49 posts tagged “tokyo”
I'm on my way!!!
It's been two years since I was last there.
And I missed it so.
As Puffy Ami Yumi sing: "Tokeeeeoooohhhhh I'm on my way!!!!"
* watch the cityscape from the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in Shinjuku
* have a drink at the Park Hyatt (@cnngo recommends to go there at sunset and leave before 6pm to avoid the killer tax surcharge)
* meet up with Atsuko-san
* catch the screening of Snowfall in Taipei at the Tokyo International Film Festival
* check out Uniqlo and HMV and the bookstores
* watch the Shibuya crossing from Starbucks
* eat sushi & sashimi at Tsukiji
* say hello to Tokyo Tower again
* check out Roppongi (which is near my hotel)
* maybe check out Harajuku too and the shops in nearby Omotesando
Oh so many things I want to do, I hope there will be time! I just want to sit back and soak in Tokyo this time.
Still stuck on YT and it's Monday morning already.
Kokuritsu or Tokyo's National Stadium is so huge (the red box onscreen indicates Point A to Point B) that Arashi had to take these bikes to get from one point to the next:
Who knew one day the five bakas would perform there and fill it up?
* he curls like a baby in his mother's womb and sucks his thumb while sleeping
* he washes his own clothes
* he has dozens of those white shirts
* he reads Newsweek, TIME and other newspapers from around the world
* he has several of those pig masks, including the white version
* he loves soaking in the bath (and curls up as usual in the tub)
* he sits with his feet up even when taking rides (including in the carousel) in a theme park
* like any otaku, he loves going to Akiba
* he takes the subway just like you and me
I see the moon
the moon sees me
the moon sees the one
I long to see
God bless the moon
and God bless me
God bless the one
I long to see
Tonight is the Loy Krathong festival (celebrated on the full moon in November), one of the popular festivals in the Kingdom and what am I doing at home? Well, as the locals say, when you don't go anywhere--especially near the Chao Phraya river or any body of water--during this day, then you have become Thai-anised. It's not say that Thais do not celebrate this festival anymore but in BKK, it's mostly the tourists you see floating krathongs on Chao Phraya. Loy means to float while krathong is a lotus-shaped banana leaf boat that has evolved through the years but is mostly decorated with flowers and candle/s. Before you float it into the water, you have to light the candle and make a wish. Traditionally, it was done to ask for forgiveness from the mother river for polluting and taking her resources, and for wishing good luck in the coming year. I have gone to float my krathong in the first two years I've been here. It would have been nice to go and float a krathong tonight since I need to make a wish but this is the first weekend since China that I get to rest so maybe I'll just go down to the poolside and float a krathong there. Kidding. The air is filled with the sound of fireworks and I stood at the veranda (there's a beautiful moon out tonight) for a few minutes watching those that I could see from the distance. Someone had fireworks just in the highway across and they were lovely, lighting up the night sky. It's so foggy that I can't see the city lights and the ferris wheel at the nightmarket. The temperature has gone down. Ah, December is coming.
November full moon shines,
Loy Krathong, Loy Kratong,
and the water's high in the river and local klong
Loy Loy Krathong, Loy Loy Krathong
Loy Krathong is here and everybody's full of cheer,
we're together at the klong,
each one with his krathong,
as we push away and pray,
we can see a better day.
-- English version of the Loy Krathong song
(Because my wanderlust has taken over my entire reason for being.)
Tokyo Tower
the food--especially Sushi and Sashimi!
Tsukiji
Roppongi
Johnny's (TK, Momo, Arashi, Kame etc etc)
Harajuku
Tokyo Metro
Fuji and TV dramas
Tokyo Bay
kimono/ yukata/ hanabi/ hanami
Cherry Blossoms
Big Ben
House of Parliament
Trafalgar Square
London Tube
Buckingham Palace
red buses and black taxis
London Eye
Chelsea
West End
Chinatown
Hyde Park
and as an extension--Oxford
La Rambla
Placa Catalunya
Gaudi and Parc Guell
Montjuic
Paella
Palau Nacional
Mediterranean Sea
La Barceloneta
Miramar ferris wheel
Mike He/ TV dramas!
Taipei 101
New York New York
Taipei metro
Fisherman's Wharf
Eslite Bookstore
Maokong Gondola
oolong cha
Grand Hotel Taipei
Ximending
The nice, friendly people
Victoria Harbour
Causeway Bay
Kowloon
Avenue of the Stars and Symphony of Lights
Lantau Island and the giant Buddha
Star Ferry
Victoria Peak/ The Peak/ Peak trams
Temple Street
the food!
#6 GENEVA
Lake Geneve
Jet d'Eau
Swiss Alps
Palais de Nations
Lindt
cuckoo clocks
Swiss Army knives
Cities that I would have loved to love but somehow fell short for one reason or another:
Prague
Paris
Shanghai
Macau
Munich
Milan
Beijing
Cities that I may never ever fall in love with:
Brussels
Berlin
Seoul
Cities that I dream of falling in love with:
Venice
Rome
Madrid
Dublin
Vienna
Oh and surprisingly, Singapore is a runner-up to my favourites.
And Manila, Manila... despite the pollution, the noise and the naghaharurutang jeepneys, the chaos and the politics... nothing ever comes close to it.
Because he's never there when you need him when you feel sad, when you're hungry and he should cook you food, when you need diversion and he takes you out shopping or surprises you with a date at your favourite landmark.
Long-distance relationships also cost a lot of money. You have to fly every so often to see him.
Yes, thousands of miles away separate me and him: 2,860.65 to be exact between me and Tokyo.
And yes, I'm in an ongoing love affair with Tokyo. Who did you think it was?!
According to the weather bureau, this is going to be the hottest summer yet in Tokyo. The Yomiuri Shimbun says:
This summer may become the hottest ever in central Tokyo, as the average temperature from the beginning of August has been 29.2 C, the second hottest since the Meteorological Agency began recording temperatures in 1876, and the high temperatures are expected to continue until the end of the month.
The hottest August in central Tokyo was in 1995, when the average temperature was 29.4 C, followed by 1978 and 1994 at 28.9 C.
This summer's high temperatures have been attributed to La Nina, a phenomenon created in the waters off Peru that has lowered sea surface temperatures there, causing water temperatures around the Philippines to rise instead.
According to the Meteorological Agency, the water vaporizes from the warm ocean surface around the Philippines, then comes down near Japan, with the hot air developing high pressure.
And I thought it was the hottest when we were there two weeks ago. The humidity is different from BKK. One could sense the heat coming from the buildings. There's even no breeze and PD said that's because the wind coming from the Sumida river has been blocked by all those high-rises. Ahh, the price of urbanisation.
I just finished watching Taku's diary DVD when he was shooting Bushi no Ichibun (Love and Honour).
No subs so I could not understand a thing but what amazed me was how he would travel via shinkansen a few times to get to the location. He seemed alone (except for the cameraman who was filming him) but I doubted it. He can't be left on his own in public, desho?
I was trying to figure out which station he walked through, carrying his gray silver Adidas bag (as shown in the photo) ala the Johnny way, but it could only be Tokyo station.
Imagine walking to work or home one day and you meet him at the station.
Strange that the people he passed by did not seem to care.
If it was me, I would have gone screaming and running after him.
According to a product brief on amazon.com, they are pups who love to travel created by Anne Gutman. Gaspard is the black pup and Lisa is the white pup.
When I went to Kiddy Land in Tokyo, I found Gaspard et Lisa products geared for the Japanese market, though there was not much to be desired. So I just ended up with a poster as shown on the right, with the duo amid Cherry Blossoms and Mt Fuji in the background.
I have it in my cramped working area at home sharing the space with Macsu.
I like looking at it because it reminds me of my favourite country.
