Family trips aside, I have not taken a break off from work at all. I work all the time, weekends and festivities included. This year was tough on me, I hired staff (which did not go well), having relationship problems, my sister got pregnant which means I am now alone in BakedKL and basically exhausted from everything.
Of course, I am still blessed in many other areas and I am very grateful. However, I do not remember when I took time for myself to just clear my mind, absorb everything around me and relax.
I wanted to go to New Zealand for the longest time, mainly because arwah Hanis's last wish was to be able to go to New Zealand. I thought I would go for him, dedicating the trip for him. Unfortunately, New Zealand's flight ticket is way out of my budget. Need more time to save for this.
One day, I just decided to just eff it, and spontaneously bought my ticket to..... Tokyo. Why? I have no idea, it just popped into my head and to AirAsia site I went. I did not think about transportation costs, or the high living cost there...I just bought the ticket straight.
I have travelled alone before to Dubai for several days and to Melbourne. I guess after so long, this is my official solo trip away from family. Leaving was so hard, I felt guilty, excited and scared. Even though at home, I carry responsibilities for everyone, I am always around at home and is the baby of the family, making it difficult for me to be apart from my parents. You know what got to me? My dad cried. My dad?! Ok, lets not even talk about that, because I am tearing up just a little.
I stayed over at TA-House in Nakano-ku, nearby Fujimidai station. Loveliest town ever! So chill!
Day One:
My first day was a trip to Asakusa, it was raining and was jam packed with people. Thankfully, after having lunch at Sekai cafe, the sun came out to play and I managed to take some nice photos. Did some shopping on snacks and headed back home because the next day is going to be a long one.
Sekai Cafe offers a variety of food that caters to everyone's dietary needs and is halal too! Their vegan meat is so good by the way! That is what I ordered. Super friendly service and such a cozy quiet place tucked in away from all the chaos near the main temple.
Day Two:
Most tiring day of my life. In the morning, I went to Shimo-kitazawa. A hipster town just a few stops away from Shibuya. Sadly, no shops were open yet. I decided to head for lunch first at Normale cafe. Afternoon, shops finally opened (not all of them)! Bundle vintage stores were not really at bundle vintage prices. There were quite pricey, in fact some were mid-high range prices. Only one store I found were in mid-low range, it is called Mode. 1000 yen and below range. Although, on Saturday, I found out there was another side of Shimo-kitazawa that had so many shops and is actually the main shopping street which I had missed out. Silly me!!!! But more on that in another post.
Second stop was Shibuya, a long queue ahead of me to take picture with the most loved dog, Hachiko. The self-concious me decided to just snap and rushed over to Starbucks, so I could snap the Shibuya crossing.
After that, I went to Shibuya 109 which I guess could be Sungei Wang in our case. I did not really come to Tokyo to shop much, so I browsed through and started to slow walk all the way to Meiji Shrine. Do not, I repeat do not choose to walk like I did. Take the train, please. Do not underestimate the distance between one stop to another, specially when there is a hill involved.
Meiji Shrine is quite peaceful, although there were tons of people there. But anything with lots of greenery is a win in my book. The park south of Meiji Shrine which you will pass is also slightly crowded but still enjoyable.
Harajuku street was last one in my itinerary of the day. If you are like me, yes, you will be slightly bothered by the amount of people there. I came to Harajuku for just one thing to be honest, to try out the crepe. I chose the most sinful in my opinion, Salted Caramel Cheesecake Banana crepe. Yup! So good!
Til then, enjoy the photos.
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