Japan Tour Day 1

Ok, as promised, I'm gonna blog bout my trip to the Land of the Rising Sun aka Japan. Will be dividing the blog posts according to the days, as I spent some time at the end of each day writing down the day's activities into a notebook I brought along with me. Photos are still being uploaded onto Picasa as I'm writing this (3% of 78 photos... slow library connection...). I did take more than 78, just that I don't want to upload some as I feel they are kinda boring. One thing I need is more memory space on my camera, though I'm not that willing to spend on that as 1. this camera is like 6 years old already 2. I'm thinking of upgrading to a camera which allows interchanging of lenses and uses a memory card that's non-proprietary (definitely something that does not use XD or MS cards...). Was thinking of the N brand and the 300 model. Of course I'm dreaming at the moment as I definitely can't afford this now. Maybe once the campaigns start flowing and I have some cash at the end of the year. Need to wait for a price drop as well. Anyway, enough rambling.

Finally landed in Japan. And just when the rainy season begun. Didn't really believe the tour guide when he said that it's irritating, but after getting drenched several times in the same afternoon, I'm inclined to change camp. But before I go into the day, it's what happened before the flight that made me go "wow". Heard a McPherson being played for the first time at Guitar Gallery. Terry helped a lady ship in an Englemann/EIR 3.5XP (I believe). The sound emitted when strummed was the most beautiful I've heard. Crystal clear, as if the purest bell was being chimed. Talk about major GAS! Guess a Mc will be my next guitar, most probably a few years down the road. There are still other things to be concerned about, like my career path. Really have to seek God on this, and let Him guide me and reveal His plan for me. Anyway, back to the trip.

First stop after some delay waiting for the tour group to clear customs was Osaka Castle. Really beautiful and semi-crowded with all the tours with school kids around. It's like this really old castle in a park surrounded by urban buildings. Lunch in the area, then it's 4 hours of shopping. Went on my own to explore Shinsaibashi. Was told by the tour guide that Den Den Town was somewhere nearby, and wanted to explore that (Den Den Town is like Tokyo's Akihabara district). In the end, I guess I got lost. And the sky let drop the rain several times then. Ah well.. Managed to locate the book Kemin asked me to get, and the cd Dexter wanted. No sign of my Suzumiya Haruhi cd or merchandise, or other anime stuff on my shopping list. But I managed to get Phoenix Wright: Justice For All (DS game where you play an attorney) at roughly half the price back home, which is a steal. Total damage: close to 5000 yen, which paled in comparison to what my parents blew on Burberry's Blue Label bags (about 80000 yen?/1000+ SGD). Women and their expensive totes. Then again, there's also me and my expensive guitars and other tastes, heh. Been a really long day, and I'm kinda beat. Didn't catch much sleep on the overnight flight; my mistake to leave the window shades up when the sun rises at bout 5am at 30000 feet. Oh well, Kyoto will be next tomorrow, with a hotel that has a hot spring facility. Hope it'll be relaxing.