My First Ever Self-planned Trip- Japan

Some pictures that i took which i think are not too bad. (click for a super large version)

Hi, I'm alive. The terrorists have decided to hijack SQ so Thai airways was safe. And here I am to share my very interesting and hard-earned experiences with you people.

Day 1

Day 1 is very boring. We depart from Singapore at 9pm, transit at Bangkok and head for Fukuoka. Very boring. And tiring. We were walking zombies while boarding the plane at Bangkok at 1am.

Very much alive at Changi Airport.

Dead-looking at Bangkok terminal. Only the shoulder-comforter looks alive.

Day 2

Arrival at Fukuoka, 8am, Yeah!

That's Chie at the back. She is single and available. (i think, haha.) oh, she's my cousin's japanese friend and will be bringing us around for the day. A fine, pleasant young lady.

After depositing our luggage at Mitsukoshi, we subwayed to Dazaifu, which is very popular with the locals because of its shrine and the plum and cherry blossoms.

My first lunch in Japan turns out to be very authentic soba noodles. The soba is freshly made by a soba master in a glass room. (we can see him from where we are seating.) The noodles taste so good. Have you ever tasted noodles that will bounce back when you bite into them? Yep, i have. :D

My mum had duck soup with cold soba. Very yumm too.

My cousin on the other hand is suffering from air-sickness. (Chie had this miso and raw egg soba thing. i didn't manage to take a picture of it.)

The very popular shrine, Tenmangu. It is said to be especially divining for students taking major examinations.

Wash your hands before you pray.

The bird that everyone thought was fake. It turned out to be alive when it plunged into the pond to fish for some carps. It's huge too.

I guess we are very lucky people. A traditional japanese wedding took place while we were visiting. So we get to see this not so young couple do the ceremonial bow at the shrine. Quite cool.

After the wedding, we got our fortunes told. haha. I got a middle ji. Not bad.

Cherry blossoms.

We had frothed green tea and pan-grilled red bean mochi for tea. It looked so appetising that I forgot to take a picture of it until quite late. haha.

The dudes who made our red bean mochi. I forgot its japanese name though. (i think it's ume no -something something- mochi)

We went for onsen at Futsukaichi, Hakata-yu. It was very refreshing, real onsen with a stone bath and sulphur bathwater. Then we took back our luggage and went to our ryokan. Kashima Honkan.

Dinner straight after. Beef intestines hotpot. It is ten times better than pig intestines. haha.

Chie, our very gracious host, paid for our lunch and dinner. Thank you Chie! (Chie, if you ever come to Singapore, must tell me k? I'll double treat you back!)Bedtime was a interesting affair. We argued over how the futon should be laid. We ended up laying them wrongly and almost froze to death since we were actually sleeping on our blanket. (My mum got up in the middle of the night to add another layer to our blanket cover.)

End