Tokyo (Part I) - {Day 1: Shinjuku x Ichiran} & {Day 2: Harajuku x Eggs' N Things x Takeshita Street x Shimomaruko} & {Day 3: Calbee+ x Shibuya x Tonkatsu Maisen x Omotesando}

Day 1

Bare faced me drinking an overpriced bandung in terminal 2 

SUP guys! I'm finally back with a more interesting blog post (I guess? LIKE FINALLY MY TOKYO POST) haha cause I'm a lazy bitch lol. But I guess I should just do something about it today. Since my school is starting in around one week's time :(

Travelled to Narita Airport via ANA cos its an japan airline, go korea must take korean airline, go japan also must take japan airlines, as they serve Japanese cuisine in flight hehehe, plus longer hours so more comfy

There are many airports in Japan, and Narita is kinda further away to Tokyo, so I would recommend you guys to opt to Haneda Airport instead as its slightly nearer

This kabosu lime-ish tasting drink was not bad

international x western meal

You can opt to cab/train/bus to your hotel from the airport but FYI cabs are really expensive in japan and I'm proud to say I didn't spent a single cent on a cab during my ten days stay in tokyo even though my expenditures came up to like 5k sgd lol

We chose the most convenient way of taking the Airport Limousine (booth looks like that - below) to the area we were staying at~

airport ootd lol price of beauty, suffering in the COLD. Not that cold but like aircon temperature which I like, but when its windy it can get rly cold~

We wanted to book Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku (cause its like the TOP choice for tourists who goes to tokyo, heard many reviews of it and they have a direct airport limousine bus which stops right in front of the hotel) but cause me and shan had other friends joining us, by the time we wanted to book tgt the hotel was alr fully booked haha.

BUT ITS OKAY cause I *ahem* best tour guide/researcher ever managed to find another newer hotel like just next or near the vicinity of Sunroute~

haha so thats our ticket to claim our luggages from the bus operators

super blue and bad lighting in the bus and my shag face after 6-7 hours of flight

A very important traveling gadget of mine this trip. Japan is one of the MOST COMPLICATED Countries I have yet to travel to free & easy as they have many train stations and sub-stations so google map will prolly be your best friend this trip so it will be recommended to have wifi 24/7!

The Travel Pocket Wifi!!!

Kindly Sponsored by: 

Visondata

https://visondata.com/en/

For Singaporean readers, you can go to this page to check out their pricing and rental scheme

http://www.visondata.com.sg/

I don't really know how/where to get SIM cards in tokyo, and that probably might be a chore, so why not just rent the wifi before your trip and best thing is you pay by the number of days and date you will be traveling to the specific country, and a few devices can be connected at once! Plus it can even be delivered to your house prior the trip and be couriered back when you return!

hehe 2 stands for 2 deviced connected to the wifi. Unlimited data usage SUPER SHIOK~

ssid: the wifi name to connect to

pwd: the password of the device

Visiondata kindly loaned a portable power bank to me too as well so its like I won't be afraid if i'm out for hours and my wifi device runs out of batt >:

upon reaching the popular hotel sunroute plaza

looks like this the building~

comparable minimarts to taiwan's lots of fooood and jap foood yummy

cute nissin cup noodles that comes in small medium large?! forgot to buy some back to sg :(

The hotel we stayed at is only a 5 mins walk to Shinjuku train station which is one of the major train stations in JR Yamanote line. The Yamanote line is a circular train route that covers major districts and sights in Tokyo with stops in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Tokyo Station, Akihabara, and Ueno so its rly more convenient to stay here/ginza imo!

took this v well summarised map from online~ 

JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom Shinjuku

2-6-2 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 1530053

Japan, 〒151-0053 東京都渋谷区 代々木2丁目6-2

how our hotel looks like~

tokyo hotels are all quite crampy and small :/ paid quite a sum for two in this king sized single beddd.

but overall the hotel is rly clean and has good service, wouldn't mind staying there again! One of the best thing of their toilet is that one part of their mirror actually has a heating system, so when water vapour condenses on the full mirror, like they usually do fogging up the whole mirror, there's a part of it totally cleared~ hahaha i was still thinking like whoa i so lucky bathe until left that portion can still see my own reflection until i realized the mirror was radiating heat HAHA.

stocking up our snack piles upon reaching alr, LOL

heading out for dinna #bijintokyo

Shinjuku area~

Ichiran Tokyo
Peace Building B1F 3-34-11 Shinjuku Shinjuku-ku Tokyo-to 160-0022
(3 min walk from JR Shinjuku Station Higashi Exit)

Opening Hours for shinjuku outlet: 24 Hours

Settled our dinner at Ichiran ramen, known for being the BEST RAMEN in tokyo, they have many outlets all around tokyo, but we went to the one nearest to our hotel!

queue goes all the way down the stairs and out of the door despite having so many outlets around tokyo already

you get to view the menu first

and then get ready to order via the vending machine, rmb to add the tamago or seaweed or what sorts of other ramen ingredients before purchasing your ticket orders! (but you can still order and pay again after you get seated la, saw another order form at the table)

before getting seated, have to also fill in how you want your noodles to be prepared

my preference, strong flavor, light richness, regular garlic portions, green onion slices sizes LOL, medium texture for my noodles etc etc

the table map which shows which room of table and all still occupied and stuff

haha our noodle booths! so cool the lonely style of eating LOL so you go dine alone also not shy

fucking hungry pig dw to look at my camera alr

japan's tamagos r just sooo good

my classic tonkotsu ramen which was one of the best ramens I have EVER eaten in my life. When I came back to singapore and ate our ramen over here, I felt so cheatedddd LOL

this is rly worth trying and the hype haha my friends had like this three times during their stay there LOL. And I should have bought their noodles and packet version back to SG I didn't see it until I was back grrr.

roamed around shinjuku area as it was alr getting quite late, then their malls all close quite early like 9 pm -_- so our japan lifestyle damn healthy, everyday sleep early wakeup early. 

Takashimaya mall located at shinjuku area. 

Shinjuku area is very big, one side all the huge departmental shopping malls like isetan, takashimaya, lumine (near our hotel), keio mall, another part of the area towards north, after takashimaya is called Kabukicho - the red light district of shinjuku. 

Will talk about that in another post but my some of my friends stayed at that side and I guess if I was to go back to Tokyo again, I would stay in that area of shinjuku, cause there are alot of those cool shops, bars, maid cafes, food, movie/karaoke theatres and there seems more happening at night or opened till late compared to our area la.

We could have walked there at night too since all in the same area but everyday was just too tiring, too much to cover by foot in japan!

weishan trying to call her aunt staying in japan via the telephone booth~

Another restaurant in shinjuku area I researched, famous for their affordable tempura sets, like near the shinjuku ichiran outlet, opposite that stretch there called Tsunahachi Tempura you can google  the address if interested!

Day 2

One of the worst day I felt over in Tokyo, cause I caught a flu then and fever by evening time, feeling super horrible in the cold, haha check out my eyebags in this pic, can see the cold coming alr with my teary eyes and all in the morning.

intersection we have to cross to the train station every morning~

w my budbud

There is no need for you guys to get a JR Pass if you are mainly going to stay in tokyo, and not traveling to other districts.

For convinience I strongly suggest for you guys to get this reloadable pasmo/suica transport card.

Got this Pasmo card at one of the machines there, is like you can purchase this card like an ezlink, then top up whatever fares you need for your trip so you don't have to keep buying single train ticket and it saved us alot of time!

So the first area we were going to explore was... Harajuku! I think its the place I spent most of my money at the entire trip so I kinda think this area is the best to shop at in tokyo!

their train station looks so pretty

their alleys and walkways are so nice to take ootds as well~

my ootd with a red parka jacket

Eggs' N Things

4-30-2 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan

Opening Hours: 9 am to 10.30 pm

Settled for brunch at eggs n things, a very famous brunch establishment from hawaii and I have heard that the queue at their outlet in harajuku is always very long, so i wokeup extra early for it. #singaporeanstyle hahaha surprised to see no queue at all cos we were rly early LOL. 

Should have came a little later cause all the flagship brand stalls I wanted to visit in this area like supreme, neighbourhood etc all opens at 11 am.

SO I WAS FEELING SO SHAG AFT THAT.

my pretty bff and koh sister :)

famous for their pancakes as well, so I ordered the strawberry one, not as mind blowing as ichiran was but I guess if you like pancakes you could give it a shot? At least it looks so photogenic and creamy HAHA

weishan loves her potatoes, bacons and scrambled eggs, a little bland actually, so we spammed pepper and salt LOL

raging me in the morning cause I forgot how to connect to my dslr wifi hehe

dslr macros peeps like shit

chio stretch full of all the street brands got aape all those, bought like three nike fly knits cause there so much cheaper! UGH I LOVE STREET BRANDS. lol imma save money for goros next time i'm there!

supreme x neighbourhood!! *.*

HAHA cool to look but lame barbie I how old alr

some cafe with a longer queue than eggs' n things maybe popular among the locals

love this selfies of us!

fucking heavy thing and a grumpy face HAHA

cute vending machines everywhere selling cool flavored drinks

lolol most of my money went here *.* chrome hearts <3 one of the better outlets should be the one in harajuku or maybe ginza? heard ginza has the biggest outlet but I didn't bother going to that outlet. Another one was at a department mall which was freaking small so the harajuku outlet will do!

Another place/area to visit in harajuku is Takeshita Street! A pedestrian only street lined with boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

this whole stretch down!

another entrance of harajuku station

lol fucking cray and grumpy cos my nose was peeling and my nose was dripping flu LOL

went back to hotel to put stuff, by then I was alr super cold and dying so I changed into my trusty jacket. LOL. #nofucksgiveninthetrain LOL

fuck I really didn't know how I survived cause AS A VERY GOOD FRIEND I ACCOMPANIED weishan while having high fever all the way like to this station, Shimomaruko, further away from tokyo district, (more complicated than any relationships cause we had to change like three lines THANK GOD FOR GOOGLE MAPS plus still blur cause second day there only, last day i am already a pro navigator) to find her aunt whom migrated to japan.

but great decision rly, her aunt and uncle was so nice to us during the days we met up and brought us for yummy food ^^

oh and weishan doesn't eat raw stuff so getting her to dine at a sushi restaurant is harder than hard. LOL can you believe I only had sushi twice my entire trip in japan..... lucky I had this dinner..... or I'll leave in regret the rest of my life or for 2015 HAHA

Omakase~

first uni (sea urchin) I had in japan, fucking good! CAN DIE SINCE THEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH UNIS. all their sushi and sashimi were so fresh and good! I had the best chanwanmushi at this restaurant too! High fever still can eat ah.

secretly snapped a photo of a mini-sumo who came into the restaurant cause May in japan is sumo wrestling season, one ticket to watch their matches in the arena can cost up to few hundreds! then I like abit budget la, so just take his backside here LOL do you know all the 'fats' in a sumo's body is actually all made up of muscles. or maybe google lying to me

Day 3

Big daiso! Went back to harajuku area again cause I wanna buy my stuffs again, hehe BTW harajuku area has this meji shrine (tourist attraction, in my next post you can see the asakusa shrine we visited, but heard the meji shrine is better? and if you go on sundays, can get to see those traditional japanese weddings taking place there!)

and heard the crepes at harajuku is the best ever! but honestly we went to queue at the one with the longest queue, cause they like have many brands of diff crepes at takeshita street. 

AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE QUITE DISSAPOINTING, i was expecting better and nicer crepes

weishan thought her chocolatety one was alright tho, we should have totally shared one, wasted my stomach capacity... looks instagram worthy but not exactly stomach worthy hehe

Calbee Plus
1-16-8 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Harajuku Station (Yamanote line), Meiji-Jingumae Station (Chiyoda, Fukutoshin lines)
Opening Hours: 9.30am-8.30pm

many goodies in the shop and calbee famous potato chips deep fried on da spot! had their cheese flavored ones, salt & butter looks nice too! or the one with icecreams heh

settled our breakfast via all the street foods

takopatchis~

went to chrome hearts thrice my whole trip in tokyo LOL. rmb to bring your passport out because tax refunds can be made on the spot (no need refund at the airports unlike other countries like korea etc)

went to Shibuya area after harajuku!

mandatory photo with the hachiko statue near shibuya train station :'( rmbed this movie made me cried like hellllll

tokyu hands departmental stall in shibuya

Shibuya crossing! Said to be the most busiest crossing in tokyo, hundreds or thousands of pedestrians can cross at once, spot the starbucks in the building opposite? tourists can sit there to stare at the shibuya crossing!

perfect place for an ootd if you are not shy LOL in the middle of a road ah 

some of the popular malls i've heard like shibuya 109 etc. Nothing much there in my opinion.. but there are two tall buildings, like one for women and the other all for men. can try visiting! Maybe their style just don't match me as much heh.

everyday lazy to put face makeup in tokyo lol cos sick then rub nose later my nose portion tan color the rest of my face white LOL very particular about these things

for dinner, headed back to harajuku area, which is near to the Omotesando hills area which have alot of major brands there as well LOL 

signboards guiding us to the famous tonkatsu shop in the area~

Maisen Tonkatsu とんかつ まい泉
4-8-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan 

(Omotesando Exit A2)
〒150-0001 東京都渋谷区 神宮前4−8−5
Opening Hours: 11 am to 10 pm

Tonkatsu is a deep fried breaded pork cultlet in the japanese cuisine. There are two main types, hire (the fillet) and rosu (the loin which has more fats THE ONE I LIKE LOL)

so I ordered one of their recommended ones (forget the name LOL), which they only sell a limited amount of set daily and of course mine was the loin.

weishan ordered their fillet version with japanese curry.

all came in sets and sticky white rice with refillable radish and dressings~

yummy pork soup from my set

yuzu sorbet dessert complementary after dinner

my set was so much more expensive than shan's hahaha but I rly like to spend money on food. LOL. to be honest, japan's foods are all not as overpriced as you guys think. This may be one of the more expensive meals we had over in japan. and its only around 42 SGD? 

If you were to have a meal like this in singapore's tonkatsu outlet, two sets of this would easily have cost up to 80 bucks.

night time went to walk at Isetan departmental shop around shinjuku, has brands like undercover!! & hood by air.

$$ flying everyday in tokyo. hoped you guys enjoy my part one of tokyo! gets me so excited blogging about it.