The dazzling morning sunlight made me wake up at half-past five. Although I closed all the curtains, the rising sun was still shining through the chink.

It was very bright outside. I woke up and took a few pictures. After that, I went to sleep again. When I finally got up, it was 9.45 a.m.

At 10.30 a.m., we walked to Tobu Store to buy our breakfast. We used to take bread with fruit jam or butter at home. In the Tobu Store, I bought a bun filled with red-bean paste and a box of soya milk. Solomon preferred cheesecake and a bottle of coffee. His mother bought the butter bread and toasted cheese bread. We took our breakfast in the apartment.

After our breakfast, we walked to the "99 Yen" shop. On the way, we saw stationary shop, small restaurant, real estate agency, etc. We walked to the Tokiwadai Station and took some pictures. The roads are narrow and the drivers are very polite. They drive slowly and give way to the pedestrians.

Before going back to the apartment, Solomon and his mother bought their lunch at the MacDonald. I do not quite like hamburger, so I decided to get other food. When passing by a small restaurant, I wanted to buy the Japanese vegetarian lunch. When we entered the restaurant, I did not know how to use the lunch ticketing machine. As the waiters were busy, I did not buy any food. My lunch was the leftover of my breakfast.

Traveling in Tokyo by Train

Mrs. Toyoda came at 1.30 p.m. and took us to Ikebukuro. She said that the sun was strong this morning. The housewives were very happy. They woke up very early to get their bed sheets, blankets and pillowcases washed and dry under the sun. They have been waiting for such a good weather for many days. Although the sun was strong, there was breeze. We did not feel as hot as in Singapore.

We walked to Tokiwadai Station. Mr. Toyoda bought us various types of train tickets earlier. As Solomon could get the concession rate in the ticket fare, Mrs. Toyoda taught us how to use the ticket vending machine. Solomon paid 70 yen instead of 80 yen, he could not get out of the station at Ikebukuro. Mrs. Toyoda explained to the Station Officer. The Officer did not ask us to pay for the compensation, but printed the ticket with the Ikebukuro Station stamp and gave it to Solomon as a souvenir.

Mrs. Toyoda explained to us the way from Ikebukuro Station to Tokyo Disneyland. We would go to Disneyland on Wednesday by ourselves.

Mrs. Toyoda called us before we came to Tokyo regarding the plan for us in spending the ten days in Tokyo. She said that we would go for sightseeing on a day and take a rest for another day. By doing so, we would not be too tired. So, we would take a break tomorrow, Tuesday. Mr. Toyoda would bring me to attend the Rotary Club Meeting tomorrow night. We would go to the Disneyland on Wednesday and rest on Thursday. Mr. and Mrs. Toyoda would bring us to visit the Nagoya World Expo on Friday.

Ikebukuro Revisited

At Ikebukuro, Mrs. Toyoda asked us where we would like to visit. Solomon said that he would like to go to the Prince Hotel where we stayed when we came to Tokyo last year (2004). He would also like to visit the Tokyo Toyota Showroom.

The Toyota Showroom was closed on Monday. We went to the Sunshine City Prince Hotel. We remembered that Mr. and Mrs. Toyoda came to the hotel to meet us when we came to Tokyo last year. Although it has been a year, it seemed like that was happened yesterday.

We went to the Observation Tower at Sunshine 60. It was at the 60th floor and was 240 meters above the ground. It took only 35 seconds for us to travel to 60th floor by lift. The lift was very stable. From there, we could see the Tokyo City.

We also went to the "Electri City". That was a building of seven or eight floors. We found different type of electrical goods at the different floor. Great! Solomon wanted to buy a "Gameboy", but we could not get an English version "Gameboy". So, he decided to go to the SEGA Arcade to play games.

Mrs. Toyoda contacted Mr. Toyoda who was in the office. When Mr. Toyoda wanted to meet us when he came to Ikebukuro after work, he went to the wrong meeting point. When he tried to contact us through his handphone that carried by me, I was not aware because I set it to the silent mode. We finally met at 6.30 p.m.

From Government Office to Yasukuni Shrine

Mr. Toyoda asked us that where were the places we visited in the afternoon. After knowing that we went to the Observation Deck of Sunshine 60 Building, he brought us to Shinjuku. We went to the Observatory of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. It was at the 45th floor of Main Building No. 1 of the height of 202 meters. We did not need to pay the entrance fee like that of Sunshine 60, but we had to pass through the security check.

When I saw the two blocks of Government Office Building, I thought of the 911 tragedy. Chatting with Mrs. Toyoda on the Government Office, we came to the topic of Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 Class A Japanese war criminals were also venerated.

The Bitter Past

When Mr. and Mrs. Toyoda visited Singapore many years ago, I brought them to Sentosa Island. At the Fort Siloso, they saw the pictures of the Japanese Occupation. Looking at the tragic of the Singaporeans, I told them that the Japanese soldiers destroyed our home. Mr. Toyoda said that he was not a soldier, he would never be a soldier.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Toyoda and myself were born after the Second World War, we did not experience the miserable of the war. But I ever heard my father told me about those days. When Japan invaded Singapore, my grandmother and mother brought my four sisters fled to the countryside. On the way, my mother thought of abandon one of my sisters. She was very young and did not realise that she should keep quiet in order not to alert the Japanese soldiers who would kill the whole family. But one of the refugees told my mother that even a hen would take care of the chicken, we should take care of our children. That evening, when my father went home, he found that the house was vacant. He knew that the family went to the countryside. Therefore, my father walked to look for the family in the risk of being found by the Japanese and killed. He said that he saw dead bodies and blood flowing in the drainon his way. He finally found my grandmother, mother and sisters.

Whenever I recalled this story, I wept.

Peace and War

Those who experienced the tragedy, they hated Japanese soldiers and even hated Japan. My father told me that it was over, let us tried to forget about it. When I was in High School, I studied Japanese Language for two and a half years. Some of my father's friends knew about it, they scolded me. My father told me that not to be bothered.

After knowing Mr. Toyoda in 1980, I came to know more about Japanese. In May 1982, I attended the JCI Asia Pacific Conference in Miyazaki, Japan. In June 1997 and June 2004, we visited Tokyo. During those three times in Japan, I met many Japanese. They were friendly and polite.

In early 2005, the leader of China and Korea were not happy when the Prime Minister of Japan visited Yasukuni Shrine. I was then surprise that why they were angry because I did not know the reason behind it. When some Taiwan "leaders" went to Yasukuni Shrine to pay respect, Madam Gao Jin Su Mei was very angry and she protest strongly. Only from her speech, I understood that it was because other than the victims, there were 14 Class A war criminals were also honoured in the Shrine.

To the Japanese, the soldiers were fighting for the country.
But think about it, why Japan invaded the countries in Asia?
Who invited Japan to occupy Singapore?
The Japanese soldiers invaded Singapore, destroyed our home and killed our innocent people .... For what reason?

As the leader of a country, the visits of the Japanese Prime Minister to the Yasukuni Shrine kept hurting us. The friendliness and politeness of the Japanese would be ruined by the behaviour of the Japanese Prime Minister.

The few days when we were in Tokyo, I read from the newspaper that there were suggestions to overcome this issue. It is to separate the war criminals from the Shrine. But the Japanese Government did not want to do so. That reminded us our sufferings during the invasion. That made us recall the cruelty of the Japanese soldiers. That showed us the aggressive ambitions and motives of Japan.

The Korean BBQ Beef

After observing the night view of Tokyo City, Mr. Toyoda brought us to have Korean BBQ beef dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Toyoda liked Korean BBQ beef. After taking a trial, Solomon liked it too. His mother was also taking the BBQ beef. I was the only person who took vegetarian claypot rice. The rice was cooked in the claypot with vegetables. It was very delicious.

Although they took a lot of beef, the restaurant also served a lot of raw vegetables. It helped to keep the meat-eater healthy.

We left the restaurant at 10 p.m. and reached the apartment at 11 p.m. After doing some cloth-washing and writing of dairy, we went to bed around 2 a.m.