Historical Moments - Coronavirus COVID 19

18 March 2020 - Morning 8am, Causeway Bridge between Singapore and Malaysia
First time in history since World War 2; there was so little traffic on Wednesday, a working day in Singapore. Any conventional working day would have seen long line of cars waiting to clear custom. This is because Malaysia has due to growing health concern on Coronavirus restricted all Malaysian from travelling abroad, including by land to Singapore. This is a historical moment.

On the same night, the DOW Index has dropped below 20,000 points from a high of more than 29,000 just a few weeks ago.

It just reminded me of a game I had played when I was boy. The mouse was eaten by the cat and the dog, the tiger and eventually by the lion. The lion was killed by the stampede of the elephant. But the elephant could be destroyed by the mouse. Similarly, humans are almost invincible but vulnerable to an invisible virus so small that we can't see.

A gentle reminder to regularly wash hand with soap and reduce the times that your hand and fingers touching the face. Basic hygiene that could save us from infection.

Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker

Watched the film recently. This is the 10th (including Rouge One) films I've watched in s cinema since the first film in 1976. Some comments:-

1) Jedi can revive the dead. First time seen in Star Wars Series. If this can be done, the many Jedi purged during Order 66 would have been revived.

2) Zorii Bliss looks like a female Power Ranger.

3) Kyle Ren black Tie Fighter is very cool.

4) Incredible to see Han Solo, Leia, Luke Skywalker, C3PO, R2D2, Chewbacca and Lando again. All these characters are from the first trilogy. The major characters not present are Darth Vader and Obi Wan.

5) Awesome to see the X-wing fighter of Luke Skywalker.

6) A powerful Sith Lord like Palpatine, made the same mistake twice. First in Star Wars Return of the Jedi, where he used the trick of getting Luke Skywalker close to him and showed to Luke the failure of the rebellion attack plan, but was subsequently 'killed' by Darth Vader. Second in Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker where he tricked Rey close to him and used the same method of showing Rey the failure of Resistance fleet against the many Star Destroyers, but again was vapourised by Rey's Lightsaber. How could a master Sith Lord make the same mistake?

7) The storyline of how they make the death of Leia coincide with the death of Carrie Fisher in real life is nice and appropriate. Fantastic to see her shed tears in this last movie of hers.

8) Darth Vader was so much better in creating fear to audience than the old Palpatine.

9) Amazed by how things and bodies can be teleported a distance apart. Fight between Rey and Kyle Ren located at 2 different places mean that one person can teleport to another location to carry out assassination.

Malaysia Property

In recent weeks, I was trying to gather information on Malaysian properties since the Government of Malaysia has announced that foreigners minimum purchase price of apartments and condominium was reduced to RM600,000.

With the Internet and various property related websites available, it is easy to make a comparison between property in Singapore and Malaysia.

In Malaysia, a landed freehold terrace house just across the Strait in Johor Bahru is available for a price of RM800,000 (USD198,000) or lower if further away from downtown. For landed property, foreigner can only purchase for value more than RM1 Million (USD248,000) and above.

In Singapore, a similar landed freehold terrace house will cost between S$1.8 Million (USD 1.33 Million) to $2.2 Million(USD 1.63 Million) depending on location.

Comparing the prices, the difference in price between a landed freehold property in Singapore and Malaysia is eight times higher. For that eight times higher in price, you will get:-

1) Better security. Less chance of house burglary. Less chance of robbery.
2) A more stable currency that is less likely to depreciate.
3) A economy with better job opportunity and less corruption.
4) A better internet speed connection.
5) A better health care system and specialist.
6) Reduce geopolitical risk involving the country. While Malaysia is generally stable, the future is uncertain and there is risk that the current political parties will be in discord and may fail to win the majority.

However to a retiring Singapore, some of the points mentioned above do not matter because:-

1) House can be guarded with security services.
2) Major asset can still be in S$ or USD or in equities.
3) Job opportunity doesn't matter if a person is retired. Cost of living does.
4) Internet speed doesn't matter if not for gaming. Higher price for faster internet access is available.
5) Retiree has to come back to Singapore for medical treatment.
6) Geopolitical risk is not easy to quantify. It can be avoided if not investing at all but avoidance comes with opportunity costs.

Properties in both Singapore and Malaysia will be subjected to ancillary costs such as lawyer fees, transfer fees, property tax, utilities bills etc.

The other point to make is that at a median household income of about S$9000 in 2017. It would take a household about 18.5 years just to afford a landed freehold terrace house in Singapore, without other expenses. Of course, the government does not guarantee that every Singaporean can afford a landed house due to land scarcity. Affordability comes only with public housing. However, using the same argument, one may ask why would the same Government allow foreigners to be permanent resident or citizen, hence pushing the price of property indirectly? It is still demand and supply in economics of pricing. Making house ownership beyond the reach of ordinary true blue Singaporean.

On the other hand, the reason why the Malaysia Government allows for a reduced price for property purchase by foreigners is to address the high number of unsold units. The rule only applies for 1 year unless there is further extension. This mean that after 1 year, the price limitation for foreigners will be reverted back to RM1 Million. The owner who bought units at RM600,000 can only sell it back to locals if value cannot rise beyond RM1 Million. This would limit the demand and ultimately affect the price. The only logical reason why any purchasers would want to make use of this reduced price policy would then be long term ownership.

Looking at Johor Bahru, the bulk of units available for sale that meets the criteria of more than RM600,000 would probably be those apartments in R&F Princess Cove, Country Garden in Danga Bay area and Forest City. These are buildings constructed on reclaimed land. There is added risk of ground settlement in long term.

For retirees wishing to retire in a place with lower cost of living but without the hassle of paying huge savings in purchasing asset, the possible alternative would be leasing.  Considering that some apartments can be leased for as low as RM1500 and for proper landed unit to be rent for RM2000 monthly. The expenditure over 10 years would only be RM240,000 (USD60000) for landed property. This avoided the geopolitical risk as well as the risk involving in investing in Malaysia currency. The only downside after 10 years is that there is no asset to own, or sell.

Solar Eclipse 26 December 2019

Solar Eclipse (technically called Annular Solar Eclipse) happened today at about 1:23pm, Singapore time. The moon covered the sun starting from midday. There was significant darkening of the sky.

The next annular solar eclipse in Singapore would have happened in 2063 (44 years later). I would have been 6 ft under earth.

Photos were taken by my youngest daughter, using a mobile phone camera.

Honda Civic FC 2019

I have sold my Audi A3 Sportback and bought a Honda Civic FC. This is at a time when COE is supposed to be at its low end due to uncertainty in the economy.

Audi
I have owned the Audi A3 Sportback for 5 years and 9 months. The good thing about the car is a powerful 1.4 turbo engine and a good brake stopping distance. A fantastic fuel consumption of 14km/litre. It also has a reputable brand although its internal parts are from VW Golf.  The bad things are :-

1) Lousy Dual Clutch transmission. Noise from its transmission and a total failure of its mechatronic unit. Audi Singapore charged me more than S$4000 plus even though there was dispute on the warranty of the car. I am highly displeased with this service and asserted that I would never buy a Audi car again.

2) Poor battery. Failed every year. They are original battery from Audi. This is not typical for a car.

3) Turbo lagged. The car is either slow or very fast. The smoothness of transmission is missing. Before the turbo kicks in, it is still a underpowered 1.4 litre car. I cannot imagine the new Audi A3 with 1 litre motor.

4) The 7 speed transmission automatic kicks down when slope is detected which makes the journey rather unpleasant, even though there is no necessity.

5) Start Stop function which I think is unnecessary.

Honda
I have driven the Thailand made Honda Civic FC for more than 3 months. It is a reliable car with no noise from its moving parts. Driver has a piece of mind on quality of product as I have driven the Honda Stream for 9 years previously. However, it has its deficiency. They are:-

1) Underpowered car which it is paired with a CVT. The CVT is like a turbo, it needs time to spool up the transfer of power from motor to wheels. As many car expert would say, CVT is like an elastic rubber band. The underpowered car is more severely felt if the fuel is just Ron 95. I have to use Ron 98 to compensate the lack of power and to achieve a smoother drive. This means I have to pay for more for fuel. In fact, the Suzuki Swift is more fun to drive although it is just 1 litre car with a turbo. I was contemplating between a Suziki Swift or Honda Civic.

2) Better fuel consumption than my 1.7 litre Honda stream but poorer than Audi A3. Average fuel consumption is about 12 to 12.5 km/litre.

3) Poor radio reception. The sound from its radio is the worst I have seen in all my life of car ownership. The head unit has other function tied in, eg aircon, car settings which make it difficult to change.

4) Servicing is every 10,000 km. Likely to mean twice a year compared to Audi which is once a year servicing.

There are good points such as brake-hold, spacious car, reliable quality, reasonably price parts, lower insurance etc. It serves well as a point to point transportation car. Honda Civic is commonly seen on road which doesn't make it unique. Hope my simple review is useful for potential buyers.

Lee Iacocca Dies

Mr Lee Iacocca passed away on 2 Jul 2019 at the age of 94. I used to read his book Iacocca An Autobiography back in the late 1980s. He has given insight to readers of his formidable tenacity to manage a troubled car company, Chrysler and successfully brought it back to life.

Rest in peace.

SGD $2 Million

Back in 20 March 2015, I wrote that I had achieved a SGD 1 million status.

https://e21s.blogspot.com/2015/03/sgd-1-million.html

4 years on, I am pleased to say that I have achieved a SGD 2 million in financial assets, excluding property value, central provident fund (CPF) and monies in insurance.

This is achieved through hardwork, investments, savings and inheritance.

In Singapore context, the quantum is still a small sum. Considering that a decent private landed house cost more than SGD 2 million.

Warren Buffett 2019 Annual Letter to Shareholders

"In the years ahead, we hope to move much of our excess liquidity into businesses that Berkshire will permanently own. The immediate prospects for that, however, are not good: Prices are sky-high for businesses possessing decent long-term prospects."

Warren Buffett on his massive US$112 Billion in cash/cash equivalent (Feb 2019)

To me, that is one of the more important message from Buffett's letter to shareholders. Pretty much clear indication of where the stock market is heading in the short/medium term. I am just wondering whether he will put more of his cash into Kraft Heinz. On Friday the price of Kraft Heinz shares dropped a significant 27%.

Charlie Munger Interesting Advices

Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway had an interview with CNBC Becky Quick. Here are a few quotes which I think are interesting:-

On Question whether the golden era of investing is over
"Now is tougher. …… The valuations have come up. And the competition sorting through those opportunities is more intelligent and more aggressive and more numerous. Of course it's harder."

On Munger's generation of investors
"The opportunities that we all remember came from a demoralized period when about 90% of the natural stock buyers got very discouraged with stocks. That's what created the opportunity for these fabulous records that my generation had. And that was a rare opportunity that came to a rare group of people of whom I was one. And Warren was another."

On US politics and government
"Sometimes the Democrats are in, sometimes the Republicans. In my lifetime, the country run better, net, because we had two parties, each of which was partly in control. If either party had been totally in control of all branches of the government, I think we would be way worse off today."

On US national debt which has reached US$22 Trillion
"Yeah, we're in new territory...… Well, I don't worry much, because every era is a cinch that a great nation will, in due time, be ruined. So I -- time and -- whether it's Rome, where is Britain in its heyday, they all pass. And so our turn is bound to come someday. But I don't like thinking about it too much. It's like my own death. Why should I enjoy thinking about it? But is it coming some day? Sure. Of course it is."

Worries on Nuclear Bombs
"Its a nuclear war. A nuclear war would be a real, real disaster. Global warming is something we could cope with if we had to. But a nuclear war is - that's - that is really serious."

Anything that rises to Munger radar screen now that may be under the radar for other people
"Well, nobody knows how much of this money printing we can do..... That we can ignore the whole subject and just print money as convenient. Well, that's the way the Roman Empire behaved, then it was ruined. And that's the way the Weimar Republic was ruined. And - it's - there is a point where it's dangerous. You know, and of course, my attitude when something is big and dangerous is to stay a long way away from it......"

A display in Dachau Concentration Camp showing the effect of printing money in Germany

On what are the secret to life is, to a long and happy life
"You don't have a lot of envy, you don't have a lot of resentment, you don't overspend your income, you stay cheerful in spite of your troubles. You deal with reliable people and you do what you're supposed to do. And all these simple rules work so well to make your life better. And they're so trite.|"
"And-- staying cheerful -- with -- because it's a wise thing to do. Is that so hard? And can you be cheerful when you're absolutely mired in deep hatred and resentment? Of course you can't. So why would you take it on?"

On raising children
"I have not -- many of my children have worked out well. And I've had very little to do with it. I think they come into the world, to a certain extent, pre-made. And you just sit there and watch. I don't think they're -- it's been simply amazing to me a parent to note know much is sort of preordained. The shy baby is the shy adult. The booming, obnoxious, domineering baby is the booming, domineering, obnoxious adult. I've never found a way to fix that. I can be cheerful about it, but I can't fix it. I can change my reaction, but I can't change the outcome."

Feb 2019.
Credit: CNBC

Emirates Economy Class Review

I took Emirates Economy Class to Dubai, a seven hours trip.

Here is my review:-

1) Food - Emirates has better food than Qatar Airlines. The food was tasty enough for me. The drinks were sufficiently served with a bar cart that followed behind the main meal cart. Singapore Airlines has equally good food comparable to Emirates.  However, China Southern Airlines stewardesses routinely walked along the isle asking passengers whether they want water. This service from China Southern Airlines is commendable for long flights

2) Flight Seat - Whether Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airlines or Emirates lines, the space available for economy class does not differ significantly. However, because Qatar and Emirates are flying connecting flights, ie Dubai or Doha are used as a base to consolidate passengers. Their flights are mostly full. This means that the chance of an empty seats is very low.  Singapore Airlines has a higher probability of an empty seat next to you.

3) Service - No difference between Singapore, Qatar or Emirates. You don't see the stewardesses in economy class after the meals are served. China Southern Airlines stewardesses do make routine rounds to address passenger needs. China Southern Airlines stewardess even perform their appreciation message for international flight.

4) Planes - All Singapore, Qatar or Emirates are rather new. I notice that Emirates and Qatar switch on their mood lighting with beautiful stars filled ceiling. Beautiful. Singapore Airlines does not switch on its mood lighting for economy section.

5) Baggage Handling - Both Emirates and Qatar airlines are disappointment. For Emirates, my luggage was found damage after flight. For Qatar, my luggage was found to be opened and my suit soiled after flight. I have no such problem with Singapore Airlines or China Southern Airlines. So it is advisable to bring a durable luggage when travelling with Emirates or Qatar airlines.

Founding of Singapore - 200 Years

Sir Stamford Raffles arrived on the island of Singapore on 28 January 1819. Back in 1819, Singapore has an indigenous population of about 150 people.

Today is the 200th anniversary of Raffles arrival. Our population has grown to about 6 million people, crowded onto a small island. Raffles had set up a trading post in Singapore which allowed it to prosper given its strategic location between Europe, India and China, Japan. This is despite an absence of natural resources.

Dubai Skyscrapers Part 2

Dubai Creek Tower model at Dubai Mall

Not only is the Burj Khalifa not tall enough at 830m, the UAE is building another structure which is 1.2 to 1.3 km tall. It is known as the Dubai Creek Tower. The tower as shown in the photo above is a slender structure with cable like supports. It looks like a tall rocket that is about to blast off to space. Around the centre of this tower lies observatory decks.

Obviously, it doesn't come cheap. This is another project to showcase Arabs wealth.

While it is another engineering feat making the engineers laughing to the banks, it doesn't makes economical sense. The monies could be spent on research that could make human lives better, reduce the number of hunger death, reduce pollution, reduce climate impact, lower risk of terrorism, improve cultural appreciation etc.

It just reminds me of the Tower of Babel mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Old Testament.

Dubai Blue Sky

Being a desert climate, there is little rain all year round. I took a picture of the blue sky which show a cloudless sky. The blue is unedited and natural.

Dubai Skyscrapers

The quantity of skyscrapers in Dubai is amazing. There are so many construction works on-going in the city that one wonders whether there are real buyers to these real estate. They are building condos, hotels, malls and offices everywhere along the main spine (where the metro lies).

While there are attempts to go Green through the use of solar panels, this cannot be said for design of infrastructure, eg the volume of chilled water required for cooling space is tremendous. The volume of water needed to make the landscape looks green is huge. Otherwise it will just be desert sand. Dubai uses desalination techniques to extract water from the sea. Without energy (from petrol or gas), the malls, offices will not work. But there is a certain lifespan for energy even though it is available cheaply in this region. There seems to be an emphasis on extravagant, from artificial pool (in a desert), creek, reclamation from desert sand and massive tall buildings

Dubai is traditionally a trading hub. One can see in its Gold Souk and the spice trades. But trading should not give supernormal profits. While I understand that the government of UAE is trying their best to diversify to non-oil industry, there must be development in pace of demand. Expats will simply leave in times of economic crisis.

What I like about Dubai is the availability of cheap petrol and relatively cheap car prices. Eg Mitsubishi Attrage is about 36000 Dirham. There is 5% value added tax. Food prices are comparable to Singapore prices. Winter climate is fantastic.

Dubai Architecture

Other than the skyscrapers, Dubai traditional looking buildings do have certain architectural identity such as the cantilever protruded feature , the curve opening with Islamic details and the circular roof. These traditional design looks good on modern buildings and is unique to this region. I also notice that many buildings have limited opening/windows due to the possibility of sand storm. This impedes natural ventilation but nowadays they are cooled by air-conditioning.

Dubai Food

In the 5 days in Dubai, I have not eaten sufficient local dishes to give a conclusive comment on the food. But I notice that Dubai has a variety of food, mainly focusing on Arabs, Indians and Western dishes.  These are the food I have eaten and some little comments:-

Wimpy at Naif Street - This is the best street food I have eaten. It is simple Kebab which cost just 5 Dirham. The melon juice cost 10 Dirham which was one of the best melon juice I had. I believe the restaurant may have added milk into the juice. Simple and tasty meal near the Gold Souk. I would recommend it.

Indian Food - The first photo below shows Chicken Briyani. It was prepared with spices and yoghurt. It was well prepared and the chicken is tender and tasty. The food was purchased and served to us.  The second photo shows food taken from an Indian restaurant. It was beautifully prepared and tasty. It was of course expensive.

Iranian Food - The restaurant was recommended by a youtuber. There were many photos of celebrities and even royalties who had visited the restaurant. I had mutton kebab as shown which cost 32 Dirham. The food was a bit dry despite of the yoghurt which tasted too sour for my liking. Somehow, I thought there would be better dishes which I could order.

Kebab Fast-food in Dubai Mall - I guessed this was a Turkish kebab (but could be wrong). It cost me 23 Dirham. The accompanied sauce was good but there was no vegetables. They gave 3 dough which I could not finish.

Dubai UAE 13 - 17 Jan 19

Dubai Old Town near Gold Souk

I am in Dubai, UAE from 13 Jan 19 to 17 Jan 19 on a work trip.

First Impression
- Largely influenced by UK standard - from power plug, widely used of English, English radio stations that play British singers songs, eg U2 etc.
- Not so many Chinese influx as compared to Japan. Filipinos are working mainly in service industry.
- Mainly Arabs and Indians.
- Just separated with Iran with just one Strait. At the time of visit, Israel had just attacked Iranian targets in Syria.
- Many Spices trading. I bought one of the most expensive spice in the world, Saffron at 20 Dirham for 2 gram (20 Dirham is equivalent to SGD $7.60 or USD$5.4). It smells good.
- A simple train service with only 2 lines - Green and Red. The NOL card for train costs 25 Dirham has a value of 19 Dirham.
- Street food is almost same price as Singapore. One simple meal cost 15 Dirham (SGD5.70) comprises of kebab and a fruit drinks.
- Weather in January is good at 23 degree Celsius. Good for walking around.
- Still many construction works in Dubai city, showing infrastructural development and the abundance oil money and wealth.

Written in Dubai

Goldman Sachs

2 years ago, on 8 December 2016, I wrote on the Blog that I sold away my Goldman Sachs at a price of US$234.50 and made a good profit.

On 20 Dec 18, the Dow Jones had dropped to a level of 22,859 from its peak of 26,959. A drop of 15% from its peak. A piece of Goldman Sachs is now priced at slightly more than US$168, compared to US$275, more than US$100 off this peak. I bought some of the equity back.

Is there down side risk? Yes, certainly there is with this current bear market. This is expected due to investor irrationalism. Is there up side gain? Yes, in the long term. The PE ratio currently is just 12.29.

Warren Buffett owns this equity. It has made him many good profits. It has made me some good profit. Happy Investing!

Tokyo Yamanote Line

Yamanote Line in 1963 - Screen capture from YouTube Michael Rogge film

Yamanote Line in 2018 with familiar lime green colour

Back in 1993, when I first visited Japan. Hotel Metropolitan, in Ikebukuro was where I had stayed and the Yamanote Line was the first train line I had taken. Japan was the first country I had travelled located at more than 5 hours in flight from my home. It had opened my eyes to the world beyond South East Asia. It had bullet train, Sony electronics, Matsushita electronics, Hitachi, Toyota cars, Honda cars etc. An economic power house. In 1993, Japan was at the start of recession. It had enjoyed economic growth since WW2 and lasted till early 1990s. Since then Japan inflation is close to zero. Back in 1993, a meal could be bought for 1000 yen or less. In 2018, 25 years later, a meal could still be bought for less than 1000 yen. (eg Ramen).

Back to Yamanote, the line was first opened back in 1885. It was unique in that it circled the major Tokyo metropolitan cities with line distance of 34.5km (21 mile). Ikebukuro is one of the city. Back in 1993, the Yamanote was a green line with the train highlighted in lime green. I remembered taking the first ride from Ikebukuro to Ueno Station. Till this date, the Yamanote is still a green line. Somehow, in 2018, I did not find the Yamanote line to be so crowded. On the other hand, I found that Chuo Line was much more crowded during peak hour and physically it was packed till the door.

The other difference is that now, the announcement in train station could include Japanese, English and Chinese. Back in 1993, it was first only the first and second language. A change in economic circumstances.

Nonetheless, it was really memorable to seat on Yamanote line and also equally memorable was the sound of the periodic train track vibration which was so unique of Japan.

Tokyo Asakusa

The photos above were unedited other than adding copyright note. They were taken in the evening in Asakusa where there were fewer people and a cooler weather. As I did not bring along my travelling bag, the photos were taken with my iPhone 7.  I was pretty impressed with the camera of iPhone. Just look at how brilliant the red colour of the shrine was and how sharp the photos were. Beautiful! While there were many negative comments comparing iPhone and other Android phones in technical specifications, to me it is the output that matters. Despite a simple single lens camera, it was able to produce result comparable, if not better, than my Sony APS-C (A6000) camera even at dim night conditions. The price of iPhone is of course a premium over Android phones, but the overall user satisfaction is still guaranteed with a iPhone. That is after more than 2 years owning the iPhone 7.

I have been to Asakusa many years ago, but this is the first time I have been there at night with not so many people and the weather was cooling. The experience was magnificent.

Tokyo Food

Ramen and in this case Ichiran Ramen. Famous among foreigners. There was a queue formed to pay for the food. Overall it is tasty without sensing MSG. It should be made by boiling pigs bone for a long period of time. Thick broth makes a rick taste. At 870 Yen, it is reasonably priced considering other Ramen outlets. Was told that Ichiran originates from Kyushu region of Japan. This is the most value for money against its quality for the food I had.

Okonomiyaki - Japanese Pizza. The one on the left has flour and bacon, while the one on the right has noodle and flour. Tasty due to okonomiyaki sauce. It is highly recommended. The set cost about 1850 Yen for 2 persons including drinks. The restaurant at UDX Akihabara allows patrons to self cook or the chef will cook for you. It tastes real good.

Beef tongue croquette. When I walked into this restaurant, I thought it was a beef restaurant without knowing that they sell only beef tongue. I have the impression that it was beef croquette, probably due to my poor understanding of the language. Nonetheless I tried it. This was not the first time I ate beef tongue though. Its more of psychological than the taste and texture. It was quite expensive at about 1600 Yen.

Tempura soba. The soba is ok but there were only 2 pieces of prawn and one small green chilli. Priced at 1470 Yen, it seems expensive. But this is a famous shop in Asakusa. Quality wise the prawns are fresh and sweet.

Pufferfish - Also known "fugu". I had this in soup and fried format. Japanese delicacies. Poisonous if not prepared properly. Certain part of the fish is lethal and originates from its ovaries and liver. It must be prepared by a certified chef to remove the poison. Taste like ordinary fish and has many bones. Expensive at 10,000 yen for 2 persons. Would I try again? Probably not, considering the risk and price.

Unagi rice. The grilled eel is very expensive in Japan given the strong demand in Asia market. Many eels are originated from China or Taiwan. I paid 3700 Yen for this. Taste wise, I have tasted better one. This one has too many fine bones which disturbed the enjoyment. The meat is ok but the sauce could be better. There are cheaper ones around Tokyo.

Sake - Taste good and reasonably priced. This one costs about 250 Yen. Slight sweetness makes the sake easy to drink. Available in convenient stall.

Tokyo - Nikon Museum

Nikon FM2 first version

Camera Prototype

Camera Prototype

The information explains the 2 photographs above.

Nikon Museum located at Shinagawa is a must visit place if you love photography. It gives a history of all the SLR and other important cameras that the firm had manufactured from the beginning of 20th century. Nikon is indeed a great manufacturer of camera. Nothing can beat looking at these beautifully crafted cameras.

Having owned Nikon FM2 SLR camera, it is fantastic to see the camera being displayed as part of the many cameras on its historical shelf. The challenge I faced nowadays is weight, the camera body and lens weigh considerably when sufficient weather protection is included especially for high ends camera. The weight makes it difficult to carry for tour. Hence, nowadays, my default camera is the Sony A6000 which is light weight and easy to carry.

Nonetheless, do enjoy the beautiful cameras from the museum. The museum can be reached via Shinagawa station east exit and walking overhead connection (they called it skyway connection) from the station to Tower C of Intercity Tower. It is free-of-charge entry. Explanation is written in English and Japanese.

When I was visiting Asakusa, I saw a senior lady with a SLR film camera. While I didn't see the brand of the camera, it was really a great sight.

Nikon FM2 1984

The Nikon FM2 is shown in the museum. Notice that in the 1980s, the standard lens is a 50mm. It is beautiful and even more beautiful when it is held in hand. For my camera, I have a 28mm f1:2.8 as the standard lens. The body has a "Made in Japan" engraved below. Link to my blog for FM2 is shown below:-

https://e21s.blogspot.com/2014/06/nikon-fm2-n.html