7 stories of love

Eddie took this picture around Ueno station. Its a adult sex shop… 7 stories of it. I went into one of them before, er.. only the first floor…the shelves is fill up boxes of silicon pussy, whole wall of them! I never noticed the wordings on the building until Eddie too this picture. Anyway, the Japanese words at the side of the building says “大人のコンビニ” [Otona no conbini]. Translated: adult’s convenience shop.

Click picture to see bigger (no pun intended!)

Swimming Pool Diary

After about one month in Tokyo, I have finally decided to take the plunge (so to speak). Knowing that every activity in Japan from talking to people to showering have their specify ways about it, I decided that I should find out what its like in the pools here, plus I REALLY need to, you know, excercise.

So off I went to Sendagaya station to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. The indoor swimming pool there is the only public one with a 50 metres pool, according to Tadashi. Entrance fees is 600 yen per person and I think its for a 2 hours workout. They also have a multi-visit card, which offers I think 1 free entry or something like that (need to find out next time).

梅祭り (Plum-Flowers Festival)

Before the Sakura festival, we have the plum flowers festival. Some of the plum trees are already blooming with their red or white flowers and the temples should be crowded with photographers snapping away the best flower shots. Click photo to view more

Desert Storm..

Well, it looks like the desert of a Tokyo finally gave in today. Its SNOWING!! What’s more newspapers reported it to be the heaviest in 5 years!

Frequent eating places

Here is a quick list of the places I frequent for dinner or wished I did around where I stay at Yushima. Mostly I go there because they are close by and its late at night and I really don’t want to travel too far for anything else. Nevertheless, they are good (to me) and that’s why I visit them more than once, well not necessary everyday, but I won’t mind going back to them.

Taxi taxi

Some basic facts and figures about taxis in Japan (which you can also find via googling):

• Its has one of the most expensive fares in the world

• Most of us cannot afford to take a cab from Narita airport to Tokyo (except fat and rich CEOs) . It would probably set your budget back by 10,000 円 (about S$200)

Pictures at Yushima Tenjin

This is my first venture on photographic photos:

This lion is at the base of the bronze gate at Yushima Tenjin. You can see the temples name in the background

Noon run

It should come to no surprise that afternoon in Tokyo now is actually the best times to run. In the morning, it may be still too cold and in the night its freezing!

New Year (06) in Japan

明けましておめでとうございます! (Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!)

Its almost 12 midnite on 31 Dec 2005 and we were still deciding whether to go to the Meiji Shrine or a smaller Hie JinJa shrine at Asakasa. But looking at the time, it was obvious that we could never make it to Meiji Shrine in time, with the crowd and long walk into the main shrine, so we headed for Asakasa from Shinjuku ni-chome and a mad dash to the entrance. Made it about 5 mins before 12. There is already a queue at the main door.

かっぱ橋 – Kappabashi

かっぱ橋 (Kappabashi) is a long street that’s about 3o0 m East from the 雷門 (Kaminarimon) at Asakusa. Although this place is branded a Kitchenware street, its more than that. Its a place where you can buy EVERYTHING you need for your food business, from disposable plates and chopsticks, to chairs and table, to waiter uniform, to plastic food display! Its a must visit place for all upcoming Martha Stewart.