Ueno Park & Ameyoko Memories

Sunday, December 5th, 2010 | 52 Comments

I could list a bunch of reasons I haven’t blogged but you probably already know them all from my twitter~ busy busy~ I have some photos from this weekend though I’ll probably put up tomorrow but right now here’s an entry I started, um, Wednesday? But never finished (lol, that sounds pathetic.)

I probably wasn’t going to blog much this coming week either but I wanted to finish out my Tokyo trip photos! So let’s try & do that this week OK! Yaaay~

So I want to talk about Ueno & my favorite part of the trip!

Mike, my friend and myself went to Ueno Park then Ameyoko the day after I puked 24hours straight. I look, um, dehydrated? Lol. I was feeling just really miserable inside & out but Ueno really turned that around. Well at least in my head, my body was still weak but I was feeling quite happy to be out!

Mike loves museums, especially science/natural history museums so we went to National Museum of Nature and Science. It was a lot like our Smithsonian or the Natural History Museum in NYC but it’s interesting to see everything from a different geographical perspective. You get so used to only seeing North American maps & European ancestors in all the displays! You don’t realize it until you don’t see it.

There’s a giant Blue Whale model outside. Prime photo-snap place. Difficult to get in the entire whale though! Haahaa!

Then we walked around the park for a bit. :good: Went over to the Toshogu Shrine. This was really one of my favorite places to visit on this trip.

We were the only ones there in the sweltering summer heat surrounded by chirping cicadas. There’s a cute, old fashioned (I guess?) concession stand outside the main entrance gate to the shrine. JAPANESE SUMMER TREATS/TOYS! I wanted to nap in happiness here! It was perfection! I spent some time at it, getting gachapon and just resting.

Us wandering around~

You could also purchase Ema for writing a wish on and leaving at the shrine. Like the summer concession stand, Ema hold this sort of iconic Japan place in my heart. This was actually the first wishing wall I’ve gotten to see in person. It was so lovely hearing the clanking sound of them rustling in the summer breeze. I think it was 300 yen to purchase one. Yes, I purchased one! But I wrote a really heartfelt goofy mushy wish so I’m not going to show it, haahaa~

A lot of these were dated in January, surprise~surprise, haahaa~ New year’s wishes~

Next we went to Ameyoko with a pitstop on the way at じゅらく for lunch! I got… hum, regular omurice! I wanted the spicy version but my stomach was all blaaaaaah =_=;;;;;

This restaurant has mechanized food dishes with steam coming out and noodles going up & down while being held by giant chopsticks! Well, giant bowl, giant noodles!

On to Ameyoko! Street stalls of cheap goods, cheap foods, souvenirs and such! Enjoyed some sweet honeydew melon on a stick here, bought an umbrella, and some tea in a goofy kitsch kimono girl souvenir canister for work, just ‘cuz Also had my friend pick me up some digestion medication for me here at the pharmacy. Japan has more digestive aids than I’d even know what to do with! :F So I waited until I saw her before attempting to buy some in broken Japanese since I lack any in depth sickness vocab.

We went and did a little plaza shopping too. Bought my cancan hat this day~
Apparently Rinka sent flowers to all the MercuryDuo shops for their anniversary or something. I forget and am too tired to look it up, but anyway, yaay She had that collab outerwear collection come out soon after this

52 Comments

Jenny @ 7:58 pm ; Sunday [url]
TAGS: japan trip, rinka, japanese food

whilst feeling Cheerful emoticon Cheerful & Dead emoticon Dead

Kichijoji Kitties

Sunday, November 14th, 2010 | 103 Comments

Kichijoji~ SO MUCH LOVE

Going back to finishing up posting my Japan pics. I know it’s being so spread out & at this point sorta pathetic, but I really want them here on my blog! My entries go back to 2004 and I often like to read my old archives. It sounds stupid, maybe selfish, but I like it! I see where I was a year, 2 years, 3 years or more with a click! It’s a diary~ and I like to see my life’s progression v

Ok, that was rambling!

So this was a day I spent with my friend. She spent many of her past years in Kichijoji and wanted to take me there. She took me to a few of her “old home towns/haunts” and I loved it. We hope some day I can show her the town I grew up in too~ ;_; Though it’s changed so much due to Katrina~~ *sigh* Anywho~~~~~~ :bai:

The main attraction was Cafe Calico! She hadn’t been to a cat cafe before & neither had I! And she had coupons WHOOP WHOOP! Haahaaa~ it was much as I expected Bright sunny room, reminded me of an Ikea showroom filled with indifferent (lol, is there any other kind?) Kittehs. This place has cafe style foods so we ordered drinks & split a snowcone .

This is the entrance where you pay for the amount of time you want to stay, you get a tag & locker too to put your things in.

Yes, I dropped the play stick and gave the kitten some attention since the other kitty seemed less interested in me, hahaaa! KITTY DEMANDED ATTENTION!

This cat was so jealous of the attention other cats were getting so he got in the bowl and kept looking around for people to come ooh & aaaww!

I could NOT get the ugliest kitty to pay me attention! I love uggers cats! The uglier the better v

The other people there were really chill too. About 5 of them. It was so quiet & relaxing. Most were having drinks and just trying to take photos of the aloof cats or the spastic kittens. Some guy was just reading from their manga collection for the whole hour I was there. I love that. I need a peaceful place like this, FILLED WITH CATS, near my house! *_*

They had photo albums of their kitties and toys too of course. Little cards introducing the two new kittens too! Plus souvenir items like calendars or buttons you could buy.

We also visited Inokashira Park while there. There’s the most picturesque walk leading up to it! Surprisingly many of the local eateries had cats in them! Must be a Kichijoji “thing.”

A used clothing shop. There are quite a few here!

There is this very old yakitori place by the park entrance that we grabbed some snacks from. It’s called Iseya and has been in business since 1928. Mike looooves chicken livers & other somewhat “old style” foods so he was ecstatic. I got the yakitori style corn on the cob! It was freakin delicious! We walked to the park and enjoyed everything in the hot summer sun.

There was a concession stand nearby too where I got a peach ice cream and kanipan! I love this style of place! It reminds me of my childhood growing up on the coast . We had places like this all over especially near docks & piers.
You could get a bottle root beer & ice cream~ anywhooo (//end old time’y talk!)