Tokyofied

Rilakuma bathroom in Kiddie Land… It was so cute! This was...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 21:24:34 -0500

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...

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 20:53:12 -0500

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...

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 20:50:00 -0500

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...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:00:45 -0500

This one was my pancake, the caramel apple one from rainbow pancakes

Rainbow pancakes! In Japan, it’s normal to et pancakes as...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:55:52 -0500

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

Combini!

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:23:52 -0500

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...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 09:55:46 -0500

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...

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 07:56:36 -0500

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...

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 03:08:07 -0500

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/

I've been slacking!!

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:58:21 -0500

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...

Mon, 28 May 2012 09:45:37 -0500

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....

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:35:19 -0500

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...

Sun, 20 May 2012 22:12:09 -0500

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...

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:58:00 -0500

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....

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:59:08 -0500

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.

OKTOBERFEST! …in May lol it was in Yokohama. It was great...

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:01:14 -0500

OKTOBERFEST!

…in May lol it was in Yokohama. It was great fun! Lots of people, lots of good beer and food. Loved the sausages. My German friend recommended the best beers there. Although, the beer was expensive, like 1,300 yen a pop. There was also a band of old guys who played German beer songs and that was a lot of fun; drunk people singing and waving their glasses around haha.

PIZZA!!!! PASTA!!!! yummmmm <3 We went to Shakey’s in...

Sun, 06 May 2012 11:04:12 -0500

PIZZA!!!! PASTA!!!! yummmmm <3

We went to Shakey’s in Ikebukuro for lunch today and it was pizza/pasta/salad buffet. It was amazing. Of course, they had crazy pizza toppings like corn+mayo (which was delicious) and marshmallow+peaches and beef+hash browns. Interesting combos but delicious ones too.

So we went to Asakusa the other day and rented kimonos for a...

Sun, 06 May 2012 11:01:20 -0500

So we went to Asakusa the other day and rented kimonos for a couple of hours. AWESOME! lolll we looked like geishas ;) Asakusa is a very traditionalish area with a temple and stuff and it was cool. We got to dress up and walk around. We were one of very few to be wearing traditional clothes so we got stopped a lot by people who wanted photos of us… sort of felt like celebrities haha. It was great fun.

So we went to Tokyu Hands in Ikebukuro, which is a large...

Wed, 02 May 2012 04:39:38 -0500

So we went to Tokyu Hands in Ikebukuro, which is a large multilevel department store. It was amazing! Each floor was different, one having electronics, one with home goods, one with office/art supplies, one with luggage, etc etc. It was awesome! These were on the electronics/toys floor and they were so creepy I had to take a picture lol

Tokyu Hands is next to (or part of, not really sure) Sunshine City which is a large shopping area in Ikebukuro. We shall go shopping in Ikebukuro in the future :)

Dango! Absolutely amazing food. It’s like rice cakes on a...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 06:57:14 -0500

Dango! Absolutely amazing food. It’s like rice cakes on a stick covered in a delicious sauce. It was so good!