Shibuya
Hachiko Statue
This shiba dog is so faithful that he became a national symbol of loyalty in Japan; Hollywood even made a movie about him. If you haven't watched
Hachiko, get on it. Especially entertaining during PMS or whenever you feel like you need a good cry. Warning; this movie will likely make you a dog person if you are not yet one.
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| The most loyal dog in the world |
Shibuya crossing
Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world, it is supposedly best viewed from the Starbucks across the road from the station. I didn’t even want to fathom how busy that Starbucks would be, so we (well me) were content in just viewing the crossing from the station.
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| One side of the crossing |
Harajuku
Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku
One benefit of having a real estate enthusiast as a boyfriend is that he's just as ecstatic as me when he sees a shopping mall we haven't been before. Granted we have different reasons, but at least I could get him to go with me anytime I wanted to go to one. This particular one had an awesome mirrored entry as you go up the escalators, very clever design indeed (or so he told me several times).
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| Mirror mirror on the wall |
Takeshita Dori
The symbol of Harajuku and birthplace of many of Japan's fashion trends, Takeshita Dori (Takeshita Street) is a narrow street lined by shops, boutiques, cafes and fast food outlets. I found it to be quite tacky and the styles were too out there for me, but that's probably because I am not a teenager and not from Tokyo. The street was extremely busy and crowded which by this stage of the trip, we were also trying to avoid!
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| You have to fight with other tourists to take this photo from the top of the street |
I was to get the famous
Santa Monica crepe, but when we passed
Zaku Zaku Croquant Chou I saw a huge queue; always a leading indicator that there would be awesome food, so we went for its ice cream and cream puff instead. It was so milky and delish!
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| Mind the reflections |
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| Yum! Fabs thought this was a cheese roll at first but it was creamy custard goodness |
Omotensando
Referred to as Tokyo's Champs-Elysees, Omotesando is a one kilometer long, tree lined avenue, with numerous luxury stores, boutiques, cafes and restaurants. But that wasn't the reason I wanted to go there.
We've been watching
Terrace House back in Australia - a popular Japanese TV series which is now aired on Netflix. It is a mix of 'Big Brother', 'Gogglebox' and 'Have You Been Paying Attention' - it is a fascinating insight into modern Japanese culture. One of the early characters, Mizuki Shida works as a barista in one of the cafes located in Omotesando - I was so excited and nervous to be able to see her! Then, I realised that I got the wrong cafe saved in my Google maps 😔 so it wasn't to be.
Naka Meguro Canal
Hibiya Line to Naka Meguro (Meguro-gawa)
We caught a taxi here from our Air B&B to gauge how much a taxi would cost (expensive!). Nakameguro is a quiet residential district of Meguro, Tokyo. It is popular for its unique boutique cafes and stores. For good reason, it becomes a vibrant and active location particularly along the Meguro River during the
sakura season.
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| It was STUNNING. We heard many 'sugoi' uttered among the Japanese |
Shimokitazawa
Keio Inokashira or Odakyu lines
Fabs wanted to check out this "bohemian" neighbourhood; it is considered the most affordable neighbourhood in Tokyo with its narrow streets filled with vintage clothing shops, quirky cafes, live houses, indie fashion outlets and artist studios.
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| Even the street signs were peeled off. How very hipster! |
Shinjuku
It took us about half an hour from our accommodation by foot to Shinjuku. We passed the Skyscraper District, with many office towers and five stars’ hotels, before we were hit by neon lights and countless shops surrounding Shinjuku station. Fun fact: it is the world's busiest railway station, handling more than two million passengers every day!
Kabukichō
We stumbled upon Kabukichō, when we noticed many host and hostess clubs. It is an entertainment and red-light district - where the famous
Robot Restaurant is located. My friend recommended me to check it out. But at the end we never did, since it was quite expensive and I was really tired 😞
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| Bright neon lights everywhere |
Golden Gai
I think this is where small bars originated. They are very small; with only a handful of seats - we could get to know the bartender pretty well if we spoke Japanese. There were dozens of them dotted the area; most with cover charge but offer a flat rate for drinks. We were a bit early and most of the bars were empty, but I could definitely see this place going off into the wee hours of the night. This would be a perfect place to go if you need a good D&M with the bartender after a night out on the town and your mates have gone to bed.
Such a party goer that I am (not), we didn't end up going to any; as all I wanted to do at this point was to just lay down in bed and sleep 😅
Takashimaya Department Store
After walking approximately 16.3 km the day before, we decided to have a
hanami day. We went to Takashimaya Food Hall to grab some fancy
bento boxes. And it was a food heaven. Fabs was dreaming to get locked in there overnight so he could eat everything without getting arrested.
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| Huge sushi borito |
Then I saw
Sembikiya. Japan's most expensive fruit shop - I just had to try one of its infamous fruit. I bought (possibly) the biggest apple I've ever seen in my life. It was the size of a nashi pear and costed AUD 20 for one. I later found out that even though there is nothing particularly special about the taste, the reason it was so expensive is that it is seen a prestigious gift to give to someone on a special occasion.
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| Most expensive and over-rated apple ever. I can't say it was worth it |
Yoyogi Park
After Takashimaya, we walked to
Shinjuku Gyoen National Park to proceed with our picnic - just to realise the park doesn't allow any alcohol and closes at 4.00 p.m. which would only leave us an hour. So, I looked for another 'greeneries' on the map:
Meiji Jingu Gaien.
We continued on to walk there, just to found out that there was no space for a picnic. It was a sporting ground full of kids practicing baseball, gymnastic and athletic. After quick bickering, we decided to catch a taxi to Yoyogi (other option was Ueno Park, but it was further away from where we were) and AT LAST! 2 hours later we got sit down and enjoy our
bento surrounded by
sakura. It was really an amazing experience and highly recommended to anyone visiting Japan around
sakura season.
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| Beautiful afternoon surrounded by flowers |
Day Trip from Tokyo
Hakone
We agreed we were only to go to Mt Fuji if the weather would be nice. And it was gloriously sunny and warm on our last day in Tokyo. We saw it would be the case the day before, and after (not so) lengthy discussion we agreed to just hire a car to go there instead of getting the
Hakone Freepass.
Luckily there was a 24 hour Nissan Rental Car next to our Air B&B, so we grabbed a car and off we went. It was about the same price as the 2-day Hakone pass, but the added flexibility and the lack of tourists at the places that we went was priceless.
Just like South Korea, international driver license is required to drive in Japan. And after
our road trip there, Fabs was quite comfortable driving overseas and we also had a trusty GPS to take us to our location so it was quite straightforward.
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| Warning! Foreign driver; may drive recklessly and doesn't know the rules. The magnetic sign behind our car 😆 |
Hakone Shrine
My friend tagged me on an Instagram post of this shrine which instantly made me wanted to go. The shrine stands at the foot of Mount Hakone along the shores of Lake Ashi.
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| To be honest, other than its huge torii gate in the lake, it's just like any other shrine we've seen in Japan. Good photo spot though! |
Lake Kawaguchiko
It took another hour before we reached the lake. And along the way we saw the majestic Mt Fuji. How could this mountain be standing by itself and be so perfectly triangle in shape?! It was gigantic and dominated the view; we were in awe of its majestic beauty all the way there. On the way we stopped by a supermarket, grabbed a couple of
bento boxes and decided to have a picnic by the lake overlooking the magnificent mountain.
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| One perfect mountain |
Yurari Onsen
Being in a volcanic mountain area there are naturally
onsen in Hakone. Most accommodations in Hakone have their own
onsen but only some are open to the general public. As we were not staying in the city, we needed to find a public
onsen and
this one delivered.
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| I never get tired of the view of the mountain, but when we saw it while being in the onsen, it was a different experience altogether |
Food
Ichiran ramen
Japan, 〒150-0042 東京都渋谷区宇田川町13, １３−７ コヤスワン B１F
This chain of ramen restaurants are everywhere in Tokyo. We went to its Shibuya branch. Delicious, famous and seemingly always has a queue (as shown in the pictures all over internet). Luckily when we went at 11.30 p.m. there weren't any. Yay!
We paid via vending machine, filled in the questionnaire (spiciness, soup thickness, noodle textures, etc), and we were served on our own little cubicle. If you're after a delicious
tonkotsu ramen, this is the place to go.
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| I don't recommend this place for a date as we were sitting separately in our private boxes |
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| Nom nom nom |
Rokkasen
Japan, 〒160-0023 Tōkyō-to, Shinjuku-ku, 新宿区Nishishinjuku, 1 Chome−3−1, 新宿サンフラワービル
So, the first night we were in Tokyo we attempted to come here - the restaurant located on level 6 but we went to level 5 instead and ended up at this all you can eat and drink (optional)
kushikatsu restaurant (I am not quite sure what it's called). It was pretty good, though we came out smelling like a deep fryer.
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| Deep fried everything |
We tried again on our second last day and it was fully booked, so we made reservation for the next day (our last day). Persistence paid off, we got in! What a perfect spot to end our Japan trip. All you can eat wagyu beef, snow crab, other meat/seafood/rice/noodle and all you can drink too! Fabs was food hangovering (really, it exists) the next day, he couldn't eat anything until 4.00 p.m.! I was half laughing and half feeling sorry for him.
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| Quite a spread |
Extra
Japan full of mixtures of old and new. Like their toilets.
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| Traditional toilet helps my squats training |
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| Comes with instruction |
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| A modern and most common toilet now in Japan. Comes with heated seat, water spray, dryer, and musical background to hide unwanted noises. |
They also have massive groping problems in their public transports resulted in train carriages dedicated only for women.
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| The platform entrance for women only carriage |
Even though it was my second time in Japan, I could definitely see myself coming back to this vibrant, quirky, fascinating, amazing place. I would love to visit Hokkaido and Okinawa in the future and experience Japanese outstanding hospitality at least once more in my life. Taipei next to meet up with Fabs’s parents!
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