Rilakuma bathroom in Kiddie Land… It was so cute!
This was at Kiddie Land in Harajuku. Kiddie Land is a really cute, multi-level store with a lot of souvenirs and character goods from Rilakuma, Hello Kitty, Snoopy, Marvel, Animes, Disney, etc. etc. Definitely someplace to go if visiting Tokyo
here’s the cruise! It was very cool, for 2500 yen (about $30), we went on a 2-hour cruise in Tokyo Bay on a multi-level boat with lots of food and free drinks the whole time. It was a lot of fun! They had music and a dance floor and also shows including a magic show and a dance performance. And during the whole time, we could go to the sides and get amazing views of Tokyo Bay and the city. It was beautiful!
Yukatas! this was before we went on the cruise with our dorm, DK house
Yukatas are pretty light, just one layer with the obi instead of kimonos which can have layers upon layers.
ps-im the one holding the fan lol
This one was my pancake, the caramel apple one from rainbow pancakes
Rainbow pancakes!
In Japan, it’s normal to et pancakes as dessert or a snack instead of a meal like breakfast. Although its different from America, it makes sense because of how sweet pancakes usually are. Rainbow pancakes is a pancake shop in harajuku located in a local street. It was very tasty! This one is the orange chocolate one my friend got
So all the convenience stores in Japan are called combinis. They are a little different from American ones. The 3 main chains I’ve seen are 7/11, Sunkis, and Lawson’s. They have all types of food including instant. They also sell liquor and alcohol for pretty cheap. Conveniently, they usually have copy machines and fax machines and ATMs and you can also buy tickets for things like the Ghibli museum and pick them up at the combini. Also, if you have a package coming, you can order it to come at the combini nearest to you. The combinis here are very convenient! Lol
Akihabara!
Sorry I don’t have good pictures, when I go back there (and I will), I’ll take more pictures of the whole place. It’s the electronic mecca of Tokyo. Lots of anime there too. These are pictures of my friend, Alexis, in front of the AKB48 (jpop band) cafe and the Gundam cafe. It was very interesting! We visited some stores there, lots of electronics and we also went to figurine stores where they sell a lot of anime figures and cards and things like that. Definitely recommend coming here for all your electronic needs and to come sightsee if you are into japanese anime because they have lots of fan things for that.
Mutekiya!
A popular Ramen shop located in Ikebukuro. It’s right by the station so it’s very convenient! It’s a little hole in the wall place but it’s surprising pretty good sized in the restaurant and the ramen is DELICIOUS. I ordered the standard/most popular and it didn’t disappoint! It was pork broth and sooo good. There were spices you could add to it as well. The line wasn’t too bad when we went (right before lunch time) but while we were eating, the line grew down the block… It’s very popular!
I definitely recommend eating here if you ever want really good ramen while visiting Ikebukuro!
This isn’t me… although that would be nice lol
So this is the hair I wanted! I went to a hair salon in Fujimidai station called Clic. It was very nice! Though, they said that in order to get this hair, I would have to bleach, so I said no hah. I got it dyed a red wine color, and it looks gorgeous! Although, it’s a bit faded now…
Anyway, I wanted to talk about how awesome the service is! They offered me drinks! Also, the washing part (which is the best part in my opinion) was so long I was very pleased :) And, to top it all off, they gave me a massage while I waited for my hair to dry a bit. In addition to all of that, they constantly ask you if the things they are doing are okay (daijoobu?) and stuff like that. They are so polite! I would definitely recommend getting your hair done in Japan :)
Here is their website: http://www.clic-fujimidai.com/
Sorry!!!
I’ve been busy with midterms TT^TT so it’s been a sort of hell for the past week and a half, but I’ll try to update as much as possible!
So Midterms here, are a big deal. There aren’t really any exams throughout the semester (at least in the english-taught classes I’m in) so all of our grades come from participation, attendance, and the midterm and final. So it was very stressful. But, I did pretty well! I have one more (religion) tomorrow :)
Other than that, I got sick :( I got to wear the masks though so that was quite the experience. Also, I think they’re really effective! They keep the air you breathe really moist so you don’t cough as often. Also, it was really nice to sleep in them. Added bonus? They lock in your coughs so you don’t infect other people. Another note, Americans are so hopped up on meds… the meds here did not affect me at all… I had to take about twice the amount recommended for all the servings, for tylenol and cough medicine. I felt like a drug addict lol. Also, apparently I’m effing delicious to the mosquitos here so I’m being eaten alive. Thus, I drench myself in mosquito repellent every morning before leaving for school and every evening when I come back. hah
Asakusa again!
For the festival. It was so cool! There were a lot of portable shrines and drumming and lots and lots of festival food. I had a choco banana, katsu, etc etc. There was also goldfish catching, which was awesome and there were many people dressed up in yukatas. Beautiful day, very crowded. It’s awesome because everyone is so enthusiastic! And people are so nice… The festival food is great too, I just wish I had more of it… o.O
ECLIPSE!
It was awesome! We viewed it from the roof of our dorm. We had to look at it through special glasses… but we all looked at it straight on a couple of times hah. In Tokyo time, it happened at about 7:30ish am. It was pretty cool, apparently it hasn’t happened in Japan in a very long time. At least not a full eclipse. Very cool!
Purikura!
In Japan, these are very popular with girls. They are photobooths that make you look amazing… Also, after you take your pictures, you can edit them, adding stickers, sparkles, tags, or even changing eye and hair colors. There are many different types of Purikura, some that make your legs longer (there are different levels of longness) and that sort of thing. You can find them in arcades usually.
Ghibli Museum!
So cute! It was awesome. We saw Laputa, rode the cat bus, and watched a short with Mei and the cat bus. The museum is very cool with lots of passageways and exhibits. Although it isn’t too big, the whole museum itself is very cool. There’s a cafe as well and they sell their own Ghibli brand beer! haha. We also saw a remake of Miyazaki’s studio and all of his artworks. Also, we saw how the movies are made, with individual frames and stuff… It was very interesting! It was also a beautiful day today :)
Also, I caught a picture of the little girl running just perfectly and now it’s Mei and Totoro heh
Chinatown!
We visited Chinatown in Yokohama after Oktoberfest. It was great fun! We walked around and got solicited by a ton of shopkeepers and walked around all the cute gift shops. We also did Tabehodai at a Chinese restaurant and it was amazing… But I almost died from eating too much food. Hah.
