fragrant n nice texture.

the people of japan were mostly very friendly n willing to help. they gladly pointed out directions when asked n were very patient in trying to get the message across. esp since we weren't tt good speaking jap. fortunately w glen charl n ellie n their knowledge of jap language, it wasn't too bad. haha n i realised nv to underestimate the power of 'sign language'. the impromptu version. tt was how i conversed in japan.. lol. oh back to my pt. we were once kinda lost somewhere near the yahoo dome in fuokoka so we approached this guy who looked like he was going home from work. we asked him for directions. without hesitation, he began checking his phone for directions since he wasn't too sure himself. in the end, not only did he point out the direction of the busstop, but also the bus no and the time the bus was arriving. think we spent a good 5-10mins of his time yet he was so obliging n patient. amazing...

i guess it's juz the jap society. everything is so orderly, even during the rush hour, luan4 zhong1 you3 xu4... people queue in 2 rows to get into the trains. stalls make sure their queue is neat n not blocking the neighbouring stall. people all stand on either side of the escalator. youngsters give up their seats on public transport automatically. not only to the elderly but also those only slightly senior to them. admirable... in singapore, most just pretend to sleep or ignore. we NV queue for the mrt. in fact something i find extremely irritating is tt some pple just like to stand in the yellow box. how are people inside the mrt going to come out when others outside are blocking the way??? ok.. maybe the elderly or uncles n aunties just want a place to sit so they are more 'kiasu' in tt sense. but even youngsters!!! totally unbelievable i tell u...

one thing i nv quite expected was the fact tt japan has all it's electrical lines above ground. it gets really quite messy n not too pleasing on the eye. haha. unlike singapore which has everything underground, making the streets much less cluttered n untidy..

i absolutely love the weather in japan. it's about 22 degress in the afternoon but it can get quite hot because of the sun. at night it's so cooling. except when it rains, it gets cold. i'm not one who feels cold easily, so when i say it's cold, i guess it realli is. haha woohoo... chilly.. but fortunately, we have glen who likes his room toasty, n turns on the heater almost every night. once he even hid the remote to stop us from changing it back la. hahaha

one thing singapore has to learn.. the cleanliness of the surroundings. the very fact tt we're known as the clean n green city prob came about because of the hard work of our cleaners n sweepers. then again, i will not overgeneralize n say all singaporeans are like tt, but there are a fair number who litter a fair bit. from young to old... despite the fact tt rubbish bins in singapore are so so so common.. do u know in japan, it's so hard to come by a rubbish bin. u've got to walk so long before u chance upon one... yet the streets are spotless.

the people are so disciplined in tt sense tt they are allowed to consume food n drinks on trains like the Shinkansen though not for the usual subways. again, the bullet trains we took were always so clean n smelt so clean. no traces of food or rubbish on the floor anywhere. here, u allow people to eat on trains, it'll be the beginning of a nightmare. lol... i can barely imagine.

also one i thing i noticed was tt on almost every menu in any part of japan, they would provide the calorie count to the food u were about to order. despite the fact tt the japanese eat quite a lot of carbo, i hardly saw fat people around. we kinda concluded tt it had something to do w the tonnes of cycling they did to get around n prob the cold weather. singapore should adopt the cycling lane thing as it did years ago during my dad's era. tt would cut down fuel consumption w the rising fuel prices, reduce exhaust emission, cut down congestion on roads n promote a healthier lifestyle. y not right?

then again, behind this probable facade of such a clean disciplined society, there are more unimaginable weird stuff... sex shops, anime shops selling hentai stuff, shops selling adult magazines n vcds, redlight districts w funny named clubs n pubs... we happened to accidentally stumble upon a redlight district while trying to find a place for dinner. totally uncomfortable being there.. hard to describe but there's these pple in nice black suits standing at the entrances to the clubs eyeing people who walk pass in an extremely weird manner. i can't quite put a word to it...

oh wells guess every place will have it's little quirks n secrets. :)

am still doing my scrapbook. can't wait to complete it la.. my rooms a total mess.. been cutting n pasting a lot over the last few days but nv more then a few hours each time. too tiring. haha oh if wanna see some pics i took, can visit my facebook album. sneak preview :D haha