NCCU didn't have a 12-day spring break, but the 2-day university anniversary holiday happened to fall on the same 2 days that I have all my classes, so I got a huge break. =)
So I used these 12 days to go to Tokyo & HK~
Bear with me - this post will be quite long because it sums up 2 weeks. ^-^;;
TokyoThe destination of this trip was a last minute choice because I knew Tokyo wasn't going to be a cheap trip, but my uncle and aunt were going at the same time coincidentally and I desperately needed a place to travel to, so I decided to go~
It was definitely a good decision~
I love the city, the language and all the cute snacks, toys, souvenirs, etc. that you just can't seem to purchase elsewhere~ =)
May 13-14Night flight out to HK on the 13th, arrived @ 11pm, Uncle and Sally came to pick me up from the airport and settled my big luggage into 上水 - only took my small one to Japan~
Didn't sleep all night and chatted with auntie until dawn~
Head back out on the morning of the 14th to catch the 8:50am
flight to Japan - arrived @ 2pm~
Bussed out to Shinjuku area~
As expected and warned by everyone, it took a while to find my hotel because the subway station was such a huge maze that it took me a while just to get out the right exit (which actually wasn't exactly the right exit in the end)~
But hey, I was told that I did pretty good cuz it didn't take me too long~ =)
After settling into the hotel, I went out to
chill around the Shinjuku area for the night~
Had inexpensive
ramen as my first meal in Japan - which turned out to one of the best bowls of ramen I had in Tokyo throughout my whole trip~ =)
Just can't go back to ramen back home anymore~ xD
Tried getting some toys from those
UFO machines, but I failed horribly~ =(
Met up with Uncle Tony @ 9pm, planned out our next few days, and headed over to a
government building observatory that overlooks Tokyo before I headed back to my hotel for the night~
May 15Mt. Fuji & Hakone 1-Day Tour - took this tour by myself today because Uncle Tony went to pick up Auntie Mimi from the airport~
It was a good break from the busy city life I've been experiencing for the past few months~
Went to the
5th station of Mt. Fuji to take pictures.
Lunch at Hakone Lake Hotel - Soba & Tempura.Hakone Ropeway cable car ride up to the
Owakudanu Boiling Valley.
Had their famous
black-coloured shell egg (boiled in sulfurous hot spring water) - which claims to bring an extra 7 years of life per egg that is consumed. =P
Boat Cruise on Lake Ashi - pirate-ship-style~
Shinkansen bullet train back to Tokyo~Met up with Uncle Tony and Auntie Mimi and we went for
ramen dinner again. =)
Picked my first
Japanese crepe dessert before heading back to my hotel~
May 16The longest day of the trip~But we were able to cover so many areas - 5 in total~
Woke up @ 5:30am and headed out @ 6:30am to
Tsukiji Fish Market~
The large tuna auction was over because it was simply too early, but we managed to see some left over ones to take pictures with~
Had
lunch at 壽司大 - 1 of the 2 famous sushi restaurants there~
Had to wait over 1 hour to get in, but it was well worth it~ =)
The wait wasn't that bad cuz the guy that was working there kept trying to strike up a conversation with us - his smile never fading and trying to speak phrases of Canto that he learned from other tourists over the years to make us laugh. =P
After lunch, we headed out to
Asakusa area to attend the
Sanja Matswri Festival and to see the
Sensoji Shrine~
Many men in the festival wore very little to cover their legs... =T it was kind of disturbing...
After that, we went to the
Akihabara area - known for its electronics and Japanese toys~
The Japanese toy stores were like my heaven I and wish I could bring it all home with me, but I only bought a few things to satisfy my current wants~ =P
We had
afternoon tea at a maid cafe in the area - where all the waitresses dressed up like French maids and provided really good service. =)
Then we went to see the
Imperial Palace after the sun set, but realized that it would've been much nicer to see it during the day so we didn't stay too long~
Dinner with Liz in the Roppongi area - she took us to a really nice
Japanese 小食 restaurant~ =)
It was so nice to see her since she left Toronto 2 years ago~
After dinner, we parted with my aunt and uncle and went to
chill with Liz's friends in the Roppongi area - great nightlife there!~
Crashed Liz's place for the night~ Thanks for letting me stay! ^-^
May 17In contrast to a hectic day yesterday, we had a laid back day today with my aunt & uncle and Liz~
Lunch at a really good 蛋包麵 place and then split up to do some
shopping in the Shibuya district~ =)
After shopping, we headed out to the
Harajuku area~
Didn't really see any goths out today, but saw some cosplayers~
Visited the
Meiji Jingu Shrine before strolling the shopping street of Harajuku~
Ate another good crepe and shopped at
Daiso - the famous 100Yen shop~
Went back to
Roppongi for a good
Shabu Shabu dinner~ hehe*
Liz took us to a good spot to take pictures of the Tokyo Tower and then we parted to go back to
Shinjuku and our respective hotels~
Thanks again for bringing us out to all these good food/tour places, Liz~ =)
May 18Took a 2 hour ride out to a town near Tokyo called
Nikko~
Watched the
Grand Festival of Toshogu Shrine, had lunch and then
visited most of the temples and shrines in the area~
My feet started killing cuz of all the walking over the past few days - the cons of being flat-footed~ =(
As such, I basically passed out on the ride back to Tokyo~
Back in
Shinjuku, we had
dinner at a ramen place and had some good desserts there too~
Went back to my hotel to pack~
May 19Last day of the trip~ =(
I really wish I could stay longer, but I shall be back with family next time and travel to other cities like Kyoto, Osaka, Hokkaido, etc~ =)
My aunt and uncle left for another city so I was on my own for the day~
Checked out, stored luggage and went out to
shop in the Shinjuku area
Went to another 105Yen store to pick up some last minute things~
Went to have a nice
Tea Pork Cutlet brunch near my hotel~
Then I shopped
at
Tokyu Hands - a department store with a lot of things that you thought you'll never need, but end up having to buy~ =P
I only bought 3 things and 1 of them was a souvenir for someone else so it wasn't
that bad~
Bussed out to Narita airport and had a lot of time to kill so I went to
buy the 草餅 snack that my family seems to love and
watched airplanes take off and land at the observation deck~
Took the 6:50pm flight back to HK and went to 上水~
HKMay 20Closure day - it's finally all clear and over.
Felt really disappointed and disrespected, but everything was as I expected - no surprises.
After the past month, I felt kind of relieved cuz I was so drained and exhausted.
Out to 沙田 to sing K with 阿妹 (Joyce)~
Back to doing what I love best~ =)
Had dinner and a good long chat~ Miss you so much~ s2
See you in August la~~
May 21Chill with SChan all day~
Good chat during lunch at Pizza Hut - eating my favourite thin crust thousand island sauce pizza~ =)
Did some shopping in 尖沙咀 and 旺角 - not too much to do with clothing this time~
Got some long-awaited CDs, a bluetooth headset and a nice top from
Salad~
Dinner at 沙田圍 大排檔~ =)
Back to 上水 - good first chat with auntie since it all happened.
May 22Chill with SChan and Vean at Causeway Bay~
Lunch at 許留山 - kinda wrong for lunch, I know~ =P
Bought a pair of
Tough jeans and a pair of
Salad jeans cuz they were doing a 2-pair promotion and a
Salad belt~ hehe* s2
Afternoon tea at
Cova - a really nice restaurant that we specifically came out to go to~
I ordered their tea set and had a
Blueberry cheesecake and Hot Chocolate~ =)
Shop around some more - got an
Agnes B. coin pouch~
Dinner at 九龍唐 with SChan only cuz Vean had dinner plans~
KFC 葡撻 for dessert before going back home~
May 23Chill with Sally all day~
On our way out, I think we saw the 天賜 guy from 我和殭屍有個約會 TV series on the subway, but we weren't 100% sure (even though he looked exactly like him) cuz the guy we saw had quite the weird style~ =P
We wanted to take a picture of him secretly, but by the time we figured out how to do it, he left the train~ FAIL~ hahaha~
Haircut at 尖沙咀 and bought a pair of earrings (I had them before, but I lost one ear in Japan so I had to buy another pair)~
We had dinner at 王家沙 at 九龍唐 before heading back home~
May 24Breakfast and then church~
Met up with Ivan for the afternoon~
Watched
Angels & Demons - a good movie~
Afternoon tea at
Delifrance and had a good chat~ =)
Back to 上水 for dinner with Uncle, Auntie and Sally at a nice Japanese restaurant~
Had raw beef, uni, oysters, fish liver and puffer fish! ...mmMMmm... =P
Wanted to go to 深圳 for the night for a massage, but I didn't have my Visa so we postponed it to next time~ ^-^
Going to miss this family more than anything actually, cuz they've been so nice to me and we've become such good friends over the years~
May 25Last-minute packing and headed out around 1pm~
It was raining cats and dogs outside and it drained every ounce of energy I had in me in order to successfully drag my big luggage down under the passageway and back up again to get to the other side of the street to the bus stop~
=________=;;
But I made it somehow~
3:35pm flight back out to Taiwan~
Thanks to everyone for making this break truly wonderful~
Went to a place I've always dreamed about going to - and loved it just as I thought I would~
Saw many familiar faces that I haven't seen in a long time~=)
I wish my break was longer - I really enjoyed these 12 days~
This break was the highlight of my exchange cuz it was just so much fun~ =)
Now I'm back to reality and back to tons of awaiting work~
Last month of school - time to pay my dues after 3 months of play~ =P
Pictures on Facebook!
Tokyo (I)Tokyo (II)HK Visits - March to June 2009UpcomingMay 30-June 1 -> PengHu (澎湖) trip with Sarah and Haley - toured around by Tony~ =)
June 1-4 -> SChan & Vean come to Taiwan!
June 20-23 -> 睛 & 嘉 come to Taiwan!
June 23 -> End of term~
June 24/26 -> Pack everything and head back to HK
**pants** that
was a long post - my hands are tired and it's getting really late - night!
At the airport - waiting to board flight to Beijing~~~~
