Day 11: Hakone

 Being in the middle of nowhere kinds of discourages you from doing anything. But staying indoors on a perfectly sunny day, even (and especially) when the weather forecast says it was to be raining for the whole day in Odawara, will drive me crazy, Thus, I took to the road. Random walking around with the blind hope of finding some conveniently hidden convenience store (notice the paradox) brought me to a hiking route, which took me to a observation point that overseas one of the attractions of Hakone, Lake Ashi. I looked impressive and made me want to visit it personally, which I later did, but not before going trying to find another observation point which just took me to a mini rock formation called(according to the signboard) the Kintaro.

Day 10: Hakone

Today, we going to a hot spring town, Hakone. ONSEN!!!!!!!

 We took the Shinkasen to Odawara, before transferring to another bus to take us there. The bus trip cost 1170 yen, that's about $15 SGD. FIFTEEN DOLLAR!!!! Transport in Japan is a pain in the pocket.

Our hotel, Fujimien (Hokkien Mee as we call it) is kind of in the middle of nowhere, no convenience shop or even tourist attractions nearby. SIANX to the max. We have nice room though. Yay!!!! So now, it's time to think about what can we do without using incurring too much transport cost again. Sianx.

Luckily, they had shuttle service (which was unfortunately limited to a certain short time period between 5pm to 9pm) to a restaurant that is RELATIVELY nearby. Food was expensive, Sianx, but interesting though.

Found a Japanese adapted keyboard. Cool.

Lastly, I am writing this from the living room yet again. Why no wifi service in room!!!!????

Day 9: Nara

Today, we went to Nara, Todaiji Temple to witness the Omizutori Festival. Here's a glimpse of what happened.

Unfortunately, it was raining, and together with a lot of other reasons, became a shitty shitty day

Day 8: Osaka

Today was a lazy day. LAZY LAZY LAZY LAZY LAZY. Air-con weather affecting everybody.

 Afternoon was kind of a free and easy, took a walk by myself around the neighborhood.

A stereotypical park, commonly seen in anime where the protagonist will go to when he depress or something.

 A playground with a concave structure that is probably not meant to be used as a sundial, maybe a slide or something for hyperactive ids to run round and round in until they drain all their energy?

Mini-roadside shrines/temples/altars along the way. Small, simple, efficient design to reach out to enshrine sacred objects or images. Somehow, I have taken a liking to such things

 A kindergarden for all the little kids. I was praying I look like more like a curious tourist as I took this pictures, rather than some creepy pedophile stalker. Luckily, no one screamed for for the police.

 And a local shrine, Imamiya Ebisu Shrine, dedicated to the eponymous god of business. The stone lions the solemnly guards the passage seems cool.

In the evening, visited the nightlife at Dotomburi again.

Caught a glimpse of a police raid on a sleazy establishment, not something you get to see everyday. Don't know if I am lucky or unlucky.

Day 7: Osaka / Laundry Day

Today is Laundry Day. Time to wash all the dirty clothes we accumulated for the past few days of the trip. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we wasted the whole afternoon away ( not that we planned much anyway. Much of the itinerary is mainly composed of Wander Here, Wander There, Wander Everywhere ) But then, there was still some things to document.

Woke up in the morning to this, Lee Hoe sitting/sleeping upright in bed, as if meditating in a deep,trance-like state.

Laundry Room!!!!!

The laundry room was at the rooftop, so took the chance to admire the spectacular, 360 degree, unobstructed view from the rooftop of one of the taller buildings in the area. And here, we see a multi-storey Pachinko Palour (UFO), which is, in a sense, the equivalent to a Singapore Pools outlet. Kind of a testament to how much many Japanese love their Pachinko as we love our 4D / Toto.

 Here's another Pachinko, coupled with multi-storey parking, which seems to be another thriving business in Japan. From what I heard, getting a car is cheap in Japan, but parking it in the city areas will just drill a big hole in your pocket. Maybe that's why taxis are in high demand and ridiculously expensively as well.

And returning to see people checking out the workings of the washing machine as if never see before like that. 

But can't say I am not curious as well though. HeHe

 Jarga-ing the clothes as it dries, the lone warrior sits at attention, braving the cold wind that chills the bones, while falling asleep as he listens to music

Went  to the nearby supermarket to buy lunch, with a twist

....and lunacy descends upon he who fall prey to the cold wind....

skipping everything in between, went to downtown Dotomburi, Namba, Osaka, we located familiar sights

Day 6: Kyoto

A sky of grey, overcast with gloomy clouds. A sense of foreboding dampens our spirit, filling our empty hopes with the dread of rain. Damn, it just have to be when we want to visit one of the most impressive shrine in Japan, Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Took some pictures at the entrance.

Before you can enter the holy shrine grounds, it is customary to purify oneself at one of these ' water fountains ' (not sure what to call them) .

 Using the long wooden ladles, rinse the mouth with the water and wash the hands.

 Numerous souvenir shops line the passage towards the shrine, and we took our time browsing through their wares.