27 Jun 2024 - A*STAR Science Award (Upper Secondary)

The A*STAR Science Award (Upper Secondary) is a prestigious award in Singapore that recognizes outstanding achievements in science and technology among upper secondary students. It is administered by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), a leading research organization in Singapore.  This award is highly competitive, and only a select few students are chosen as recipients each year.

Today the teacher told Javier that he had been selected for this award and was given an acceptance form to fill.  When we went through the form on the eligibility, we realized that he was probably not eligible because he was already a recipient for the DSTA Young Defence Scientists Programme (YDSP) Scholarship.  Apparently, a student cannot receive both of these awards at the same time.

He's ok with it, at least he now knows that his hard work had been recognized by his teachers.  :-)

18-21 Jun 2024 - Unity Bootcamp 2024

Javier registered himself for a Unity Bootcamp few weeks ago.  The bootcamp started today and that's the main reason we had to return from our Tokyo trip yesterday.

Unity is a powerful and versatile game engine, with cross-platform features that appeal to both small developers and large game studios. 40% of the top 1000 mobile games and 50% of all new mobile games are built with Unity.

The Unity Bootcamp exposed students to the world of game development by giving them hands-on experience with the Unity editor and C# code through a variety of game projects. Through the process, students will better understand what makes a compelling game.

Overall, Javier enjoyed this bootcamp very much and managed to create a game, which the instructor commented as one of the most polished games among all the participants.

18 Jun 2024 - Swollen foot

During our recent Tokyo trip, I actually sprained my ankle.  It happened on the second day of our trip and I walked with an ankle guard since.  It did not feel much pain then but today, I realized it had swollen a lot, as can be seen in the photo below.  It's not very pain but it feels quite uncomfortable.  Hope the swell will subside soon.

16 Jun 2024 - Tokyo Day 7: Haneda Airport Garden

When we reached Haneda Airport, there was still quite a few hours before we could check in to out flights.  As such, we walked over to Haneda Airport Garden, which is connected to the airport's Terminal 3.

This is a hospitality complex featuring Japan's largest airport hotel, an open-air bath and a range of shops and restaurants.  It opened last year after a nearly three-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  There is an open-air bath on the 12th floor of the hotel complex which is a natural hot spring and commands a view of Mt. Fuji and airplanes. It can be used by any airport user.

Of course, Jerlene and Javier will never miss to explore a Gacha shop.

We had our dinner at the mall as our flight was pretty late at night.

This was Jerlene's last attempt at the Gacha machine in this trip.

While walking to our gate to board the plane, we passed by a store that sells the popular Ishiya (白色恋人) Ice Cream.  As we still got sometimes before boarding, we sat down and enjoyed the "superlicious" ice cream.

This marked the end of our 7 days 6 nights Tokyo trip.  :-)

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16 Jun 2024 - Tokyo Day 7: Last look of Ginza and lunch

After checking out of the hotel, we left our luggage at the concierge and went to have our lunch.  As it's weekend, most of the restaurants were packed with people.  As we continued our search for an eating place, we saw a wall painting of Singapore Merlion with MBS at the background, and it seems like a Chinese restaurant selling dumpling (小笼包).  We did not enter because we wanted to have a proper Japanese meal.

We finally found one, again at a basement, with available seats.

The staff here was extremely friendly and the food was great.

Before collecting our luggage from the hotel, we returned to the pedestrian walking street to have a last look of Ginza, the district which we had stayed for six nights.

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16 Jun 2024 - Tokyo Day 7: Ginza Six Rooftop Garden

The Ginza Six shopping complex itself is a luxurious and upscale shopping destination located in the heart of Tokyo's Ginza district.  We noticed that it has a rooftop garden when we looked over from Uniqlo store across the road yesterday.  As such, before returning to our hotel, which is just one street away, we paid a visit to this hidden gem.

There is a water play area perfect for young children.

In the following photo, the building on the right is Uniqlo flagship store where we looked over yesterday.

This serene oasis offers stunning panoramic views of the city skyline, making it a popular destination for locals and tourists alike.

Here we could enjoy breathtaking views of Tokyo's iconic landmarks, including the Tokyo Tower as well as the Tokyo Skytree.

At one corner, there is a small Shinto Shrine.

The Ginza Six mall itself is a popular spot for both locals and tourists looking for high-end fashion, accessories, and lifestyle products.

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16 Jun 2024 - Tokyo Day 7: Godzilla Statue at Hibiya

Today is our last day of our Tokyo trip.  We requested for late checkout at 2pm since our flights are at night.  As such, we had some time to explore the area around Ginza.  A short 15 minutes' walk from our hotel brought us to Hibiya. 

Under the railway track are a row of Japanese restaurants.  All were closed as it's still pretty early in the morning.

We decided to visit this area because we read about a Godzilla statue here.  This public sculpture of the iconic giant mutant lizard from the long-running Japanese film series is not as huge as we had expected.

Hibiya is a midtown business district has gleaming office towers around landmark western-style garden Hibiya Park.

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15 Jun 2024 - Tokyo Day 6: "Catches" of the Day

Just to share our "catches" for today.....  :-)

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15 Jun 2024 - Tokyo Day 6: "Godzilla: Attack on Tokyo!" Light Show

We were back at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building this evening because there is a special light show "Godzilla: Attack on Tokyo!" that is shown only during weekends.

This spectacular light show involves a series of coordinated light displays and projections that simulate a Godzilla attack on the city.

After the Godzilla light show ended, it was followed by other impressive projections.

Watch the full light show of "Godzilla: Attack on Tokyo" below.

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