Hopefully everyone's having a great weekend!
I'm back to continue blogging about the Japan trip!
A little goes a long way so I keep reminding myself to be diligent about recording bits of the joys I experienced.
;)
Outfit of the day:
Basic bandage top upcoming tomorrow, and a polka dot maxi skirt to be launched sometime soon!
:)
Lawson's where we got our daily breakfast,
and the bus stop which we'll eat our breakfast at.
Figuring out how to get our way around for the day.
and the bus stop which we'll eat our breakfast at.
Figuring out how to get our way around for the day.
A faraway glimpse of the Tokyo skytree!
We decided to give shopping a break on Day 3 and headed to Asakusa station for Senso-ji.
It's the most popular temple in Tokyo so I reckon you can set it as one of your sightseeing stops!
:)
We decided to give shopping a break on Day 3 and headed to Asakusa station for Senso-ji.
It's the most popular temple in Tokyo so I reckon you can set it as one of your sightseeing stops!
:)
It was pretty crowded when we got there on a weekday.
We had fun browsing through the stalls selling snacks and souvenirs on the way leading to the temple!
SHOPPING EVERYWHERE WE GO.
Hahaha.
Stall selling senbei!
A kind of Japanese rice crackers.
Even thought it's a Buddhist temple,
they have a different way of praying.
Fret not if you don't know how, just watch and learn!
:)
We had this thing called ice cream burger which really just tasted like ice cream sandwiched between wafers.
Hahaha.
We explored the Ginza area after we were done with Senso-ji,
since Ginza was just a few stops away from Asakusa.
It makes more financial sense to plan your day in the same area,
so that you don't spend too much on travelling!
There was nothing much for us to buy though...
the Ginza area is usually filled with departmental shops and luxury branding stores,
so it's worth a go if you like branded goods.
I'm not too sure if they are any cheaper than in Singapore though.
We went into one of their Pachinko buildings in search for a toilet.
NEVER go into one if you can help it,
they allow people to smoke indoors and the entire building was so suffocating.
:X
Dinner was at a random Hokkaido ramen shop!
Like what I've mentioned,
you're bound to run into good food everywhere you go in Japan.
So you can be more adventurous with your choice of restaurant!
Got to finally try out their vending machine for ramen!
Contrary to what I thought,
it does not dispense the ramen directly.
Hahahaha.
You get a coupon for whatever flavour you like,
pass it to the staff and wait for your food.
The chef who looks like some mafia boss.
Hahahaha.
And after this,
we decided that the famous ramen restaurants in Singapore are wayyyy overhyped.
Just a bowl of ramen in a random small shop tastes so much nicer!
Stumbled into a pet shop and the puppies are SO CUTE!
Fluffiness overload.
:D
We started Day 4 early because we wanted to visit Ueno Park!
Because it's only 2 of us in foreign land, we tried to head back to the hotel no later than 10pm everyday.
Which is good in a way,
because we start our day early too!
I miss Japan's weather!
My make up looks so flawless everyday.
;(
Random photo of me at our breakfast bus stop.
Hahaha.
Ueno Park is one of the main places tourists will head to during the cherry blossom season.
It's a pity that we missed it,
the next time I go back to Japan I'll definitely be sure to catch it!
The entire park is quite huge,
with attractions like temples, a zoo and several museums.
Japanese people love their parks and gardens.
Every park/garden we've been to is always filled with people!
Japanese love to walk walk walk everywhere,
and I think that's why most Japanese people are so lean and fit and healthy.
Plus, their food choices are all way healthier than in Singapore.
Most temples and shrines will have a platform for you to wash your hands and rinse your mouth before entering.
It's a cleansing ritual and you basically have to use the ladle provided to wash your hands.
We walked further up the park looking for the Tokyo National Museum,
and were surprised to see so many students when we finally reached.
I think we were pretty damn lucky this trip,
because we managed to chance upon many festivals and occasions even though we didn't plan beforehand!
We managed to catch a beach festival, an eco festival and the solar eclipse!
And it happened to be the National Museum Day that day,
so we got free entry into the museum!
;)
I shall not bore you with pictures of the exhibitions I took,
because in all honesty they aren't terribly interesting.
Hahah.
So it was good that we got free entry!
If you want a more interesting museum experience,
my Japanese friend suggested the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum which is also within Ueno Park.
:)
Had our lunch at the huge Starbucks in Ueno Park too!
:)))
Another place you can visit in Ueno is Ameyoko,
a shopping street with bazaar stalls selling random goods and souvenirs!
It's just next to the subway station so it should be easy to find!
Strawberry shortcake which tastes extremely fluffy.
Like clouds!
Crepe cake with layers of strawberry condensed milk mousse in between!
LOVE THIS.
If you're in Japan,
EAT ALL THE PASTRIES YOU CAN!
I love the pastries there so much.
They're usually lighter in texture and not cloyingly sweet as those we get in Singapore.
And they taste better somehow even though pastries are meant to be sweet.
It's a cafe near to the subway station so you should find it easily!
Then again, there are many exits from the Subway station so maybe not.
Lol.
But as long as you are on your way back to the subway station from Ueno Park,
you wouldn't miss this!
Checked out from our first hotel that evening because Qian's Japanese friend Mochi (now also my friend!) very kindly offered us homestay at his place in Zushi for the weekends!
Our warm and cosy room with the cutest cloud wallpaper on the ceiling!
It has glow in the dark stickers all over,
so when the light goes off the entire ceiling is a galaxy.
AMAZEBALLS.
Homecooked dinner by Mochi's mum!
SO YUMMY.
Just like those we have in restaurants!
His mum is a really good cook.
:)
And they always make sure we have desserts (or sweets as what the Japanese calls them) after dinner!
The entire family will also let us have showers before they do.
It's so polite and nice of them especially since we're strangers to them!
We spent the next 2 days touring around Kamakura and Yokohama,
and it was the most fun part of our trip!
But I'll leave that for another entry...
Which I will blog about really soon!
:)
That's me and Qian with our new friends at Yokohama Park...
And me wearing the floral dress to be launched tomorrow!
HAHAHA.
See you at the launch tomorrow!
It's been long since I'm around for a launch and I'm quite excited.
On to the Formspring questions now!
We had fun browsing through the stalls selling snacks and souvenirs on the way leading to the temple!
SHOPPING EVERYWHERE WE GO.
Hahaha.
Stall selling senbei!
A kind of Japanese rice crackers.
Even thought it's a Buddhist temple,
they have a different way of praying.
Fret not if you don't know how, just watch and learn!
:)
We had this thing called ice cream burger which really just tasted like ice cream sandwiched between wafers.
Hahaha.
We explored the Ginza area after we were done with Senso-ji,
since Ginza was just a few stops away from Asakusa.
It makes more financial sense to plan your day in the same area,
so that you don't spend too much on travelling!
There was nothing much for us to buy though...
the Ginza area is usually filled with departmental shops and luxury branding stores,
so it's worth a go if you like branded goods.
I'm not too sure if they are any cheaper than in Singapore though.
We went into one of their Pachinko buildings in search for a toilet.
NEVER go into one if you can help it,
they allow people to smoke indoors and the entire building was so suffocating.
:X
Dinner was at a random Hokkaido ramen shop!
Like what I've mentioned,
you're bound to run into good food everywhere you go in Japan.
So you can be more adventurous with your choice of restaurant!
Got to finally try out their vending machine for ramen!
Contrary to what I thought,
it does not dispense the ramen directly.
Hahahaha.
You get a coupon for whatever flavour you like,
pass it to the staff and wait for your food.
The chef who looks like some mafia boss.
Hahahaha.
And after this,
we decided that the famous ramen restaurants in Singapore are wayyyy overhyped.
Just a bowl of ramen in a random small shop tastes so much nicer!
Stumbled into a pet shop and the puppies are SO CUTE!
Fluffiness overload.
:D
We started Day 4 early because we wanted to visit Ueno Park!
Because it's only 2 of us in foreign land, we tried to head back to the hotel no later than 10pm everyday.
Which is good in a way,
because we start our day early too!
I miss Japan's weather!
My make up looks so flawless everyday.
;(
Random photo of me at our breakfast bus stop.
Hahaha.
Ueno Park is one of the main places tourists will head to during the cherry blossom season.
It's a pity that we missed it,
the next time I go back to Japan I'll definitely be sure to catch it!
The entire park is quite huge,
with attractions like temples, a zoo and several museums.
Japanese people love their parks and gardens.
Every park/garden we've been to is always filled with people!
Japanese love to walk walk walk everywhere,
and I think that's why most Japanese people are so lean and fit and healthy.
Plus, their food choices are all way healthier than in Singapore.
Most temples and shrines will have a platform for you to wash your hands and rinse your mouth before entering.
It's a cleansing ritual and you basically have to use the ladle provided to wash your hands.
We walked further up the park looking for the Tokyo National Museum,
and were surprised to see so many students when we finally reached.
I think we were pretty damn lucky this trip,
because we managed to chance upon many festivals and occasions even though we didn't plan beforehand!
We managed to catch a beach festival, an eco festival and the solar eclipse!
And it happened to be the National Museum Day that day,
so we got free entry into the museum!
;)
I shall not bore you with pictures of the exhibitions I took,
because in all honesty they aren't terribly interesting.
Hahah.
So it was good that we got free entry!
If you want a more interesting museum experience,
my Japanese friend suggested the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum which is also within Ueno Park.
:)
Had our lunch at the huge Starbucks in Ueno Park too!
:)))
Another place you can visit in Ueno is Ameyoko,
a shopping street with bazaar stalls selling random goods and souvenirs!
It's just next to the subway station so it should be easy to find!
Strawberry shortcake which tastes extremely fluffy.
Like clouds!
Crepe cake with layers of strawberry condensed milk mousse in between!
LOVE THIS.
If you're in Japan,
EAT ALL THE PASTRIES YOU CAN!
I love the pastries there so much.
They're usually lighter in texture and not cloyingly sweet as those we get in Singapore.
And they taste better somehow even though pastries are meant to be sweet.
It's a cafe near to the subway station so you should find it easily!
Then again, there are many exits from the Subway station so maybe not.
Lol.
But as long as you are on your way back to the subway station from Ueno Park,
you wouldn't miss this!
Checked out from our first hotel that evening because Qian's Japanese friend Mochi (now also my friend!) very kindly offered us homestay at his place in Zushi for the weekends!
Our warm and cosy room with the cutest cloud wallpaper on the ceiling!
It has glow in the dark stickers all over,
so when the light goes off the entire ceiling is a galaxy.
AMAZEBALLS.
Homecooked dinner by Mochi's mum!
SO YUMMY.
Just like those we have in restaurants!
His mum is a really good cook.
:)
And they always make sure we have desserts (or sweets as what the Japanese calls them) after dinner!
The entire family will also let us have showers before they do.
It's so polite and nice of them especially since we're strangers to them!
We spent the next 2 days touring around Kamakura and Yokohama,
and it was the most fun part of our trip!
But I'll leave that for another entry...
Which I will blog about really soon!
:)
That's me and Qian with our new friends at Yokohama Park...
And me wearing the floral dress to be launched tomorrow!
HAHAHA.
See you at the launch tomorrow!
It's been long since I'm around for a launch and I'm quite excited.
On to the Formspring questions now!
