Narita Express

Narita Airport is in Chiba prefecture, and it's quite a long distance from Tokyo. As travellers I think we normally prefer to take cabs or buses but I always take the train.

My favorite is the Narita Express because it takes me to Shinjuku Station in under 100 minutes (faster than by bus), is the only direct train to Shinjuku (the other train, Keisei-sen, terminates at Ueno) and is cheaper than by cab.

Some of you may wonder why Shinjuku Station. More on this, next time.

It's easier than you'd imagine. Once you get out of Customs, head for the ticket sales booth for JR Narita Express. Choose the departure time of your train - if not mistaken, there're 2 departures per hour. The price per adult is slightly over 3,000 yen.

Yes, the staff do speak English. Rejoice.

Having collected your ticket and enjoyed your first encounter with a Japanese sales staff, proceed to the platform via the gantries. Once you reach the platform, try to stand at the spot where your cabin will stop right in front of you. For example, if you're assigned Cabin #7, look for a signboard on the floor that says "Narita Express, Cabin #7". Pictures attached. You can't go wrong.

Don't worry too much about input and output. I mean food and toilet. The facilities and means are available in the train.

But guys, be warned. One, the doors to the urinals are transparent, so you'll be showing your 'sexy back'. Two, the train may be jerky at times so you should either stand firm, or wear pants that are quick to dry.

And enjoy the view. Notice how trees and farmhouses are replaced by apartments and commercial buildings as we move from Chiba to Tokyo.

O-Den

O-den is essentially Japanese yong tau foo. It's one of my personal favs. It's best when eaten in cold weather.

It may be an acquired taste to some of us. For myself, I picked this up when studying in Japan. It's easy to cook. Just throw everything into a pot and boil.

When the weather turns cold, convenience stores in Tokyo will start selling o-den. Not the packaged kind. You literally scoop whatever you want, dump them into a foam bowl, pour some soup inside, and pay at the counter. It's probably 200 to 400 yen. Small price to pay for satisfaction.

(Some guys pay a lot more to get satisfaction at night.)

It has become a habit - now whenever I stay in Tokyo, on some nights I'll grab o-den at convenience stores on my way back to the hotel, for late night supper.

And you occasionally get away paying less. How? Try to hide some of the items underneath others. The bloke at the cash register isn't going to empty the bowl and count. So he may end up undercharging you.

Smiling? Then you're definitely Singaporean.

More info on this delicacy can be found here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oden

Ramen Museum

Ramen was introduced to Japan from China. That we all probably know. What we probably won't know, we can find out at the Ramen Museum. It's in Shin-Yokohama.

There're several versions of ramen - different soups. The familiar ones are Shoyu (soya sauce), Miso (bean paste), Tonkotsu (pig bones) and Shio (Salt). For each there're variations, notably in the different prefectures throughout Japan.

Ever noticed that miso ramen is almost always garnished with corn and bean sprouts, shoyu always with bamboo shoots, and tonkotsu usually with pickled ginger?

If you like trivia, this is it. The museum gives a full history of ramen (including instant noodles), and even has a collection of artefacts (bowls, spoons etc.) from the best ramen shops in Japan.

The museum also features several ramen outlets that are branches of some of these 'top shops'. Sampler sizes are available at all the outlets there, so you can taste all of them at one go if you want.

More info, including instructions on how to get there, over here -
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3202.html

Popcorns in Tokyo Disney Resort

Watch out for the different flavors. There's caramel (my fav), chocolate, etc. There's curry flavor too! But give the honey flavor a miss - after a while you'll feel like puking.

There're many popcorn stores, and each store uses a different bucket for the popcorns. There're many designs - Mickey, Donald, Goofy etc. and the designs change every season. Walk around a bit to find one that you like best.

You can refill your bucket too, once you run out of popcorn.

I have quite a lot to write about Tokyo Disney Resort.

Will try to do it soon, maybe. (I miss this kind of non-committal statement. Bosses don't allow it in the office.)

Meanwhile, to have an idea of what the buckets look like, google "Disneyland popcorn bucket".