Posts in category: blog

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Many of the major must see places according to various sites and travel guides were clustered around the west side of Tokyo. For this leg of the journey a lot of the places were on the JR Yamanote line, so we had to purchase additional tickets.

Akihabara & Shinjuku

We decided to keep the main players of Tokyo for the full day with the boys, so after grabbing some breakfast and lunch at the supermarket near the hostel we headed off to Akihabara, the electronics and otaku centre of Tokyo. It was another scorching hot day but we braved the sun and headed over to Yodobashi camera, the huge electronics megastore because Munira wanted to get some instax film. We spent quite a while there, mostly on the toys floor trying out different games and toys that were sold. After that we walked over to the Tokyo Anime Centre, which was quite disappointing I think. It was just a small gallery in a big building. Maybe it was also because I’m not really into anime kot.

super huge (and this one was considered small) momo! it was sooo juicy and delicious and refreshing

out of place

no idea what most of the stuff here was. rasa mcm such a wasted opportunity.

cute pirate ship thingies

concentration

finally someone I know!

trying out Mario kart at the Nintendo stations

I wasn’t very good at it but it was fun!

we all scream for toy ice cream

this one’s for my mom (no we didnt buy it)

my new friend

the quite disappointing anime centre

no idea who these are

the fan that saved the day

Afterwards we just wandered around the colorful streets looking for maid and cat cafes for the fun of it. I don’t know why, maybe it was store policy or you have to be a paid customer, but whenever we tried taking pictures of maid café promoters they’d always hide. Strange.

so bright! so colorful!

the only maid cafe maid we managed to sneak a picture of

Akibaaaaaa

We headed over to the Shinjuku area afterwards to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (Tocho) for a free 360° view of the Tokyo metropolis. There are two towers, and from my research it was said that the South tower had slightly more interesting views, so we lined up to take the express elevator all the way up to the 45th floor. Tokyo seemed to go on forever and ever! It wasn’t a perfectly clear day though, so we couldn’t really see Mount Fuji unfortunately. Still, I’d highly recommend going up to the observatory. It definitely helped me get my bearings and gave me a better perspective on how sprawling Tokyo really is. Me and Munira ate our onigiri lunches up in the tower and after refilling our water bottles at the water fountain we headed back down and took the train over to Harajuku.

cute car ^__^

layers

traditional japanese armour shop

the cocoon

Tokyo Metropolitan Government

huge central plaza

shinjuku skyscrapers

That patch of green is Yoyogi Park, next to which is one of the Olympic sites for Tokyo 2020

sprawwwwlllll

I think the altitude got to us coz we were so giddy and excited when we saw this mascot

Harajuku & Omotesando

Harajuku station on the Yamanote line was surprisingly very small, I had expected it to be bigger, being a major attraction and all. The station is right across from the entrance to Yamshita-Dori, the main street to visit. It was crowded with people, with a very high percentage of them being teenage girls. Well the travel guide did say that Harajuku was the go to place for young adult girls to see, be seen, and shop. Most of the shops there were bright pink, though scattered in between them were drastically different goth/punk shops too. We stopped by a Daiso to shop for some souvenirs and then headed on down the road.

don’t be fooled, this was a guy

takeshita dori

overwhelming pinkiness

any trip to Japan is incomplete without a visit to daiso imho

the only fully outfitted lolita girl we saw..and only from the back too

taking it all in

we didn’t go up

stopped by a very pink cafeteria and posed like japanese girls. we were trying to fit in :p

fail.

showing us how its done

much needed relief from the heat

the boys surely felt very out of place. everything was pink and 99% of the patrons were girls hahaha. tula nak sangat makan kebab

At the end of the road the small shops opened up into a wide promenade of multistory mega stores. Inexplicably, the streets were lined with people just sitting around doing nothing in particular. They didn’t even look like they were waiting for anything/anyone. Just…sitting. On the sidewalks. Like it was perfectly normal. Don’t get me wrong, I love sitting on the sidewalk too sometimes, but this was like, a whole other level. So many people were doing the same kind of nothing. Haha.

monster of an H&M store. didnt enter either

inexplicable loitering

spot munira!

We turned down a corner onto Omotesando street, where more supposedly a different kind of crowd would flock to, being lined with upscale brands much like Ginza. Obviously we didnt enter any of them. Instead we went to the Oriental Bazaar, which is kind of a deceiving name because its not so much a bazaar as it is an air-conditioned shop selling all manner of Japanese souvenirs, for the tourists who didnt feel like trawling through the narrow streets of Asakusa and bargain hunting. But being Japanese, (I recall something I read/heard about the Japanese etiquette of not undercutting)  the prices here didnt differ so much compared to stalls elsewhere, so we decided to finish off our souvenir shopping once and for all. We got t-shirts for the boys in my family and an antique silk embroidered obi for my mom. the obi was so beautiful and was quite cheap, only Y900, whereas new ones cost upwards of Y20,000 or more.

Shaded Omotesando

Pretty prints that were surprisingly not so expensive

Munira’s project

Tokyo Camii

Shopping done, we walked over to the metro station and hopped on a train to Yoyogi-Uehara, only a few stops away, to visit the Tokyo Camii. It was really nice to have a proper place to pray and relax for a bit, Alhamdulillah. The masjid itself was small (by Malaysian standards of course) but very beautiful. The masjid was built by the Turkish, and the lower floors of the masjid housed the Turkish embassy and gallery/shop. Inside the main prayer hall was the most beautiful masjid chandelier I had ever seen. It was quite simple, composed of arabic letters, but that’s what made it even more elegant. We spent quite a while at the masjid just resting and taking pictures and chatting with the Muslims who were there to pray. 

compact and wonderful

entrance to the gallery

you have to go up the stairs to get to the prayer halls

<3

i absolutely loooved the chandelier

tgh jakun

beautiful Masha’Allah

door details

at the entrance to the main prayer hall

that wooden structure on the right is the stairway to the lower levels, where you can find the wudhu areas, toilets, and access to the gallery

taking a breather

Shibuya

After leaving we made our way to Shibuya, and by this time it was already dark. The first time we were in Shibuya we just lingered around the station and swarm crossing, but this time we actually crossed the street and explored the surroundings. It was Sunday night so it wasn’t super packed as I imagine Saturday or Friday night to be, but there were still so many people walking around. We were getting quite hungry so we stopped by a restaurant that Sue recommended back in Sapporo (Hanamaru) and sat down to steaming hot bowls of scrumptious Udon. We walked some more but ended up getting lost trying to find the train station so we backtracked to the Shibuya crossing and headed home after a long day out.

she needed to get 10000! i think we were number 2000something

cutie patootie

outside the shibuya station they were having a TPPA protest. This picture has nothing to do with that but i forgot to take a picture of the guy on the crate so yeah

dem bois

muka penat tapi happyyy

stopped by hard rock cafe sbb ade orang kirim tshirt

spiffy

Part 1    |    Part 2    |    Part 3    |    Part 4    |    Part 5    |    Part 6

Japan Part 1   |   Japan Part 2   |   Japan Part 3   |   Japan Part 4   |   Japan Part 5

Tsukiji Fish Market

A lot of people suggested that we go to the Tsukiji Fish Market, which I wasn’t too sure about because let’s face it: it’s a fish market and I hardly ever go to fish markets in Malaysia anyway. But since it opened early and so many people recommended it, and we wanted to get some food, we went there the next morning, but not super early to catch the auction because that would require us to be there at 3am O.o We went around 10 am, and it was definitely more interesting than i thought it would be. Most of the time there we spent in the outdoor market, where vendors were selling all sorts of weird looking creatures/plants/things. Everything was super fresh, and surprisingly didn’t smell of fish so much. I think the seafood section in Giant smells more.

We decided to have brunch at the market, and popped into a sushi bar to have fresh sushi, and boyyy was it good! The fish was so fresh and delicious ahhhh! Energised and with happy tummies we continued walking through the market, which was full of people, both buying things, and tourists. A lot of the stalls had samples out and the vendors eagerly invited people to try their food. We tried some teriyaki scallops, which were of course delicious. Then we walked over to the wholesale market where the real pasar basah is, but since it was already late morning, most of the activity had died down and people were cleaning up after the morning’s activities.

so fresh and so clean

all manner of pickles

look at that delicious slab of fish! i think its tuna

make your own matcha

our deeeelicious brunch

the far left was lightly broiled tuna, sangat sedap!!

made on the spot just for you

the shop was called sushi zanmai, i don’t know if its the same one as the branches in malaysia.

happy sushi eater

souvenir shopping

HUGE crabs

huge fresh oysters

teriyaki scallops testers so sedapppp

such a beautiful shoplady. Macam dalam anime

traditional pottery

cute chopstick holders

colors and patterns

the wholesale market

lobstaahhhh

clams and such

huge squid

aftermath. le decapitated tuna heads

Ginza, Marunouchi, and The Imperial Palace East Gardens

We decided to take the train to Ginza just to see the glitzy side of Tokyo (yes, right after mingling with seafood :p ) Glamorous coats, dresses, and bags filled tall, shiny shop-windows. Fall fashion was starting to come in, my favourite fashion season. Of course we didn’t enter any of the shops because they were the likes of Gucci, Pucci, Chanel, Dior, LV etc. We went to the Tokyo International Forum afterwards, but not before getting a bit lost trying to find it.

felt a little bit like New York, or at least what I imagine New York to be like

ooh la la

fossil shop

cute boots

i think this was Diane von Fürstenberg. i liked the quotes

japanese, fashionable everywhere

we saw this building from afar and came closer to see what it was. it was a kindergarten. a freakin kindergarten. oh ginza you fancy fancy neighborhood

kereta kecil warna merah

buildings

another outlet of sushi zanmai 😀

tokyo international forum. like being inside a whale, or underneath a viking ship. me like!

none indeed. at the forum shop

It was noon and we needed to find a place to pray, so we decided to get on the free shuttle buses that looped around the Marunouchi area and get off at the Imperial Palace East Gardens. There are two gardens that are open to the public here, the larger Honmaru Gardens and the smaller Ninomaru Gardens. Munira really wanted to see a proper Japanese garden (one we could enter, because the imperial gardens in Kyoto we could only see from a distance) so we went to Ninomaru first. It was a bit hard finding a corner to pray though, since most of the garden is quite manicured. But we found some wooded area and took turns praying there.

Compared to the Imperial Palace gardens in Kyoto, the ninomaru gardens seemed a little sparse, but it was still very beautiful. After wandering around for about an hour we headed over to the Honmaru Gardens, which was quite empty. It looked more like an activity park because of the wide, open grass spaces. One thing that was really nice was throughout the gardens they have rest houses, which at first I thought were bathrooms, but actually they are proper rest houses. Little air-conditioned huts that sell drinks and ice cream and a small selection of souvenirs. Great for cooling down and resting after a hot sweaty walk through the gardens.

At the exit of the gardens there was a small museum, and because it was free and air-conditioned we went in. The exhibit that was currently being held was a collection of clothes worn by the imperial prince when he was a little boy. The furisode (long sleeved kimono) were so beautiful, and cute since they were tiny :3 too bad we couldn’t take any pictures there though.

Tokyo station

approach to the imperial palace east gardens

roofs 🙂

juxtaposed

ninomaru japanese garden

2 old men had huge cameras with huger lenses and were stalking these butterflies at length

ninomaruuu

spot the tourist

photo by munira

one of the many photographers that spent so long patiently photographing everything

peace

marunouchi business skyscrapers in the background, imperial gardens in the foreground

yukataaa

my sistah

moi

beautiful

free but ticketed entry

fashionable japanese ladies are fashionable

trains, ever punctual, ever reliable

super long paper mural on display in one of the train stations

Asakusa surprise

Muhsin and his friend were arriving in Tokyo that afternoon and we had arranged to meet at Sensoji temple, Asakusa, at 6pm. Asakusa is a district which is a part of old Tokyo, hence its known as the historic touristy part. We’d seen a lot of history-related things in Kyoto, so the real main reason for going to Asakusa was to check out Nakamise, the souvenir shopping street.

We got to Asakusa station around 5pm, and the station was crowded with people. We didn’t think much of it, being a weekend and all, but once we got to the ground level there were even more people! So many people lining the streets and music playing and noise and people and more people. It was very confusing. As it turns out, we had stepped right into the annual Samba Parade Festival. Haha! Totally unexpected being in the historic part of Tokyo.

i have noooo idea

tourist information centre that we didnt go to

samba!

We had an hour til we were due to meet up so we made our way to Nakamise. There were so many interesting shops selling souvenirs and delicacies but we didn’t really buy anything since we already got most of our souvenirs from Kyoto. I did cave in and get a small handkerchief for myself since I really loved the traditional Japanese printed fabrics.

Nakamise stretches for about 250m, and ends at the gate to Sensoji temple. So we walked around looking for Muhsin but we couldn’t find him. None of us had internet or phone lines so we couldn’t contact Muhsin, so we decided to sit down and wait. An hour later he still hadn’t shown up and we were getting worried, so we backtracked twice along Nakamise but we still couldn’t find him. Then I remembered the metro station had limited free wifi, so we went there and quickly asked Mushin where he was. As it turns out he just got to the hostel, since moving with super huge and very heavy baggage made their journey to the hostel much more difficult and time-consuming than we expected. But it was good to know he was safe.

About half an hour later they arrived and we showed them around the area while looking for a place for them to eat since they hadn’t eaten anything the whole day. Unfortunately it was already 8ish so most shops were closed. We did manage to find one, even though it looked like a bar, but it was the only one that had fish and plain rice, whereas other places had questionable looking meat.

Nakamise-dori

window shopping commence!

pretty pretty fabrics

selipar jepun

hard at work making snacks

prints and postcards

non-foldable fans

paper lanterns

kawaii~!

not so kawaii

i loooved the fans but sooo mahal

traditional fabric shop

umbrelly brollies

cute neko

more umbrellas

😮

beautiful folding fans

making red bean paste filled kuih thingies called ningyoyaki

i was trying to look like him

pose~

at which point these groovy dudes were surrounded by cooing and kawaiiiiii

the cat looked like it was high

at the second gate, Hozomon gate

people lining up to…pray i think?

dusk falls, my favorite time to photograph the sky

love the colors

Sensoji Temple’s Hanzomon gate from Nakamise-dori

cute!

yay jumpa! yay makan! yay orang ambikkan gambar!

 We were thinking of going to the Tokyo Metropolitan Office observation deck since it closed late, but everyone was quite tired and we didn’t know if we’d make it there in time, so we ended the day just taking a relaxing stroll along the Sumida river park before heading back to our hostel.

Tokyo Skytree, the tallest broadcasting tower in the world i think

cak!

Total expenses:¥1430
Brunch: ¥730
Souvenirs: ¥200
Ice cream:¥100
Drink:¥100
Snacks:¥300

Japan Part 1      

Japan Part 2 

Japan Part 3

Japan Part 4

Japan Part 5

Japan Part 1   |   Japan Part 2   |   Japan Part 3   |   Japan Part 4

We landed in Narita Airport and my first stop was the tourist information centre where we picked up train maps, a tourist map, and a tourist guide book. The night before I researched the available day passes for Tokyo railways, and decided to get the Tokyo Metro Open ticket, since our hostel was on one of the lines and the Tokyo metro also operated most of the lines to the places we wanted to go to, and they had more lines than the Toei and JR lines. I was unsure which pass to buy at first, but in the end we bought the 2 day pass for ¥980, and it turned out to be an excellent choice, since we traveled a lot more than tickets worth.

as advertised

O.O thank goodness we went to Kyoto and Sapporo first. Rail-wrangling training wheels compared to this monster

yup.

very handy and very worn by the end our the trip. literally falling apart and only held together by some washi tape i bought

Feeling the heat

We didn’t expect this, but Tokyo was EXTREMELY hot. And this coming from someone who lives in hot, humid Malaysia. Tokyo was wayyy hotter. The first day we were there temperatures in the late afternoon was 37 degrees, and when we arrived at around noon it was so much worse. I have never in my life sweated so much just standing still, under the shade. Found out when we came back to Malaysia that apparently there were several cases of people passing out because of the heat in Tokyo that weekend. O.o

The hostel we had booked for our stay in Tokyo was Tokyo Backpackers, which had a lock out policy between 11am-4pm, around the time that we arrived. Thankfully we were able to drop off our bags and get on with the day. If you’re going to Tokyo, I highly recommend this hostel. It’s clean, has great facilities, convenient location, and is very spacious, almost unheard of in hostels and in Japan especially. the only thing missing was a water cooler for refilling our water bottles.

really spacious dorm room

Common area downstairs

We bought lunch from the 7-11 near the hostel, and since we were extremely hungry, stopped by Ueno Park just to have lunch. After wolfing down our onigiris we walked around the park, which was quite full of people. we headed to the International Library of Childrens Literature, mostly because it was air-conditioned, and because Munira works for Ana Muslim so I thought it’d be good to check out.

What we noticed immediately about Tokyo as compared to Kyoto and Sapporo was it was a lot bigger, and a lot grittier. the park had a lot of homeless people lazing around, whereas in Kyoto and Sapporo we never saw any. It was still clean, being in Japan and all, but more worn and grimy than the other places.

didnt get to go to Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, so made do with these torii gates

Sakura promenade. imagine this in sakura season *o*

International Museum of Children’s Literature renovated by Tadao Ando

traditional against modern. Museum designed by Le Corbusier

baru tengok sesak sikit dah jakun….

Jimbocho

After Ueno we headed to Jimbocho, which was one of the places we would have missed if it wasn’t for the guide book we got from the airport. And thank goodness we didn’t give it a pass because it was HEAVEN! Jimbocho is kind of like the book district in Tokyo, there are over 160 bookshops selling over 10 million second hand and new books, all within walking distance. Most of the books are Japanese but there are some shops that sell English books as well. You can get books about anything here. the first shop we entered was filled with hentai, which we didn’t realize at first, but we quickly stepped out and went to see other shops.

Munira was looking for children’s books for her boss, and I was just browsing. One of the shops was a 4 story book shop with a cafe on the ground floor and reading balconies on each floor, so quaint! another shop, called The Bohemian’s Guild, was packed with arts and graphics and design books, and its upper floor had artwork for sale. There was a bookshop that at first we didn’t enter because it looked like a supermarket, which was true, but it turns out it was a supermarket for books. 6 huge floors full of books. I think we went a bit crazy there haha. Good thing too that we decided to go on the day that my brother wasn’t with us because I’m sure he would have been bored.

the calligraphy books were really interesting, they opened out into one long, folded sheet.

some shops had traditional art prints for sale

loveeed this place

bookshop + cafe

pop-up books

haven for design books

some of their art books

all along the staircase

the design books shop

street called heaven

saw this place but didnt go in. i think it was part of a karaoke bar

Jimbocho Theater building

Awesome book showing Miyazaki’s original storyboards

cute 🙂

no i didn’t buy that bag…saje pose sbb mun suruh. this was inside the book supermarket (Sanseido)

Happy shopper – also, check out the Metro station art in the background. Books 🙂

We decided to pop over to Shibuya just for the heck of it (actually, to get our days worth of train rides as Munira put it, even though we probably already had) to see the famous scramble crossing. Friday night and it was definitely crowded. So many people eveywhere! So many bright (but surprisingly not blinding and quite pleasant) lights! So much going on! we just had to stand still and take it all in with huge grins on our faces heehee. Definitely an experience, being in the middle of so many people who, at the flick of a light, just mobilize and turn into a scrambling swarm. Incroyable. Night was falling so we headed back to our hostel to check in and have dinner (maggi) before passing out.

Hachiko!

😀 yes I realize I still have sunglasses on my head despite it being night time already. haha

1..2..3..SCRAMBLE!

Total expenses for the day: ¥8780
Metro Open ticket (2 days) :¥980
Airport transfer ticket: ¥1200 (Keisei Main Line Rapid)
Hostel: ¥2100/night for 3 nights = ¥6300
Lunch: ¥300

Japan Part 1

Japan Part 2

Japan Part 3

Japan Part 4

Japan Part 1
Japan Part 2
Japan Part 3

After arriving at Sapporo New Chitose Airport we took the train out to Sapporo where we planned to meet Muhsin. The station was huge but thankfully Muhsin was there at the gates to meet us. It’s been three months almost, since we last saw him! Peluk tanak lepas >.< We dropped off our bags at Muhsin’s hostel, a 10 minute walk away, and after a quick onigiri lunch, we headed back to Sapporo station to go to Otaru. We bought the Sapporo-Otaru welcome pass, which was Y1500 and came with a one day subway pass and return tickets to Otaru, which is quite a deal.

nyums

traditional way of showing train destinations in Sapporo station, by hanging plates on wires along the platforms.

yayyyy!

Otaru and Odori Park

Otaru is a seaside port town half an hour outside of Sapporo. It was the site of the first laid railway tracks to connect the canning and fishing town to Sapporo. The old canal and buildings around the town are quite different, we kind of felt like we were in Europe. It was actually quite interesting to see how a functioning industrial are/port could still be a tourist attraction. Spent the afternoon strolling along the canal, eating ice-cream, and catching up. I really missed Muhsin!

lompat separa-jadi

tour bus that we didn’t get on. Walking is the way to go for us

Yayyyy again 😀

one of the entrances to the canal

old cannery along the canal

students on a school trip. they were all drawing

trying to recreate the statue back there

yuppies off to board their yacht la konon

Otaru masjid

Someone’ magical backyard. Thats the old railway track, the first in Hokkaido

yayers

one of the port tycoon’s manors

manor and canal park

squished on to a swing 😀

Girl with the red shoes and her parents. literally thats the title of the statue

swimming in the canal

Muhsin belanja softu cream

walking through a dog park

pose and jump!

love otaru

by the docks

snap!

sights and activity around the docks

old architecture

some of the preserved buildings which were mostly canning warehouses, and the main crossing in Otaru, Victoria crossing

felt like europe

strolling along the preserved district

these cost a million yen, not kidding 😐

Some shop details around Otaru. Gigantic Takoyaki but we didnt buy it because we didnt know if it was halal or not, probably not. Recycled metal sculptures, Random cat statues, and beautiful stained glass.

resting our feet outside the stained glass shop.

Beautiful sunset scenery on the train back

We considered going to Sapporo Dome to indulge in Japan’s favorite sport, baseball, afterwards, but it was a bit late to get tickets so we decided to just go and have dinner and walk around Sapporo city’s Odori Park instead.

Muhsin brought us to a japanese place where we ate unadon and forgot to take pics beforehand because we were so hungry and it was mm mm goooooodd. Also managed to watch some of the baseball game we didn’t get to go to.

best unagi sushi I’ve had ever ever.

odori park and street performers. that ball of light is a fire dancer

light painting in odori park

In Sapporo we stayed at Muhsin’s friend’s apartment, the lovely Sue Yee. Such a lifesaver for graciously hosting both me and my sister The next day we didn’t really have anything planned. Actually for this whole leg of the trip I planned on taking it easy and going with the flow. So we followed Sue to the Hokkaido University that morning to meet up with Muhsin, who had some stuff to take care of. in the meantime, we walked around the beautiful campus.

Hokkaido University

Hokkaido University started out as an agricultural college before growing into what it is today, so they have large expanses of farming land for research, and even preserved a portion of the university’s original buildings into an outdoor museum which we checked out in the morning.

Some of the old barns and original buildings in Hokkaido University

farmgirls

There was a University Museum which was free so we checked that out. It was really quite interesting. there was a special exhibition going on, Giant Crocodiles vs Dinosaurs. Very cool. The museum building itself was really nice too, kinda felt like we were in Hogwarts.

The gorgeous University Museum building. We arrived the same time as a group of deaf Japanese schoolchildren coming on a school trip.

‘Boys, be Ambitious’ is the University’s motto.  Some of the exhibits: Sustainable models, The university’s nobel prize in chemistry, and some bugs.

Some awesome skeletons

More chemistry stuff. People used to have such nice penmanship!

Kuma, giant croc, more bugs, and a sweet deer

origami dinosaurs, looking at geology through a micriscope, and a cool exhibition about compressing numbers

University blueprints. All hand drawn and so precise and detailed hamek kau sectional detail

hogwarts hogwarts hoggy warty hogwarts (with dinosaurs)

Muhsin had shown us pictures of a sunflower field in the university so we set off looking for it, passing through a beautiful garden and into the Poplar avenue, but we couldn’t find it anywhere so we headed back to Mushin’s faculty for lunch and prayers at the International Students office, where we met some of Mushin’s friends who decided to show us where the field was. As it turns out though, they had uprooted the entire field just a few days before. :/ but looking at the cows was fun too 🙂

flowering shrubs garden

beautiful polar avenue

me and mun shared a bowl of yummy soba

didnt find the sunflowers but i got excited about the cows in the background

Shiroi Koibito and goodbyes

We decided to go to Shiroi Koibito Park outside the chocolate factory afterwards, and even though it wasn’t in peak bloom, it was still really beautiful and fun. And the chocolates we bought were deeeelicious! There was a free old toy museum so we checked that out too.

short side trip to ‘ol blighty

quaint english rose garden

the roses smelt wonderful, and thats a real apple!

mmmmmmm

come in, come in!

lotsa cute little playhouses around the park

hope dysentery keeps away

flowerbed, literally kinda

yay!

bubbles! bubbles! bubbles!

giant

snaps

making candy

apparently every tourist place in japan has these commemorative stamp thingies. baru tauuu

yummylicious chocolate drink. so smoooth

hangin out with Mozart, Mona Lisa, and ‘ol Pinocchio himself

astro boy blueprints

astro boys

cool old toys

Stopped by a second hand bookshop on the way back from Shiroi Koibito, they have tons of them everywhere in Japan. Munira got a few books for her boss, and we went on our way to Maruyama Park (the Sapporo version, they re-use names a lot here) Our plan was to catch the sunset from the top of the hill, but it was raining, and by the time we got to the park it was already past dusk, so we just walked around. Went to the Sapporo Masjid for prayers afterwards, and then we joined some of the Malaysian International Students Association for a farewell dinner for the interns, including my brother. Dinner was delicious (the cheese naan was to dieeee for!!! the cheese was soooooo gooooood!!) but the company was just as enjoyable 🙂

Some members of MISA. Arigatou Gozaimashita guys for taking good care of my little brother 🙂 pic from Alfarina

Spent our last night in Sapporo at Sue’s place and got up super early to catch the bus to the airport for our flight to Tokyo. There was a bit of a panic phase where we woke up late and had to really rush for the bus, and then reaching the airport and forgetting one of my bags on the bus after it had left the airport, but it was all good, Alhamdulillah 🙂

Goodbye Sapporo, Tokyo, here we come!

Expenses in Sapporo: ~¥6000
CTS to Sapporo:¥1040
Lunch day 1:¥250
Sapporo-Otaru Welcome Pass:¥1500
Dinner day 1:¥700
Lunch Day 2:¥300
Dinner day 2:¥500
Chocolate stuff at Shiroi Koibito:¥650
Bus to CTS: ¥1000

Japan Part 1

Japan Part 2

Japan Part 3

Japan Part 1
Japan Part 2

For day 3 we were undecided whether to leave Kyoto for Osaka earlier or just have the whole day in Kyoto. We had to go to Osaka to get to the airport for our early flight the next morning, but we didn’t really know what to do in Osaka besides the aquarium and Universal studios, both of which were expensive, so we decided to just take it easy and spend the day in Kyoto.

Arashiyama

Our bus route headed towards Arashiyama was apparently an old folks route, since our bus was full of cute old grannies and grandpas getting out and about with their daily business. Arashiyama is a district to the west of Kyoto, quite outside the main city area, but well worth the visit. Our bus passes didn’t cover the Arashiyama area but we could still use them, just needed to pay a bit extra for the journey out of the city. Once there, me and Munira rented bikes for ¥800 each for the whole day, and it was really nice and relaxing to cycle everywhere as the Japanese do. Bike rentals are easily available around Arashiyama, and we took the cheapest most convenient place we could find. Some places charged ¥1000 per day. It took a while to get confident enough to cycle on the roads, but after some practice runs in the park we headed to the beautiful bamboo groves.

cute teacher and schoolkids out for a morning excursion

me a lot of the time. logistics wrangling

obligatory daily selfie

cute old people :3

The bamboo groves are one of the main attractions in Arashiyama, and there is no admission fee. (¥A¥) Walking through the narrow pathways surrounded by the tall, swaying bamboo is an experience like no other. When the wind blows through the forest and the bamboo rustle against each other, it’s just like aaahhhhhhh~ The bamboo forest is actually a plantation, with bamboo there harvested and used for everything from building structures to souvenirs. We spent a few hours just walking slowly up and down the hills before stopping for some matcha “softu cream” at the Torokko Arashiyama Station, which was the next thing on our list.

Togetsukyo Bridge

Practice run around the islet park

Bamboo forest  ❤

berangan~

cute bamboo goods shop along the way

perfect

mystical swaying rustling bamboo

scale and proportion

waited to get a pic in this spot only for it to turn out with harsh shadows. oh wells

matcha softu cream with crunchy cinnamon biscuit. Yummmm

Another attraction in Arashiyama is the Sagano Scenic Railway, also known as Romantic train or Torokko line. It runs on an old portion of mountainous track to and from Kameoka and Saga-Arashiyama. We decided to take the return trip on the scenic railway so we rode our bikes to the Saga-Arashiyama station and parked them there, then boarded he JR line to the last Torokko station, near JR Umahori. along the way on the JR train we’d see glimpses of breathtaking scenery, deep ravines with swift blue rivers flowing through them. So exciting! From the Umahori station we walked past expanses of paddy fields (I admit, this was the closest I’ve ever gotten to a sawah padi >.< )

actually i was the jakun one…

chocolate mochi

lets go!

Romantic train has arrived

kawaiiii

IRL it was 10x more breathtaking

traditional boat tour down the river, which we didnt take because of yens.

rafting down, also no because of yens. would’ve been awesommmeeee though.

one of several JR railway bridges

merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

life is but a dream

downstream

upstream

happyyyy

through the forest

river/mountainside ochaya

train lady

 The scenic railway ride itself took 25 minutes, and that was way too short to fully take in the gorgeous mountain and river scenery. Definitely a must go if you find yourselves in Kyoto. The whole Arashiyama region actually, is highly highly recommended. Towards the end of the train ride one of the train conductors went through all the carriages slowly, singing a low, melodic folk song. I didn’t know what it meant but it definitely suited the whole atmosphere.

model town at the station

shinkansen tumpang lalu temple

After the train ride we decided to just cycle around Arashiyama, stopping at cute second hand book shops and pretty train stations, along the river watching people canoe around, to the Tenryu-ji temple and some interesting statues before returning the bikes and walking across the bridge again to the park to people watch, pray, and soak in the relaxing atmosphere.

our first second hand bookshop. instant love

how awesome is that breakfast at tiffany’s book?

the shop and our 2 red bikes

tenryu-ji

characters

Arashiyama is apparently a popular break-up spot. i can’t imagine why..its so beautiful here

the bridge at late afternoon

pretty train station

calm….

pretty ladies

kawaiii again

skodeng dari jauh, and then

asked for a pic up close 🙂 we felt so selekeh next to them

enchanting

air, water, earth

quaint (expensive) restaurant

Music Box Museum *saaakuraaaa*

done ferrying for the day

peace

last ride

pretty train station again at dusk

Dinner with friends, Catalonia, and surprises

By this time it was nearing dusk so we got back on the bus to get our bags at the hostel and head to the airport. when we got back to the hostel though, we decided to have dinner first (maggi) since it would not only lighten our load, but also we didn’t want to have to look for food along the way. As it turns out, our hostel mates were planning on having a big dinner altogether, and asked us to join them, so we did. A Spanish/Catalan couple, Albert and Nuria, made a delicious potato onion omelets and tomato-olive oil toast. so simple but so tasty! our Japanese hostel caretakers made teriyaki chicken with eggplant, radish and other veg, but we only at the vegetables, which were also soooo delicious. Dinner conversations firstly revolved around food, and later I asked Nuria what the deal was with Catalans, what the difference was between a Catalan and a Spaniard, so we got into a serious and eye-opening discussion about the Catalan situation. Really interesting and learnt so many new things 😀 If we ever find ourselves in Barcelona, we have a home ready to receive us, and vice versa yayyyy!

our hostel mates 😀

maggi dinner hewhew

yuko, the main hostel caretaker 😀

In the middle of our discussion, I noticed the hostel caretaker was switching off lights, which was odd because we were all still in the living room. Suddenly it was pitch black, and out of the staff room, another caretaker emerged bringing 2 cakes! as it turned out, they planned a mini-belated-surprise birthday party for 2 of the guests, Albert and this other Japanese guy. we were all so surprised! so sweet of them ^___^ so we all had a bit of cake, but it was getting late and we had to get to the airport. so after saying our goodbyes to everyone and thanking everyone for their hospitality, we rushed off to the bus stop and literally had to run across the road with all our luggage to catch the bus. Barely made it!

Railway Rush

Got to the train station and bought express train tickets to Kansai but we were told the express train service was finished for the day, so we had to take the regular train and switch to another train in Osaka. After a whole debacle with the ticketing machine (you’d be surprised to know there are people, yes, people, behind those machines. I swear) we ran for the train (up and down stairs I might add) and just managed to make it through the doors before they shut. We were running really tight with the train switch, and there was a high chance we wouldn’t make the transfer, which ended up being the case. So we found ourselves stranded in Osaka, at Tennoji station. the last train to the airport had gone and the station would close in a few hours, opening again only in the morning.

Stranded..!

At first we were kind of lost, wandering around the station thinking of options. we considered just waiting outside the station, but we didn’t know how safe that would be especially being so tired. my sister suggested finding a 7-11 and camping out in front of one since it was open 24/7. We asked taxis how much it would cost to get to the airport, and had a good laugh over the ¥10000 fare (after discount). then I remembered something I read about while researching cheap accommodation: manga/internet cafes or manga kissaten. It’s basically an internet cafe which is open 24hrs and you can stay there and surf the net/sleep/read manga for a relatively cheap hourly/packaged rate.

We asked the train ticket counter where the nearest one was and it wasn’t so far, so we walked over to see and decide our next move. after a loooong stare at the price menu, we decided to get the 5 hour night package for ¥980 per pax, which was the cheapest they offered. basically a desk cubicle with internet, and ours included free drinks, access to bathrooms and a free shower. It was actually not bad at all, if a little uncomfortable to sleep in a moving chair and at a desk, but if you wanted to pay extra, you could get a much more comfortable sleeping cubicle, which had more privacy and a reclining massage chair. not for us though.

The bathrooms were very clean, well stocked with soap and tissues, plenty of drinks from free vending machines (which I didn’t know how to use so I just drank warm water), for showering they give you a towel and a hairdryer and the shower has shampoo and soap ready for you, and the place was totally non-dodgy. Rows and rows of manga available to read if you like, fast internet, relatively quiet, felt very safe and even managed to sleep for an hour or two. definitely an experience, that.

our place kinda looked like this, but a bit brighter.

rows and rows of manga

The next morning we got up super early and rushed to the train station for the first train out (5am). there was no way we were missing another train, and we really needed to be at the airport asap to drop off our luggage and board the plane. Alhamdulillah we made it in time, and before we knew it, we were on board the cutest flight we ever flew, straight on to Sapporo.

Day 3 expenses: ¥6660
Bus Pass:¥500
Additional fare:¥400
Bike rental:¥800
Matcha Ice cream:¥150
Sagano Scenic railway:¥600
JR Tickets to Umahori:¥190
Books: ¥200
Train ticket to Osaka: ¥1830
Internet Cafe: ¥980
Train ticket to Kansai: ¥1010

Japan Part 1

Japan Part 2

*warning – this is gonna be quite a looong post with lots of pics. You can read Part 1 here*

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Morning happy faces

😀

wide gravel promenades..You can just imagine imperial processions strolling through the park

gurgling stream in the peach grove

strolling through the Imperial Palace grounds

The Imperial Palace Inner Wall

Seishomon Gate, the entrance for visitors

The tiger room in the Shodaibunoma, the waiting area for courtiers on official visits to the palace

The Shishinden, the most important building in the palace complex. Used for enthronement ceremonies and other state ceremonies

Jomeimon Gate heading to the Shishinden. The vermillion colour is believed to ward off evil

incredible detailing on the roof structure

I looove the roofs…

Shishinden and a glimpse of the base of the throne inside

vermillion

more roof ogling

Kenshunmon Gate, the entrance for the empress, princes and princesses

Roof construction details. The entire roof is made out of cypress bark, hand laid in several layers. each piece of bark is pinned into place with a bamboo pick.

The cypress bark is used because it has natural water resistance, flexibility to form shapes, and insect repellent properties. The thickened part of the roof near the front is just for aesthetics and is also made of cypress bark.

Shunkoden, one of the most recently built buildings in the complex

more roof love

The Seiryoden, used as the emperors residence

Seiryoden, that white tent is where the emperor would rest

Keiyakibashi bridge at the Oikeniwa gardens

traditional Japanese garden, the idealized landscape

strolling garden for the royalty

Oikeniwa Gardens

lush~

beautifullllll

Gonaitei gardens

path towards the empress and childrens quarters

our tour guide

Gonaitei gardens <3

Nijo Castle

details on the Kara-mon gate

Ninomaru Palace

i be flyyin like the birds

Across the outer moat

TIL: the roof ends are actually crests indicating the family/affiliation of the inhabitants. for the Imperial Palace its a 16 petaled chrysanthemum.

walking through Honmaru Gardens

Honmaru Gardens

Honmaru gardens and palace

interior painted screens. pic from http://maryamhmz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DSC00717.jpg

interior detailing. pic from http://maryamhmz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2906565737_6f8fb91989.jpg

Pine tree motif screen painting. pic from http://alvinjani.mylovepress.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/dsc_0107.jpg

pic from http://alvinjani.mylovepress.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/dsc_0107.jpg

pic from http://maryamhmz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DSC00713.jpg

one of the ceremonial rooms. pic from http://maryamhmz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/grand-audience-hall.jpg

Ceiling detail. pic from http://maryamhmz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/1875786-Detali_of_the_ceiling_of_Ninomaru_Palace..jpg

Kiyomizudera

uphill

fuhhhhhhh

more climbing to the gate

the gate! finally!

not sure if this was a beggar or what.

approach and climb

kimono yukata clad tourists

Kyoto~ 🙂

more stairs to the temple

Main approach to the temple grounds

we’re here!

sisters and partners in crime

prayer plaques maybe?

the magnificent view from up here

i wuz ‘ere

so was she

pavilion in the forest~

The place was crowded with tourists even though we went during non-peak season. Can’t imagine how thronged it would be during spring and autumn when the trees are all blossoming and full of color. from the temple we had a great view out to the entire Kyoto city and to the lush forested area where the temple was nestled. Stepping out onto the wooden stage is quite scary if you’re afraid of heights, because not only is it very high up with a straight drop, but the stage also looks like it’s going to fall off because its slanted slightly downwards. The entire temple was built without a single nail, and the columns system supporting the temple high off the hills was quite incredible.

tinkling bells welcomed us into the temple

more plaques

inside the temple

tourists

that’s the wooden stage out there

nampak je orang pakai kimono terus snap3..kimonos are so niiiice

Kiyomuzuderaaaa

the three fountains down there

knick knacks otw down from the temple, along the main access road lined with so many tempting shops

attempt at kawaii-ness. fail

attempt at kawaii japanese pose. fail

scrum-dilly-dumptious matcha parfait with plenty of surprises under the cream and matcha

we didnt get to go to the Ghibli museum because the tix sold out…so we had to make do with the souvenir shops we found je

magical nook in a nondescript alley

furrryyy

Kaonashi

ok la kawaii jadi sikit 🙂

Yasaka Pagoda i think…

*~captivating~*

such a charming place!

Beautiful street ^___^

doesn’t it feel like a movie set/theme park?

instax!

Japanese people are very into umbrellas. sold everywhere, and they’re so pretty too!

more ghibli goods

most delicious rice cracker i have ever ever eaten

happy shop keeper

wasabi rice cracker

nyummmm

cute purses made of traditional fabric with traditional print.

picturesque

neko art

ancient pathway

arrived at maruyama park and finding my way to Gion

Gion

Maruyama Park

worshippers at Yasaka shrine

i think these were like fortune papers

exiting Yasaka Shrine towards Gion

Entering Hanami-koji

traditional machiya house converted into a restaurant/ochaya (teahouse)

most of the restaurants here are very expensive, thus the doorman. A lot of the restaurants/ochaya have geiko/maiko performances, but they’d all be indoors

kawaii fail..

dusk falling

at which point i squealed to munira “Maiko Mun! Maiko!”

we were trying to keep up but gosh darnit she can walk so fast!

noticed this funnily dressed man earlier, and turns out he’s like, a geisha stalker. once the maiko emerged he ran after her and pulled out his big camera and snapped away like a paparazzi hehe :p

Shijo-dori at dusk

takoyaki

fascinating machine making little idk whats. looked like some kind of dorayaki

party scooter

Kansai International Airport (KIX) 

sleeping in the airport with yummy blankets

the KIX lounge shower facilities. Jakun ok!

All Aboard! 

1.check fares to destination on that big map. 2. purchase tix

me and my trusty file o’stuff.

success! sorta kinda

The view along the way. paddy fields interspersed between urban development. Interesting juxtaposition

Kyoto Day 1 – Temples, Shrines, and Philosophy 

Huge Kyoto Station

Home for 2 nights 🙂

The room we stayed in. Cosy!

flea market goodies. The lady trying the yukata on was so prettyyy..as were most people in Japan

Around the temple

bertambah jepun

Onigiri – a staple for us in Japan. Cheap and filling 🙂

Beautiful approach to the temple

Green green moss – felt like lying down and falling asleep here but this place couldn’t be entered. they protect their grass and moss here

our first torii

calligraphers booth

part of the small zen rock garden

sumi ink painted screen doors

amazing detailing and workmanship

cypress, my new favourite tree. the temple was made primarily using this wood, as were most temples and palaces in Japan. Its such a wonderful wood, ages beautifully and has highly visible grain~

across the pond

shinyyyy

calm..

we thought it was a statue because it stood so still for so long…

Japanese forests are scary, dark places. beautiful, but so so dark, even right at the edge like here.

matcha shaved ice to cool off 🙂

plenty of these around tourist areas, but we didnt get on one sebab kesian and cheapskate

warm afternoon sun

“in life, it is not the path you choose, but the direction you take that matters”

principal philosopher

“in life, you will meet some big fish, and you will meet some small fish. do not be afraid of the big fish, and do not disregard the small fish..All fishes have a part to play” huge carp. about 1 meter long

a very graves-esque house

more traditional homes

“stream over a stream, is like a dream, over a dream”

made it!

Shijo dori *o*

Teramachi arcade *o*

Dinner~

we ate here. Can’t read the name of the shop though :p

total expenditure per pax for the day: approx ¥10,520 
Shower: ¥500 
KIX to Kyoto train: ¥2770 (can get for ¥1830, but we took the express train) 
bus pass: ¥500 
Hostel full payment(2nights): ¥4500 
breakfast and lunch (bread and onigiri): ¥400 
Ryoan-Ji: ¥500 
Kinkakuji: ¥400 
Shaved Ice snack (shared): ¥250 
Dinner: ¥500 
Drinks: ¥200

See Japan Part 2 here