6 floors of loft

First full day of Tokyo today! Planning our Tokyo itinerary was tricky because it's so much bigger than we thought it was going to be. There isn't a single tour you can take that covers all of Tokyo because there are so many different areas and within those areas most of the sights are narrow streets you need to walk through branching out into many smaller streets. So we picked a few highlights and decided to go about it on our own.

Shibuya 

After grabbing a light breakfast at a nearby bakery we got on the subway and 8 stops later arrived at Shibuya Station for our first stop, Shibuya Scramble Crossing Road. The crossing has been featured in many movies, postcards, and is known to be the one of the busiest streets. Four streets converging in the centre with thousands of people crossing at the same time, magnificiently organized chaos. 

Shibuya Scramble Crossing

Right after a crossing craze, you can already see people lining up on the other side. 

Round the corner from the crossing was the famous Hachiko dog statue from it's namesake movie about a loyal dog who waited for his owner even after he passed away. 

The queue to take a picture with this was ridiculously long.

Next up was Shibuya Loft which was a department store with 6 floors filled with anything from electronics, toys, humidifiers, japanese tea sets. Spent about two hours here because there were just so many interesting things to see even though the packaging was mostly in Japanese and we didn't know what exactly the things were. We found Su a bonsai tree set that he could grow himself since he's into terrariums now, face masks for me, and stationary for E. I really loved the skincare section, they just had so many products most of which you couldn't find anywhere else. Moisturising face spray, jelly face masks, Tokyo really is a shopping haven. 

Japanese drugstore makeup 

Cute polaroid cameras & disposable ones 

Skincare products

The streets of Shibuya are all brightly lit, big signs in neon lights with a million people rushing around. If you're in a group it's easy to get separated and we had to keep looking around making sure everyone was still following. Baba had the map, the rest of us were quite quick, and then Ma trailing behind.

Shopping district of Shibuya

Harajukku 

Early winter sunsets

Didn't manage to catch the Studio Ghibli studio tours but we did find this massive toy land which had a little bit of Studio Ghibli merc but not much. I didn't get anything but it was nice to see. 10 year old me would have been so excited, I was obsessed with my neighbour totoro and especially spirited away. E was still so traumatised (I made her watch Spirited away when she was about 5) and refused to touch the No-Face doll haha.

No Face

Started to get really cold at this point, the temperature dips at night and the wind doesn't help. Walked through the heart of Harajukku which are made up of tiny little streets with smaller shops than Shibuya but just as lit up and busy. Saw the cutest little owl cafe but E didn't want to go in because the baby owls were tied to their handlers and it was quite sad for them to spend their lives in a cafe for our amusement.

US minus A huddled up in the cold.

Burlesque ice cream parlour 

Matcha kitkat anyone? 

The main attraction here for me were the Japanese crepes! They had them on every corner, and they all looked identical; a few people operating out of a van handing out tens of crepes with the toppings of your choice every few minutes. They were delicious! I stupidly said I'd just share with everyone but no one wanted to share with me except ma and then I understood why. I finished hers and she went back to get more. They're super thin pancakes piled with ice-cream, almonds, drizzled chocolate sauce or nutella and a fruit wrapped into a tortilla looking wrap and then piled high with whipped cream. A thousand calories probably, but worth every single one.

You could choose from about 50 diff types of crepes

Lush just opened up in KL a few months back but Tokyo already has... Lush cafes. Apart from the flagship store near Shibuya we found a Lush cafe which had a conveyor belt sushi-style set up which had Lush bath bombs shaped like sushi! You could also customise your own bath bombs and they had Japanese insipred ones that you could only get at this shop. I don't have a bath tub at home thankfully, so it wasn't too hard to resist. 

Only got a section but they had it in every colour gradient

Sushi bombs 

Quickly rushed back to the hotel after this because A was meeting his friend from school who had moved back to Tokyo earlier this year. His family came to meet us and they were so nice, bringing us cute little Japanese treats. Went for a beef cutlet dinner where they set up these mini bbq pits infront of you and you cook your meat cutlets. Came with miso soup, potato salad, the most amazing cabbage salad (tastes way better than it sounds). After this trip, Japanese food is never going to be the same again. 

The Spread

Face mask count: 3. Tea tree oil and green tea to curb the breakouts! 

Dodged a Bullet

Had a lie in today because we were catching a bullet train back to Tokyo at midday. Packed up and headed down for yummy hotel breakfast noms.

Recent breakfast noms @ Hyatt Regency 

Waffles with fresh berries and cream

Fuju wawa Japanese pancakes 

Waffles with cream and berries

Smoked salmon, mushrooms, eggs & cheese 

After breakfast we walked around for a little bit exploring the area around the hotel. It was a little way away from the Kyoto city centre. In between a residential area and a street of quaint cafes about a third the size of a normal cafe and without any seating. The culture here is probably to grab and go, unless you were having a meal. 

Family owned bakery on the street

Heart hazelnut torte, cream canoli (?), chocolate brownie 

Came back to the hotel, packed up and left for Kyoto train station to catch the bullet train. In the train you couldn't feel the speed that we were going at, but you could definitely tell that it was significantly more than usual. The scenery from the window glazed past as if it were fast-forwarded and seemed out of focus. We were on the train for about 3 hours on the way up north to Tokyo which was still quite a way to travel what more without the bullet train. Japan has found ways to make themselves highly efficient, a futuristic city train sprinting through the counryside backdrop. 

Thank you Assikin for my sunnies, I feel so trendy

We even managed to catch Mount Fuji at one point. Could see the tip peering through the clouds like in the Toblerone packaging. Unsure whether it's worth it to take a trip all the way up there as it would take a whole day and then there's the risk of it being cloudy or rainy. 

Got to Tokyo and you're immedietly hit with big city feels. High rises, people rushing in the subway, five lane highways. I think I'm without a doubt more of a small town girl. Walked to the hotel and checked in before heading out to dinner. 

Lobby on the 38th floor 

View from the lobby hotel dining

Bathroom views

Hands down, the most beautiful hotel I've ever been to in my life. The hotel is on floors 30-38 of a building in the Shin-Nihombashi district so you have stunning views of the city from every angle of the hotel. 

Favourite shade of sky 

Was too hungry to take pictures during dinner which was steamboat beef and veges dipped in different sauces.

I need to start taking better pictures... Face mask count: still 2 because I've started to break out and I don't know what's causing it. Excited for a full day of exploring Tokyo tomorrow! 

Temple Runs

Good Morning Kyoto! Early start today, set an alarm for 6.30am and we were on the way to Kyoto station by 8. Almost missed the tour bus because baba misplaced our passports which was quite funny because usually it's them (parents) yelling at us to hurry up and now we're up and ready to go and they're not. Family dynamics have changed alot this holiday and I think everyone is a lot more laid back.

East Kyoto 

Kiyomizu-dera Temple 

First stop was the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, which was made up of many mini pagoda like buildings painted bright orange. Over the years people have gone up to the temple, made a wish and jumped of the ledge. Apparently if you survived the fall your wish would come true and if you didn't, it was a straight ticket to heaven.

Buddha's Tomb

View from the top of the temple

Contrary to popular belief, you are not allowed to run in the temple 

My favourite part was the three-streamed waterfall. One was for love, one for wisdom, and one for long life. You had to get this cup which was attached to a stick and choose a stream and drink from it. If you get here before 6am, you can see monks-in training jumping on the little steps under the waterfall for training. 

I chose wisdom, no bad choices 2019

Sanju-san-gen-do Temple 

Couldn't take many pictures at the next temple but it was a large room with wooden floors and in the centre stood a giant buddha with 48 arms. Surrounding him were 12 deities and about 100 smaller buddhas about 5 feet tall. The ambience was serene, wishing candles lit in the centre, incense burning. I appreciate how places of worship have the ability to give you a sense of tranquility, whether or not you are there to worship. The same feeling I used to get in a mosque after prayers listening to the doa prayer at the end. 

Japanese garden outside the temple. Not a cherry blossom tree in sight, I am told it is not the season. *cries* 

Fushimi Inari Shrine- Senbon Torii

The difference between a temple and a shrine is that temples are for the dead and shrines are for the living. When you go to a temple the gods are ready to listen and they are mostly filled with Buddisht statues. Shrines felt more informal, there were little bells infront of every pagoda, some even had gongs thats you had to hit to get the god's attention.

Unmanned shrines

Entrance to the shrine

Pathway near the bamboo forest walk 

The bamboo forest pathway looped around the entire area of the shrine so you could start the walk and opt to shorten it and cut back at any time. Ma, E and baba turned back at the first turning. A and I went up a 150m pathway into the forest where we found stalls filled with snacks and other souveneir like things but completely unmanned. Felt like the begining scene from spirited away where Chihiro goes to the spirit world after walking through the forest bridge. Wandered around too long and got to the group couple minutes before we were due to leave and Ma was furious because she thought we were going to miss the nest stop.

Found custard & green tea mochi on the walk back

Happy with my mochi before I got yelled at for wandering. Not all those who wander are lost mother. 

West Kyoto 

Sagano Bamboo Forest 

After lunch we got back into the bus and headed to West Kyoto to the bamboo forest. Yurika the tourguide brought us to a cemetery right beside the bamboo forest and I was like is this the Logan Paul suicide forest?!! E was quick to reassure me that it was not. Japanese families don't have inidividual graves as everyone is cremated, every member of the family's ashes is placed in the same grave. When a woman is married, she gets scattered in her husband's family grave plot. I always wondered what would happen when we run out of space for graves. Land is scarce, do cemeteries get repurposed at some point and others get buried there? The Japanese way seems more efficient.

People here place a lot of importance on death and a 'death name' which you could purchase from your local temple from anywhere between 150-300k yen. For the most part, they seem to live simply but die with much more grandeur.

North Kyoto 

Kinkau-Ji Temple 

Last stop on the tour was a gold plated temple set in North Kyoto. The gold temple itself ironically was very subtle, nestled by the water surrounded by lush greenery, forest, and bamboo trees. This didn't feel as formal as the others. I think it may have been a home turned place of worship. 6 degrees cold and I got a matcha vanilla ice cream after, Japanese snacks are divine. 

Can you imagine inviting someone over. Wanna come round? Mines the gold one down the road, yea you can't miss it.

Gion Prefecture 

After the tour ended Ma wanted to check out Isetan which I just found out is actually Japanese! The one in Gion is ridiculous, 11 floors of anything and everything you could ever need. It's basically asian Selfridges and Harrods combined. We just walked around for ages, ma wanted to go through every floor. I'm so impressed at how hard my parents go on holiday, they don't get tired even after being out for 10 hours. I'm too weak for this. Until we got to the food floor. It was exaclty how you'd imagine an upscale bustling metroplitan marketplace to be. Clean white counters, neatly alligned rows and rows of stalls and within that immaculately arranged desserts in beautiful packaging. The only downside is that it felt like half of Kyoto were in those two floors. Packed. Like. Sardines. 

Cakes, mochi, flavoured teas, chocolates, eclairs, mud pies, cream puffs. Died and went to dessert heaven.

Headed out to find dinner and quickly realised Kyoto isn't really a place where you walk in to a restaurant and get seated. Three yelp-approved places told us they had a two hour wait as the dinner rush had just started so we decided to just walk in to the next place we saw. Well I decided, I get hangry! The rest walked in hesitantly, to be fair this place was pretty dodgy. 

This gem of a restaurant turned out to be amazing. We ordered so much food, and everything was such good quality. The chef was this old Japanese man and it was his restaurant on the second floor of a two-storey building. You wouldn't even know it was a restaurant. Best salmon I've ever had in my life. Googled it later and its a small neighbourhood restaurant that's been around for years. 

Last day in Kyoto tomorrow, leaving for Tokyo midday. Super excited as I just realised there's a Studio Ghibli museum there! 

Facemask count: two. Manuka Honey & Ituna Jelly honey hydration. 

Jap-(a)n(dventures)

Last few days of 2018!! We start every year thinking god this past year was crazy and then the new year begins and your hit with even more crazy. This past year has been the toughest yet for me, steeper learning curves, bigger lessons, some pain, mixed in with happy new adventures, some new friends and old. Altogether some wins and some losses which hopefully makes a better more resilient me to take on the challenges of the new year. I'm off work and for now, Japan!  

Christmas Eve 

Packing! For once I started early instead of my usual 1 hour before leaving the house and I don't know why I never did this before. No chaos, no stress, and I feel like I didn't under/over pack. Managed to squeeze in some gym time, took Sulai to Molten, watched Bird Box which is out on Netflix. Absolutely love Sandra Bullock, and she's so good at playing roles in thriller/ post apocalyptic movies. Remeber Premontion? Left for the airport for our 11pm flight and took off to Japan. 

Christmas Day 

We're here! Got to Japan at around 6 am, took ages at the airport trying to sort rail tickets. First place I went to was 7E (for reals), and I'm in love. They have so many pastries and Japanese snacks. I've had 2 cream puffs already today. 

Dropped the bags off at left luggage and went to lunch. Prawn tempura and fried veg on seaweed rice with chilli flakes. Enjoying the Japanese food and can't wait to try out street food, all the ramen please. 

 

I really can't sit still. Most unphotogenic person right here. 

Walked around for abit and went to the oldest cafe in Tokyo which has been around since 1948. I can't remember the names of places which is annoying but it's in the Mitzo business district. 

Tiniest little cafe 

Coffee infused jelly topped with custard ice cream and coffee liquer (parents weren't too happy about that last bit) 

At this point we rushed back to the train station and got very lost and confused about which train and route to take. Also when they say they don't speak English here, they really don't speak English. Language barrier is a problem, making getting around alot harder. Finally boarded the bullet train off to Kyoto! 

Actually just a regular train, phone died 

Two and a half hours later we got off the station and got lost, again. Gave up trying to figure out the trains and just decided to walk to the hotel and 45 minutes later, checked in and dinner. 

White fish and breamiare sauce

Going to bed now cause we've got an early start tomorrow. Side note; I'm going to do a face mask every day that I'm here.