Summer 2014 in Japan: Shinjuku, Gotanda & Odaiba

Hello~!

It's a long weekend here in Malaysia since there are public holidays and today is Thaipusam so, Happy Thaipusam to all my Indian friends & family out there!

I'm making use of today to blog about my last year's trip to Japan. I know, it's been over 6 months since I was there! (/>.<) Still, to me it felt like yesterday and I do dream every day that I could go back there again. Gotta start save up and plan again but this time I wanna make a longer trip to take my time to explore more of Japan.

*daydream*

*gets sucks back into realtime*

Alrighty, where was I? OK, Shinjuku.

Shinjuku

After a long day of exploring Sakae in Nagoya, I took the night bus down to Shinjuku which helps me to cut down one night's room booking in a hotel.

Plus, buses in Japan are quite safe and I was told that there's a speed limit of 80km/hour which means longer but peaceful ride. That's really something OK. Try taking an interstate bus in Malaysia and you'll be taken for a roller coaster joyride which will leave you wide-eye all the way. Not that I've ever been on a roller coaster, but I daresay it might be similar to a roller coaster warm up.

I arrived in Shinjuku 5 o'clock kinda early but because it's summer, it's already super bright.

Since I definitely didn't want to be ringing my friend's doorbell in the wee hours, I decided to go exploring around Shinjuku first.

Got tired so powered up with Calpis LOL (⌒▽⌒)

Pretty much most of my diet in Japan consists of soft drinks. Too lazy to eat until I met up with Danny and Naoko. They fed me real well. ( ^__^;)

Lots and lots of shops.

I bet Shinjuku's a really a livelier place_if not in the wee hours_ and with so many shops and all, it'd be a nice foodie place to explore. Though I feel very safe in Japan, I don't know why but some parts of Shinjuku just gave me creeps. Hmmm... just me I guess.

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GOTANDA

I headed over to Gotanda later in the morning to where my friends were staying and I tell you, I LOVE the place. How would I describe it? Small _ in a good way _ and home-y? I don't know, I walked around the town and I just love how everything feels just right. Convenient too since you can find Lawson and a supermarket close by.

Railway tracks, just like the ones you've seen in anime!! #suapakkaume wth

Met Naoko in person for the first time that day and she was so sweet to prepare me Japanese-style breakie (≧◡≦)~❤ I get to try Japan's super creamy tamago and hamburger for the first time. They're really different from the ones in Malaysialeh. I want to eat the tamago again!

If you notice, I posted this photo previously, but just re-sharing 'cuz I still think thats the nicest thing ever~~❤

They lent me a futon for my stay there~! Wee~~

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Odaiba

Later that day, we headed to Odaiba and spent the rest of the evening there. Odaiba's another favorite place for a stroll because it's bayside which means it's really breezy besides you get to enjoy the scenery and all.

A friendly advice for girls visiting Odaiba_ don't wear skirts or dresses. I wore a skirt there, bad idea. More than half of the time, I was trying NOT to attempt a Marilyn Monroe moment (╯_╰”)

* Stroll stroll*

New York in Japan? LOL

For lunch, we went to an Okonomiyaki shop at Diver City.

Our set lunch came with an okonomiyaki, salad sides, yakisoba and tamago for less than 3000 yen!! So worth it! (*´∀｀*)

Speaking of food, earlier that day we made a detour and stopped by Hokkaido Dosanko Plaza at Yurakucho because I said I wanted to try Hokkaido ice cream.

Tried the Hokkaido melon and milk flavor soft serve ice cream, yummy stuff. Dug into it first before snapping a photo 'cuz it was starting to melt.

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Spotted the rainbow-color ferris wheel at Palette Town~

After that I was teleported to medieval city of Europe. It's actually Venus Fort LOL

The interior's just so amazing must take photos!

#reallynofilterone

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The rest of the evening was just us window shopping so let me just fast forward to dinner. We stopped by a "family restaurant", I don't remember where exactly but it was a few stops away from Gotanda.