so much has been happening in my life... it doesnt seem as if i can keep up with it.... i want to write abt jpn while its still very fresh in my mind coz i sure do owe it to jo for his wonderful understanding and for putting up with a very grumpy me
anyway...... this was our first sight into tokyo
the sight out of our bedroom:
and thks to our severly delayed flight... dinner was purchased in family mart :D
Day 1: Eiji, Sony Building, Ginza, Majestic Bar, Pachinkooooo
then eiji left us to wonder arnd ginza while he ran off to catch his flight!
the streets of ginza
we spotted architecture specialty #1... it was by total luck too!
and building #2 (this is by far jo's fav building of this whole trip)
its a really cool building where each lift takes u straight to the floor of the designated watch store
after a full day of shopping and basically scaring ourselves... we called it a day. but on the way back... we stumbled onto
inside jo cldnt help himself but sit down and play a few rounds
and this is basically what you aim to win.... baskets and baskets of them
Day 2: Sadaharu Aoki, Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi, drinks with friends=wasted in tokyo
main was the world's best macha.... u have to order it when there! and jo ordered their club sandwich and i had a croque maddame... thing is the food was yummy, i'd say better than canele, here in sg. only problem is... the menu was in japanese so we didnt quite know what we were ordering and even thou the waitress tried to explain, it was still a little hazy but we still walked out very satisfied
spent the whole day being absorbed in tokyo midtown only to leave in the late afternoon to the museum arnd the corner. spent some time there looking at exhibits before taking a walk down roppongi. here, jo found he's next pet.... a tiny little monkey! and it was tiny....
went home to change to head out to meet aaron for drinks... and as with all outing with my dear friend, everyone walked out having farrrr toooo much to drink :p
day 3: hung over, katsu, attempted harajuku, night market
met aaron at his apt for him to bring us to eat yummy katsu..... not that i really appreciated it much since i was terribly out of it....
after we left for harajuku to see the cosplay pple since it was sunday....
in front of harajuku park
i pretty much gave up after seeing a group of cosplay pple and opted to go back to pass out while jojo was left alone to wonder arnd omotesando hills by his lonesome self
thankfully after a nap... we met up at Azabu Juban to go thru their night market!
it was packed full of people and very very hot too, everywhere we turned it was a new street full of stuff to see
Day 4: Tsujiki Market, Asakusa Temple, International Forum, Muji Flagship
jo and i really tried our best to wake up really early to try and catch the morning auction but unfortunately we were still too late :(
but coz everyone else was still watching the auction, we instead decided to find a very early morning breakfast.... we didnt know which restaurant to choose from so like everyone else, we looked for a local and joined the queue that had the most of them.
an hour later..... we finally managed to enter into this restaurant
the sashimi was good but was it really worth waking up so early? i didnt quite think so coz i cld possibly haf gotten the same quality in LA for arnd the same price... but i haf to say the range of stuff they had were awesome and its the first time having shrimp sashimi and it was GREAT. as my special request last order... i had my sweet shrimp :D havent had it in forever and im really looking forward to having it again in LA.
jo and i basically rolled out of the restaurant... and by that time the line in was crazy long! i wldnt have bothered lining up if it was that long
in front of asakusa temple is a row of stores... selling really nice local stuff. of course aimed at the tourists but a great place to buy souveneirs
at the temple...
just around the corner... i had the world's best green tea icecream
and then it was off in search of muji's flagship store... but before that.... i spotted the international forum, my favourite building of the trip
Day 5: Odaiba, Sega World, Department Stores in search of pokkies, Kinokuniya
at sega world... the car games were in real life-size cars... unlike any other archade i've been to we had to enter into a car and race in it! it would turn as per normal... totally cool. funniest thing is jo beat me by a pretty impressive margin considering he doesnt even drive! haha
of course once it comes to jo and his books, we didnt leave kino for a very long time
Day 6 (Wed): Studio Ghibli Museum, Shibuya, Opening Ceremony, Comme des Garcon, Loft
we had to travel for some time to reach Studio Ghibli but it was totally worth it... and im really glad jo dragged me there :)
no pictures were allowed to be taken inside but these were taken outdoors..... towards the end, we had awesome milk icecream too
then it was back to town, shopping at shibuya
bought lots of gifts at loft... and jo and i got a black harem pants each frm CDG... also i introduced opening ceremony to jo! the interior here is soooo much better than LA's store
Day 7: Moriyama House, Roppongi, Toto Bookstore, Mori ARt Museum, Awesome Udon Dinner
in a bid to keep me less grumpy, jo decided to let me slp in while he went off to the suburbs to see a house he absolutely worships
and boy i needed that sleeping in... i felt sooo much better after thou i did feel bad leaving jo alone
dragged him to try another pastry store which this time specialised in mousse
jo didnt really feel like eating but once we started... we had to stop ourselves from ordering more than the 2 we had already consumed in our beyond stuffed tummy
then it was back to roppongi to search for toto bookstore and walk around the smaller streets to find quaint stores and houses.
at the mori art museum...
an exhibition of fluff representing snow
off we went for dinner at a nearby udon place that was recommended by aaron and oh my goodness the place totally blew our minds.....
braised pork that melted in your mouth
the udon here is to die for... and i will forever remember this place. their noodles were served in huge bowls bigger than my face!!!!
DAy 7: our very last day.... split up with me going to Omotesando hills and Harajuku while jo ran his own errands
in the morning... jo and i decided that for the most parts we would split coz he was going to figure out what he'll do with his 5kg+ worth of books while i haf yet to find the pokkies that i was tasked to bring back. so off i went to a local supermarket a few blocks down from our hotel... bought instant noodles, all sorts of jap snacks and umeshu!
then i went off to harajuku with instructions from jo where to go and an end point - CDG store at a certain time.
spotted the audi showroom off omotesando... and its really cool
and as i walked off in the small streets off omotesando hills, i walked into a store which had this at the back
peering through the back door,the sales lady told me i could go and check it out... and to my great surprise, it was a grape tree with fairy lights hung on it!!! i got to try the grapes and it's the sweet kind too!!!! very very cool experience
jo went off to check out Shima kinazawa and after meeting up we went off to Shibuya to pick up a great black jacket from comme that was pre-ordered coz there weren't any in jo's size... and as always, picked up krispy kremes for the girls. as we were unable to get over our previous nite's dinner, we decided to head back to Roppongi for more udon for dinner.
exhausted... we decided to head back and haf umeshu at our bar while we reflected on our trip.
2 weeks later jo and i left tokyo very much heavier
i dont think i wld haf enjoyed the trip any more if it was with someone else... jo was really the best person to travel with thou i think next time im making sure im bringing ear plugs! hahaha
it was certainly a very memorable trip and memories of it will be with me for a very long time
this entry is for johan my dearest... thanking him for going crazy with his camera and taking over 3600 pictures for me to filter and pick and for being the greatest friend one can ever ask for
