tokyo #12 - hitachi seaside park

warning: lots of pictures of flowers ahead, lol.

finally came the day that we're moving outside of tokyo.

we left quite late this day (don't ask),

so i was really keen on arriving fast and exploring hitachi seaside park.

the journey alone took almost 2 hours,

i think we had less than 2 hours to explore the park.

so sad. still sad.

nevertheless..

saw a cow van lol so cuteee

410 yen - about RM 15. affordable.

the flowers in bloom.

i didn't study this map fully because i already know i won't be able to visit all of them.
arrive early, take your time to fully explore this huge park.

near the entrance, it's sort of an amusement park. complete with huge (expensive) ferris wheel ride.

first stop: tulips!

tokyo #11 - akihabara

akihahabara, also known as akiba

is a very electric, vibrant place.

i thought it was a place i needed to experience.

but being a non-otaku, i didn't go crazy here lol.

sadly when i went there at 8 pm, many shops have already closed.

haven't seen sailor moon in yearsss

the very attractive red sega building

this claw machine!

they offer many things, soft toys are common, but also toys and figurines in boxes

tokyo #10 - tokyo camii mosque, shinjuku love statue, & tokyo metropolitan building

i first saw tokyo camii mosque from the pictures in Miasuraya's blog,

and thought it a beautiful place.

when i saw it in person, it was even better.

the stairs leading to wudhu' area downstairs.

Japan's largest mosque in Ottoman style

entrance to the main prayer hall

made of cool stone

tokyo #9 - tokyo skytree, harajuku st, & meiji jingu

hello!

i got back from perth safe and sound almost 2 weeks ago,

so now let me TRY to finish all tokyo AND perth entries 

before jetsetting to another country in january ;P

you have to excuse me, this is the only pic i have of the skytree lol.

before i went to tokyo,

i only knew of tokyo tower.

it's red and vintage and lights up beautifully at night.

but tokyo skytree?

meh. haha.

but it's the second tallest structure in the world after burj khalifa,

so it's somewhat interesting.

the modern tower also lights up beautifully at night,

and like many skyscrapers,

holds a mall underneath the tower that sells very expensive stuff.

so let's move on to harajuku.

wolves that offer free hugs.

SO. MANY. PEOPLE.

this is the tamagotchi egg store just beside the takeshita-dori.

mainly schoolkids still in uniform. at this precise moment, i envy being a schoolkid in japan.

lots of places selling crepes! insyaAllah can eat

don't they look tantalizing.. yumm!
btw i did not buy a crepe. they're seriously big and i didn't think i could've finished it alone.
*note: must come to tokyo with friendsss

daiso, where the tourists shop crazily.
sadly i can't find that many things worthy as a souvenir.

tokyo #8 - odaiba

moving on to odaiba!

i guess most people know that odaiba is a man made island

and famous for its Gundam statue.

little did i know that it's far more interesting than just that.

tokyo skyline from a train heading to odaiba

such a well-kept city

we went on that rainbow bridge with the train!

you can actually take a walk on this bridge if you've got the time ;P

remaining sakura still blooming

tada! the gundam statue
tbh i don't even watch the cartoon

well at least i have a picture with it :P

there's tulips nearby! a park full of them!

tokyo #7 - asakusa

i haven't done much researching prior to leaving to tokyo.

so these are the facts i've known from google :P

asakusa is a district in tokyo,

but most tourists who go here only know about the asakusa sensoji (temple).

this is also THE place to go for souvenirs.

i don't know about cheap, because i think everything in japan is expensive.

but i know this place has got tonnes of varieties of souvenirs.

kaminarimon, one of the gates leading to sensoji

inside of the temple, which is always jam-packed with people

managed to selfie!
you can see the kaminarimon on the left,
and directly behind it is the shopping street

more ume!

this is shin-nakamise shopping street,
which includes a muslim restaurant

the famous melon pan, this is the plastic version
so very tempting but wasn't confident of its halal status, so didn't try it :(

tokyo #6 - ameyoko market

oh my, i love this place.

and i didn't even know it existed. ahaha.

ameyayokocho, or ameyoko market

is located just across the street from JR ueno station.

it's also neighbouring the ueno park.

the entrance across the street from JR ueno station

walking further in and you see this divider in the middle.

if you go to the right of this divider,

you'll see the shops for the two best things in this place:

halal takoyaki and green tea ice cream.

i didn't take a picture of the green tea shop :/

but it's located near this divider thing.

shouldn't be too hard to spot,

it's full of green tea things like the ice cream and powdered green tea.

they also sell pots and little cups that you can enjoy your green tea from.

*now regretting that i didn't take a picture,

i guess i was too excited about the ice cream.

huge octopus like the one i saw in tsukiji fish market!

awesome halal takoyaki! shop's name is Gindaco.
thanks to nad's blog. i seriously didn't take notice of the shop's name lol.
we shared because i wouldn't be able to finish them all haha.

tokyo #5 - tokyo tower

once upon a time,

i was fascinated by towers.

among the towers that i'd really like to see with my own two eyes:

eiffel tower, leaning tower of pisa, and tokyo tower.

geographically speaking, i thought i'd see the tokyo tower first.

who knew it would be the eiffel first :P

by the way, i only knew tokyo had 2 towers after arriving in tokyo -.-"

seriously, this is about the only trip that i haven't researched properly before leaving.

which explained why i almost stayed on the street on my first night in tokyo.

also, it's sort of hard to last-minute google things about tokyo,

unless you know japanese.

so the two towers of tokyo:

tokyo tower in this entry

and the new tokyo skytree,

which is the second tallest in the world now after burj khalifa.

had no idea how to get here.
basically just got out of metro and just followed whatever path i could to this tower.

lighted beautifully at night.

under the tokyo tower, which has observatories and souvenir shops.
tried to find a metal keychain of tokyo tower, but couldn't find one :(

this one is pure candid. pressed the shutter accidentally. i look so bajet lol

strong wind, hard to capture a good pic.

<3

tokyo banana. the famous banana snack of tokyo.
they say there's a halal version but all the time i was in tokyo, i couldn't find one. me so sad.