Tokyo 2015 - Days 5 & 6 of 6 - Shinjuku, Akihabara, Shibuya

Day 5 - Shinjuku, Akihabara, Shibuya

For breakfast, we had a choice of traditional Japanese breakfast or intercontinental buffet. We chose the Japanese breakfast and it was a good choice!

We had smoked fish with lots of sidings, soup, and rice.

For desserts, we bought cake from their pastry shop and both cakes were good. Ang sarap nung fresh berries at hindi gaano matamis yung cakes so hindi nakakaumay.

Siyempre, hindi naman pwedeng kain lang ng kain. We've decided to take a swim at the fitness center of the hotel. Akala ko libre, yun pala may bayad, lintsak na yan! Pero okay lang, libre naman yung stay namin kaya hayai na silang kumita ng kaunti sa amin, haha!

 

After namin maglangoy, nag-ayos na kami. Napansin ko lang yung asawa ko na nag-aayos and at that moment, napatigil ako at namangha sa kanyang ganda...

woot! pogi points! hindi ko na kelangan bumili ng gift for anniversary :D

we left the hotel and headed straight to Akihabara for pasalubong shopping

Grabe, merong mga rare na used lenses for very low prices. Nakakatakam, sayang walang pambili, haha!

It's been years since I've last tried Beard Papa's kaya na-tripan kong subukan dito.

okay pa din naman siya :) masarap pa rin.

For lunch, we've decided to go this ramen place near the Akihabara station

Tantanmen + Shrimp Gyoza good for sharing na, wala pang 400 pesos! Sobrang sulit!

After lunch, pumunta uli kami sa isang St. Marc para magtry ng iba pang flavors. Ih ih, masarap talaga :)

This was the last pasalubong item we bought for that day. Nilagay namin sa ref tapos bumili kami dry ice, nakabalot sa insulated bag. Nakarating naman sa Pilipinas ng maayos a, hindi nga lang nagawang takoyaki, haha!

For our last dinner, we've decided to dress up and splurge a little. Yung asawa ko bihis na bihis, ako, yan na talaga yun e, haha!

We went to Lawry's The Prime Rib. Alam kong hindi siya Japanese restaurant, pero dahil wala sa Pinas nito at sure na masarap dahil sa mga recommendations from friends, dito na namin pinili.

Napakalayong lakad lang from the station kaya muntik na kaming ma-late sa reservation namin!

Dang... yung lobster biaque nila, hindi lang parang pinaghugasan ng lobster na walang laman, ito may chunks talaga ng lobster! Boom!

Hello there, you sexy beast :)

Sobrang lambot at sarap nito!

Heto yung iphone for comparison

We were so happy we spent our last dinner for this Tokyo trip here

Day 6 - uwian na

For a hassle free airport transfer, we asked the hotel to book Airport Limousine for us

natulog lang ako saglit, nasa airport na kami :)

Iniwan ko lang yung pocket wifi dun sa designated post niya, tapos airport wifi na ang ginamit namin to kill boredom while waiting :)

Nabitin kami sa trip. Masyado kaming nag-enjoy dahil hindi kami nahirapan to go around Tokyo at hindi rin naman kamahalan ang gastusin. We fell in love with Japan because of this trip. We'll definitely be back!

Sa uulitin,

Chewy

Tokyo 2015 - Day 3 of 6 - Tsukiji, Japanese Culture Class, Imperial Palace, Tokyo Sky Tree, Roppongi

Day 3 - Tsukiji, Shin-Nakano, Imperial Palace, Tokyo Sky Tree, Roppongi

Our third day was a Saturday and the vibe of the whole Tsukiji area was very different from the day before. There were lots of tourists and locals.

 dating gawi, nakipila kami kahit hindi namin alam kung ano ang pinipilahan namin, haha!

 The locals were having beers with their breakfast. Pampainit :)

 Hindi namin alam kung ano pangalan ng tindahan pero ito ang itsura nung sign. (sorry marami kaming hindi alam ang name, tingnan niyo na lang litrato at characters, haha)

 They only served two kinds of dishes:

1. Gyudon (all meat) - mura lang, pero masarap nga naman kahit walang itlog

  2. parang Gyudon ang timpla pero puro laman-loob - may mga parts na okay, may parts na sablay, hehe

After our heavy breakfast, we traveled to our Japanese culture class up in Shin-Nakano

 Our very kind host Miss Mariko Oshima fetched us from the station. We highly-recommend her and you can contact her through her Facebook page HERE

 On the way to her place, I saw this blue GTR for sale. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, "mamaya ko na lang bibilhin pabalik"

 Our lovely host welcomed us to their equally lovely home :)

her cute daughter Tsubaki was a good assistant teacher. She folds better origami compared to us!

 We also learned the art of Furoshiki

 We had a great time learning how to wrap things with combined elegance and function.

 Mariko's mom is a chef and taught us how to cook tempura

 parang piyesta sa dami ng handa sa amin, haha!

 ang galing pa nung dessert, balat ng orange na orange jello ang laman, cool!

 after lunch, tinuruan naman kami ng calligraphy, nag-enjoy kami pareho dito :)

 hindi pa tapos, gumawa pa kami ng sarili naming Matcha tea

 siyempre, feel na feel naman ni Blanca o

 Ang sarap nung tea lalo na kapag sinamahan mo nitong Mochi na may bean paste at fresh strawberry sa loob. Sa sobrang sarap, nagbilin ako na bumili uli kami on our way back :)

 Pagbalik ko, sobrang lungkot ko, may nauna na sakin nakabili nung GTR, sayang naman... (feelingero)

 hindi ko na naman alam ang pangalan nung bakery pero heto ang itsura niya sa labas

After the class, medyo hapon (afternoon, hindi Japan) na ng matapos kami at dumiretso kami sa Imperial Palace. Magsasara na daw kya sa paligid na lang kami naglakad-lakad at kumuha ng litrato para naman sulit ang pagpunta kahit papaano.

BABALA: ang mga susunod na larawan na kaming dalawa ay medyo may pagka-landi at kadiri. Iwasang masuka.

 

After naming maglandian, este, mag-kodakan, Tumungo kami sa Tokyo Sky Tree. Hindi namin inakala na kelangan pala magbobook ka ahead. Kung maaari weeks ahead lalo na kung weekend kayo pupunta. Dun kami nagkamali. Don't make the same mistake. Book HERE

 

 Dahil hindi kami nakaakyat, kumain na lang kami ng Green Tea Ice Cream with Matcha cubes from Nana's Green Tea inside the Tokyo Sky Tree mall. Saraaaap!

 While walking around the mall, nakita namin itong Takoyaki place na mga locals nakain

 siyempre, umorder kami :)) ang sarap lalo na at mainit!

 also, we found our favorite Tokyo Banana. Sarap din nung strawberry ha!

I realized that we haven't tried any fast food so we checked out KFC. They serve nuggets in Japan so kahit busog pa kami, sinubukan namin. Ih ih, yang sama. Sayang sa pera at calories. Iwasan.

 Hindi pa KFC yung dinner namin, siyempre, gusto namin ng tunay na Japanese food. Gusto namin ng masarap na Yakitori. For that, we headed to Roppongi

 as usual, hindi uli namin alam ang name pero from the Roppongi station at the picture above, we headed down the road in the picture below.

 Look for a door that has this light.

 There were chairs outside para sa mga naghihintay. Katapat nito ay FamilyMart.

 you have to remove your shoes before entering the restaurant. Don't worry, it's safe :)

 maliit lang yung lugar pero punong-puno. Dahil hindi ko alam kung ano specialty, Omakase uli kami.

 Heto ang mga hinain sa amin, no joke, lahat masarap!

 heto ang pinakamasarap, yung puwet ng manok! Chicken Ass! The best!

 After dinner, tumawid kami sa FamilyMart para tumingin ng kung ano-ano... natagpuan namin ito

 WHOA! Royce Choclate Cheeses! Yanung sarap! A must try!

On our way home, it was late at night, the train coach was packed with fellow tourists. Most of them, lasing, haha. It was one loud trip home.

 Near the hotel, there's a Jonathan's that's open 24 hours. We've decided to check it out.

 Dahil busog kami, we only ordered ice cream with matcha mochi and red bean syrup.

 It was okay, I've had better ones pero this one's not bad.

We're excited for the next day because we'll transfer to a different hotel. See you in my next post!

Sa uulitin,

Chewy