berrysprite

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Osaka

My sister and I deliberately extended the end of our Japan trip so we could stay longer in Osaka, and we were so glad we did! Although I loved Tokyo, I think I might have enjoyed our stay in Osaka more! And for everyone who goes to Tokyo for craft/ kawaii shopping, I think I actually bought more crafty things on other parts of my trip (including Osaka) than in Tokyo... by the time we ended up in Tokyo, I had visited all of the stores I had wanted to like Tokyu Hands, Daiso, Loft, Yuzawaya, Gran Plaire, Kiwa, etc... In fact, I think I visited most of these stores in Osaka! Among my favorite things we did in Osaka was going to the Osaka Aquarium (to see the whale sharks!), shopping at Shinsaibashi (where there was the nicest/newest Daiso ever, a Mister Donut, and a Parts Club/Gran Plaire store), and going to the Tanabata festival!

Osaka Imperial Palace... It was so beautiful!

The Umeda Sky Garden Building! It was really fun, but we just missed the huge streamers they hung from the building for the Tanabata Festival. At the top is a cafe and you can buy a heart-shaped lock to put on the roof!

View from the Umeda Sky Garden

Shinsaibashi heading out to Dotonbori

The famous Glico Running Man!


There were a lot of people hawking coupons to go into one of the many restaurants in Dotonbori. This one is famous for... Kami/Crab!!! (It even smelled like crab over here, yum!)

There were so many eating places in Dotonbori; My sister and I ate at a Takoyaki/Okonomiyaki/ Yakisoba restaurant that was delicious! FYI, most Japanese restaurants have smoking/ non smoking sections... Always choose non-smoking if you are not a smoker!!! Many Japanese smoke a lot, and the smoking sections are VERY smoky.

Okonomiyaki!!! So good!

We had fun wandering down the side streets, etc... the store on the right is a Forever 21 (we tried to stay away from stores we have in Hawaii, otherwise what is the point of traveling?)

The famous Don Quixote Ferris Wheel (we didn't ride it... it wasn't on)! I am used to Don Quixote stores being flat and wide; nearly all the Don Quixote we went to in Japan were very tall (like 5 or more floors) and skinny... they were jam-packed with all kinds of inexpensive but great goodies. I bought socks, candy and a 1000 Yen ($10.00) shu uemura eyelash curler here!

The Tanabata Festival at Shitennoji Shrine! Tanabata is the Japanese Star festival (usually held on July 7) and is supposedly the one time a year when a god and goddess (both stars) can cross the milky way and meet! At Shitennoji, they built a bamboo tunnel with an artificial Milky Way that is good luck to pass through! It is an awesome summer festival!

Kids get to play games at Tanabata celebrations!

The artificial Milky Way

Shitennoji Shrine at dusk for the Tanabata Festival

It is important to dress in traditional yukata and summer clothing/kimono and to light candles to remember loved ones who have passed on. You can also write wishes on small slips of paper and tie them to trees.

Osaka Aquarium was AMAZING!!! I've discovered that aquariums are my jam. I loved it so much, I'm going to make a separate blog post about it!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Food on my Japan trip

Sorry I've been MIA, I am trying to finish up a huge report and am still juggling many more reports at work! It's like grad school never ended! Anyway, here are more pictures from my wonderful awesome superb super fun trip to Japan. This post is dedicated to yummy foods I ate!

Chocolate and cream cheese crepes in Kamakura

Tonkatsu at Katsukura in Gion

Melon soda in Shinjuku

Sulfur egg snack in Hakone

Spaghetti Burger at Lotteria in Shinjuku

Shabushabu in Shinjuku

Kaiseki Dinner in Atami

Candy store in Kyomizu

The most kawaii donut from Floresta Bakery in Nara

Takoyaki in Osaka

The best peach water ever!!!! I drank like 20 of these!

Yakisoba at the Tanabata Festival in Osaka

Katsudon in Osaka

The funnest vending machine ever! At the Ramen store Kamakura you select your choice and pay outside....

And then you go inside and eat your ramen! It was sooooo good!

Pablo! This cheese tart was cheesy and sweet and delicious!

Cute pastries in the basement of Takashimaya department store in Osaka

April and October zodiac sundaes from Milky Way Galaxy in Ikebukuro

Gyu-don in Shinjuku

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Back from Japan... and it was AWESOME!

I'm back guys! I've been back from my super awesome 16 day Japan trip for a little less than two weeks... and I already want to go back! First of all, I'm really starting to crave some good ramen/ sushi like I had in Japan (oh my goodness, the food in Japan was most excellent... and we have really good Japanese food here in Hawaii, so I really mean it when I say I miss the food in Japan!). Second of all, the shopping was amazing... especially the craft and kawaii shopping (let's be honest... that's the only kind of shopping I did)! Third, all the Japanese people I met and interacted with were all extremely nice, polite, caring, welcoming, hospitable, etc. It was really, really great.

Sorry you've been waiting for this post, but on the last day of the trip I got sick... I had to work the next day practically and that only made it worse, so I've spent the last two weeks recovering (seriously, I would wake up, go to work, come home and sleep for like 12 hours, and then wake up and do it again!) I like to think I got sick because I HAD SO MUCH FUN!

It was my first trip to Japan and I went with my sister (she says I am an OK travel partner and that she would travel with me again, haha). We booked our trip through Super Value Tours, and although it was pretty expensive, they were very helpful and I would recommend them for anyone who wants to visit lots of places in Japan. We were able to fly directly from Hawaii and the tour company worked with us to make an extension on our tour. Our tour guide was very nice, and after the official tour was over, he tried to help us find our way around Ōsaka and told us to call him if we got lost while in Japan!

I have SOOOO many pictures and so many memories, and but it is a bit hard to try and sit here at my computer and think of how to best convey how wonderful everything was! So here's how I'm going to do this. I'm going to write up a post (or posts? not sure yet) about some of the places/sites that I visited, a post about foods, and a post (or posts... probably multiple posts!) about craft/kawaii shopping in Ōsaka and Tōkyō.

For right now though, here is a little preview of my trip (not really in order)!