Japan Nov 2009 Day 1

Massive Christmas Deco at T3 Changi Airport. Its a ball-shaped dome which opens up like an umbrella periodically and plays music.

Another deco for xmas in the transit area. Lotsa tourists stop by on the way to their boarding gates for some quick shots.

Stewardess serving refreshments on SQ638 to Narita. Its a overnight flight. So no dinner served as it was 2345h when we boarded. Our first A380 experience! Chose a seat which doesn’t have a seat in front of it in exchange for more legroom turned out to be a mistake. With no foot rest extension from the seat in front (cos there isn’t a seat in front!), I kept slipping downwards while sleeping. And the meal table is wobbly. The screen is stowed away on the left of the seat. But I could do with the extra legroom. Oh well… you win some, you lose some.

The train station underneath Narita Airport. Initially we were kinda apprehensive about being able to locate the Keisei Line. But it turned out to be a breeze. Just follow the signs

Along the railway tracks

Travelling onboard the Keisei Limited Express. Being the first station, there was still a lot of room. Once the train hit Narita, the working crowd came pouring in, all rushing to Tokyo to work. We got off at Nippori station which connected us to the JR Yamanote Line. Taking it anti-clockwise, we got to JR Otsuka Station where our “hotel” is located.

WMT Higashi Ikebukuro is about 400 m from JR Otsuka Station, a leisurely 5 min walk. A large section of the walk runs long a part of the track of the Toden Arakawa Line 都電荒川線 whose sides are lined with a rose garden where we could literally stop by to smell the flowers. What a treat!

There were camellia bushes too!

Shops along the way have their own mini gardens too.

An interesting plant we spotted along the way.

Shots taken of street garden along Otsuka JR Station

The Toden Arakawa Line 都電荒川線 which runs through to the prestigious Waseda University. We had to walk along its tracks every day to get from JR Otsuka station back to the apartments.

After a quick deposit of our lugagge (we couldnt check in yet as we were way too early), we hopped on the JR Yamanote line again to Shinjuku.

Photographs taken around West Shinjuku with lotsa skyscrapers

On the way to Sumitomo Building to have lunch

Lunch Buffet at Donto, 49th floor of Sumitomo Building at West Shinjuku. The Japanese are not accustomed to using the word “buffet”; “viking” seems to be more commonly used in Japanese to mean “free-flow” servings of food without restrictions, once you’d paid for it that is. At 1000 yen a pax, we thought this is a steal!