First visit to Mdm Tussauds museum

The Chinese does not have a Christmas break that means kids and adults are all in school and at work. We made use of the opportunity to visit the Shanghai Mdm Tassauds museum. It was fun, apart from the wax figures, there were also games to play. Most of all, the place was almost empty.


Just before entering...


So, that was how she looked?


Pretty ladies...


Let's be friends, Mr Gates


The future is ours


The first two I am sure you know who they are. The last one is the first Chinese sprinter to win an Olympics gold medal


Kung fu fighter or a basket ball player?


The old and the new


Will I be a musician....


will I be a gymnast?


The princess and the people


The princess and the prince


DH and I both agreed that this figure is most well made

With that, our Christmas break came to an end. A new year awaits us.

Around Osaka in six days!

Travelling from Shanghai to Japan takes only two hours. We decided to head there for our Christmas.


We arrived at Kansai airport just under two hours of flight. Japan is a beautiful place but one thing that is really trying is making use of their subway and train system. It is so complex and the station is all huge. Getting out from the wrong exit will laand you at the wrong place and that was exactly what happened to us. From the station to the hotel was only a seven minute walk but it ended up a one hour walk because we came out from the wrong exit...so after dinner, we went to bed.


Notice the special lamp post? And guess who followed us to Osaka...


In the heart of Osaka


Buying the real stuff...takoyaki from Japan!

Universal Studio, here we come...

That was Ann's first visit to a Universal Studio and yes, she had the time of her life. Actually, whether you are an adult or a child, theme parks, somehow, always lift up your spirits.









All the sight and sound of the Universal Studio



My love - The Peanuts Gang!


...and I thought I could have some peace...

Kobe, NOT an ancient city

One of the most enlightening moment was discovering that Kobe was actually a very modern place.

All along, in my mind, I have always thought that Kobe is an ancient city. I was expecting alot of old castles and houses but I was pleasantly surprised...



Kobe subway station


The Oriental Hotel, Kobe. Beautiful isn't it?


Can you spot someone?


Pokemon is a popular cartoon in Japan


This metal slide reminded me of those which I used slide down when I was younger...ions ago


In Japan, there are many ferries-wheel. We realised that almost in each city, there will be at least one of them



We also found the Peanuts gang at Kobe



This was like de-ja-vu, a see-through church building, something I saw in my dream



Streets of Kobe


The Kobe harbour


Kobe harbour at night


Night scene of Kobe


One of the taller Christmas trees I have ever seen. Awesome!


A Christmas carriage and a special escalator, it actually bumped you up and down.


Great service, blankets provided to keep us warm while we have our chocolate

Shinsaibashi Shopping Belt

This was really an interesting stretch at Osaka...




Interesting, never-ending streets of shops, restaurants and many, many more. We even found a Turkish ice-ream man


Do you remember the Glico man?


Japan has lots of game arcades. Not very healthy, I think


Eating ice-cream at Baskin Robins


Guess what we saw? WENDY'S!


Beautiful sculptures can be found on the streets of Osaka

Pokemon Center

Yes, Pokemon is popular in Japan. They even have a Pokemon center.



All kinds of Pokemon knick·knacks for adults and kids

Glorious food of Osaka

In case you thought I have completely forgotten all about the food in Osaka...no, I thought I should put them all under one heading...glorious food!


This was one of the best sugar-paste works I have ever come across. They are all edible


Takoyaki - a class of its own.


What were these people doing behind the curtains?...............................eating ramen


A little of everything, our Christmas Day lunch


Okonomiyaki aka Japanese pizza and of course, ramen


Something special, mochi, greenbean paste with ice-cream. Yummy!


Simple toast and chocolate milk breakfast but they were really great

Walking through a Japan market (in fact, any market) is something which dh and I always enjoy doing. When we were in the US, we always enjoyed going to the farmers' markets...



Fresh tuna and salmon


The famous Japanese puffer fish. No, we didn't try it


Octopus and oysters. They were really big


more seafood


Dessert of various kinds

The best place for sushi and sashimi. Of course, none other than Japan itself. We found this small sushi cafe and tasted one of the best and most reasonably priced sushi and sashimi...




Hmm...yum...mo


My two beloved getting ready to....eat. We were given "bib" before we started our bbq food



Our bbq dinner


Pastries galore! Now, that's a real quiche


The difference between the ordinary and the extra-ordinary


A Kobe beef lunch


Now, who said only Singaporeans like Q-ing up. We see this almost everyday. Long Q outside a supermarket. People buying their pastries.