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Japan (Day 11) – Homebound

And this was the day we left Japan.

I had successfully gone the entire night with no sleep at all! Early in the morning, we allocated ample time to get to Tokyo narita airport. But somehow by the time we did get there, we were among the last passengers to check in! Both of us ended up sitting separately in lousy centre seats.

On our train ride to the airport, we had assistance from several people with carrying our luggage. Foreigners are definitely friendlier and more inclined to help when they run into another foreigner speaking the same language.

The 2 spiky-haired dudes who helped us with our luggage

These two spiky-haired Malaysian dudes helped us load our luggage onto the overhead cabin on the train. What struck me most was… The amount of gel both of them had in their hair. I kid, I kid! They were very nice people.

A middle-aged Taiwanese man on the same train ride gave me his number too, and asked me for mine, all the while watching me struggle with my luggage instead of helping. It was very disturbing.

In-flight meal on All Nippon Airways

Anyway, we very nearly missed our flight. This was my in-flight meal on ANA.

In-flight meal on Air Nippon Airway

Chicken with saffron rice. Is that Indian food?

Salmon side dish on Air Nippon Airway

Cake on Air Nippon Airway

The cake was really dry and had a funny taste too. This was by far one of the worst meals I’ve had on any airline, which was surprising considering it was a Japanese airline.

Haagen-Dazs ice cream on Air Nippon Airway

Vanilla ice cream from haagen-dazs! It sweetened the predicament of being stuck in a middle seat for 7 hours. Watching spider-man 3 helped too. Not once did I even get off my seat to pee.

Throughout the flight, I was anticipating the plane to reach Singapore finally; I kept looking at the flight monitor! Sure, I love Japan. But I was excited to see my loved ones after more than 10 days of being away.

Heck, I even missed the weather! Having experienced the scorching Japan summer, Singapore now seems really cool in comparison. I shall never again complain about the hot and humid weather here. Come on, kuwaitis have to endure daytime temperatures of 56 degrees Celsius!

Seafood Platter for 2 at Fish 'n Co

Fresh daisies to welcome me home, and a seafood platter for two at fish ‘n co! Thanks!

So here endeth my first ever trip to Japan, and my 11-parter blog series on this colourful and beautiful country.

Already, I am missing Japan very much.

Tags: airline food, Tokyo

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About the Editor

Veron Ang is the Founder and Chief Editor of Sparklette, a Singapore restaurants guide, lifestyle and travel blog. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and runs a web design firm at Sparklette Studio. To get in touch, head on over to the contact page or follow @Sparklette and @VeronSG on Twitter.

Japan (Day 10) – Ueno

August 2007 – Post Highlights

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Responses Leave a comment

pkchukiss
82 comments

Dude wants to get your mobile number — why not give him one… wrong number? *evil grin* A friend I know keeps the numbers of her enemies, to give out to creepy characters.
“I’m helping them broaden their social circle,” she says.
Moral of the story: don’t make enemies with my friends, or they will broaden your social circle, whether you like it or not :-)
Reply
Posted September 5, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Jayson
44 comments

wow!
finally we come to the end of your 11 day series!
thank you for your posts …
you’ve brought us throughout the nooks and cranny of japan in the comfort of our laptop …
Kudos!
Reply
Posted September 5, 2007 at 2:47 pm
sens
1 comment

hi,
japan looks real great! how come u didnt go to the Roppongi Hills?
Reply
Posted September 6, 2007 at 12:44 am
Veron
3438 comments

pkchukiss: I fake-numbered a lot of people before. It’s the easiest way to avoid having to reject someone. Eventually I got told off by a couple of guy friends for doing this evil deed (probably they had suffered the nasty end of this treatment before?). It’s better to be honest and reject the dude, rather than to use deception.
Jayson: Ahhh… I feel the void already.
sens: It didn’t cross my mind to go there. But wait, isn’t Tokyo Tower somewhere at Roppongi Hills?
Reply
Posted September 6, 2007 at 1:04 am
Joyz
43 comments

Hey Veron, wonder if its too much to ask for but are you able to do a summary of the hotels you put up in and the estimate cost/night? Know this may take too much of your time; so if you can’t, no problemo!
All in all, I’m glad you had a good holiday! Makes me wanna plan for my next trip – I am still contemplating the place; either E. Europe or Japan.
Reply
Posted September 6, 2007 at 8:21 am
py
183 comments

This trip to Japan seems to bring you good memories. I think it was a great idea that you blog about the trip in detail. Many years later, you can still look back fondly to your experiences of this trip.
Reply
Posted September 7, 2007 at 11:19 am
Beni
30 comments

ROFL @ the ‘spiky-haired’ pic… *literally*
Your comment on their gel-laden hair was funny, and on top of that you put a discreetly taken pic of their hair as well :D Tehehehe… I am sort of visualizing you taking that pic, and it induces some more ROFL…
Okaeri nasai. Welcome back. Otsukaresamadeshita!
Reply
Posted September 7, 2007 at 11:25 am
Veron
3438 comments

Joyz: I can’t really tell you the exact costs because some were part of the travel package including the airfare. But the 3 places I stayed in were namely Hotel Sunlite Shinjuku (Tokyo), Kyoto Hotel Annex (Kyoto) and Aizuya Inn (Tokyo). Hope this helps!
py: You are absolutely right! I still look back at my solo Bangkok trip with fond memories even after 3 years!
Beni: lol I wasn’t just being cheeky — the spikiness really struck me so much that I had to get a picture!
Reply
Posted September 7, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Shuxian
1 comment

Cool. It makes me wanna start planning my next hol – to JAPAN. Nice reading ur blog. Provides me great entertainment. Keep up the good work gal. =)
Reply
Posted September 21, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Veron
3438 comments

Thanks for the encouragement! Japan is an excellent holiday destination. Other than the possible difficulty of language barrier, I think you would absolutely love the country.
Reply
Posted September 22, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Terence
1 comment

Thank you.
Found your blog while searching for Kyoto.
I will be going to Kyoto from 21 to 27 May 08, practically spending my entire time there. This will be my first trip to Japan and u must be wondering why I did not go Tokyo instead? I prefer to sightseeing than visting another concrete jungle. Hehehe.
Reply
Posted May 8, 2008 at 4:38 pm
sara
1 comment

hello
oh my god this holiday of yours makes me feel like i have been to japan
you are so so so LUCK to get to travel like this
Reply
Posted May 21, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Esther Ho
2 comments

heya, i stumbled on ur webby from researching for my trip to japan this year in late july… im mesmerised by ur amazing photography skills! u sure manage to make evtg look fantastic! im on facebook with this email add but i shame to even request ur critique on my lowly photography skills haha…btw, i do rem u saying something on ur blog abt u offering ur professional skills as a photographer? do u take wedding pictures or anything like that? just so u noe im a fan of ur webby n delight to see ur photos and also ur meticulous descriptions of evtg! do continue to fascinate all of us!
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Posted September 12, 2008 at 6:32 pm
ConnieJD
1 comment

Thank you so much for writing this!!!! Ive wanted to go to japan since i was very young,and im still only in my early teens,but i am dieing to learn japanese and go teach english and live in japan!!!!! ive always wanted to see more into it and what its like,and you’ve done that for me.I want to go EVEN more now if possible! Youre photography is beautiful, seeing some of the pictures and beauty almost made me cry! this was amazing,i thank you so much for taking the time to do it.
Reply
Posted September 14, 2008 at 9:44 am
Veron
3438 comments

Esther Ho: Thanks for the wonderful remarks girl. I’m more comfortable with shooting still objects since I’m using a compact digital camera. My photography skills sure aren’t good enough to capture precious wedding memories!
ConnieJD: It’s my pleasure :) You sure have a deep passion and determination to go live in Japan! I’m not sure what it’s like to live there, but friends who have told me they love it, except that it gets lonely at times because nobody speaks English. But I’m sure with an ability to converse in Japanese, that wouldn’t be a problem. Follow your dreams girl :)
Reply
Posted September 14, 2008 at 12:56 pm
trish
1 comment

Hey! I chanced upon your website after searching about trips in Japan and I think you’ve done a great job entertaining us readers with your pretty entries with loads of phots :) feels like we’re there with you at the moment! :D oh i have a question, for a trip like this (11 days & expenses there), approx. how much SG currency did you exchange for yen? i want to start saving up! :D
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Posted September 18, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Esther Ho
2 comments

heya again…
i wrote in before n although u said u dont do wedding photos, u said u do design too? what kind of services do u offer? haha sorry to sound so enthu but if u do photo enhancing or say just photography for special occasions would really be interested to know how much you charge :D Hope to hear from you soon!
Reply
Posted September 20, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Veron
3438 comments

I do have experience in doing photo enhancements. Shall we discuss this privately? I have dropped you an email :)
Reply
Posted September 20, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Doris
1 comment

Your blog made me want to go to Japan even more! It was a very nice read…and I read EVERYTHING! The pictures were very nice and you provided very good details of almost everything…which made this blog even more interesting…you sure you’re not Japanese? ^__^ Anyway, thanks for sharing your experiences and I hope I’ll have the opportunity to experience Japan firsthand though I doubt about making a blog out of my trip…I’m not a blog person afterall and yours is WAAAAAAY better than I could ever do mine (if I’ll make one that is). Reading your stories and seeing the pictures, the videos…made me feel like I was in Japan with you for the last 11 days…thanks for the adventure!
Cheers!
Reply
Posted October 29, 2008 at 11:04 pm
ai
1 comment

cool, i was posting a youtube video of the yurikamome line to odaiba (for my own blog) when i saw yours and got linked to your blog. Read everything of your trip. Interesting! You take nice photos :)
(haha why does this say i am from australia when i’m in singapore?)
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Posted November 5, 2008 at 5:10 pm