Closing One Chapter And Starting On The Next

Taking a quick intermission from my Japan posting to squeeze this in. I recently made a trip down to Brothers In Fine Food - a new cafe in Tampines - for a solo lunch all in the name of work. It was the first time I actually sat down in a proper cafe/restaurant to have a meal all on my own. I was a bit afraid to do so at first, because on top of dining alone, I had to make sure I got enough photos for the article I was putting together.

But alas, all was well. I had to take photos of the space and the food anyway, but having just a small handful of people at the cafe helped me to not just focus a whole lot more on what I'm doing, but also get better pictures!

Having a meal alone is actually quite satisfying. You get to be with your own thoughts, read a book or go through Snapchat, and just be contented with the me-time that you're getting with yourself. Note to self: try to find the courage to do solo meals more often.

This was probably one of the best steak I've ever had too. I don't have much experience in the steak department, but the beef here was so juicy and soft, and the beetroot pureé was amazin' to say the least.

Read more about it here!

In less than a week, I'll also be moving on to a new phase of life. I'm finally setting time aside for myself to work on the personal projects I've always wanted to work on, and start adding some decent work to my portfolio. It has been stagnant as of late, despite my self-reminders to keep working on something new. Time hasn't been on my side, but I think it's a good decision to sit myself down and get started on it now. There isn't much time left to uni enrollment, and if I want to get in, I need to make sure I have what it takes. The real question is: will I ever have what it takes? 

Till the next Jap post!

Letters to Japan: Day #2

As the days go by, I find myself wishing I was back in Japan, more now than ever before. 

For Day #2 in Tokyo, we managed to wake up (reasonably) early to head over to Yanesen Cemetery, a beautiful little place located somewhere near our Airbnb. We just needed to take a 20-30 minute bus ride to the place. 

But before anything else, food! 

We stumbled across this vending machine udon store along a line of stores where we were, so we decided to stop by to give it a try. I was completely fascinated with the self-service system, because I've never seen anything like it before, but apparently that street is filled with such restaurants. And I also found more of them at random busy train stations!

You make your orders and pay via the vending machines, then pass your little receipt to the chefs (yes, there are still human chefs physically there to make your food instead of just the vending machine) for them to prep your meal. I guess technically, that makes it a 'self-service' restaurant than a vending machine one right....

I got the really basic udon set, which comes with a normal bowl of noodles, paired with some porky broth which tasted pretty amazing. 

What I was really impressed by was the springiness of the udon noodles. I'm not normally one for udon, because I find them a bit too plain, with the noodles being a bit too floury and dry. I will always be a #ramengal at heart, but this place was surprisingly good! Reminds me of the other only really good udon place I know in Singapore, found in NEX's Japanese food street. 

Mmm... Probably not a good idea to look at such photos with a hungry stomach at 1.30am. Well I guess I wasn't hungry until I saw the photos.....

Belle got something like a 'sampler' set, so she got a small-sized curry noodles with another small-sized udon. A little bit of both. Her curry rice was pretty good though!

Probably one of the countless amount of things I like about Japan is how everything is painted in such pretty pastel tones. Even this bridge is in mint. It just makes the entire country look so rustic and beautiful.

Yanesen Cemetery was a complete far cry from what you see in Singapore. They are so peaceful and serene, with little a couple of other visitors walking around. It was so bright and airy too!

A pity the leaves haven't started changing colour yet... Or it would have been perfect. Belle told me that the locals come here for picnics whenever the cherry blossom season hits, so I guess the Japanese don't just take their cemetery grounds to be somewhere you only go to if you want to pay respects to the dead.

Afterwards, we made a last-minute decision to head down to Akihabara (forgot what our initial plan was). After all, I've heard so much about anime-city, so I jumped at the opportunity to see it for myself.

Two pictures only?? And both of them look exactly the same??? 

Yes. I got very distracted. First, by the PABLO Cheese Tart store that was right in front of the Akihabara tain station. It smelt so so good....... We couldn't possibly walk away without getting a box.

And then, I stepped into a Taito store and probably stayed there for close to an hour, trying to win a stupid Gudetama plushie keychain in the claw machines. Pretty sure I wasted 800Y there, and I didn't end up walking away with it in the end. 

We then walked around Akihabara for a good while more, and then found dinner at this little food court in Akihabara Station.

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I would squeeze my other pictures in for Mount Takao the next day, but there are way too much photos to include, and this post would get real draggy, so I'll just end it off here for now.

Damn... Don't know what I wouldn't do to fly back to Japan in a heartbeat.

Till the next one!

Letters to Japan: Day #1

It's been close to 3 weeks since my return from Japan, and yet I still find myself wishing I was back there. Even before travelling, I already knew that it would be my favourite country. Finally stepping onto Japanese soils and taking in their sights and sounds for myself was just a dream. Now, I say it with no reservations - Japan is my happy place. I'm already wondering when my next trip there will be, perhaps with Lun in about a year from now hehe.

Our first day in Japan was probably the rainiest throughout our entire trip. We were stuck at the Narita Airport train station for a good long while, lugging our luggages up and down the platforms trying to decide which was the right train to take. And because we weren't able to check into our Airbnb just yet, we decided to chuck our luggages in lockers before exploring Asakusa. 

It was also so refreshing to meet friendly, helpful locals that were willing to go out of their way to help you. We came across our first #helpfuljapanese at Asakusa Station, when we were dragging our baggages around trying to locate lockers. There were rows of them near the gantries, but they were all filled. The only ones vacant weren't big enough for our lugagges. But a Japanese man saw our predicament, and tried to tell us to twist or stack our luggages to see whether they could fit.

Even when we inevitably deduced that there is no way that our luggages could fit in the lockers, he tried telling us (in a mix of Japanese and hand gestures) that there were also lockers outside the station, and that we could look for the tourist centre nearby if we still needed help. This man was not obligated to stand there and help two lost tourists, but he still did it anyway, and we were so thankful.

   

While we were window shopping around Shin-Nakamise, we popped by Ganso Zushi, a place that Belle recommended from her last trip to Japan. It was honestly one of the best sushi I've ever tasted. Before this meal, I've never tasted salmon or meguro so fresh. Even the ikura was so sweet, nothing like what I've had in Singapore. The prices are so affordable too, with the cheapest going for ¥200. The place is pretty popular among locals too! It's not as popular as other sushi chains in Japan, but definitely worth the visit. If I lived in Japan, I could see myself coming by for every meal hehe.

Ganso Zushi

1-19-7 Asakusa, Taito

 

Soft serve galore! I've only been able to see these pretty ice creams on Instagram or Tumblr all my life, but I was finally able to have a cone for myself. It was amazing! Having ice cream in cold weather is also a different experience altogether. We got Rose and Açai!

Sensoji Temple was so crowded with tourists, all clambering to get their own perfect shot. Plus, it was about 3-4pm when we got to the temple, and it was about to close. But we were still able to walk around the grounds and take a couple of videos and photos of our own! 

Oh sigh, the problem of shooting landscape scenery photos with a darn prime lens...

In the temple, you could also get a mini fortune telling sheet after you donate ¥100. I got 'good' fortune while Belle got 'average' HAHA. If you don't like you wishes, you can tie them to the lanterns  or strings provided inside so you won't need to bring your luck home!

Alas, after our first day of exploring, we bought some croquettes at a store and slowly made our way to Tokyo Skytree, where our Airbnb was near. After standing around under the train tracks eating our 'dinner', we had to wait a little bit more before our host reached home at 8-ish close to 9. :')

It was a pretty tiring day, especially since we didn't get proper shut-eye on the planes to Japan, but I drifted off to sleep pretty easily, the moment my eyes were closed heh.

That concludes Day #1! I will edit my remaining images and continue with the subsequent days real soon. Till the next one!