Last Day in Tokyo

Can't believe it's my last day in Tokyo already!!! Our flight is in the noon, hence we have the morning for one last of feasting and last minute shopping. So we went back to one of our favorite ramen store at Omoide Yokocho (Memory Lane), Shinjuku. Blogged about this store on my first day in Tokyo, can check it out at http://lifewithjacee.blogspot.sg/2014/07/tokyo-day-1-2.html.

Signature Roast Pork Ramen

 This time round I tried their signature dish, the roast pork ramen! Was so satisfied with their roast pork the other time we were here, so i decided to have a bowl full of their signature roast pork this time round! The whole bowl of goodness only cost 890 Yen and I was super satisfied and full! :D

After which, we then took the train down to Harajuku for last round of shopping, and of course not forgetting my favorite crepe topped with ice cream! Harajuku is filled with stores selling crepes and every store sells great crepes around Tokyo, so you can just pop by any store and get nice desserts anytime of the day. I personally prefer soft crepes and I was so elated when I can just get them easily everywhere around Tokyo! I had almost 1 every day *guilty max*

Did some shopping in daiso and bought some cosmetics before taking the subway back to hotel and packed our stuffs. Ended up having a fully stuffed luggage and also had to hand carry some stuffs back cause we bought too much stuffs!! Took the express train to the airport, got our suica card refunded and went on to check in our luggage. As we got some spare time, we then shopped around the airport and ended up getting more food and souvenirs (packed ramen, royce chocolates, kit kat, biscuits etc) before settling down at their food court for lunch. There's really a lot of shops in the airport and if you had no time or have forgotten to get souvenirs for your friends and family, you can do it at the airport!

Slowly made our way to our gates with such nice view along the way! As I'm blogging now, I'm missing Tokyo soo much!! Can't wait to plan our next trip there again~ Till the next trip, I'll miss you Tokyo!!

If you guys have any recommendations on where to visit next in Japan, do let me know! (:

Tokyo Day 4

Woke up pretty early today to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market. Tsukiji Market (Tsukiji Shijo) is a large wholesale market for fish, fruits and vegetables in central Tokyo. It is the most famous wholesale market that handles the distribution of fish, meat and produce in metropolitan Tokyo. The market is also best konw as one of the world's largest fish markets as many have seen on news or travel variety shows.

We took the JR line and dropped off at Shimbashi and reached the market within 15 to 20 mins of walk from the station. The first sight of the market was overwhelming as it was really HUGE! People and trolleys were moving around and everyone was so busy. Kind of like our local Singapore wet market but 20 times the size of it with much more fish stocks and bigger in sizes too! The market is being sectioned into different areas, mainly the inner market (for whole sale business and tuna auctions which are restricted to authorized personnel only) and the outer market (where retail shops and restaurants are located and opened to the public). The whole market was so lively and busy and everywhere you turn you can see boxes and boxes of fishes. We wanted to try out at one of the restaurants for fresh sushi and sashimi, but the queue outside each shop was horrifying! Even so early in the morning, the place is already filled with tourists! We decided to walk around and buy some snacks along the way instead.

 Have no idea what this is called, but it's just a mixture of seafood grilled in a clam shell. The seafood was so fresh and it tasted so delicious!

 All seafood are freshly captured from the sea, prepared and grilled on the day itself!

 Steam egg! We bought one and finished within seconds and couldn't resist to get another one! The steam egg was so smooth and bouncy and it tasted just right, especially with it just freshly out from the steamer~

Fresh fish roe for sale!

Dried squid to go with beer~

Beef parts sold in one big chunk! :O

 Decided to stop by one of the shops outside the market to have Ebi Tempura Udon! You can choose what ingredients you want and also if you wanted udon or soba. We were lucky to get seats at the counter as some people after us had to stand to have their food. But I guess it's part of the local culture as it seems quite common for the locals to stand and have their food.

After which, we then took the subway down to Shibuya to shop around the big departmental stores.

 And a little break in between to rest our feet and enjoy the scenery from the tall building!

 

The view from the toilet inside Takashimaya building!

By far the best ramen I had throughout the trip!! I finished the whole bowl of ramen, even every single drop of the soup!! We stumbled upon this shop as the pictures got our attention, turns out it is my favorite ramen place now!

 

 

The shop is rather small so during peak hours do prepare to share table with others or have to eat separately with your friends. As usual, you choose and pay for your food from the vending machine and the prices of the ramen ranges from 770 yen to 990 yen. The noodles are freshly made and the soup is filled with pork flavour but not the porky smell in it. The broth is so rich and delicious especially matched together with the soft and bouncy noodles, I just can't get enough of it!

And of course gyozas to go with the noodles! The gyozas tasted quite good too, it was crispy in the outer and juicy meat in the inside!

Kindenmaru Ramen Restaurant 金伝丸

Shibuya 2-9-2 Dogenzaka 

It is located less than 100m from the Shibuya crossing, proximately 5 mins walk from the station.

Definitely would recommend my friends to go visit this shop if they are within the area! By far the best ramen soup base that I had! Too bad I only chanced upon this store on my last night in Tokyo, if not I would visit this place at least 2-3 times. Haha!

After dinner, we continued to shop around the area before taking the subway back to hotel and back our luggage.

Will do a short update on my last day in Tokyo before flying back home. Stay tune! (:

Kamakura Day Trip!

Pork Cutlet Sandwich

With the few days we were in Tokyo, we noticed that bakery shops and supermarkets always have their items at sale near to their closing time. So yesterday we decided to get some discounted bread from one of the bakery store near our hotel for our breakfast today! Most of their items are going off at 30-70% discount and there is a lot of variety to choose from. So if you guys are on a budget, do check out their bakery shops or supermarkets before their closing time.

Monitor showing the weather of all areas in Tokyo for the day

Love the design of the station!

After having our breakfast in the hotel, we then took train down to Tokyo Station to get our train tickets to Kamakura. The train ride from Tokyo station to Kamakura station took around an hour, and both stations are linked directly, hence no transfers were needed in between.

After reaching Kamakura, we then decided to buy the Kamakura-Enoshima Pass which allows unlimited rides in the Kamakura/Enoshima area on JR, Enoshima Electric Railway and the Shonan Monorail. The pass cost 800 Yen per person which we think was quite worthwhile as we will be using the electric railway a lot throughout the whole day in Kamakura.

Ain't their monorail train cute!!

 First stop is Hase to visit Kotokuin Temple where The Great Buddha of Kamakura situated. It is one of the main sightseeing place of Kamakura! The temple is just 5-10 minutes walk away from Hase Station and there are signs along the way to direct tourists.

Some visit to their local shrines

Admission ticket

The temple is opened from 8am to 5.30pm daily and admission tickets are sold at 200 Yen per person. 

The Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu) is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which stands on the grounds of Kotokuin temple. It is the second tallest bronze buddha statue in Japan, with the height of 1335 meters! Everyone just look so tiny standing beside the buddha.

Short explanation of how the interior of the buddha was built.

Omelet Fried Rice

After which, we stopped by a small chinese restaurant to have lunch. There isn't much food places around the area so we didn't had much choices to choose from. However, the meal turns out to be quite nice and the food are quite authentic! (:

Purple Potato soft serve ice cream for dessert! One of the local specialty.

 

Hasedera (長谷寺) which is also called "Hase Kannon", is home to the largest wooden statue in Japan, representing Buddhist deity Kannon. There is an excellent view over the bay from the Observation platform. Entrance fee was 300 yen which we gave it a miss.

 After that, we then continued our journey from Hase to Enoshima to visit the famous Enoshima Iwaya Cave. (However after reaching and searching around, we then found out that it was closed for repair!)

Enjoying the sea view in the train

A model that pretty much summaries the Shonan area.

 

 

 

Enoshima Shrine

The temple is open daily from 8am to 5pm and admission if free. But do prepare for a long walk up the shrine with a lot of steps along the way!

 

 

View of the area from the shrine

Look how beautiful the view is!

Enoshima Tenboutoudai (Enoshima Lighthouse and Observation Tower)

We heard that the view was magnificent from the tower, but we were reallyyyy tired from all the walking and climbing throughout the whole day. Hence we gave it a miss and enjoyed the scenery from below.

Sea view

 

 

 

 The Iwaya-Bashi bridge which links directly to the Enoshima Iwaya Cave. Was so sad to found out that it was closed for repairs :(

 Decided to enjoy the some sea breeze and the sunset by the beach before walking back down to have dinner!

There were quite a few restaurants along the way and we decided to visit this restaurant as the display of their food outside the shop captured us and what's more, the restaurant is situated right beside the sea side! Hence we managed to get some rest for our feet after walking for the whole day, climbing up and down steps and mountains while enjoying our dinner with a nice sea view~ Food was pretty great and the seafood was huge and fresh!

After which, we then took the train back to Tokyo station and change back to our hotel. Everyone went to enjoy a good dip in the onsen to relax our tired body before crashing into bed. Really enjoyed the day trip to Kamakura! Love how peaceful and nice the place is, would definitely recommend people to go have a visit if you have not gone before. Great place for friends, family and even couples!

Will update more on my trip this week, so do stay tune!! (: xoxo