Day 65 - Shopping and crepes in Harajuku

Hey everyone!

Just a quick post today. I am still working on my second Kyoto blog post, it is almost done so it should be out in the next couple of days!

On November 15th Amy and I met up with Maisy and Rebekah again (friends from our original university) to spend an evening in Harajuku.

We met up by the station and walked up towards the shrine, it was unfortunately closed but the view of the train tracks from the bridge wasn't too shabby either.

We were pretty hungry as it was already getting kind of late so we decided to eat first.

We decided on something cheap and cheerful and that meant Gyuudon beef bowls at Yoshinoya. It isn't a restaurant where you would sit down and chat for a long time. Other than us, the clientele consisted of business men. It's definitely a place to grab a quick cheap and tasty meal. It was pretty small so we were going to have to split up into two groups but luckily someone left and we were able to all sit together.

I ordered beef without rice and a side salad set

The menu primarily consists of beef bowl sets but there are also a few other things such as curry available.

My salad

I have found myself really liking salads since I arrived in Japan. It could be due to the lack of vegetables in other restaurant dishes due to the cost of veg here. But I think the real reason is because they are just tastier! There are two salad dressings here that are pretty common and those are ごまsesame and 和風 Japanese style and they certainly make the greens delicious. Japanese salads don't often incorporate more bitter foliage such as rocket, which is not a favorite of mine. But perhaps one of the best things about Japanese salads is the potato salad! Japanese potato salad is so good! It is probably not the  healthiest component but it certainly is one of the tastiest parts. It's made with Japanese mayonnaise which is much creamier and less vinegary that English mayonnaise. 

Mmm look at those caramelised onions!

The salad came with a little snap pack of sesame dressing. I quite like these packs, as they are always easy to use without getting the dressing everywhere. The snap the pack and squeeze it so the little pockets are sandwiched in the middle and the dressing comes out from the center of the white cover.

After dinner we went for a spot of shopping. It being Harajuku, there was of course lots of good ol' Engrish and curious designs to enjoy.

On the bottom of the "yes" cap

Crepe time!

Of course no trip to Harajuku would be complete without a freshly prepared crepe! At the time there were serving winter special flavours. I went with the chestnut and pie pastry crepe, as usual it was pretty darn good (although not for the waistline of course!). Pretty sure whipped cream, ice cream, pie and an assortment of other sweet treats should not all be snuggled together under one blanket of crepe but who's to tell them it's wrong?! Not me, that's for sure!

It was only the middle of November so naturally the Christmas decorations were already out! Oh it feels like home!

We had a pretty good evening eating, chatting and shopping. I look forward to our next trip out!

The evening's bounty

Day 52 - Waseda Sai

Hey everyone!

November 2nd was the first day of the Waseda Sai (Waseda festival).

As I mentioned in a previous post the Waseda Sai is the biggest university festival in Japan. It is a long standing tradition and is held every year. It certainly isn't the only event held by Waseda but it is the biggest one and it runs on for two days. 

There are lots of food stalls run by the students and performances by the different circles all around campus.

There were two main stages, the biggest was in front of the Okuma Auditorium and the smaller stage was near the Okuma statue. But there were tonnes of other performances going on around the campus.

The range of showcases was really wide. There were performances from accapella groups to dance and cheer leading. There were so many acts to see and they were all worked really hard to give performances that were at a surprisingly high level!

Here was a performance from one of Waseda's Cheerleading clubs. Yes, that's right, Waseda has quite a few Cheerleading circles!

Another performance from what I can only assume to be a muscle man circle? I think this is the same circle that was performing at the opening ceremony. Waseda may have lots of circle but I think even Waseda only has one muscle man group!

A rather peculiar circle if you ask me! But it's always good to have variety, no?

One of my favorite performances of the day was by the Shockers. Shockers is Waseda's male-only cheerleading circle. They did flips, jumps, formations and pyramids and all so enthusiastically! Not only were they talented but it was clear that they were really enjoying themselves. 

This was dancing circle that performed dances in the styles of various cultures. There were not only Japanese students in this circle but there were some exchange students too.

As you can see it was really hectic! There were so many people that had come to enjoy the festival. It seemed like a lot of the visitors were not from the university either. 

One of Waseda's dance circles

The stage in front of Waseda's clock tower

One performance I was looking forward to see was the W.U.B (Waseda University Breakerz) set. W.U.B is a dance circle that incorporates various styles of urban dance including breakdancing, hip-hop and reggae. They showcased each of their dance styles and it was really well done. There were so many people so it was just as well that there was a big screen because being as short as I am, it was hard to see everything!
Unfortunately I didn't manage to get many good photos of them so I am afraid I have only included these two!

Amy, Zoe and I went off to Waseda's Coop shop to buy some Waseda hoodies so we could show our Waseda spirit during the baseball match the next day. We couldn't resist the sweatpants either, so we managed to successfully empty our wallets at the Coop till.

I have to say the highlights of the performances was the Shockers and W.U.B the performances were done well and the cheerleaders and dancers were very impressive!

Overall it was a really fun day and I was left wishing that I could go to the second day of the Waseda Sai. However I had the Waseda-Keio baseball match to look forward to the next day.

Day 169 - Onwards to Kyoto!

Hey everyone,

I hope you are all well.

I am afraid to say that while those of you on the Western Hemisphere are probably still grinding on at work or at university, University students in Japan are living the life on spring break!
Many-a-time I have heard the words "Spring break!" yelled merrily from the mouths of actors on American TV shows, never did I think that it would one day be me!
However unfortunately, Japanese salary men and school students do not have such a luxury. The school spring holiday starts much later and is much shorter than that of university students.

Kento and I took the spring holiday as an opportunity to take a short break in Kyoto!

It was my first time visiting Kyoto so there were lots of new things to experience, and for Kento, a well-seasoned Kyoto visitor there were fewer new experiences but certainly a sense of nostalgia.

Kento met me at my dorm at around 5am to embark on the 6 hour long car journey from Tokyo to Kyoto. It was such a long drive so I am really grateful for the amazing effort on Kento's part to get us there safely!

We arrived quite a bit earlier than expected. Our check-in time was around 3 pm but we got into Kyoto at around 12 pm so we decided to find somewhere to park the car and then head straight out to enjoy Kyoto.

I had been super exited for our trip so in preparation, I bought a travel magazine for Kyoto which I covered in colour-coded sticky labels (green for all things matcha of course!) and made lots of notes of things to do and how to get there in my diary. I even made notes of little half-day and full-day itineraries. You could say I may have been a little enthusiastic! But it payed off because without much hassle we decided on a destination and could head off straight away. I hope it also meant that Kento could relax a little after such a long drive!

When it comes to guide books (or in this case, magazines) there seem to be two main options here in Japan. And those are  るるぶ Rurubu and まっぷる Mappuru. They are both brightly coloured and always seem to look so exciting. They can both be found in the same section and seem to be stocked in most book stores (I couldn't find them in a mom-and-pop bookshop near my dorm but the next-closest bookstore had them). I went with Rurubu on the shop assistants' advice and was not disappointed! I would definitely recommend these magazines to anyone looking to take trips inside Japan. They are priced around 800 yen £4.70 and include recommended restaurants, souvenirs, shops, itineraries, seasonal events, maps and even bus and train routes.

We decided on Arashiyama as our first destination, which is in the West of Kyoto where we could see the bamboo grove, temples and Togetsu bridge.

   

On the way from the car park to Kyoto station we passed this cute little butchers which was selling fresh croquettes. The smell coming from the store was so good so we stopped by to try a croquette each.

The woman working there was really sweet and while we were waiting for our food to cook she talked to us asking us where we studied and where we had come from.

The croquettes were pretty cheap, only 60 yen each! (around 35p) 

Waiting politely for our croquettes!

The flavour of the croquettes was subtle but tasty and the warm snack was just what my stomach needed. It was surprisingly cold in Kyoto!

A little shrine just on the street in Arashiyama

It was a pretty easy journey from Kyoto station to Arashiyama. It was a no-change trip on the JR sagano line (sanin line). We could even use our Tokyo pasmos so no need to even buy tickets as long as you are topped up!

Arashiyama was really pretty and definitely had a different feel to Tokyo. I was rather surprised when we first entered Kyoto because the area near the station was really busy and the roads were very big. It really had a big-city and rushed feel to it. Of course, I know that Kyoto is a large city - it previously being Japan's capital - but I wasn't expecting it to feel quite so concrete jungle, so it was really nice to see Arashiyama which had a really relaxed with a much more traditional atmosphere to it!

Alcohol vending machine!

One of the things that we spotted in Arashiyama was this alcohol vending machine! It is unusual because, although there used to be vending machines like this in Tokyo, they are all but extinct now in order to tighten under-age drinking policies. Not only did this machine sell cans, but you could also buy a big bottle of Asahi beer or a large carton of Onikoroshi demon slayer sake. Yes, you can buy alcohol in cartons in Japan. The machine was also supposed to have an ID checker function but this seemed to be out-of-order.

The view from Café de Salan

We were a little hungry so we decided to make our first stop at a café -featured in the magazine- of whose curry dish caught Kento's eye. The café was called Café de Salan and was a short walk from the station, and only a stones throw away from Togetsu bridge. The café had quite an artsy, fashionable feel to it. It definitely didn't have a traditional feel to it but it was charming and the view was definitely worth it!

From our seats we had a great view of Togetsu bridge and its pretty surroundings. The decor of the Café itself was really attractive with odd tables, curious decorations and lighting. The Café also seemed to sell artwork and other various knick-knacks.

The menu was pretty good too including curries with Kyoto vegetables and tofu and Japanese desserts. Kento went with the curry that had caught his eye from the magazine due to its tasty-looking vegetables.

Kento's curry

I think the curry Kento ordered had a slightly stronger taste than he was hoping for. I tried a bit and it was really nice, however the flavour was definitely deeper than other Japanese curries I have tasted.

Anxious to try some matcha green tea I ordered a parfait from the menu that seemed to incorporate lots of green tea. When it arrived, however it looked as if they had mixed up the order. We asked the waiter who said it was the same one even though it was clearly different. But it seemed to be like the other dessert that I was struggling to chose from and it looked delicious so I didn't mind so much. In the end I was glad this dessert came out instead because it was gorgeous. Not only did it have green tea ice cream which hit the green tea quota, but it also incorporated pretty much all of the other traditional Japanese sweets flavours. There were Kurogoma covered mochi, Adzuki beans red beans resting on some whipped cream, kinako covered tofu, a stick of Karinto and what I think was kuromitsu icecream, and of course no Japanese parfait would be complete without some cornflakes!

It was absolutely delicious. It took everything to keep my squeals of delight to a minimum. I loved all the flavours there and it was perfect getting a little taste of most of the Japanese sweets flavours which I now hope to explain in a bit more detail:

Matcha or green tea is pretty much a speciality of Kyoto, and being a lover of all things matcha I definitely wanted to consume as much of it as possible while I was there! Green tea is very traditional (obviously not in ice cream) but in the form of the tea ceremony and as a beverage, there is a very strong tea culture in Japan. It is often used as one of the flavours in wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery).

Kuromitsu lit.black honey is not actually a honey but a sugar syrup unlike molasses or treacle. And like both molasses and treacle it has a very sweet but deep flavour. Kuromitsu is often a flavour included in Wagashi.

Kinako is roasted soybean flour and to me often has a flavour reminiscent to crushed peanuts. Kinako is a golden-coloured powder that is often sprinkled over mochi or tofu and is an ingredient often featured in the making of wagashi.

Kurogoma black sesame is another wagashi flavour and can used in many forms such as being crushed, as in my parfait, or made into a paste.

Karinto is a traditional Japanese snack food, it is a deep-fried crunchy stick that is usually made using brown sugar to make it sweet but there are sometimes other flavour variations.

For dessert Kento ordered mochi with red beans and matcha tea. However, unfortunately the tea was very sweet. Usually, green tea like this should not be sweet as it's taste is used to balance out the sweetness of the wagashi.

After finishing our food we went to have a walk over Togetsu bridge and then made our way in the direction of the bamboo grove.

On the way to the bamboo grove we went to Tenryuji temple. You could roam most of the grounds for free but for some areas you needed to pay to get into. We payed 500 yen to get into one of the buildings where you could see a mural of a dragon on the ceiling. The dragon's eyes were supposed to follow you around the room. As Kento said, perhaps the dragon was not concentrating that day as the optical illusion didn't work as well as expected, but none the less it was still pretty impressive.

Next up was the bamboo groves! The bamboo groves was only a short walk from Tenryuji temple and looked pretty amazing. The bamboo was much taller and thicker than I expected and when the wind blew you could hear the sounds of them knocking together. It was a nice feeling to be surrounded by the towering bamboo and was not something I had seen before.

Excuse the glove, it was so cold!

While walking through the bamboo grove we saw a small shrine and had a short wander through. Around this area were lots of rickshaw drivers hoping to get some customers.

Lots of little Kitsune  foxes

A lot of the shrines in Kyoto feature Kitsune. Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox, and although in some Japanese folklore Kitsune are depicted as being deceptive and sneaky just as in the West, oftentimes they are considered to be guardians. Kitsune serve as Inari Okami's messengers and are seen as guardians and considered deities which is why they are often found in shrines. Inari Okami is one of the spirits worshiped under Shintoism.

After the shrine we decided to head to a museum and then head back as we were pretty worn out and it was freezing! Unfortunately the museum was shut, but on the way back we found this really curious vending machine. Neither of us had seen any of the drinks in this machine before (bar one or two) and the packaging all looked really funny. The ミルクセーキ miruku seki caught my eye, not knowing that it was just an unexpected Japanese pronunciation of milkshake. It was pretty nice though and the hot can was perfect for the freezing weather.

Another thing we spotted was this shop called Jerry's Pies, they were English style pies with the owner purportedly coming from England. There was even a British flag adorning one of the walls in the little shop. I would have really liked to try one of the pies to see how they were, but it would have been rather odd to come to Kyoto only to end up eating pies!

Back at Kyoto station we saw this cool water fountain. It displayed messages and pretty shapes in the water. I tried my best to capture it throwing some cool shapes but it was a bit difficult with my camera. 

From the station we grabbed our suitcases and made our way to the hotel. The hotel was really nice and included a buffet style breakfast in the morning which I believe was served from around 7 to 10 am. There was also a Japanese style public bathing area (split genders of course!) which included a hot bath, cold bath and even a sauna. They also had a rotenburo outside bath. The hotel also provided you with Yukata which they lay on the bed topped off with a cute little origami crane.

I had a great first day in Kyoto and I am so grateful for Kento making the long car journey to get us there safely and also for making the trip so fun!

I will be uploading day two and three of the Kyoto trip as soon as possible so please check out for those updates!

See you for now!