Saliheen & Farhana Goes To Tokyo 2016 from fazmals on Vimeo.

As always, my lovely talented little sister will edit our holiday video beautifully after each trip and give me something to share after I am done with all of my blogging!!! Hahahahaha. We love our Tokyo video very much ok, I think Saliheen and I have watched it 10 million times since my sister posted it last month hahahaha. 

And as always, I'll do an overview post on the whole trip so here goes:

Our Travel Dates

7 January 2016 to 15 January 2016

Flight Itinerary & Journey Duration

Singapore to Tokyo via SQ638: 6 hours 35 minutes
Tokyo to Singapore via SQ11: 7 hours 40 minutes

Time Difference

Tokyo is 1 hour ahead of Singapore (If it's 12.00pm in Singapore, that means it's 1.00pm in Tokyo)

Weather During Our Stay

Between 3 to 6 degrees (Winter time, yo)

Why We Chose to Travel to Tokyo

I think I've mentioned this before - I never really considered Japan as a dream destination because I have never been interested in Japanese culture like anime, J-pop, etc; but I think it is mainly BECAUSE I AM A BIG FAT IDIOT. Haha! But Saliheen entah kenapa tiba tiba dapat seruan and mentioned Japan, then repeated it enough for us to seriously consider it. Before we knew it, we were booking our flight to Tokyo!

We considered travelling to Kyoto and/or Osaka as well but decided to stick to a full holiday in Tokyo so we can truly immerse ourselves into the workings of the city. Japan is a country that we don't mind returning to, so insya Allah we will have time, money and energy to explore Kyoto and/or Osaka in the next few years.

Where did We Stay at in Tokyo

First we narrowed down the area where we wanted to stay - it was either Shibuya or Shinjuku, since these two areas were the ones most mentioned by our friends and colleagues who have been in Tokyo. A hotel in Shinjuku came highly recommended by two of Saliheen's colleagues so we decided to focus on Shinjuku.

The hotel in Shinjuku they recommended was Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku; unfortunately they no longer had rooms available on Agoda on the dates of our stay. While tinkering around with the map on Agoda, we saw a hotel next to Hotel Sunroute Plaza, and it was JR Hotel Blossom Shinjuku! And as we all know by now, that was the hotel we chose to stay in. You can read on what I love about this hotel here.

The only minor downside about staying in JR Hotel Blossom is that it opened in August 2014 and is relatively new (you can see this as an upside, like we did, hehe) so all of the cab drivers didn't know where it was. But this is a minor issue because all we had to do was show them our hotel keycard cover (there is a map, address and directions in Japanese on the back) and we kept repeating that it was beside Hotel Sunroute (which the cab drivers knew since it is more established). Tip: Say "Hotel Sunrou-TOU!" to the cab drivers, they won't understand you if you say Hotel Sunroute HAHAHA)

Which Attractions did We Visit in Tokyo

We went to a number of places in Tokyo, all of which you can read about by clicking the links below:

• Tokyo Travels: Day 1 (Part 1)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 1 (Part 2)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 2 (Part 1)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 2 (Part 2)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 2 (Part 3)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 3 (Part 1)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 3 (Part 2)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 4
• Tokyo Travels: Day 5 (Part 1)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 5 (Part 2)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 6 (Part 1)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 6 (Part 2)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 7 (Part 1)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 7 (Part 2)
• Tokyo Travels: Day 8

We didn't get to visit Yasukuni Shrine (Yushukan War Museum) because we wanted to spare some time to return to Tsukiji Market, and we skipped Disneyland and DisneySea because we didn't want to wait hours to take theme park rides. Maybe another time, since we've visited most of the tourist attractions during this trip and can have an even more lax itinerary next time. Other things we hope to try next time: Visit a samurai house, tea sessions with geishas, queue up for Sushi Dai!

Availability of Halal Food

I mean..................... do you really have to ask this if you've read all my blog entries on Tokyo HAHAHAHAHA. Don't worry ok, there are many halal options in Tokyo so you will be spoiled for choice!

Some of the restaurants in Tokyo yang ada halal menu that we went to: Gyumon, Sumiyakiya, Hanasakiji-san, Ippin @ Shibuya, Naritaya and Ippin @ Asakusa. If you only have time to try only one or two of these makan places, then I highly recommend Gyumon and Ippin @ Asakusa. Jiwa raga boleh bergetar dari dalam, beb.

I must say majority of the food establishments which are halal certified or serves halal menu are located in terperuk locations, though (difficult to find and/or away from main streets) so you'll need to put in time and effort to pergi cari ok.

Oh, take note that not all of the restaurants are fully halal certified too, because some of them do serve alcohol and/or non-halal food. So if you are squirmy about eating at an establishment that serves alcohol/non-halal food even though the preparation is in accordance to the religion's standards, the utensils used are strictly for halal food/are disposables, the meats are certified halal, then... you kena pack maggi dari Singapore yang MUIS dah certify halal dalam luggage you, ok.

Transportation Around Tokyo

We would have preferred to take a cab but read/heard that airport transfers are ridiculously expensive (can masuk hundreds!) so we chose to ride the Narita Express (NEX) from Narita Internation Airport to Shinjuku. There are also buses available (which we didn't choose because we prefer trains over buses.) I also wrote about taking the NEX here.

As for travelling around Tokyo, we mostly took their public trains which were clean, efficient and always on time. Can get pretty crowded during peak hours though, so take that into consideration when planning your travelling time ok.

We opted not to get a Suica card because we were unsure whether we'd get the most out of it since we will be taking trains managed by different companies throughout our trip. I think our worries were unfounded though, so we'll probably consider getting it for our next trip. For this trip, what we did was: We consulted the fare board for prices, bought tickets from the ticket machines at the train stations (You can change language settings to English) and inserted the tickets into the entrance/exit slots. We watched videos here, here and here to familiarize ourselves with the process.

Where to Buy Souveniers

I've mentioned this in an earlier entry but will repeat it here for funsies:

1. Nakamise Dori - it is the stretch of shops leading into Sensoji Temple;
2. Don Quijote - feels and looks like Mustafa Centre and has outlets across Japan (We went to the Kabukicho outlet); and
3. AKKY II - it is a tax-free shop in Akihabara.

These places sell various things for cheap, ranging from facial masks, chopsticks, tea sets, green tea packs, t-shirts, fans, terompah, chocolates, novelty gifts, etc. If you are looking for Tokyo Banana, you can get them from souvenier shops in the airport, kat situ belambak lambak (I know there is doubt as to whether Tokyo Banana is halal, this is just general information ok. You nak beli for yourself ke, for your non-Muslim friends ke, nak buat jeruk ke, apa ke, that is up to you)

Availability of Wifi

Wifi is available in the hotel room and some cafes in Tokyo, but Saliheen and I wanted to have Wifi on-the-go for various reasons: directions on Google Maps (paling penting), looking up information and of course, social media. Heh heh.

I don't really like using local SIM cards (because leceh) so it was a blessing we met up with another couple for dinner a few weeks after we booked our flight tickets in July... because they were the ones who told us pasal the Wifi router rental from Changi Recommends! Thank you Syaf and Najib!!! One of the best tips we got for this Tokyo trip. Hehe.

That barang is a godsend, you guys, especially bagus for group trips because you can split the costs since the Wifi router can connect up to 6 to 10 devices (depending on your destination country).  And I love that I already have Wifi the minute we touched down in Tokyo, no need to waste time and walk around the airport to cari local SIM card retailers.

Connection was fantastic, we could even use it up in Mount Fuji, amacam cakap. Just walk in to any of the Changi Recommends counters in the airport terminals to rent the Wifi router but it's subject to availability, so kalau takut kehabisan, you can make reservations via their online form ok. Payment is upon return of device after your trip.

Shopping in Tokyo

Saliheen and I didn't shop much - Saliheen bought a few t-shirts and caps from Harajuku and I only bought two pairs of shoes (both of which I LOVE!) and a couple of bath products from LUSH. I guess it doesn't help that 1) the fashion styles available in Tokyo isn't what Saliheen and I would normally wear 2) we were there during winter so a lot of the baju baju and stuff were meant for winter wear, which will be of no use to us when we return to all day everyday hot and sunny Singapore, and 3) Tokyo fashion stores (unsurprisingly) don't really carry a lot of designs in our sizes lol.

One good shopping tip I got from my friend Azrul (because he is the auntie of good deals and discounts): You qualify for tax refund if you spend more than ¥10,000 (approximately S$123.00) in a participating retailer. You can read more here.

Research Resources

I depended heavily on friends who have travelled to Tokyo, stalked related hashtags on Instagram and did my research by reading Japan Guide (this is my favourite website out of the lot, it is very informative and user-family), Time Out Tokyo, Lonely Planet, Go Tokyo, Tokyo Cheapo and Have Halal, Will Travel.

Would We Return to Tokyo for Vacation

Ummm, are you kidding me? 

Saliheen was planning our return trip to Tokyo while we were still IN Tokyo ok hahahahaha!

This is a 100% YES YES YES ok! We love the people, we love the culture, we love their taste and their aesthetics, and we love love love all the glorious and delicious Japanese food!!! Saliheen daripada tak pernah cari matcha/green tea, sekarang he keeps two giant packets of matcha AND green tea leaves in our kitchen and religiously drinks them everyday ok.

It also helps that Japan is near to Singapore (Less than 7 hours away via flight), which makes it more manageable to fly to than if we were to return to NYC, for example. Also, Japan is relatively more affordable!

The Total Expenditure

I usually share my travel expenditure details so I don't have to dig for scraps of information here and there every time someone asks me how much he/she will need for a similar trip so here is the rough cost breakdown for our Tokyo trip:

1. Flight from Singapore to Tokyo (round-trip via Singapore Airlines): S$1107.40 (S$553.70 x 2 pax) 

2. 8D/7N Stay at JR Blossom Shinjuku Hotel: S$1645.20 (S$822.60 x 2 pax) 

3. Narita Express Train (round-trip from Airport to Hotel): S$96.00 (S$48.00 x 2 pax) 

4. Meals (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner): S$20.00 per meal per pax but increased to S$50.00 - $100.00 per meal per pax if it's for something special like BBQ meat at Gyumon or omakase meal at Kyubey. 

5. Taxi Fares: Approximately S$20.00 per trip (from Shibuya to Shinjuku kind of distance) 

6. Train Fares: S$2.00 to S$3.00 per pax per trip 

7. Mount Fuji Tour Package via Viator: S$402.78 (S$201.39 per pax)  

8. Souveniers for Family & Friends: S$150.00 to S$200.00 per pax 

9. Entrance Fees: S$20.00 to S$30.00 per pax on average, but most shrines and parks are free of charge. 

10. Sumo Tournament Tickets: S$226.00 (SGD113.00 x 2 pax) but you can get cheaper/more expensive seats, depending on your seating preference.

11. Wifi Router Rental: S$82.00 for 1 device (up to 10 connections) 

12. Travel Insurance: S$90.00 (with discount)

Some of these are estimations because it really depends on what you want to eat, what you want to see and where you want to go! This breakdown also does not include shopping, since shopping is subjective and dependent on individuals.

Ah well. I guess this is it then?! I've come to the end of my Tokyo 2016 blog series so.....

Sayonaraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, everybaaaaadddyyy!!!

Tokyo Travels: Day 7 (Part 2)

One of the things that I knew I wanted to do in Tokyo was to..... *drumroll* get an onsen experience!

So after a cute little morning with cute kitty cats during the first part of the day, Saliheen and I took a train down to Odaiba, where Oedo Onsen Monotagari is located! The weather was nice and cloudy on that day, and it was so refreshing to be able to see the ocean in the Odaiba area, and feel the breeze on our face and hair :)

By the way, before I post the rest of the pictures, can I just show my appreciation for this lovely vending machine right here??? We first saw it in the owl cafe we went, and we discovered that the drinks (which come in cups instead of cans) from this vending machine is sedap seh! We saw it again while on route to the onsen. It's like those vending machines we had in hospitals back in the good old 80s and 90s, you know, but fancier and tak melekit at all so no semut infestation.

Ahhhhh, the Japanese. As always, doing it right when it comes to cleanliness, you guys.

Anyway, berbalik kepada kisah pasal onsen. Honestly kan, we would have preferred to go to a proper onsen at a ryokan in Kyoto or Osaka, but we had to look for alternatives since we didn't want to move or travel for hours out of Tokyo. And that alternative came in the form of Oedo Onsen Monotagari! I don't know if I'm right but it feels like a more commercialized type of onsen...? I didn't really care la, I just wanted to veg out and experience some form of Japanese onsen.

They have private rooms as well (I read about the existence of its private rooms here) but when we arrived just after 2.00pm, the counter staff told us we'd have to come before 2.00pm to secure a private room. Was quite disappointed to hear that at the counter but it turned out good for us in the end hehe

Not sharing picture of myself in the yukata because nanti I dapat flak for wearing my sash/belt in front instead of the back. Because God forbid you wear it wrongly, people familiar with the culture will call you out as a prostitute! Haha.

(I wore it backwards because a lot of other female patrons wore it that way and I found the front tying method to be more comfortable. Should have known better than to practice monkey see, monkey do! I just didn't think of researching how to wear the yukata, but will definitely tie it at the back when I return to an onsen la since I tau already)

Useful leaflet on what to expect when you are in Ooedo Onsen Monogatari!

You can click on the picture above to enlarge the text and pictures. 

Since we couldn't take pictures or videos of the interior of the onsen (obviously), I've lifted pictures from the Internet below to share! Didn't even take pictures at the public dining area (even though we could) because we were such ~jellies~ already lepas mandi kat onsen and couldn't be bothered to carry our cameras around hehe.

To be honest, I was a liiittle nervous going into the onsen all by myself (Saliheen obviously cannot be with me). I mean... I've always been fairly comfortable when it comes to my own body, the female form and sexuality la - I don't mind getting dressed/undressed in the presence of my female friends, I have no qualms with Brazilian waxing, and I have no reservations whatsoever receiving massages where you bare breasts to your masseuse. But those sessions, especially, are with one other single female stranger who is doing her job and has her clothes on, you know?

This is a totally different ballgame altogether seh. You'll be walking around and scrubbing your body and floating in pools with a bevy of other women who are also in the nude! Haha. It might be normal or natural for other cultures/societies, but I was brought up in a community that jelings even when your kain terselak sikit ok hahahaha

And because I've never willingly done something like this before, I just wasn't sure whether I'd be comfortable, you know?

Turns out I had nothing to fear, and nothing to worry. 

Because the minute I entered the female changing room (in the onsen) and saw the female strangers (in various stages of dress/undress) minding their own business, the worry and anticipation of feeling embarassed just dissipated into thin air. 

I felt free, I felt comfortable and I felt like..... I was at home. HAHAHAHAHA.

I should have given myself credit and and known that I would enjoy a public onsen! Good thing the private rooms were unavailable and I was "forced" to experience the public onsen firsthand hor? I was at absolute ease at every point in the onsen - I was happily showering at the open-air tempat mandi, I was confident going into the various pools (even when there are other ladies in them), I loooooved the mist showers and I had a nice quiet reflective time in the hot sauna. I strutted out of the onsen (with my yukata on) feeling like a new and energized woman :D

I don't want to go into great detail about the whole onsen experience la, especially not what I saw because it wouldn't be appropriate to discuss such things on a public platform but if you're my friend in real life, please ask me privately if you're interested to know, and I will be more than happy to share ok.

I think as long as you can shed your inhibitions, jangan jakun, and know when to discreetly avert your eyes as and when needed, I think you'll be A-ok in an onsen. I also watched a ton of Youtube videos on Japanese onsen to mentally prepare myself and learn about onsen etiquette prior to the trip, you can watch the do's and don'ts here and here and these videos here, here and here if you want to specifically know how it looks like in Oedo Onsen Monotagari. 

It was an amazing experience, and I can't freaking wait to do it again ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Hopefully at a proper ryokan with an onsen overlooking mountains/hills/rivers next time :D

We spent around 4+ hours in there - enjoying the onsen, dipping our feet into the outdoor hot springs, chatting and napping at rest areas (with tatami mats) and sharing snacks and drinks when we got peckish. I almost didn't want to leave T.T Tapi CPF payments on my rumah kat Tampines masih jalan so angan angan taik ayam je la eh nak duduk bertapa kat onsen.

Left the onsen after that and walked all the way to the Rainbow Bridge. It was a bit of a letdown because...........

............. TAKDE RAINBOW COLOUR PUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. Hahahahahaha

I don't know whether there was some kind of coordinated timing that we missed ke atau the bridge just didn't feel like lighting up in rainbow colours that day haha. We left after 20 minutes of chilling by the riverside, I think? Too malas to walk over to the Gundam statue in front of Diver City so kita tengok from a distance aje ah hahaha.

Took the train back to Shibuya to makan dinner at............ that's right, GYUMON, YOU GAIZE!!!!! By this time dah pandai dah, dah tak sesat lagi hahahahaha (This was when Saliheen and I took pictures for the pictorial guide to Gyumon heh).

We were supposed to go to Tanden Yoyogi (halal barbecue meat resturant recommended by my sister's boyfriend) but kita macam sooooooo lazy to figure out the directions (I tell you, we were so JELLY lepas mandi manda kat onsen sampai semua benda pun malas) so kita terpesong to Gyumon instead. Tried and tested, hehe.

Got seated at the first level this time round, which was better for us because we got to sit on proper chairs instead of bersila kat lantai. Penat you know duduk bawah lama lama when your perut boncet is in the way haha! Sambil makan daging barbecue sambil tu started to feel reluctant to leave (both Gyumon and Tokyo) but what to do........

CPF payments for rumah masih jalan, remember. Hahahaha!

Tokyo Travels: Day 7 (Part 1)

Already blogged about Day 1 here and here, Day 2 here, here and here, Day 3 here and here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here and here and Day 6 here and here, so now it's time for our Day 7 in Tokyo! Which will also be split into two entries because as we all know, aku memang got no chill when it comes to blogging lololol

Anyway, if you've followed our Tokyo journey, you'd realize that we kept going to Shibuya Crossing in the evenings after our activities for the day. We hadn't experienced Shibuya in broad daylight so when we had a free morning  on our seventh day in Tokyo, we decided to head down to Shibuya to lepak at Starbucks and take some pictures and videos.

Breakfast was at a standing sushi bar before we headed to a cat cafe in Shinjuku! 

I know, I know, we already went to cat cafe in Asakusa few days before this but I really felt  tak puas so Saliheen suggested going to another one hehe. So I did some online research and decided on Calico Cat Cafe (you can read more details here and reviews here) - it's the one with the white and brown signboard on the 5th floor of this building:

JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE!!! AND THE TANGAN BERLIPAT SO MACAM PAHAM OMG AKU BUNUH KAU KANG

Ahhhhh, I really wanted to squish them and turn them all into nasi kucing penyet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahahaha.

As you can probably tell, I enjoyed my time at Calico and find it better than the one we went to in Asakusa. It is an actual cat cafe setting, the staff don't keep glancing over when you interact with the cats, and the place is spacious because there are 2 levels! More freedom to walk around and laze with the cats, who are also more playful and more willing to layan you.

That is, if you have treats for them ah hahahaha, you guys know how annoyingly eksyen cats can be!!! Kalau ada makanan baru dorang datang, kalau takde, bo layan. You can buy treats for the cats (chargeable at ¥200, which is about S$2.50), you will get a mini tupperware of plain shredded chicken meat (you only get dry treats for the cat cafe in Asakusa). 

I really loved the feeding part because dengan serta merta you will become very popular with the cats hahahaha sial betul satu satu, ada makanan baru korang nak datang and "sayang sayang" aku eh. And I've never fed cats straight from the palm of my hand before... it was very ticklish because of their bristly tongues! I mean, I knew cats have "rough" tongues which help them clean their fur bodies but I did not expect it to be that bristly! Still so cute though, I can just stare at their little adorable tongues licking up treats from my bare hands allllllll day everyday seh.

Anyway, we paid about ¥1000 (S$12.50) for 1 hour per person for entry to the cat cafe, and here's a tip I read online that proved to be beneficial: Go to a cat cafe in the morning, right after it opens would be the best! Because there won't be much people around and you will get more time alone to play with the cats! Very puas hati ok. We left at around half an hour before noon, when other guests started streaming into the cat cafe and competing for the cats' attention muahahaha. 

We then left Shinjuku for another special experience for the next part of the day... JAPANESE ONSEN!!!!!!! 

For those who are not familiar with onsen and how it usually works, it's when you go to a public bathing facility (usually around hot springs) and you mandi and berendam with other guests of the same gender. And yes, when you mandi, what do you have to be? You have to be bogel, right? So yes, when you mandi in the onsen you also have to be bogel. With strangers. Who are also bogel. HAHAHA KBYEEEEEEE

Tokyo Travels: Day 6 (Part 2)

I'll try to make this entry as short as possible because I really want to wrap up all of my Tokyo entries by next month! Kawan kawan aku semua dah pergi Tokyo and dah balek pun, aku masih ah, belum habis blogging pasal Tokyo hahaha.

So. After almost a full day in Asakusa during the first part of Day 6, we took a train to Akihabara pulak! We didn't do much here since we're not really into otaku culture, we just wanted to jalan jalan, play a game or two in the arcades and tangkap feel je. Tried to look for neoprint machines here too (since I couldn't find them in Harajuku) but no luck :( 

See that (closed) store beside Club Sega? That's the AKKYII tax-free shop that I mentioned in a previous entry. We bought half of the souveniers for our family and friends here! Cheap cheap good good.

I also asked Saliheen whether we can visit an owl cafe since we didn't have any specific plans for Akihabara... and he said YES!!!!! I saw the owl cafe concept in an episode of Roommate (Korean TV show) where they travelled to Japan, and ever since then I told myself I'll have to go to one if I ever jejak Tokyo. So this was my niat fulfilled hehe yayyyyy~~~

Did a Google search and the closest one to where we were was Forest of Owls! It's located on the 5th floor of a building and costs ¥700 (S$8.70) for the first hour per person + one drink. Totally worth it because look at these cuties!!!!!!!

THESE BUGGERS ARE SO CUTE, I CANNOT. EVEN WHEN THEY STARE AND GROWL AT YOU LIKE THEY WANT TO BITE YOU (Which they totally would, there is a reason why there are signs warning people against touching certain owls)

Cuma part tak cute sangat was when I held one of them (the white one with sepet eyes) AND IT BERAK ON ME!!!!! Nang bo tinang. Panas and besar ok dia punya najis!!!!! Dahlah aku pakai seluar hitam! Nak bersihkan, punya la busy beb, dah macam liquid paper tumpah kat seluar. Siak betul hahaha.

Took a taxi to Kabuchiko after that to jalan jalan ambik angin, we resorted to showing the kind and apologetic taxi driver (who couldn't understand English) a picture of this red neon sign so he knew where to drop us off.

And this is the red neon sign we showed him! Very apt for a well-known red light district haha.

Even made time to visit Godzilla yang menetap di Hotel Gracery hahahahahaha

We then walked down from Kabuchiko to Shinjuku (walking in Tokyo is so therapeutic, unlike Singapore!) and dropped by Lumine - we bought doughnuts from Doughnut Plant and cheese tarts from BAKE by Kinotoya!!!!!!!

Right off the bat, I will tell you first that doughnuts from Doughnut Plant were disappointing ok. To us, at least la. We didn't get to try them when we were in NYC because their store was nowhere near our destinations in NYC so quite lucky kita tak take the effort and go out of the way to get them ke apa. Dough is dry and dense, and icing is terlalu manis potong kaki kasi diabetics. I have a sweet tooth and even I balked at all that sugar. Took two bites then terus buang the rest.

But the baked cheese tarts are a different thing altogether - they were sooooo sedap seh!!! The crust is perfect, the texture of the cheese is perfect, 10 out of 10 I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!! One piece of tart costs ¥200 (S$2.50), which is so muai. 

So..... amacam geng? Not bad right this entry, not as long as usual??? Hehehehehe

Ok la bye korang, I want to start cracking on my entries for my second last day in Tokyo pulak.

Tokyo Travels: Day 6 (Part 1)

On our sixth day in Tokyo, we spent the first part of the day in Asakusa and the last part of the day in Akihabara! It was an eventful day, which started with us terpusing pusing around Shinjuku Station macam headless chickens hahahaha. Sebab termasuk salah entrance lepas tu tak tau which part nak masuk balek haha

Somehow we just couldn't figure out the correct entrance, even though we went to every entry/exit and walked all round! FOR AN HOUR!!!!! I mean, we knew how it felt like to be overwhelmed by the train lines in Tokyo (we experienced it during the first 2 days) but travelling by public trains in Tokyo had been relatively easy after we familiarized ourselves with the system. So for us to get perplexed by the train lines on our sixth day in Tokyo, it just added to the confusion la :/

In the end, a very frustrated Saliheen sighed and said "Naik taxi sudah la". Haha. 

Terus run out to the road and flagged one! Also took a picture of the taxi fare breakdown, in case anyone's interested:

When we planned to go to Tokyo, we kept hearing that taxis in Tokyo are super expensive bla bla bla, so we tried as much as possible not to take one. But kita tak boleh angkat our exhaustion on one of the nights so we flagged one down from Shibuya back to our hotel and it cost us about S$20.00? Which was reasonable to us??? Kita ingatkan mahal sampai S$50 per cab ride ke apa. We went on to take 3 more taxi rides in Tokyo after that because we thought the costs was worth the comfort and time spent, lagi lagi bila dah penat at end of the day.

Okay, now back to blogging pasal our sixth day in Tokyo! We were lapar gila by the time we arrived in Asakusa because we wasted so much time trying to figure out the train!!! So our first priority was to cari Naritaya, which is a tempat makan in Asakusa serving halal ramen, amongst other things like fried chicken.

It took us another 20 minutes to look for the kedai makan, even though we had pictures to its shopfront to refer to (we saved pictures from the Internet) - probably because it was lorong after lorong of kedai kedai with the same blue curtain exterior haha. Turns out to be the unit located at almost the end of one of the lorong! Friendly staff who greeted us at the front was a Japanese who just embraced Islam a month back, Alhamdullilah.

Naritaya differs from other makan establishments in Tokyo, due to the fact that it does not serve alcohol at its premises at all. The people behind this restaurant are Malaysians too (macam Ippin)! You do you, Malaysians, particularly when it comes to bringing halal food to Japan!

We quickly discovered that the person behind the counter was a abang melayu from Malaysia! Saliheen became sooooo chatty (more than usual) that I teased him about missing being able to speak in Malay to another person other than me haha. He said it was true ok, and that it was refreshing to ask questions and receive answers in fluent Malay after days of interacting with others in broken English campur Japanese. He became so kamchengho with the abang sampai keluar hisap rokok sama sama belakang kedai, amboi amboi sedara.....

Anyway, something else that was refreshing in the kedai was the ramen! It tasted nice, and I felt so puas eating a hot meal after days of eating cold sushi and sashimi (which I still love, but sometimes you just want your perut dalam to terbakar a little bit, you know). 

The only thing that could be better was the eggs? They served the ramen with telur with yolk yang masak habis. Dah macam telur dalam mee rebus la pulak haha, kan eggs in ramen selalu half cooked and still wobbly! But that's ok la, I tak discriminate telur ok, I still like all of them in whatever forms, even in Gudetama form hehe.

This was when we walked from Naritaya to Senso-ji Temple (it's nearby, walking distance of one to two minutes)... we saw Tokyo Skytree in the distance! We didn't go up the tower because we read that there will be lots of tour groups causing long waiting lines *shudders* Maybe we'll check it out next time we're in Tokyo, and at a timing when there wouldn't be such an insane crowd.

Senso-ji Temple was pretty crowded too, but it was nice to walk amongst the locals, tourists and worshippers from all over Asia who came to gawk and/or pray at the temple.

By the way, if you want to take pictures at the Kaminarimon entrance, please do it quick because nanti ada je orang yang tak sabar tunggu you to finish your photo-taking and will stand in your frame. Macam dekni:

Ah tu la dia, mata orang yang tak sabar sabar suruh kau cepat sikit HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Should probably mention that this was also where we bought some of the souveniers for our families and friends! There are rows of shops that sell souveniers and snacks leading to Sensoji Temple, which was where we got some souveniers for family and friends. Oh, remember I said jangan beli souveniers kat Tsukiji Market?! We really should've known better! Saliheen got chopsticks for his colleagues at S$12.00 per 5-set pack at Tsukiji Market when it only costs S$6.00 here!!! 50% lesser seh. Luckily we only got a few packs from Tsukiji Market.

[Note: There are three places which I recommend getting souveniers from: Either from Nakamise Dori (which is the stretch of shops leading into Sensoji Temple), from any Don Quijote outlet (we went to the one in Kabukicho, it's right beside the main road and has a Mustafa Centre feel and layout) or from the AKKY II tax-free shop in Akihabara. These places sell various things for cheap, ranging from facial masks, chopsticks, tea sets, green tea packs, t-shirts, fans, terompah, chocolates, novelty gifts, etc.]

Anyway, after we visited Sensoji Temple, we had some free time so we did a quick Google search for a cat cafe in Asakusa and the first hit result was Cat Cafe Asakusa Nekoen. It's the unit on the sixth floor and costs ¥800 (S$10.00) for one hour per person.

This is a picture of me after I bribe belanja the cats with treats hehehehe

The owner was a polite but firm lady, and I don't know whether I was just uncomfortable with her gaze but I didn't really play much with the cats or enjoy my time there. Might also be because we went at the wrong timing because most of the cats were sleeping, hiding and refusing to budge from their positions (typical stubborn cat behaviour hah). And I guess I expected a traditional cafe setting but it felt more like a house with many rescued cats...? (Which it probably is) Saliheen and I had a pleasant time la, but I don't think I'll return nor recommend this place if you're looking for something with a traditionally known cat cafe setting.

After our one hour was up, we walked to Ippin for our dinner. This is the one in Asakusa that serves ramen!!! (Remember our confusion from the day before?) You can find directions on Google maps, it's pretty accurate.

THIS WAS WHERE WE HAD THE BEST, MOST DELICIOUS CHICKEN RAMEN EVER!!!!! 

I don't think the noises of pleasure, satisfaction and gratitude that came out of Saliheen and I while we slurped the noodles and soup sounded very appropriate HAHAHAHA. 

Very hot, very hearty and they weren't kidding when they said we'll get to savour the "deep rich taste of the chicken" hahahaha. We've never tasted ramen soup that rich before ok! And the best part, the egg yolk is the wet and wobbly kind that you expect from Japanese dishes hehehe. I think this is my next favourite meal after our first night dinner at Gyumon, honestly - Saliheen and I couldn't stop talking about it for days after that... ♥

Each ramen bowl cost about ¥750 (S$9.30) and the kedai has two levels - the 2nd level is the usual restaurant seating format whereas the first level (where we sat) was a bar seating format (smoking allowed). They also serve other stuff like fried chicken and curry sets (which we didn't really like).

Anyway, if you really, really, really can only afford time to eat at only one place in Asakusa that serves halal food, I highly recommend Ippin! Naritaya wins with their warm and friendly service whereas Ippin wins with the taste of their ramen. But if you can go for both joints like (gelojoh) us then that will be the best, of course! 

Okay, that'll be all for Asakusa! It was off to Akihabara pulak, known as an otaku culture hub!