tokyo #16 - our stay in iriya

i'm sharing about where i stayed in tokyo.
the name of the neighbourhood is iriya,
roughly a few metro stops to ueno.
we stayed in an airbnb japanese-style house.
for me the location is okay,
since central tokyo can be expensive.

actually the story of how i managed to walk to this house is quite amazing.
i had no idea of the exact location of the house,
i had no wifi or phone line,
i was alone and nobody was there waiting for me.
all i had was a rough sketch of a map showing the way from the metro station to the house
that i took a screenshot of from malaysia.

in tokyo, the metro exit is not so straightforward.
iriya metro station alone has 4 exits and only one of them has an elevator.
i arrived and had no idea which exit to get out of,
not to mention in which direction i should start walking to hahaha T.T
bigggg mistake, honestly.
tbh i vividly remember then that london, paris, and seoul
also have many exits out of one metro station.
why didn't i think that i would have the same problem in tokyo -.-"

i was just praying a lot that i would get to the house before it gets too dark,
lugging my heavy luggage haha.
i managed to not get too lost, in the end.
found the house within an hour.
i have to thank my crazy brain for being a genius
and Allah for looking out for me.

navigating in tokyo is actually fine,
it's just that you have to understand where you're going,
to have a sense of direction,
and to always have a map (and wifi) with you.
in a few days i was already a pro in taking metros
and understanding where is where in tokyo.
i'm proud to be a non-typical girl in this stuff haha.

seriously, tokyo held so many adventures and stories for me.

narrow buildings

sakura at the main road <3

just around the corner of our house

beautiful manhole covers

tokyo #15 - roppongi & shinjuku gyoen national park

last day in tokyo :(

btw, it has almost been a year since my trip to tokyo o.O

took me soooo long to finish posting this.

my last day was rainy, but i still wanted to go to roppongi

for hard rock cafe shirts and this spider monster!

 

hugeee spider

only 7 of these spiders in this world

tokyo #14 - mt fuji & lake kawaguchiko

finally, getting up close & personal with the majestic fuji!

at this point i've already given up on blue sky.

grey sky is more dramatic anyways :P

snow-capped mountain

misty view from a viewing platform

we only managed to get to the 4th station, as the road to 5th station (the highest point that you can get to with a vehicle, i think) was closed.

muka give up ramai tourist cina tolak menolak hmph

ini pun nak jual ke beb, kapitalis betul

our group. takeover jadi co-driver sebab co-driver yg asal dah penat haha

tokyo #13 - shibazakura festival

it has been months since my last entry -.-"
there's no excuse. i have been lazy.
since last update, i went to perth and chiang mai.
and i have yet to finish tokyo and maldives entries.
in 2 months time, i'm off to kashmir.
T.T
so many updates pending!

anyway..
the day has come when we finally get to see mt fuji up close and personal!

but first stop: the fuji shibazakura festival.

the roller coaster at fuji q highland, which we passed en route. so tempting!
i would've included this in my itinerary if i went there alone

some flowers up for sale at the festival. they're said to be really cheap too, unfortunately i cannot smuggle a potted vase in my luggage..

sakura jam! i still have them in my fridge -.-"

mt fuji behind clouds

600 yen. i love japan and their inexpensive attraction fees

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!