https://sparklette.net Best Singapore Restaurants, Travel and Hotel Reviews Sun, 18 Aug 2019 04:14:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.2 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/okinawa-must-do-things/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/okinawa-must-do-things/#respond Mon, 11 Dec 2017 18:43:41 +0000 http://sparklette.net/?p=1917

The gorgeous travel destination of Okinawa is located at the southernmost tip of Japan. With its charming, deeply-rooted cultural traditions, Okinawa is a place that is definitely worth a visit at least once in a lifetime. The residents here are known for their longevity as much as Okinawa is known for its rich, historical and 
diverse culture. Natives are said to have uncovered the secret to longevity! Nuchigusui is the […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/okinawa-must-do-things/feed/ 0 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/homebound/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/homebound/#comments Wed, 05 Sep 2007 04:27:30 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-11-homebound/

And this was the day we left Japan. I had successfully gone the entire night with no sleep at all! Early in the morning, we allocated ample time to get to Tokyo narita airport. But somehow by the time we did get there, we were among the last passengers to check in! Both of us ended up sitting separately in lousy centre seats. On our train ride to the airport, […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/homebound/feed/ 37 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/ueno/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/ueno/#comments Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:13:41 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-10-ueno/

Barely two days into our Kyoto stay, we were on the road again, heading back to Tokyo. Over there, we would spend the night and catch the flight back to Singapore the following morning. It’s funny how time flies when you’re having fun! I wish I had a whole month in Japan! After checking our Shinkansen (bullet train) schedule at Kyoto station and realising we had a 40 minute wait, […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/ueno/feed/ 15 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/kyoto-2/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/kyoto-2/#comments Mon, 03 Sep 2007 11:53:45 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-9-kyoto-part-2/

(Note: bumper crop of images – 5 megabytes’ worth! The largest yet! Please be patient with the loading.) Xanthe and I spent the entire day visiting the sights in the charming city of Kyoto. We had written out a list of places that we wanted to check out, consisting of both the modern and the historic. As Kyoto station was just a few minutes’ walk from our hotel, that was […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/kyoto-2/feed/ 21 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/kyoto/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/kyoto/#comments Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:17:56 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-8-kyoto-part-1/

Early in the morning I had to leave Tokyo for Kyoto, where I would be spending the next two days with xanthe! To reach Kyoto I would take the super high-speed bullet train from Tokyo station. I had never been on a bullet train before so I was looking forward to it. In Japan, the bullet train is referred to as “Shinkansen”. In general, I tend to dislike asking for […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/kyoto/feed/ 27 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/marunouchi-sony-building-odaiba/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/marunouchi-sony-building-odaiba/#comments Wed, 29 Aug 2007 10:19:35 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-7-marunouchi-sony-building-odaiba/

This was the last full day I had in Tokyo. The following morning I would be leaving for Kyoto! So, armed with Beni’s pro semi-SLR camera, we spent the day doing some final sightseeing. Our first stop was Marunouchi, an area marked by tall skyscrapers. This is the commercial district of Tokyo, home to the headquarters of the three largest banks in Japan. We arrived at Tokyo Station, the main […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/marunouchi-sony-building-odaiba/feed/ 16 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/sanrio-puroland/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/sanrio-puroland/#comments Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:41:15 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-6-sanrio-puroland-takahatafudo/

Caution to guys: Cute overload ahead! If you wish to skip the ensuing kawaii-ness in entirety, scroll all the way down for some nice photos of a Buddhist temple. On this day, I paid a visit to Sanrio Puroland – home of Hello Kitty and all things cute! If someone was to designate a kingdom of cuteness, this would be it! I had been looking forward to visiting this indoor […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/sanrio-puroland/feed/ 54 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/harajuku/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/harajuku/#comments Mon, 27 Aug 2007 04:53:02 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-5-harajuku/

This was the first (of 2 days) in Japan that I got to do some solo travelling! The excitement and exhilaration that stem from facing an utterly foreign city alone is something I haven’t experienced in a long time. As much as I love spending time with my friends, there would never come a day when I would stop craving for the freedom in going solo. Each time I walked […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/harajuku/feed/ 22 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/shibuya-tokyo-tower/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/shibuya-tokyo-tower/#comments Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:32:58 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-4-shibuya-tokyo-tower/

It was only day 4 in Japan. And already, I was craving for pasta! At noon, we were in an area someplace near Shibuya when an unusual rocket-shaped glass building caught our attention. We spotted the little Italy flag from afar through the glass and realised it was an Italian restaurant! What luck! The design of the restaurant was really quaint. They had English words on the menu too. Phew! […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/shibuya-tokyo-tower/feed/ 19 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/gay-parade/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/gay-parade/#comments Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:14:00 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-3-shibuya-gay-parade-ginza/

It’s day 3 in Tokyo and we’re ready to do some serious… Shopping! There’s no better place to do this than trendy Shibuya. Besides shopping malls and department stores, the walkways and alleys here are packed with numerous fashion shops. You can practically shop ’til you drop (in the 40 degree Japan summer heat)! Shibuya is an area where there is a high concentration of good looking people. You know […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/gay-parade/feed/ 29 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/tokyo-disneyland/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/tokyo-disneyland/#comments Wed, 22 Aug 2007 05:06:58 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-2-tokyo-disneyland/

I have never been to Disneyland in my entire life! Now that I’m in Tokyo, I know that I just HAVE to go there! To me this is one of those must-visit places before I die! (Okay, so this post ain’t gonna interest the guys much. But I love all things pretty! And Disneyland is one pretty and cute place!) We woke up early in the morning and made our […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/tokyo-disneyland/feed/ 52 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/tokyo/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/tokyo/#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2007 04:39:35 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/japan-day-1-arrival-in-tokyo/

(This is the first of 11 posts on my awesome Japan trip. I’m gonna blog about it from the very beginning all the way to the end!) Our flight to Tokyo was at 8:30 in the morning! We bid farewell to Singapore (on her independence day, no less!) and got on our flight. You know those flight safety videos that play on board the plane right before it takes off? […]]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/tokyo/feed/ 53 https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/back-from-japan/ https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/back-from-japan/#comments Sun, 19 Aug 2007 15:56:28 +0000 http://sparklette.net/archives/back-from-japan/

Hey people, I am back from my 11-day holiday in Japan! It had been an immensely memorable experience and I had lots of fun, booze, shopping and sightseeing! Right now I’m physically and mentally exhausted! But I do have tons of pictures, videos and experiences to blog about. Hopefully from tomorrow onwards, I would be able to blog my day-to-day posts over a period of 11 days. Stay tuned!]]> https://sparklette.net/travel/japan/back-from-japan/feed/ 17