Shinjuku Saturday

These photos were taken while on our way to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on December 3, 2005. The set includes pictures of Takashimaya Times Square and NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building, one of the tallest clock towers in the World.

Pigeons on Street

While walking around the vicinity of Tokyo station, I stumbled upon this generous Japanese who was feeding a bunch of pigeons. This was taken November 27, 2005.

Tokyo Tower at Night

Tokyo Tower during Christmas Season

I was surprised to see a slightly different Tokyo Tower on the 1st of December, 2005. My Canon PowerShot S2 IS camera did a good job "stabilizing" the image. A lovely sight after a long night in the office.

Tokyo Imperial Palace

I decided to do a solo exploration of Tokyo after Rinnel and Mark opted to stay in the hotel on November 27, 2005. With practically no research and planning, I just followed my instinct and got off at Tokyo Station, then walked aimlessly until I stumbled upon the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

Around Tokyo Station

It was my first time to go out on a weekend by myself. After going for a walk around Magome, I decided to go to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Before reaching my destination, I spent an hour or so around JR Tokyo Station and took a bunch of photos. These were taken on November 27, 2005.

Tokyo Subway

This is a short video of the subway train that would take us to our hotel near Magome station. This was taken after our visit to Tokyo Tower on November 17, 2005.

Magome to Nishi-Magome

One Sunday (November 27, 2005) morning, when Rinnel and Mark chose not leave the hotel, I decided to take a walk around the vicinity of Tokyo Inn. Since we always took the subway train to Mita, we never really got the chance to see what's around our hotel. So that day, I took my time and walked from Magome station to Nishi-Magome station. I also snapped a few photos along the way.

Bandai Musuem

These photos were taken during our visit to Bandai Museum on November 26, 2005. At that time, it was still located in Mastudo, Chiba. I'm a huge fan of numerous Gundam series and I have a small collection of various model kits (a.k.a toys) with scales ranging from 1:144 to 1:60. My chance to visit the Gundam Museum surely satisfied my inner child.

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya is one of the most popular shopping districts in Tokyo. Think of Akihabara for girls and fashionistas instead of guys, geeks and nerds. This is also where the famous statue of Hachikō can be found. The same street shown in this video was featured in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. This video was taken on November 19, 2005.

Akibahara Adventure

Akihabara was probably the most visited place in all of our business trips to Japan. We went there almost every weekend, looking for new toys, exciting gadgets, and anything that looks interesting. The place is practically heaven for geeks and nerds. Unfortunately, these photos don't do justice to the place, since I was more concerned covering more grounds than taking pictures. These were taken on November 13, 2005 and November 20, 2005.

Fire Juggler

Here's a short video of a street performer, a fire juggler to be exact, showing off his amazing skills. This was taken during our visit to Yokohama on November 13, 2005.

天丼

My very first tendon (tempura bowl) from てんや, served with miso soup and Japanese green tea. After accompanying us in buying pasalubong from Ueno, Henrison brought the group (Edmond, Gloi, Rajah, and ?) to this popular tendon shop. These photos were taken on November 20, 2005.

Tokyo Tower

After a week of consecutive daily overtime, we finally got a chance to escape early (half past 8 in the evening) and see Tokyo Tower up close. It took us around 15 minutes to get there from Mita Kokusai building by foot. These photos were taken on November 17, 2005.

World's Largest Leather Snoopy

The world's largest leather Snoopy can be found in Snoopy Town Shop, Yokohama.

World's Largest Clock

Cosmo Clock 21 is also considered the world's largest clock. The display of the clock is mounted at the center of the Ferris wheel.

Cosmo Clock 21

The Cosmo Clock 21 is giant Ferris wheel in Yokohama. It's impossible to miss. This photo was taken on November 13, 2005.

Nippon Maru

Yokohama was my first sightseeing destination outside Tokyo. Our group, composed of Rinnel, Mark, and me, were accompanied by Gloi, Henrison, Edmond, and two other guys from Cebu. Gloi was there for AOTS training, Henrison for a 2-year intra-transfer, and Edmond was on a long business trip. This photo was taken by Gloi on November 13, 2005. Behind me is the Nippon Maru, a retired sailing ship which was built in 1930.

三田国際

Mita Kokusai Building is where we stayed for an average of 12-14 hours a day during weekdays. We would usually arrive at the office around 9 in the morning, just in time for our daily progress meeting, then leave around 11 in the evening, giving us just enough time to walk to the train station and catch the last train to Nishi-Magome.

三田

This photo was taken on our way to Mita Kokusai Building on November 13, 2005. Not very far away from MK is the easily recognizable Tokyo Tower.

Coin Laundry

One of the most important places to know when you're staying in Japan for more than week. Coin-operated washing machines and dryers are very common in Japan. I think they're an integral part of Japanese life. It's also not unusual for Japanese people to leave their clothes unattended in one of these machines and just return to get them later. This photo was taken on November 12, 2005.