SUWANOSEJIMA🇯🇵 Ira | Island Manga Artist 🇸🇬
🌏 Traits: ADHD / ASD, IQ 115, BMI 17.7
✒️ International Island Manga: MAHARAJIMA (まはらじま)
🇸🇬 Life Abroad: Attained Singapore PR as a "Singapore NEET"
🇹🇼 First Japanese national to successfully explore all inhabited islands in Taiwan (2025)
⛴️ Explored 500+ islands in just under 3 years
🌏 World Record Holder for the fastest completion
BUKIT INDAH in Johor Bahru is a residential development located northeast of Legoland.
TOKYO-TOSHIMAJohor Bahru has several AEON stores. This one is an AEON located in a less popular area for those coming from Singapore.
I went to AEON in neighboring Malaysia for lunch. I took the bus. My companions were a Singaporean family.
IraI’m used to long-distance travel since I’m island-hopping in Japan and Taiwan. But it had been a while since I’d done long-distance travel in Singapore. I was painfully reminded just how much of a hassle it is to go to Johor Bahru in the neighboring country for lunch.
This bus to AEON can be reached with one transfer from Singapore.
For riding instructions, see separate article.
ÆON Mall Bukit
There were signs inside AEON prohibiting photography. However, at each restaurant and special venue, the stance was “feel free to take pictures.” So I didn’t primarily photograph AEON itself. The AEON in Malaysia’s World Heritage city, Malacca, was the same.
A sign said “Restaurant Street,” but there were only about ten shops. Can this really be called a restaurant street…?
Anyway, I ate at the shop in this area with the most Google reviews and ratings, and which felt least likely to be fake.
Afterwards, I bought groceries and souvenirs for Japanese friends at the AEON supermarket.
The toilets here didn’t have toilet paper. They were the water-flush type.
I’ve never used these because it always bothers me – skin dryness, wiping issues, clothes getting wet.
Instead of toilet paper, I took paper from the handwashing area. Unsure if it was flushable, I threw it in the sanitary waste bin. The bin was already overflowing.
Supermarket prices are cheaper than in Singapore.
About half the price. As mentioned earlier, I can’t take photos here, so I’ll include a photo from a Singapore supermarket for comparison.
In Singapore, even on sale, it’s $6 per box. Normally (depending on the store), even supermarkets considered to offer Singapore’s lowest prices charge $7.70 per box.
TOKYO-TOSHIMAThe same product was priced at about $3 at this AEON store in Malaysia. That’s less than half the sale price in Singapore!!
Whether by private car or bus, getting here from Singapore seemed like a hassle, so I wouldn’t come just for shopping. If you live in Singapore or Malaysia, though, visiting once could be a good everyday topic as an “overseas local life” experience.
For people living in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, it’s a car-dependent society, and coming to this AEON seems like a routine thing. I went on a weekday, but I think there were a lot of customers. Cleaning is inadequate. Shopping carts were stained with red liquid.
This applies to Johor Bahru as a whole: compared to the World Heritage city of Malacca, trash is scattered on the streets.
Even within Malaysia, Malacca seemed more hygienic to me. I stayed in Malacca for two nights and three days. Dozens of my Malaysian relatives live in both cities. They apparently have no particular desire to move to Singapore. Each person lives where they like.
