BB's 2nd Visit to Tokyo, Japan 2019

[BabyBlade]

My 2nd trip to Tokyo! Via Delta Airline this time. Plane tix at $500+/pax.

 

 

First meal after touching down at Harajuku vicinity: Ore-Ryu Shio Ramen. Nothing beats having a bowl of hot soup in cold weather as the saying goes: Life is hard, and winter is cold, but there's always ramen!

 

Temperature: 10 Degrees Celsius, with slight drizzle.

 

 

Lawson to start the day:

 

Rainbow Pancake at Harajuku. We queued up for this under the rain simply because of the rainbow color decor. The Macadamia Nut Pancake is a must try. Better than the pancakes at Flippers! Sauce is deliciously good.

 

 

My first trip to Tokyo I visited the Owl Cafe. This time round it was to Hedgehog Cafe & Pet Store HARRY. Per pax we paid about 1600Yen+ for 30 mins of playtime with the hedgehogs and some meal worms as their snacks. Hedgehogs sleep most of the day and these ones are so accustomed to sleeping in people's hands you don't really get to interact much with them other than them curling up in a ball to sleep on your hands.

 

There's also a minder assigned to each table/group of customer to ensure customers don't mishandle them, for those concerned about the welfare of the animals in such cafes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Weez911]

I wish I can eat ramen beside you.

[BabyBlade]

 

Han no Daidokoro Kadochika, Shibuya. About 20,000++ Yen for 4 pax. 

 

 

Because every trip in Tokyo we gotta go Harajuku Gyoza Lou, arguably the best Gyozas available in Harajuku. Even the steamed ones are good. And their taogay, best.

 

 

Random shot at Shibuya Crossing.

 

 

[BabyBlade]

Harajuku in the morning.

 

 

 

Spoon Sports Type One Shop, Seeker at Suginami-Ku and random shots.

 

"Inside The Shop Where Spoon Teaches Hondas To Kick More Ass". The entire place was quite unassuming. The Type One Showroom, I quote "only opened in 2001, originally as an exclusive speed shop for Honda’s Type-R cars." Just from the surrounding of the area and the interior of the workshop itself, I wouldn't have believed that some of the most iconic Honda cars in Motorsports have come through their doors till I did some researching after I was out of the place. Meh. Their workshop's also super clean it's nothing like the ones in Singapore.

 

No wonder they say the Japanese have a reputation for cleanliness.

 

 

My favorite S660.

 

 

Random shot of poster boy Kobayashigt

 

The best way to eat fried rice bought from the convenience store? Sitting by the roadside. 

[Yeshe]

U forgot to state these shots taken by your new phone??

[BabyBlade]

U forgot to state these shots taken by your new phone??

 

Oh yes they were 

[BabyBlade]

Akihabara at night.

 

 

The famous Roast Beef Ohno Akihabara. The Wagyu Roast Beef bowl that looks like a volcano with an egg yolk in the middle. It looks too raw for my liking so I had the steak plate instead, just like Pepper Lunch.

 

 

[BabyBlade]

Overhead bridge on Omotesando Street.

 

 

Since we stayed at Harajuku for all nights, no harm walking to visit Meiji Jingu Shrine.

 

 

[BabyBlade]

おいいしそう！

 

Looks good ah but I don't think its to die for! Better Yakinikus out there. But the service is 

[Angcheek]

I wish I can eat ramen beside you.

...

[BabyBlade]

Rented a car from TOYOTA Rent A Car for our day trip out of Tokyo, to Hakone. Our first time renting a car in Japan actually.

 

https://rent.toyota.co.jp/eng/service/

 

We chose the Toyota Vitz a compact hatch. Collected the car at 7pm from their office at Harajuku, which we booked in the afternoon from their website. Customer service officer at the counter knew very basic English only. Car was pretty new, minimal scratches on the outside. Interior was clean and well taken care of. 

 

 

Short drive to Shibuya for our dinner at Teppanyaki Ten. Definitely gonna recommend this teppanyaki restaurant to first timers out there who are looking for quality Japanese food without breaking the bank. Hidden gem which we randomly found off Google. Great ambience, good looking chefs  , friendly staff, good food. Get the counter seats! No regrets.

 

 

Anyway having a car in Tokyo seems like such a pain in the ass. Some of the roads we turned into had pretty tight spaces and were quite a challenge to maneuver. Parking was hard to find and very expensive. For that two hours or lesser we spent at dinner, we paid $20 for parking. Our Airbnb apartment had outdoor parking spaces but these were reserved for contractors though it was always vacant throughout our stay. We had to park further down at the self service carpark some walk down. 

 

Not complaining though. It was a great experience having our own transport in Japan even if its just for that 1 day 1 night.

[Staff69]

can share the accommodation details pls

[BabyBlade]

Day trip to Hakone, in hopes to see Mount Fuji from across Lake Ashi. The drive from Harajuku to Hakone was relatively simple. Road conditions were good. Most drivers religiously kept to the speed limit. No road hoggers. People signaled, gave way to each other on the road. Impressed with the driving culture and etiquette of the Japanese! 8 days in Tokyo and only heard 1 honk.

 

Due to the constant rain and fog, we did not see Mount Fuji at all, not even a glimpse. Temperature was around 6 degrees celsius with rain.

 

 

 

Floating Torii gate at Hakone Shrine.

 

 

Lunch at Hakone.

 

 

 

Interior of our Vitz.

 

 

can share the accommodation details pls

 

Accommodation not worth mentioning at all. SGD 2,600 for 8 days, 10 to 15 mins walk away from main Harajuku area. Room was very cramped and very basic. Not the most ideal. Can find better ones.

Not A5 ?

 

Was the TT. Not A5. Lol.

[BabyBlade]

We left Hakone at about 2pm+ and drove to Yokohama. Didn't stay around longer at Hakone partly due to the weather, secondly because we were pressed for time. Our car rental was for 24 hours only, no extension even if you want to pay the penalty for late return. No box to self drop off car key so we have to return at exactly 7pm (the time we took the car the day before) if not we will be charged for another day of rental. Would have been nice to stay in Hakone for 2D1N in good weather.

 

We made our way to Autobacs ASM Yokohama. 

 

 

That's our cute little Vitz beside the S2K.

 

 

They specialise in S2000 parts and tuning and a huge selection of Recaro seats. Hard to miss this place with all the S2K parked outside.

 

 

Did a short stopover at Marine & Walk, an open air waterfront mall in Yokohama as our friend was interested to get some Neighborhood apparels.

 

 

Returned our Vitz to TOYOTA Rent A Car at Tokyo, paid our toll fees and went for dinner at Ichiran Ramen, Harajuku.

 

 

Overall a day well spent in Hakone and a great self drive experience in Japan though I was just the passenger. 1 day drive out of Tokyo can be too short a time and I would totally recommend at least 2 to 3 days for a more relaxing experience without having to do constant time check.

[kobayashiGT]

Haha. I was there eating ramen with her.

I wish I can eat ramen beside you.

 

[BabyBlade]

Random french fries photos bought from convenience store and a shop at Harajuku.

 

 

Tonkatsu Hamakatsu at Shinjuku. Price was affordable. Food was decent. I think mine was the pork fillet. Milk ice cream was yummy.

 

 

Not as juicy as I would have liked it to be.

 

 

[Weez911]

Haha. I was there eating ramen with her.

 

[Lala81]

I had the harajuku long long fries as well when i went last year.

 

Try Katsukura next time. But i agree, it's not super juicy. maybe it's their local preference.

https://goo.gl/maps/6fQ8hzsBpBw

 

 

Random french fries photos bought from convenience store and a shop at Harajuku.

 

Tonkatsu Hamakatsu at Shinjuku. Price was affordable. Food was decent. I think mine was the pork fillet. Milk ice cream was yummy.

 

Not as juicy as I would have liked it to be.