I just had one of the most tired yet the most fun holiday ever!

I have a travel business called LOCAVENTURE, a little bit about locaventure, we provide a service to arrange your trip in a most fun, exciting and young way.

Our trips include everything you need to have the best travel experience of your life. We take care of all the boring stuff like booking hotels, finding the best spots for dinner in small towns where no one speaks English, planning your itinerary and getting you from one cool place to another.

So hurry and plan your trip with us ! info.locaventure@gmail.com

Instagram: @Locaventure

 

Enough with the promotion hahaha. Imma start telling you about my recent trip to Japan. So Locaventure’s last project was an open trip to Japan on sakura season. Here’s a bit about the trip.

PART 1

TOKYO !

• Disneysea

If you’ve been reading my previous posts, you know that this is my 2nd time visiting Disneysea. Of course the excitement of going is still the same. My favorite is the mermaid lagoon cause it’s so beautiful. There are several big rides that are fun and wanted, including Tower of terror, Journey to the center of the earth, Indiana Jones and Raging Skulls. Several years ago I was able to try Tower of terror, Indiana Jones, Toy story mania, and I think I rode one other ride but I forgot, however this year was crazy crowded in Disneysea, It was sakura season so there were so many tourists and I don’t understand why there were also a lot Japanese on weekdays. I was only able to ride Journey to the center of the earth (after 2,5 hr of queuing) and twenty thousand leagues under the sea. Fast pass were all out, so we had no choice but to do it the old way, enjoying the long queue.

Apart from the long queue, the park is still amazing, I love the ambiance and everything they sell. You won’t find another Disney park like this in the world. It’s worth every penny!

 

• Harajuku street

This street starts at the front gate of Takeshita street. Takeshita Street is a narrow pedestrian-only street that features all kinds of fashion boutiques, crepe stalls, and knick-knack shops alike, and is located directly across JR’s Harajuku Station. Crammed along both sides are numerous boutiques, used clothing stores, knick-knack shops, a big 100-yen shop, and cafes.

Not far from Takeshita Street is the local center of fashion, known as Ura Harajuku (Backstreet Harajuku). Street fashion rules here, and there are many shops that offer their own unique style, a lot of Japanese street fashion, and sneakers shops are located here. I think that this place has a lot of stores that appeal particularly to young men.

 

• Purikura

Purikura is a unique Japanese photo booth where you take home small printed photos of you and your friends. This photobooth can make you look like a doll on the photos and you can also put stickers on it. They’re extremely popular amongst girls.

Went to the purikura located in Takeshita street. This has to be the more well known place for purikura in Harajuku, because it’s located super close to the takeshita street gate. I was surprise to see how packed the place were. This is definitely a must-try in Japan.

 

• Ginza

Ginza is famous for being the “Beverly-hills” of Tokyo. There are an array of most expensive boutiques and brands in the world. But there are also affordable brands here such as uniqlo and its sibling, GU. I just found out about this brand from my friend, it’s like uniqlo, with less pattern and cheaper. The style is simple and I am sooo in love with this place!!!!! I love the style, color, and the price. hahaha. This is a must visit store!!! so sad that they don’t have a store in Indonesia 😦

 

• Fujiko F Fujio museum

The museum is located in Kawasaki city which is Fujiko F. Fujio’s hometown. The closest station is Noborito Station, around 30 minutes from Shinjuku Station by train.
From there, you can board the special shuttle bus to get to the museum.

Travelers interested should definitely reserve their tickets as soon as they can then. This museum is extremely popular, so there’s a pretty good chance that tickets may be sold out on weekends.

Inside the building, you can enjoy the Fujiko. F. Fujio biography, work chronology, exhibition area, manga corner, museum café, a garden full of characters, a testimony video by relatives, and so on. Don’t worry, they will give us an audio guide and map in english.

A bit disappointed when we weren’t able to try their restaurant food, since the waiting time is an hour we decided to leave.

 

• Shinjuku Gyoen

The park is spacious, with nice big lawns and plenty of walking paths, so even when it’s crowded, you can still enjoy a chilled stroll under the blossoms. Entrance to Shinjuku Gyoen is 200 yen.

Got there in the later part of the day around 3:30pm. Didn’t realize that the park closed at 4:30pm so we rushed a little but still got to enjoy the beauty of this park which is located just 10 minutes from Shinjuku Station.

 

• Line stores

For you who love cony and brown and the other LINE characters, this place is a must visit. I love everything in this store! everything is just too adorable. This store is located not far from the harajuku area and omotesado. You can see a big brown in front of the store.

THE FOOD

• Ichiran

The best ramen i’ve ever tasted!!!!!!! Took almost 40 mins to get a seat as the place has only 22 seats. Not only does it offer incredibly good ramen, but the whole experience of eating here was also very cool. Each person gets their own stall to eat in and you have to order your food from a vending machine first. Thus, once you sit down, you just press a button to let the kitchen staff know you are in the stall. The kitchen simply opens the window to your stall to serve you your delicious bowl of ramen and whatever else you ordered and then the close it to give you full privacy while you sit and enjoy your ramen.

 

• Luke’s lobster

It is located in omotesando area, we have to wait a long queue to order. We lined up for around 30 -45 min, but it was worth waiting for. I know sometimes I exaggerate, but this type of food is MY type of food. The sandwich was really full of lobster over a warm heated bun (FYI I am a bread love, any type of bread). I have to say It’s a bit expensive for a small sandwich, but I didn’t regret any cent!

 

• Dominique Ansel Bakery

Went to this place just to try the famous frozen smore’s. I am not a fan of marshmallow. So when I first saw it I wasn’t interested, because I can just imagine how sweet it’ll be. However, after I saw that there’s vanilla ice  cream inside it, I decided to give it a try. It’s an Ice cream with chocolate crunch inside, covered by a caramelized honey marshmallow. It is a must try tho. But I think sharing with ur friend is the wisest decision. (it’s really really sweet)

 

• Negishi

We met our friend who worked in Tokyo, she recommended this place. I wasnt hungry at the time but after tasting a bit from my friends’s plate, I order the beef right away!

 

• Tsukiji fish market

THE HIGHLIGHT AND THE GOD OF ALL THE FOOD IN JAPAN! don’t get me started on this one. I don’t have a lot of things to say about this place other than THE FOOD WAS AWESOMEEEE!!! you have to waste a lot of money here, you won’t regret everything you eat.

• Izakaya

It’s a not a place name, but izakaya is like a Japanese pub where you can drink and eat in a very affordable price. Serving an array of refreshing alcoholic beverages and a menu of delicious snacks. Izakaya in Tokyo is everywhere, literally. Izakaya has an “all you can drink” promo, usually around 1500 ($15) to 2000 yen ($20) for 2 hrs. It’s a great place to spend a night out with your  friends.

 

• Max Brenner

Decided to try the famous hot chocolate and smores pizza from max brenners. The queue is just like everything else in Tokyo, super long. But if we want to take-out, we don’t have to lined up we can order straight away. The hot chocolate wasn’t served very warm but if you’re into chocolate you’ll love this, It tasted like melted chocolate bar. The pizza smores is the most famous thing on their menu, Again, I’m not a marshmallow lover, so for me the taste is too sweet ( too much chocolate and marshmallow combined ), but the bread tho!!! the bread was just tasty!

 

• Sukiya

Sukiya is a fast food restaurant, very similar to Yoshinoya, however, I like sukiya more. I ordered the beef with mayo sauce and I just can’t stop eating it. I don’t really eat rice, esp at night. But I ate a bowl of sukiya with rice in the middle of the night and I feel no regret better yet satisfied! The price ranged from 400 yen to 500 yen. The service is good and the food is served very fast. Good place for a quick lunch/dinner. For you who wants to eat cheap but delicious food, I recommended this place!

 

 

That’s all for part 1, I can’t wait to tell you more about my Japan trip in Osaka, Fuji and Kyoto!

To be continued…..