Great food and excellent hospitality, Japan will never disappoint you

I have always loved holidaying in Japan. It was my honeymoon destination and if you are looking for beautiful scenery, great food and excellent hospitality, Japan will never disappoint you.

I was in Tokyo for a couple of days in the second week of June. It was a free and easy trip and moving about in Tokyo was so easy. The trains are so efficient that they arrive almost immediately. You will not feel that you had been kept waiting and from the airport to my hotel in Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, the cushion seats provided great comfort to every weary traveller who has just arrived.

There are endless shopping streets and malls in Tokyo and you simply cannot miss  the great offerings of Japanese confectionery, sashimi, sushis and noodles. There are sushi bars and noodle shops and if you have a budget for food and don't mind standing when you eat, then you might want to try the standing sushi and noodle outlets. Be assured that the food will be just as good. If you like to relish freshly caught fish and other seafood, head down to the Tsukiji Nippon Fishery Port Market, somewhat like the Sydney Fish Market, where you can also find juicy oysters.

One of the must-visit stores for me in Tokyo is definitely Tokyu-Hands. I like browsing and vividly remember my first visit to the store in 1989. Even now, Tokyu-hands still intrigue me with its wide collection of innovative items for kitchen use to office use. Tokyu-Hands has set up shop in Singapore but the outlets are small. You will never get the same shopping experience that their multi-storey stores offer in Japan.

Tokyo's Shibuya is another must in the internerary. The intersection outside Shibuya Station is famous for the massive crowds crossing from various directions when all the traffic lights turn red at the same time. The pedestrians would literally "pour" into the intersection like marbles spilling out of a box. You can get a good view of this phenomenon from the second-storey window of Mark City. And of course there is also Asakusa where you can find Senso-ji (the oldest temple in Tokyo) and Harajuku, where you will be able to feast your eyes on cosplay enthusiasts in their best outfits but only on Sundays. Although cosplay fever has only reached Singapore's shores in recent years, it started in Japan some 30 years ago.

The yen has dropped quite significantly during my visit. It was ¥1000 to S$1.10 and so things were relatively cheaper. You can't beat Tokyo for its standard of service and hospitality. Japanese paper-wrappings of anything you buy is a true art and sometimes you wonder why they pay so much attention to every minor detail. There is this personal pride in everything they do and they do it so well. , That's a culture that we seem unable to replicate in Singapore though we may have succeeded in achieving a similar standard of living. Like they say, we may be able to recreate the place but we may not necessarily be able to recreate the culture.

Kindness begets kindness

Her family is a beneficiary under Project Awareness but she can't wait to reciprocate. Tonight, secondary school student, Liani, joined me to visit a Malay resident in Tampines with Jacky.

Mdm Rohaini is in her early 60s' and live in a one room flat with her younger sister, a divorcee who works10 hours a day to earn $50 as a kitchen helper. Mdm Rohaini used to work as a cleaner earning $1,020 until this year when she had to stop working. She had a heart by-pass surgery 10 years ago and has to undergo another bypass. She has already gone through two heart surgeries and is due to be operated again soon.

Her monthly rent and utilities come up to about $300 and she is waiting for the outcome of her application to Comcare for financial support. On advice, she will be seeing her MP to help her reduce the rent as her sister is the only one working and she is incapacitated.

Mdm Rohaini needs a wheelchair to go out and has one on loan from her brother. However, she has to return it soon as her brother's mother-in-law,who suffered a stroke, needs it again. When we visited her, her mentally-challenged younger brother was there. He has come to help take care of Mdm Rohaini and was sitting by her bedside.

We left the flat but returned later from a nearby supermarket. Liani had helped us to pick some items for Mdm Rohaini. Besides rice and biscuits, there was also fresh ration as Mdm Rohaini and her sister still cook at home. This was the second time that Liani has turned volunteer. When I asked her about the visit tonight, she said she was willing to help out more often. 

Liani has set an example of how people who receive help can help others as well. Kindness begets kindness and that really keeps everything going in the right direction.

Releasing the Apron String

SG50 has been on the lips of Singaporeans since plans were afoot to celebrate 50 years of independence and separation from Malaysia in an unforgettable fashion. Many Singaporeans have been asked what they wish for our country and the common aspiration is to have a more prosperous and successful Singapore. I have been asked what my wish is for SG 50 and frankly, it is easy to make a wish but for it to come true will require a shift in mindset.

In one of the interviews given by the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew in his twilight years, he said:

"What is it that I want to do now? To try and secure the future, for what has already been built and not to lose it. Whether it's going to be done by the PAP or any other person or any other party, that is irrelevant. We must keep a system that will enable this place to stand out and prosper."

This message from Mr. Lee Kuan Yew may have been missed by many. He had emphasised that it does not matter which party is going to be able to secure the future of Singapore. The real focus should be on a "system" that will allow our nation to continue with its success and prosperity.

With this message at the back of my mind, I was therefore somewhat dismayed when I read the battle cry by PM Lee for the next general election:

"Our country is at stake...if PAP fails, Singapore is in deep trouble. We shall not fail." [Read More]

With all due respect to PM Lee, whilst he may be concerned about the performance of PAP at the next election, he has to look beyond the GEs if Singapore's interest is above all else. If Singapore has to depend on PAP or any one political party for its survival, then that system which it has in place, cannot be a good thing for Singapore. PM Lee cannot live forever and we may not necessarily have a succession of respectable leaders at the helm of the ruling party.

History has demonstrated the effects of how over time and with changes in leadership, political parties and dynasties are eventually plagued by power corruption, selfish agendas and the effects of group think. For a country to continue to grow in stature, prosper and succeed, she also needs all the talents that she can muster. And no political party can genuinely lay claim to a monopoly of all the talents in the land. When a system is free to operate without the interference of partisan politics, and is ready and open to accept any relevant talent regardless of his or her political affiliation, then that system will be able to truly generate new ideas and hope for a better future, That is the kind of system that we need to develop over the next 10 to 15 years.

The question that we have think about seriously in SG50 is whether or not the future of Singapore should continue to be tied to the fortunes of any one political party? After 50 years of economic growth and development, it would be sad to face the prospect that if PAP fails, Singapore is at stake. This is not to suggest that it is high time to change the PAP government but to highlight the fact that a long term non-partisan view of the nation's interest is necessary for us to build a system that is sound and resilient to any change in the party that forms the government. A sound and resilient socio-economic-political system is what we should all focus on building.

So, my SG50 wish is this. I wish for Singapore to build upon what she has and develop a sound and resilient socio-economic-political system that will secure the future progress and continuing success of Singapore as a nation. Without being tied to the apron strings of any political party, PAP or otherwise.