2013 Japan Trip
Sep. 3rd, 2013 12:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spsnI just got back from my 10 days trip covering Osaka-Tokyo-Kyoto. It's tiring to do travelling where you need to move from 1 hotel to another, especially when your luggage getting heavier and heavier each time you move to the other place. I'm not the type who likes to go to so many places during one trip, hence it's more tiring for me doing this.
This time it's more on sight seeing and shopping, less fangirling as somehow the mood went down and laziness hit me after the 2nd day (a visit to Osaka castle on a sunny day with scorching sun was not a really fun idea, and I applaud those who's been queueing for NEWS con goods in front of Osaka Jo Hall 2 hours before the boot opened on the same day coz it's bloody freaking hot).
My itinerary was 2 days Osaka --> 4 days Tokyo --> 2 days Kyoto --> 2 days Osaka. I did cover all the things that I wanted to see in Osaka, and more than what I wanted to see in Kyoto, but I totally failed on Tokyo, blamed it to the malls and aircons LOL...
My menu for Osaka is to see:
1. Osaka Castle
2. Glico man
3. Shitennoji temple
4. Minoo park
I managed to see the first 2, but not the last 2 because they're too far (Minoo park) and we'll be seeing more temples in Kyoto anyway, so... yeah... so what did we do with the remaining days in Osaka?
Namba is all about shop houses (shotengai), they have rows, rows and rows of it and I got lost pretty easily. Find that this place is too touristy but nevertheless this place has so many iconic items of Osaka.
This kani logo (which is not as huge as I thought) and Glico man is there...
They have 3D huge display for the shops and lots of ramen shops and pachinko parlors have these kinds of dragon display...
You'll want to play this arcade game if the goodies are those rilakuma, kumamon and LINE dolls... gah... the cuteness...
And Nino is practically everywhere, thanks to Salonpas (particularly Salonpas) and JCB. I saw him more often than Sho-chan or Arashi all together this time.
You don't see this Italian soda in your Macdonalds :(.
Finally Osaka Castle...
And somewhere near Osaka Jo Hall after decided that it's just too hot to join the queue for the concert goods and the bloody queue has gotten longer by that time haha...
So, we spent the rest of the days in the basement surveying the food and desserts. Summer is all about jellies which is what I love because you get to see wonderful colors on the dessert department.
and you're not in Osaka if you don't have Okonomiyaki and yakisoba. The yakisoba that we had is avocado yakisoba, which is totally yummy and unique.
My menu for Tokyo (the place to fangirl) is:
1. NTV
2. Koyamama's ramen
3. Mark Is (whatever Shingo has in Ojamap episode)
4. Ebisu Hanadan landmark and Shinjuku Love landmark (this totally didn't happen at all LOL)
We're there during the 24HR event and I thought people should be at home and the shop won't be that crowded... I was totally wrong. Didn't know that it's the same day as Arafes pre-order good collection that was held nearby, hence NTV was also flogged by Arashi fans, literally. They have an event where they lined up kids to dance to Arashi songs and basically everybody know the song and the dance and the audience did the same hand furi (this is in particular during A.RA.SHI song) and my friend freaked out LOL...
Next is Ojamap excursion, thanks to Ojamap, I get to know Tokyo Eki and Kiite and what's inside and what to look for haha...
Then it's another excursion to eat Koyamama's ramen, thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
miniliel, which was fantastic, not to mention the best gyoza I've ever eaten so far. The place is seriously small and if you don't really look for it, you won't know.
The rest of the trip in Tokyo was spent in Yokohama malls (we loved aircon!)
Again, thanks to Ojamap, we know there's MARK IS and even my Japanese friend was surprised that I know MARK IS.
Baskin Robins is totally different in Japan, and different quality, I'll eat Baskin Robins if they have the same quality like what they have in Japan.
Tried the Choco Mont Blanc ice cream and it's not that sweet for a chocolate ice cream!
I love this shop and I lost count how many times I walked in to their branches in both Osaka and Tokyo, even at the airport and what's impressive is that there's always something different in what they sell every time we walked in. And on top of Miyazaki Aoi, they use NEWS too (I didn't know this). Still find it awkward that they use boys to advertise ladies clothing, to suggest what? Tegoshi thinks that you'll look cute if you wear xxx coordinator, therefore you should buy them? Hmmm...
This Snoopy shop is in Queens building (remember that Mannequin 5 SP in Yokohama?). Be careful of this shop, it has the power to suck in your money with its cuteness... They have practically almost every items you can think off with Snoopy on it, especially the bentou section.
For the fun of it, the right one is the latest vending machine, if not touched it'll function as an advertisement billboards, when touched the drinks will show up for you to choose... yeah, it's Japan LOL...
Again, thanks to Ojamap, we know there's the projection mapping exhibition 'Yokohama Odyssey'. To watch it you need tickets, even though it's free, but we managed to watch it and it's wonderful!, I'll try to upload it once I can upload it from my phone.
I didn't find the real mizu jelly that was featured in Geneten, but I found this mizu kuzu mochi... and it's fantastic!!! simple and double yummy...
Yokohama at sunset plus Aka Rengo (lots of goodies inside that red buildings)...
Lovely Yokohama night view, no wonder it's the dating place for couples... they're practically everywhere...
And basically I tried whatever Shingo featured in Ojamap for MARK IS episode.
I think I get the right shop, Shingo bought the big rolled cake and there's no way I could finish that whole loaf by myself. Luckily, they also sell the pieces, a bit different but I'd think it'll still taste about the same... fuwa2, light and fluffy, per Japanese standard.
The tomato choco. I loved this one, it's really delicious, it's both tangy and sweet. When I bought this, people were whispering 'that's the choco that Shingo ate in Ojamap'. Yeah, if it's not because of Ojamap, I wouldn't even know too ne...
The Hokkaido soft ice cream. One thing I notice about Hokkaido dairy is that they have that distinct smell and taste richer than other dairies, which is... yum!
The next destination is Kyoto and the menu is:
1. Kiyomizudera
2. Kinkakuji
3. Fushimi Inari
If you notice, these are all temples, so that's why we didn't go to the one in Osaka...
And by the time we finished Kyoto, we're traumatized with stairs because beautiful temples = at mountains and they don't have elevators, only stairs XD...
First is Kiyomizudera.. it'll be even more beautiful in autumn...
Arashiyama area... this one is not in my schedule but my friend kept on raving about the bamboo forest and promise that it's going to be only an 1 hour trip (NOT), meaning just go there and take picture and done (NOT)...
We took Romantic Train to see...
Tanuki!
Greenies...
and more rows of tanukis...
beautiful padi field, there's barely cloud in the sky, which meant... HOT...
We reached the bamboo forest... Thanks to the yasashii ojii-san. We were lost in the small alleys of Arashiyama and met this nice ojii-san. He just on the way out, probably to sent a letter out. We asked him for direction, but he happily showed us the way until deep inside the bamboo forest, which was totally the opposite direction on where he's actually going to! He happily chattered about what's inside the forest, the temples, the river (we didn't get to see this one). He's 79 years old, healthy and strong, still cycling out to the mountain everyday.
Nearby the bamboo forest, there's a street of restaurants and we picked this restaurant because it's hot outside and they served somen, with affordable price. And we get this set meal, which was fantastic! It's so clean, light, healthy (no oil)! The tofu is very soft and smooth. The somen... I could eat 2 set of this without effort.
And exactly across the somen place, there's this traditional sweet shop. We went in because of this grapefruit jelly and we're right to go in. The jelly was not so sweet, but it's very smooth and clean.
Getting out from Arashiyama..
And next is Kinkakuji... which is beautiful and majestic!
And we went straight to Fushimi Inari, the red gate temples, another beautiful site...
The land of cuteness just convert the cool kitsune statue from Fushimi Inari temple to the cute mascot on the flag and the train...
When you're in Kyoto, don't forget to try the local specialty, Yuba Tofu... damn nice! Soft, and it has layered texture. I asked the auntie, she told me that it's different from tofu because this one is made purely from soy milk, unlike tofu which has added on nigari, and the method is different as well.
And also, the Arashi endorsed products LOL... I bought the Muhi because Kyoto insects and mosquitoes attacked my legs, and left super itchy bite marks too...
I was a bit reluctant when I bought the Green Label because Kirin's 0% beer was really yucky, but this one is not so bad, but a bit gassy for me, taste wise, still good! I still love Kirin lager (the yellow one) the best.
This time it's more on sight seeing and shopping, less fangirling as somehow the mood went down and laziness hit me after the 2nd day (a visit to Osaka castle on a sunny day with scorching sun was not a really fun idea, and I applaud those who's been queueing for NEWS con goods in front of Osaka Jo Hall 2 hours before the boot opened on the same day coz it's bloody freaking hot).
My itinerary was 2 days Osaka --> 4 days Tokyo --> 2 days Kyoto --> 2 days Osaka. I did cover all the things that I wanted to see in Osaka, and more than what I wanted to see in Kyoto, but I totally failed on Tokyo, blamed it to the malls and aircons LOL...
My menu for Osaka is to see:
1. Osaka Castle
2. Glico man
3. Shitennoji temple
4. Minoo park
I managed to see the first 2, but not the last 2 because they're too far (Minoo park) and we'll be seeing more temples in Kyoto anyway, so... yeah... so what did we do with the remaining days in Osaka?
Namba is all about shop houses (shotengai), they have rows, rows and rows of it and I got lost pretty easily. Find that this place is too touristy but nevertheless this place has so many iconic items of Osaka.
This kani logo (which is not as huge as I thought) and Glico man is there...
They have 3D huge display for the shops and lots of ramen shops and pachinko parlors have these kinds of dragon display...
You'll want to play this arcade game if the goodies are those rilakuma, kumamon and LINE dolls... gah... the cuteness...
And Nino is practically everywhere, thanks to Salonpas (particularly Salonpas) and JCB. I saw him more often than Sho-chan or Arashi all together this time.
You don't see this Italian soda in your Macdonalds :(.
Finally Osaka Castle...
And somewhere near Osaka Jo Hall after decided that it's just too hot to join the queue for the concert goods and the bloody queue has gotten longer by that time haha...
So, we spent the rest of the days in the basement surveying the food and desserts. Summer is all about jellies which is what I love because you get to see wonderful colors on the dessert department.
and you're not in Osaka if you don't have Okonomiyaki and yakisoba. The yakisoba that we had is avocado yakisoba, which is totally yummy and unique.
My menu for Tokyo (the place to fangirl) is:
1. NTV
2. Koyamama's ramen
3. Mark Is (whatever Shingo has in Ojamap episode)
4. Ebisu Hanadan landmark and Shinjuku Love landmark (this totally didn't happen at all LOL)
We're there during the 24HR event and I thought people should be at home and the shop won't be that crowded... I was totally wrong. Didn't know that it's the same day as Arafes pre-order good collection that was held nearby, hence NTV was also flogged by Arashi fans, literally. They have an event where they lined up kids to dance to Arashi songs and basically everybody know the song and the dance and the audience did the same hand furi (this is in particular during A.RA.SHI song) and my friend freaked out LOL...
Next is Ojamap excursion, thanks to Ojamap, I get to know Tokyo Eki and Kiite and what's inside and what to look for haha...
Then it's another excursion to eat Koyamama's ramen, thanks to
miniliel, which was fantastic, not to mention the best gyoza I've ever eaten so far. The place is seriously small and if you don't really look for it, you won't know.The rest of the trip in Tokyo was spent in Yokohama malls (we loved aircon!)
Again, thanks to Ojamap, we know there's MARK IS and even my Japanese friend was surprised that I know MARK IS.
Baskin Robins is totally different in Japan, and different quality, I'll eat Baskin Robins if they have the same quality like what they have in Japan.
Tried the Choco Mont Blanc ice cream and it's not that sweet for a chocolate ice cream!
I love this shop and I lost count how many times I walked in to their branches in both Osaka and Tokyo, even at the airport and what's impressive is that there's always something different in what they sell every time we walked in. And on top of Miyazaki Aoi, they use NEWS too (I didn't know this). Still find it awkward that they use boys to advertise ladies clothing, to suggest what? Tegoshi thinks that you'll look cute if you wear xxx coordinator, therefore you should buy them? Hmmm...
This Snoopy shop is in Queens building (remember that Mannequin 5 SP in Yokohama?). Be careful of this shop, it has the power to suck in your money with its cuteness... They have practically almost every items you can think off with Snoopy on it, especially the bentou section.
For the fun of it, the right one is the latest vending machine, if not touched it'll function as an advertisement billboards, when touched the drinks will show up for you to choose... yeah, it's Japan LOL...
Again, thanks to Ojamap, we know there's the projection mapping exhibition 'Yokohama Odyssey'. To watch it you need tickets, even though it's free, but we managed to watch it and it's wonderful!, I'll try to upload it once I can upload it from my phone.
I didn't find the real mizu jelly that was featured in Geneten, but I found this mizu kuzu mochi... and it's fantastic!!! simple and double yummy...
Yokohama at sunset plus Aka Rengo (lots of goodies inside that red buildings)...
Lovely Yokohama night view, no wonder it's the dating place for couples... they're practically everywhere...
And basically I tried whatever Shingo featured in Ojamap for MARK IS episode.
I think I get the right shop, Shingo bought the big rolled cake and there's no way I could finish that whole loaf by myself. Luckily, they also sell the pieces, a bit different but I'd think it'll still taste about the same... fuwa2, light and fluffy, per Japanese standard.
The tomato choco. I loved this one, it's really delicious, it's both tangy and sweet. When I bought this, people were whispering 'that's the choco that Shingo ate in Ojamap'. Yeah, if it's not because of Ojamap, I wouldn't even know too ne...
The Hokkaido soft ice cream. One thing I notice about Hokkaido dairy is that they have that distinct smell and taste richer than other dairies, which is... yum!
The next destination is Kyoto and the menu is:
1. Kiyomizudera
2. Kinkakuji
3. Fushimi Inari
If you notice, these are all temples, so that's why we didn't go to the one in Osaka...
And by the time we finished Kyoto, we're traumatized with stairs because beautiful temples = at mountains and they don't have elevators, only stairs XD...
First is Kiyomizudera.. it'll be even more beautiful in autumn...
Arashiyama area... this one is not in my schedule but my friend kept on raving about the bamboo forest and promise that it's going to be only an 1 hour trip (NOT), meaning just go there and take picture and done (NOT)...
We took Romantic Train to see...
Tanuki!
Greenies...
and more rows of tanukis...
beautiful padi field, there's barely cloud in the sky, which meant... HOT...
We reached the bamboo forest... Thanks to the yasashii ojii-san. We were lost in the small alleys of Arashiyama and met this nice ojii-san. He just on the way out, probably to sent a letter out. We asked him for direction, but he happily showed us the way until deep inside the bamboo forest, which was totally the opposite direction on where he's actually going to! He happily chattered about what's inside the forest, the temples, the river (we didn't get to see this one). He's 79 years old, healthy and strong, still cycling out to the mountain everyday.
Nearby the bamboo forest, there's a street of restaurants and we picked this restaurant because it's hot outside and they served somen, with affordable price. And we get this set meal, which was fantastic! It's so clean, light, healthy (no oil)! The tofu is very soft and smooth. The somen... I could eat 2 set of this without effort.
And exactly across the somen place, there's this traditional sweet shop. We went in because of this grapefruit jelly and we're right to go in. The jelly was not so sweet, but it's very smooth and clean.
Getting out from Arashiyama..
And next is Kinkakuji... which is beautiful and majestic!
And we went straight to Fushimi Inari, the red gate temples, another beautiful site...
The land of cuteness just convert the cool kitsune statue from Fushimi Inari temple to the cute mascot on the flag and the train...
When you're in Kyoto, don't forget to try the local specialty, Yuba Tofu... damn nice! Soft, and it has layered texture. I asked the auntie, she told me that it's different from tofu because this one is made purely from soy milk, unlike tofu which has added on nigari, and the method is different as well.
And also, the Arashi endorsed products LOL... I bought the Muhi because Kyoto insects and mosquitoes attacked my legs, and left super itchy bite marks too...
I was a bit reluctant when I bought the Green Label because Kirin's 0% beer was really yucky, but this one is not so bad, but a bit gassy for me, taste wise, still good! I still love Kirin lager (the yellow one) the best.
