Planet Bloggerian » My Backpack and Me

Relaxing in Hakone

Posted: August 29th, 2008, 12:24am WIT by phoebz

I first read in books (ok I admitted, manga) that Hakone is known as a local tourism destination for citizens of Tokyo and surrounding area. When they want to go relaxing in onsen, Hakone is the place. In LP, it is mentioned as a unique destination, because to reach Hakone from Tokyo, people have to use [...]
Tsugi wa : Shibuya!

Posted: August 23rd, 2008, 5:23pm WIT by phoebz

As some of you might’ve known (belaga terkenal aja), I am an avid manga reader. More than I do novels. More than I watch movies / TV. One of the mangas that I repeatedly read, Gals, by Mihona Fujii, tells story about girls gang who hangs out constantly in Shibuya. Then, everytime I read the [...]
Shinkansen to Kyoto, Gold Pavillion

Posted: July 23rd, 2008, 9:18pm WIT by phoebz

Sakura Hotel Jimbocho, Tokyo, 28 June 2008 Morning breakfast in the hotel lobby couldn’t have been categorized as 5 stars hotel material, but boy, didn’t it taste great. After starvation of last night, the serve-yourself toast with butter and jam with list of choices of teabags and coffee is heaven. Made myself toasts and sweet sakura tea. [...]
Heian-jingu, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

Posted: July 20th, 2008, 7:38pm WIT by phoebz

(still 29 June 2008) I still walked for another hour, I think, the thoughts were quite blurry when I walked out of the park (Maruyama-koen), and found traditional houses, ochaya (tea houses), and several little shops. Unlike Tokyo where houses and building were all westernized/modernized, this neigborhood of Higashiyama still maintained its roots. Here and there I [...]
How to smile like a geisha, Gion, Kyoto

Posted: July 20th, 2008, 3:05pm WIT by phoebz

29 June 2008 Good morning, Kyoto! Weather isn’t the perfect for my tight schedule of visiting Gion, make walking tour through the Higashiyama trail as recommended by LP and then catch the train to Nara as promised as my hotel was booked at NAIST for tonight. So I packed up all my things (which constantly grow into bigger [...]
Meeting@Takebashi, Conference@Mita, Gadgets@Akihabara,Fun@Shibuya! 27 June 2008

Posted: July 18th, 2008, 6:01pm WIT by phoebz

The morning was filled with anxiety, because I had to remember how to get back to Shibuya station, and then figure out how to go to Takebashi by subway. Seems easy for Tokyoites, but for myself, this is something new. So you gotta know what station you should go to, which line is that, and where to [...]
Minato Mirai 21, 25 June 2008

Posted: July 18th, 2008, 10:25am WIT by phoebz

When Japan ended its self-isolation from the outside world, one of the first ports opened to the world was Yokohama. Now remains as one of the biggest ports (and the busiest cities) of Japan, Yokohama resembled a mixture of East meets West cultures. The meeting in Fujisawa dragged until late in the afternoon. I wouldn’t bore [...]
Roppongi, 49 Academy Hill, Tokyo, 26 June 2008

Posted: July 16th, 2008, 6:48pm WIT by phoebz

Today I arrived in Tokyo. I was half asleep when the bus that drove us from Shonandai was flashing through the roads of outer Tokyo. Tall buildings and salarymen in suits greeted us, not only in boring black color, but also in grey, creme and stripes, combined with light brown leather shoes and matching briefcases. We [...]
Somewhere above Japan sea, 23 June 2008

Posted: July 16th, 2008, 3:54pm WIT by phoebz

Seemed that I managed to get some sleep. Feeling slightly refreshed eventhough the face I saw in lavatory’s miniscule mirror was not too convincing : red puffy eyes with the blood lines exposed. The time is 7:00 am Japanese time (according to the Japanese girl sitting next to me, wearing a flu mask). Thirty minutes to [...]