I had a minor panic attack when I saw the number of pictures in the folder named "Tokyo2015". I didn't know where to start but I know I have to start somewhere because I really want to document my trip down on my blog. The thing about blogging that I love is that I can always track back important occasions in my life just by reading my archives.
Also, a couple of you guys have been emailing me to ask for the blogpost to be up so that you guys will know what our itinerary was like. But truth be told, we didn't really have an itinerary. We (the girls) just sort of met up a few weeks before our trip and listed out the places we have to go and then we just planned the trip almost day by day when we were in Japan. We just made sure that the places we wanted to cover each day were not too far from each other so that we can save on travelling time.
We went on a 12 days trip (from 31st March to 11 April) and it went like this:
Tokyo (Day 1-7) ➪ Kyoto (Day 8-9) ➪ Tokyo (Day 10-12)
We took JAL and it costs us around S$980 per ticket as it was during the Sakura season (but so worth it) and we were staying at Ginza area because all the hotels at prime locations like Shinjuku/Shibuya area were booked :(
Cutting to the chase, here's day 1 to 3 of our #WhenBoysVsGirls Japan trip.
- Day 1 -
Taken along one of the back alleys of Ginza in search of the restaurant for our first dinner in Japan!
Just the 6 of us for the first 3 days as Jessica and Silas only joined us after.
Found the restaurant that I read up on & there was a queue. & this wasn't even the longest queue we encountered here, during dinner time it is twice as long.. and yes, we came back to this restaurant 3 times. It was that good.
It is a tiny 8-seater restaurant and don't expect to stay more than 20 minutes in there because everyone that enters just eat, pay and leave.
SX & I was seated first while the rest had to queue for another 5 minutes.
This is the bomb.
Never had I enjoyed a creamy broth so much! I'm usually not a fan of thick creamy soup for my ramen but this one is totally light yet flavorful that I emptied my bowl each time I was there. The tender chicken breast (hidden below the bamboo shoots) is their signature as well. It was so soft that we all thought it was fish slices at first. And the perfectly done egg..where do I begin? The pork however was not comparable to the chicken so we just ordered 2 servings of chicken breast in our ramen the other times we revisit.
Shinjuku district.
Legendary cheese tarts from BAKE by Kinotoya located at Lumine Shinjuku.
We didn't even know that this was such a gem. We were just exiting the JR station and my hawk eyes spotted a queue & the words "Cheese Tart" so I told the rest that I wanted to join the queue and try it. Haha, typical tourist.
& it was another #BestDecisionEver moments.
The cheese portion was soft, fluffy and very light. I could eat 2 at a go and not feel that it was too much. The crust was firm and has a crunch to it. Very fragrant without being overly buttery. We brought Jess & Silas to try it a few days later after they arrived and Silas couldn't be happier. My fiance and Silas loved it so much that they bought a dozen each.
Gudetama!!
I spent good money on this but I failed to catch it :(
SX dragged me away from the machine before I could change more coins.. saying "its a trap!".
Ended our night with supper at Yoshinoya.
LOOK AT THAT EGGGGGG.
It is so unfair that after tasting the real deal in Japan, we have to come back to the subpar standard one in Singapore.
& here's SX's pork bowl.
Very yums too.
- Day 2 -
Woke up bright & early and walked around our hotel area in Ginza in search of Matsuya, which is something like Yoshinoya but better. It is known for its beef bowl too!
But we couldn't locate it so we settled for Freshness burger as our breakfast which was not too shabby as well.
SX approves of his teriyaki chicken burger while I had the Spam & egg burger which was very good too. SX also went ahead and ordered another bacon + omelette burger as he wasn't full and he loved it as well.
Day 2's OOTD.
I miss dressing up in such weather.
So long now my coats & jackets. :(
Daily group shots.
& we were blessed with blooming Sakuras even though we were a little late for them.
Up on our itinerary that day was to visit Asakusa!
Mandatory picture with the Kaminarimon (雷門 "Thunder Gate").
The huge entrance gates that leads to the Sensō-ji temple. The gate, with the famous lantern is very popular with tourists.
Couldn't resist a good #WhenBoysVsGirls shot here.
Having some mochi coated with peanut powder and green tea.
So beautiful.
Next, we decided to take a train to visit the Owl Cafe - Fukuro no Mise!
It was really out of the way, like so far from the city area but I insisted that I MUST GOOOO and so we did. BUT.... we didn't research enough because when we arrived at around 3+pm, the owners told us that it was fully booked that day we should have came around 1 hour before opening to leave our names under the reservations list. Seriously?
So sad but we didn't leave empty handed because we managed to take a few peeks inside of the cafe and the owls are sooooo adorable!!
:(
So yah, if you are planning on going, please go 1 hour before they open and leave your name and the owner will give you a time slot to return & visit the cafe. SO MAFAN omg.
After getting rejected by the owl cafe,
Next stop ➡ Harajuku.
Crowded every single day.
Must have crepes at Harajuku.
Freshly made calbee chips.
Joined the queue for Eggs 'n Things for about 30 mins..
The food was not bad but nothing really to shout about and I probably wouldn't return for seconds.
But I really enjoyed the hawaiian salad at the top right.
This pancake tho, is pretty awesome.
I'm not a really a huge fan of sweet items, I'll normally pick savoury items off the menu instead but this was not bad.
- Day 3 -
Shibuya.
Day 3's OOTD.
We didn't have much planned that day as Jess & Silas was touching down in the late afternoon and we had to head back to Ginza area to meet them for dinner. & in the morning, Eve had her trial makeup for her photoshoot.
We finally found you, Matsuya!!
They specialize in fast food like beef bowl and pork bowl too.
This is even better than Yoshinoya in my opinion. I used to eat it all the time when I was flying and I miss it so much!! So happy that I can taste it again. HAHA, so kua zhang right, but really good lor! Friends that hangs out with me will know that I rarely eat beef in Singapore but when I'm in Japan, gimme all the beef bowls!!! The beef there is so fresh, tasty and well marinated that it has zero "beefy" taste, if you know what I mean.
Another chain fast food called Sukiya serves pretty good beef bowl too.
Japan = vending machine heaven.
#WhenBoysVsGirls
Just had to take a picture with the famous Hachiko with SX.
We're tourists what.
I took picture of it when I was still a stewardess but that doesn't count! As long as I didn't get to share such experience with my loved ones, it doesn't count!!
Our late lunch at one of their random sushi restaurant.
Not the best sushi but pretty fresh for the amount we are paying.
No more pictures for the day because it ended with us heading back to Ginza to meet Jess & Silas and bringing them to the awesome ramen place before we walked around Ginza, bought some drinks & snacks back to our hotel lounge to chill.
Stay tuned for the rest of our Japan trips.
x
Can I know how much did u all spend on transport?
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