The Power of Heart and SEOUL!

(As published on Hardware Zone Magazine's November 2015 issue)

What makes Seoul an ideal travel destination is that, it is a modern yet a history-rich city where one can experience its preserved traditional culture and at the same time, its cosmopolitan urbanity.

OOTD: Top and pants from Forever 21, Cardigan from Cotton On, Wedge from Landmark

 On September 2015, I went on a 4-day trip to Seoul, which was already my second. My first was in autumn of 2012 where I visited some UNESCO World Heritage sites in and out Seoul. But in my recent trip, I focused on discovering more of the city.

When deciding on where to go in Seoul, just follow your heart, and choose what you love. In my case, I like Korean dramas so I decided to visit some of the shoot locations of my favorite K-dramas. First stop was the Geongbokgung Palace, one of the sets of The Rooftop Prince. Luckily, I also got to witness the “changing of the guards” ceremony. Next stop was the Mangosix Café (Apgujeong Branch) in Gangnam, the set of A Gentleman’s Dignity. However, it has been renovated and is now known as Koffisix Coffee. I got pretty disappointed and wished I visited the Daechi-dong branch, one of the shoot locations of The Heirs instead. Lastly, I tagged along some Seoul-based Filipino friends to visit the shoot location of The 1^st Shop of Coffee Prince in Hongdae.

Changing of the guards ceremony at the Geongbokgung Palace

The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince in Hongdae

That's Yoon Eun Hye's signature inside the coffee shop

 For couples, a popular destination is the N. Seoul Tower in Namsan Mountain, which can be reached through a bus or a cable car from Myeongdong. This is where couples express their love by putting love locks in the railings of the viewing deck, just like those in the Pont des Arts Bridge in Paris.

N Seoul Tower 

lovelocks

My three favorite neighborhoods in Seoul are Hongdae, Myeongdong, and Gangnam. Hongdae is known as the university area (where Hongik University is). It is where the youth comes for shopping, dining, and clubbing. Foreign and local fashion brands, street foods and mid-end restaurants, plus bars/clubs are found here. Myeongdong is a shopping haven. It is where numerous beauty and fashion brands are; and trust me, they’re priced 3x less there than abroad. Gangnam is where high-end brands and the elites are; and is perfect for celebrity spotting.

street art in Hongdae

Korean BBQ (I love Hongdae street food)

my favorite shopping district: Myeongdong

comfy OOTD: Nike sneakers, denim top from Japan, denim shorts from Forever21 and Coach sling bag

Don’t worry about the expenses because it’s not as expensive as you think. Well that’s for you to experience; so book your flight, pack your bags, and prepare to have fun!

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.

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.

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.

garden at the Imperial Palace

autumn leaves

old Japanese house inside the Imperial Palace

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.

Asakusa (Tokyo Sky Tree right there!)

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.

Christmas illumination at Shiodome

super yummy!:)

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.

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.

Shibuya crossing

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.

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.

Day 2 OOTD without the coat :)

not all stations here have gates like these

Tokyo Midtown

BMW i8!!!

Kidjie buying postcards at the museum

the view outside the museum

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.

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.

entrance going to the Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine

drinking fountain

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