Japan Winter 2011 Trip - Week 1 (12/19-12/25/2011)
12/19/2011 (Monday)
Arrived in Japan. After getting luggage, first thing I tried was to see if my phone worked. Nope, meaning I had to go to the Softbank counter. Bought a prepaid card and loaded the phone with credits. Didn't try calling or mailing until after I left the airport, so I didn't know that I had do one more step. Was able to use the phone today (or so it seemed). Thank goodness for public payphones.
12/20/2011 (Tuesday)
Went to Harajuku for one of the Softbank stores that has English speakers. Found out that all I had to do with register my phone for unlimited mail service. Apparently calling from the phone was no problem, I guess it took time to register it yesterday..
Tried to look for the EVA store but had no luck. I ended up walking towards Ikebukuro without knowing it. So, took the bus from where I was walking to Ikebukuro and did bulk of my manga shopping at Animate. Store clerk asked me if I wanted to make a point card since I was buying a lot, and I asked if it was okay even though I lived overseas. Apparently, it is. =) Made new point card (I lost my one from when I lived in Gifu.).
In the evening, I bought a stamp emboss heater at LOFT, and then met up with Diane (hestia217) and her friend Sana to go to the Parco Noitamina shop in Shibuya, where they had an UN-GO display. If you spend 1000 yen or more, they had a postcards present campaign with Inga drawn by pako and Kouga Yun. I also tagged along afterwards and went to watch the prequel film UN-GO ep.0: Inga chapter. Definitely a good watch!
NO.6 endcards
NO.6 endcards
NO.6 endcards
Bottom right is the toi8 tapestry!
NO.6 gashaphon - wood strap
NO.6 gashaphon - acrylic strap
Portion of UN-GO ep.0 display
UN-GO ep.0 movie flyer at Toho Cinemas
12/21/2011 (Wednesday)
Stayed in most of the day. Got directions from Yoshi on how to find the Daiso near the next station over and stopped by Book Off on the walk back.
12/22/2011 (Thursday)
My birthday started off with me working on nengajou (Japanese new year postcards) in the morning. For lunch, I met up with Diane and Heidi at Bittersweet Buffet in Lumine Est in Shinjuku station. At one point, a girl bumped into me and I nearly dropped my dish on the floor. I caught it in time, but not before a bunch of my plate's contents fell on the floor...
At Bittersweet Buffet
At Bittersweet Buffet
I then tagged along with them to meet up with Mizushima-san and his wife at Harbs Cafe. Heidi told us a lot about the various things in Hokkaido, including the big festival that happens around Christmas time. Sounded delicious! =9 Next stop was Krispy Kreme. Christmas-themed donuts! XD We chatted, and I stayed until it was time for me to meet up with Phi (phi) at the Southern Terrace exit.
Hibiscus Fruit tea at Harbs Cafe
Krispy Kreme donuts
The two of us managed to locate the Zauo restaurant and get to our reserved table. Mid (midoriyuki) and Yoshi showed up a little later once they got off work. Diane and Heidi dropped by to say hi to people, but then headed off again. We tried to fish for our own dinner, but the fish were not biting. A couple times, it seemed like I got some interested ones, but they didn't take. =/ So we ordered food from the menu, which turned out to be quite enough. =9
At Zauo
Umibouzu salad
Hotpot
Pic courtesy of Phi
12/23/2011 (Friday)
Stayed in again to work on more nengajou. Today was a national holiday, so Yoshi was in as well. Later, we went to Asakusa, and I bought a lot of senbei. Apparently a weakness of mine. The sample food display stores were mostly closed, but Maiduru was still open, and that was the one I really had wanted to go to in the first place. =) Later, we had a dinner reservation at the Ehon no Kuni no Alice cafe. I cannot remember if we did the Christmas or the holiday course.
Appetizer at cafe
Salad inspired by the Queen of Hearts
Pasta inspired by the Mad Hatter
Dish inspired by the Catepillar
Champagne jelly
Dish inspired by the White Rabbit
Dessert inspired by the Cheshire Cat
12/24/2011 (Saturday)
Yoshi and I went to Tokyo Big Sight for the Bridal Festa taking place in West Hall. Got a bunch of random pamphlets, bags, and miscellaneous items. We also watch a fashion show (there were multiple ones, but only certain ones had the CLAMP dress on display). Some designs were really bold, but nice to look at. I don't think I'd want anything that flashy, though...
Main Sakura design
Chii design
Second Chii design
Second Sakura design
Sakura wedding dress
Fashion show stage
Very full wedding dress
This one was on the simple side.
Eye-catcher
Looks more like an evening gown than a wedding dress.
Sakura dress shot 1
Sakura dress shot 2
Sakura dress shot 3
Sakura dress shot 4
After that we went to the Joypolis in Daiba, and partook in the Gyakuten Kenji attraction. Play all three rounds and get a neckstrap! XD Also did the Fortune Forest which was pretty cool with its user interface, and then there was the sled ride that turned you upside down 360 degrees. Sounds like they're going to remodel and put in new attractions soon.
Illuminated tree in Aqua City
Crying polar bears
Mitsurugi's office in Joypolis
Cranapple and Ramune Dippin' Dots
And then for dinner... ODEN STAND outside Shinjuku station! FINALLY~ ♥ When it's cold out and eating hot food at the stand... the best! =9 Yoshi had ramen, lol.
ODEN! =9 (My dish)
Where the oden is stored
Oden stand
12/25/2011 (Sunday)
Since I had a tourist voucher to enter Ghibli Museum, I decided to go at 12pm. I took the Ghibli bus from Mitaka station. The short they showed when I went was “The Day I Bought A Star” (星を買った日). They had the walk-through exhibit of adult-sized cat bus from My Neighbor Totoro, the restaurant area in Spirited Away, the forest in Princess Mononoke, the antiques shop in Whisper of the Heart, and Sophie's hat workshop in Howl's Moving Castle.
I also got in line for the Straw Hat Cafe, which took almost 2 hours to enter... The only drink where you could get the foam art was on the coffee. I don't drink coffee, but I made an exception. It took me 4 spoonfuls of brown sugar. OTL
Coffee with wiped milk foam and pork katsu sandwich
Christmas tree in the courtyard
Christmas decorated signpost
Totoro
I walked back on the scenic route to Kichijoji station and met up with Yoshi. We went to see the Tintin movie in 3D. We both got discounts because it was my birthday month. =) The movie was good. Lots of action sequences.
And at Book Off, Yoshi got me Gyakuten Kenji 2 for my Christmas present.
Week 2
Week 3
Arrived in Japan. After getting luggage, first thing I tried was to see if my phone worked. Nope, meaning I had to go to the Softbank counter. Bought a prepaid card and loaded the phone with credits. Didn't try calling or mailing until after I left the airport, so I didn't know that I had do one more step. Was able to use the phone today (or so it seemed). Thank goodness for public payphones.
12/20/2011 (Tuesday)
Went to Harajuku for one of the Softbank stores that has English speakers. Found out that all I had to do with register my phone for unlimited mail service. Apparently calling from the phone was no problem, I guess it took time to register it yesterday..
Tried to look for the EVA store but had no luck. I ended up walking towards Ikebukuro without knowing it. So, took the bus from where I was walking to Ikebukuro and did bulk of my manga shopping at Animate. Store clerk asked me if I wanted to make a point card since I was buying a lot, and I asked if it was okay even though I lived overseas. Apparently, it is. =) Made new point card (I lost my one from when I lived in Gifu.).
In the evening, I bought a stamp emboss heater at LOFT, and then met up with Diane (hestia217) and her friend Sana to go to the Parco Noitamina shop in Shibuya, where they had an UN-GO display. If you spend 1000 yen or more, they had a postcards present campaign with Inga drawn by pako and Kouga Yun. I also tagged along afterwards and went to watch the prequel film UN-GO ep.0: Inga chapter. Definitely a good watch!
NO.6 endcards
NO.6 endcards
NO.6 endcards
Bottom right is the toi8 tapestry!
NO.6 gashaphon - wood strap
NO.6 gashaphon - acrylic strap
Portion of UN-GO ep.0 display
UN-GO ep.0 movie flyer at Toho Cinemas
12/21/2011 (Wednesday)
Stayed in most of the day. Got directions from Yoshi on how to find the Daiso near the next station over and stopped by Book Off on the walk back.
12/22/2011 (Thursday)
My birthday started off with me working on nengajou (Japanese new year postcards) in the morning. For lunch, I met up with Diane and Heidi at Bittersweet Buffet in Lumine Est in Shinjuku station. At one point, a girl bumped into me and I nearly dropped my dish on the floor. I caught it in time, but not before a bunch of my plate's contents fell on the floor...
At Bittersweet Buffet
At Bittersweet Buffet
I then tagged along with them to meet up with Mizushima-san and his wife at Harbs Cafe. Heidi told us a lot about the various things in Hokkaido, including the big festival that happens around Christmas time. Sounded delicious! =9 Next stop was Krispy Kreme. Christmas-themed donuts! XD We chatted, and I stayed until it was time for me to meet up with Phi (phi) at the Southern Terrace exit.
Hibiscus Fruit tea at Harbs Cafe
Krispy Kreme donuts
The two of us managed to locate the Zauo restaurant and get to our reserved table. Mid (midoriyuki) and Yoshi showed up a little later once they got off work. Diane and Heidi dropped by to say hi to people, but then headed off again. We tried to fish for our own dinner, but the fish were not biting. A couple times, it seemed like I got some interested ones, but they didn't take. =/ So we ordered food from the menu, which turned out to be quite enough. =9
At Zauo
Umibouzu salad
Hotpot
Pic courtesy of Phi
12/23/2011 (Friday)
Stayed in again to work on more nengajou. Today was a national holiday, so Yoshi was in as well. Later, we went to Asakusa, and I bought a lot of senbei. Apparently a weakness of mine. The sample food display stores were mostly closed, but Maiduru was still open, and that was the one I really had wanted to go to in the first place. =) Later, we had a dinner reservation at the Ehon no Kuni no Alice cafe. I cannot remember if we did the Christmas or the holiday course.
Appetizer at cafe
Salad inspired by the Queen of Hearts
Pasta inspired by the Mad Hatter
Dish inspired by the Catepillar
Champagne jelly
Dish inspired by the White Rabbit
Dessert inspired by the Cheshire Cat
12/24/2011 (Saturday)
Yoshi and I went to Tokyo Big Sight for the Bridal Festa taking place in West Hall. Got a bunch of random pamphlets, bags, and miscellaneous items. We also watch a fashion show (there were multiple ones, but only certain ones had the CLAMP dress on display). Some designs were really bold, but nice to look at. I don't think I'd want anything that flashy, though...
Main Sakura design
Chii design
Second Chii design
Second Sakura design
Sakura wedding dress
Fashion show stage
Very full wedding dress
This one was on the simple side.
Eye-catcher
Looks more like an evening gown than a wedding dress.
Sakura dress shot 1
Sakura dress shot 2
Sakura dress shot 3
Sakura dress shot 4
After that we went to the Joypolis in Daiba, and partook in the Gyakuten Kenji attraction. Play all three rounds and get a neckstrap! XD Also did the Fortune Forest which was pretty cool with its user interface, and then there was the sled ride that turned you upside down 360 degrees. Sounds like they're going to remodel and put in new attractions soon.
Illuminated tree in Aqua City
Crying polar bears
Mitsurugi's office in Joypolis
Cranapple and Ramune Dippin' Dots
And then for dinner... ODEN STAND outside Shinjuku station! FINALLY~ ♥ When it's cold out and eating hot food at the stand... the best! =9 Yoshi had ramen, lol.
ODEN! =9 (My dish)
Where the oden is stored
Oden stand
12/25/2011 (Sunday)
Since I had a tourist voucher to enter Ghibli Museum, I decided to go at 12pm. I took the Ghibli bus from Mitaka station. The short they showed when I went was “The Day I Bought A Star” (星を買った日). They had the walk-through exhibit of adult-sized cat bus from My Neighbor Totoro, the restaurant area in Spirited Away, the forest in Princess Mononoke, the antiques shop in Whisper of the Heart, and Sophie's hat workshop in Howl's Moving Castle.
I also got in line for the Straw Hat Cafe, which took almost 2 hours to enter... The only drink where you could get the foam art was on the coffee. I don't drink coffee, but I made an exception. It took me 4 spoonfuls of brown sugar. OTL
Coffee with wiped milk foam and pork katsu sandwich
Christmas tree in the courtyard
Christmas decorated signpost
Totoro
I walked back on the scenic route to Kichijoji station and met up with Yoshi. We went to see the Tintin movie in 3D. We both got discounts because it was my birthday month. =) The movie was good. Lots of action sequences.
And at Book Off, Yoshi got me Gyakuten Kenji 2 for my Christmas present.
Week 2
Week 3