Tokyo March 2016 Day 2: Ginza, Shibuya, Harajuku, Roppongi

Suddenly feeling inspired again to continue this travel post because… I won’t reveal it yet because I don’t want to jinx it! Can you guys guess? Teehee. Anyways, I FINALLY got inspired to edit photos and continue to blogging about our #MaphieTravels Tokyo trip last year (Related Posts here: Day 1 Blogpost , VLOG Part 1, VLOG Part 2). I can’t believe it’s almost been a year?! I really need to get myself to blog about my travel trips ASAP. Warning: This post is very photo-heavy!

Because we already lost a full day since we arrived late on our first day, we made sure to start our day early! We decided to head to GINZA because it’s one of the cities nearest our place. We were hoping to check the largest Uniqlo branch in Japan which is found there! Yeees, shopping agad?! Haha! But when we got there, we realized we made a slight mistake in our itinerary. The streets were empty and there were hardly any people. We arrived too early and all the shops were closed! So what to do? Take pictures, of course!

If you love Uniqlo (like Martin), this place will be HEAVEN for you. The price and clothes selection difference from Manila is minimal though, but you can get tourist discounts if you buy a lot (at least worth 10,000 yen in one transaction when we went).

Ginza is one of the top shopping districts in Tokyo. You can find all the famous luxurious high-end brands here. If you don’t plan to splurge or shop, it is still worth visiting! The city is such a beauty - it looks like it was ripped off the pages of a magazine! And it’s just lovely walking down the streets of Ginza as everything is clean, orderly, and peaceful, most especially in the early morning. Since we didn’t want to waste any time we decided to leave and just come back at night, which we planned to do anyways! They say you have to see Ginza during the day and night.

Our next stop was one of my dream cities to visit - SHIBUYA!

I used to be a big Anime fan so Shibuya was one of those places in Japan I always hear about on my favorite shows - anybody here used to watch “Super Gals”? I was obsessed with that show! Finally seeing the real thing and walking on “THE Shibuya crossing” was such a dream come true (I know I’m a silly girl with silly dreams). Although, I think I got a bit overexcited with the idea so I ended getting underwhelmed when I actually saw “THE Shibuya crossing”. It really is just a major intersection — what was I thinking/expecting? Haha! Nevertheless, I made sure to cross XX times to get the perfect shot! I’m such a tourist, I’m sorry!

I was really was so happy as you can see!

Our next tourist spot was the famous Statue of Hachiko! (If you don’t know this famous dog story, please do read about it! huhu) It’s really close by Shibuya crossing so you won’t miss it - just follow the crowd! Photo tip: There is usually no line, people just come up to take a photo so you only have about 2 -3 shots max to get a photo with Hachiko, so make sure to have someone take a good one or ask a stranger holding a camera (if you are traveling alone or as a couple)!

As you can see we weren’t very lucky haha! Oh well, at least Hachiko is still seen!

I heard that there is a newly built statue of Hachiko with his master at the University of Tokyo. I’ll make sure to visit that next time!

After finally getting that shot, we went to BIC Camera, which is a one-stop shop for everything electronic. The place is huge with more than 5 floors, where each floor is dedicated to a certain type of product.

After BIC Camera, we went to look out for lunch. We passed by a few street shops and I tried on these cute frames on the way!

On our list of must-eats in Tokyo and probably everyone else’s’ is Ichiran Ramen. Surprisingly, there was no line. I think because we got there a bit early and this branch is not as busy as others.

Ordering the Japanese way! Aside from being cool, this vending machine payment system is so efficient and a lot safer for business (can’t help it, lol)! Don’t worry there is an english subtitle!

The restaurant seating arrangement is meant for individual persons, but you can choose to fold up the divider if you are eating with other people.

After you order through the machine, you are given a sheet to customize your ramen according to your preference (type of noodles, spiciness level, toppings, etc). I got the classic best-seller ramen (don’t remember what it’s called) with an additional egg. I initially thought they would serve it on the soup (like here in Manila) but apparently it’s served separated. Hassle, haha.

My verdict: It’s okay. I’m not a big ramen fan to begin with but this was just right in terms of flavor, taste, and serving size. It’s not overly tasty, creamy or heavy, which I prefer. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t come back for it though. Maybe another ramen shop? Do you guys have other recommendations?

Oh don’t forget to visit their comfort room! Japan has really cool (and interestingly odd) stuff. Haha.

Our next stop was the famous Japanese photobooth — Purikura! We took forever to look for this because we weren’t sure of the name of the place! It’s supposedly found in some arcade center called “Purikura Mecca Game Las Vegas”, which the locals did not understand/know when we asked around. After searching for the place in Shibuya for quite a while, when we finally found it (not sure if it was exactly what we were looking for though), we weren’t sure if we were still going to do it. The place was packed! There are several photo booths, each having their own theme so you can choose then line up. It was so funny because the place was filled with girls. Martin felt so OP, haha I felt so bad and guilty for “forcing” him into this activity. Apparently there is also a rule that if you are a guy, you can only enter the area if you are accompanied by a girl. Lol.

Here’s our very cutiefied photo, haha! Not sure if guys will like the “instant beautifying flawless effect” haha. Thanks Mart for being game. 😛 Throughout the trip, we found other branches of Purikura at random places. So if you spot one, make sure to try it already!

Our next stop is another city I learned about because of Anime, HARAJUKU! Harajuku is actually a pretty large city. After getting off the train we found ourselves on a major road. At first, it didn’t feel any different from the other cities we just went to. But when we walked and found “Takeshita street“, that’s when I knew it definitely had its own character and charm.

The street was swimming with people!

Harajuku is best known for its crepes! I can’t even count how many crepe shops we passed by. I tried searching for the best one online but it seems like they are all the same and taste all good. We decided to try out Angel Crepes because it was the prettiest shop, lol.

As good as it looks! You have to try crepes when you go to Tokyo!!

Tokyo’s subway system is really efficient and on time. This was how we got around!

Our last city for that day was ROPPONGI. We decided to go back again because there were tourist attractions we didn’t get to do on the first night.

There are several ways to get that 360 degree view of the whole city. One of them is the TOKYO CITY VIEW located at the 3/F of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower (click here on ways to get there). It was pretty late already but we managed to get tickets before the place closed. Super lucky! Tickets were pretty pricey (click this for fees and time schedule) but we decided to go for it since we weren’t planning to do similar tourist view activities. (TIP: Students/senior citizens get a discount so make sure to bring your IDs!) The ticket also already included entrance to the Mori Art Museum/Gallery, Observatory (indoor) and Sky Deck (outdoor). We originally planned to go here during the day, but we thought that it wouldn’t be so bad at night. So glad we decided on the latter because the view was amazing with all the lights!

Don’t let the photos fool you. It was FREEZING - biting cold! We only lasted for 5 minutes because I just couldn’t stand the wind.

After going up the Sky Deck, we went down to the other viewing point. You can also choose to just go here because it’s much cheaper. But I definitely recommend getting the package with the Sky deck!

Tokyo, you are just so lovely. 🙂

Artsy trippy stuff at the museum!

Ended the day with a big bowl of curry at a 24/7 restaurant near our place.

Phew! Just blogging about this day makes me exhausted! I can’t believe how we managed to do all of that in a day! Martin and I really max ourselves out when we travel, haha!

Thanks guys for reaching til the end! Hope to hear from you and let me know if it’s still worth continuing this travel post! Hope you can leave some love and comments! 😀