On January 9th, Terminal 3 (T3) at Singapore’s Changi Airport will be open for business. I recently had the pleasure of visiting T3 while traveling through Singapore, so here is my report.

Location: The new T3 is conveniently located across from the existing Terminal 2 (T2), and not far away from the oldest terminal, Terminal 1 (T1). There is a convenient people mover that connects the three terminals. If you’d rather walk, there is a underpass that connects T3 with T2 — it’s only a short walk away. This is probably one of the best things I like about T3 in that it is truly passenger-friendly, unlike London’s Heathrow Terminal 4, which is quite distant from the rest of the terminals.

Capacity: With the opening of T3, Changi Airport adds another 22 million to its current annual passenger capacity, which brings the total up to 70 million passengers — more than 15 times of the city-state’s population. Eight of the new 28 gates will be capable of handling the new A380 passenger planes.

Interior: During the day, natural lighting will be brought in with its 900 skylights with reflector panels. The panels will also work at night, giving the skylights a natural glow. “Green” features such as waterfalls and ponds have been integrated into the design to give passengers a welcome feel. For those to like to shop, there are about 100 shops and restaurants in the terminal at your disposal.

Transportation: Well-connected with Bus, Taxi and MRT (subway) connections. Skytrain people movers are available for connections between terminals.

Initially, only Singapore Airlines will be occupying the terminal, mostly for its medium to long-haul flights. Check it out!

It’s only been a few months since I’ve been in Tokyo last, but this time it’s only a short 24 hours. It’s definitely enough time for me to roam a bit around the city, eat, then roam around some more, eat… you get the drift.

Let’s talk about some of the roaming first.

The city has been going through quite a bit of urban renewal with the opening of mix-use complexes such as Roppongi Hills and most recently Tokyo Midtown and the Shiodome area, which I reported on not too long ago. Then in areas such as Ginza, which at one point was most well-known for its expensive real estate, many buildings have been remodeled along the main streets; one of these is the Giorgio Armani tower, which just opened on November 6th. The 12-floor building houses many of Armani’s brands such as Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani and Armani Casa presented with Armani’s minimalistic look. There’s even an Armani Spa, a first for Armani.

But, I’m really here for the food. So let’s move on.

This time I went to a great all-you-can-eat shabu shabu dinner in Shinjuku for less than $25 per person. An $18 all-you-can-eat menu is also available. The only catch is that you will have to finish your dinner within 90-120 minutes, depending on your selection, and drinks are not included. Wished I had taken photos, but I was too busy trying to eat… so these were taken from the shop’s website.

The next morning I went to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market for some fresh sushi. The place that I went to was a conveyor-belt place with truly yummy sushi. My favorite was the anago (saltwater eel) and then the toro (fatty tuna). The sushi was priced by the plate, from 99 Yen (US$0.88) to 695 Yen (US$6.23). It was worth every penny. The best part was when we asked for the bill. The waitress took out this RFID scanner device and just scanned the plates and voila – our bill was ready! None of the manual counting was needed. This was definitely a great application of RFID technology.

After eating, I roamed around some more, and found Krispy Kreme! Apparently people in Japan are lining up more than an hour to get a taste of America. I remember when Krispy Kreme first opened here in California, when we had to wait quite a while just to get a donut. Go figure.

Until next time, Tokyo.

In a few hours, Singapore Airlines will begin the world’s first commercial passenger service on the biggest jumbo jet, the A380. The inaugural flight will depart Singapore’s Changi Airport at 8am local time (4pm US Pacific time), and is expected to arrive in Sydney at 5:25pm local time.

Most of the seats on this inaugural flight has already been auctioned off on ebay, which has already raised nearly S$2MM (approx. US$1.36MM), with the proceeds going to three charities.