In recent years (and by that I mean since beginning of last year) I’ve gravitated towards more trips but shorter durations - because it works better in keeping me sane I guess. Yet at the same time it made options limited because if I were to go somewhere further (like 6h and beyond) I’d feel that the price isn’t worth it. So there’s still a need for a long-ish trip once in a while, and this one came about for the usual reasons - a birthday flight. 

I didn’t plan for it immediately when the redemptions open, so I was pretty surprised two months down the road when I halfheartedly search for something and found Saver tickets to Japan of all places. Granted it’s KIX and not TYO but that’s a good enough gateway! And it’s during PH, close to school holidays, so I was very perplexed as to why they are not snapped up immediately. But the catch is there isn’t one for the return leg - not on the very specific date I wanted, at least - but there’s a Saver one that involved partner airline, a short transit at TPE, and for a mostly similar price. So it’s a no brainer to quickly transfer in my miles, pray that they are still available by the time the transfer is complete. 

Obviously sitting here now talking about it clearly meant all went well and I am back from the trip. And maybe I’ll just start off by saying that it’s as usual a very enjoyable one - the fact that it’s Japan, the fact that it also ended up to be solo and the bits of solo trip that I enjoyed were in full effect, the way that typhoon ended up having minimal impact on my plans. 

I was actually partly surprised by how I seem to have a renewed fondness of Japan. I’ve had good impressions in the past, so much so that I thought about frequent visits to different parts of Japan in different seasons, because I felt that each season has something unique to offer. But along the way the fondness faded such that I didn’t even think of making trips to Japan in 2024 or 2025 - possibly influenced by how revenue tickets usually weren’t cheap and redemption tickets involve fighting tooth and nail. And I prioritized other places that are easier to get to - Korea, HK for instance. I was more excited about the fact that I’m going on a break rather than the fact that it’s Japan in the lead up. But the moment I stepped onto Japanese territory it’s like all those good vibes suddenly flowed back in, and through the next 10 days I was just soaking it all in again - in awe of everything from the big city energy, the urge to be polite to everybody, how every bowl of food or dessert seemed to have so much heart in it, how pretty every souvenir (food or otherwise) looked, patented Japanese technology that they seem to keep to themselves only such as automated cash registries and above everything - toilet bidets. Like seriously why isn’t everybody buying those? 

I think the other factor that played a big part in the enjoyment is also this was the weakest Yen I’ve experienced in my four visits - and prices don’t seem to have appreciated much (other than accoms) so everything felt so much cheaper. Add on to the fact that some Japanese produced items are naturally cheaper there to begin with so I’ve been quoting this example of how I got this pair of Onitsuka Tiger for $140 against $240 in SG. Perhaps my spending power has also increased, but overall I did end up shopping more than I did and I really was only constrained by luggage space (I had three in the end, which is some sort of record for me too). 

Everyday is sort of tiring though, in a sense that I woke up by 8 every morning and usually end late by 1-2am as I scrolled socmed, plan for the next day, lost my stories. I didn’t feel it at all when I was in Japan, but the crash was very real when I got back and I could barely keep my eyes open the next day so I was very smart to factor in an extra Sunday rest day. Although that was mostly a result of me insisting to fly back on a Saturday, which was my birthday. 

And maybe I guess on this note I’ll add in some thoughts on that? In recent years I’ve kinda dropped the tradition of buying a symbolic birthday gift for myself because I usually end up traveling and the trip itself is the gift. Turning 37 this year and it’s another step closer to 40, I guess at this point everything is really 随缘 - no plans, no failures so no disappointments? Everybody has their own pace and really there’s no need to compare with your peers - something I just told off a friend who feels that she is late as compared to peers who have properly and family etc. And as I told everybody my wish is just for good health because god knows last year was terrible and that was *just* something that I can recover from - imagine if it’s something much worse touchwood. 

So that’s the trip reflections - details and nuggets in subsequent posts and now back to fantasizing short getaways, to Japan too maybe heh.

Reached Bru. Highlight of the day was to surprise parents, again (because I just did it the week before in Melaka). Which wasn’t my idea, really, but the sister wanted to do it so played along. Another highlight was finding time to visit Pasar’s Gerai ramadhans and finding my beloved 虾饼 lol. 

I did consider not getting the free pass actually, coz it was meant for two days actually and I am only there for a day trip, and the chief benefit of the pass is free transport within the region. You don’t get free entry to attractions, only discounts at some merchants. In the end I didn’t have time to calculate properly if it’s worth it, so I just went ahead with it but as the day went on I get the feeling that I have gotten the worth out of it so I guess it’s alright. 

Bright and early again, did have to rush a bit to catch my train so couldn’t have hotel breakfast (though it did look decent). It was a somewhat early train because I wanted to have as much time in Hakone as possible. Had to top up I think about 1100¥ for a ride on the Hakone Romance Car (what’s with Japanese and romance? Maybe “sightseeing” is too difficult?). But I think it was worth it in the end, coz it’s a direct train with no stops so it’s faster, and the view is great too. The front cabin seats (I think there were only 12 seats or something) were of course long snapped up but I don’t think you are missing too much in the regular cars. 

Found an itinerary online for a typical Hakone day trip (which covers most of the attractions) and just followed it, so the first stop brings me to this Amazake-Chaya tea house. 

And the next thing on the itinerary is a hike. I wouldn’t say the hike itself is difficult for my stamina (which is of course a lot better than what it was), it’s just that the path isn’t very well laid out to be honest…the rocky paths and slopes were a bit hard to walk on, and not helped by the fact that they were a bit slippery coz it (probably) rained the day before too. So I was constantly worrying about slipping and falling, but all’s good in the end. 

The 45 minute hike took me to Lake Ashi. Which would have been really great to chill at, if it wasn’t that windy. In fact it was so windy that the official website indicated that some of the transport modes like ropeway and sightseeing ship are not operating, but turns out they were. But more on that later. 

Headed straight to the Hakone Shrine, skipped entering the shrine (coz if I were to be honest, all shrines look the same) and headed down to the famous torii gate at Lake Ashi. Where there’s a queue to take pictures! It didnt seem too bad at first so I joined the queue..but it turned out to be quite slow moving and coz I already waited, I kind of didn’t want to give up on it. I ended up queueing almost an hour for it lol and the wind really didn’t help. Was shivering by the end of it and the photos didn’t even turn out nice ahahahaha. 

Walked (half sprinted actually coz didn’t want to wait for the next ship) back around Lake Ashi to board the sightseeing pirate ship. I don’t know why it had to be in the form of pirate ship and the story behind it, kinda gimmicky but it got the job done I guess.

Was kinda rushing by now coz I didn’t want to get back to Tokyo too late, and I still wanted to leave some time for onsen in Hakone. So hopped on the ropeway again, transferred to a cable car towards Gora, then to the Hakone train. Which was a very interesting train ride I wasn’t expecting, because they run on some complicated system that requires switchovers etc (and it’s too complicated to explain here). And it’s quite scenic too so they went quite slow - had I known the ride will take that long I would have fought for a seat hahah but I ended up standing all the way. 

Back to Hakone Yumoto station, took a shuttle bus to the onsen place. Again, wasn’t free, but discounted under the free pass. There’s a private onsen option too but I was alone, not a good enough reason to splurge on it, and I was comfortable with public ones by now. Really came a long way…just know that 如果你不尴尬，尴尬的就是别人 so it’s really on them now ahahaha. 

Up early again. I think this is the only trip I have done so far where I found the need to wake up early everyday. This time is such that I can reach Tsukiji Fish Market (somewhat) earlier. Tried asking for a late check out to no avail, so duly checked out early in the morning and left my luggage with reception because I didn’t think I’ll be back in time for check out. 

9am is not early enough for Tsukiji though. Plenty of people already. Spending some time queuing for a coffee fix first doesn’t help matters though…so by the time I got my coffee and a few sips in…the rain came. It wasn’t very heavy to be honest, but it was brought about by a windy weather which persisted throughout the day so while I immediately ducked into the nearest combini to buy my transparent umbrella…a huge gust of wind snapped one of the supports within 10minutes. Zzzz so much for bringing it back to SG. 

And the rain did absolutely nothing to dampen the crowd, so there’s queue everywhere. Forget about sampling fresh seafood from different shops, this is just about finding one that have short-ish queues and just going in. And to be honest I think everybody’s seafood is fresh anyway. 

Didn’t see too much point hanging around and queuing for sushi restaurants, so left for my next destination. In my quest for sweets I found this fruit sando recommendation which was sort of 顺路 for me (I was heading towards Harajuku/Shibuya) so decided to make a stop. But I hadn’t realize that this neighborhood was famous for Sakura too. So it was a pleasant surprise..one of the joys of solo unplanned travel IMO. Even if the wind and drizzle, and the fact that we are really at the tail end of the bloom period makes the photos less impressive haha. 

Off to Harajuku! I remember being impressed by the neighborhood the last time I was here. Spent some time hopping between sneaker shops, was close to buying a pair but ended up not buying anything because I decided that i didn’t like it as much as I thought. Meanwhile Takeshita Street was just wayyyyy too crowded so literally just walked through it. 

Back to hotel, collected my luggage, and short ride to my next hotel. Got impressed again, because I booked it a while ago and I had forgotten that I booked a room with nice view. And got wowed by it all over again.

Rested a bit and head out for early dinner again. Apparently there’s usually a two hour wait, but perhaps the combination of rainy weather and early timing meant that there was no wait at all. And I think it may well be my favorite meal of the entire trip, I kid you not. 

Off to Shibuya next! One of my must-go areas when I am in Tokyo. Though I ended up not buying anything again, not even at the Mega Donki coz I thought I could just settle at the branch next to my hotel so that I don’t have to lug groceries around. 

And that’s the day!