Archive for April 2016

Home Archive for April 2016

Shibuya is known as the popular shopping and entertainment spot in Tokyo. It is one heck of a busy district, where you can find almost everything from shopping to dining to pachinko and even host clubs. It is no wonder that Shibuya is still bustling even until night time.

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: One Night in Shibuya, Tokyo

Shibuya on a Friday night is filled with office workers who can finally taste the wonderful feeling of weekends. This pork ramen stall looks so popular there is barely a seat available inside.

A lot of store occupying huge building in Shibuya such as Adidas.

If you are talking about shopping in Shibuya, you would surely know about Shibuya 109, a trend setting fashion complex for young women in Japan. It is also the icon of the Shibuya district as it has more than one hundred boutiques in the building.

There are so many boutiques inside we dunno how to start shopping. If you want to shop until you drop, you should probably allocated one day to shop in Shibuya alone. The fashion boutiques open from 10AM to 9PM while the restaurants open slightly later at 11AM.

Fashion boutiques inside Shibuya 109 Tokyo Japan

Passed by a pachinko. What is a pachinko? It seems like an arcade game or pinball machine from outside. However, this is no ordinary arcade as pachinko is considered gambling games in Japan. The object of the games is to capture as many balls as possible. The balls can then be converted into prizes.

Listed as one of the top 10 things to do in Japan, you can't leave Shibuya without crossing in the famous 6-way intersection right outside Shibuya Station. When the lights turn red at this busy junction, they all turn red at the same time in every direction allowing pedestrians to surge into the intersection from all sides. The best place to watch this beautiful chaos is from the second-story window of the Starbucks (or Tsutaya) on the crossing's north side.

Often filmed as the famous waiting spot for couple in Japan, Hachiko Statue is something that I want to see with my own eyes. This is the statue of the loyal dog who waited for his master every day in front of Shibuya Station and continued to do so for years even after his master had passed away.

If you have experienced all the fun above, you may also want to try visiting a host club where the handsome (and beautiful) men will treat you like a queen.

You are not an anime lover unless you have watched (or at least tried to watch or heard about) Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin). I actually knew about the anime first before I realised that the anime is actually a manga adaptation. The anime's story so far follows the storyline in the manga without any deviation so I don't think I will watch the manga for now. If you are a fan of Attack on Titan, you must go to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Attack on Titan, Universal Studios Japan

Last year, you can see the epic battle between Eren (in Titan version) and

the woman titan (which turns out to be his fellow training-mate, Annie). Oops, I hope everyone's reading this has watched the anime or read the manga before because this is the biggest surprise in the first season of Attack on Titan anime. XD

Attack on Titan at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

Frontal shot but cropping both Eren's and Annie's legs. Yeah, this is how huge they are in Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. Oh well, they are titan so they must be huge right?

Epic battle of Eren vs Annie at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

If you are willing to queue (yes, queue!), you can take picture with the Corps. From one glance, I think there is Mikasa, Levi, Hange and Krista. It looks really fun. This is the only place where you can take picture with the Corps anyway.

Picture taking at Attack on Titan Universal Studios Japan Osaka

Another long queue (everything in USJ revolves around queueing, really) spotted for the chance to take picture with the...hungry titan. Well, they don't really need human flesh to fill their appetite actually. They eat because they are bored (wtf, right?). I have to say this is pretty cool and yet somewhat creepy way to take picture. #dilemma

Attack on Titan Phototaking at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

From USJ's website, it seems that they have added another installation from the famous anime and manga in Universal Studios Japan. It is the epic "Titan Wall" in life-sized. I don't think I can't help feeling a bit creeped out when I see the gaze of the Titan peering from the broken wall, but at the same time, I feel like looking at it too. LOL.

If you still have your appetite after all these "fun", you can eat a Titan as your snack. It costs 950 Japanese Yen per head.

Attack on Titan Snack at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

You can also buy the cape of the Survey Corps here. I nearly nearly nearly bought the cape until my friend reminded me that "nobody wears that on a broad daylight (and night) in Singapore". Haizz, I wish our culture can be more opened on applying some "anime fashion" into our daily fashion. =P

Official store of Attack on Titan in Universal Studios Japan

The store sells a lot of Attack on Titan merchandises which I seldom see anywhere so I guess if you want to buy some goods relating to this anime, you should buy them here.

Attack on Titan merchandises at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

The problem with coming to Universal Studios Japan on one of its peak period (i.e. school holiday, festive period, etc) is when you are tired of walking around and yet, there is nowhere to sit. All the benches are occupied, the restaurants are full and you start to wander around aimlessly just to find a place to sit for a while.

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Taking a Break at Pink Cafe, Universal Studios Japan

Saw a dragon along the way which seems to come from inside one of the popular games in Japan. I don't mind sitting on a dragon but I don't think the park guard will let me do so.

Dragon Statue at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

Sitting on a roller coaster looks fun too but the problem is, you need to stand for probably at least two hours to be able to sit there for less than 5 minutes.

Roller Coaster Ride at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

In the middle of our wandering, we saw a place which looks very girly from outside. It's apparently a cafe which is named after its theme, Pink Cafe. Miraculously, we found a place to sit in this Pink Cafe. We don't care about the thing that Pink Cafe sells as long as we can get a seat. We actually sat for a good 5 - 10 minutes before wondering what does Pink Cafe actually sell.

Pink Cafe at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

There is a Baskin Robbins, a popular ice cream chain from the US. Baskin Robbins is not that popular in Singapore but they do have a lot of stores in Jakarta, so I am quite familiar with the ice cream parlour. In fact, I used to love their chocolate chip cookies ice cream the most when I was little. Baskin Robbins in Japan though, sells a lot of flavours which I have never seen before in my life. I chose the wacky green Tutti Frutti while my friend chose mango strawberry ice cream.

Baskin Robbins at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

We perked up after happily eating our share of ice cream. Baskin Robbins does taste yummy wherever they are located. We came out from the cafe and randomly saw a stall selling cute balloons. I was tempted to get myself a Snoopy balloon, really.

Character balloons at Universal Studios Japan Osaka

And that's when Hello Kitty, the most famous cat in the world I tell you, came out to make an appearance. The fans of this famous character are mostly school girls. They really follow Hello Kitty everywhere oh my goodness. This kinda makes taking picture with Hello Kitty a bit of a challenge because despite the worldwide impression that the Japanese is the master of queuing in an orderly line, the same culture does not apply when you are taking picture with a character in Japanese theme park.

Hello Kitty Photo with Character at Universal Studios Japan

If you have kids, they may come in handy in this time of needs. The characters tend to prioritize taking pictures with kids compared to adults. #utilizeallmeans

I was an avid manga reader (okay, I should use the word "is" since I still love reading manga until now) when I was young. There is this manga telling a story about the life of teenagers which revolved around her and her friends' daily life spent in Harajuku. The impression given in the manga about Harajuku is that Harajuku is really strong in style-game. It's the center of Japan's fashion styles. So since my travelling buddy and I wanted to do some shopping too that night, we took the subway ride to Meiji-jingumae 'Harajuku" Station.

Harajuku is still lively despite the fact that it is already 8.30PM on a Thursday night. Japanese stays pretty late on the street every day, especially in big city like Tokyo.

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Night Time Shopping at Harajuku, Tokyo

You can actually reach Harajuku by walking from Omotesando but we were too lazy that night. As you can see from the picture below, a lot of high street fashion brands set up a huge store here in Harajuku. For instance, there is the four storeys high Forever 21.

Right across the street, there is a three storeys high H&M. All of these stores invest pretty big in lighting game. After all, nobody would bother to visit those dim fashion stores I suppose.

If you prefer to shop Japanese fashion, you should make your way to Laforet Harajuku. The shopping centre is located strategically at the junction of Omotesando and Meiji Shrine. Laforet Harajuku is huge and it contains a lot of small boutiques selling Japanese-style clothes and accessories. If you are looking for some kind of lolita, gothic or other eccentric fashion, you may be able to find your things here in Laforet.

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania is one of the brand opening a store at Laforet. If you watched an anime called "Nana" before, you will recognise this brand straight away as this is the fashion and accessories brand which is loved by one of the main character, which is a singer in a rock band. The anime itself is so good, I am thinking of re-watching it someday.

Vivienne Westwood Store in Laforet Harajuku Tokyo

There is another shopping mall which is loved by the Japanese youths and it is called YM Square Harajuku. Oh my goodness, even Charles & Keith has opened a store here in Harajuku. Not bad eh, Charles & Keith? (fyi, Charles & Keith is a Singapore brand shoe store).

Most of the stores in Harajuku open until around 9PM so if you don't know where to go at night in Tokyo, you can make your way to Harajuku and enjoy some shopping time.

When you are in Japan, you should not miss the chance to eat the local favourite, sushi. Sushi is an art in Japan and you can't make a living by selling those lousy not-so-fresh sushi to the customers. But the thing is...sushi restaurant is abundant in Japan. In Tokyo alone, there is countless number of sushi restaurants which we see wherever we go. We decided to try a sushi joint named Heiroku Sushi simply because it's conveniently located in Omotesando.

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Heiroku Sushi, Omotesando

Heiroku Sushi turns out to be a popular sushi chain in Japan. When we came, there is this snaking queue up to the point that we had to wait outside because the line inside the restaurant was already long enough.

Thankfully, Heiroku Sushi put their menu (with pictures) in front of the restaurant too so we could slowly choose what we wanted to eat. The price range for the sushi seems to be on the reasonable side. We did not see any sushi which is priced ridiculously beyond belief.

After 45 minutes or so, we had finally joined the indoor queue. Can't help looking at what people in front of us are eating while we were waiting for our turn to get seats.

15 minutes later we were finally assigned seats at the conveyer belts. The condiments are complete and there are a lot of them on the table so you don't really have to share with the diners sitting next to you.

Lots and lots of sushi passing by. If you don't see your favourite sushi on the belt, you can make an order by calling the waiter/ waitress to take your order. Just like ordering sushi in Sushi Tei in Singapore I suppose.

Heiroku Sushi Conveyer Restaurant in Omotesando Japan

What's different from the usual sushi joint in Singapore is the fact that there is a super big piece of tuna fish displayed in the middle of the belts. This tuna is basically the premium item. The sushi chef will announce (loudly) when they are about to serve this premium tuna sashimi on the belts. As it is considered premium, there is only a limited serving sold to diners within a day.

Premium tuna sashimi at Heiroku Sushi Omotesando Japan

We took one plate of the premium tuna because we were after all curious tourists. I can't really appreciate eating tuna sashimi as compared to salmon sashimi but I can say that this tuna sashimi is very fresh. There is no fishy smell at all (not like the one I ate in Singapore last time).

Tuna Sashimi at Heiroku Sushi Omotesando Tokyo

Heiroku Sushi is located right across Omotesando Hills. You will not miss the restaurant's sign and the queue outside the restaurant, especially during peak dining hours.

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Wandering Fel

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Sushi Party at Heiroku Sushi, Omotesando

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: One Night in Shibuya, Tokyo

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Attack on Titan, Universal Studios Japan

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Taking a Break at Pink Cafe, Universal Studios Japan

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Night Time Shopping at Harajuku, Tokyo

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: One Piece Mugiwara Store, Tokyo Tower

10D9N Spring Japan Trip: Heiroku Sushi, Omotesando