Day 1 - Tokyo (Shinjuku)

We are off to Tokyo today and we reached the airport before 4am to check in for our 6am Northwest flight. Checking in was a little tricky as our flight was a connecting flight to another flight bound for the US. This meant heavy security measures were in place. In fact, both me and Ck got interviewed individually by a police officer.

That aside, we were well soon on our way to Narita, scheduled to land at 2pm. The plane ride was ok, but definitely not as luxurious as the likes of SQ or Cathay. At $428 (before tax) you really can't ask for much,

Well before we knew it, we had landed in Tokyo! This marked the beginning of our 16 day journey after months and months of research and planning. We are finally here!

After we cleared immigration and picked up our luggage, we headed straight to the limited express that took us into the city. Crowded with people, what struck me was that the train travelled at a very fast speed even though it was the more lao pok kind.

We transferred to the subway and soon, we are standing in front of the very cool looking Andon Ryokan. We had chosen Andon Ryokan for its sleek design and hip quotient.

Andon Ryokan..

Outside my room..

I had requested for a high floor at Andon Ryokan and so we stayed on the 3rd floor. All the rooms were double rooms and beautifully designed. You sleep on very comfotable bedding laid out on tatami floors and there is a tv in every room.



We settled in for awhile and took off for Shinjuku for dinner and the first taste of Japan.

Arriving at Shinjuku station is abit of a surreal experience as there were just so many people! Of course the fact that it was a Saturday night made it even more busy. Shinjuku station is said to be the busiest train station in the world and is in itself a made up of a confusing maze of exits and underground shopping centres.



We walked around first, trying to get our orientation right. We headed to Takashimaya's depachika (food hall) but it was a bit of a disappointment as I was expecting a myriad of activity, surrounded by so many food choices that I could not possibly decide wat to eat. Unfortunately, nothing caught our eye.

Hunger was slowly kicking in and we had to make our choice fast. So we decided to give Japan's homegrown fast food chains a try. We ended up at Lotteria and ordered a hot masala burger set (some promo in line with the HOT summer season).Though the burger wasn't as sensational, the view of the joint was.

Me @ Lotteria


I found Shinjuku to be the sleazier, dirtier cousin of Shibuya. There are loads of nightclubs in the red light district that not only provides services for men, but for women as well. Pictures of male escorts are plastered all over the front of these nightclubs - no qualms about it.

The area called Kabukicho was filled with loads of shops, restaurants, drinking holes and convenience stores. It was here that we found our first REAL meal. And it was a very good one at that.

Lights, camera and action at Kabukicho

It was a ramen shop somewhere in Kabukicho. Hot, busy and smelling oh-s0-great, we walked in, only to be faced with a huge vending machine. All in Japanese. How do we choose our order when we can't even read?

Hmmm... we had no one to turn to and everything was smelling so great so we just dropped some money into the machine and randomly made our choice. We got our ticket and handed it to one of the chefs behind the counter. What's more, there was only one available seat. We had to take turns eating the ramen in the end!

Thankfully, whatever we seem to have ordered was what everyone seemed to be having. And boy, was the portion huge. (The bowl was so so huge that both me and CK (known eaters) could hardly finish it.) A piping hot deep bowl of ramen filled with a tonne of smooth, slurpy noodles, topped with thick slices of fatty chashu with a1cm layer of oil floating on top. I still think this was my favourite ramen i ate in the whole trip.

What a great way to start.

The delicious ramen store...