Just came back from my Tokyo trip a few days ago. Unlike the previous 4 times in which I went with guided tours (and only during winter), this is my first free & easy trip there, and also during a different season - summer.

No doubt the weather was quite hot, but I think is comparable to Singapore. And most importantly, I felt I have more interaction with the culture and people there, getting to learn many new things which I will never get to do in a guided tour. In the past, the tour guide only bring us to selective tourist attraction places and we don't get to mingle around with the Japanese. But this time round, I used the public transport extensively and the fact that I live in a rather poor district of Tokyo makes me see Japan in a different light. In the past, they only bring us to Ginza to see all the expensive things, but this time round, I went to rather cheap shopping districts (e.g Ame-yoko at Ueno) and some things can be even cheaper than in S'pore!

Getting used to the Tokyo subway system can be quite challenging, but luckily I did my "hw" b4 I went there, so it was rather easy and comfortable for me. And the fact that I bought a concession ticket (700 yen = S$10.50) each day makes travelling more easier. Firstly, I dont really go for shopping, so it's obvious that I can travel to many places within one day, which is definitely more cost-saving for me. Secondly, if I dont buy concession ticket, I will need to plan my route carefully. Taking the wrong train and changing lines unnecessarily will only mean more charges. Within one station, there can be quite a few train operators, and they dont tell u that! So if you are not careful, you may end up paying much more than what you initially think you are paying for. In short, my advice is to JUST BUY a concession ticket, unless you are confident you will only stick to ONE place each day.

And unlike during a guided tour when all my meals are covered for, this time round I need to settle my own meals. Of course. if you are going to places like Macdonald's where you can just POINT at the picture and order without speaking a single Japanese, that's okay. But if it's like going to a typical traditional Japanese restaurant to order, with no pictures to rely on, it can be quite tough for some ppl. If you are inside a sushi shop, most of the time you can find the food you want on the conveyor belt. But for me where some of the sushi I like is not available (e.g Kani sarada, ebi sarada, shifudo sarada), I have to ask the sushi chef standing in the middle to prepare for me. Of cuz there's no extra charge or what, each typical plate of sushi cost 130yen (S$1.95) in most sushi shops in Tokyo, so it's still not that bad... Unless you order some red plate or what which is more expensive. Bottom line is if you cant speak Japanese, you may have to settle for whatever that's available on the conveyor belt.

The same applies to ramen shop or tempura shops, which can be quite challenging to order when the menu is all Japanese without any pictures. But I think basic understanding of hiragana and katakana should be fine.
So if you dont have much trouble with ordering food or transport, then I guess all other things shld be fine!

The fact that I live in some cheapo hostel means that I got to see many tourists from all over the world as well. I think caucasians made up 70% of the ppl in my hostel? And yaz, my first time interacting with so many ang-mohs, and it can be AMAZING to hear some of the words coming out of their mouth, e.g "Singapore is bigger than a SMALL country like South Korea"....

And yes, I don't want to go Japan during summer again! But they only sell summer clothings (which is what I need) during summer means that I wont be able to buy much clothings during other seasons. Going during Spring and Autumn is definitely OUT OF THE QUESTION becuz there will be school terms and usually the one week sch holiday is so pathetic that I'll be probably busy with sch stuff as well. And tt means going during Winter where they only sell winter products, which is kinda irrelevant to me.

Next post will talk about the places I been to....