This is gonna be my last post about my Tokyo trip with my girls. The whole trip was planned to give Sushi a unique Hen’s Night so we couldn’t leave Japan without having at least one real hens’ night outing with some challenges!

We met some lovely Japanese people and 2 very friendly and helpful lads that took us to a hip hop club so we could have some girly fun! One of them actually knows Sharon Au (they studied together in Japan) and he was a little surprise when he found out she wasn’t kidding with him when she told him that she was pretty famous in Singapore… lol.

As a part of her hens night challenge, Sushi had to wear a singlet on which we wrote in Japanese – ” I’m going to be married soon. If you think I’m pretty, sign on my shirt!” or at least something along those lines.

And despite the language differences, it wasn’t too difficult a tasks cause the Japanese folks at the bar were really friendly and spontaneous! With most laughing away with us and happily congratulating Sushi. I’ll let the photos do the talking of our night out. You can click on the photo below if you want to see the larger version.

The night ended well with the singlet top filled with signatures! All from men of course except for the small little compliment on the front of the top that says ” You are really pretty” by one of the Japanese girls at the pub.

After all that partying, we slid on our trench coats and walked in the crisp morning air to the nearest Danny’s for some extremely early breakfast!

The boys came along with us. In Tokyo, the culture is that they party till dawn so they can catch the subway home.

Here are the food pictures!

The boys sent us home to our hotel after exchanging contacts. So sweet right?

We spent the rest of the next day shopping at Shibuya 109! We were too busy shopping that I didn’t have time to snap any photos! But you can be sure all of us were really happy with our purchases and wished we had more luggage space to bring back even more stuff!

I don’t normally blog about my buys but I’ll blog about a few items I absolutely regret not getting (or not buying more of ) at Peach John when I was at Shibuya 109.

Firstly is these 2 gorgeous apron. I felt it was a pretty frivolous buy since it is way too pretty (and expensive) to be dirtied in the kitchen but the moment I was on the plane I regret not getting it. Sigh. I really really like the blue one… and mildly considered the pink one cause it was on sale for 1/2 price.

Secondly, is these 2 pouches I bought for my girlfriends back home… I wanted to get another one for myself too but they only had 2 pieces in stock at the Shibuya 109 branch and I didn’t have time for them to transfer pieces over for pickup at another time.

Lastly is this Peach Johns Instant Make-Up Cream. Since Peach John is actually a lingerie store I didn’t trust their make-up products and only bought this tube on a whim cause I got attracted to the packaging and all it promises. But I find it to be really good! Fine and light textured and absolutely natural. It’s an all in one moisturizer, lifting primer, sunscreen SPF 25 PA++ and natural cover which is perfect for a lazy person like me. My make up routine consists of a 5 mins slap of this cream, eyeliner and falsies. Just 3 steps! And silly me only bought 1 miserable tube that will finish pretty soon! I should have tried it on in the store… then maybe I would have stocked up a few more.

So if any kind souls would like to help me buy these stuffs I left out on my trip please contact me at renzze@gmail.com if not I have to make another trip to either Japan or Hong Kong (they have one Peach John outlet) hoping they still stock these limited edition items.

Finally the time to leave Japan and return to Singapore has arrived.

We grabbed our last meal together in Japan at the airport and spent the rest of the time shopping around for boxes of goodies, spending whatever yen we have left.

Sweet Sushi gave each of us this sweet cookie ball at the airport to thank us for the memorable hens night she had and wonderful time she had in Japan. It’s so pretty I couldn’t bear to eat it till the day before the expiry!

And I got quite a number of queries from readers and friends about my cabin luggage. This is the only few close up pictures I have. I checked in my large baby pink Lojel luggage and still had this many things to hand carry up with me into the plane… lol… I absolutely bought too much!

Here’s a video of the Sushi’s Hens Night and the girls at the airport to sign off the last post of this Tokyo trip. Hope you guys enjoyed the photos.

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Koji wanted sashimi and sushi so we ended up in this old school joint in Ikebukuro after our shopping adventures. It definitely a local joint cause none of the staff spoke any English and the menu was in Japanese with no pictures at all!

Still we managed to order a barrage of food! And the seafood was fresh! But then again I’ve yet to hear of bad seafood in Japan… or at least in the Tokyo region. Their standards are pretty high.

After dinner was back to the hotel for some major packing!

We all bought so many stuff we had to strategize our packing space! Sushi and I were in the same room. (We moved into normal rooms from the tatami room the day before.)

This side of the room belongs to Sushi dear.

And this side of the mess belongs to me! As you can see there’s lots of things to pack!

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I’m been putting off blogging recently due to a heavy and busy schedule on both the work and social fronts. I guess blogging comes in bouts for me =)

Anyways, back to where I left off. One of the days in Japan was spent at Ueno 上野. At Ueno station 上野駅 is one of my favorite stalls called ” Afternoon Tea”. The girls had a gorgeous time shopping there.

After spending quite a bit of time (and money) over the sweetest stuff, koji went to the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up some gifts while I figured out how to walk to Ueno Park 上野公園.

We came across this flower shop on our way to pick up brunch at Atre. The blooms were amazing! I was so tempted to take the whole store home with me! Why can we have such pretty flowers back in Singapore!

I know I’m flooding my page with countless of flower pictures but I can’t get over how perfect and vibrant they look. They actually look fake! And I love admiring flowers even though I would prefer it in the garden then in a vase.

Ueno Park 上野公園 was our chosen destination for a Japanese bento picnic. I look extremely tired in these photos because I really was tired. The night before was spent chit-chatting and debating if we should head out to the famous Tokyo fish market since it was already 5am by the time we decided to hit the sack. Definitely not one of my choice days to be captured on film… lol.

Here is a look at our picnic kit! I love how cute Japanese bento sets are!

If you have time on your hands, Ueno Park 上野公園 is worth exploring. Ueno 上野 is a cultural hub rich with history and stories. Uneo Park 上野公園 used to be the grounds of  a temple built by the shoguns because it was a very unlucky area and they wanted to suppress the evil spirits. But it was destroyed in the Battle of Ueno.

There are 3 museums in the park, Tokyo National Museum, The National Science Museum and The Museum of Western Art. The Gojo Shrine and Benzaiten shrine found in the middle of the Shinobazu Pond which is covered by lotus leaves during the summer can also be found in Ueno Park 上野公園.  Another major attraction in the area is the Ueno Zoo 恩賜上野動物園, Japan’s oldest and most famous zoo.

We had our picnic in the area of the  famous statue of  Saigō Takamori 西郷 隆盛 walking his dog.  Saigō Takamori 西郷 隆盛 is a very influential samurai during the late Edo and early Meji period of the Japanese history. He’s also widely known as the last true samurai. If you remember the 2003 movie, The Last Samurai which had Tom Cruise as the lead actor, then you’ll remember Katsumoto played by Ken Watanabe. Katsumoto role in that movie was modeled after Saigō.

Ueno 上野 in general is the less glitzy side of Tokyo. Rich in culture and also a more real side to the ugly side of urban life. Ueno 上野 has the largest population of homeless people, gathering and sleeping near the many ponds.

Clara was in need of a new luggage and we all wanted to buy some dried foodstuffs and cheap souvenirs so we headed down to Ameyayokocho Street at Ueno. It’s sorta like a flea market and the place where the locals shop for good deals.

This place started after WWII as a black market for all sorts of goods especially American products. But these days, you can find everything and anything here! From bags and clothes to dried foods, from yummy snack stalls to fresh life sea urchins. It’s kinda like a huge Bugis Street with more variety and a bargainer’s paradise.

Those strawberries were delicious! I even bought some home to Singapore! We manage to score some hats, hello kitty merchandise, dried food stuffs and Japanese goodies among other things. I wanted to get this huge traditional umbrella but it was impossible to carry back to Singapore but I did manage to score myself an extremely pretty cabin luggage.

Cutest candies right!

Despite my half-dead-not-enough-sleep state, we all managed to shop from day to night! How we did that I never know but I attribute it to the adrenaline that comes when you are in a place of constant amusement and the high that surprises from finding little hidden treasures .

I regret not taking more pictures of the place but when shopping, the camera is always forgotten. Here’s a video for you.

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The tour dropped us off the station to catch the Shinkansen 新幹線, also known as the bullet train.

We were headed back to Tokyo! Standing on the platform next to the rushing trains was quite an experience.  The high speed of the train was enough to make me stand a step back! But incredibly, in spite of their super speeds, in the almost 40 years since it opened, the Shinkansen network has carried over 6 billion passengers without a single major accident.

The Shinkansen network boasts not only high speed -up to 300 kilometers per hour-, but also high frequency. For example, at least six trains per hour (not per day!) operate between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka Stations during daytime hours.

From the inside of the Shinkansen 新幹線, it was comfortable and smooth. So much so that I was a tad disappointed that going at 300km/hour felt so slow! Lol. But if you stare out of the window long enough, those passing buildings and trees can make you a little dizzy!

We headed straight to Harajuku 原宿 to catch up on some unfinished shopping. Didn’t take much shopping photos but I wanted to share this gorgeous shop entrance to a hair salon at Harajuku. Isn’t it pretty! It was located next to the Fancl store.

And on our way to Shibuya 渋谷区, we saw these lovely macaroon displays! I would so love to take one home with me!

On the streets of Shibuya 渋谷区 were a row of expensive luxury sports car parked at the side, probably waiting for an illegal street car race to start! This particular Lamborghini caught our attention cause it was so bling-ed up! Both inside and outside! I had no idea what the owner was trying to tell me but when he did the camera action, I was more than happy to pass him mine for a snapshot with his baby. The yellow Ferrari next to it must have felt lonely with all the girls attention focused on this red Lamborghini.

Dinner was at this restaurant in Shibuya 渋谷区 that specialized in black pork. We were so hungry that we didn’t even take most of the food that we ate! They were long gone before we remembered to whip up the camera.

After dinner was more shopping at Shibuya 渋谷区. The crowd here never seems to stop and at 11pm there seem to be even more people on the streets!

Here’s the video!

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We went down to Togendai for our Hakone sightseeing cruise on Lake Ashi 芦ノ湖. Ashinoko Lake, is a scenic crater lake of Mount Hakone ( a volcano).

Lo and behold! Our transportation on the lake are pirate ships!

There are only 4 pirate ship replicas that serves this lake. These 2 are the newer additions. We took the green one called Vasa – Lion of North Europe.

Don’t I look like a part of the crew! LOL!

The scenery was really beautiful and the whole cruise gave a very surreal feel.

You’ll see a lot more photos of Sushi and I rather than Koji and Clara cause it was pretty cold and the 2 of them left the deck to sit indoors after the first 5 mins of the cruise. Sushi and I stayed on the upper deck the whole 40 mins ride to take in as much of the scenery as we could. I find the coldness rather refreshing.

The lake was formed 3000 years ago after Mount Hakone last volcano explosion. The calmness of the lake and the tranquility that surrounds it makes it so hard to believe the devastation and force from which it was created.

We were told that in winter the whole landscape is white and even more beautiful! Or imagine this area with autumn red,gold and brown during the autumn months!  This lake had inspired countless of people with its beauty.

As we neared to the port on the other end, shrines, castles and other buildings can be seen.

On the lake we spotted the oldest full replica man-of-war pirate ship, Victoria.

If you are going free and easy, it’ll be advisable to buy the Hakone Free Pass for ¥5000 from Shinjuku Station which will include your round trip transportation expenses as well as the rides for the Lake Ashi 芦ノ湖 cruise and the Hakone Ropeway 箱根ロープウェイ. I would love to have explored Hakone further but given the time constrains on our trip, the one day tour with Grey Line Japan made sure we were able to make the most out of the one day we had.

One of the more prominent landmarks along the shores of Lake Ashi 芦ノ湖 is the red torii gate of the Hakone Shrine. The main building of the shrine cannot be seen from the lake as it is located in the thick forest of Moto-Hakone. This is where a lot of japanese go to pray for blessings of good health and longevity.

A few last looks from the top deck of Vasa the pirate ship before we went down to the cabin below to look for Clara and Koji.

We finally arrived at the port of Hakonemachi-ko.  And proceeded up the coach for our journey to the train station.

Here’s the video for the Ōwakudani 大涌谷 and Lake Ashi 芦ノ湖 section of my trip in Hakone 箱根町.

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We took the Hakone Ropeway 箱根ロープウェイ to get to Ōwakudani 大涌谷.

The view of the mountainous Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park 富士箱根伊豆国立公園  landscape below us was gorgeous! This is the most visited National Park in Japan!

The girls were all happily cam-whoring in the little cabin! We looked so happy, some ang mo tourist also wanted to take photos with us! LOL…

My cute little Fujisan (named so cause he is a souvenir for this Mt Fuji trip) was happily sitting in the bag when the girls decided that he needed to be tortured! Sometimes I think my friends are absolutely crazy and sadistic!!!

Koji is probably the most vicious~! Look into her evil eyes!

Here’s Sushi showing fujisan dead with rigor mortis.

And finally Clara just wants to have a hot dog… dead or alive!

And here I am to save fujisan from the  zombie girls!!! I think they must have played too much left4dead.

Here’s a picture of our ruined footwear! A small tip. If you wanna climb Mount Fuji be prepared for your shoes to be covered in black ashes. My rainboots are easily washable but they stink of sulfur!

Finally we can see Ōwakudani 大涌谷 in the distance!

In Ōwakudani 大涌谷 you’ll come across the statue of  Enmei Jizouson ( a Buddha) , pictured above.

The Jizouson is famous for its surpassing spiritual power and it is known as a guardian deity of longevity and child-raising. According to legend, the Jizouson was made on the order of the historical monk Kobodaishi over a thousand years ago. It says that the monk was shocked and distressed by the wild landscape with fuming vents and boiling mud-water of Owakudani, which reminded him of a vision of hell in his buddhism thoughts, and decided to leave a Jizou for salvation of people suffering in the hell.

We cleansed our minds with water from the hot springs before hiking 1 km to the Kuro-tamago hot springs site. This whole area has got sulfur smoke spewing from all the vents and was known as the gateway to hell in ancient Japan. That was until an Emperor wanted to visit, and the idea of visiting a “hell hole” was frowned upon so they changed the name to Ōwakudani 大涌谷 , Great Boiling Valley.

The sulphuric smell can be too much for some to handle.

For the strong and adventurous ones who would like to view the volcanic activities of  Ōwakudani 大涌谷 first hand, you can hike up to the actual site where the local eggs are cooked in the sulphuric mud (which makes it black with a tinge of sulfur flavour) to participate in the ritual of consuming those special eggs.

You will see fuming volcanic landscape on your left and the Great Mt. Fuji on your right

We of course wouldn’t miss the chance to see it all and gamely hiked up! Sushi and I with our little run and hop, reached first with Koji and Clara right behind our tails.

Right at the top is the authentic Tamago-chaya (Egg store)! The kuro-tamago (Black eggs) are cooked there.

According to Japanese legend, every egg you eat will prolong your life by 7 years.
Kuro-tamago are very popular as a life-prolonging food.

One black egg for adding 7 years to your life.
Two black eggs for adding 14 years to your life….

No more than 2 and a half eggs we were warned!

Since these eggs, boiled in hot sulfurous mud water which is a speciality and only available at Owakudani. We bought a packet of 4 eggs to share among us.

Instead of consuming them immediately like most other patrons, we decided to take the time to take photos and leisurely walk back down.

At the base of the area, there are several gift shops. Those who cannot or choose not to make the climb can also buy the Kuro-tamago from these gift shops.

And only in Owakudani, you can find this special hello kitty character goods in the black eggs motif. I find it extremely cute!

So cute that I based my special Hakone banner on it!

There are whole ranges of Hello Kitty Black Egg products in the stores! A collectible!

Back in the coach heading towards our next destination, we started to eat our Kuro-tamago.

The egg is pretty soft and very well cooked but I don’t really fancy the sulfur smell.

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We had to pass small towns at the base of Mt Fuji.

Soon we were on the winding paths up Mt Fuji herself! We could see some small blooms of cherry blossoms… but were actually a week too early for the full cherry blossom bloom as they bloom much later than those in Tokyo city.

The forest at the base of the mountain is named Aokigahara. In Japanese folklore, Aokigarhara is a  forest inhabited by many demons, spirits and goblins. In the past, poor families will abandon their young children or old aged folks should they have no means to feed them. Till this day, Aokigahara is the number 2 top location in the world for sucides. ( The top spot goes to the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, US). The idea of a difficult and haunted forest has had some thrill seeking hikers try to hike the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of the paranormal.

Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan at 3,776 m and is surrounded by 5 lakes. It is an active volcano.

The summit of Fuji Mountain is regarded as scared and was forbidden to women till the Meji Era. Nowadays climbing Mount Fuji is a very popular sport. The local saying goes “ You would be a fool not to climb Mt. Fuji once—but a fool to do so twice.” The climbing season is in July and August.

In no time, we reached the 5th station. The highest point the coach can take you and the starting point for which climbers will start their accent up the mountain summit.

Sushi and I were first to get ourselves on the slopes of the mountain, bounding up steps and rocks like mad women. While Koji and Clara took their time taking photos at the base of the 5th station.

We all wanted to have our pictures taken on the snow capped Mount Fuji! It was a little tricky to navigate the slippery volcanic ash and melted snow slopes. Luckily I had on the rain boots I bought the other day.

Poor Clara wore flats and probably had the hardest time climbing.

Sushi was going all gaga from the mountain air… lol… but I have to say she dressed most appropriately for the trip!

If you’re wondering why crazy Renzze is wearing a dress to climb, well, I’m actually really tolerant to cold and I wore frilly shorts beneath my skirt so I won’t zao geng (run light). Of course the shorts made my middle a little bulkier than normal under the thin cotton dress… but when you’re having so much fun… who cares!

Sushi slipped and fell a couple of times, pretty gleefully though… lol. And we had a mini snow fight. Tried to take video of the snow fight but it was a lot easier to snow fight without having to hold the camera or focus on not damaging the camera in the process! Hehehe.

Even frozen Koji had a adrenaline rush! She took out her gloves so she can better take photos!

Here I am with my new companion! He looks perfectly happy against the white snow. I would so love to bring Louis and Emmie but since that isn’t possible, a representative has gotta do.

See how Sushi and I are carrying bags from the same cruise collection? Geez! The 2 of us have such similar tastes! I have the exact same bag as her and almost brought it on the trip with me but I figured the speedy version would be more compact for my suitcase.

Clara had lots of small stones in her flats! I ended up being her tongkat (walking stick) for the descent. I guess being short meant that I had a lower center of gravity and thus have no problems with balance.

One last look at the pretty landscape and the peak before heading into the coach! We were really lucky cause the sky was so clear that we were able to see the peak. That moment passed quickly and soon the peak was enveloped in clouds.

We were taken down Fuji Mountain and towards Hakone for lunch in a hotel resort up in the mountain.

We certainly looked forward to lunch after expanding all that energy on Mount Fuji. The hotel restaurant was surrounded with glass that allowed us to appreciate the greenery and the beauty of the nature around us.

That is the view from my table. So calming right?

There was a choice of western (catered) or japanese (self-order) cuisine. We took the japanese one. However, on hindsight, while the western one may be more expensive, it would have been much more filling and thus more value.

I would have love to have more time to explore the hotel surroundings cause we passed a beautiful garden coming in. But since we were on a 1 day tour, we had to be on schedule.

Our adventures are far from over but I need my beauty sleep so I’ll leave you all with a video from the Mount Fuji visit and continue in my next post.

PS – I’ve already watched Transformers 2 and it’s fantastic! Don’t wanna spoil the show for you guys so go watch it soon! I even changed my banner with a transformers theme… =)  Do be patient and give it some time to load. Let me know if you like it!

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Back to blogging about Japan.

We were all signed up with Grey Line Tours for the Mt Fuji and Hakone day tour. So bright and early at about 7am we were at the lobby of Metropolitan Plaza Hotel waiting for the transport.

Koji looks a little glum here cause she was sleepy and hasn’t had breakfast. After having the rice balls we bought from Family Mart, she brightened up a bit.

Sushi, Clara and I all had our Ray-ban aviators sunglasses! What a coincidence!

Soon we were on our way, cruising the streets of Tokyo on the Grey Line bus.

Here’s Sushi and I sitting together on the bus. We both have a higher tolerance to cold.

While Koji and Clara sat on the other side. Koji is really scared of the cold so Sushi lent her the hat scarf and gloves… she looks really sweet in this get up right? I lent Clara my scarf and also my jacket to keep her warm.

We all had our breakfast on the road!

It is quite a long journey by road and the only entertainment was the stories told by the tour guide.  Koji and Clara slept for most part of the journey since we all had only about 2 hours of sleep the night before. I couldn’t really fall asleep so I ended up soaking in the scenery as well as the nuggets of information dished out by the tour operator.

One of the stories is about how Mount Fuji got its name. The legend goes that many many years ago, there was a bamboo cutter who found a strange glowing bamboo. He sliced it open to see  a little girl the size of his thumb in the middle of  the bamboo. He took the girl home and together with his wife they decided to name her Kaguya-hime and raise her up as their own. From that day on, the bamboo cutter found gold nuggets in each bamboo he cut and he became a really rich man.

The little girl Kaguya-hime grew up to be a woman of exceptional beauty and even though the bamboo cutter tried to hide her from suitors he couldn’t. One day, 5 princes came to ask for her hand and Kaguya-hime said that if anyone of them could complete the task she set for him, she’ll marry him. The 1st prince was asked to retrieve the stone begging bowl that Buddha used. The 2nd prince, to deliver to her the jeweled branch from Island Penglai. The 3rd, to retrieve the  robe of the fire-rat and the last one to find the swallow’s seashell treasure. The first 4 princes all failed in their mission and tried to use fakes to cheat the Kaguya-hime. Of course she saw through them. The 5th price died in his quest so basically no one dared to take up her quests anymore.

After hearing her reputation, the Emperor of Japan, Midako decided to come visit. He fell in love with her completely and while she too liked the Emperor she rejected his marriage proposal. She told him that she is not from this world and cannot be with him. Later that year, Kaguya-hime would cry whenever she saw the full moon. Her parents were worried about her but she would not tell them anything. Eventually she broke down and told them that she was not from Earth and would have to return to her people on the moon soon. The Emperor sent many guard to protect her and to prevent the moon people from taking her back. But these guards were useless in the presence of the moon people for their light was too bright to open their eyes. Kaguya-hime felt that as much as she loved earth and its people, it’s only right for her to return to her own kind. She wrote goodbye notes to her parents and gave them her robe. Then she wrote a letter to the Emperor and sealed with it, a small portion of the elixir of life. This she passed to the guard.  When the moon people placed the feathered robe on her, she could no longer remember earth or any of her past here. She was taken back to the moon while her parents wailed in tears.

When the Emperor received the letter from the guard, he was overcome with sadness. He asked his guards to bring his letter to her to the highest mountain, closest to the heavens,  hoping that she might receive it. And as for the elixir of life, he wanted them to burn it there for he has no wish to live forever without her by his side. The world “immortality ” or fushi/fuji became the name of the mountain.  Written in Kanji, 富士山 Fuji Mountain is literally translated as mountain of immortality filled with warriors. The burning of the elixir cause smoke and heat to be active till today. Or so the legend says.

With the base of Mt Fuji just around the corner, we made our first pit stop.

Since this was the area that produces good green tea, the girls decided to have some green tea ice-cream.

This was the place I succumbed to buying an absolutely unnecessary but completely adorable little puppy dog cuddly. I think that being too long away from Louis and Emmie might have something to do with it.

Clara clearly admitted that she relates to the turtle in more ways than one. But what a cute fat turtle!

More on Mt Fuji in the next post.

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We spent the rest of the evening shopping at Harajuku… and moving on to Shibuya. I don’t take much photos while shopping so the above shot is about all I have.  Other than clothes, gloves, boots, sock, hats and accessories, I actually bought a ton of bra and panties cause they were comfortable … gorgeous ( very pretty and frilly and sweet ) and pretty cheap for the quality ( walcoal standards but prettier) . About and average of  ¥2500 to ¥3000 per set of bra and panties.  We wanted to head to the Burberry Blue boutique which was on the way to Shibuya but the store closed at 8pm. So it had to be done another day.

We were all really tired cold and hungry but there is this superb ramen store in Shibuya that served the most delicious ramen soup! The stock was full of flavor, the meats tender and they had a whole tub of fried garlic you can add in the soup. These fried garlic are unlike those in Singapore.. they are slices instead of diced and very crispy. And the egg was perfect for soup – hard boiled on on the outside with a semi solid yolk on the inside! I was in heaven!

Clara’s version is super spiced up with loads of shichimi ( Japanese chili pepper powder)… This crazy girl puts shichimi on everything and to the point where all you can taste is probably the chilli! I love shichimi to just not to such a extreme extend. In fact one of my favorite easy recipe for home baked ( I hate to fry) french fries is to add a little salt, sugar and shichimi to the fries for the perfect finish.

I’m sure some of you would wanna know the name of the place and the address. Unfortunately, I have no idea the name ( I gotta ask Clara, she might know) and as for the address… well, it was a really cramped food store ( no name-cards, websites or obvious address) in one of the many alleys in Shibuya so I could probably only get there by retracing my steps. It is near Shibuya 109 building though. I guess the best food is found in alleyways!!! hehe

When all the stores have closed, the last shops to close will be their huge well-stocked beauty store. To call it a beauty store is actually not doing them any justice at all… cause the one we went at Shibuya is 3 floors cramped full of medicine, make up, beauty tool, hair products, gadgets ( the japanese have the most out of the world inventions) and sundries! We just happened to take photos while we were in the basement doing some snacks shopping. One can spend hours in the store just browsing and the array of goods. To give you an example, Sushi was looking for a Mascara and that alone probably had about 20 -30 different types.

Then the daily routine is to head to the Family Mart or AM PM store near our hotel to stock up on drinks and snacks before retiring to the hotel. Family Mart or AM PM mart are similar to our 7-11 stores except that they are much better stocked. A huge magazine collection ( including manga and porn), Muji stuffs, fresh or frozen foods, make-up, beauty products, cakes, buns, snacks, drinks, etc. I love the chocolate and strawberry drinks! Yummy!

Back at the hotel we were busy packing and unpacking our goods as well as sharing our buys with each other. It’s plain old fun and mad girly time.

Yes… I was a little crazy and high on retail therapy. But I wasn’t the only one! You’ve gotta watch the video to find out how crazy we can be behind close doors!

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Meiji Shrine 明治神宮 is dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shoken. Emperor Meji abolished old Japan feudalism and established the new democratic Japan. He also changed the moved from Kyoto to make Tokyo the new capital city of Japan.

Empress Shoken was the first politically active Empress and she had the opportunity to be educated with the same lectures and information available to the Emperor. She was the Emperor’s right hand man and continued his work with both war and peace movements after he died.  Empress Shoken was actively promoting the Red Cross Society and education on women. She started the trend for japanese women to stop wearing kimonos and convert to western dreses. Thus you can see why the japanese feel that it was a absolute need to create a place of worship for Emperor Meji and Empress Shoken at one of their favorite spots.

I love that the whole shrine is mainly made out of cypress wood! Gorgeous!

As you proceed to the Main Shrine building, if you wish, may throw some coins into the Offering Box.  In front of the Main Shrine, you bow twice, clap your hand twice and then bow once more.

I love love love the huge wooden doors with their intricate details. Even the little screws are patterned and designed to blend in with the overall design. Fantastic!

Meiji Shrine 明治神宮 is very popular for weddings and folk dances. And we were lucky to run into a bridal procession. Other than the gorgeous kimono and the striking gold obi, what impressed me most was her hair-do! I’m not sure if it’s a wig or if it’s real but it must have taken ages to get it done right and it should be pretty heavy!

For those of you that would like to catch Meiji Shrine 明治神宮 festivities at their finest, their biggest event is Hatsu-mōde, on January 1st. Every Japanese would want to make their first visit to the shrine for the new year for good blessings. Be prepared to really be jostled with the crowds! Another date is 2nd Monday in January ( a holiday in Japan). They celebrate  Seijin-no-hi (Coming of Age Day). All 20-year-olds will wear elaborate traditional kimonos to visit the shrine. The gravel path is lined with ice sculptures and there is a performance of traditional momoteshiki archery. Youths will then go partying or clubbing after and you can expect clubs to be really happening!

And lastly I know a friend who might be keen on going to Japan sometime end of this year, so if you’re reading it, you might want to visit Meiji Shrine 明治神宮 on Shichi-go-san-no-hi Day, 15th November, when all the children aged 3, 5 and 7 will go to the shrine for blessings.

In the grounds of the temple, it’s impossible to miss this hugea sacred camphor tree tree with Ema, wooden votive tablets of wishes or prayers surrounding it.

You can buy at votive tablet for ¥500 each and write your prayers or wishes on it and then hang it around the divine tree. These Ema are offered at Mikesai, a morning ceremony held every day where shrine priests will then pray for your wishes to come true.

All of us wanted to write down our wishes! For ourselves, our friends and our family.

Koji babe went one step further and also submitted a written prayer on top of her Ema.

Here’ s my wishes… simple but evergreen. The amazing thing about the wishes around the tree, they are in a multitude of languages from all parts of the world. Some carry beautiful memories, some really funny, some with sad stories and yet others with just pictures instead of words. Yet they all come with good intentions and sincerity. I think it’s an extremely beautiful and enlightening ritual.

And since we four girls made such a wonderful trip together to Japan, we needed to write one in significance to our friendship and love for each other.

Finally we made our way into the inner shrine.

Hope you enjoyed the Meiji Shrine 明治神宮 post =) I’m gonna leave you with a short video which you can also see how we drew for lots in which the shrine’s priestess would give us a segment poem written by either Emperor Meiji or his wife Empress Shoken to enlighten our ways.

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