Thursday, February 20, 2014

Japanese New Year: Oshogatsu Festival 2014

The New Year celebration in Japan is called the Oshogatsu Festival. It's more solemn and traditional as compared to that of the Philippines, and other Western countries.

For the New Year's eve, we travelled to Tokyo to celebrate it with my Japanese uncle and his mother. But before heading to their house in Tokyo, we stopped by Hachioji to shop for food at Costco. There were so many shoppers getting ready for the NYE.


When we arrived at my uncle's house, we cleaned it up a bit then we headed to the onsen (public bath). There were actually a lot of customers that night. After that, we picked up my cousin and aunt's bestfriend at the bus station and we went to Don Quijote to go shopping. Imagine, it's around 10pm and we're still shopping on NYE.


We all went back to the house and got ready for the NYE dinner (Media Noche in Pinoy culture). We had a very simple NYE dinner. The staple food for NYE dinner in Japan is the soba. After dinner, we headed to the Jindaiji Temple. It's a tradition in Japan to visit shrines/temples on NYE. There were a lot of people lining up to throw coins and pray or make a wish. Surprisingly, I saw a lot of groups of young people at the temple. While some were at the New Year countdown at Shibuya crossing and in some clubs/bars, there were still a long of youngsters who still celebrate the NYE traditionally. 



 photo IMG_1402_zpse2777c8e.jpg
year of the horse
 photo IMG_1401_zpsea2ba788.jpg
wine
 photo IMG_1399_zpsc2395501.jpg
food!
 photo IMG_1404_zpsf273b397.jpg
small temple
 photo IMG_1407_zpse415ff15.jpg
main temple (while we were in line)
 photo IMG_1406_zps6782c0dd.jpg
that's a small fountain
 photo IMG_1328_zps091d25b8.jpg
while waiting for our turn
 photo IMG_1408_zps1d66e9f4.jpg
where people get their omikuji
 photo IMG_1333_zps37fc3557.jpg

The next day, we had brunch. We shared the "osechi", a set of traditional Japanese New Year food in a special box called, "jubako". Each food symbolizes something, such as health, wealth, and good fortune. After brunch, we hit Harajuku area for shopping. New Year's Day shopping is probably the craziest shopping day of the year in Japan. I'll be making a different post about it, as this post focuses on Japanese New Year.


 photo IMG_1409_zpsd95d3cda.jpg

Anyway, the next day, my aunt's friend gave me an "otoshidama" or New Year money, along with an "omikuji", a piece of paper that talks about my fortune. Unfortunately, I got bad fortune, or "kyo". I must get at least a "kichi" or blessing. To reverse the bad fortune, we went to Suwataisha Temple and tied the piece of paper containing bad fortune at the temple. Then I picked a new number. When I got the piece of paper, it read "kichi", or blessing. Finally! Well, you can check Wikipedia on their meanings.


 photo IMG_1504_zps1c276944.jpg
really bad fortune (1st omikuji)
 photo IMG_1450_zps3859ebef.jpg
Suwataisha Temple
 photo IMG_1453_zpsbc97b405.jpg
me and my aunt
 photo IMG_1456_zpsadf23379.jpg
Onbashira
 photo IMG_1459_zps52be0324.jpg
big Japanese drum
 photo IMG_1463_zpsb1150453.jpg
people waiting for their turns to pray
 photo IMG_1466_zps4a1cfd88.jpg
must let go of the bad luck by my first omikuji
 photo IMG_1472_zps1730e543.jpg
getting a number (it's written on a stick)
then there's a corresponding omikuji for the number that I got
 photo IMG_1474_zps500ac009.jpg
 photo IMG_1477_zps4255be9c.jpg
it's their version of holy water
 photo IMG_1479_zps7072b6c7.jpg
the main entrance
 photo IMG_1485_zpsd937e437.jpg
tried it for the first time
 photo IMG_1489_zps51197631.jpg
traditional Japanese house

So that's the traditional Japanese New Year. Far from how I usually celebrate it in the Philippines, but this experience has been really worth it.



xoxo,


city girl


Thursday, February 6, 2014

December 2013: A Weekend in Tokyo

Tokyo is probably my second favorite Asian city (next to Seoul). It's a place I'll keep coming back to because of my love for fashion and the city life. I've been to Tokyo for a couple of times in the past years with my family, but I haven't experienced it with a friend yet. So when I heard that my friend who's based in Singapore would be on a business trip in Tokyo, I felt the need to travel almost 3 hours by bus from Suwa to Tokyo just so I could spend time in the city with my friend.

At around 8am of December 8, I took the highway bus from Suwa City, Nagano to Shinjuku, Tokyo. From the bus station in Shinjuku, I took the train to Royal Park Hotel Shiodome Tower where my friend was staying. Good thing my cousin lent me beforehand her preloaded Passmo card (the subway card in Tokyo). Anyway, the hotel is pretty nice but quite pricey.
 photo IMG_0662_zpsd004c573.jpg
inside the bus

My friend, Pam and I started our Sunday with ramen for lunch. It's just a small ramen place at the subway connected to the hotel. We shared in one miso ramen and a plate of gyoza. I think our bill was around 1,500 yen.
 photo IMG_0667_zpsbca621f0.jpg
 photo IMG_0666_zpsecc89909.jpg
lunch


Then we proceeded to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Entrance was free but apparently, almost nothing's left in that area. When we went out of the gates and walked towards the nearest subway station, we got a view of the Edo Castle from afar.
 photo IMG_0757_zps12e8d76f.jpg
garden at the Imperial Palace
 photo IMG_0760_zpse01ddbeb.jpg
autumn leaves
 photo IMG_0782_zps02207023.jpg
old Japanese house inside the Imperial Palace
 photo IMG_0767_zpsddfec1a0.jpg
Edo Castle

We headed to Asakusa where we had a view of Tokyo Sky Tree from afar. It's the tallest tower in the world. We followed some groups of tourists following a tour guide and it led us to the Senso-ji Temple. There were a lot of both tourists and locals there.

 photo IMG_0669_zps66c05d80.jpg
Asakusa (Tokyo Sky Tree right there!)
 photo IMG_0676_zpse7f34ad8.jpg
 photo IMG_0671_zps91e9c34e.jpg
Senso-ji Temple

We're too tired so we headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit. At the subway, we found a kiosk of Almond Cafe and we bought and eclair and a croughnut. So far, those were the best I have tasted. We also got some hot chocolate and coffee from the nearby vendo, which were so perfect for the freezing weather.

 photo IMG_0683_zps024e284e.jpg
Christmas illumination at Shiodome
 photo IMG_0689_zps16f790d8.jpg photo IMG_0691_zps9a8ca0c3.jpg
super yummy!:)
 photo IMG_0685_zps69078c34.jpg
Pam enjoying the bed

Sunset was kind of early, like around 4:30 to 5pm. When the sun set, we headed to Harajuku, supposedly to go shopping but when we got there, we're too budget conscious so we were only able to shop at Daiso. haha! From Harajuku, we walked towards Omotesando Hills where we found Heiroku, a "kaiten" (conveyor belt sushi) sushi place. We paid around 3,000 yen for dinner.

 photo IMG_0706_zpsc2247a88.jpg
sushi dinner

We walked from Omotesando Hills to Shibuya crossing. That popular crossing is one of my favorite spots in Tokyo. I like seeing how organized it is for a bunch of people to cross the street. We went window shopping at Shibuya 109. It's the center of Japanese fashion. However, those local brands were kind of expensive.

 photo IMG_0849_zpse903fb62.jpg
Shibuya crossing
 photo IMG_0702_zps24cc73e4.jpg
Day 1 OOTD without the coat

We're supposed to go out and have some drinks somewhere in Roponggi but we're too tired for it so we headed back to the hotel instead. It's so relaxing in our room at 37th floor, overlooking the city lights.

 photo IMG_0688_zpsac5e0c5e.jpg
no filter!

That night I found out that another Singapore-based friend was in Tokyo as well. We got to communicate via Facebook and Viber and we agreed to spend the next day at Roponggi. The next day, I woke up early and met with my friend, Kidjie at the Roponggi Station. We went to the Suntory Museum of Art at Tokyo Midtown, which is connected to the station. We paid a discounted admission fee since we presented our student IDs. After a quick look at the museum, we walked towards Roponggi Hills. We reached Mori Tower but we didn't go up. From there, we got to see the Tokyo Tower, but I still prefer seeing it at night. We headed back to the station and passed by Almond Cafe so I bought eclairs and croughnuts again so I would have something to take home to Suwa.

 photo IMG_0719_zps0a674400.jpg
Day 2 OOTD without the coat :)
 photo IMG_0806_zps7efbc3d1.jpg
not all stations here have gates like these
 photo IMG_0737_zpsde291ebd.jpg
Tokyo Midtown
 photo IMG_0749_zps7fc13a14.jpg
BMW i8!!!
 photo IMG_0741_zps46eaa09b.jpg
Kidjie buying postcards at the museum
 photo IMG_0744_zps4e9fcbb1.jpg
the view outside the museum
 photo IMG_0801_zps08a483c7.jpg
some random zen garden in Roponggi


From Roponggi Hills, we took a train to Harajuku where we had lunch at my favorite western  restaurant, Wolfgang Puck Express. We paid around 2,000 yen for our meals.

 photo IMG_0809_zps050ad834.jpg
 photo IMG_0810_zpsd123fee1.jpg

Then we headed to Meiji Shrine, which was just next to Harajuku Station. After a fun half day tour, we headed to the Shinjuku station where we parted ways. Kidjie went back to his hotel while I walked to the bus terminal where I took the highway bus back to Suwa.
 photo IMG_0812_zps0a7fe923.jpg
entrance going to the Meiji Shrine
 photo IMG_0817_zps6cc097b1.jpg
 photo IMG_0824_zpsb4222dba.jpg
Meiji Shrine
 photo IMG_0838_zps8261bd5f.jpg
drinking fountain
 photo 1546017_10152198498121369_1720196276_n_zpsc39b71ba.jpg

It's been a fun overnight trip. I got to explore Tokyo with my friends and it made me realize that Tokyo could be a fun city to live in. However, the lifestyle would really cost a lot. but who cares, I love Tokyo!:)




xoxo,


city girl

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Japanese New Year: Oshogatsu Festival 2014

The New Year celebration in Japan is called the Oshogatsu Festival. It's more solemn and traditional as compared to that of the Philippines, and other Western countries.

For the New Year's eve, we travelled to Tokyo to celebrate it with my Japanese uncle and his mother. But before heading to their house in Tokyo, we stopped by Hachioji to shop for food at Costco. There were so many shoppers getting ready for the NYE.


When we arrived at my uncle's house, we cleaned it up a bit then we headed to the onsen (public bath). There were actually a lot of customers that night. After that, we picked up my cousin and aunt's bestfriend at the bus station and we went to Don Quijote to go shopping. Imagine, it's around 10pm and we're still shopping on NYE.


We all went back to the house and got ready for the NYE dinner (Media Noche in Pinoy culture). We had a very simple NYE dinner. The staple food for NYE dinner in Japan is the soba. After dinner, we headed to the Jindaiji Temple. It's a tradition in Japan to visit shrines/temples on NYE. There were a lot of people lining up to throw coins and pray or make a wish. Surprisingly, I saw a lot of groups of young people at the temple. While some were at the New Year countdown at Shibuya crossing and in some clubs/bars, there were still a long of youngsters who still celebrate the NYE traditionally. 



 photo IMG_1402_zpse2777c8e.jpg
year of the horse
 photo IMG_1401_zpsea2ba788.jpg
wine
 photo IMG_1399_zpsc2395501.jpg
food!
 photo IMG_1404_zpsf273b397.jpg
small temple
 photo IMG_1407_zpse415ff15.jpg
main temple (while we were in line)
 photo IMG_1406_zps6782c0dd.jpg
that's a small fountain
 photo IMG_1328_zps091d25b8.jpg
while waiting for our turn
 photo IMG_1408_zps1d66e9f4.jpg
where people get their omikuji
 photo IMG_1333_zps37fc3557.jpg

The next day, we had brunch. We shared the "osechi", a set of traditional Japanese New Year food in a special box called, "jubako". Each food symbolizes something, such as health, wealth, and good fortune. After brunch, we hit Harajuku area for shopping. New Year's Day shopping is probably the craziest shopping day of the year in Japan. I'll be making a different post about it, as this post focuses on Japanese New Year.


 photo IMG_1409_zpsd95d3cda.jpg

Anyway, the next day, my aunt's friend gave me an "otoshidama" or New Year money, along with an "omikuji", a piece of paper that talks about my fortune. Unfortunately, I got bad fortune, or "kyo". I must get at least a "kichi" or blessing. To reverse the bad fortune, we went to Suwataisha Temple and tied the piece of paper containing bad fortune at the temple. Then I picked a new number. When I got the piece of paper, it read "kichi", or blessing. Finally! Well, you can check Wikipedia on their meanings.


 photo IMG_1504_zps1c276944.jpg
really bad fortune (1st omikuji)
 photo IMG_1450_zps3859ebef.jpg
Suwataisha Temple
 photo IMG_1453_zpsbc97b405.jpg
me and my aunt
 photo IMG_1456_zpsadf23379.jpg
Onbashira
 photo IMG_1459_zps52be0324.jpg
big Japanese drum
 photo IMG_1463_zpsb1150453.jpg
people waiting for their turns to pray
 photo IMG_1466_zps4a1cfd88.jpg
must let go of the bad luck by my first omikuji
 photo IMG_1472_zps1730e543.jpg
getting a number (it's written on a stick)
then there's a corresponding omikuji for the number that I got
 photo IMG_1474_zps500ac009.jpg
 photo IMG_1477_zps4255be9c.jpg
it's their version of holy water
 photo IMG_1479_zps7072b6c7.jpg
the main entrance
 photo IMG_1485_zpsd937e437.jpg
tried it for the first time
 photo IMG_1489_zps51197631.jpg
traditional Japanese house

So that's the traditional Japanese New Year. Far from how I usually celebrate it in the Philippines, but this experience has been really worth it.



xoxo,


city girl


Thursday, February 6, 2014

December 2013: A Weekend in Tokyo

Tokyo is probably my second favorite Asian city (next to Seoul). It's a place I'll keep coming back to because of my love for fashion and the city life. I've been to Tokyo for a couple of times in the past years with my family, but I haven't experienced it with a friend yet. So when I heard that my friend who's based in Singapore would be on a business trip in Tokyo, I felt the need to travel almost 3 hours by bus from Suwa to Tokyo just so I could spend time in the city with my friend.

At around 8am of December 8, I took the highway bus from Suwa City, Nagano to Shinjuku, Tokyo. From the bus station in Shinjuku, I took the train to Royal Park Hotel Shiodome Tower where my friend was staying. Good thing my cousin lent me beforehand her preloaded Passmo card (the subway card in Tokyo). Anyway, the hotel is pretty nice but quite pricey.
 photo IMG_0662_zpsd004c573.jpg
inside the bus

My friend, Pam and I started our Sunday with ramen for lunch. It's just a small ramen place at the subway connected to the hotel. We shared in one miso ramen and a plate of gyoza. I think our bill was around 1,500 yen.
 photo IMG_0667_zpsbca621f0.jpg
 photo IMG_0666_zpsecc89909.jpg
lunch


Then we proceeded to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Entrance was free but apparently, almost nothing's left in that area. When we went out of the gates and walked towards the nearest subway station, we got a view of the Edo Castle from afar.
 photo IMG_0757_zps12e8d76f.jpg
garden at the Imperial Palace
 photo IMG_0760_zpse01ddbeb.jpg
autumn leaves
 photo IMG_0782_zps02207023.jpg
old Japanese house inside the Imperial Palace
 photo IMG_0767_zpsddfec1a0.jpg
Edo Castle

We headed to Asakusa where we had a view of Tokyo Sky Tree from afar. It's the tallest tower in the world. We followed some groups of tourists following a tour guide and it led us to the Senso-ji Temple. There were a lot of both tourists and locals there.

 photo IMG_0669_zps66c05d80.jpg
Asakusa (Tokyo Sky Tree right there!)
 photo IMG_0676_zpse7f34ad8.jpg
 photo IMG_0671_zps91e9c34e.jpg
Senso-ji Temple

We're too tired so we headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit. At the subway, we found a kiosk of Almond Cafe and we bought and eclair and a croughnut. So far, those were the best I have tasted. We also got some hot chocolate and coffee from the nearby vendo, which were so perfect for the freezing weather.

 photo IMG_0683_zps024e284e.jpg
Christmas illumination at Shiodome
 photo IMG_0689_zps16f790d8.jpg photo IMG_0691_zps9a8ca0c3.jpg
super yummy!:)
 photo IMG_0685_zps69078c34.jpg
Pam enjoying the bed

Sunset was kind of early, like around 4:30 to 5pm. When the sun set, we headed to Harajuku, supposedly to go shopping but when we got there, we're too budget conscious so we were only able to shop at Daiso. haha! From Harajuku, we walked towards Omotesando Hills where we found Heiroku, a "kaiten" (conveyor belt sushi) sushi place. We paid around 3,000 yen for dinner.

 photo IMG_0706_zpsc2247a88.jpg
sushi dinner

We walked from Omotesando Hills to Shibuya crossing. That popular crossing is one of my favorite spots in Tokyo. I like seeing how organized it is for a bunch of people to cross the street. We went window shopping at Shibuya 109. It's the center of Japanese fashion. However, those local brands were kind of expensive.

 photo IMG_0849_zpse903fb62.jpg
Shibuya crossing
 photo IMG_0702_zps24cc73e4.jpg
Day 1 OOTD without the coat

We're supposed to go out and have some drinks somewhere in Roponggi but we're too tired for it so we headed back to the hotel instead. It's so relaxing in our room at 37th floor, overlooking the city lights.

 photo IMG_0688_zpsac5e0c5e.jpg
no filter!

That night I found out that another Singapore-based friend was in Tokyo as well. We got to communicate via Facebook and Viber and we agreed to spend the next day at Roponggi. The next day, I woke up early and met with my friend, Kidjie at the Roponggi Station. We went to the Suntory Museum of Art at Tokyo Midtown, which is connected to the station. We paid a discounted admission fee since we presented our student IDs. After a quick look at the museum, we walked towards Roponggi Hills. We reached Mori Tower but we didn't go up. From there, we got to see the Tokyo Tower, but I still prefer seeing it at night. We headed back to the station and passed by Almond Cafe so I bought eclairs and croughnuts again so I would have something to take home to Suwa.

 photo IMG_0719_zps0a674400.jpg
Day 2 OOTD without the coat :)
 photo IMG_0806_zps7efbc3d1.jpg
not all stations here have gates like these
 photo IMG_0737_zpsde291ebd.jpg
Tokyo Midtown
 photo IMG_0749_zps7fc13a14.jpg
BMW i8!!!
 photo IMG_0741_zps46eaa09b.jpg
Kidjie buying postcards at the museum
 photo IMG_0744_zps4e9fcbb1.jpg
the view outside the museum
 photo IMG_0801_zps08a483c7.jpg
some random zen garden in Roponggi


From Roponggi Hills, we took a train to Harajuku where we had lunch at my favorite western  restaurant, Wolfgang Puck Express. We paid around 2,000 yen for our meals.

 photo IMG_0809_zps050ad834.jpg
 photo IMG_0810_zpsd123fee1.jpg

Then we headed to Meiji Shrine, which was just next to Harajuku Station. After a fun half day tour, we headed to the Shinjuku station where we parted ways. Kidjie went back to his hotel while I walked to the bus terminal where I took the highway bus back to Suwa.
 photo IMG_0812_zps0a7fe923.jpg
entrance going to the Meiji Shrine
 photo IMG_0817_zps6cc097b1.jpg
 photo IMG_0824_zpsb4222dba.jpg
Meiji Shrine
 photo IMG_0838_zps8261bd5f.jpg
drinking fountain
 photo 1546017_10152198498121369_1720196276_n_zpsc39b71ba.jpg

It's been a fun overnight trip. I got to explore Tokyo with my friends and it made me realize that Tokyo could be a fun city to live in. However, the lifestyle would really cost a lot. but who cares, I love Tokyo!:)




xoxo,


city girl