Tokyo Day 7 / Pokemon

 23.11.2014

I feel so sad typing this post now, backdating this to more than 4 months back. Can't wait for the next time I visit Tokyo again. 

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Anw, the only thing we have on our itinerary today was Daimon - Pokemon Center. 

Chio shoes. ✌

We arrived at Daimon Station at around 10-11am Tokyo time and Google mapped our way to the Pokemon Center which should be a 5-10 minute walk away if you know your way. 

 When we first arrived at the entrance, we were very very excited because we have heard and watch videos of people who went to Pokemon Centers in Japan and it sounded/looked amazing.

Coincidentally, the were having an event for visitors whose birthday falls in the month and I managed to get a free gift, which was, tbh, completely useless. They gave me a pokemon-themed cardboard crown and a card -.- BUT, if we happened to own a Nintendo Ds, I think we could have gotten a game or smth. Didn't really pay attention cus we didn't own one anyway. 

This was the pokemon center we visited. Which is actually….very small. And disappointing. There was nothing else except soft toys and a few other merchandise with very limited selection. Most of the pokemon are those of the new gen which we have never seen/heard of before. Those of the first gen left are mostly pikachu. They have first gen pokemons printed on merchandise like towel, plastic files, socks, etc la but really at this age, you want to use a pokemon file or towel meh?

We only bought a few merchandise for keepsake and left the store within an hour. 

So, we went back to…shop some more! Hahahaha. Back to Harajuku. 

When we went to the branch that we'd been to on Day 5 (21.11.2014), we were told that there was another branch that we missed out (p.s. because we went to ask the staff cus we feel like we haven't buy enough tape stuff lol). That was when we realized that the branch we went to on that day wasn't the Harajuku branch, but the Aoyama branch, which is the Bape Exclusive store. 

I did a google search when I came back and found out that we had accidentally ventured into Aoyama on Day 5 after we exited Yoyogi Park and tried to find our way to walk to Harajuku. 

Aoyama is actually one of Tokyo's wealthiest destination which explains all the buildings with polished exteriors and expensive-looking interiors we saw. Apparently, it's where high-end labels will set up their second stores after Ginza.

Aoyama is actually to the west of Harajuku so most people see it as part of Harajuku but it is actually an entire shopping district on its own with a more sophisticated and cultured feel. 

Which also explains why we found the Tokyo Exclusive Bape tees only in that branch. 

Anyway, we were given directions and we finally found our way to the last branch, Bape @ Harajuku. 

I found a lot of stuff that were either too expensive for me at that time, or out of sizes, so I took pictures of them should I find any in my size in the future. 

I wanted this jacket damn badly but JP managed to convince me to hold it out till their next design because 1, it looks similar to my Aape one, 2, it's too expensive for my expenditure budget that trip. 

If any of you see this (the authentic one please) selling on carousell please let me know :) 

Can you believe they don't even have caps in my size :( 

We continued shopping on the way while looking out for places to have lunch at and found a place with quite a long queue (not super duper long but there was a small crowd). Being atypical Singaporeans, we did not join the queue. Hahahaha. We continued walking to search for places to have lunch and we got hungrier but still could not find a suitable place to eat at. 

So, we kept walking around and passed by this place again and the queue shortened to the point where only 2 of the chairs left outside in the queue were taken so….we went for it. Hahahaha. 

We did not know how to order at all because the english menu did not have pictures so we just ordered whatever we think sound nice. 

Hahahaha ok I promise to try and take better videos the next time. But make do with this ok. And don't watch this at night. If you do, don't blame me for getting hungry. 

Continued shopping a bit more before heading back to Ginza again for more shopping. 

JP wanted to find a Pandora store there so I could add another charm to my bracelet that would serve as a memory of our trip to Tokyo so he went to search on his phone for a branch nearby. Apparently there were results for it and he Googled mapped the address and eventually took me on a wild goose chase. -.-'''

Went passed this carpark and realized, this is the much talked about automated parking technology. It's really damn cool to be seeing it up close, and I actually waited for a car to be parked just to see how it really works in reality. Lol at me being suaku. 

But if you don't know how it's supposed to work, then you more suaku than me. Wahahaha. 

Walked into Chrome Hearts again and this time...

Got it ✌

Once again, we went to look for dinner after all the shops had closed and we were very lucky to see a sushi restaurant on the 2nd level from the outside of the building. We almost went to another ramen stall because the price was reasonable and the picture on the promotional poster looked promising. But, I decided to go for sushi instead because I love sushi more. 

And so, upon chance, we had the highest quality sushi we'd ever eaten. 

I couldn't remember the price anymore but I do remember that despite it being a bit pricier, it wasn't very expensive. 

Sorry I didn't manage to get most of the food places we'd been to in Tokyo. All of the restaurants, food stalls, cafes, etc that we ate at were discovered by chance and they just so happened to taste awesome. Most of the time, I was either to excited to move on or too cold to stand outside and take pictures of the stall's name so I don't have many pictures of the exteriors with the name of the place. It's such a pity cus even I won't remember where these places are the next time I visit Tokyo again. But hopefully, our luck with running into famous stores/ awesome food places don't run out. 

I promise to be more diligent in taking travel photos the next time 😛

The positions Mickey was put into by the hotel staff who cleaned up our room over the past 2 days . 

My loots for the day:

 1. Pokemon Crown, Card and File in courtesy of the Birthday Event. 

2. Cosmetics (in the transparent bag) bought from their drugstore. If I'm not wrong, it's either Matsumoto Kiyoshi or Drug (With a Japanese word that looks like the Chinese Character "藥", which means medicine)

3. Stockings from random department store

4. Pokemon Merchandise from Pokemon Center

5. Ring from Chrome Hearts

6. PLAY tee from CDG

JP's loots, which looks crazy, but these are for the past 7 days, and not just today. 

Starbucks drink we bought from Family Mart. 

Jason Marks shoes cleaner which I forgot to include in my loots. 

Super nice food and drinks, also from Family Mart. Love the vent for the cup noodles, which helps to either cool it down for the soupy ones, or to pour out the water for the dry ones. Their innovation in everything helps make our everyday lives there so much easier. 

Luggage as makeshift table because the only table we have in the room is already filled with our barang barang. 

And we are very satisfied with the fact that despite the small room space, we can still have a bathtub :)

The hotel lobby has a "guests'  corner" where there are bath soaps and bath essence that are free for the guests to take. They also have like coffee powder and stuff but we hardly take those cus we always buy ready-made ones from Family Mart on our way back.

Had yet another fruitful shopping trip of getting mostly cosmetics and skincare products today. The pokemon center was a tad disappointing but we will still visit other centers when we visit Japan so it wasn't a big deal. Plus, we weren't hardcore fans so it wasn't that bad for us. 

I'm so sad that the trip is coming to an end but hopefully, I'll visit either Tokyo or other parts of Japan soon enough. 

X

Day 6 / Odaiba

22.11.2014

Headed to Odaiba first thing in the morning. Had to switch trains so it was a longer ride. Forgot which line was this but it looks like a longer version of the LRT in Singapore. 

A little background on Odaiba:

Odaiba (お台場) is a popular shopping and entertainment district on a man made island in Tokyo Bay. It originated as a set of small man made fort islands (daiba literally means "fort"), which were built towards the end of the Edo Period (1603-1868) to protect Tokyo against possible attacks from the sea and specifically in response to the gunboat diplomacy of Commodore Perry.

It was not until the second half of the 1990s, when several hotels, shopping malls and the Yurikamome elevated train line were opened, that Odaiba developed into one of Tokyo's most popular tourist attractions and date spots with a wide selection of shopping, dining and leisure options.

Source: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3008.html

Since we had to go slightly out of the way to get to Odaiba, we planned to spend the entire day there. 

Everything here looks beautiful. 

Disclaimer: These photos were taken from inside the train so pardon the reflection. 

And…we reached our destination. 

It was crazy cold but at the same time, the air was really fresh and everywhere I looked showed a picturesque scenery. After about 15 minutes, we finally reached DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. 

This boy here was so excited I should have snapped a photo of his reaction when he saw the Gundam figure. Boys and Gundams. 

We walked around the mall and stopped by a Premium Kaio, a conveyor belt sushi place for lunch. It's a bit like Genki Sushi except that they have an additional conveyor belt. 

As for the quality of food, it's crazy good for the price. Prices start from \120 excluding tax, which is around SGD$1.30. I would say the prices are comparable or slightly cheaper than conveyor belt sushi restaurants in Sg, but the standard of the food and service is definitely much higher. 

This crepe cake already surpassed specialized crepe cake stores in Sg. 

Arcade…

 I became super high just because I saw this "Dance Sneaker" section. Lol.

Left DiverCity Tokyo Plaza and ventured deeper into Odaiba to visit the other attractions and malls. 

Ferris Wheel in the distance. 

Passed by the entrance to a car museum by chance and we went in to take a look. 

Tbh I wasn't interested in the cars at all. When we walked into this showroom with the crazy ceiling high mirrors, all we thought of was "if only we have a studio like that". Hahahahaha. #dancerproblems 

Unknowingly, I was led by JP to Venus Fort. 

"Venus Fort is a shopping mall in the style of a 18th century South European town. The mall features over a hundred shops, fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants on three floors including a few outlets shops on the upper floor."

I was very captivated by the interior of the mall. All the details are so….intricate, and the lighting was perfect for shopping. I didn't even need to ask, JP was already busy taking pictures of the interior before I even realized. 

Shopped for quite a few hours with nothing in tow before we found our treasure trove. Nike Outlet Store!!! 

These babies are retailing at almost half the price of Sg's. 

Personally, I think this is the best buy I got out of the whole Tokyo trip. My only regret was that I did not bring enough money to cop a few more pairs.  

Smoking room in Venus Fort. 

I can never get over the fact that Tokyo has smoking rooms indoors. It's so much more convenient, and the smokers will feel more inclined to actually go to the room to smoke instead of just smoking at any spot they find outside the mall. I mean it's a win-win, to both smokers and non-smokers, and hopefully, Sg will consider implementing something like that. 

By the time we left Venus Fort, the sun was setting and I felt so privileged to be able to witness such a  sight.  It was so beautiful, even though we weren't near enough to capture the full beauty of it. 

Spamming OOTD pictures...

Pardon me and my vanity. Anyway back to the scenery...

Tokyo Joypolis indoor theme park in Decks Tokyo Beach.

Haunted House images. 

We decided to shop around some more first before going in to the theme park. Their sunset lasted for quite some time and we were once again privileged to be able to capture these...

Rainbow bridge in the distance.

Rainbow Bridge with Tokyo Tower.

And we witnessed another endearing scene: A woman walking 7/8 puppies in a shopping mall. 

Trying v hard to capture the lights behind us 

You can go to the decks behind either Decks Tokyo Beach or Aquacity to catch the beautiful scenery and lights. The decks are connected and form a long stretch so it's quite easy to find empty spots despite the number of tourists there. 

I don't how, but that stranger standing outside somehow fitted the haunted house theme and it's quite scary now that I look at it. Like, is this really just a coincidence? 

The haunted house was not part of the indoor theme park, it was just randomly placed out of nowhere, next to a Takoyaki-themed food court. 

JP wanted to play and I was a bit tempted to try, but the video showing on the screen outside looks scary, and plus there was nobody around wanting to go in, so means only the 2 of us will be inside, which makes it a lot scarier when I think about it. JP saw me hesitate for damn long and he decided not to go in because he didn't want me to be so scared.  

Went to the Takoyaki-themed food court to grab something light because we couldn't take too heavy meals before going to the theme park.

We're here!!! I was getting pretty excited to enter already.  

I didn't take my camera with me as we dumped all our barang barang into the locker available. They had quite a few cool rides these are my favorite:

1. Storm-G - It's a spaceship racing simulator, and whatever that thing it is you are seated in, there are no covers and the entire thing really does turn 360 degrees. You can go google this, I'm sure there are a lot of images and reviews on it. I loved it because I got to play together with JP and we both came in first in the race. 

2. Veil in the Dark - It's a roller coaster which uses really cool virtual games to make the ride more interesting. When you enter, you will stop along some points to shoot zombies/monsters before you launch into the ride. 

3. House of the Dead 4 - No, it's not your regular shooting game at the arcade. You get to go into a cage simulator to shoot. There are screens in front of and behind you, so the simulator will spin you around for you to shoot. Loved this also because JP and I spent quite a long time inside. In fact, we managed to get to the final boss stage :)  Some people unfortunately, used up all their lives within like 5 minutes. So if you are good at FPS games, give this a try. 

4. Obake Yahiki (Haunted House): The Room of Living Dolls - I would have tried the other one too, The 45th Story, but it was closed for maintenance. I won't spoil you but it's a very different experience from what you would expect from a haunted house. Tbh I would say it's not very scary because they do not provide English support for the scare attraction. You are supposed to listen to the story of the doll first before moving in deeper into the attraction. There were some locals who sounded scared after listening to the story, but the tourists were just excited (us included). You can roughly understand the gist of the story but I believe it would be a lot scarier if you are able to understand Japanese. I still liked this a lot because it made my hairs stand but I don't feel scared after I exit the haunted house, because I didn't understand what they were saying :)

5. Half-Pipe Canyon - I managed to take a short video of this. Basically, we were given instructions on the stepping motion on the pedals in order to get high scores but we didn't really understand so when we started playing, I just anyhow step. Hahahaha. I think you will get higher scores if you spin more rounds. Anyway, it doesn't look that intimidating until you are already on the ride. It will only occur to you that it is actually quite high only when you actually start moving and spinning and you feel your stomach drop. 

Because we didn't really understand the instructions, our scores were pretty average and we came in 3rd. Hahaha not bad considering how I was shouting for my Mama. 

While waiting for our turn, we were playing with the interactive screens...

The logo on JP's jacket became a head too!

While doing some googling for this post, I found a lot of reviews for Joypolis Odaiba and they were all positive. If you are interested, you can go google this theme park for more details and reviews, but I would advise to select the reviews with caution as some describes the ride in detail, which spoils the fun.

Overall I had a lot of fun in Joypolis and I felt really lucky that we had enough time to visit this attraction. Like I have mentioned in previous posts, we usually just list the places we would like to visit and separate them into days but there is no specific detail. Like for today, in my itinerary it was just written as: Odaiba. Then, Decks Tokyo Beach, Aquacity Odaiba and DiverCity Tokyo Plaza were written under Odaiba as sub-points. That's all. So we were pretty fortunate that every time we visit a certain place, we were able to find the attraction by chance. 

Couldn't take pictures with the Statue of Liberty in the States, so we do it in Tokyo 

Tried the CoCo Ichibanya Curry House in Tokyo for dinner. We reached Ningyocho pretty early and decided to explore the surroundings for dinner and since we saw this, might as well try and see if they are better than Sg's. 

Verdict: It only wins by a slight margin. But the store had a very interesting concept. They have a books corner for customers to borrow and read while having dinner. The menu also had more variety as compared to the one in Sg. 

After a long day, I was happy to dive straight into bed and then I discovered this:

Cracked heels that didn't hurt at all. I was very amused by this because when I showed it to JP, he was like "WAHHHH! Why will like that?!" and I stared at him blankly and went "But not pain at all leh". His expression went from shocked to confused and then he called me weird -.- 

I didn't apply any medication to this and it got a bit better after I came back to Sg but it didn't hurt at all the entire time so I guess it's just because of the cold weather and it's not anything serious. 

Omg it's already Day 6. I remembered how we were dreading the end of the trip. Now I'm dreading to finish this too, because I miss Tokyo way too much. 

X