Woke up pretty early and was out of the hotel about 10+ to check out the various places we didn't get to go the previous nite. Made our to the Sunshine City Shopping Complex which is on the other side of the Ikebukuro station, took us about 15-20mins to get there..did quite a lot of walking in Japan then the average amount I usually do..quite tiring if you ask me..hehe =p
Passed by a few Pachinko game centers as well as arcades along the way..the arcade there is not only big but consist of a few storeys one lor..anyway, got to the Sunshine City and window-shopped abit, didn't buy anything coz the things look quite ex and we don't wanna lug too much stuff when we take the bus to Kawaguchiko. We were walking aimlessly when we came across these:
Sakuras and..
Our Heaven!..more of Kelvin's heaven..keke
This is one of the main stores in Japan that sells anime-related merchandise, there are individual floors for comics, DVD, CD, games, character-related stuff like figurines, accessories, plush toys etc..its basically a heavenly place for all anime lovers like us..haha
So we went in of course, and saw lotsa nice figurines with 'pretty' numbers on their price tags too..hehe..we didn't buy anything from our 1st visit there (we went there more than once!) coz usually the prices are quite competitive so we thought of checking other stores before buying anything..heh
So we went in of course, and saw lotsa nice figurines with 'pretty' numbers on their price tags too..hehe..we didn't buy anything from our 1st visit there (we went there more than once!) coz usually the prices are quite competitive so we thought of checking other stores before buying anything..heh
Had our lunch at those vending-machine operated shops again, the food is good! =D
After lunch, we made our way to the train station to go to Asakusa..I was told and seen on brochures about the complex train lines in Japan but was still amazed by it when I saw it..
Luckily Kelvin did his research and hence we didn't have much problems travelling via the train during our trip..and we arrived at Asakusa..
Picked up a fallen sakura flower from the ground, it doesn't look as nice on its own hor?..hehe =p
Next stop - Odaiba..
Decided to take a boat ride from Asakusa to Odaiba since we happened to pass by the ferry terminal there..wasn't expecting much from the boat initially until we were about the board the boat..it looks pretty sleek to me..hehe
The interior looks nice too! =)
Luckily Kelvin did his research and hence we didn't have much problems travelling via the train during our trip..and we arrived at Asakusa..
Sakuras again! ^^
The Kaminari Gate
Nakamise Street & their japanese dumplings - Sakura Dango, nice! =)
Nakamise Street & their japanese dumplings - Sakura Dango, nice! =)
Look at the giant Buddha slippers..
Next stop - Odaiba..
Decided to take a boat ride from Asakusa to Odaiba since we happened to pass by the ferry terminal there..wasn't expecting much from the boat initially until we were about the board the boat..it looks pretty sleek to me..hehe
The interior looks nice too! =)
Think the entire boat journey took 50mins to arrive at Odaiba..the sun was setting by the time we got there and it was drizzling..*cold* Went to the nearby shopping complex to get shelter from the rain..and was trying to take photos of the 'Rainbow bridge' with our Casio camera's night mode but it sucks big time!..not that its not good but its juz impossible to take a night shot w/o a tripod, the picture comes out blur when we tried to take it freehandedly (hope there's such a word..haha)
Kelvin was rather determined to take a nice picture of the bridge since it was one of the landmark for Odaiba, so he decided to brave the rain to set up the tripod and take the picture..and here's the product of his effort:
Went to check out it in the arcade at Palette Town..seems like another of our fave place to go explore when we were at Japan..hehe..but seriously, their arcades look way more interesting than the ones we have here in S'pore..hee..
Kelvin with one of his fave: Doraemon =)
Bought some crepes to eat, they all look so delicious! *slurp!*
Kelvin was rather determined to take a nice picture of the bridge since it was one of the landmark for Odaiba, so he decided to brave the rain to set up the tripod and take the picture..and here's the product of his effort:
Very pretty rite?..at least his efforts paid off..hehe =)
We were trying to find our way to our next destination when we came across this:
Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008! And it's happening during this current week! We got pretty excited from this piece of poster and decided to change our itinerary for the next day..hehe..but the info was all in Japanese, so we can't quite make out where's it held at so decided to ask the hotel staff later..hee =D
After keeping the precious piece of poster into my bag, we made our way to the next stop, Palette Town! It has the largest Ferries Wheel in Japan, with a diameter of 100 meters and stands 115 meters tall! Additional info: "From its heights you can gaze off onto the Rainbow Bridge, the Tokyo Tower, and all the way to the skyscraper district of Shinjuku. At night the Ferris Wheel is illuminated in 16 different patterns with 120 different kinds of lights, making it a delightful sight in and of itself. The ride lasts approximately 16 minutes, allowing you a brief reprise from the hustle and bustle of the crowd and to enjoy Tokyo in private." (taken from sunnypages.jp)
After keeping the precious piece of poster into my bag, we made our way to the next stop, Palette Town! It has the largest Ferries Wheel in Japan, with a diameter of 100 meters and stands 115 meters tall! Additional info: "From its heights you can gaze off onto the Rainbow Bridge, the Tokyo Tower, and all the way to the skyscraper district of Shinjuku. At night the Ferris Wheel is illuminated in 16 different patterns with 120 different kinds of lights, making it a delightful sight in and of itself. The ride lasts approximately 16 minutes, allowing you a brief reprise from the hustle and bustle of the crowd and to enjoy Tokyo in private." (taken from sunnypages.jp)
Night view from the Ferries Wheel (pardon the blurriness coz of the stupid nite mode =x)
Before we got onto the Ferries Wheel, we were asked to take a photo in front of a background of Odaiba's landmarks. Was kinda skeptical about it coz seems like a typical tourist 'toking' thing..but the picture came out pretty nice and it wasn't as expensive as I anticipated - 800 yen, so we still buy it in the end..heh =p
Went to check out it in the arcade at Palette Town..seems like another of our fave place to go explore when we were at Japan..hehe..but seriously, their arcades look way more interesting than the ones we have here in S'pore..hee..
Kelvin with one of his fave: Doraemon =)
Bought some crepes to eat, they all look so delicious! *slurp!*
After a long day, we went back to the hotel and found out from the staff there about the Anime fair venue and they were very helpful to provide us with details on which train routes we shld take and stuff..Well, that's all for Day 2 for us =)
