Dear Chibi,

2 more weeks till the Christmas break ^^ December sure came around quickly :) Today I spent the day hanging out with Kaz & Kat~ doing a bit of chit chat, lunch, shopping and of course karaoke.

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Dear Chibi,

On Saturday Kaz and I did some shopping around the city (and raid, hehe) before settling down at The Grounds of the City for lunch. The place was pretty busy, but we made a reservation so were seated pretty quickly.

The room was cosy and nicely decorated, giving off an old-school 1920’s vibe.

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Dear Chibi,

After a month, I’m finally back from my first overseas trip with Jacky :D Although we went to both Japan and Hong Kong, this blog entry will be focused on Japan. There’s so much I want to say, but I’ll try to keep this short and not bore you to tears ;) I’m going to put down my general thoughts on Japan and reflect on the highlights of the trip as well as other quirky bits :D

I’ve actually been to Japan four years ago with my family on a one week tour. I blogged about it here and here. I had fallen in love with this place, but I knew what I saw was only a very small part of the country.

This time was pretty full on. Jacky and I explored Japan for three weeks on our own, with Jacky doing all the research and planning. I didn’t have to do anything XD Everything went incredibly smoothly for us, even though we’re in a foreign country with barely any Japanese! The transport system in Japan is also insanely complex with so many different lines, subways, train lines, Shinkansen lines.. but we managed :D Again, I didn’t really do anything.. I just followed Jacky who did all the work getting us to places :D yay.

Shibuya, Yoyogi, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku

I love Shibuya :D! It’s such a beautiful, vibrant and lively city! Everyone is really friendly and when we had some trouble finding our way around, passersby were more than willing to help :)

View outside Shibuya Station

Writing wishes @ Meiji Shrine
Meiji Shrine (which is next to Yoyogi Park) is the first shrine we visited and I really enjoyed it for its peacefulness. Other shrines, temples and castles we visit later on are packed with tourists, which lacks that intimate feel.

Shopping @Harajuku
I loved Harajuku, it’s a great place for girls shopping! Not much here for boys though, unless you just want to look at pretty girls ;) If you look around, most Japanese people look good, and it’s no big surprise because self image seems like a huge deal over here. Most people from little kids to old grannys really dress themselves up. Heavy make-up, fake eye-lashes, lots of accessories, mini-skirts and heels were a very common sight amongst girls in Japan. Or maybe they’re just fashionable. That could be another reason. XD

What I’ve also noticed is that there only seems be to “M” size clothing, no S, or L …  Is this because everyone here wears medium size? XD

Big Echo Karaoke (Shinjuku) “Where everybady is happy” :D lol
It started pouring while we were just outside Big Echo Karaoke, so we decided to check it and see how it compares to Sydney ^^ It was quite nice inside. I LOVE how everything is pink in Japan XD It gives everything such a cutesy feel… I haven’t been to any other country which embraces this colour this much :)

The song selection system was pretty good. I was so surprised to find Chinese songs in here (even ‘pian ai‘ from Chinese Paladin 3!), and what amused me most was the Japanese characters on top of the lyrics. Japanese people actually sing Cantonese? XD

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