Day 9: 31st Dec 2010 Asakusa/Tokyo Tower

Last day of 2010 was fruitfully spent in Japan..we woke up pretty late after 2 full days at Disneyworld..to conserve energy for tonight countdown…we lazed around in the morning till about noon before heading to Asakusa to purchase food souvenirs! The crowd that day was huge!...i guess everyone was rushing to buy new year goodies before the clock strike 12am…

Nakamise Street

Some yam dessert tat kept Dear queueing up and awaiting to try!

for the Japanese..they celebrate new year according to the Western calendar..unlike the Chinese.. 5 years after the Meiji Restoration, Japan used the Gregorian calendar and hence celebrate New Year’s Day on 1^st Jan…this continued ever since 1873. New Year is considered a big event in Japan..people usually visit shrines and temples…to pray for a great year ahead..

We also went to Ginza shopping malls to see if there’s any great food items there..the food basement was filled with pple!...and everywhere was selling New year food items like osechi ryori!quite an atmosphere…

As day time was really short during winter..which sunset happens at 430pm..we made our way to Tokyo Tower to catch the last sunset of 2010…the sky was spectacular that day..i’ll let you understand why from the pics below..

Poster on Takuya Kimura

Tokyo Tower Mascot..looks like banana

Famous souvenir from Tokyo

Tokyo Tower in the Day

Tokyo tower at night

Star in Tokyo!

Hopefully we can go to Mt Fuji one day…the view of Mt Fuji from Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Building made me develop a respect for this magnificent mountain..it is always the symbol of Japan..i always image a rising sun…beside the peak of the mount fuji..classic…hope to see that one day!

Hello Kitty wishes everyone 2011

Initially we thought there will be great celebrations for the countdown to 2011 at Tokyo Tower…there will be release of balloons etc..but apparently it wasn’t after I asked the staff there…feeling a bit disappointed..we changed plans and made our way back to Asakusa Sensoji to absorb the atmosphere..

At there..we almost spend the remaining amount of money on street food like okonomiyaki, yakisoba, octopus balls..and some other yummy food at those stores held around Sensoji..to satisfy the hungry stomachs of pple queuing at the temple in the cold winter…

Okonomiyaki

When clock striked 12am on1st Jan 2011, the huge bell at Sensoji was rung 108 times.this number symbolizes 108 human sins, according to what Buddhism believes in..so as to cleanse from these sins..and have a great new year ahead..very symbolic..this happens at Sensoji and Meiji Shrine in Tokyo…a great sight to catch!

Maikos

everyone wishing for good luck for 2011

Police were at Sensoji Temple to control crowd..

I will want to visit Takasaki Daruma Temple one day!

And so we ended 2010 with a sweet note in my fav Japan…leaving early the next day for our flight back to Singapore..is happy new year 2011 to japan and Singapore..

Till then…I will look forward to go Japan again..maybe during autumn time to Kyoto!

Day 7 & 8: 29th and 30th December Tokyo Disneyland/Disneysea

Transport: Take to Maihama station. Tokyo Disneyland is just minutes away from the station via walking..

These 2 days were very magical for us..as we spent our time at the lovely Disneyland and Disneysea..True enough, Tokyo Disneyland is much bigger and more fun than HK Disneyland..and of course, the crowd is so much bigger that you may need to queue from 30mins to 3h for a ride!! Horrendous crowds…

Mickey the Star!

As we stepped into Disneyland on 29^th Dec..we saw a long long queue…guess what?..it’s the queue to take pics with Mickey Mouse!...we took about 45mins before it’s our turn..and they were so strict..only 1 pic can be taken..but we feel that some Japanese are allowed to take more than 1 pic with Mickey…I find this not so statisfactory…in the meantime, other cartoon characters also came out…although everyone know they are fictional, but the crowd rushes to these cartoon characters to get pics, autographs…well..it’s all about the thrill when you visit Disneyland, isnt’t it? Hahaha…


Goofy!


Minnie the Queen!


Pooh Pooh!


Pinocchio~...never lies!


The Famous Magical Castle


And we saw many little children all gowned up to be part of Disney World

There were so many shows that day…and they are all very entertaining..including the parade show, the electric lights display show at night and the fireworks at 830pm..to keep people staying in the theme park, and continue to spend!!

One of the many enjoyable shows at Disneyland :)

The fascinating lights display

Pooh and Friends!

For every portion of the theme park, they have a themed restaurant, a big gift shop selling items related to the theme…anything and everything you can think of, Disney sells it!

Winnie the Pooh shop~~

Can you resist these pizzas?!

Since it’s nearing the New Year, many cookies in the shape of rabbits, cookies boxes with very cute rabbits alongside with Mickey and Minnie, figurines are some of the merchandise…we were resisting these temptations to avoid impulsive buys!!

Beautiful bowl that I resist its temptation!

Cookies or little bites with Disney merchandise~

Take a look at those pics…it’s totally KAWAII!!!

And I’m very happy to take pics with Chip and Dale, personalized pics of Goofy, Pluto etc…my idols since when I was a little kid..i love the mickey mouse waffles, the mickey mouse pizza..whee…I love the food..the merchandise..the characters..I hope I can live there forever!

WAFFLE yummy~

Disneyland at night

Fireworks at 830pm!

Beautiful castle at night..mesmerized!

The next day, we spent our time exploring Disneysea…since there is only one Disneysea in the world, we reckon it will be great to explore it since we were already there! And I must say it was a refreshing experience!....the feeling was a little like being in little Venice..the whole theme park was basically built on top of the sea..and Disney characters wore sailors costumes..that made the whole atmosphere very different from Disneyland…

My lunch set at Disneysea~

We took this kawaii bus to Disneysea!

Little Venice looking themepark

Us with Minnie!!

MickEy Handsome Handsome!

I saw some ladies with bags like this!

Lilo in the House!

They also have many fantastic shows and interesting shops…

Mega Water show..spectacular!

Look at the crowd!

Yummy popcorn..they have many different flavors of popcorn like milk, curry, chocolate..and these stalls were always long queue!

Donut shaped cushions!

At the end of 2 days, the “damage” spent at these 2 theme parks were absorbed into my backpack as I carried these favourites back to Singapore..very happily..hee

Aladdin's World

Triton's Kingdom..Under the Sea!

Spin spin tea-cups

Personalised gifts

Although at night, it was very cold with strong winds..i think it was nearing 2-5deg…I’m glad we have survived..and not falling ill..the previous days of me having a flu disappeared miraculously once after a visit to Disneyland hahaha…

Shivering together haha!

Disneysea at Night

From the architecture, to the merchandise, to the entertainment provided to each guest in the theme park, was intricately designed…pple were seen at the cashiers making payment, everyone carrying at least a bag of Disney merchandise, pple feasting at all the restaurants…you must be guessing how much Disneyland earns per day…unimaginable I think haha…well..it’s the fun, the photos, the rides, the memories that each guest gets to bring home..which is considered priceless, in my opinion!

Hand in Hand to Disneyland and Disneysea!