Tokyo, Japan- Day 3!

ZOE RAYMOND 6/20/2013 1 Comment food , hollyhoque , Japan , Tokyo , Travelogue Edit

Started Day 3 at breakfast at Granbell's other breakfast option, the pub at the lobby which serves western. Breakfast wasn't fab so I just ate a little and wanted to save the stomach for better food later hehe!

And a full length shot of the outfit! (:

Outfit of the Day

Hollyhoque De'Spring Knitted Top

Hollyhoque Boots (Email hollyhoque@gmail.com for last few pairs)
Jacket: Taiwan

Camwhored at the quiet lane of the hotel. Got feel right? :D

First stop of the day was visit to Meiji Shrine. It is conveniently located at JR Yamanote Line's busy Harajuku Station. Harajuku is the center of Japan's most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles, but also offers shopping for adults and some historic sights.

Was startled by this never-ending queue at Hajajuku at 10am?

This queue was actually for Garrett Popcorn which newly opened in Tokyo!!! There were sooo many people, I couldn't take all of them into 1 shot though standing on the overhead bridge already. Japanese are really patient people, huh?

Enjoying the cool 15 minutes walk to the shrine!

Meiji Shrine and the adjacent Yoyogi Park make up a large forested area within the densely built-up city. The spacious shrine grounds offer walking paths that are great for a relaxing stroll.

a lot of sake!!!

While walking along the path to the shrine you will pass huge barrels of sake. These barrels are donated every year by Meiji Jingu Nationwide Sake Brewers Association to the enshrined deities at the shrine, and they make for a great photo opportunity for the visitor.

Meiji Shrine, located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.

Having arrived at Meiji Shrine, I was greeted by this wooden communal water tank. I stood at the corner to observe how the locals do this before giving my prayers.

First, you lift the wooden scoop and purify some water into the left and right hand then mouth before offering up a prayer.

Beautiful, reminds me very much of Korea

Reading the prayers left by visitors from all over the world!

And I took photos with beautiful Japanese women in Kimonos! :D :D I was really excited to see them dressed in their national costume and they were shy but really friendly when I walked over to them and asked for a picture.

There was a celebration at the shrine that morning and that was probably why they were in Kimonos. Between 30 and 100 days after a child is born, the parents, siblings, and grandparents visit a shrine together to report the child's birth.

Meiji Shrine

1-1, Kamizono-chō Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku Tokyo 151-0053

Walked back to busy Harajuku to shop at the famous Takeshita Street! The focal point of Harajuku's teenage culture is Takeshita Dori (Takeshita Street).

Takeshita Street is a pedestrian-only street lined with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants. In order to experience the teenage culture at its most extreme, visit Harajuku on a Sunday, when many young people gather around Harajuku Station and engage in cosplay ("costume play"), dressed up in excentric costumes to resemble anime characters, punk musicians, etc.

Daiso!!! This is one of the largest 100 Yen Shops in central Tokyo.

Calbee shop!!!

Crepes

Spent about an hour at Harajuku and left the place with my favorite shot of Harajuku!

Took the train to Akihabara Station.

Akihabara shopping district specializing in electronic goods. Akihabara has also emerged as a center of Japanese otaku and anime culture, and dozens of stores specializing in anime, manga, retro video games, figurines, card games and other collectibles have filled the spaces between the electronics retailers.

IThe road is empty because on Sundays, the main street is closed to car traffic from 1-6pm!

My favorite Japanese cartoon as I was growing up, Sailormoon!!!

On the streets of Akihabara, there are girls dressed as French maids giving out flyers and getting visitors to patronize their cafes. Maid cafes are cosplay themed restaurants where guests are served by waitresses that are typically dressed as French maids. In addition to serving food, the maids engage in conversation and games with the customers and treat them with the care and respectful language due to the master of a house!

Instead of having lunch at a maid cafe, I had lunch at the Sushi Go-round Restaurant haha!

Price list!!!

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Best Chawanmushi!!

Every fish slice is so thick and juicy!

Huge Scallops!

And the scallop sushi is on the cheapest plate which cost 130 yen (S$1.70)!!

Sushi lunch was really fantastic and satisfying. The bill worked out to only 2000 yen (S$26)! Where to eat so much and so fresh sushi at just S$20 odd in Singapore?

Before leaving Akihabara, stopped by Mochi Cream Japanese Sweet Deli store near the train station for some desserts.

Mochi Cream Donuts!

Chocolate Banana

I tried the Chocolate Banana and Strawberry and I prefer the Banana one best. Each mochi is filled with the real fruit and it's shiok to eat ice cream in both cold and hot weathers!!

Mochi Cream can be found in Singapore now. Located at Bugis+, on the 2nd level near Bershka and it cost S$2.80/ piece.

Next up, it's Asakusa, the center of Tokyo's shitamachi which literally means low city.

Asakusa's main attraction is Sensō-ji, a very popular Buddhist temple, built in the 7th century.

Outside Sensō-ji!

Another huge beautiful temple

Sensoji is far more packed as compared to the Meiji Shrine I visited earlier in the day. Check out the number of people!

Right outside the temple is this funfair style food street that sold delicacies like takopachi and drinks.

Cute guy selling takopachi lol!

And picture of me with him who was too shy to take a shot of me but still arm-chioing (Smile shyly). lol!!

A box of 6 huge takopachi cost 500 yen (S$6)

The temple is approached via the Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries.

This sweet potato stall was really packed by locals and since it's visited by locals, it means I got to give it a try too right?

So pretty!!

A serving of 5 Caramelized Sweet potatoes was priced at 500 yen (S$6) as well.

It is best to order when you have a group of friends with you because the most 1 can eat is just 1 piece because it's huge, filling and sweet so really gelak but it's nice and worth to try!

Sorry for this location, it will be tough for me to give you the exact shop locations because Nakamise is really big.

Me outside a cafe haha!

Was walking around aimlessly and saw Seiyu!! Remember we used to have Seiyu Supermarkets in Singapore? Seiyu Supermarket is the Walmart of Japan.

Besides snacks, I got some salad dressing for Zonia and I. I chose those in plastic bottles which are more convenient and lighter when it comes to checking in! (:

So many to choose from, spoilt for choice!

Continued with being a tourist. Taking photos at every beautiful location. So ending the Nakamise tour with a series of photos of my camwhoring! ((:

Sensō-ji/ Nakamise

2-3-1 Asakusa, Taitō-ku, Tokyo

Asakusa Station

Asakusa is served by the Ginza Subway Line, Asakusa Subway Line, Tsukuba Express and Tobu Railways.

Also visited Yasukuni Shrine at Ichigaya Station which I wouldn't suggest going because there wasn't much to explore in this shrine. This shrine is also located pretty far away from the train station, so quite a walk from Ichigaya Station.

Just a little background of Yasukuni Shrine. It was created by Emperor Meiji to commemorate the individuals who had died in service of the Empire of Japan during the Meiji Restoration.

The shrine lists the names, origin, birthdate and place of death of 2,466,532 men, women and children and spans from the Boshin War of 1867 to World War II.

Yasukuni Shrine

3-1-1 Kudankita Chiyoda-ku

Ichigaya Station

Went back to the hotel for a short nap and ready to conquer more of Tokyo in the evening!!! Took the train to Ginza.

Ginza is Tokyo's most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, night clubs and cafes. Which explains why I dressed a little smarter in blazer hehe!

Outfit of the Day

Hollyhoque Overlay Top
Hollyhoque Smart Alec Slim Blazer
Bag: Miu Miu

Night falls and I took this beautiful shot the moment I stepped out of Ginza Station.

The clock tower of the Ginza Wako building is the symbol of the Ginza. Inside the building, jewelry and luxury items are sold. The opening hours were 10am-7pm from Monday to Sundays and so it was closing when I was there. It's really surprising that the departmental stores close so early!

Though the departmental store close at 7pm, the restaurants are still opened and accessible by the other lifts. The restaurants were more expensive in Ginza and that's where I had my most expensive Tokyo meal haha!

Walked the 2 stories of food level and settled with Keki Steak House at the top level for dinner.

The menu was simple and only a page of the food they serve. Good! Cause I didn't have to spend too much time deciding what to get. It's either Wagyu Beef and/or Prawns.

Service was top-notch. Keki only has female chefs and each table is served by a chef who does the cooking all the way to serving of more tea. She would start by introducing herself and time to time make small talk. Probably mine was really small talk because of the language barrier.

Waygu Beef!!! :D :D

shiok!!!

Talking about the garlic crisps. The chef would make sure every single piece is evenly cooked. She would pick out those that are over/under cooked and fry them by itself before refrying them all together. Really professional and detailed!!

Egg with Carrots

Choice of carrots makes this dish sweet! Going to cook my eggs at home this way too!

Dinner ended with Red Bean and Mochi dessert. The dinner at Keki Steak House cost 7000 yen ($90) per person. Though the most expensive meal of mine in Tokyo, but definitely worth the price plus it's considered alright as compared to that of Singapore.