Japan Trip - Part 1 ~ Food + System

Initially I intended to do a daily blog posting for each day of the Japan Trip, in which I did write out in a small note book at the end of everyday for about 8 days before I gave up due to fatigue of sleeping later (an average time of 1hr to write) and having to be the first out of bed to wake the other 2. Instead, I'll divide the whole trip into sections and work from there, and first up I'll talk about the food we had there.

1 word to describe it all, Godly. The fact that the foods that we can get there are fresh, the difference in quality is simply too great. The overwhelming taste of the food just lingers on your tongue, asking for more. The juices that burst out when biting into the food just fills the mouth with favour. Food to the Japanese is an art, an art that they have been perfecting through the ages, and the country is truly a hidden treasure. I'm sure I've only been tasting the very mid-bottom range of the tree, and I wish to seek the very best out, given the money and time, eventually.

People have always said that when overseas, one would usually miss the food back at home, in which is usually true, but sad to say for this case (and I'm sure the other 2 who traveled with me would agree), it doesn't apply. I'm currently missing the food that I thoroughly enjoyed throughout the trip. I had always been a fan over Japanese Cuisine, but right now I don't think I can truly enjoy the cuisine in SG ever again, the taste that arises from the freshness is too big a gap to bridge. Now I understand why the old man would have his chef fly to Japan to bring in fresh ingredients whenever he wants to have Japanese Cuisine for his meal. (Who else in SG is old, still weld lots of power from his words in this country, and have a shit load of cash, and still making more from filing lawsuits against those who "defiles" his name? Not mentioning any names.)
Here's a picture of the Ootoro which we had on the 2nd last day of the trip, where we 3 spent about S$200+ worth on just sushi, and it was only breakfast. In fact the Ootoro you see cost about 6-7 SGD per piece, and I had 7!!! But god was it worth it, it just simply melts in your mouth. For more photos of some of the food that we had in Japan, click here ---> FOOD

Next up I'll talk abit on the system (custom? daily routine? I don't know what to call it) that I can see there and compare it to SG, in which I feel truly ashamed to be called a S'porean. In fact if any of you did see me on Tuesday, I was swearing and cursing about the behaviours of a typical S'porean. Just see the comparison.

Point 1: Using the Escalator.
Japan - Everyone keeps to one side (left side for Tokyo and many other places, right side for Osaka, and don't ask me why they reverse), unless they are rushing in which they have the empty lane to make their way.
Singapore - FFA who gives a shit if you are in a rush, I ain't going to be moving my ass for anyone. Go take the stairs noobcake. I'll stand where I want to stand, even if my group is blocking the "express lane".

Point 2: Queuing for train, boarding/leaving train.
Japan - Keep to 2 rows, queue in a line. Train comes, doors open, allow those inside to go out first, once no one left then orderly board the train, priority seats for those who needs it.
SG - O.O no one at the door? I shall stand right in front of it to have first pick on any empty seats. I'll just force my way through the horde of exiting people just to get my seat. Heck even if there's no seat I'm still not giving way to those exiting, I'll just force through, and screw those who need it more I'm going to "sleep".

Point 3: "Packed" train/bus.
Japan - Hmm there's going to be many many people boarding the train/bus, I think I'll move to the center to give more space for more people to board, and we'll all squeeze like sardines but it's all okay.
SG - I ain't going to move to the middle!! I want to be near the door so I can make a fast exit!! Who the hell cares if I move and maybe 3-4 more people can board? Hell I don't even care! Screw thinking about others, I only think for myself! (In fact on Tuesday I had the blast of my life standing in the middle with about 1metre worth of space around me to move, but seeing everyone else squeezing at the door. Bloody retarded humans.)

Point 4: Accidental bumpings.
Japan - Opps I bumped into you, I shall say sorry immediately. In fact I'll apologize for even the minor things.
SG - "bump"......silence. Nope nothing happened I'm just ignoring all the people I'm hitting.

Point 5: Dress code.
Japan - OMG it's cold!! But all the girls are still wearing short skirts and long socks/pantyhose and letting the wind do their job. Nose-bleed the guys to death!!
SG - God I'm melting, but I'm still going to wear my jeans 365 days a year, even if I am feeling hot.

Okay ignoring point 5 (LOL), I've pretty much said what I wanted to say about the cultural system that is being developed/nurtured in the citizens of each country. I'm sure Japan has it fair share of jerks and retards and SG have a huge base of friendly people who are more than willing to contribute their part to making the world a much better place to live in, but this is what just I have seen, experienced during the 24 days in Japan / 21 years in SG. Many would argue that 24 days is not enough to make a comparison, in which I do agree to a certain extend, but it does already speak volumes of the level of maturity of the citizens of each country.

I'm really missing Japan big time while writing up this post, thinking back to all the experiences I had during the trip. I so want to go back again this year, hopefully if I do manage to save enough I want to go for C75 end of this year again. More pictures would follow soon as I sort through the 2,416 pictures that had been taken, and more posts on what we did during the trip, and eventually the loots that were brought back from Japan. For now just enjoy the food pictures.

Note: As mentioned, I'll not be putting up pictures one by one in thumbnail format as I had received complains of the constant loading of pictures which is slow. I'll now only post at most about 5 pics per post, and if it's really a big load of pictures I'll just show 1 or 2 and the rest will be in a link to the photo album. Hope this would lighten the load on my visitors. Would love more feedback on how to improve the site too, though I'm a total noob at this, but willing to learn.