Donnerstag, 12. November 2015

Japan 2015: Day 9 - Ikebukuro with Typhoon

Yay ~ typhoon time! It was raining like CRAZY! The worst day during my vacations (weather-wise). I didn't know what to do that day. For the evening, I was meeting up with a friend from Germany but she was stuck in university, so no Sailor Moon cafe for me :(
So what to do on a rainy day? Visit the owl cafe and the planetarium in Sunshine City! I made an appointment the evening before (you need to reserve a time frame at Ikefukuro) and everything worked very well. I took two pairs of shoes with me. The new ones I bought a day earlier from Axes Femme and some shoes from home. Both were soaking wet when I arrived at the cafe and the rest of me, too. Umbrellas were quite useless because the rain came from all sides.
But when I entered the cafe (cafe is the wrong word, it's just a room with owls), everything was forgotten. OH MY GOD! It was a very small room and all kinds of owls were lined up around the walls and the middle of the room. Of course it's not good for the animals. They aren't able to fly and have to sit around all day long. I felt very sorry for them but I tried to ignore it and just enjoy the cuteness of the birds.
They gave a short security instruction (for me in English in written form) and then you were able to pet the owls and take pictures. They were so soft and nice and beautiful *v*
After an hour, I had to leave again and headed towards Sunshine City for the planetarium but well..again...my bad luck. It was CLOSED. dunnn dunnn duuuuunnnn
So I looked around Sunshine City shopping area and bought new shoes because like I said before, mine were soaking! They were super cheap on sale and had platform soles - perfect! I also bought a pretty maxi skirt in a cute little mori-like shop.
Then, I ate super delicious ramen and some icecream. Because some trains already stopped running, I decided to go back to the hotel. A friend of mine, who is working in Japan, asked me out for a drink, so we met up in a small little rock bar in Ikebukuro. I drank delicious cocktails and we talked a lot and catched up a bit.
All my days were packed with acitivties except for this one. I felt like wasting time but I didn't know what to do during the rain. But still, it was a nice day, just not so exciting like other ones, maybe.



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The super delicious ramen
They sold them in Ikebukuro Station but I missed to buy one ;_;

Montag, 2. November 2015

Japan 2015: Day 7+8 - Yokohama & Shimokitazawa

I'm so sorry that I'm so behind but I think it doesn't matter for you if the stuff I write about was two weeks or two months ago :D
This was my last day with the rail pass, so I decided to go to Yokohama because the train fare is a little bit more expensive and I'd save money with my pass.
It's very easy to get there from Ikebukuro, a line is directly going there. The last time I was there with Cindy, we got lost and ended up in the Nissan showroom. This time, I got a little lost, too but then the Closet Child sign appeared in front of me and I knew where to go! I bought a pair of shoes and a dress at Closet Child. I like the Yokohama shop :) It's my second favorite after Harajuku's! Then, I wanted to go to Vivre and yeah...my bad luck again. All the Lolita floors were under construction!! D: So I shopped a little bit at Donki and bought some beauty stuff. After that, I took the train to China Town. It was very nice to see the chinese buildings but to be honest, it was quite boring, too. The shops looked all the same and had the same stuff...
So I took the train back to Tokyo and visited the Shinjuku CC again without any luck. Then, I finally got my beloved Udon noodles in Sunshine City *o* I should have eaten them more often. Soo cheap and delicious!!
In the late evening, I met up with Sashi and some of her friends in an Izakaya. We had a very nice view from there and it was a funny evening. Her Japanese friends asked many questions and their English was very good! After the Izakaya, we drank something at a pub and I took a late train home. It was a great evening.

China Town

Many Panda themed items

Donkey Kong in Shinjuku

Delicious Udon

Hard Rock Cafe in Ueno station

from the izakaya

My cocktail at the pub :)

The typhoon was heading towards our direction and it was raining non stop!! This day (Day 8), Nostique and I had a second hand shopping/hunting date. We met in Japan before in 2013 and she is still living there, so we met up and she showed me the secret not-so-secret second hand stores in Shimo Kitazawa. It was so nice talking to her and she was very patient and showed me the best shops where they had super cheap Liz Lisa, Tralala and Lolita stuff. The even showed me Grand Bazaar because I didn't know they had a physical store. I bought quite some stuff. There was a veeeery old classic Angelic Pretty OP (for 2000 Yen!) but I passed because I didn't know how to put it all in my suitcase and how to combine it. Now I regret it :( It was a floral print, very pretty.
We also ate a lot that day. I ate my first doria (OMG SO DELICIOUS!), then gyoza and super delicious red velvet waffles.
Although it was raining, she came with me to Shinjuku and Harajuku afterwards. In Shinjuku, she showed me the Maiden Clothing store (didn't know it existed...) and we shopped a bit at the Closet Childs. Unfortunately, Usagiyouhinten was closed again :( We also took Purikura in the game center and I was very happy to meet her again. It was a wonderful day and I am very thankful that she was so kind to me and showed me everything ♥

Purikura ♥

Red Velvet waffles. A big scroop of vanilla icecream was missing but it was so delicious *o*

The 2000 Yen AP dress....

We passed by an animal shop. I think you have already heard of those shops in Japan. They sell super cute little kittens and dogs. They live in very small glass boxes like this cutie here. It's heartbreaking.