Author: Brandy Saldana

It was raining Sunday morning which bummed me out because Harajuku was one of our site destinations for the day since the streets become a catwalk for street fashion. We thought nothing could hold us back, not even a little rain, but it was raining pretty hard and we were soaked, specifically my shoes. We hung out in the hotel lobby while our room was being cleaned, and after getting a little hungry, I ventured to a convenience store close by and got us some breakfast.

By then the rain had cleared up so after changing my wet shoes, we made our way to the station and mapped out our trip to Harajuku. Somehow we managed to end up far away from the Harajuku stop, but this turned out to be a good thing since the stop we got off at was for the Imperial Palace and Wadakura Fountain Park.  Since it was one of the places on our list that we wanted to see, we wandered around and took some photos by the entrance.

We were close to Tokyo Station and decided to take the train to Harajuku from there. The architecture of the station is really cool and almost looks European. Thousands of trains come through here per day because it is the central station of the city. A hotel makes up the top floors and underground has an extensive array of places to go shopping and many restaurants.  

Taking the train was the best way to get around Tokyo. The underground subway is convenient, but being able to see your surroundings made the trip much more interesting. We got off at Harajuku Station and while crossing an overpass noticed a “Princess.” She waved at us and I was so glad I got her smiling for my camera.

Our first stop in Harajuku was for lunch at The Gindaco – a chain restaurant specializing in takoyaki. Takoyaki is one of my favorite foods! Takoyaki is a ball of fried or grilled wheat flour with pieces of octopus inside. Nicole and I had different types and she ordered a melon soda with hers which made for an interesting photo. 

After our yummy lunch, we did what any normal girls would do and went shopping! First stop was the Omohara Department store since it was hot and we wanted to feel refreshed with the AC.

Among the stores in the department store, we found one called Uni Case and I saw that they sold all the accessories to my iGizmon camera case. (I shouldn’t be too surprised since iGizmon is from Japan.) I ended up buying the leather case carrier, tripod, and shutter. I am so excited and have been meaning to do a post on just my camera case since I’ve received so many compliments for it and now I can include most of the accessories!

After cooling off we headed towards Takeshita Street. This is the street you’ll find all the trendy stores in Harajuku. We did a lot of browsing at different stores and eventually made our way to the Harajuku Daiso. It was huge – 4 floors full of awesome and inexpensive stuff. I did do some shopping there as well as at a cute boutique nearby. The prices were not crazy expensive and I cannot wait to share the clothes that I bought in a separate post. 

We spent almost the whole day in Harajuku and remembered we still needed to go to Roppongi for the sole purpose of buying souvenirs from the Hard Rock Cafe located there. Roppongi is known for its night clubs and bars and we saw a lot of people dressed up in that area.

Nicole and I were lucky again and were able to see Tokyo Tower as we walked down the main street towards the Hard Rock Cafe. Since we would be busy the next day moving her stuff to her dorm I decided to take a photo from a distance while I stood in the middle of a crosswalk. 

After buying our souvenirs, Nicole and I headed back to the hotel to prepare to check out in the morning and get some rest before making the long trip to her new home.
Hope you’ve enjoyed our adventures in Tokyo and will enjoy the next chapter of the trip for Day 6.

Brandy | BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER |

For Day 4, Nicole and I visited Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. Sensoji Temple is one of the more famous temples in Japan and definitely one of the biggest tourist attractions in Tokyo. It is easy to find souvenirs and experience parts of traditional Japan in the middle of a modern city.

We visited most of the shops and made a couple of purchases. Nicole bought a lovely yukata and I found quite a few souvenirs perfect for co-workers and family. I was tempted to buy Japanese rice cakes and other snacks to take bring back home but was worried I had bought too much from Disneyland and more food would not fit in my suitcase.

After browsing the shops and tasting some yummy (and not so yummy) snacks we arrived to the entry way for the temple. We decided to draw our fortunes. I drew out “Best Fortune.” Nicole, on the other hand, pulled out “Bad Fortune.” She tied her bad fortune nearby to change her luck and avert the bad fortune she drew. 

 We proceeded to the temple and smelled incense, which is believed to be beneficial to one’s health and increase one’s life expectancy. We performed Omairi, which is washing our hands and mouth at the Temizu to purify/cleanse ourselves from evil spirits.

After visiting the inside of the temple, we decided to stop and have a light lunch. We tried grilled squid and yakisoba from some food carts nearby. Both dishes were extremely delicious! There was no end to the good food in Japan, especially when it came to sweets. There were Ice Cream Hamburgers, Soft Serve Cones, Shaved Ice, and plenty of Pastries filled with red bean paste- of which I discovered a couple of days ago that I am not a fan.

The Sky Tower, recently completed in March 2012, was pretty close to the shrine and I love how it contrasts with the traditional architecture of the temple’s entrance.

Nicole and I originally planned to walk over to the Sky Tree, but our entire day at Tokyo Disneyland left us feeling pretty tired earlier than expected. So after some quick shots of the Tower across the river, we headed back to our hotel. There was some commotion by the Temple behind our hotel, so we checked it out and realized there was a summer festival going on! Traditional festival games such as pulling out water balloons, catching fish, and tug of war was being played. Nicole and I took a quick lap and went to our hotel room to rest.

As the sun set, we heard the sound of Taiko drums and music being played. We went out to see if there was a performance, and to our surprise, there was! Women and children in yukata were doing traditional dances as the taiko drummers played. I managed to record a snippet of the night to share the sights and sounds we experienced:

This was an amazing cultural experience and I am so glad we got to be a part of it. I thoroughly the dances, the traditional clothes, and the overall atmosphere of fun. Nicole and I have been very lucky during our trip because we stumbled upon many things by happy accidents, so my fortune must clearly be making all of this possible for us! 
Hope you enjoyed Day 4 and will check back to see what we did for Day 5!Brandy| BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK  INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER |

Before we left for Japan, Nicole and I agreed that we needed to visit Tokyo Disneyland. We grew up watching all of the Disney movies (as most kids born in the 90`s did) and wanted to see how this compared to the Disneyland in Anaheim since we frequented it all throughout our childhood. So we devoted an entire day to spend there!

We started out our day by having breakfast at the Moomin Cafe located in the La Qua shopping center near the train station. It was the perfect start to our day because it was a theme cafe and had cute stuffed animals in various locations that you could enjoy our pastries with.

We hopped on the train and arrived at Tokyo Disney Resort. The resort feature 2 parks: Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea. We only planned on visiting one of the parks for today to see as much as we could. Not only was it our first time in Tokyo Disney, but it was also the first time we were visiting the park during the Halloween Season.

We experienced a lot of familiar sights such as Disney Characters, Parades, and even some of the same rides from the Disneyland in California. With that we also experienced a lot of new things. We had never been to Disneyland during the Fall season before, so we saw the park decorated for Halloween and saw the Parades and attractions with that theme. Some of my favorite aspects of the park involved the people that attended. Usually only kids can go to the park dressed up as their favorite character, but during Halloween the adults could dress up as characters too. The cosplay style from Harajuku could also be found at Tokyo Disneyland. 

The costumes people had on were very impressive. It looks like a lot of time and effort was put into getting the details just right. I am so proud that I was able to ask the girls dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland if I could take their picture (in Japanese of course!) Speaking of Alice, Tokyo Disney had a number of unique eateries including the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. Our food was heart-shaped, and I had desert that included a cute souvenir cup. 

We stayed at the park and as you can from the photos, we had a blast! The night ended with the Electrical Parade and Fireworks celebrating the Park’s 30th Anniversary. Of course, no trip is complete without buying some souvenirs, and we left carry a few bags full of Disney Themed cookie tins. I thoroughly enjoyed the cultural experience of seeing Disney through a different perspective and appreciating how universal having fun really is. Tokyo Disneyland is a must see and I regret we didn’t have the time to visit Tokyo Disney Sea. (Next time for sure!)
Hope you enjoyed the photos I selected, there were 500 to choose from so it was tough narrowing it down to the ones that I did. Stay tuned for Day 4 which details our day in Asakusa and a surprise festival behind our hotel.

Brandy | BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER |

Nicole and I braved the subway systems and made our way to Shibuya Wednesday morning (Day 2) in Japan. The stairs leading out to the streets did not exit near the famous intersection, but we spotted a shrine nearby and decided to visit it: 

We walked over to the well-known Shibuya intersection and took a photo with Hachiko, the dog famous for waiting faithfully in the same spot for his master despite him passing away.

We left the hotel without eating any breakfast and planned to eat at a restaurant in Shibuya. Nicole spotted a McDonalds and was curious as to how it compared to one in the US. The breakfasts are pretty similar. I didn’t see anything that was extremely different from what we would have ordered in the US compared to the first time I visited when I was in high school – I remember there being a melon shake on the menu.

The heat was getting to us as we walked around Shibuya since none of the shops were open, so we entered the lobby/waiting area of a department store. A lot of elderly women came in right before the store opened, and I gave up my seat to one of them. At first she was telling me it was ok in Japanese, but then was grateful. A seat opened up next to her and she beckoned for me to sit down. She then asked me what I was and I answered America jin desu. I then mentioned I was sightseeing with my sister and she would be studying at Chuo University. It was fun practicing my Japanese and it was nice that the old lady thanked me again as she got up to walk into the Department Store.

We entered a store that sold electronics and we were looking for a ethernet adapted for Nicole’s Surface Pro. Our hotel had free internet, but was available only through a Lan connection. It was an interesting experience asking for something so specific. We were directed to the 3rd floor, since we were on the floor for cell phones. We found what we were looking for and made our purchase.

Nicole and I kept walking around and spotted a yummy display of shaved ice. It looked too good to resist so we popped in to the Nishimura cafe and ordered 2 shaved ice frappes. This cafe was near the station and we left Shibuya to make our way over to Ginza.

We did get off on the wrong stop and had to pay for another ticket to get to the Ginza district. We googled where the nearest Louis Vuitton shop would be as that seemed to be one of the stores I remember to be located there. We arrived and the shops were amazing! It is equivalent to walking down 5th Avenue or Rodeo Drive. The prices in the shops were expensive compared to the other department stores we had visited, so needless to say it was more about window shopping more than anything else. Most of Japan is a shopaholics worst nightmare since there is a department store almost every other block.

We were starting to get hungry and decided to eat once we arrived at Akihabara. Right when we arrived to Akihabara, we were enticed by a girl dressed in a maid costume to visit the Maidreamin café – a maid café. We were starving so it did not take much to convince us. It was an interesting cultural experience, especially since our Japanese was not up to par. The food is made to look cute, and the maids play games with you and have you sing songs as you wait for your food. We paid for photos with a maid and somehow Nicole won a lighter through their raffle and it had the café’s name on it. We were also given passports for a discount that can be applied for our next visit.  It was a bit pricey, but a very cute experience. I wanted a Maid Costume by the end of the meal because all of the girls looked so adorable in them! I couldn’t take any photos with my own camera.

I could tell Nicole was having a blast in Akihabara because it was full of stores that sold Anime Merchandise, Video Games, and Arcade games. The crane games in Japan are on a whole other level. It almost seems impossible to win any of the prizes. I know I did the first time I visited Akihabara, but I don’t remember how long, or much, it took me to walk away with two toys. I added a video to show just how difficult it was for Nicole, the pro at crane games, to win a stuffed animal:

One of Nicole’s purchases included a 3 DS game that was only released in Japan. It is so amazing to me how skilled she is at games and while she doesn’t understand everything that was being said in her initial tries at the game (of which she made considerable progress) I don’t doubt that she will be so much more fluent in Japanese by the end of the year.

 My last stop in Akihabara was at a food stand with me purchasing a Fish Bread that I had seen before in Anime and travel shows. The bread was good, but it was stuffed with red bean paste, something I quickly discovered I disliked. I ate most of this snack and was glad I did not buy a bunch of them thinking I would be able to eat them later.

As we were getting ready to go down to the subway platform, these giant female robots were pulled along by a small yellow Hummer. We were a little confused with what exactly was being advertised, and it is interesting how we started out the day with traditional sights and concluded the day with modern, hi-tech advertisements. 

This concludes Day 2. Stay tuned for Day 3 which will feature our day at Tokyo Disneyland!

Brandy| BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK |  INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER | 

After a 12 hour flight from LAX to Narita, we arrived to Japan at 9:00 pm and took a taxi to our hotel. Taking a taxi was expensive since our hotel was located pretty far from the airport, but it was worth it since neither my sister, Nicole, nor I wanted to decode the Tokyo’s Subway system and manage our luggage. 

Once we checked in at our hotel, we got to our room and passed out. The following morning, we decided to take it easy as we were adjusting to the new time zone and went out to explore the neighborhood that our hotel was in. As were walking along we bought some pastries at a local bakery and decided to sit somewhere to do some people watching. We spotted a huge roller coaster track in the distance and began walking towards it.

We discovered that we were really close to the Tokyo City Dome and 2 train stations (Korakuen and Kansa). The theme park rides were connected to a huge department store named La Qua. It was really early so a lot of the shops and restaurants were not open, but we saw that the Starbucks and decided to order some coffee to have with our pastries. It was so interesting ordering in Japanese and noting that instead of advertising pumpkin spice lattes (which is a big deal for Fall in the Season in the US) they were advertising a roasted almond frappachino and latte!

We walked past the Tokyo City Dome and visited almost all of the convenience stores so that Nicole could see what items she could and could not buy in Japan. She found she could buy her contact solution ( a little bit pricier than in the States) but had no luck with eye drops. We tried a number of drinks throughout the day. I think it is safe to say that the Japanese convenience stores are way better than ones from the US because they are actually convenient since they are everywhere and they carry full meals that are not at all pricey. Nicole’s Strawberry Milk shown above cost around 110 yen, almost equivalent to $1.10. 

For lunch we had Ramen and Gyoza at Toraji, a restaurant tucked away in a side street. We were directed to a vending machine once we entered. We picked out what we wanted, paid and had a ticket printed out with our order. We passed this to a chef and our food arrived almost instantly.

On our way back to the hotel, we walked through the Tokyo Dome area again and noticed a game would be starting in a few hours. We walked through the souvenir shops for the Giants to see if there were some fun items we could buy from there.Nicole and I also toured the La Qua Department Store and browsed the fashion boutiques and restaurants now that they were open. Everything looked really cute, but I did not buy anything (surprisingly) since it was our first day out and about.

Before you think all we did is see shops and amusement parks for the first day, think again! We got slightly lost on our way back to the hotel and found a shrine during that time. I could not tell you what the name of the shrine was but we stepped in and even rinsed a Buddha statue and made a quick prayer for us to get back to the hotel safely.

It just so happened that there was also another shrine right behind our hotel. The entrance was gorgeous and there were very few people there. It seemed surprising that nobody was there visiting except us.

I took so many pictures on our first day since we saw so much, so although I’ve shared a lot of photos in this post we did do quite a lot more site-seeing in the neighborhood, mainly looking into everyday life like visiting a grocery store, book store, and park. We did turn in slightly early due to the time zone adjustment, but our first day was pretty fun and we decided to brave the subway system for Day 2 and visit the Shibuya, Ginza and Akihabara districts. 
Hope you enjoyed this post and continue on to Day 2!
Brandy| BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK |  INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER |