I was as sick as anything
for the first few days of the trip, so I was super grateful for being in an actual
home rather than my apartment. Don’t get me wrong, I love my apartment, but it
doesn’t quite have the homely feel you want when you’re feeling under the
weather. I’ll admit, eating Christmas dinner was the first time I’ve felt
really homesick my entire time in Japan. As you can see, I’ve got my priorities
straight… missing roast dinners with my Dad’s gravy takes precedence over
anything.
I choose not to speak
Japanese around Haruka’s family, mainly because I never have done and don’t
need to. Much to Haruka’s mums delight, she declared Christmas day was “Japanese
day” because friends of the family were coming round for Christmas dinner. I
thought she was joking until I was greeted by a cheerful “おはようございます”
after just waking up, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought, more just weird
talking to them in anything but English.
New Years was a
fabulous experience: getting to eat toshikoshi soba at midnight, drinking sake
to ring in New Year’s Day, and eating traditional ozōni and osechi-ryōri
despite it being a texture nightmare (I’m looking at you, kamaboko). New Year
was made even better by going on a morning stroll while Skyping my parents and
getting a glimpse of Mt. Fuji in the distance; it really cemented the fact that
I’m in Japan and I’ve actually started this whole ‘adulting’ thing.
During my time there I
met up with a few friends, Cathy and Jae in Tokyo, Daichi in Yokohama; along
with doing some exploring of my own. Here’s a little
breakdown of some gems I found during my time there, and I’d definitely
recommend going to if you’re ever up in the Tokyo area!
Dominique Ansel Bakery,
Omotesando – I’ll admit I found this place scrolling through Instagram, but it’s
so-called blossoming hot chocolate had me sold. It’s hidden in the back
streets, and a cool place to go to get some strangely innovative desserts. I
didn’t get my hands on one of their frozen s’mores (which they put on a stick
and toast, might I add), or a cookie shot glass filled with milk, but I did try
my first ever cronut... strawberry jam, chocolate elderflower ganache and mint
sugar magic.
FYI: they change the
cronut flavours monthly. If that’s not an invitation to return, I don’t know
what is.
Starbucks Neighbourhood
and Café, Tama Plaza Terrace – I’d heard a lot about these elusive Starbucks
where you could by alcohol, and was pleased to find that although there’s 13
dotted around Japan, one of them was on my way home from Yokohama.
I’m
seriously bitter that my Starbucks wasn’t like this; selling beer, wine and
allowing you to customise your coffee with whatever bean they had. I treated
myself to a local Hokkaido beer which was recommended to me, and their food
looked fabulous too. If you’re a fan of a chill atmosphere, whatever coffee you
want and a little bit of booze, go, it’s very different from other Starbucks
you’ll have been to.
Kawaii Monster Café,
Harajuku – A pink, sparkly, cute paradise. For me, at least. I’ve been wanting
to go for a while and its outrageousness didn’t disappoint at all! It’s one of
those places that leaves you wondering why it’s a thing, but I wasn’t complaining
in the slightest.The food was surprisingly nice, and I managed to time my visit to coincide with a show performed by the ‘Monster Girls’.
It’s also given
me some rather far-fetched ideas for my apartment. Hold that thought, in a few
months I may have crafted some papier mâché macaroons for my bedroom.
T-site, Daikanyama – I never
would have found this on my own if Haruka’s brother hadn’t recommended it to
me. I took a trip to this Tsuruya book store one afternoon where you can browse
to your hearts content and read anything you want.
It’s got a whole at one with
nature vibe, and is really more than just a regular bookstore. I was quite
content with a coffee, reading a book about Kyoto, in what is considered to be
one of the 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world.
Red Rock, Takadanobaba - Beef. Lots of it. A runny egg. Need I say more?
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