Day 2: The Majestic and Beautiful Mount Fuji

It was a wet morning.

I had booked the Sunrise Tour for a One-day Mount Fuji and Hakone Tour (Return by Shinkansen) as part of my itinerary. For one or two weeks, I had monitored the weather forecast closely and the various weather sites had forecast rather positively about the weather that day. I knew that June wasn't an exactly fantastic time to see Mount Fuji, but I didn't have a choice since I could only go on a holiday in June and December. I wanted at least a non-rainy day. Whether it's sunny or cloudy - didn't matter. Just non-rainy will do.

A day or two before I departed, I was shocked to see that the weather forecast had totally changed. It was forecast that the day I had booked the tour would be a 'thunderstorm' day! I straddled between cancelling the tour and losing 30% to 40% of the fees or simply going ahead and risk not seeing anything at all. In the end, I decided to 'just do it'. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. Que sera sera.

I had chosen Keio Plaza Hotel to be the meeting point for the tour as I deemed it to be the nearest venue to Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku. It was supposed to be a 10-minute walk via the Shinjuku Station. The day before, we had walked just about the entire stretch of the Shinjuku Station to reach the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and had seen the sign leading to Keio Plaza Hotel. I was confident that the exit to my destination would be easy to find. I would also allocate 20 minutes for the walk and a minor search for Keio Plaza if need be.

Unbeknownst to me, our packing in the morning would take a fair bit of time and by the time I realised, we were left with 15 minutes to walk to Keio Plaza Hotel! We hurried out and tried to look for the entrance we exited by the day before, as it looked like it was the nearest to Keio Plaza Hotel. Horror of horrors! We could not find it! It seemed so near to the hotel just the day before but it had vanished overnight! I was frantic. I had read and heard so much about the Japanese being particular about being punctual. Even the email from JapanICan stated that the tour guide would not wait for you if you are late. I had to reach there at 8.05am and it was already 7.55am! I quickly asked a young couple for the directions to the 'subway', 'Shinjuku Station' and after showing the picture of the station, the girl understood,"Train!"

She pointed to the front but I still could not find it.

I tried to flag for a cab and none was available! 

I had to walk on and finally the train station entrance appeared. It was sort of hidden in the myriad of buildings. All the time, my mother and Baby looked on as they could not help at all.

We had to rush to Keio Plaza Hotel in the quickest possible manner, but it was difficult as my mother and Baby were not the fastest walkers in the world. I walked in front as the guide while they followed behind. I would wave to them from the front to indicate my position and to assure them that I had not disappeared.

By the time we reached the hotel, it was 8.15am! I was extremely worried that the tour group had left. I dashed to the reception and asked 'Where is Sunrise Tour?' I did not mean to be rude or curt, but I wanted to keep my question short and comprehensible to the locals. I was under the impression that asking long questions such as 'Can you tell me if Sunrise Tour is still around?' may confuse them and may result in shaking of heads out of a fear of the language.

The lady pointed to a tour guide. Thank God! She was still there, waiting for us!

We took a Hato Bus to the bus terminal and changed to our actual tour bus to Mount Fuji.

It was quite an adventure for us. I thought to myself that it was a relief that we were not on a group tour, remembering how rush and stressful it was for us during our Taipei trip 6 years ago.

And our trip to Mount Fuji commenced while we sat back to catch our breath.

The tour guide, Keiko, who showed us the 'pray for good weather' doll she made, preparing us mentally for the likely disappointment ahead.

After 1.5 hour, we reached the Visitor Centre for our toilet break. Keiko mentioned that in good weather, visitors could view Mount Fuji from here, but apart from the very misty clouds, we saw nothing.

The bus we took

Sigh! Foreshadowing our disappointment ...

We were driven to the Fifth Station where visitors were more excited to take pictures with the sea of clouds than the Mount Fuji opposite.

Do you see the dark brown earth? That is Mount Fuji. 

We were so close to seeing Mount Fuji. Of course we had to take a picture of it.

The souvenir centre

We were so busy taking pictures of the clouds that we didn't have the time to shop there.

As if in an answer to my prayer, the lunch bell chimed.

We were taken to a canteen-like place to have a local/Japanese set.

The buckwheat noodles with 'nutritious' soup, so said Keiko.

The setting

After that, we were told that Hakone was too misty and dangerous to take a cruise and ropeway, so we were driven a short distance away to Lake Kawaguchi for the ropeway and cruise.

What we saw of Kawaguchi when we were up there.

Oh, we were taken up there to see Mount Fuji!

It was like a shy girl covered with a thin misty veil. When the clouds floated across its 'face', it was covered; when the clouds moved away, it revealed itself. 

By the time I set up my tripod, it was covered again.

So we waited patiently for it to reveal itself again!

Then we took the ropeway down and walked across the road to take a cruise on Lake Kawaguchi.

Interestingly, Mount Fuji was behind another mountain all along! As the cruise swirled across the lake, all the visitors on the cruise had a good look at the beautiful and elegant mountain.

People were taking pictures with Mount Fuji but I didn't think the pictures would look fantastic with a big head beside the mountain, with people beside you, so I didn't take any with us in it.

I knew that we were really lucky to be able to see Mount Fuji in wet and cloudy summer. I had read up tonnes of materials of how you won't be able to see Mount Fuji in June as June is cloudy with high humidity, rainy too! I am really thankful that the trip wasn't a wasted one.

After that, we continued the drive to Hakone, just to see how misty Hakone was.

Misty misty

At the foot of Hakone, I suppose.

Some people alighted the coach to spend the night here. Yeah man, why didn't I think of that?

We were given our Shinkansen tickets to Shinagawa Station.

We got back to our hotel to rest a little before heading out to another highly recommended sushi shop on Tripadvisor in Shinjuku for our dinner. 

We were rather tired for the day so I promised my mother it would be a short walk.

I loved the salmon belly with cheese (top right) but my mother missed the sushi at Sushi Zanmai already! She felt that the sushi there were 'fresher' since the sushi here are placed on a conveyor belt for customers to choose, as apposed to the ones at Sushi Zanmai where they make them on the spot for you. 

I finished these plates anyway!

Directions:

Himawari Sushi 

Local name ひまわり寿司 新都心店

Local address 〒160-0023西新宿1-15-3

Day 1 in Tokyo: Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku and Sushi-Zanmai

We went Japan this June!

'We' meaning Baby, my mother and me. I did book Coco's flight but she and I agreed that she had much to catch up on her studies so she didn't make it for the trip. It was quite a shame as she would have enjoyed the trip: the refreshingly different and polite culture, the to-die-for exciting rides in the one-and-only Disneysea and the glorious food. 

My father is getting frailer after his esophagus incident. He is still not able to eat well nine months after the reconnecting surgery. He decided not to waste my money or 'spoil the trip' by opting out of the trip.

On hindsight, he was right. There was a lot of walking in Japan, which he would not have been able to handle. I really appreciate his wisdom. When in Japan, I found myself going through a fair bit of stress as I had no help except myself. If Coco or another adult were there, he/she could help me remember an exit, or help me find a plug to the kettle, or look out for a toilet for my mother ... I had to deal with all the uncertainties in a foreign land, and at the same time look after the needs of a kid and an elderly who had become as helpless as a baby. If my father had come along, I cannot imagine how much more stressful the trip would have been. 

As a result, I missed out some shots that I would have covered if I had not been so busy with the duo. But in all, I did enjoy my trip, stressful and exhausting as it was.

So, the first day began with a 11.55pm flight from Singapore on Scoot (again!). 

Baby's carrot stew

My beef casserole

We reached Narita Airport at 10.30am. 

This is the ticket office for Narita Express and Suica Cards. Ahead is the entrance to the gate of the Narita Express platform.

As the Airport Limousine Bus did not start operation until 2pm, I bought the Narita Express (NEX) train tickets to take us to Shinjuku Station. 1 adult card cost 2980 yen while a child's card set me back by 1490 yen. 

I also bought the Suica Cards at the same ticketing counter at 5000 yen each for 2 adults and 1 child (denoted by '小') for ease of travelling on subways in Tokyo. They work like our EZlink cards. I wouldn't need to worry about buying tickets at different stations.

As our tickets only entitled us to non-reserved seats, we had to look for markings for Cars 1 to 3 on the platform. 

 The next train left at 11.35am and we arrived at Shinjuku at 1.10pm.

On the comfortable seats of NEX

We found our way, with our luggage in tow, to Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku rather effortlessly with the help of this blog page:

http://gutereise09.blogspot.sg/2008/07/way-to-sunroute-plaza-shinjuku-from.html

A 3-star hotel with very helpful English-speaking staff

Just three words for the verdict: we love it! 

You know how finicky a customer I am, but I will definitely recommend it and stay there again if I ever return to Tokyo. The hotel is just next to a subway station, the Toei Line Station of Shinjuku Station, which could be walked through to the main station, just that we never figured out how since we never realised that there was a subway station beside the hotel and the next nearest subway entrance was too elusive for us in the four days that we tried to locate it! We often used the JR Station exit that we had used for the luggage towing on our first day there, but it was no problem for us since it was still near to the hotel. The challenge was finding the South exit at the JR Station though as Shinjuku Station is a huge station with different levels of exits. As a habit, we often walked one level down from the train platform to exit, just to realise that our South exit was on the second level!

The hotel is also within proximity to many good eats, both cheap and expensive. A few nights when we were exhausted, we simply used Google Map to search for the eats nearby and walked there, ate, and strolled back. 

I can't describe how convenient this place is!

On top of convenience, its luggage courier service, which I called 'Ta-Q-Bin' for easy comprehension, is a lot cheaper than I had expected. A 25-inch luggage and a 21-inch luggage cost about 2850 yen (about S$30) to transport from Tokyo to Kyoto, and the courier service counter was just a few steps away from the reception counter, which the reception staff would lead you to!

The hotel is very popular with tourists and is quickly booked up, so if you have decided to go Tokyo, you should book this hotel as early as you can. 

I managed to book the double room at a good price when there was an Agoda promotion. Only $646 for 4 nights. A single room had cost more when I checked later.

After resting at the comfy hotel room for an hour, and skipping my intended-to-visit Meiji Shrine and Shibuya Crossing, I decided that we should at least stroll to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building as a start to the trip. I read that it would give us a bird's eye view of the city. And it's free! So on we walked.

On the way there, in the passageway of Shinjuku Station, we came across this crepe shop that sold these curious little puffy squares wrapped in crepes. They looked good, so we each chose a flavour.

Baby had cookies and cream. It tasted like ice-cream to me but she didn't fancy it!

We walked for a very long time. It definitely exceeded the 15-minute walk stated on Google Map. 

It was at least a half an hour's walk.

By the time we reached the building, we were a little tired.

We went past the bag check station and were sent up the 45th storey. I took the bag check picture after I had come down from the building so the number of visitors was deceiving. When we were queuing up for the check, a Chinese tour group was there amidst many individual visitors like us. The Chinese tour guide was telling his group that the Japanese don't pay you much attention when you speak Mandarin. They give you better service when you speak Japanese or English. Not sure how true that is though. From my experience, they give you the best service when you speak Japanese.

Quite a spacious area upstairs. Not crazily crowded.

A bird's eye view no doubt, but a first-time tourist like me could not tell which was which and what was what.

I set up my tripod to take a three-person picture.

After the short visit, I had gastric pain. Previously, I had gastric pain in the wee hours, on the plane. It had been a long time since I last experienced gastric pain, and a really painful one at that. We could not go anywhere else because of my pain, so we walked back to Shinjuku Station and made our way on a subway to a highly-recommended sushi shop on Tripadvisor for an early dinner.

 

We took the train to Higashi-shinjuku Station and walked straight on for 3 minutes to the shop. It looked small on the inside but I realised on the second trip here that they actually had more tables one floor below, but the steps were too much for my mother's legs, so they sat us at the counter.

I asked for 'good' recommendations. The waitress communicated with the bespectacled chef above before pointing to me the upper part of the menu (without pictures),"These are good!"

I was hesitant as I could not understand Japanese writings, so I placed my order based on the pictured menu.  

Ooo la la! They were fresh and GOOD, especially the fatty tuna.

There were quite a few fatty tuna, and they were all GOOD!

This is the signboard outside the shop

After a satisfying meal, we headed back to the hotel and concluded our first day in Tokyo.

We sneaked into a Family Mart to see what it had to offer and saw that the locals were busy buying things there.

A man picked this up and I decided to give it a try. Not fantastic. Please do not try.

Directions: 

Tsukiji Kiyomura Sushi-Zanmai Higashi Shinjuku

Local name つきじ喜代村 すしざんまい 東新宿店

Local address 大久保1-1-13

Alight at Higashi-shinjuku Station and exit at A1. 

(Turn left on exiting and walk for 2 or 3 minutes.

Cross the road on the right at the traffic light.

You should see the shop across the road.)

Hurting Teenager

A young life is lost.

I thought about how lonely she must have felt as she sat on the window ledge, thinking about the nasty things said to/about her.

I imagine her tears streaming down her cheeks as she replayed the nasty scenes in her mind.

How helpless and hopeless she must have felt.

I asked Coco why couldn't a teenager ask for help.

She could talk to her parents, her teachers or school counsellor.

Why did she choose to battle all these alone?

Coco replied that perhaps her parents did know, but didn't think that it could be that bad.

Telling teachers wouldn't help, because the haters would hate her even more.

Why should she care? Oh, teenagers care about their haters.

Then at most transfer out of the school.

Coco said,"Transferring out of school is a humiliation. And it would mean you have lost."

But isn't committing suicide a declaration of losing too? Isn't that worse? You have lost indeed.

Coco: Well, at least you are not there to hear that you have lost.

Here I am, worrying about how badly Coco has fared in her studies.

There a diligent and intelligent girl was, struggling with self-esteem and the desire to be liked by her friends, on a daily basis.

And she caved in.

I feel so sorry that I didn't know about it. I feel so sorry that she was so near, yet so far, that I could have brushed shoulders with her but never knew what a girl like that was going through.

I know it wasn't my fault. How could I have known anything about her? But I keep thinking about the young life that is lost. What could have pushed her down that window? How long had she been putting up with the struggles? How lonely she must have felt to drive her to take the final step.

When I was 14, I thought about committing suicide A LOT. I didn't do well in my studies. I wasn't the most popular girl in school. A schoolmate had openly humiliated me by commenting on my looks, and everyone present laughed. 25 years later, I still remember the deep hurt I felt that fateful morning. Coupled with other issues, I felt that all was hopeless. To ease the pain I felt within, I created pain on the outside. It is hard for someone who doesn't do the same thing to understand, but inflicting pain on myself did help, somewhat. The scars remain till today to remind me of the intense pain I felt at my lowest during my teenage years. The desire to be accepted is often very strong during the formative years. Without which, a teenager feels utterly dejected.

Bullying is very powerful. It makes one hate oneself when it isn't one's fault. It could change our lives for the worse. Very much worse.

Nothing I say will bring the girl back to life. No amount of thinking will get her back. But I still think about it.

I think about the sorrow and pain felt by her parents, especially her mother, who could still be reproaching herself for not knowing the gravity of the situation or what her daughter was going through, who could be feeling devastatingly guilty for not helping her own child out of the hell she was in.

I wish no parent would ever go through this.

And I wish every child, every teenager would know that although it may look dark all around and situation seems hopeless, one day you will leave this place and go to a better place. Not in death, but in life. I wish they knew they are needed. Their parents need them. And they don't know. Teenagers often have this wretched sense of self-worth. Their world is a lot more complicated than children's but they don't measure up to the adults. Their days seem forever and never-ending. They can't see the end of the road. But the road will end one day, and only those who press on will see the glorious light at the end of the sinister tunnel.

To: the hurting teenager,

I wish you enough courage to walk the path you set out to walk on no matter what your critics say. Haters will always be haters. They have made the choice to hate you. You can't make them like you. So don't even try. What is life without some haters?

I wish you enough kindness to love yourself well.

I wish you enough wisdom to talk about your problems constantly with at least one trusted adult.

I wish you enough contentment to focus on the blessings of a healthy body and sound mind instead of negative and destructive comments and remarks.

I wish you enough discernment to distinguish friends from enemies. I wish you enough grace to acknowledge that not everybody will be your friends and walk away from people who do not wish to be your friend.

I wish you enough patience to wait for time to pass, and for yourself to grow up in a few years' time. When you look back 5 years later, the nightmare would have been, at best, a test and trial that had helped you to find yourself; at worst, something that remains a nightmare as part of your formative years. But you will not miss it and you will be glad you had walked on and not caved in.

You really will. I am able to tell you this because I didn't cave in. And I am glad I didn't.

And I am not strong.

You don't have to be strong to do that.

Just live on.

Unsound Advice

When I see or hear people dishing out THE advice, "Let him/her fail to teach her a lesson." the first thing that comes to my mind is: let yours fail first.

Most of these people are singles, of course.

They tell you how they will surely allow their daughter or son fail their exam to 'wake them up from their idea'.

And those who are parents themselves,  surprisingly, give such advice. And surprise surprise, they never allow their own children to fail any exam, primarily because their daughter or son never exasperates them to that extent. But yours does. It reflects bad parenting. Drastic times call for drastic measures, and what else can be more drastic than getting your child to fail?

They don't stop to think about the consequences of failing an exam for a child.

At best, failing an exam could, might really wake the child up, and perhaps the child would shine academically for ever and ever.

But how many times does that happen?

There are more failure stories about children failing exams. For one success story, I have twenty failure stories to counter the effectiveness of such a tactic. As it is, I haven't heard of a success story from failing an exam, but I have seen many failure stories and broken dreams from doing badly in exams.

At worst, these children don't get up from then on. The belief that they are stupid and doomed to failure is affirmed through the failed exam.

By now it should be clear as day that I am against 'let him/her fail the exam' advice.

It is a lousy advice. Period.

So stop asking people to let their children fail an exam. The advisor himself or herself reflects the very essence of bad parenting.