Day 6 – Nakano, Ikebukuro & Shibuya

It turned out to be a very enriching day today even though the morning started quite unpleasantly xD

We ate breakfast and planned to head for DisneySea but due to some problems, we postponed it to Tuesday and decided to head for Nakano!

Nakano and Kichijoji are quite near to Shinjuku but are much more homely compared to the many skyscrapers and buildings of busy Shinjuku, they feel more neighbourhood-ish and friendly.

Ahahahaha Nakano Broadway is the shopping area you should head for when in Nakano, hahaha and no one needs a map to know where it is, its really just at the station itself xD

There was a bakery that sold very fragrant bread, though I misplaced it somewhere after that XD

We thought of eating ton katsu for lunch but in the end, we picked sushi instead. Its hard to resist sushi and also its hard for me to find sushi, I don’t know why XD

Wahahaha the sushi came in a train, its so cute xDDDDD

We were actually playing with the train for a while as we were eating our sushi, it really stops at where u sit so u can take your sushi easily. And omg, their grilled salmon is so fantastic, why do they know how to make it taste nice???

After filling up on delicious sushi, Mandarake was finally open and ready for us hahahaha I kinda forgot that they open at 12pm so maybe it’s a good idea to roam around Shinjuku in the morning before heading over to Nakano hahahah

There were many interesting shops in Nakano’s Mandarake but hahaha hahaha because I’m doujinshi-crazy I liked the doujinshi store the most, kekekeke where I managed a very pretty Gilgamesh doujinshi… There were a few stores there selling all those uber cute keychains from various anime series and its very tempting to buy everything, must bring more money to buy everything. We saw lots of Uta Puri and FZ stuff, hahaha there were vocaloid keychains on sale too but Len is really really rare so its quite impossible to find him amongst all the Mikus hahah ahahaha The hetalia rubber keychains were very cute too, but wasn’t able to get italia or germany because they were in the first set and were sold a loooooooooong time ago xDDDDD
Not being in Japan for more than a year makes you see a lot of changes in the anime/manga world, it moves quite fast xD

Korkor found some ancient treasures, which were really antique-looking artbooks for TFs like TF:Victory and Beastwars hahaha XD

Hee hee hee, we also tried a StarrySky lucky dip, I won a poster and a blanket, the blanket is very big and full of pretty boys 8DDDDD

Around mid afternoon, we skipped over to Ikebukuro, woo woo!

Hehehe was feeling quite proud of myself because I could still remember the way even though its been more than a year, hehehe but its definitely better this time because its not raining and atleast I’m not alone. Hahaha its nice to be able to fangirl with someone and not just by yourself hahaha

Ahhh, I can’t remember in which order we went but there was Animate and K-Books. Last time I went to K-Books I was wondering where the heck was the doujinshi, because the one I went to only had merchandise and limited edition collectibles so I was thinking, huh? Where’s all the doujinshi?

A friend who went there last year fangirled about K-Books again so this time we opened our eyes wide and found the legendary K-Books doujinshi café…

*Holy music playing*

Hahaha any normal girl who likes BL (yaoi/shounen-ai) must visit this awesome place at least once in their life, its like a proof that the love for BL exists and its not drowned by all the otakus and their girls. Err, I think most otakus are nice people, just that there’s so many of them everywhere, it gets a bit depressing. But of course its more depressing to see girls support this so I made sure I gave support to the boys instead. Yeah!!

Ahhhhhhhhhh, a lot of Uta Puri, too many nice choices D8
There was an uber CUTE GerIta doujinshi that I bought as well, and possibly more Waver-chan

We ate Lotteria for dinner, it looks very similar to Mcdonald’s actually and even the pricing is around the same. There should be more chances for us to try more food when we’re in Tokyo again because everything looks so tasty xD

We kept a look-out for the Loccitane café but probably it moved? It wasn’t at the same place anymore, I was a bit disappointed hahahaha even I read some negative reviews about it, its still a place I want to visit xD

Our last stop was Shibuya! And we were stopped by unknown forces!! Ahahahahaha nah, we just had a problem with our Suica cards and had to queue up for half an hour at one of the busiest stations in JAPAN to hear the service staff telling us to re-visit the other counter for our card problems Dx hahaha thankfully when we went to the other counter, the friendly staff attended to us and solved our problem in less than 5 minutes. I think if the people in Tokyo are already friendly, I can’t imagine how much friendlier the people outside Tokyo are, its nice to know that ^^

I wanted to shop shop a little at Shibuya 109 but the entire building had its electricity shut off, we didn’t know what was going on Dx
Our next place of interest was Hapi Neko! Didn’t know there was a cat café in Shibuya until I saw Samantha brown’s travel show about Tokyo, she’s so lucky the cats love her xD This café and Neko Ja La La gave us more pleasant memories than Neko Robi, probably because the area was smaller and the cats are really bold, they don’t mind to come near to you and sniff you out xD
I think I can’t get enough of cat cafés, they’re such wonderful places. ^^
The staff are also not as strict as the ones in korea? My friend who went to korea said you can’t really pat the cats, its more of watching them. Here, the kitties are like, free for all, give them hugs and pats! xD

Before long, one hour passes by so fast, we had to say good bye to Hapi Neko and head for Disney’s Expo Store xD
http://www.disneystore.co.jp/store/101.html
Its impossible to resist going into that Disney store, its stand-alone and looks like a chibi version of the magical Disney castle. Inside they were playing cheerful songs of Duffy and their latest theme, UniBearsity, its totally cuteeeeeeee! XD Each 3 levels

We were a little sad though, that prices have increased so we bought lesser stuff than last time but it felt great visiting that store, it just brings lots of happy feelings! ^^

Our last stop was TATSUYA, its a whole building selling CDs, we saw so many J-rock band albums. Omg, I really didn't know which one to get xD We helped our friend get a Speed CD she wanted and it was the last one on the shelf!
TATSUYA also opens until really late and you can see lots of people chilling out at the cafe and chatting away even though it was a Monday night XD

There are more places to explore in Shibuya, I'm sure, we just need more time! XD

Day 5 – Roppongi, Ebisu & Harajuku


I’ve heard about Roppongi a lot of times but this is the first time I went! Its like Ginza, it was better than I expected! Hahaha I think it’s a nice place to walk walk around, and Roppongi hills was fun too. It would be very nice to go there and chill out hahaha We got to see the spider too! Maman looks very cool, she’s so big and because the weather was still very cold, the metal legs were very icy but you still can’t resist touching them XD

TV Asahi was nearby, I didn’t know they aired Doraemon shows until now xD The security guards were friendly, we almost walk in through the wrong entrance and they swiftly guided us to the entrance hahahaha They even have a souvenir shop for people who love Doraemon hahahaha

There was a mini lake next to the TV station with lots of cherry blossoms so we decided to take some photos there too. Its smaller than the one at Minatomirai but it’s still a gorgeous-looking park, just that its narrow so most photos you take would have random people inside as well ahahaha

Our stomachs rumbled so we turned to Ebisu for lunch at Ippudo! Ebisu was filled with rows and rows of cherry blossoms that even car tops were covered in cherry blossom petals, we wanted to take some home but probably they would rot and become smelly xD

I had this imagination that Ippudo would be a tad fancier compared to other ramen shops since in singapore its quite a cool, slightly expensive restaurant but omg, it was a humble, lively home-style shop. They had bottles of bean sprouts which were very juicy and irresistible, I love those a lot! We all ordered ramen except for Coween who ordered her special tsukemen and that was a fabulous choice. The tsukemen dipping sauce was very yummy and I kept stealing spoonfuls of it when I could hahaha
Korkor said he would want to come to Ippudo again before we leave japan. Did he?? Hehehehehhe

After lunch we went to conquer Harajuku!!
I really missed Harajuku, haven't seen that trendy place in a while, maybe 3 years?

But the good thing about japan is that things don’t change drastically so even if you’ve been gone for a few years, things are still almost the same when you return. The buildings at least hahaha it was really nice to see La Foret again hahaha and Kiddy Land finally moved to Cat Street where there are no cats around hahahaha

Oops but first, we headed to the Meiji Shrine because I’ve really never seen that shrine before and its supposed to be quite a tourist attraction. The way there was quite uneventful because its quite deep inside Yoyogi park, it is possible to fall asleep while walking hahahaha

Its quite a sober place unlike Sensoji temple and Zojoji temple but it has a lot of history and meaning in it just like the Imperial Palace.

We took some gag photos on our way back to the station because it was getting a little quiet hahaha hahaha

The rest of Harajuku was really very crowded! Everyone’s come to shop shop and hang out D8

Its just nice to know we still knew our way around quite well, and thankfully when we reached the old Kiddy Land there were helpful signs to direct us to their new outlet less than 10 minutes away. Harajuku was actually cold but because of all the people around, its became quite warm xD

Kiddy Land is still very big and lively but hee hee, the Snoopytown at Yokohama is bigger than this outlet but then again this outlet is a lot more accessible and convenient so I think its fair, heh heh heh

We were there for only a while since dadders gave us a half an hour time limit to see everything hahah
There were transformers there too but Kiddy Land seemed more expensive than the other shops we’ve been too. I would like to visit that shop called Yamashiroya
Ahh, this one!  http://www.e-yamashiroya.com/
Hahaha I would definitely recommend this cool store to anyone visiting Ueno for its parks, ameyoko and sushi XD

Back to Harajuku! Korkor was getting bored very fast so he and dadders left for Shibuya while we headed for La Foret!! 8DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

OMG, LA FORET XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

The most concrete memory I have of Harajuku is always La Foret, maybe I thought of Parakiss so its sort of etched in my head.

Warning, before entering La Foret, be prepared to have lots of money and arm strength. Haahaha cause there’s so many pretty things to buy and they’re heavy too 8’D

The upper floors and the basements are my favourite shopping areas, probably because the middle floors are really pricey xD

La Foret is really a place for people who like the fashion style unique to japan, its hard to visualize but when you’re there to see it all, it really makes u think other clothes are quite fail xD~~~
(when I come back to Singapore I want to cry, most of the clothes look like they belong to clubbing aunties Dx)

Yay, olive des olive and rivet & surge have outlets there and their clothes are so pretty.

I ended getting a nice bunny ears hoodie from algonquins too because the sales girl was really very friendly, but yay, I like their stuff, I want to get MORE! xD We visited Putumayo as well but I guess its my fault that I was stalking their website for a while so the designs I liked were in their website but not in the store so… D:

We were relieved that Swimmer was still there too hahaha, I bought a pair of pink head phones from them, so pretty and only $20++ hehehe xD

It was really late when we finished conquering La Foret so we headed for Takeshita Street for more shopping!

The stuff in Takeshita Street is relatively cheaper than La Foret but everything is everywhere so you have to hunt around for good deals 8D
I bought another shirt there that look very much like a shirt I have already but it was so much cheaper, only Y1,999 D8

On the way we saw two shops selling crepes and decided to grab some as a snack, hahaha the strawberry cheesecake crepe is yummy even though there’s a cold wind blowing in your face! Hahaha tutuanna and bodyline were still there so we visited them too, hee hee hee tutuanna has an amazing range of affordable socks that you just blank out when you have to choose what you want to get.

By the time we reached the end of Takeshita Street we had to bid farewell to Harajuku because it was 8pm, slaps forehead. Forgot to visit the Nekomimi shop at that small shopping centre, aiyaaaaaaaaaaaaa DX

Coween bought 7-eleven dinner and I bought some spring special sakura ebi fries, they smelt really really good. Japanese people are so fortunate this way.

We bought so much stuff, its such fulfilling retail therapy… Its really worth it to save a couple of $$$$ for Harajuku, because when you wear those clothes you’ve bought, you’ll be able to think of Harajuku… Japan… and lots of wonderful things.

And its time to prepare for the next day!

Day 4 – Jiyugaoka, Shin-Yokohama & Minatomirai


The first time I went to Jiyugaoka it was a nice experience, it was full of colourful shop houses and interesting cake shops. Unfortunately I didn’t know how difficult it was to go back to that area and we ended up lost for a while, making dadders annoyed  and that makes me scared and stressed.

This time we were at Jiyugaoka to search for the elusive Rollya. Ahhhhhh, I assumed it was very good because I saw a photo of customers queuing up outside the shop and we just had to try it. The exterior is a very beautiful white shop house, and the inside is cozy and small, with a very strong buttery aroma that would make you drool 8D Even though I had to deal with dadders’ extremely black face because we were too early and had to wait outside, it was worth it!!
Come come, let me promote this shop: http://www.jiyugaoka-rollya.jp/
They are famous for their roll cake I think but their cookies are a must-try!! Its sweet, buttery goodness ^^

By the time we finishing buying rollya stuff, we headed to shin-yokohama for the yokohama ramen museum!!
The ramen museum is really worth visiting, their food taste so good 8D but then almost everything tastes good there, its hard to go on a diet hahaha

And at the ramen museum, they give you this point card where you can get a gift if you have successfully obtained stamps from all the different stalls. So probably it’s a good idea to visit the ramen museum twice every holiday trip?? xD We tried the Kumamoto ramen which has very melty cha shu slices and thick soup. Hmm but each restaurant is quite small so we had to make a decision fast so that we can secure a place. You order the ramen through a ticketing machine and thank goodness they have pictures hahaha We made a small tour of the museum upstairs but its difficult to understand since the history written and explanations were all in Japanese, I hope they can have an English version next time or else it would be a waste that we can’t learn about ramen history. The souvenir shop sells funny ramen trinkets and keychains hahaha

After lunch we were well-fed and ready to visit the Cup noodles museum and the Red Brick Warehouse but the Taka Food Maison made us detour and we went to explore the food hall for a while. Their food looked so good and I think because it was a cold day, everyone was hiding indoors. Korkor tried this hire katsu piece that tasted very yummy and Coween was attracted to their roll cake hahaha. Baumkuchens are in trend this season so there were many cake shops selling baumkuchens, last time they were selling lots of castellas. Hahaha we didn’t have all day to relax so we headed to Minatomirai station very soon.

Baaaaaaaaah, it was very cold there!! The walk from the Cup noodles museum to the Red Brick Warehouse was even more cold!! We felt very very cold, especially me Dx
Hmmm, the cup noodle museum was interesting but what I didn’t like was that I had to pay for almost every attraction it had so I’m not really sure if it’s a tourist trap xD The park outside the museum was very pretty though, it was next to the river and filled with sakura blossoms everywhere, we saw people having nice picnics on the grass. Ah, this was the second time we got to see the sea of Japan and its so blue 8D

Haha the Red Brick Warehouse was an interesting place, since it’s a shopping centre made from an old warehouse so you can see the metal pillars everywhere and metal stairs too xD I like the things there even though they are quite expensive hahaha when we went to the same outlet in Harajuku, it was cheaper xD hahaha but I like how the shops in Tokyo are all very small and packed, within a very small area u can see many different things and the shops try to cram in as much stuff as possible and they do it in a tasteful way xD I would love to learn the ‘japanese’ way of displaying stuff xD

The 2nd floor has an open air restaurant which gives you a nice view of the err… harbour? I think it’s called a harbour XD and brrrrrr, the wind was very very cold, I think my legs wanted to drop off xD

We headed back to Queen’s Square which was at Minatomirai station, what a relief! Hahaha it was too cold outside for me so I welcome shopping centres, and this was a big interesting shopping centre that had a Sanrio, Disney and Snoopy shop all lined in one row xD I liked the Snoopy shop the best because it had tons of nice stuff to buy, I think its nicer than Kiddyland’s Snoopytown? The Disney store and Sanrio store were good too but Snoopy was even better, hahahaha! I was secretly hoping for a cool Garfield shop to visit one day xD

Its hard to fight hunger so we went to KFC for dinner hahaha their pepper chicken was so yummy! Japan’s KFC is really yummy because its not oily but its still so crispy xD hehehehe actually 2 pieces aren’t enough, they even have yummy biscuits and fat fries to munch on xD hahaha Dadders was kind enough to buy sundaes for us as a birthday treat and even their Mcdonald’s sundae is tastier than ours! WHY?? DX it tasted like real ice cream, not the airy hollow one here, and it was goooooooood!

Hahahah we enjoyed the meal and got back to the service apartment pretty early to prepare for the next day hahaha

Hmmm, I miss Vivre, we should... Go there again xD

Day 3 – Tour Day to see Fuji-san (Shizuoka)


Late. We were late. I don’t know how it happened but we were late, hahahaha

Well anyway, we went on our merry way to Shinjuku since that was the tour meet-up place. Then we got on the giant bus to Shizuoka!

It was very long, around 1 and half hours hahaha, so we dozed off until the first destination, which was this very cold and windy shopping area called Ashikara Service Area that had an observatory to see Mt. Fuji, hahahaha most of us went there to get a toilet break xD The buttery waffles smelled so good 8D And the fuji farm milk was really fresh, I would have gulped down an entire carton of it hahaha

Err, the next place we went to was Mishima Wasabi Factory, hahahaha they had lots of tasty food to try out and I ate this wasabi mayo that was SO HOT! *Breathes out fire through nose*

Dadders really enjoyed the next place we went, which was Suruga Bay and Mitohama Sea. This is the 1st time I’ve seen the sea when I’m in japan and it is so blue and clear. And it really smells salty too haahahaha when we went back, u can still feel the taste of sea salt on your lips XD The seagulls that followed us when we were on the boat were so cute, they looked so white and fluffy. And they were well-fed with calbee prawn crackers HAHA XD

After that we had buffet lunch at this big restaurant which had yummy gyoza and yaki soba hahaha but I didn’t dare to eat a lot because we were going to the strawberry farm next! 1st time eating huge, ripe, almost squishy strawberries, they taste so good on their own and with condensed milk 8D I really liked this part of the tour. Near the strawberry farms were big yellow flowers and they were supposed to be in full bloom so they were big and fluffy, reminding me of a lion's mane hahaha. A clean lion of course.

Our next stop was a slightly long journey to Gotemba. I was looking forward to this but since I had never visited an outlet park before I didn't know how awesome it would be. And it was very VERY AWESOME. The outlet park was SO BIG and SPACIOUS and all around you there are forests and the great Fuji-san looking at you. They also have many many brands to check out and I believe their prices are cheaper so its worth taking a look if you have a favourite brand there. One of the shops I really liked a lot was Olive des Olive, hahaha I hoped I could have bought more of their things hahahaha We stayed there for 3 hours and its not enough! XD Its a nice place to take photos and relax too, though we didn't get to relax at all, we were walking everywhere XD Fauchon has a bakery and cafe there and their bread is really good hahaha I think better than their chocolate XD

It was very pleasant and when we had to return to the bus we were very sad, because the wonderful day ended so fast. On the bus there were some lucky draws with prizes to be won, we won green tea cookies from Shizuoka hahahaha XD
I really want to thank the tour people for such a good time, now I know the good side of tours and I support them!! 8D

When we got back to Shinjuku, it was FREEZING! I don't know why but it was so incredibly cold my teeth were shaking and dancing away to welcome the cold D8 We stumbled around for a while before finding a nice ton katsu restaurant along one of Shinjuku's alleyways. It was a friday night so many of the restaurants and pubs were crowded but that ton katsu place was quite difficult to find so we managed to get seats inside. When you're cold, katsudon and miso soup tastes very very good. Hahaha I felt that the staff were a little less friendly than other restaurants we visited but there was a nice-looking guy that looked like Nino, I think I stared at him a few times D8

After a good dinner we went back and that was how the sixth of april was spent. XD

Day 2 – Tokyo, Ueno and Akihabara <-(what, again?)


The scrambled eggs at Jonathan’s was very tasty, but so was the buttery thick toast hehehe.

We took the yamanote line to Tokyo station and it was fairly crowded, unlike some of the other days where the crowd is insane. Japanese people are so smart, they know how to tempt you to buy delicacies inside their station. Well, we weren’t distracted today! We exited the station and headed for the Imperial Palace East Gardens, the weather was really good and windy and the station was still halfway through renovations so we couldn’t take photos of the entire place.

The gardens reminded us of DW, muahahaha! xD Its like the campaign when u have to take over Hefei castle, hahaha the pathways are so wide and decorated with greenery xD

We went close to the top before we got tired and took nice photos with the sakura blossoms that were in abundance haha hahaha

Going downhill was a lot easier than treading to the top and we imagined ourselves using Rockfall and seeing boulders tumble down the gravel path hahaha

The closest we got to catch a glimpse of the Imperial Palace and the bridge was really far away, aiya… its so secluded. Dx

But yay, mission accomplished!! I was getting quite sleepy actually so when we reached the station to go to Ueno, I was so relieved XD

At Ueno, we found a nice sushi bar to gobble down on sushi, each plate cost only Y120++ and that is REALLY cheap especially since they had salmon belly and grilled salmon, omg, I think I’m drooling again. hahaha and the sushi’s cut into generous thick slices, like a blanket covering the rice, it’s a must-try in japan.

We visited this store called Yamashita I think, it had a lot a lot of toys and collectibles and it surprised me because some of the merchandise was cheaper than at Animate and Kiddyland, I’m glad we went there hahaha XD

After that we headed to snacks land, Ameyoko! Ok ok, I had a poor impression of that place last time, it has changed… Atleast now I know of the value of the items there, I can appreciate that place more. And yay, they have big packets of yummy chocolate tiramisu!! I need to buy 2 packs next time hahahaha, they’re so addictive XD
Coween bought her scallops and erm, one more thing, is it squid? Korkor bought some uber cute panda chocolates that I’m eyeing on right now hahaha
Amazingly, Dadders liked that place too, along the trip he even went back to Ueno himself XD

Our last stop was Akihabara! Ughhhhhhh, Akihabara is really boys land, every other shop we went I see cute girls, sexy girls, R-18 girls. Oh well, we got to see some new merchandise for sakura miku but why no Len??? Don’t hide from me Dx Oh, but the nice thing about Akihabara is that most of the stores have this useful map of almost every shop, u just need to ask for it and the counter staff will pass it to u. Dadders was kind enough to wait for us at Mcdonald’s and do some people-watching hahaha
Hee hee, shopping is not complete without going to Animate, hahaha, so much cute Utapuri stuff there. A small corner was dedicated for Hetalia and FZ too, I’m glad we noticed them hahaha

We had dinner at a small local diner selling curry rice and rice sets before Dadders went home and we went to Neko Ja La La!! Omg, my friend recommended this café and now I know WHY! It’s a humble-looking cat café but packed full of kitties, giant ones too. Err to me, I think it wins Neko Robi because its smaller so its easier to play with the cats and the owner is nice enough to hype up the cats so they’ll start jumping about hahaha I bet even Korkor enjoyed himself there, hahaha he’s so funny when he plays with them.

Our last stop at Akihabara was Toranoana and due to efficient sleep, we were able to spot lots of Utapuri doujin at a rather obvious corner hahaha XD
Ahhh, it was a good day XD

And only when we got home that I realised... We forgot to go to Ueno Park!!! D8

Day 1 – Asakusa, Ginza, Hamamatsucho & Akihabara


The plane touched down around 5-6 am plus. It was shining brightly already since its spring I guess.

I was genuinely worried about accommodation because 1) it was booked by me and 2) it was booked by me and things get funny when I’m in charge

Luckily Haneda airport was near to our service apartment so we reached in less than half an hour. I gave the receptionist my reservation number and we left our luggages there before setting off to Asakusa and Sensoji temple.

We were really early, everything at Asakusa wasn’t open yet hahaha we ate some funny-tasting ramen before going to Sensoji temple. Over there we saw Mcdonald’s but we didn’t manage to eat mcpork, oh well. The hashbrown was yummy though!
I liked Sensoji temple the first time I went but every time I visit, it becomes more and more touristy hahaha I think now many people know about it so it gets very crowded.

After seeing what our fortunes were, we went to Ginza! Yay, it’s the first time I’ve been to Ginza and wow, even though it’s branded land but it’s a very nice place to walk walk. The weather was really cold and my legs were freezing hahaha we were trying to find Uniqlo’s giant store and after going back and forth a few times, we found it! there was also this nice building that had trendy shops at the 1st and 2nd floor called ufufufu (ウフフフ ) girls hahaha
Uniqlo was this nice BIG twelve-storey building filled full of clothes. I liked the T-shirt level the most, the themed-shirts were niceeeee and quite cheap Y999 hahaha hahah haha that’s one of the cheapest prices I could find in Tokyo. Besides the Y500 tank tops hahaha xD

But clothes can’t feed hungry people so we skipped off to this B1 ramen shop called ABC ramen I think. Kekeke the guy was nice and friendly, and we were given a nice corner to sit and eat slowly. Well the ramen shop was around since 1997 so it was really tasty hahaha

We walked around a little more before going to Hamamatsucho where the Tokyo Tower is. I really didn’t regret going there in the end, it’s a very nice place and quite free from tourists. A good thing to do, which we did, was to visit Zojoji temple and Tokyo Tower then finally the Pokemon centre on our way back. Zojoji temple felt a lot more authentic than Asakusa temple, probably because its hard to reach too, since its quite a walk from the station. Everywhere we went there were beautiful sakura blossoms and every photo u take just ends up so pretty hahaha. Tokyo tower was a little further than that and there was the Shiba Koen (Shiba Park) next to it, it was a mini park but very interesting with all its deep carvings and drops!
To go up the Tokyo tower is very expensive so we chose to just stay at the base and take lots of photos 8D There were lots of colourful carp streamers at the entrance, I thought it was more of a summer thing but oh well. Hahaha

On the way back, we went to the Pokemon Centre, it was VERY CROWDED. I think there was an event going on but we don’t know about it so oh well hahaha I adopted another Pikachu and we returned to the service apartment.

Had Yoshinoya for dinner, ahhhhhh the rice is so good. Its like so soft yet grainy, like an upgraded version of glutinous rice. I took the pork set, it was yummy! I am still upset that Singapore’s Yoshinoya does not have pork, bleh.

Being the kanchiong spider, korkor sped off to Akihabara. Hee hee after doing some grocery shopping, we sped off to Akihabara where it was very cold and windy! Thinking he would be at Mandarake, we went there to the toys section but we couldn’t find him so we headed to the doujin section, yay! bought lots of yummy FZ doujin before skipping over to Toranoana to get more doujins. They’re very updated on doujins and the prices are almost the same, I think it would be a good idea to visit both stores though. There was so much Utapuri love in the air, so nice!

And then before u know it, its 9pm and time to retire to our chambers to prepare for the 2nd day. Hahahaha XD

Hahaha yay I’m back in sg…

This time’s japan trip was really great, we got to eat a lot and shop a lot. and yes, there was plenty of sight-seeing too XD

There are so many things i love about japan, Tokyo especially.

Well for one thing, efficient train systems that don’t leave you stranded at the platform and comfy, plush seats. Coming back from Tokyo made me want to puke at SMRT even more.

Travelling with someone who needs 3 proper meals a day had its benefits, unlike the last few times, almost everyday I was well-fed HAHAHA XD lemme see… i’ll try to list it down:

B: ‘chinese-style’ ramen at Asakusa
L: ramen at Ginza
D: Yoshinoya pork rice at Gotanda

B: service apartment breakfast
L: sushi at Ueno (the grilled salmon sushi was so creamy and good XD)
D: pork rice at Akihabara

B: service apartment breakfast
L: buffet & gobbling down strawberries at the farm (the strawberries were so sweet and squishy!)
D: katsudon at Shinjuku

B: service apartment breakfast
L: ramen at Shin-Yokohama Ramen museum
D: KFC at Minatomirai’s Queen’s Square (their chicken’s so peppery and delicious! And dry too! Sg’s one is soaked in oil Dx)

B: service apartment breakfast
L: Ippudo ramen at Ebisu (this was upon korkor’s request)
D: crepes at Harajuku (this was 1 time I had a snack for dinner, haha)

B: service apartment breakfast
L: sushi at Nakano
D: Lotteria at Ikebukuro

B: service apartment breakfast
L: churros, popcorn at DisneySea (2nd time it was just snacks)
D: sakura ebi soba at Harajuku (very very yummy, dry version)

B: service apartment breakfast
L: Satou Steakhouse at Kichijoji (even though I don’t like beef, this place is amazing)
D: sakura ebi soba at Gotanda (soup version)

And so, i have eaten beef once, soba twice, sushi twice, rice bowls thrice and ramen four times. I forgot to try curry rice… oh well~

Japan is a shopping paradise, there are so many things to buy, the only thing stopping you is the number of hands you need to carry the bags.

I was glad that Utapuri and FZ are popular now, its so easy to find their doujin! I’ve never been to K-Books’ doujin café at Ikebukuro and now I feel so enlightened, there is BL everywhere and flourishing hahaha XD but of course Toranoana and Mandarake were awesome places too, snatched so much doujin from both of them xD

What surprised me was that they were selling doujin from the recent haru comic city event, most of the doujin I bought was just released in march! I’ve never been so updated on doujin before hahaha XD and well, the quality of their doujin was amazing… i actually bought a Utapuri one that had all couples hhaha because it was so nice, and a FZ kirei kirei & gilgamesh one too. So I guess now I support them too hahaha along with iskandar & waver-chan, the amazingness of doujin XD

Ahhhhhhh, doujin makes me happy! XD

Oh, and this time, we visited 2 cat cafes and the kitties were so adorable!! They’re like huge and fluffy and nice to grab, hahahaha I will want to visit more cat cafes next time haha if you love cats, visit Neko Ja La La and… erm, I can’t remember the other café’s name but its at Shibuya.

The 1-day tour to Mt. Fuji also turned out to be very pleasant! I was afraid they would be pushy and force you to buy stuff but no, they give you as much freedom as allowed and well, it makes for a wonderful experience. I liked that tour, it had 3 important aspects fulfilled, sight-seeing, good food and shopping. Gotemba outlet park is an amazing place to go to, and the strawberry farms… omg… I wish I could have gobbled down more XD
We also had a nice view of Fuji-san, its like he’s a guardian watching over us but so shy xD

DisneySea was a beautiful place too, and there’s water everywhere, yay! One of the areas I like was the port of discovery, it looks so steampunk inspired but on the cute side. We accidentally fed the wild ducks with some popcorn and gosh, they eat really fast. This time we didn’t get to catch a nice view of the parade but its okay, there was so much mickey and duffy bear love everywhere. Hahaha duffy bear and his unibearsity theme is very adorable, even the song was so catchy D8

We got to explore Harajuku again too, hahaha yay, I’m finally back again! I suppose not much has changed, everyone there is still very trendy and we went on a Sunday so it was SUPER CROWDED. La foret and Takeshita dori are good places to buy clothes, hahaha and for the first time I bought a blouse from Algonquins XD The salesgirl was very friendly, ahhhhhhh, they were all so friendly Dx

And omg, we went in spring so there were pretty sakura blossoms everywhere we went! Now I know why everyone looks forward to seeing sakura blossoms, they’re really mystical and almost everywhere in japan is filled with them. Imagine having to wait for another year for them to blossom again! D8

Ah, there’s so much more goodies about japan, these are just the highlights.

hahaha a lot of people i know have told me Singapore's not a scenic place, blah blah blah

HA, they are so wrong! the korean girl has shown that Singapore does have a photogenic side~

http://queenshop-1.myweb.hinet.net/images/Singapore-8.htm

the merlion looks so pretty at night 8D

i know Nth magazine has a lot of beautiful photos of Singapore too.

its all about having skills, and not the location. someone please teach me those skills D8

haha i wanna go to those places again to take photos!! XD

ahaha, sometimes i think even though i wanted to change from dA to pixiv, i wonder if i did the right thing?

ahahaha the ratings i get at pixiv are terribly low, it really feels demoralising. but i don't want to give up... i really don't... i probably just need to go cry somewhere first HAHA

Ahhhhhh, Comiket’s still in my head! @_@

Maybe… Maybe next year?? Winter Comiket?? Is it possible? DX

Have been seeing a lot of yummy Uta no Puri doujins, I wanna get them DX

Sometimes I wonder if those people who have gotten sick of events... Err, maybe they've grown old already? Like, there isn't much for them to look forward to anymore?

*Shudders* I wouldn't want to feel like that again. Maybe it was the organisers I disliked, but the convention itself... I guess its all about whether you WANT to be dragged into that whirlpool of fun or to be safe and sulk in a corner.

Anyway, ahhhh, *slaps forehead* why don't I have a house in Japan so I can register for Comiket??? *Strangles something nearby!!!*

HAHA does a hotel room count?? XDDDDD

Does winter or summer sound better? Winter?? But when in winter, we're kinda more sluggish and freezing from the cold, is that really better?

Hmhm....