It's my first time visiting Tokyo , Japan.
Growing up being surrounded by anime , manga and all - I think it's only natural that every fan of anime / manga would love to visit Japan one day. I am kinda blessed last year , MissHermes won us a pair of tickets to Nagoya and we were both lucky enough to be chosen to visit Chiba as a part of Chiba Monitor Tour Program.
If you are wondering who is MissHermes , she is my best friend and now she is studying Japanese Language in Tokyo. She will be away and staying in Tokyo for two years. So this two week trip to Tokyo is sort of to accompany her , help her get settled down and of course to spend more time together.
On our first day in Tokyo , we visited the Asakusa Sensoji Temple.
I have a fascination with temples. So when MissHermes asked me , " Where do you want to go in Tokyo ? " I said , " Temples and any animal cafes , maybe some shopping ?"
We visited the Asakusa Sensoji Temple in the morning of my arrival.
It's a famous temple and it's filled with tourists everyday. It's about 40 minutes train ride from our AirBnB place in Kugayama. One thing about travelling in Japan , you take trains and walk most of the time because taxi rides are very expensive. The good thing is that the train system in Japan is efficient and convenient. If I stay here any longer , I would be really fit because I'll need to walk everywhere hahahaha !
Along the way to the temple , there are rows and rows of shops selling food and souvenirs.
We didn't buy anything though , except for ice cream . It's early spring and it's cold but we still want to have ice cream. It's a girl thing hahahahaha !
p/s : By the way , this ice cream is bad and a little pricey.
Since both of us can't really read much Japanese Characters , I did a brilliant thing which is to snap a photo of the Omamori ( Japanese Charms / Amulets ) , posted in on Twitter and wait for people to tell me what are the functions of the charms lol.
It's funny but it works ! The sweet people in my Twitter usually replies within minutes.
We bought a Omamori for each other ,it seems that it works better if it's gifted to you.
Here's a funny story.
You know in the entrance of the temple , you usually see a box where you throw in a coin and pray ? MissHermes refused to do it because she doesn't have a 100 yen coin.She has a 500 yen coin and she said that it's too much for a prayer lol.
I threw a 100 yen coin in and wished hard.
Then we went to get our fortune paper. MissHermes 's fortune is just average and I got the best fortune paper. She was like , " Why can't I get a better fortune ??? " I told her , " Maybe because you refused to put in the 500 yen so God .... punish you a little. "
MissHermes asked me a question , " Do you believe in all these fortune readings because you always get good fortune ? You might not believe in it anymore when you get a bad one. " Personally , I want to believe in good things and more good things will happen. Hoping for good fortune , having positive thoughts will bring more happiness in life. That's what I believe.
So yeah , always choose hope , feel hopeful and happy everyday !
I love the Spring weather in Japan.
I'm afraid of heat , so this cooling weather feels so good. I don't mind walking around for hours under this beautiful weather. Couldn't do that if I'm in Malaysia. I would probably just hide at home.Blogging about Japan now makes me miss the weather in Japan sigh.
Next , we visited the HawkEye Cafe.
HawkEye Cafe is a Hawk and Owl Cafe. I let MissHermes do all the planning regarding this trip since she's been to Tokyo six times lol. ( she loves Japan a lot ) We navigate around Tokyo using Google Maps. It's the best app ever ! They tell you exactly which train to take , how much is the total fare and when the train arrives. Though you must have a good sense of direction. MissHermes's sense of direction is quite bad so sometimes she ends up being angry and lost , I would take over the navigation job hahahahahahahaha.
I'm good in navigation , trust me :)
I like animals a lot.
I can't explain why , but I like touching them , seeing them. It makes me happy. I've considered being a zookeeper or zoologist in my high school. I don't want to be a vet because I couldn't bear seeing animals die. I get attached easily , so I'll make a really bad vet.
It's my first time touching predator birds.
At first I was quite scared that the owls or hawks would scratch me or poop on me but I tell myself , these birds can sense fear. Must show them whose the boss. I mean confidence when handling them lol.
I had this tiny little owl sitting on my shoulder for almost 20 minutes lol.
Secretly , I'm praying please don't poop on my new sweater.
....... and then we visited the hawk room.
Misshermes doesn't want to touch them because she is scared.
While I can't wait to touch them hahaha !!
This certain hawk will surprise you by flying and stand right on top of your head.
( again the " please don't poop on my head " prayer is going on )
People have been asking me , " Isn't it painful ? Hawk's talons are quite sharp. "
I didn't feel anything at all. It's important to keep calm when you are around them. Don't be scared.
If I remembered it correctly , it costs about 1500 yen for the HawkEye Cafe experience.
It includes a drink of your choice and 1 hour to spend with the birds. You have photos taken with them and you can touch them with the shopkeeper's assistance of course.
Most of the animal cafes in Tokyo ranges around 1300 yen to 1700 yen.
We took a photo with the shopkeeper too !
She's really warm and friendly , telling us about the owls and hawks , encouraging us to touch them and let the owls sit on our shoulders. I enjoyed my time in the HawkEye Cafe very much. Thanks to MissHermes's for bringing me here. She's not really keen on visiting animal cafes but she's doing it because I enjoy it.
We hold each other's hands when we walk.
Or more like I like to hold people's hand when I walk. It's a habit that I have since high school. Maybe because I grew up in an all girls school , holding hands with girls seems very normal. ( we are not dating ok lol )
A tip about Misshermes. She trips while walking almost everyday. Most of the time she should be grateful that I have a " holding hand" habit or else she would fall on the floor and cry. It's really funny.
We had Subway for dinner.
You may be asking , " Why have Subway in Japan OMG ! You should have authentic Japanese Food ! " I know that too but Subway in Japan looks to delicious that we couldn't resist to eat it when we passed by the store.
The Subway in Japan is very different from the Subway in Malaysia.
The side dishes and choice of sauces are very healthy too. Not only that , it taste much better of what we have here in Malaysia. I'm kinda jealous that MissHermes can enjoy all the delicious food in Japan.
Being a good friend that I am , since she followed me to a temple and an owl/ hawk cafe , I joined a trial pole dancing class with her. She has been practicing pole dancing in KL for almost 8 months now and she would love to continue doing it during her stay in Japan.
I used to have a misconception about pole dancing. When she first told me that she's doing pole dancing ,I was thinking of all things why pole dancing ? You could take salsa or ballet or any other dance. After months , I start to change my thoughts , she seemed really happy and strong - I'm so proud of her.
p/s : despite being able to climb up the pole like a pro , she still couldn't carry a 2litre bottle.
p/s again : She might punch me in the face when she sees this hahahahaha.
We took a 1 hour pole dancing class in Luxurica.
Oh My God ! I don't understand how they could do it so easily. When I watch pole dancing videos , it seems so effortless. They could climb up the pole so gracefully while I'm like..... a fail Koala Bear.
After the pole class , my whole body hurts so much and I have bruises everywhere. Here my friend,let me tell you the truth - Pole Dancing is not easy , it requires a lot of upper body strength to pull yourself up and lot's of practice and determination to be good in it. I think I would pick up this dance too if I have time.
Maybe we can do a duo pole dancing group in the future My Princess hahahahahaha !!
One thing I love about Japan is their Konbini (Convenience) Store.
Family Mart , Lawsons and 7-11 , I love it all. Many people ask me , " Isn't it expensive to travel to Japan ? You must be rich. "
I'm not rich and travelling to Japan is affordable if you know how.
One tip is to eat in Konbini Store if you can. Eating outside sometimes would cost minimum 500 - 1000 yen for a meal. In konbini , you could grab a sandwich for 300 yen or an onigiri for 150 yen. That's how I save money by eating less in the restaurant or cafe.
My first day in Tokyo is an eventful one.
My flight arrived in 8 am , I rushed to our AirBnB place took a shower and went out the whole day. It feels great though , being able to spend time with my best friend. Every moment is a happy one. Will blog more about our Tokyo adventures next ~ stay tuned !!
With Love,
YingTze
