Fleeting visit to Tokyo.

Ironically one of my top bucket list locations in Japan, was somewhere I`ve been so close to before but never managed to visit. Kamakura is on the southern edge of Kanagawa prefecture and only a short couple of train rides from Haruka`s house. I visited a little while ago now, on what was definitely the hottest weekend we`d had in a while, and seemingly the start of summer.

We started by wandering the small but bustling street of Komachi-dori which leads straight from the station. We managed to escape from the glaring lunchtime sun into a relatively unoccupied mom and pop soba shop, which to anyone in the know is the perfect summer dish. Afterwards we headed to a super fancy kakigori (shaved ice) shop that even had a limited edition version that looked exactly like hydrangeas, a symbol of the Japanese rainy season. True to form I spilt about half of mine on the table, but what’s new there.

We headed to the Great Buddha in the late afternoon, spoke to a really lovely old man, and relaxed in the shade of the forest for a little while. This is probably one of the most iconic Buddha’s in Japan, but despite that it wasn’t nearly as crowded as I expected, and you only had to walk two minutes away to find some serenity. 

We came across a tiny little senbei (rice cracker) shop and treated ourselves to a huge cracker to share. That I never took a picture of, we were too occupied with eating it. I did buy the most adorable Buddha shaped crackers for Kohei’s family though, and I’d definitely recommend stopping there if you’re in the area. They have an abundance of decorated senbei for birthdays, graduations or even just to commemorate your trip to Kamakura. Imagine those large cookies you can have decorated with icing, but rather it’s a savoury cracker.

 

During my weekend away we also visited some locations in and around the Shibuya/Harajuku area. I finally visited a hedgehog café after wanting to visit one since I first came to Japan. Our hedgehog, Kiki, was super sassy and not having any of it, but we at least got a few cute pictures of him in knitted berets. We just let him chill out and enjoyed our time with them all, despite melting to death because they like a hot living environment. 

We also visited our favourite tea shop (this time in Aoyama) for our fix of fancy flavoured tapioca, and took a trip to Good Town for some doughnuts. Photo credit goes to Haruka for that one. It's the hippest cafe I've been to in a while, with lots of old school American vibes. Strawberry lemonade and lemon poppy seed were to die for, but next time, it’s all about the maple bacon.

Merry Christmas and 明けおめ！

Over winter break I went up to Kanagawa to spend time with my best friend’s family. As strange as it sounds, we did a “family swap”, with Haruka spending Christmas with my family, since she’s still studying in England. Mimi, their pug, sealed the deal for me.

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?

Hajimemashite, Tokyo!

Tokyo was the final stop on my mini tour of Asia with Haruka, and what a much needed pre-uni break it was! I hadn't realised how much I'd done in both Hong Kong and Seoul until I finally got a chance to chill out at Haruka's house. Although I've met her mum before, this was my first chance to meet her entire family which I was super excited about! Her brother actually lives about 5 minutes away from my accommodation when I'm in Kyoto, so it's nice to know I have someone there incase I need it.

On the evening we arrived, after a traumatic bus ride from the airport (note to self: don't drink coffee, milk, orange juice, water AND tea all before getting on a two hour bus with no toilet), I was treated to what Haruka's dad called a traditional Japanese bbq. I have to say, rice on a bbq was a new one to me! After that I was surprised with a birthday cake, since turning 20 is a big deal in Japan as you're finally deemed an adult. However my highlight had to be meeting Mimi, my favourite little pug. She developed a liking for chewing the plushy toy key rings on my backpack and stealing my socks, but you can't hold a grudge against a pug that lets you hold her like a baby.

The next day we went to Shin Yurigoaka station, the train station Haruka lives near to. It baffled me when I had only known her a few months and she announced she was having a day out at the train station, but now it made more sense. There's a lot of stores, even some cute ones like Kiddyland (the best place on earth for the likes of me, who are too old to really like animated characters but do anyway) so I did treat myself to some Gudetama socks. Great first purchase in Japan, Caitlin...

After practicing my Katakana reading practice in the Mister Donut, we headed to Uobei sushi for dinner with Haruka's mum. This was pretty cool, because you use tablets to order your food, which then gets delivered to your table by a conveyor belt, by a racing car, space shuttle and a shinkansen (bullet train).

Shibuya and Harajuku were on the cards for our next day, and if I'm honest, it wasn't at all what I expected. You get the perception that Tokyo is full of crazy fashion everywhere, especially in Harajuku, when in fact I barely saw that many. Haruka took me to Shibuya crossing first, and I really want to go back there during the rain to try and get some cool pictures of the umbrellas from above. Afterwards, we went to an ichiran restaurant, a ramen place where you order your food from a vending machine, get a ticket to select your ingredient preferences and sit in a booth made for one. You don't even see the people serving you, as they are hiding by a curtain. That was a strange experience, but oh my god, hands down the best ramen I've ever had! 

When we headed to Harajuku, I bullied Haruka into taking purikura with me, those typical photo booths where they make you look super kawaii and Japanese. It was hilarious, because they made my eyes look even bigger and I resembled an alien, and it was more worrying how Haruka actually suited the plastic surgery like things it did to us!

I was shocked that across the road from Harajuku station is Meiji Shrine, which you would have no idea was there. It's so peaceful and is such a contrast to the busy streets that it was probably my favourite "hidden" place I've found in Tokyo so far. Harajuku is famous for its crepes, so of course that had to be eaten before heading home too.

The next few days were more relaxed with me getting myself prepared for Kyoto. We headed to Yokohama in the afternoon just in time to see the ferris wheel lighting up. Yet again, we ended up at another romantic date spot so I think Haruka is trying to suggest something subconsciously... That was a food filled day, with Haruka's mum giving me my first yakisoba, then we got okonomiyaki and monja when we headed to Yokohama. It was a cool experience being able to cook the food in front of us, and it was amazing. Okonomiyaki is sort of a noodle omelette pancake with yummy goodness, and monja looks so wrong but tastes so right and I can't even explain it. You just eat it with tiny little metal spatulas which is a selling point in itself.

Over the next two days Haruka and I went to Shibuya again to smash karaoke which was the funniest experience I've had in a long time. Weird seeing people going into the booths alone though, who obviously take themselves way too seriously! Once Jane arrived we went into Tokyo again to the skytree, although the weather was too cloudy to see the top and we didn't go up. For my last evening, the Hattori's took us for sukiyaki, which was similar to hotpot and was an all you could eat meat place.

I'm still getting used to how most things I expect to be savoury in Japan are sweet, but now I've got myself prepared for my time in Kyoto!

I probably won't blog as much since wifi is harder to get ahold of, plus I'll have classes to attend, but hang on for the next update of my uni experience!