Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

Transit Area, Changi Airport Terminal 3, Singapore I know I haven't finished writing about the short trip to Tokyo, Japan, but for today, I shall write about the fun and memorable experience of dining onboard one of Singapore Airlines' grounded Airbus 380-800 aircraft. Running for two weekends only, at least at the point of writing, Restaurant A380 @ Changi is part of the Discover Your Singapore Airlines trilogy, which also comes with a few activities to keep guests occupied prior to the meal.

Tokyo City, Tokyo, Japan We are still on Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, the core of which is the most populated urban area across the globe. It encompasses a total of 23 special wards, 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages. In  Part 1 , I wrote a little bit on Shinjuku, Shibuya and the outside perimeter of the Imperial Palace near Tokyo railway station. Let's continue from where we left off, followed by Odaiba and Asakusa, in Part 2.

Tokyo City, Tokyo, Japan Originally a fishing village named Edo, Tokyo is the capital city of Japan. It's said that the Greater Tokyo area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, having approximately than 37.4 millon residents as of 2020. It's, of course, not possible to capture every single part of central Tokyo in two posts, but I shall bring you through some of the places that I passed by during my latest trip there.

5-20 Uenokoen, Taito, Tokyo, Japan Daily: 5.00am - 11.00pm Ueno Park, which is officially named Ueno Onshi Park, is a spacious park located right next to Ueno railway station in central Tokyo. It was established in 1873, making it one of Japan's five oldest public parks. Besides being a highly popular spot to view sakura (lit. cherry blossom) trees, it also houses a few temples, museums and a zoo.

Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan We all know that Tokyo isn't the place to seek the old charm of yesteryear, but have you been to Shibamata? The old-fashioned neighbourhood that's situated near Edo River, the natural border between the metropolis and Chiba Prefecture, has stood the test of time, offering a respite from the fast-paced city life.

11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan Daily: 7.00am - 4.00pm (winter) or 5.30pm (spring/fall) or 6.30pm (summer) Thanks for staying tuned to my coverage of Shinjuku Gyoen, one of Tokyo's largest and most popular parks. In Part 2, we shall look into its French formal garden and greenhouse. As a recap, Part 1 covers about mainly Mother and Child's Forest, Japanese traditional garden and English landscape garden.

11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan Daily: 7.00am - 4.00pm (winter) or 5.30pm (spring/fall) or 6.30pm (summer) Shinjuku Gyoen is a large national park under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan that covers an area of 58.3 hectares. Spanning across the present Shinjuku and Shibuya wards of Tokyo, it was originally the residence of a feudal lord known as Lord Naito of Tsuruga during the Edo period.

2-3-1 Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo, Japan [Temple Grounds] Daily: 24 hours [Main Hall] Daily: 6.00am - 5.00pm Senso-ji, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple, is Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple. The construction of the temple was completed in 645. It's dedicated to Kannon Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of compassion. Formely associated with Tendai Buddhism, it became independent after World War II.

[Main Park] Inokashira Park, Musashino, Tokyo, Japan Tue-Sun: 9.30am - 5.00pm Welcome to Part 2 of Inokashira Park Zoo that has been around since 1942, featuring the Main Park that's bigger in size compared to Lakeside Park that I've featured in Part 1 . Why did I decide to show an image showing a picture of an elephant instead of the actual animal as the cover photo of this post? Read on to find out more.

[Lakeside Park] Inokashira Park, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan Tue-Sun: 9.30am - 5.00pm First opened to the public in 1942, Inokashira Park Zoo is taking care of more than 170 animal species. It's divided into two sections: Main Park in Musashino and Lakeside Park in Mitaka. This post features the latter, which my BFF and I visited first. It's inhabited mainly by water birds, as well as fishes, amphibians and reptiles inside the aquarium.

Musashino and Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan Inokashira Park is an expansive park located in western Tokyo that was declared open in 1917 as the first sub-urban park in Japan. Spread across an area of around 38 hectares, it straddles two cities - Musashino and Mitaka. In addition to a zoo, it's also home to the highly sought after Ghibli Museum that was officially opened in the last quarter of 2001.