Ciao Giappone

It has been more than 10 years since I was last in Japan on a 1-night stopover to Beijing with my beloved granny and all I can remember is 1) how cold it was 2) the campy, kawaii and fun Disneyland and 3) how good everything tasted, especially the short-grain Japanese rice. This time round, we went for a well-deserved vacanza and also to meet up with some of my Japanese classmates from Perugia. I was expecting it to be cooler in October but Yuko3 said they had a very hot summer so 'koyo' (changing of colours of leaves) would be delayed till November. Bummer.

For our first rainy weekend in Tokyo, we stayed in the thumpin' Shinjuku area that glimmered with billboards and was brimming with youthful energy. The mood was simply electric. The food was of course amazing. We indulged in a steaming bowl of ramen everyday (from Nogata and Ippudo to no-name hole-in-wall joints) and snacked at every chance at the heavenly departmental food halls and wolved down fresh sushi at the Standing Sushi Bar. If you are not into food, you're at the wrong place.

On our first night, Yuko brought us to a fantastico tofu kaiseki restaurant, Umenohana, in Ginza (they have many branches) and we feasted on sublime multi courses of exquisite tofu creations - in soups, disguised in a cheese gratin, etc. The second night, we met her Italian-speaking amici for an all-you-can-eat/drink shabu shabu dinner in the thick of Shinjuku. We also paid extra for 90mins of all-you-can-drink - good value considering we can easily knock back 3 Sapporo and a shochu lemon for the road.

Tokyo is quite big so we had to make the most of each day even though we'd be spending 5 days in the citta. As the appointed tour guide, I made sure we devoted time to each section - West (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi), East (Ueno) and Central Tokyo (Ginza). Sunday was the best time to visit Meiji Shrine in the heart of the lush Yoyogi Park as there are usually a few traditional weddings in procession, followed by a jaunt to Harujuku, a mecca for the young, the bold, beautiful, ugly and weird. You can just spend your whole day people watching - it's much more entertaining than tv or movies.

Japan is quite fascinating in the sense that its general population seems serious, reserved and traditional but at the same time, there's the other side which is edgy, dangerously mad and unpredictable. There are age-old customs and rituals but yet there is plenty of room for making new rules, progression and originality. Maybe people are so polite that they would not criticise the daredevils. Maybe people can't take the suppression that they snap and break free in search of their own identities. Perhaps Singapore will be like this in time.

It is also the epitome of consumerism - everyone is decked out from head to toe in luxe brands, heavy with mascara-ed lashes to blonde hair and hanging onto a bevy of handheld gadgets as seen on the train. Packaging is everything but they also pay attention to quality (we're talking about food here). They obviously love their seafood - judging by the sheer size of the Tsukiji fish market which is a great haunt for food lovers and chefs. I have been to many fresh markets but this one is the mother of all fish markets. The tuna auctions are a major attraction and start at 4am but we only managed to get there at 7.15am after a short stroll from the boutique Hotel Gracery in Ginza (great location, lovely room for its price).

There are all kinds of live fishes, shellfish, hairy crustaceans, sacks of ikura and fishcakes. I actually felt sorry for the much prized tuna as they laid frozen, covered in straw mats with just a sliced portion of their tail end that exposed their bright red bloody flesh. I remember seeing these gigantic petrified creatures hauled up in  huge fishing nets and being speared up by the fishermen on telly. Blue fin tuna are becoming an endangered species, so let's consume less of them to give them a chance. After Tokyo, we also spent a night at the quaint lil' hot spring town of Hakone.

This was our 'Japan Hour' fantasy come true as we lapped up the gorgeous tatami room with a private hot spring bath in our balcony, followed by a full-on 8-course gourmet dinner. Luckily we wore our loose yukata robes! Sleeping on the floor (despite the bellowy comforter) takes some getting used to but after a hot soak, it's not hard to drift off. We couldn't wait for Kyoto, Nara and Osaka!