2012 Tokyo Auto Salon

Last week I had written about going to the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of 2011.  In January 2012, a second motor show of the season called the Tokyo Auto Salon is held.  This is a very different car show compared to the Tokyo Motor Show.  The Tokyo Motor Show is a typical auto show that focuses on new cars and concepts from the major car manufacturers.  The Tokyo Auto Salon is a tuner car show that is similar to the SEMA show.  For those who are unfamiliar with the auto industry, a tuner car is any car that has been modified from its original form.  This can be anything from upgrading engine parts, changing the paint or any other part of the car.  It can be very subtle to very crazy.  The Tokyo Auto Salon is the best way to see all of the potential craziness people can do to their own cars.

HKS Tuned Nissan GT-R

The first thing to understand about visiting the Tokyo Auto Salon is to know where to go.  The Tokyo Auto Salon is held in Makuhari Messe in Makuhari, Chiba.  It is one of the most famous convention centres in Tokyo with concerts and various trade shows being held at all times of the year.  Due to the layout and cheap rent relative to Tokyo Big Sight makes this a very attractive location for trade show organizers.  The Tokyo Auto Salon is a large show that encompasses the main 8 halls as well as a small exhibition outside.  While they don’t make use of the entire facility, they made use of a huge space nonetheless.  Compared to the Tokyo Motor Show, it felt somewhat smaller, yet more tiring.  The show itself has a lot more to see and it is all crammed into a somewhat smaller space than the Tokyo Motor Show.  There are relatively less people at the Tokyo Auto Salon but with the area being more cramped makes getting around the show floor difficult.  When visiting the Tokyo Auto Salon, like the Tokyo Motor Show, I highly recommend going early and being as patient as possible.

Tommy Kaira

As I mentioned, the Tokyo Auto Salon is very different to the Tokyo Motor Show.  It focuses on tuner cars.  The entire Auto Salon in 2012 was loosely divided into sections.  There were the custom car areas, the manufacturer custom car division, accessories, sound systems, paint, and custom car displays.  While there are many sub-sections in each area, they generally kept close to their theme.  All of the major Japanese aftermarket tuners were at this show.        Many of the well-known Japanese aftermarket companies such as VeilSide, Tommy Kaira, and HKS were present at the show.  Wheel and tire manufacturers such as Bridgestone, Yokohama, BBS, and Rays were also present.  You could easily spend hours just visiting these booths to see what new and innovative products they had.  Each company had their own theme.  HKS was very much performance based while VeilSide was all about looks.  The major Japanese manufacturers had their own booths as well showcasing the products of STi, GD, Nissmo and others.  These names may not seem very familiar but companies like STi stand for Subaru Tecnica International.  They are subsidiaries set up by their parent companies to be somewhat independent but loyal to their parent company.  In fact, most of the companies were fairly loyal to one or two manufacturers.  RE Amemiya is a well-known tuner company that is known for their ability to tune Mazda RX-7s and RX-8s.  It provided a lot of variety into the designs of each car that can be both a blessing and a curse.

Nats to the Future

The other aspect of the show is to showcase individual cars.  At the Tokyo Auto Salon, some of the aftermarket companies brought cars to be judged.  Other individuals from around Japan also brought their cars to be put on display.  Most of the cars on display in the general area were street legal.  By far the most memorable was one by NATS (Nihon Auto College).  It is a school that teaches the students how to fix and modify cars.  They modified a Lexus SC430 (SoarerZ40 in Japan) to be a modern take on the original DeLorean from the “Back to the Future” movies.  It was a work of art and craftsmanship that was nearly unmatched in the entire show.  There were other great examples of their work that was present in the auto show but that one still sticks out in my mind.  NATS is a great college that probably doesn’t get much attention overseas.  It is a very creative group of students and teachers working together like a master and their apprentices.  In fact, I would say that most of the companies at the show acted in a very similar way.  From my very limited knowledge of the aftermarket industry, a lot of it is art with a healthy dose of mechanics.  With enough time and money, you could create anything you wanted but you still need the ideas to make something good.

VeilSide Model

One other aspect of the show is the women.  No auto show would be complete without having beautiful women posing in front of the expensive cars.  The Tokyo Motor Show was the same yet very different.  The women at the Tokyo Motor Show had to either fit in with the theme of the manufacturer.  Many times you would see women in the strangest costumes just to fit the theme.  At the Tokyo Auto Salon, that seemed to be less apparent.  Most of the women at the show were there to get as many people to their booths.  You could tell which booth had a woman modeling by the crowds surrounding them.  If there was a large crowd, it was highly likely that there was a woman there.  It was a bit sad as the most beautiful women, rather sexy looking, were getting the most attention.  The women who dressed in a regular way or those who didn’t go the extra mile to look beautiful or sexy didn’t get large crowds of men with cameras in front of them.  It is an unfortunate part of life that men usually think predictably.  Each booth that had girls had a slightly different taste but in general.  When you see a few booths, you have basically seen all of the girls as they all have girls that are differentiated by the colour of their clothes and a little difference in taste or style but generally it is similar and gets numbing after a while.

Advan Nissan GT-R

There are several final thoughts I have about the show itself.  My first thought is that it was cramp and crowded the entire time.  At the Tokyo Motor Show, I had a lot more energy to see the entire show whereas at the Tokyo Auto Salon, after an hour or so I was exhausted.  I would also say that the types of people that went to the show were different.  The Tokyo Motor Show is geared towards the average person.  I saw more families at the Motor Show compared to the Auto Salon.  I also saw more young people and “gangsters” at the Auto Salon.  While I would not say that they are gangsters, some of them did fit the bill in terms of style.  There were also more camera geeks who would do anything to push their way forward to get dozens of photos of the same girl.  It was annoying and difficult to manage.  For those who love fixing cars and seeing tuners, I highly recommend visiting the Tokyo Auto Salon.  In fact, you might enjoy it a lot more.  Unfortunately, since it is a tuner crowd, expect to see a plethora of Nissan GT-Rs, Toyota Prius’, and Mazda RX7s.  It is an unfortunate reality that domestic cars will get more attention as it is cheaper to buy a domestic car than an imported car and easier to get parts for it.  Either way, there are some great cars to see and if I had the time and patience, I would go for a second day as well.

Information:

Tokyo Auto Salon:  http://www.tokyoautosalon.jp/

NATS (Blog with Tokyo Auto Salon information):  http://www.nats.ac.jp/pc/as/ebizo/index.php?day=20120114

2011 Tokyo Motor Show

In December of 2011, I had the luxury to head to the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.  It is a regular pilgrimage for me to go and see this event.  The Tokyo Motor Show has been held every second year since 2005.  Prior to 2005, it was held every year, however one year was dedicated to passenger vehicles and the next was dedicated to commercial vehicles.  Since 2005, they combined both shows into one large event.  The last Tokyo Motor Show was in 2009 and it was at the height of the financial crisis that started in 2008.  While a lot of the pain of the financial crisis had subsided a lot, most of the planning for the 2009 show had to occur in the beginning of the 2009 and a lot of manufacturers pulled out of the show citing financial problems and a declining relevance of the Tokyo show itself.  The 2011 show had a very different feeling and it is debatable whether things got better or worse.

Honda Showcase

The 2011 Tokyo Motor Show had moved from its recent traditional home of Makuhari Messe in Chiba to Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba.  It was a bit of a shock for me to hear that, but at the same time I was very happy to hear it.  I don’t normally enjoy heading out to Makuhari Messe as it feels very far away.  Odaiba is still within Tokyo and there is a lot to do in the area.  Makuhari is a somewhat isolated area that is famous for the convention hall, baseball stadium, and outlet mall but not much else.  In 2005, the largest show I attended, it occupied all of the main halls in Makuhari Messe.  This created over 70,000 square metres of exhibition space.  In 2009, they only occupied the main halls with over 54,000 square metres of space.  It was a very noticeable difference that year.  For 2011, they used all of Tokyo Big Sight for roughly 80,000 square metres of exhibition space.  I couldn’t completely verify the numbers for Tokyo Big Sight but I thought it was a lot smaller than that.  It is a large convention hall regardless and it still took me nearly a full day to see everything.

Toyota Concept

The theme of the 2011 Motor Show was “Mobility can change the world”.  On the Tokyo Motor Show website, they say the motto shows how technology developed in cars and other vehicles can help change the world for the better.  Whereas the typical internal combustion engine has been derided as a harmful invention for the environment, the organizers of the show wanted visitors to understand how the various manufacturers were trying to change people’s perceptions.  In 2009, the motto was “Fun Driving for Us, Eco Driving for Earth”.  This is a bit more fitting as they are explicitly talking about the new green technology that most of the manufacturers were trying to promote.  While the 2011 show did have a heavy “green” theme to it, it also had a very strong theme that things will change in the future.  All of the manufacturers in attendance brought the standard set of concept vehicles, new vehicles, and displays of technology.  Upon reflecting on the exhibits I visited, there did appear to be a bit more emphasis on technology at this show compared to past shows, but it could also be a bit of a bias on my part after researching this post and reflecting on what I saw.
The 2011 show was most notable for its return to Tokyo, as well as the return of a few foreign manufacturers.  In 2009, a lot of the manufacturers pulled out leaving the show nearly crippled.  This time, enough had returned to create a better balance, but on the whole most of the exhibits were Japan based manufacturers.  In fact, the Toyota group took up an entire hall on their own displaying the various products from Daihatsu, Lexus, and of course Toyota.  All of the manufacturers brought various new cars as well as concepts however the area seemed to be more spacious.  I was lucky enough to attend the show on a weekday, but it was still as busy as ever and very hard to get around.  It wasn’t very enjoyable trying to fight with people trying to take photos but that is the life of those who can’t go to the show on press days.

Subaru Race Car

Comparing this show to the past shows I attended, I would say that things are similar, yet different.  I was happy that the show was back in Tokyo, rather than still being in Chiba.  I was also happy that I could go on a weekday and see the various new cars.  Unfortunately, there weren’t many world premier cars at the show.  The relevance of the Tokyo Motor Show is decreasing each year and I fear that the ability to see cars for the first time in person before most of the world will be rarer and rarer.  With China and India vying for greater importance in the automotive world, Japan will be nothing more than an afterthought as most manufacturers, Japanese included, vie for increasing markets in developing countries.  Let’s hope those in Japan can continue to get a top notch motor show for the foreseeable future.

Sox: "Get me out of here!"

If any of you have checked out my other blog, “A Sox Life”, you will know that I had gotten a dog in December 2010.  I have been an avid dog lover since I was young and had a dog for most of my life.  I have spent years without a dog in Japan, but I always had one back home in Canada.  It is a difficult but happy event to get a dog in Japanand I never regret getting a dog.  Owning a dog, or a pet, in Japancan be a very complicated process.  The actual process of getting a pet and keeping them in your house/apartment is simple enough but it’s difficult to be done officially.

2011 Hanami

The first hurdle one must jump is the need for a place that allows pets.  For anyone looking for an active pet such as a cat or dog, you must find an apartment that allows pets.  Before moving to the east side of Tokyo, my apartment didn’t really allow pets.  The initial contract said pets were not allowed but after asking the company that leased the apartment to us, they said a small pet was okay.  My dog, a Shiba, is a medium sized dog in Japan, yet he is on the small side of that scale.  My old apartment was too small for a dog anyways so we found a place that did allow dogs, but my current apartment owner says that cats are not allowed.  Small dogs are fine, and he said a Shiba was fine too.  When getting a pet, you typically add an extra month or two worth of deposits.  This is due to the increased costs of fixing the apartment due to having a pet.  While it seems simple to find an apartment that allows pets, this is a very difficult thing to accomplish.  In a completely unscientific method based on my memory, 98% of all apartments don’t allow pets.  The ones that do typically allow only small pets, and if you have a big dog, you can almost forget about finding a place anywhere in Tokyo.  It is almost necessary to own your own house.  Even apartment owners are restricted by the building rules and they typically restrict the size of a pet.

The second hurdle is to find a pet.  There are several places to get one.  The typical pet shops are the easiest, albeit expensive, places.  Personally, I refuse to purchase a pet from a pet shop due to the way they keep their pets.  The small boxes with windows where customers constantly bang on the window and the poor state they keep their pets is saddening to me.  I believe the major shops in Japan do a good job during the day but at night, who knows what they do.  I have also seen some of the small shops that are terrible.  When getting my dog, I looked at a website/NPO called Chiba-wan.  They are a group of volunteers that adopt cats and dogs from shelters and bring them to twice monthly events.  One event is geared towards small and medium sized dogs, and the other is for all sizes.  It’s a very well run organization and a network of nice people.  There are many other organizations but they are the only ones I know.  Typically, it will cost about 40,000 yen to get a cat or dog from them.  This is mostly in gifts and reimbursements.  Sox was adopted by the volunteer and he had to be neutered.  He also got an electronic chip inserted under his skin and the volunteer had to pay for food and such for the time he was with her.  Typically a person who is adopting the cat or dog will give a “thank you” gift of money to compensate the volunteer for the surgeries and food as well as a few other supplies so they can use it for future rescued pets.  Unfortunately the organization cannot rescue every pet as some are not capable of being adopted.  Some are too old and some are not cute enough.  Some are also too aggressive.  It is unfortunate but it is the only way for them to operate as there aren’t enough volunteers for these unwanted pets.  Some of the volunteers will rescue up to 5 pets on top of whatever pets they already have at home.

The only way to wash a dog... (Note: I didn't actually wash him here)

Once you adopt a pet, you have to register them.  For me, I had to wait a month as a trial period.  In this time, I can change my mind, but within a week, I knew he was going to be my dog forever.  It took a long time to register him, but it’s a very simple process.  Taking a few documents to the city hall and finding the appropriate window was simple.  My city actually has a dog event where they vaccinate and register dogs all at once.  It was pretty convenient to do it.  After that time, he was mine and everything was fine.  Of course that is just the beginning as with any other pet in any country, you need constant “maintenance”.  Finding a vet, a pet store for food, and other things like that take time.  In Tokyo, there are very few shops that sell pet items.  I found many places had a pet corner but the variety of goods sold was for small pets such as a chihuahua.  It took a month or two before I headed to another station and found a large pet store.  They had everything I needed and pets were welcome inside the shop.  Unfortunately I can’t bring my dog there as it’s a little far.  Thankfully it is probably one of only a few places that have a wide variety of items.

An obedient dog

When owning a pet, you eventually have to leave your home and go somewhere else, be it for a vacation or to move.  It can be difficult to find a way around if you don’t have a car.  If you have a car, there is almost no limit in where you can go.  Without a car you are limited to where you can walk.  With my dog, that is roughly 5 km.  It can get a bit difficult to go places and with him, it’s difficult to take him on a bicycle.  Of course I can hold him but my cycling skills are no where near good enough to hold him in one arm and cycle at the same time.  I could put him in the basket but then I have to worry about him jumping out.  I’m also worried about him taking off as I ride the bicycle or him darting out in front of the bicycle and me hitting him if he runs alongside me.  It’s a difficult challenge that is not easy for either of us.  For those with a cat, it might be easier as using a hard cage isn’t too bad.  The other option is to get a cage and carry him around.  Unfortunately, it isn’t as easy as it sounds.  Having a big cage is heavy and cumbersome.  Sox is a little small but at just under 10kg, he isn’t light over long distances.  I could always purchase a stroller for cats and dogs but they are very expensive.  In reality there isn’t an easy way to travel with a pet if you don’t have a car.  If you have a very small dog though, it can be much easier as you can just stuff them into a bag and you are done.

A mischievous look

For those looking for a less traditional pet, things can be much easier.  Most apartment owners say no pets, but hiding a small pet is much easier than a cat or dog.  Cats can scratch a lot of things, and dogs can be noisy.  A small pet such as a gerbil or a small rabbit are much easier to maintain.  While you still have to clean up after them, as long as you have a cage and a few other things to keep them happy, you don’t have to worry too much about them destroying your apartment.  They don’t need to be walked everyday so the chances of the owner seeing your pet is also much lower.  Snakes, bugs, and fish are very similar as well.  As long as you can hide them in your apartment without the owner knowing, it isn’t difficult to keep one.  In Japan, I’d say fish are the third most popular pet with gerbils/hamsters/mice also being up there.  For many kids, they love to keep Hercules beetle or a giant horned beetle.  They often have a huge fascination with them and you can often buy them at shops around Tokyo.

As a dog lover, having a dog is a life changing event.  It is almost always for the better.  Having a pet in Japan made me wonder how different things would be compared to Canada.  Aside from the need to find an owner who will allow us to have a dog, there really isn’t much trouble finding a place.  The only other problem is manners.  Carrying a dog to and from our apartment isn’t always easy and how to react when you meet other dog owners isn’t always set in stone.  It’s pretty similar and a dog lover in Japan is almost the same as a dog lover in any other part of the world.

Pet Information:

Chiba-wan:  http://route326.kir.jp/satooya_top.htm (Japanese Only)
Chiba-wan (Cats page):  http://boshuu.chibawan.net/cat/tokyo/index.html (Japanese Only)
Chiba-wan (Dogs page [males]): http://boshuu.chibawan.net/dog/male/index.html (Japanese Only)

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。

Otemachi

Otemachi is a small business district north of Tokyo Station.  By all means, it is not a place most tourists would ever consider visiting.  It is an area that is virtually shut down on Sundays.  It is devoid of any open shops and restaurants which makes looking for food a near impossible task.  While there is almost nothing to do on the weekends, it is an interesting place architecturally and they do have various events scheduled in the area.

Art in Otemachi

The first thing to understand when visiting the Otemachi area is to learn how to get around.  For most people, entering via Tokyo Station will be the easiest.  Entering via Otemachi Station will also be easy, but the labyrinth of underground passages makes this a very daunting task.  The street is much easier to get around, but due to the changeable weather at times, this is not always feasible.  Being close to the Imperial Palace, it is often rumoured that most of the tunnels around Otemachi were originally built in the build-up to World War II and that there are several secret tunnels still remaining.  Unfortunately, a walk through the tunnels of Otemachi is nothing interesting.  It is a typical labyrinth of access tunnels that will get you lost.  Otemachi Station itself is situated in a square shape around one block making transfers from one line to another very inconvenient.

Construction is visible around Otemachi

Otemachi is one of the oldest areas of Tokyo and it is currently undergoing revitalization.  In many areas of Otemachi, you will see various construction sites and buildings in various degrees of completion.  Some of the older buildings will be around for many more years, but like the neighboring Marunouchi district, the old buildings have been destroyed or in the process of being destroyed.  If anything, you can get a great sense of Tokyo’s construction industry and how it functions when building high rises.  When visiting some of the newer buildings, you can find a lot of surprises.  The older high rises are generally closed to the public, but newer buildings are open with shopping floors in the basement.  As Otemachi continues to be revitalized, it is looking less and less distinct from neighboring Marunouchi and will soon be indistinguishable.

Wadakura Fountain Park

Otemachi, for tourists, is well known for being located at the entrance to the Imperial Palace East Gardens.  A short walk across the street from Otemachi is the main entrance to the East Gardens.  Located adjacent to the entrance is the Wadakura Fountain Park.  It is a beautiful park with many fountains.  It is just as beautiful, if not more, at night when the fountains are lit up.  While these are the large parks in Otemachi, Otemachi also has many tiny parks and areas to relax.  Similar to Marunouchi, this area has many secrets waiting to be discovered if you look for them.

Small Shrine

As I mentioned in the beginning, Otemachi is an area that can easily be skipped by a typical tourist.  Neighboring Marunouchi has more things to do while Otemachi is a true business district.  There are many offices in the area and very little else.  Most people will just pass through on their way to the East Gardens and that’s pretty much it.  For those living in the area, or rather working in the area, it can be a treasure trove of secrets.  You can find passages underground that you never knew existed.  You can find small parks that are populated only by people working the surrounding buildings.  You can also find the typical “slaryman” of Japan.  Unfortunately, you won’t see them in their natural after work environment, the bar.  For that, you’ll have to walk across Tokyo Station to the Yaesu district.

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。

Off the cost of Honshu

It has been quite a year for me here in Tokyo.  The year started off pretty boring but got terrifying very quickly.  Things settled down of course and now things are pretty much back to normal.  I managed to make many new friends and got out of Japan twice.  Unfortunately I didn’t return home for a year but the adventures I did have will last me a lifetime.  2011 has been the year “everything changed” as the catch phrase goes.  I wouldn’t say everything has changed, but a lot has and will continue to change for years to come.  There is always change in life and I feel that this past year was not that different than past years, in terms of the total amount of change.

The real aftermath: I never touched anything. Just took a quick pic.

The year was pretty standard for me.  The start was filled mostly with work.  I was working hard as I had a personal project that I would be working on starting in late spring 2011.  I decided that working almost to my death was necessary to build up my savings.  I went out from time to time but spent most of my time just ploughing away at work.  By March, things were going smoothly until the 11th when the earth shook.  I can look back at the post I made immediately after the 11th when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred and I can tell that I was scared deep within my mind.  It wasn’t something I wanted to admit to myself at the time but it was probably true.  Even now I try to think that I wasn’t scared, but it was a point where I nearly had a nervous breakdown.  For nearly a month after the 11th, I heard nothing but people being concerned with my safety as well as people telling me things about radiation.  While the concern was always nice, the information on the radiation was not.  There comes a time when you choose your home and very little information will make you change it.  It was difficult and frightening to read a lot of the information but necessary as I had my own confirmation bias that things would be okay.

Merlion with the Fullerton Hotel in the back.

Once the drama of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster had subsided, things started to return to normal. Life never did return to normal, like before, but things were a lot better.  I started to plan my trips better and my personal project was delayed by just a month.  The summer months were filled with work and a little travel.  I visited Taipei for the first time in my life, as well as Singapore.  I was able to see various areas of Tokyo that I never would have visited before as well.  The summer was hot and humid as always but thankfully not too bad.  There was a lot of energy saving measures everywhere as Japan didn’t have the energy capacity at the time but now that it is winter, the energy supply is looking adequate for Tokyo’s demands.  It was a very difficult adjustment for most people but being me, it was nothing more than a quick change in my personal lifestyle to cope with the higher indoor temperatures and lack of light.

Sox and Sakura

The biggest change for me, other than the earthquake, was my dog Sox.  I had gotten him in December 2010 and it was my first full year with him.  It took a bit of time for him to get used to living in my apartment and the earthquake followed by a trip to Kobe wasn’t helpful either.  He is such a cute and fun dog and now life has settled very well.  He is used to my place and he feels very much at home.  He even sleeps in my bed now, although I’m not always happy he does so.  My previous lifestyle of travelling at least once a season has ended though so it will be difficult for me to keep writing posts in the future.  Hopefully I’ll find more things to talk about in the future but it looks likely that I will have to write more about life in Tokyo rather than the various places I would love to visit.  I will write about them when I do go there but unfortunately it might not be as often as before.

In terms of statistics, this blog has grown a lot.  Aside from June, I have averaged over 1,000 hits a month with the busiest month being March (1,455).  This is probably due to the earthquake and people reading a bit about it, but October (1,432) was also a big month.  In terms of busiest days, November 3rd saw the most hits ever with 123.  My blog has opened a few interesting doors as a few news personalities in the US did contact me for interviews about the disaster in March, or to ask if I knew anyone up there, but I was not qualified to talk about it nor did I know anyone up there.  Tokyo was far from a disaster zone and I didn’t know anyone up there.  In even better news, I had two pictures published.  One was for my dog.  I had a picture of my dog published in a dog calendar for 2012.  It was a very small picture and one of nearly 365 pictures.  He occupied a small slot in June for just one day, but it is better than nothing.  Having my picture published in Mollie Makes was even bigger for me.  It is a new crafts magazine in the UK and I was extremely flattered that they wanted to use my picture, although it was just a small one and one of many used on the page.  Still, I’m happy to see things getting better after a few years of this blog.

Sumida River Terrace

This coming year should be exciting.  Last year at this time I mentioned that I was finally putting a little money into this blog and my site.  Things have changed a lot but all of it has been behind the scenes.  I have been working with a partner on a huge project that has taken a lot of my free time and a bit of my work life too.  I hope to have something to announce by spring.  I mentioned that I would have a new website last year, but unfortunately that hasn’t happened yet.  It is still in the works but as things go, they crawl to a finish at times.  Hopefully it will be complete very soon and the big project is released on time.  It is a big challenge to do things by a deadline but that is what must be done.  The year is ending but that doesn’t mean things will end.  Things evolve and so have I.  I can only hope it all works out.

Dru

Boat Quay (Indian Restaurant)

Beverages in Singapore are quite standard.  You can easily find various colas and carbonated drinks everywhere.  It is important to keep hydrated when touring around Singapore.  I had become dehydrated a few times and finding a place to get a drink wasn’t difficult.  The one surprise I had was that you had to find an actual shop.  Tokyo has spoiled me as I can just go a block or so and find a vending machine to get a drink.  It is so easy to find them, but in Singapore, I had to look around a bit for a convenience store to get one.  While there are convenience stores everywhere, it isn’t always easy to spot them and you can get a bit of bad luck by zig-zagging and missing them all.  I was pleasantly surprised to find bubble tea shops around Singapore.  While I wasn’t expecting the best, I did try one.  I ordered a simple milk tea with pearls and was asked about the sweetness level.  I said, non-sweet, and the clerk was surprised.  Living in Japan, tea is rarely sweetened and when I went to Taiwan earlier in the year, the bubble tea was unsweetened.  While I like both, on a very hot day, I actually prefer unsweetened to feel more refreshed.  While the bubble tea was just average, I think I can see why people like it sweetened.  The tea didn’t taste as great and the sweetness could mask the imperfect taste.  In fact, I found it impossible to find unsweetened tea in Singapore as they take the western tradition that any cold tea has to be sweetened.

German Beer (in Singapore)

Alcohol in Singapore is something that is a bit strange.  Alcohol is easy to find and purchase.  You can easily buy alcohol at any convenience store and supermarket but it isn’t that cheap.  It isn’t expensive either but when you go to a restaurant or club, it can feel astronomical.  The lunch time specials, called “happy hour”, provide 2 for 1 or 50% off drink deals.  In fact, these deals tended to last from lunch till dinner, rather than just an hour.  After this happy hour, prices are scaled up to “regular” price.  One of the most common types of price scaling was a happy hour from open till dinner; then dinner time; then regular price after dinner.  This made drinking a little expensive but if you stuck to drinking in the afternoon, it was very reasonable.  The selection was also interesting.  You can really feel the influence of western nations as most of the beer was imports from other countries.  While there were regional brews such as Tiger beer and other nearby specialties, it was tough to determine what was local and what was foreign.  I try to support the local economy but in Singapore, I decided to support the European community by trying various beers from Europe.

Brewpub Food

Western food is also very common in Singapore.  It is very easy to find McDonald’s but it is also easy to find various pubs and bars as well.  I love to visit nice brewpubs wherever I go.  In Taiwan, I had a few drinks in the gay district and had a good time there.  In Vancouver, I often go to pubs where I grab a burger and a beer.  In Tokyo, I often go to various izakaya and drink till the sun comes up.  In Singapore, I found the drinking experience to be more like Vancouver where you have nice brewpubs, but also like Taiwan where you can have outdoor terraces with many drinks being served.  Alcohol is still a very western ideal in Singapore.  Muslims are very strict at not drinking alcohol and I have found Chinese people don’t often drink too much, especially with family.  I read that Singapore frowns upon public drunkenness so I kept myself in check.  Most of the western style restaurants have to cater to those who drink alcohol as that is what is expected in many restaurants.  Whether it is a bottle of wine or a pint of beer, people enjoy a little alcohol with their meal and Muslim Singaporeans respect that.

Gyu Kaku (Japanese Yakiniku Restaurant in Singapore)

Singapore is not just about the foods that I have mentioned.  I did see a lot of Japanese restaurants and I feel that they must be delicious, albeit a bit overpriced compared to Tokyo.  I also saw many other places selling foods that I never had a chance to try.  You can spend days exploring Singapore and trying various types of food.  It is a matter of making time to go out and try new things that is difficult, especially when you also want to see everything else that is out there.  You can spend a small fortune eating if you want or save a lot by going to the Hawker’s markets.  It really depends on your personality and your budget.

Tandoori Chicken

Singapore is a wonderful place to eat.  In my previous posts about Singapore, I mentioned that Singapore is a very multi-cultural city and that is reflected in the food options that are available.  From the research that I had done prior to my trip, I never found a lot of information on real authentic Singaporean food.  I found a lot of information on food in general but nothing that would say that this or that was truly originated from Singapore.  People had told me that the food is from Singapore but I had a tough time telling the difference between what I was told to be Singaporean food and what appeared to originally be Chinese/Indian/Malay/Indonesian food.  This was further exacerbated as the closest I came to eating real Singaporean food was in Canada at one restaurant that was a mix between Malaysian, Thai, and Singaporean food.

Kaya Toast

While it may be difficult to tell the difference between real Singaporean food and dishes that had been localized with time, there are three distinct Asian types of food that can easily be found in Singapore.  The first is Malaysian, or rather South-East Asian.  One will have to forgive me if I am not in touch with the differences of each country’s local cuisine, but unfortunately I am not an expert on Singapore.  The first dish that I can think of that is part of the area is Kaya Toast.  Kaya is a type of coconut and egg spread and Kaya Toast is when you take this spread and put it in a toast sandwich along with a small wedge of butter.  It reminded me of eating cinnamon toast as a child with lots of sugar.  It was delicious and something that I would eat, not just for breakfast but also for a snack.  The typical way to order Kaya Toast is to get a set with Singaporean coffee and eggs.  Singaporean coffee reminds me of what I think is a Vietnamese style, or rather originally French coffee.  Using a tall metal pot and a high pour to add air into the coffee itself is wonderful technique that is employed in Singapore.  They also use condensed milk and hot water to keep the coffee from being too strong.  The eggs are soft boiled eggs that can be used as a dip for the Kaya Toast or eaten plain with or without soy sauce and black pepper.  One might wonder, what is the “correct” way of eating Kaya Toast, and if the Discovery Chanel is true, there is no correct way of eating Kaya Toast.  You can eat it in any way you’d like.

Mee Goreng (left); Fried Rice (right)

Another traditional dish I noticed would have to be the noodle dishes.  Dishes such as Mee Goreng and Bee Hoon were great.  They are a regional take on Chow Mein or Yaki Soba.  Almost every Asian country has their version of fried rice or fried noodles.  The version I had in Singapore was delicious with heaps of seafood.  In every food court and hawker’s market I could find these home style foods.  The smells were great and there were small citrus fruits included with these dishes that looked and tasted like sudachi in Japan.  The small citrus fruits were a perfect complement to the spiciness of the noodles.  I also had a chance to eat Lahksa, which is more Indian in style.  It was a spicy soup, almost curry like, with noodles that reminded me of a soup curry rather than an actual Singaporean dish.  One item that I didn’t have a chance to try was the satay.  I was always unlucky when trying to order it.  I always wanted to have satay in that region as I wanted to compare it to the satay that I could get back in Vancouver.  Rather than allowing it to be a regret, I thankfully think of it as just one more reason to go back to Singapore.

Garlic Naan & Chili Chicken Curry

In terms of Indian food, there is a lot.  With Little India just a stone’s throw away from my hotel, it was easy to get Indian food, but I never went to Little India for it.  The first chance I had for Indian food was at Boat Quay.  I went to a restaurant that advertised Northern Indian food and it was delicious.  I don’t know what the difference is between Northern and Southern Indian food but my guess would be that Northern Indian tends to be “drier”.  By this, I am comparing it to Indian food that I have bought in Tokyo, which is highly unlikely to be authentic.  I ordered what would seem to be regular food from India.  I had some samosas, naan, curry, and tandoori chicken.  The Samosas were delicious and very much alike the potato samosas I had in Vancouver.  I also had papadums.  These are similar to Indian “chips” with a mint dip and a mango dip.  It was not what I expected but not terrible either.  The naan was a surprise.  I am used to the huge triangle shaped naan in Japan, but these were simple circles and probably more traditional of India or northern India.  The curry was also a bit of a surprise.  I ordered a chili chicken curry that had almost no sauce.  Rather, the sauce was so thick that it looked more like sweet and sour chicken, but a lot spicier.  While it was a surprise, it was also very delicious.  The tandoori chicken was the house specialty and it was as expected.  Not too dry as some places do but just the right amount of spice for me.  I had one other opportunity to have Indian-like food in Singapore.  I ordered some curry in a food court and it was also a bit dry overall.  While the dry curry was good, it was just something I had to get used to as I had a bad experience with dry curry in the past.

Chicken Rice (partially eaten...)

Chinese food is by far the easiest food to obtain.  Everywhere I went I could see various types of Chinese food.  Growing up in Vancouver, I had a great opportunity to taste various types of Cantonese style foods.  In Singapore, chicken rice is very famous.  It is actually Haianese food but it was delicious and the ginger rice that I had with it was perfect.  The rice had the scent of ginger but it wasn’t too spicy either.  I also had a chance to eat some Chinese style pastries.  Within the food areas of department stores, I could find various cakes and pastries.  Singapore has many bakeries that sell traditional bread style pastries as well as flake pastries.  I was happy to see I could get my favourite pastries in Singapore and I didn’t have to go to Hong Kong or Vancouver to get it.  Japan is one of the worst places to get real Chinese pastries, and even in Hong Kong I have found it a challenge at times to get the ones I want as  Hong Kong has been transitioning from the pastries that I know and love to a more Japanese style.  Japanese pastries tend to be very good but the way they do things is not the same.  Think of the difference between a McDonald’s burger and a gourmet burger.  They are the same thing but done completely differently.  Sometimes one is better than the other, but it depends on your mood.  That’s how I feel about these pastries.  Chicken rice and pastries aren’t the only dishes available in Singapore.  You can also get dim sum, although I couldn’t get any due to bad luck or timing, noodles in soup, and various rice dishes.  Because I ate in food courts, the food was somewhat skewed.  I am used to eating in restaurants where I can share many dishes along with plain white rice.  In the food courts, food is designed for single people and it was hard to try many different things at once.

Lahksa

As you can see, eating in Singapore is varied.  The food was all delicious and other than being a little scared of the cleanliness of the hawker’s markets, everything was fine.  If I could, I would go to the hawker’s markets more often but I also felt a little strange as it was filled with locals.  I stuck out like a sore thumb every time I walked through the hawker’s market that was between my hotel and the station.  For some, it is a great place but with my own personality, I found it difficult to enjoy a meal there.  The hawker’s markets are open from late morning until dinner time, but around dinner time they all start to shut down.  You can easily find food during the day but by night things get a little difficult.  It is a great adventure to try the hawker’s markets and next time, if I’m with the right people, I’ll have no problems going back and eating there more often.

Santa in Shinbashi

It is another year and another Christmas.  As I get older, I notice that times goes faster and faster.  I can’t believe it has been a year since I last wrote this holiday post.  It is nearly a tradition to talk about the Christmas season now.  Unfortunately there is nothing left to talk about for Tokyo’s Christmas.  In my previous posts, see links below, I have mentioned the tradition of Christmas in Japan.  In reality, nothing has changed over the years.  Things are still going strong and people just party like it’s 1999.  It is a little difficult to find new things and I’m sure I’ll discover something, but generally speaking there are no new unique developments in Japan.

Ginza 2011

The most popular thing to do these days is to go around Tokyo and look at the various Christmas light displays.  There are several places that are now traditional places to visit.  Omotesando is one of the first places one should visit.  It is often credited as the place where Christmas Illuminations regained popularity in Tokyo around early the 2000s.  After they lit up the main street from Harajuku Station to Omotesando Station, lots of people flocked to Omotesando to enjoy the lights as well as do a lot of shopping. Most areas now do the same thing and it is almost a competition to see who can attract more people.  Unfortunately most of the displays haven’t changed much since they were first introduced.  The signs change and any lighting that is associated with a specific year has changed but the actual displays are generally the same.  It is a bit of a shame that they don’t become more creative but that is how things are in Tokyo.  People have an idea, make it possible then reuse it until it becomes stale.  Rather than revamping things so it stays fresh, they recycle things too often.  Thankfully some areas do change things up.  Christmas trees tend to be different each year and most weak displays are added upon each year until they become grand displays.  Some areas do change slightly each year but as mentioned the basic designs don’t change.

Yurakucho 2011 (Coca-cola Sponsorship)

Other areas of mention are Shinjuku, Shiodome, Marunouchi, Roppongi, Korakuen, and Odaiba.  Most of the displays in these areas are very similar to previous years and the locations are the same.  It is possible that some of them will change but I haven’t heard anything about new displays this year.  Some areas are somewhat new but they tend to be on the small side in their first year.  Smaller areas of Tokyo will see light displays and they do tend to grow a bit each year.  Smaller areas don’t have the money to build a large display in one year so it takes a few years to build it up.  No matter where you go in Tokyo, you are sure to see Christmas decorations and lighting.  It can feel a bit commercial but it does put one into the Christmas mood.  Unfortunately, due to the greater importance of New Year’s decorations, after the shops close on Christmas day, the decorations are quickly removed and replaced with the New Year’s displays overnight.  It can feel a bit depressing at first but the thought of an exciting new year is wonderful.

Shinbashi 2011

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you all have a safe and happy holidays wherever you are.  For those who aren’t Christian, Christmas is barely a religious holiday anymore so I hope you can still enjoy it.  (^^)

Orchard (In front of the Marriott Hotel)

Orchard is Singapore’s version of Ginza.  It is the high end of shopping and a place where people go to be seen.  When someone is looking for high fashion items like the perfect Gucci bag, Orchard seems to be the place to go.  I only spent a few hours in Orchard and I actually arrived a little early.  I arrived in Orchard around 10:30, and most of the shops were still closed.  I ended up wasting a bit of my time just walking around looking for shops that were open.  It is very much like Ginza where things don’t really come alive until 11am, at best.  I went into Orchard not really expecting too much as I don’t normally shop for high end items, but I ended up enjoying the experience.

The main strip, Orchard Road, is where most of the shops are.  There really isn’t much else to it, but there are a few places to visit on either side of the main strip.  I found that if you go off the main strip, you can see a few cheaper shops compared to the luxury of Orchard.  The main strip itself is a plethora of shopping malls and department stores.  The anchor of Orchard has to be Tangs.  It is one of the oldest department stores in Orchard and a major retailer in Singapore.  When they opened, Orchard was little more than a small residential and cemetery area.  Once Tangs built their main shop, things started to change.  It eventually turned into the high end shopping district it is today.  The most common area is an area between Orchard Station and Dhoby Ghaut Station.  It is a short walk between the stations and fairly easy, even on a very hot day.  You can easily walk from mall to mall, department store to department store and only feel the heat a little.  My only surprise was to see the many Japanese department stores.  Unfortunately, some of them were just a pale comparison to their original counterparts in Japan, but there were many of them and the ones that spent money to be upscale were very much like their original counterparts.  Orchard is also well known for its cafes and restaurants.  Like any upscale shopping district, you need to have places for people to rest, relax, and eat.

Statues atop a tall office building in Bugis.

When visiting Singapore for the F1 Grand Prix, there are many things you can’t do.  You can’t really experience the night life in Singapore.  You spend most of the night at the race itself and after the race you are pretty tired.  The Friday qualifying wasn’t too late but after walking around all day in the circuit, I just didn’t have any energy to keep going.  On Saturday, the qualifying didn’t end till 11pm or so, which made it difficult to go out afterwards.  By Sunday, I was just too tired from going everywhere possible.  There are several places I wish I could have gone if I had more time and more flexibility to travel around Singapore.  The first would be Sentosa Island.  To me, it looks like nothing more than a Singapore version of Disney World.  There are beaches, shopping malls, and other amusement attractions such as Universal Studios Singapore.  It looked like a nice, expensive, place to visit.  If I had more time, I would have spent a day just trying many things on the island.  The other regret I had was not being able to go on a night safari.  In Japan, a lot of Japanese people told me to go on a night safari, but since I was too busy with F1, there was no chance I could have gone on a safari.  It seems interesting but at the same time it wasn’t high enough on my list of things to do in Singapore.

Inside the Raffles Hotel

One other regret is not getting out and around Singapore itself.  Singapore is well connected to Malaysia as well as Indonesia.  I wish I had a lot more time to visit one of the resort islands in the area, although travelling to Thailand might be a better idea due to the prices.  Singapore is a wonderful country and it is a place I wish to re-visit in the future.  There are many other places that I would love to visit but if the opportunity does arise, I will be heading to Singapore very quickly.  Unfortunately, a short visit without knowing any locals probably created a tourist bubble around me and influenced my own impressions of Singapore.  I wish I knew people who lived in Singapore to get a better idea as to how life really is, as I learned when I visited Hong Kong and Taiwan in the past.  Hopefully I can revisit soon and get a better understanding of the people and culture that is unique to Singapore.

Fullerton Hotel

The area on the south side of Marina Bay can easily be summed up as being Raffles Place Station and the Marina Bay Sands complex.  It is a vast area that is still being developed and will continue to change over the next few years.  It is a place where seeing the old traditional look of Singapore is being squeezed out by the new modern complexes.  Most businessmen will be heading to this area more often while most tourists will just pass that area and head straight to the shopping complex and casino in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  It may not be as varied as the Bugis and City Hall area but it is just as important.

Terrace seating at Boat Quay

Raffles Place Station feels like a misnomer to me.  It is a name of the station in the central business district of Singapore but the Raffles Hotel is not located near this station.  Most of this area is generally pretty boring.  You can head into the core business district and see many tall and architecturally interesting buildings.  It is a beacon of modern architecture, but that is about it.  Unless you are interested in taking photographs of these buildings and some of the art that is spread throughout the area, it won’t be interesting.  In fact, on the weekends, even Saturdays, the entire area is nearly shut down.  There is very little to do as many of the shops were closed, including the shopping malls during the F1 weekend!  The river and bay side is where most tourists will flock.  There is a bridge connecting the Parliament Building to the south side of the river.  Along the river, Boat Quay, there are dozens of small restaurants and bars.  It is a great place to get a meal, but be aware that the people there are very aggressive, especially around lunch time.  It was difficult for me to just walk around without someone trying to coax me to eat at their restaurant.  I couldn’t relax as much as I wanted and make my own choice, but the same time it is a great way to get information on the restaurants.  I learned that most of the restaurants had a happy hour in the afternoon.  In fact, most of Singapore has happy hour specials that last from noon-5pm.  Liquor is usually half priced, around $5 a glass.  From 5-8pm, it is usually 25% off and from 8pm, regularly priced.  The shops on the river are actually wonderful once you sit down.  The prices are reasonable for lunch and they offer outdoor terraces with riverfront views.  I enjoyed a nice Indian lunch while having wonderful views of an art gallery and the Fullerton Hotel.  Most of the restaurants and bars are almost exactly the same, aside from the food they serve, and they do have indoor areas that are air conditioned, but on a beautiful day, I couldn’t resist the riverfront view.

Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay can easily be summed up as the area around the Marina Bay Sands.  The Marina Bay Sands is a huge hotel complex that includes a museum, future convention centre, future botanical garden, hotel, casino, and shopping mall.  It is a place of luxury for one of the most highly recommended hotels in the world.  The main sight for a tourist has to be the observation deck at the top of the hotel.  It is a little expensive but the top of the hotel has a large floor that is shaped like a boat.  Unless you are a guest of the hotel, you are limited to the bow of the ship which provides views of Marina Bay, the most important area.  The observation deck is a little sparse with just an open deck area.  There is a restaurant/bar at the top as well but from what I was told it is a little expensive.  You can enjoy a nice lunch there but that’s about it.  Unfortunately, you cannot go to the pool area or enter the pool.  It is limited to hotel guests only. Thankfully you can see the pool from the observation deck but you cannot get close to it.  The casino in the hotel is nice but very boring.  I found the casino to be very typical.  Bags are not allowed and you must show your passport or you’ll have to pay a high fee to enter.  While I’m not a real gambler, I wanted to try it out again but my experience was not good this time.  You definitely need to go with good friends and have a fun time with it.  I found the rules of the casino to be a bit strange compared to my trip to Las Vegas.  Las Vegas knows how to gamble and I’ll leave it at that.  The mall itself was good.  There are lots of high end shops and many things to see.  Unfortunately, if you don’t have the wallet to make purchases there, you won’t be able to do too much.  There is an indoor “ice” rink that is made out of some sort of plastic.  It wasn’t very popular but a few children did have a great time on the “ice”.  Other than that, the entire area is not very interesting.  The outdoor boardwalk was more interesting.

Merlion with the Fullerton Hotel in the back.

The last area of interest is the Fullerton Hotel area.  It is nestled across the bay from the Marina Bay Sands and connected to the riverfront.  The Fullerton Hotel itself is a typical old high end looking hotel, but on the other side of the hotel is Merlion Park which has the famous Merlion.  The Merlion is a famous tourist spot that has the mythological lion-mermaid.  Positioned at the edge where a Marina meets the Singapore River, the Merlion continuously spews high pressure water out of its mouth providing cute pictures.  Having lived in Japan for a while, it is somewhat customary for people to open their mouths and take a picture as if they are drinking from the lion’s… spit…  Of course I did that and had a fun time playing around the Merlion itself.  Behind the Merlion is a mini-Merlion.  This one is less than 2 metres tall and made of tile.  It is a very anti-climactic model from the original.  In fact, the original Merlion is not very interesting, to be very honest.  I would rate the mini-Merlion as very disappointing but a good novelty.  There are other restaurants and cafes around the area as well as a connecting bridge to the north side of the bay itself.  While I’ll probably never return to this specific area, I do recommend it to those who visit the area for the first time.

Business District

The Raffles Place and Marina Bay areas are an essential area to visit for tourists, although I personally didn’t find it to be that interesting.  It has a lot to see and do and there are great things about the area.  I still prefer the old side of Singapore compared to the modern areas.  I can generally see architecturally interesting buildings in Tokyo relatively easily so seeing new modern buildings is not always interesting for me.  For others, it can be a very fun place to be.  For those who are visiting Singapore for business, it is probably necessary to visit this area and heading to the riverfront after work is a good idea.  You can relax a lot and enjoy the beautiful views.  It’s not the best but it is still a good place to be.