Japan Summer Trip 2018 Day 1 (2/6)

Five of us went for a successful glamping trip at Thailand Hintok camp last year, we felt that it was actually quite fun to do it as group so we have been planning the next trip eversince. We shortlisted places like Sri Lanka etc but chanced upon an article described a luxury glamping trip at Mt Fuji and everyone agreed immediately. Japan is my most loved destination so naturally I was so happy with the decision. Unfortunately, P felt that the trip is really expensive (near 1k SGD for two nights) and he decided that he will skip it this time. I was rather disappointed as I do not want to leave him at home as much as possible. But since there was no way of persuading him, I decided to go ahead with the rest. J also decided to join us this year so we still have 5 people in total.

The mandatory send off photo

New drop off booth for Changiwifi so we do not need to queue

We started planning the trip since January and had been eagerly counting down to it. We were also excited as most of us redeem our Krisflyer miles to take business class to Japan. This is my first business class experience and its on SQ! I felt so suaku but nevertheless took many photos. I wanted to go to the airport as early as possible to enjoy the lounge, but I only got out of the house around 1130am for the 2pm flight. Fortunately, there was no queue at the SQ business class counter, so I got to the lounge within 30 min of reaching the airport.

No queue collecting my wifi router and the JR pass exchange order

I deliberately went to airport earlier so that I can enjoy the lounge services which is free for all business class passengers. Who knows? This could be once in my lifetime experience so I seized the opportunity to maximise the experience. 

I looked out for the signage as the SKL was at a secluded corner

I was unsure of which lounge to go to, as there were several choices under Krisflyer. I passed a KrisFlyer Gold Lounge which looked really atas and I thought this much be catered for the higher tier passenger (E later told me that its the other way round), so I kept walking. I finally found the SKL further down, I was still doubtful if that was the one so I checked with the reception staff using my boarding pass.

Very nice entrance

Once I entered, there was clear signage to divide biz class and first class

I knew I was at the right place when I saw this sign. I think I was the only one taking photos but I decided to just be thick skinned about it. Lolx

Nice rest area, not too crowded and a lot of privacy

The atas local brand of TWG 

Sandwiches

Coffee machinese

I did not eat anything for breakfast and there was a good spread there, but I've started on a LCHF diet since the March hols so I have to be quite choosy with what I eat. I am not very strict on this keto diet so I still took the buffalo wings coated with some sauce, some salad, cheese and some fish/meat. If I were not on this diet, I guess I'll certainly try out those high carbs staples like mee goreng and beef noodles. Sigh..

Keto approved liquids

Thought for a long time if I should post this on my IG and I did

I spent an hour or so at the lounge and reached the gate when it was about to close. I did not get to enjoy the priority boarding as the passengers have already boarded when I reached the gate.

Very wide and spacious seat, although its a old and used aircraft

It felt really shiok to walk down a different passageway leading to the first class and business class seats. The rest of my companions on this trip was all excited and discussing about their business class travel so I already found out that the aircraft I was taking (777-300ER) was already old and almost phasing out. Nevertheless, I'm not too particular about it and still felt that it was really a good experience from beginning till end.

The seat was so wide that I was able to sit with the two pillows

The rims and finishings were old and not so high-tech like the newer aircrafts but the seat is certainly wider. It was spacious enough that for the first time, I could not reach the bag stowed in front of me when I was strapped up for takeoff.

The amenities

Even the toilets of the business class passengers were more spacious and there was nice linen cloth provided to wipe our hands etc. When I walked to the toilet, I saw slippers, socks and eye masks on the seat in front of me and realised that I went to the wrong seat (19K) in my excitement. The cabin crew looked confused when she checked the list but she did not ask or say anything. As the business class seats were quite empty, they only prepared amenities for those seats that were taken up. 

Can stretch my legs and lie flat although the angle was not exactly comfortable

These sound proof headsets are really good, blocked out most of the engine noise

20 min after takeoff, our lunch was served. After I managed to redeem this flight using miles, I went online and chose the book-the-cook option (Lobster Thermidor) under E recommendation. I flipped through the menu and thought the standard kaiseki lunch also looked quite good. After trying the lobster and it was not really to my liking, I regretted a little. I still enjoyed the meal as the service was really good and it was a 4 course lunch and not just a standard set flight meal.

Appetizer tasted good, there was table cloth and proper cutlery

The main course

Green tea tiramisu, too sweet for my liking so I only ate half

I love, love, love cheese after started on the keto diet

I had a really bad experience flying back from San Francisco on my previous SQ flight as I was having diarrhoea for most of the flight and went to the toilet many many times. I did not watch any movies at all as the whole flight was a torture. On top of that, I felt that the IFE during that month of December 2017 was also not too fantastic. This time round there were many movies I wanted to watch. I finished the two local production (Wayang Kids/ Wonder Boys) listed in KrisWorld and really enjoyed both movies, I'm glad that SQ always have a good range of movies and not just blockbusters. I slept for the remaining two hours and soon it was time to land in Tokyo.

Keikyu Ex Inn Haneda Airport

When we reached Tokyo airport, there were a lot of flights landing around 10pm so it took sometime for the aircraft to finally land and came to a standstill. We already realised that it was going to be quite late so E mentioned that he will just stay at a hotel near the airport and I decided to follow suit since our next hotel will also be the same one. I had considered staying at a capsule hotel just for the experience but eventually decided against it since the one at Haneda Airport was already full for ladies and I didnt want to travel to the city just for a few hours sleep.

My room was right next to the lift (after the store) and it was good for me

On the airport shuttle

E took a transit flight so that he could try out both SQ and TG business class. His colleague and I were on the same flight, he waited for us for almost an hour but luckily we were all on priority for disembarkation and retrieval of our luggage, so we managed to catch the free hotel shuttle bus from the airport at 1045pm.

Good idea to maximise space instead of building a cupboard

Bed looked inviting and comfortable

Cute little sofa and table

Just outside the hotel

Just outside the hotel

It only took 5 to 10 min for the airport shuttle to reach our hotel and the hotel was just down the road from the airport, serving people having an early flight out of Haneda or a late flight into Tokyo like us. I guess most people do not stay for more than a night so the room is really simple, but very Japanese style and its part of what I loved about Japan. There was a Family Mart just down the street so we met at the lift lobby to walk there together after putting down our luggages in the room.

Egg, pickles and salad

Finished all these right after I showered

I always enjoy Japan onigiri and mochi from the convenience stores, but now that I'm on the keto diet, my choices are so different. I'm still glad that there were many keto compliant food available here in Japan (close one eye to the hidden sugar in pickles and the sauce we add to the nice onsen egg). I always have a weight gain after a trip due to all the carbs indulgence so I hope this time it'll be better.

Very nice area at the breakfast lounge

A range of food from 7-11

The only thing I did not like about the hotel was the small pillow given. It was already very late (2am+) when I finished my shower and updated my blog so I did not bother to call the reception for another pillow. I managed to fall asleep after awhile, as I was still feeling quite awake after the flight. I woke up the sunlight streaming in at 6am and realised I forgot to turn on my alarm for breakfast at 8am. I went back to sleep and woke up with a shock again, and it was already 7.53am. I did not realise I turned on a weekday alarm instead, and its only Sunday here. It was still early after I changed and went down for breakfast, as I only realised E & friend mentioned 8+ for breakfast and not 8am. Phew.

Western style (photo from hotel website)

Japanese style (photo from hotel website)

Unlike most hotels, there were only two set choices for breakfast here. I chose the Japanese set as its more keto friendly, I should not touch the rice and the carrots in the soup but I ate a few mouth of the rice since it goes well with the miso soup. Opps! Breakfast was simple but not too bad. One plus point of this hotel was that the soundproofing is superb, we expected to hear sound of planes taking off and landing during the night but there was none.

Osaka Marathon 2017- Travelling to Osaka and REPC (24th & 25th November)

Here I go again!

I'm so glad that Osaka Marathon moved to the last week of November this year instead of the usual October weekend. My hols had just started (this is really just day 0 as we only finished our last meeting earlier today), so I can make it for the marathon!

Ironically, last year I got myself a slot to Osaka marathon through balloting, but I gave it up to go for Hakusan Shirakawa-go Ultra instead. This year I tried balloting for Osaka again but I didnt get a slot. It used to. be really easy for foreigners to get a slot in the past, but this marathon is getting really popular even though this year it's just the 7th edition. Its one of the biggest marathon in the world, boosting 30k people participation I was glad that someone on forum mentioned Crest Travel offering guaranteed slots, so I put myself on the waiting list. I was lucky enough to have some slots opened up in the end and I managed to sign up through the travel agency. The damage of the race registration and 3 nights hotel stay is about $800. It's not too bad for a deal as the hotel is supposed to be a 4 star hotel.

The very nice Terminal 4

Things are automated in this new terminal

This is my second overseas marathon this year. I went for a second round of Nagoya Women's marathon in march this year, took lots of photo, bought photos from the organiser but got too lazy to blog about it lolz... Anyway, finances are quite tied this year so I travelled to Nagoya on a cheaper flight than SQ. I am taking the same Vietnam airlines again this time and transiting at Ho Chih Min city. In fact, as I'm typing this, I'm sitting at a cafe in front of the boarding gate waiting for my flight to Osaka. Earlier on, I've scanned through all the airlines and this is the cheapest other than MAS and the budget airlines. Anyway, doing this the second time makes the environment familiar enough for me, its just a bit confusing for me right now as Vietnam is one hour behind Singapore and Japan is one hour ahead of Singapore. So hubby P was asking me what time i'll reach Japan and I got a little confused there.

A very essential item for all my Japan trips

Mandatory photo after P sent me (look at those eyebags!)

After Nagoya marathon in March, I got busy with moving to my new home and preparing for the wedding, therefore there was a long hiatus of 4-5 months before I starting running again in late August. In the midst of it, my FR220 also decided to retire so I did not have the motivation to start exercising again until I bought a new Garmin watch, my precious FR935. Although I just wanted to take things easy and enjoy the race, I really hope I can make it to the end point by the cut off time of 7 hour after such a long break and insufficient training. I did several runs more than 10km and one half marathon the past few mths, but the mileage was definitely not as much as my Nagoya Marathon preparation earlier this year. I was also a bit dejected as my Nagoya Marathon race timing was even worse than last year after all that preparation, so I decided to take things easy. Unfortunately, I developed the whole package of flu symptoms this week and was down with sore throat, cough, flu and blocked nose, phlegm etc. After a few days of self medication, things did not improve so I visited the doc yesterday even though I did not need the MC, hopefully I'll recover in time to do a good run this Sunday.

It was a pleasant surprise when I realised that I'm flying out of SG from the new Terminal 4 that just opened recently. It was really spacious, less crowded and a different experience from the other 3 terminals as we can clear immigration using the automatic gates and immediately after that they had the hand carry checks like the other airports (other terminals normally just do it at the gate). There was no queues at all the counters so it was a breeze getting to the boarding gate. On my way there, I saw Paris Baguette so I grab something for dinner before proceeding.

(Have to contine my blog in Osaka later as my laptop is getting low batt :( )

Halloween Horrors Night 2017

This is our 3rd edition of Halloween Horrors Night. I blogged about our first experience in 2014 where we experienced super long queues on Halloween night itself and only tried 2-3 haunted houses. Last year, P's friends came and we met up for a night at USS during HNN6, I must say it was pretty fun to do it in a small group and huddle and scream together. We even experienced downpour halfway through queueing and everyone was forced to buy the expensive USS ponchos, but the plus point was the crowd thinned out and we managed to try most of the haunted houses last year. We had great fun then and P and I were thinking we'll make it our yearly Halloween date. Seeing how others breeze through the queues with express passes last year, we promised to splurge on express passes when we go again this year.

Couple goals?

We started looking for the tickets even before the whole event started, we missed the early bird period but P eventually found reliable sources on Carousell. I did change my mind about going for the event as we incurred quite a bit of debts after we moved to our new crib and the wedding. But I did not want to be a wet blanket and P also surprised me by giving me a treat to the event.

Physical tickets we bought from Carousell

For this year's HHN, there were many reported cases when people get scammed from untrusty sellers on Carousell. But I trust P to get the tickets from there as he's forever on Carousell, buying and selling stuff. Anyway, we managed to utilise the tickets last night and had no issues with those. P spent $120 on each express pass on top of the $68 admission fee. So that's like more than $360+ for the two of us.

The entrance

After work yesterday, we went home to nap for about an hour before we set off for Sentosa. It was quite easy for us to get there as our new home is sitting on top of the Circle line. Even though we had to sit on the train for 13 stops, it took only 30++ minutes. We went to Bread Talk to grab a pork floss bun for dinner and took the monorail to USS. We managed to conceal our food stuff during bag check and successfully entered the theme park. I must admit being the 3rd time here, the surprise and anticipation factor was unlike before so I was not as excited or hyped unlike my first experience. Hmm.. I could feel that I'm there more to compare the previous editions with this year's experience and to see if there's any new element to excite or impress me.

Still at the entrance

Many people bought the red and green demon horns headbands and I must say its pretty cheap at 3 for $10 but we didnt get it as it'll become junks taking space at home once the night is over. We walked straight to the central stage where there'll be cosplayers/ghouls on a elaborated stage for people to take photographs with. The display did not really catch my eye this year, so we went straight to the first haunted house just next to it.

The Death Mall

This is the only haunted house that I knew about due to the extensive publicity before the whole event. It even got into the news as some people felt that their publicity stunt was insensitive to the general public. Anyway, I experienced the power of the express pass as there was the snaking queue just next to the monorail station but we went right up to the entrance and only waited for 5-10min while the rest queued for more than an hour. It is truly shiok and the VIP feeling was so so cool. Anyway, we got inside quickly and saw the interiors decorated like a shopping mall, with the cinema and supermarket areas etc. Like all haunted houses, the actors hid before curtains, corners and doors and jumped out at us with their ghostly makeup. The group of people in front us kind of 'protected' us from them but they moved forward really slowly as they were pushing one another to go first, so this dampened the experience a little for me. One of the tall 'ang moh' guy in the group even stepped back in fright at one point and his heavy leather shoe landed on my foot. Ouch! Overall, I felt that this haunted house is quite underwhelming despite the extensive publicity. There were the local touch but we preferred the coffeeshop experience in HNN6 previous year. None of the display area inside left a deep impression in my mind after the whole night.

Inside My Mind

Speaking about the express pass, after I finished the first haunted house in 5-10min, I crazily missed the long time we had to queue for each zone the past years. Okay, I really dont miss the time spent and frustration we had while queueing but I felt like something was missing.

Anyway, the next haunted house was named Inside My Mind and the queue for us got even shorter than before. This haunted house made use of laser lights and stuff to disorientate us and it really got me at one point, but I felt that it was more impressive in the 3D dementia in HHN4 edition when the idea was still new. I guess we were supposed to experience the different parts of the brain so there were some gory and bloody areas but all those were kind of familiar so none of it really left an impression in my mind.

The express pass allow us to visit each of the 5 haunted house only once using the express queue. Other than scanning the pass, they will also manually cancel off the haunted house we visited, so we need to join the queue if we want a repeated tour. After the first two haunted houses, we passed transformers and seeing that it was only a 15min short queue, we went in for a ride. It was the third time I took the ride and shortest time I queued for it. I was glad that next few haunted houses got better.

Us at transformers

At the scare zones where actors have elaborate makeup and jumped at us

Make the Cut 

I was delighted that the next haunted house seemed to be something different and refreshing. Having watched many South Korean movies and dramas lately, I'm a little into Kpop culture lolx. I even made a short video while we walked through the express lane. Many horror movies also came from South Korea, like Ju-On and so on, so it got a little creepy when the interior of the 'shophouses' we went into looked like a set from late 80s or something. I guess it was supposed to be a KTV or dance place but turned into gory plastic surgery set. There were actors dressed as dancers/performers at the front part while a guy was sitting cooly there like a boss (I thought he looked too normal to be one of the actors), then as we walked inside there were plastic surgery areas with blood and body parts everywhere. Gory indeed. It's a pity I'm not observant enough to notice all the details as I'm sure it'll be a amazing treat if I can pay attention to everything inside.

This is another of our favourite ride, but queue was 40min so we skipped.

Many small stalls selling expensive food and drink, we did not get any this year

Hex was the next haunted house we visited. The area before we went in was outdoor and the floor got a bit wet as it rained early. It smelt a lot like twine and manila hemp we used for camping as this haunted house was about black magic and voodoo etc. The area inside was quite stuffy as they used a lot of natural canvas to cover the place. Honestly, the normal queue is stuffy and took 1.5 hour but I dont remember much of it except for the repetitive dead bodies lying at corners and ghostly actors jumping out at us. Most haunted houses are pretty similar, they use sound effects and a curtain and drape that fall in front of us is a scary experience as we'll wonder what's behind those. That's all to it.

The free scare zone where festivals became twisted

Took a picture with the actors

At one of the free scare zone, we walked through a maze with brains and broken limbs stuck in the hedge, what was interesting was there were speakers playing scary music and sound effects like electric sparks all around us (common in the haunted house too). One guy in front of me got scared by the sound effects and actually jumped!

The last was also the best

As I've been to Xi An and seen the actual terracotta army, I was pleasantly surprised when I came to this last haunted house. And I must say its the best and most impressive of this edition. As we were walking towards the entrance, we could see that the area was big as we were walking next to the huge dark maze where they set up the props and stuff. We could hear knocking and people screaming inside. This area is impressive as they really had those terracotta replica at the entrance and those looked like the exact size and of the terracotta army, although the facial expression and details might be missing. The haunted house brought us back to the Qing dynasty as the interior looked like the forbidden city palace. There were people dressed in those period costumes, eunuchs, ghostly concubines and stuff and the oriental rooms with details to go with it. There was also this wall with tiles popping out. We were not allowed to take any pictures inside the haunted houses as the flash will blind the actors or disturb others, I guess the makeup and stuff are also copyrighted,  so I only managed to take a picture at the entrance.

Can see the terracotta replica in this picture 

With the express pass, we managed to finish all five haunted houses in 2 hours and it was barely 10pm. It would be nice we can walk through USS slowly and go for those rides without long queues, or some of the free halloween shows. However, P had to rush home to do PO for his toy statues so we left USS quite early unexpectedly. I think the express pass is a really a good investment so we will surely be back with those again next year.