Japan Trip 2016 Part 1 : Arrival, Shibuya
8:34:00 PM
Hey hey hey!
Japan post is finally here, can you believe it >.<!!! Applause please!!!
Honeymooners at Shibuya :)))) |
Actually i still have another Solo (Surakarta) related post left, but since it's only a hotel review and has no connection to the other posts, i decided to start my Japan trip posts instead! I was just prepping the pics then i simply couldn't wait to start blogging about it-seeing the pictures brought so many fond memories back T.T, how i miss Japan!!!
FYI, this is the first time both of us went to Japan, but Japan has always been one of my fave countries and a dream destination. The only thing stopping us to go earlier is because i am cheap and we always heard that Japan is super expensive! Well, it might be-once upon a time. Not anymore. Japan can totally be affordable too, we're the living testimony of it. Now that we discovered that, i can see myself going back to Japan over and over again.
Seriously, i know lots of people love Japan and they become crazier about this country after they got back-i thought i am immune to Japan's charm since i've been to so many countries and while there are places that stole my heart and i really want to come back to (like Europe in general-Holland specifically), there's not one country that makes me think and long for it as soon as i got home. Until now. I definitely left my heart in Japan T.T.
Anyway, yappity yappity yap, let's backtrack and start from the beginning!
Selfie first... |
Turned out i did not take any pictures during the flight and when we were waiting for our next flight to Haneda-that's... Unusual *LOL*. Long story short, we arrived at Haneda airport early in the morning, and i didn't get proper sleep as expected. Long flights (although Jakarta to Japan's hardly long, only about 6 hours) is always quite a torture for me, especially since i have difficulties falling asleep even in the comfort of my own room (no such problem occurred in Japan btw, we always had such a long and tiring day that i fell asleep as soon as i touched the pillow!).
Whenever i am in a new country, the first wave of unbearable excitement starts since we step foot on the airport >.< |
Japan, here we come ^^! |
Yoohoo. Again, in case you're wondering why my face shape look so different in this pic (super round) than the previous, it's not edited-it's the angle *LOL*. Low angle is never flattering |
After the group is complete and Stella (and a few members of the group) picked up her pocket wifi, we head to the bus stop. Haneda is surprisingly very quiet and calm. |
We went to Japan in January-which means it was still winter. After experiencing South Korea's harsh winter, we were expecting something similar in Japan-but it was actually very tolerable when we arrived-almost warm even. Don't get me wrong, it gets progressively colder in the afternoon and everyday we woke up to a lower temperature (in fact just a few days after we got back to Indonesia we heard that it's snowing in Tokyo :(.... Snow, why not wait for me...) but we were pretty smug at that time about how mild Japan's winter was. LOL.
We then dropped our luggage off at our hotel (which was super shockingly small *LOL*. Let me tell you, even when you heard about how small hotel rooms in Japan are, nothing prepares you for the tininess of it. I didn't take any pictures of our hotel room because there's barely enough room for the two of us (we're not exactly petite for Asian standard *LOLOLOL*) standing, plus our stuffs... I just got too overwhelmed and never got to take any pics (even Allianz hotel in Paris seemed pretty spacious in comparison LOL).
Don't let me start on the bathroom, it was like Barbie's bathroom! Hunny had to stand hunched whenever he's taking shower LOLOLOL. FYI, Japanese are not as small as they are stereotyped to be, as in i am pretty average there (i'm 1.68cm) and hunny (who's 1.79cm) didn't tower over Japanese guys or whatever-most of them are not that skinny either, just... normal. I think the smallest girls we encountered were some of our own group members (Stella totally included) hahaha. Oh but the bathroom was spotless, the toilet's automatic and comes with with butt warmer (okay, seat warmer. I like the sound of butt warmer better :p)
Anyway, after we're done dropping our stuffs (but lugging a small luggage each because we're going shopping and Stella advised us on bringing a luggage for our own convenience. It sure is easier to roll the luggage than lugging heavy shopping bags indeed!), we regrouped and went to the Kamata station.
This place fast becoming a familiar sight since it was to be our home ground for the next 8 days |
Hunny all excited to start exploring Tokyo |
A quick dash to the convenient store to grab some essentials |
So giddy with excitement that i kept on taking selfies *LOL* |
An essential for me? Well, a cup of coffee. I need my perk-me-up! |
Then hunny and i became excited over the unique (for us la) straw *LOLOLOL*, we're just a pair of overgrown kids really |
Look! How cute, no? Sorry for uber blurry pic, i didn't even realize it as usual hahaha |
Tourist gotta be tourist, i think i took a selfie with everything i ate/drink. Seriously |
Coz we're hillbillies and not everyday we spot a double decker train! |
Hachiko Gate! |
Welcome to Shibuya, peeps! |
Look at how happy Lily was :))) |
Eh no idea who they are. I was once a J-pop obsessed teenager, but my teenage years has passed so long-aunties can't be bothered to follow current Japanese groups, sadly :P |
With the famous Hachiko |
Old train carriage turned tourist information centre |
Super busy and bustling Shibuya. This is the famous crossing btw |
Another wefie, dunno why hunny kept on looking at the screen WTF |
You know how they say Japanese makes everything kawaii? It's true. Even the not-necessary-to-be-kawaii things. Like banks |
After shopping at H&M, we decided to roam around, locate a Daiso and grab a bite! |
Found an interesting enough place to eat! |
It's the very typical Japanese eatery, with tiny spaces (some eateries don't even have seats), self service and fast cooking! |
They got excited over computerized menu and self-selection *LOL* |
Especially hunny coz like i said, he's a silly little boy trapped in a grown man's body sometimes hahaha |
The lighting makes me look like a Geisha/kabuki WTF |
They also say it's hard to find non-yummy food in Japan, again i gotta say they're right... |
Still not a fan of dumplings tho (i only like dumpling when i was in Taiwan!) |
I'd be more than happy to pose with them tho hahaha |
Some of the pics in this blog post (and the future blog posts) were taken by Silv |
Didn't i warned you that i took a selfie with everything? I wasn't kidding. My uber kawaii Candy Candy inspired nail art was by Kiki Coroline, obvi |
After tummies were filled (immediately followed by me scrambling to find public toilet because i had to get off some HAHAHAHA), it's time for more roaming! |
While Silv and i were full, these two seem to have endless space for food |
And they decided to grab some taiyaki |
Hunny got the crispy one and i took a bite, tasted like those crispy Danish pastries to me |
Ok chose the original taiyaki |
Because the background was just too cute |
I was getting upset when we took this pic coz i was sleep deprived, tired and hunny kept on taking the wrong angles... Yes, photo taking is one of the rare things we argue about |
When in Japan, vending machine's everywhere. And they have warm (actually more like scalding) soup in a can so you can simply drink it like canned drinks |
There was some demonstration supporting Taiwan... Not really sure what it was all about but it's definitely the most orderly and organized demonstration i've ever seen |
Told ya everything's kawaii |
Just some random public toilet hunny snapped because Japanese toilet pic is a must HAHAHAHA, look at how clean and neat this random toilet is... |
Our time in Shibuya wasn't up yet (to be honest it was a bit too long for us, since we had no plan to shop), i was in dire need for a rest since my feet were hurting (because my boots had a very hard pads FML and it's raised so my toes were in contact with the front part of the boots, they were hard as rock T.T. I kept on buying extra pads in Daiso but then gave up and bought a comfy boots instead >.< #storyofmylife . I dunno why i never learn from my *many* mistakes, make sure my footwear are comfy for my travels!!!) and Starbucks was like, crazy packed-we ended up in L'Occitane cafe. I will tell ya all about our visit to L'Occitane cafe and Harajuku in part 2, stay tuned!
#Pink
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6 comments
ahhh cece jadi pingin ke jepang jugaa >__<
ReplyDeleteHoneymoon k Jepang Sha!
DeleteGreat post! Looks like you had a great time! I would love to go to Japan too, it's on top of my list. :) www.isabellaschoice.com x
ReplyDeleteI sure did! LOVEEE Japan! I'm sure you'll love it too ^^
DeleteYaay finally Japan postnya :D Iya ya ce Jepang ngangenin banget, habis pulang langsung pengen balik lagi T_T
ReplyDeleteBtw, maksudku yang kayak Mangga 2 itu tempate ce, kayak shop after shop gitu, bukan clothing e wkwkwk Clothing e Gyaru/Harajuku, tapi mahal-mahal, paling murah 2500 yen pa ya yang tak liat.
Lha baru baca ya Ly hahaha.. Iya aq jg, Japan ini hypnotizing bener yah...
DeleteOalahhh tempate tah yg kyk Mangdu, kirain sak baju2e kayak Mangdu hahahaha tp asli aq ga minat jg lek bajue mahal2, km tau aq pake baju mek 1-2x hahaha