Japan Trip 2016 Part 2 : L'Occitane Cafe, Harajuku, Make Your Own Okonomiyaki!
10:52:00 PM
Hello August!
I always love to start my month with something happy in hope that i will be having a happy month ahead :D! Nothing makes me happier than exploring new countries so, travel post it is! Continuing our adventure in Tokyo... Still Day 1 and i will take you to one of my very fave shopping spot in Japan : Harajuku!
Welcome to Harajuku! A place where i know i belong even before i even set my foot there T.T! |
But before that, we go back from where we left off in the previous post. Still in Shibuya, my feet were throbbing due to unsuitable (but damn cute) footwear and my eyes getting droopy from exhaustion, it was still about an hour or so from the appointed gathering time with the rest of the group and i really needed a rest. We originally wanted to go to a Starbucks (which is the most strategic location to snap a pic of the famous crossing of Shibuya) but the line was longer than people lining up for free food in Indonesia (turned out Japanese really love lining up WTF. Stella told us if a food stall doesn't have a long line, then Japanese people would assume that the food sucks and they won't buy from it. The longer the line, the better the food is assumed to be *LOL*) so we decided to venture to L'Occitane cafe nearby.
Now, i am HUGE on thematic and brands cafes. I told ya i'm the ultimate victim of commercialism (and i am happy to be one). L'Occitane (which is obviously a cosmetic brand) cafe is not something very common and we certainly do not have one in Indonesia (i actually never seen other L'Occitane cafe before. I just did some research and i'm pretty surprised to learn that they also have a cafe in Taiwan. I don't think they have too many cafes exisiting right now? Do correct me if i'm wrong!) so i was quite intrigued by it.
Thematic cafes tend to be pricey, it's a given. The question is, how expensive? Well, let me tell you that L'Occitane cafe is definitely QUITE expensive. It's actually more expensive than Alice in Wonderland cafe that we went to later on *LOL*. Every person must order (at least) a drink and the drinks costs around IDR 100.000 each. It's quite cray, but then again TWG in Singapore was just as expensive. I didn't regret going there (i dunno about Silv tho hahahaha, i feel kinda bad for dragging her there. But i didn't force her to come okay!), but i personally think it's a one time kind of experience and not necessarily a place that i would re-visit.
Okay i am blabbing, let's see how the place looks!
It was packed! But we got a table right away so we didn't have to wait-it wasn't ideal tho. Don't even dream about snapping pics of the crossing or whatever |
Silv and i with our severely overpriced drinks hehehe |
I don't remember what i ordered precisely but it was strawberry sorbet with rose jelly |
Brace yourself for an endless selfies with my expensive drink |
Because #kiasu . My God look at how shiny my nose was |
OKOK, last one |
Was even tempted to bring this flower home as a memento of the most expensive drink i've ever had yet. Not counting alcoholic drink, of course *LOL* |
Silv's orange juice |
I did say that was the last selfie but this one is a wefie :p. Is it just me or did i look like an elf in this pic -___- |
Yep, that's it for the L'Occitane cafe visit. It's a brand cafe and not a thematic cafe so there were not much to see. The cafe was cozy and the decor very Parisienne chic and it was a pleasant visit, but like i said earlier, i don't feel the need to revisit haha.
Let's move on now!
Our next destination is HARAJUKU! The super famous district, well known for the patrons' fashion sense making it a popular name in pop culture! If you want to see Japanese youngsters dress up in their cool sub-culture styles, this is where you go. You won't see girls in full lolita just strolling around in groups in any other district, that's not the way they roll apparently *LOL*. We did see uniquely fashionable Japanese everywhere, but those with full garbs on were only found here (and Shinjuku, but it's a different style already).
These people in front of my camera are the tour group's member btw hahaha |
If i remember correctly, we came during weekend-that's why it was so CROWDED! We came back to Harajuku on our last full day in Tokyo and it was nowhere near this crowded |
I look super tired and gloomy, but that's our only couple pic in Harajuku so i am uploading it! |
Even their McD's cuter than other countries' McD haha. Hunny bought a mushroom pie, it tasted like mushroom soup! Totally YUMS! |
I did buy a lucky cosmetic bag (which was an amazing value for money!) from that store (the D'or one) across from the Daiso |
Sweet Box is the most famous store for Japanese crepes in Harajuku, hunny did buy one but i think it was on our second visit |
The line to order your freshly made snacks. I didn't dare to snap pics of the store for the same reason as i already told ya before! |
Here's what he got, it was quite yum! I just realized that i am not much of a crunchy snack fan, i guess that's why i liked this because the potato stick were mushy inside |
The freshest potato chip you can ever ask for! |
Uber cute candy store |
Hunny and food... LOL. Look at how they made the faux noodle like a hand holding out the spoon instead of the other way round *LOL* |
Yep, filled the suitcase and still had to lug more plastic bags >.< |
Sorry for uber blurry pic >.<, sometimes Marshmallow do crazy things when it's dark and cold >.<.... This is where we're having dinner at : Sakura Tei Okonomiyaki & Monjayaki Restaurant |
The restaurant is uniquely decorated, it was like a mix of rustic feel and anime! |
The thought of yummy okonomiyaki puts a huge smile on hunny's face hahaha |
Look, "trees" growing inside the restaurant :D |
Stella explaining about what we're about to experience hehe |
The ingredients |
Mix mix |
Cracking the egg like a pro |
Almost! |
And done!!! |
You can check out my short video of the okonomiyaki making below! |
We also had yakisoba. Yea... It's better than any other soba i had in the past but i am still not a fan of soba. When it comes to noodle.... I'll take Indonesian noodles anytime haha |
Kanpaiiii!!!! |
Next on the menu is Monjayaki. Something that we've never had before |
Group pic ^^ |
Every part of this restaurant looks different and very very unique! |
Mr. Chef (he's probably the owner) who kept on moving so i only caught his blurry self haha |
Happy tummy, happy us! |
I think apart from scoring a great valued lucky bag (i am always happy whenever i get a good deal), our dinner at Sakura Tei was the highlight of the day! It was a truly unique experience and it was so so soooo good too! Highly recommending this restaurant if you ever find yourself in Harajuku! I am so going to drag my group here in our second visit! (Yep, it is already in the book! We are going back to Japan soon! So happy imma die *LOL*).
It was getting very late and all of the stores were already closing when we're done dining |
Sorry, another blurry pic T.T |
We head back to Kamata and then got horribly LOST because we got out of the station at the wrong exit! We ended up going round a HUGE circle and finally got to our hotel from the other side >.<! LOL. Needless to say, i pretty much passed out as soon as we reach our hotel, i don't even remember if i showered *LOLOLOLOL*. I think i did la, i showered once a day in Japan :p.
That's the end of day one, we're going to Asakusa, Tokyo Skytree and an onsen on our second day! I hope y'all are looking forward to that!
Toodles for now!
#Pink
Toodles for now!
#Pink
6 comments
Gile rame banget harajuku ya
ReplyDeletegak pusing ya ngeliat org begitu banyak? Hehehe
Mrk ngga nempel2, jejel2 or dorong2 sih Man, jd meskipun ruame engga kerasa tll stress hehehe
DeleteHahaha, after read ur post carefully, I just noticed if that rose is real >.<
ReplyDeleteYep, and there were real roses inside the drink too!
Deleteaku mau travel bareng ko Chandraa isinya wisata kulineer XD
ReplyDeleteNot just you ceee, aku barusan nggigit tangan Sam habis liat foto okonomiyakinya wkwkwkw
Ayo kita berangkat2 bareng lagi Lilyyyyyy... Tangane Sam ga enak, tulang tok, nih ta kasih tanganku full daging hahahaha
Delete