Floral Zoe: Tokyo

Tokyo Adventure Final Day and Farewell Japan

23:00

Day 6:

"Woke up feeling rubbish and as if I had been swimming in a very chlorinated pool. Seems like I have caught a cold from the previous hostel, the dangers of shared bedrooms! Got up and went to get some breakfast from the convenience store a short distance from the Hostel. Afterwards we decided to head to the Imperial Palace. I was hoping to see the grad palace, or at least the gardens, but to my disappointment, all you got to see was the moat and wall. I highly recommend avoid this place in Tokyo, especially on a hot day as there is no place to hide from the sun. There is a nice garden with a very small museum of the emperor in it (a room basically) to visit, but that is it.

The Imperial Moat

An Imperial Gate

We then headed to a recommended park called Shinjuku Gyoen. It was stunning! A traditional Japanese garden. In total, it cost 600 yen (£3.40) to get in and was definitely worth it. I would love to visit in the spring when the cherry blossoms are out, and also the Autumn when the leaves are turning red and golden.

Me in the Shinjuku Gyoen Park

After walking around the park all afternoon, we decided to have another traditional matcha and a sweet. Delicious again but not a proper traditional ceremony like the other day. Charlie and I barely talked all day as we were both hot and tired from the constant heat and the fast pace we kept up when site seeing. The conversation therefore was lacking. Not that I'm complaining as the peace and quiet was well received by both.

Hot Matcha and a traditional sweet

We then decided to head to the Sony building as we still had time in the day. Amazing! Especially the 3D games and the headphones. Visit here if you love your technology.

Taking a selfie on a camcorder.. inception?

We then wondered the streets and people watched. I also bought a shirt. We then returned to the hostel, freshened up and ate and drank there again, before retiring to bed.

I'm sad to be leaving Tokyo... It's been amazing."

Leaving:

"So I found out a couple of days ago my flight was delayed by at least 4 hours, going from 10:50am to at least 15:30 now. I decided to get then train to the airport around 10:30ish and ended up going from Kurame to Oshiego to Narita Terminal 2 via the Sky Access express. Such a miracle it cost me 2240 yen and I had 2250 yen left on my Pasmo card... result!
I turned up and arrived at my check in point, got given free candy and then shown to the correct desk. I was greeted by a very lovely BA Japanese lady who apologised for the delayed flight, upgraded my seat to a row by myself further forward in the place, as the flight wasn't full. I was then given a food voucher for 1500yen (~£10) and then shown the area where food was. Bought some meds for my cold (joys of joy) and then sat down and ate a grilled BBQ chicken sandwich and fries for free that was also very tasty.

Airport food

So Jake Bugg was on my flight and I'm was like 3 seats away from him in the departure lounge. Very weird. Didn't say hi properly in the end because I don't like to bother people. I was also watching the Japanese baseball at the time. I then got on the plane, had a whole row to myself that allowed me to sleep across it. Had copious amounts of food and gin and tonics before reaching England. The journey was quite bumpy, but overall was fine otherwise."

Final message:

I was so lucky to finally get to visit a place of my dreams. It was definitely what I expected and more. Even though my flight was delayed, I managed to secure a refund of £520 (basically the cost of the flight back). I will definitely return again. I hope you have enjoyed reading this mini-series.

Zoe x

adventures

Tokyo Adventure Day 5: Shibuya and Shopping

16:03

Day 5:

"Today we woke up and went to Shibuya, the shopping district. On arrival I was so shocked at how big and busy everything was. We left the station down one of the many escalators and onto the famous Shibuya crossing. We stopped and watched 100s or even a 1000 people cross all at one. It was so cool. We then wandered off, not knowing where we were going or what too. I had planned to shop quite a bit in Tokyo, as I heard it was a fashion capitol (in the words of Tyra Banks from ANTM). The first store we entered was huge, I think 13 floors all together and all woman's clothing. I decided it would probably be good if Charlie and I split up as I wanted to shop and didn't want to bore him. He would have been bored for sure, as I spent most of the day shopping at various stores such as forever 21 and uniqlo to name a few places I visited before I moved to Harajuku. While I was still in the Shibuya region I decided to stop and have an ice green tea frappe from the Starbucks opposite the famous crossing, as a break from the constant trying on clothes and being in awe of the high lit up neon buildings.

Outside Shibuya Station

The famous crossing view from StarbucksJust before moving to Shibuya, I went to a food market at the bottom of the station, where I bought some delightful bird shaped sweet buns for Charlie and I to have when we met up later in the day.

One of the bird sweet buns. It had a custard filling

I then went to Harajuku station and enter the tiny and incredibly crowded lanes of Harajuku. I had always wanted to go here after reading about it in magazines and online, and well admittedly from Gwen Stefani's song about Harajuku Girls! The shops ranges from pop cute candy lolita stores to dark gothic punk clothing outlets. It was all very exciting and also a bit too much in the heat (another day over 40'C). I wondered about for a good 2 hours until I started to feel exhausted and ill, so I decided to head to Yoyogi Park to meet Charlie early.

Entrance to Harujuku

A selection of photos of the shops

On arrival I was greeted by a massive shrine entrance, I don't know what they were called but they were impressive. I waited for Charlie for 30 mins, I thought he was late, but turns out I was massively early. It was nice to rest in the shade with a drink however.

One of Yoyogi Park Entrances

Cask of wine or was it Sake given to the shrine

Meiji Shrine

We enter the park and walked to the famous Meiji Shrine, dedicated to and Emperor and Empress Shoken, who were beloved by the nation. It was very pretty, and thankfully not too crowded. I decided I needed a proper sit down by this point, and ended up sitting for more than 20 minutes on a bench. This is very unlike me, as I am usually a get up and go go go kind of person. We ended up not stay too long as I took a turn for the worse and decided to listen to my body. We headed back just in time before a massive storm occurred also, which was refreshing in the heat we had been enduring. We then had dinner and a few drinks in the hostels bar. All served by Take, who could not pronounce my name but he did make some lovely cocktails.

Nui's Bar at the Hostel

Tomorrow is the last day.. Kinda sad. I could live here happily if I learnt the language properly."

Zoe

adventures

Tokyo Adventure Day 4: Pokemon and The Wind Rises

19:57

Day 4:

"Woke up after a good night sleep and said goodbye to the hostel we had been staying at.

Our first stop of the day was to get the metro to our new hostel. When looking for hostels to stay in, I decided I wanted to mix it up and stay in two different places. The first hostel we stayed in was more traditional and shared a bedroom with two other people. This new hostel was more modern, I would even say very hipster, and we had a room to ourselves, which I'm very glad we did as one of the ladies in our first room had a terrible cold that I caught.

We arrived at Nui Hostel and Bar Lounge where we checked in and dropped off our luggage. We returned to the Metro and too it to Daimon Station to visit the Pokemon Centre. We followed our map to a building, as it isn't well signed on the way and arrived to a shop full of Pokemon goodies. Charlie fell in love instantly in the shop, being an avid fan today. I too am a fan still, of the games, not so much the series. I ended up buying quite a few items for my little sisters birthday, as well as a present for my younger brother. While in the store we came across Michael again, so joined forces and headed downstairs to where a load of kids were training and having Pokemon battles on their Nintendo Ds'. So cool. We then found these Pokemon machine that you had to queue for, where you battle and then catch a Pokemon. It's a hard concept to explain, but if you get the opportunity, I recommend having a go. While Charlie had a go, Michael and I observed two little boys pounding away at the machine. They seemed like experts as they had already caught quite a few pokemon (which came on a micro card that you inserted into the machine to battle with).

Charlie outside of the Pokemon Centre

Kids battling each other with their Nintendos while waiting to get a special pokemon added to their game

The Pokemon game we played, weren't suppose to take a photo

Michael then left us and we went to 7/11 where we bought some snacks and then headed to Hama Rickyu Park. It was here where the imperial family had tea ceremonies. And so did we, it was scrummy btw. Had instructions on how to eat the sweet and then the cold matcha in the traditional way. We had the option for cold matcha as it was another incredibly hot day. Cost us 1400 yen in total (£8.20).

Tea ceremony with cold matcha and a bean paste sweet

Inside the traditional Tea House

Outside the tea house

We then wandered around the park more and then on our way to the station came across a festival type

thing outside a tv centre. We stayed there for over an hour, as we were captivated by the events taking place (games with cute characters etc) and then headed to Asakusa to the market to buy some souvenirs. After the market we went back to the hostel. We rested for a bit and freshened up. Then we decided to have cocktails and dinner at the bar on the ground level of the hostels as it was one of the reasons we chose the hostel. Charlie had a teriyaki pizza and I had ginger chicken. It was delicious! Literally amazing, served with aubergines and mushrooms. Probably the best chicken dish I have ever had.. and that says a lot if you know me.

Ginger Chicken with shitake mushrooms and aubergine at the Nui Hostel Bar

One of the many cocktails you can get at the Nui Hostel Bar

After dinner we went to the cinema and watched the new Studio Ghibli film the Wind Rises in Japanese. Brilliant, a more serious film and Charlie loved it too. Especially considering he could not understand a single word. I understood about 50% of the dialogue."

Myself posing with the Wind Rises promo poster

A 'small' caramel popcorn in the cinema, it was larger than the size of my head!

As an update I have recently seen the film again in English and it is just as beautiful as I remember. Captivating and one of Miyazaki's greats.

Zoe x

adventures

Tokyo Adventure Day 3: Ueno Zoo

15:51

Our adventures continue...

Day 3:

"We woke up at a normal time in comparison to the day before (~9am) and headed to Ueno Park with Michael, an American we met at our hostel, tagging along. After leaving Ueno Station, we walked up and came across a vast wide open space, with the National Museum looming in the distance. We entered the museum, which cost us 600 yen (£3.50, absolute bargain!) and saw a vast impressive collection of Japanese and Asian history. As we didn't want to leave the site too early, and because it was another boiling hot day, we decided to eat at one of the on-site restaurants. We all ordered food and Charlie had some seafood dish that looked mouthwatering. Mine however not so much. I ordered the pork cutlet with rice, which surprisingly came with scrambled egg on top, something I had forgotten the Japanese like to do. However to my amazement it was very tasty, especially since I cannot stand egg.

Jumping in front of the National Museum

One of many pieces found in the Museum

Charlie's (above) and my lunch at one of the National Museum's restaurants

Michael then left Charlie and I as we wanted to go to the Zoo in Ueno Park. We saw lions, tigers and polar bears! And of course many other creatures, including pandas! So cool! We also rode the monorail and chilled amongst the parks beautiful gardens. It was about 4ish when we left the zoo. I highly recommend visiting Ueno Zoo, it is by far the best zoo I have been too. It cost us 700 yen (£4) a bargain in comparison to London Zoo, and all the animals looked happy to be there, which I find most zoo animals do not.

Selfie with my Polar Bear friend at Ueno Zoo

One of the views from sitting in Ueno Zoo. This is over looking a load of gigantic lily pads, with Tokyo skyscrapers in the distance

We then walked around the park more and found some market stores. It was here that I came across one store selling yukatas and kimonos. Of course I bought a full KIMONO for a bargain price of 4000yen, about £23, which I bartered down from 5000yen. It was verified by the ladies in the hostel that it was real and that they thought one piece alone would have cost around 8000yen (£47)! Also they said I had good taste and that they helped me try it on. So happy to finally have one. I was going to wear it out but then thought it would be too hot to wear.

Me in my Kimono, after the lovely ladies at the hostel helped me to put it on

We then went with Michael to find the fireworks near the Tokyo Docks. The fireworks happen every Saturday throughout Tokyo, so we could miss them. They were awesome but we couldn't get a good view because we didn't have tickets, something next time I will look into. We still saw some amazing displays and the streets surrounding were packed with beautiful girls in traditional yukatas. After a while of trying to get a better view, and being herded by the incredibly organised police, we decided to head back to Asakusa. I also had Mos burger for dinner, scrummy!

Summer Fireworks

Tomorrow we move hostels, I will certainly miss this one."

Zoe

adventures

Tokyo Adventure: Part 2 - Studio Ghibli Museum

22:51

This has to be one of my favourite days in Tokyo. I had been wanting to go to the Studio Ghibli Museum for years. After being an avid fan of their spectacular heart-warming films, such as Spirited Away to Whisper of the Heart, my heart was pounding when I finally booked my tickets to the Museum. Note to anyone intending to visit, you have to buy the tickets in advance from the official sales people. I think I got mine off a website that specialises in Japanese tickets. Also double check your booking date... as you will find out why below:

Day 9:

Woke up early and got the metro at 8:30. Surprisingly it wasn't busy as Tokyo metro is known to one of the busiest in the world. I think the quietness was due to it being summer and around 40'C (people tend to migrate out of Tokyo during these months)

We went to Kanada and then changed for the Choi line which took us to Mitachi, the stop closest to the Studio Ghibli Museum. You can get a bus here, but we decided to walk as it was a nice day and not too far (under 1km if I recall). We walked along a river there and then we got into the queue to enter the museum. The building and surrounding gardens themselves I can only describe as one of Studio Ghibli's masterpieces.

Studio Ghibli Museum

View as you come out of the gift shop

One of the reasons we aimed to arrive early was because the night before I had realised that I had booked the tour for the next Friday and was distraught to learn this. Kana (one of the lovely hostel ladies) advised us to go there and try and say it as the companies fault not mine. It was horrendously nerve-racking, I was prepared to give out the full water works. Charlie said at the time that he had never seen someone act so upset, little did he know that I was actually very scared we weren't going to get in and that the whole trip would be ruined. But after a lengthy discussion with the manager we were allowed in. Hurray!

Me and Totoro, the ticket booth operator!

OMG it was magnificent... Out of this world. Literally dreams on a paper. Unfortunately for you we weren't allowed to take any photos inside. So I can only describe what was in the museum. A secret film to watch, walls covered in screen art and animation, Miyazaki's studio, a Cat Bus to play on (if you are under 10, shame for me) from My Neighbour is Totoro. After looking around we went and had lunch in the cafe. We queued for 30 minutes in the sun, the staff did provide fans etc. It was definitely worth the wait. We booth chose an amazing drink called 'Here comes the Sun' that changes colour as you swirl the floating ball of orange sorbet. I chose to have some sort of chicken pate sandwich with chips, while Charlie had spaghetti Bolognese with a breast of chicken on top (odd).

Video of the Here Comes the Sun drink

Studio Ghibli Menu

One of the windows inside the Museums toilets. This was the only part I could photograph without getting told off

Inside the cafe

My meal at the Café. Look at the cute Kiki plate!

Charlie's food on a Totoro plate. I think he chose a children's meal!

After eating we went around the surrounding park where we visited a small temple and also went swan peddling on a lake.

Some boats you can hire in the park.

Afterwards we got the train back to Shinjiku where we went to the park Shinjiku Goeyn. It was massive and very beautiful. I learnt from my Paris trip with my friend Livi during the heatwave in 2010, that parks are friends when trying to find a cool place to chill. This one did not disappoint. Temperatures were reported to be around 43'C that afternoon.

We then went back to the hostel and chilled, had some beers, made pasta for dinner, as I missed cooking, and then went and played Panchinko. Panchinko is a form of gambling in Japan. There are loads of places to play in Tokyo we found. So we decided to go in and try our luck. We had no idea what was going in and the man was helping us... We lost all our money. Oh well the experience was still awesome. We then wondered the streets and then came home.

Panchinko

Me in one of the many cardboard cut outs in the Asakusa area

Back at the hostel we chilled with Chinaru, whom is very cute and taught me how to make an origami swan. We then watched the end of Harry potter... Japanese dubbed..EXPECTO PARTNAAMM.

Stayed up til 1am and then went to sleep. Amazing day :)

Zoe x

Tokyo Adventure Final Day and Farewell Japan

Tokyo Adventure Day 5: Shibuya and Shopping

Tokyo Adventure Day 4: Pokemon and The Wind Rises

Tokyo Adventure Day 3: Ueno Zoo

Tokyo Adventure: Part 2 - Studio Ghibli Museum

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