konichiwa.

i just returned from the land of the tamagotchi last thursday night.

japan is one helluva interestin place. there's so much to say i don't know where to start. lets see. people there speak japanese without any punctuations whatsoever. it's like a whole string of multiple-syllabled words with no pauses in between it leaves me, the listener, gasping for breath instead. and yes, the girls really do sound that cute. and look that cute too with their two ponytails and bangs and little eyes.

my gosh. almost everyone you come across in the streets is decked in branded goods. japanese lasses go to theme parks like universal studios and disneyland in burberry skirts and stiletto boots which reach up to their knees. and if your hair isn't died, you're considered to be a countryside folk. serious. and it's considered rude for girls not to wear lipstick and dress up when they step out of their houses, even when it's just to get a can of coke from a nearby drink machine. ahuh.

in fact they're so crazy over branded goods that when LV first opened or held a sale(can't recall which), women were queing up with their stools 3 days or so before. just sitting outside there on their stools while their hubbies brought them their lunches and dinners. ah yes, japanese seem to love queues. in fact the longer they queue, the longer it'll get. cos it must be that good right?

at the theme parks, queues stretched like there was no tomorrow. it was a culture shock man. in singapore, i can't imagine pple queuing up so patiently. ah yes, the japanese form a rather gracious society. it was so clean everywhere i went. when someone drops a piece of litter on the floor, he or she'd pick it up. if there's a lack of dustbins around, they'd simply put the trash in their pockets and throw it away later. even if they spilled a drink onto the ground, they'd whip out their tissue paper and wipe it up. yes, i witnessed it. and when we were watching the parade at disneyland, all those at the front would sit down on the ground without being told to do so, just so those at the back had a proper view.

but oh my. everything in japan is so friggin expensive. if i were to stay there any longer, i would've turned into a pauper soon enough. a bowl of plain rice cost almost S$4. can u beat that? for a family of 5 dining at MACS, the damage can reach up to S$60!! if you can afford to take the taxi there, you're a king or queen. it starts of with S$10. so u can imagine the rest! next time any of you wanna start a gp essay with "as standards of living in singapore are getting higher and higher...", just think about japan and shut up. pple there just spend and spend on the craziest things! in singapore, a table at a wedding reception probably costs say $500 or so. it'ss $500 a head there! just too many examples of why i'd be scrounging for your lose change if i were to live there. no wonder why the japanese go crazy when they go shopping in singapore. when i exitted the gate after our plane touched down in singapore, there were already japanese ladies rushing into a bally store at duty free.and i used to wonder who'd go to all these overly-priced stores.

one of the nights, my tour guide brought us to this really good japanese steamboat restaurant in shinjuku in tokyo. however, this restauant happened to be situated near a red-light district. my family finished dinner quite early so we decided to walk around and explore. we saw a building with the letters "HMB" lighted up and it looked exactly like the trademark "HMV" purple logo. so we walked closer to take a well..closer look. "HOT MEN BOX." hahaha.

there's this place in shinjuku where hopeful musicians go to strut their stuff and hopfully get talent-scouted by some big-shot producer. but instead of a big-shot producer, who should come along but the hottest babe ever clad in strips of cloth and stilletto boots and long flowing hair and perfectly flawless skin and a tattoo on her back. "She" starts flirting with the bunch of young musicians and then, struts down the street with the perfect swaying of hips alas, putting a catwalk model to shame.

japanese love to paste instuctions all over their shops. there was this McDonalds which we walked into which had a sign. "You are not allowed to come in just to use the toilet." i found that rather funny. there was also this tourist shop which had more instructions than souvenirs if you ask me. guess that's why everything seems so orderly there.

food there was great. i ate soooo much!! there was one night we went to a hot springs hotel and had a typical japanese dinner. we even had to dress up wearing our japanese "happy coats." it was my first taste of sake. potent stuff man. i drank the whole bottle. since you know, everything in japan is expensive and it would be a waste not to finish it. whoa. i puked my whole stomach and more out man!

ok i have so much more to type but...there's just too much and this is getting too long! so if you wanna know more, come ask me. japan in the eyes of a singaporean 18-yr-old girl.