愛してる - Holidays in Tokyo (Day 1)

Tokyo, Japan

[caption id="attachment_1456" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Jason & Irene"][/caption]

We have been together close to 4 years and this is our 5th overseas trip together! Our previous trips include Bangkok, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Genting. And I thought it would be special to spend valentines in Tokyo together and have a well deserved break for the both of us. :)



If you have been to Tokyo for holidays, you will notice a very glaring mistake in the air tickets. I have made a mistake to purchase the flight to Narita instead of Haneda Airport. Instead of spending 1,200 yen (SGD20) per person on the bus ticket and an hour of traveling time to our hotel in Shinjuku, we spent 3,000 yen (SGD50) per person and it also took 2 hours to reach the hotel. Like oh-my-goodness? Lol!

[caption id="attachment_1453" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Hilton Tokyo Hotel"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1457" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="View from our room"][/caption]

We stayed in Hilton Tokyo for the 5 nights - Convenient location, 10 minutes walk to Shinjuku JR station and less than 5 minutes walk to Tokyo metro station. The hotel also offer complimentary shuttle bus service to Shinjuku. Two thumbs up! :)

[caption id="attachment_1458" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Kaminarimon ("Thunder Gate")"][/caption]

Our first stop was Asakusa.





[caption id="attachment_1465" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Nakamise Shopping Arcade"][/caption]

Once through the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate), you will be in the Nakamise Shopping Arcade where you can find many traditional snacks and souvenirs.



We tried the amazake (甘酒), a sweet rice wine from this store. It tastes mildly sweet and a nice hot drink to have in this cold weather.

[caption id="attachment_1467" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Grilled Rice Stick"][/caption]





A store selling fried manju with different types of fillings such as custard, sesame, green tea and pumpkin.



We had the manju with the sesame flavor and it was pretty nice.

[caption id="attachment_1471" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Ice cream biscuit (Caramel flavor)"][/caption]



We didn't really like the ice cream biscuit (caramel flavor). Too plain for our likings!

[caption id="attachment_1473" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Hanzomon Gate"][/caption]

The Hanzomon Gate marks the end of street and you will also see the Sensoji Temple (浅草寺).

[caption id="attachment_1500" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Sensoji Temple"][/caption]

Sensoji Temple is a very popular Buddhist temple and it is also the oldest temple in Tokyo.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Five Storied Pagoda"][/caption]





We were starting to get a little hungry after all the walking. My boy's head turned when he passed by this stall cos he saw his favorite dish. Guess what was it?

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It is SCALLOPS!

I love scallops too! The scallops were so fresh! It was a good combination to cook it with butter cream sauce and black pepper. Yum yum!

[caption id="attachment_1479" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Happy Boy! :)"][/caption]

Of cos, how can that amount of food we had satisfy our tummy? Our main purpose of coming to Japan is to stuff ourselves with loads of S.U.S.H.I!! Our heads turned together and had our focus on the same poster which is advertising on a sushi restaurant in Asakusa.

[caption id="attachment_1480" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="My boy is happily looking at the menu deciding what to eat."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Happy Us! :)"][/caption]



Both of us had this tuna set which comprises of red tuna, medium fatty tuna, fatty tuna, broiled fatty tuna and tuna roll. It was so so so so much better than the sushi in Singapore. I LOVE TUNA!!!!!! *Screams*

[caption id="attachment_1504" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Salmon Sushi and Sea Urchin Sushi"][/caption]

And of cos, we continued to order more to satisfy our cravings. The sea urchin sushi tastes heavenly and the chef was very generous in the portion. SLURPS!



Various kinds of fish which I do not know to differentiate. Just order and eat! :D

[caption id="attachment_1485" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Abalone Sushi"][/caption]

The sushi chef took the live abalone from the tank and sliced it on the spot for us. Woah! SO FRESH! But.. I did not like it cos the abalone was hard to bite and very crunchy for some reasons.

[caption id="attachment_1486" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Top-Quality Sea Eel Sushi"][/caption]



And more sushi! We ordered more than I have showed but our speed of eating is faster than my speed of taking the photos. Lol!



Our next stop was Ginza.You can find many high-end boutiques here in Ginza such as Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton and etc.

[caption id="attachment_1489" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="*Love love* in the streets of Ginza"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1490" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Us in Louis Vutton's boutique"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="Tokyo Tower"][/caption]

Our last stop was Tokyo Tower, which is a copycat of Eiffel Tower. It is so strikingly similar but smaller in size as compared to the Eiffel Tower. You can see the real Eiffel Tower in my travel post to Paris. I really love the romantic atmosphere surrounding Eiffel Tower.

I am sure one day we will get to Paris and see the real Eiffel Tower together.... Love You Boy...

-End of Day 1-