Shibuya: 109, Forever 21, Marui One & Seibu

SHIBUYA! My most favourite place to go to in Tokyo. In fact I went there about 5-6 times during my entire trip. There is just about everything in Shibuya...food, shopping, entertainment. I can literally spend days here and not get bored because there's so much to see and so many things to do! I didn't even get to explore Shibuya fully of the 5-6 times I've been there because I was basically going to the same places or staying within the same area each time. Next time I'd like to go further out in Shibuya into those little corner streets and explore the little special unique shops. =)

The very first place I went to in Shibuya was visit the Shibuya 109 mall and I don't know if I'd ever want to go back there again as I have quite mixed feelings about the place. How do I put it? It just simply wasn't what I have expected it to be from all the things I have read and seen on TV about the place. It was quite a rather disappointment or not so pleasant experience for me. I did not really like the fashion they had at the shops inside the mall and I also found the mall to be too cluttered and crowded to shop. I only spend about 2 hours at the mall and I was literally done shopping there without buying a single thing, lol. Perhaps I maybe would have enjoyed shopping at this place if I came here a few years ago and if I was a few years younger. But I guess it would still be a worth checking out spot for anyone going to Tokyo for the first time as it is one of the most popular tourist spots to visit. Just don't have too much high expectations about it like I did I guess and you'll probably like it more if you are into "gyaru fashion". XD

The famous Shibuya crossing and Starbucks and Tsutaya! Oh, I'll never get sick of looking at this view and the busy crowd of people crossing the road from all directions. I'm still so amazed by the fact that you never get run over or pushed by people with the amount of people walking on this road everyday. 

Forever 21 store in Shibuya. It has 4 floors and it's quite big. But I didn't really buy much there other than two skirts and a t-shirt and a few basic cardigans. 

MARUI CITY SHIBUYA! I actually didn't get to go shop inside here and I regret not doing so as I think I would have enjoyed shopping here more than at Shibuya 109. I did however shop at the MARUI JAM Shibuya mall (which I forgot to take a picture of) located in the same area though. The MARUI mall has a lot of department stores that sell the latest Japanese fashion and household items. There are a number of branches located all over Tokyo. You can find a list of all their branches and locations on their official site: http://www.0101.co.jp/stores/language/en/

Seibu! Found almost everywhere in Tokyo. Didn't go into the one in Shibuya as I already went to the one in Ikebukuro. 

Shibuya on my very last day of my trip. The street is so empty because I was there so early in the morning! They decorated the entrance of the Shibuya 109 mall with Halloween decorations as it was getting close to Halloween. Too bad I didn't stay until Halloween during my trip, it would have been interesting to see people dress up in Tokyo!

And at last the Shibuya station that I have walked in and out of so many times. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the famous statue dog (Hachiko) right outside from the station! I did record it on video though. Here are two videos I recorded of Shibuya posted on my instagram. Video 1 and video 2. Rewatching the videos make me miss Tokyo and Shibuya so much that I can't wait to go back! T_T 

Funny story/experience: So on my very first time to Shibuya, which was literally on the first official day I went out after landing in Tokyo where I got scouted by one of those street fashion photographers. I walked out from Shibuya station and was about to go toward the Shibuya crossing to cross the street and a Japanese woman with a DSLR camera approached me kept saying something about "shashin" (photo) in Japanese. Initially, I have thought she was asking me if I could help her take a picture in which I said ok and looked behind her to see who/where she wanted me to take a picture of and I was even waiting for her to hand over her camera to me. But then she shook her head and pointed at me which got me confused and I was like, "me? you want to take a picture of me?" and she nodded and said something in Japanese along the lines of fashion and photo. I then responded in Japanese, "kekkou desu, arigatou!" (No, thank you!) and started walking as fast as I can before she chases me down, LOL! I did not expect to get approached by some fashion photographer asking to take pictures of me and I was feeling quite embarrassed as I was standing the middle of Shibuya and there was SO MANY people that I did not want to stand there and stir public attention, especially in a foreign country when I was alone all by myself. XD 

Food & Drink Adventures in Japan

Just a short post with a compilation of some food and drinks I have tried and eaten during my trip in Japan. I definitely have tried and eaten more food than this but most likely forgot to take a picture of them before I started eating the food, lol. I really miss the food in Japan, especially all the cheap and yummy combini food that you can buy from the convenience stores. Everyday I'd visit the convenience store or grocery store to look for new things to try! 

Onigiri! I bought almost one everyday at 711. They are cheap and yummy and make a great breakfast! So many different flavours to choose from too but my favourite is the plum onigiri.

These sandwiches with fillings inside that I found at the 711 are also really good. I tried this pumpkin cream flavour for Halloween. 

I always see this famous milk tea in Japanese dramas and I made it a goal to try it when I'm in Japan. It is soooooo good I could drink it everyday. I always keep a bottle in the fridge at the hotel.

Another one of the food I wanted to try in Japan was their McDonald's. I got a shrimp burger and these two chicken balls that was actually something new that they had. 

Takoyaki from the famous Gindaco shop in Harajuku. 

Ramen was something I ate the most when I was in Japan because they're so cheap. When I am not visiting a museum or going to any restaurant or cafe in particular that day, I would just go into a ramen shop for a quick and cheap meal for lunch. It saves money if you are traveling on budget and there are so many different ramen shops that you can try in Japan. 

And of course I made sure to try freshly baked calbee fries when I was in Japan. They are the BEST fries in the world! I got a combo set with fries and chips with ice cream and a drink. I wanted to eat more of this when I was in Japan but sadly I was breaking out with pimples all over my face that I didn't want to eat too much fried stuff that will give me even more pimples than I already have. T_T 

Aside from eating ramen, bento boxes from the convenience store was what I had for dinner most of the time when I don't stay out late. The bento boxes sold at the convenience stores are actually really good and cheap and there is quite a good selection to choose from. 

Black Friday Weekend

I know I've been posting a lot of magazine scans for my last 3 posts. Life and work has been keeping me busy so this post will be more of a "life happenings" post on what I've been doing. 

Headed out to the mall on Black Friday with some friends to shop around. I didn't end up buying anything that day though. I tend to always avoid shopping on days like this where the mall is crowded with people. Also, there weren't any good sales on anyway.

Changing lights christmas tree in Eaton Centre. It looks they got rid of the Swarovski crystal tree this year and got this new glass light tree that changes into different colours.

This picture was taken a week or two ago at Scarborough Town Centre. Christmas decorations are up at all the malls and it's making me so excited! This world globe decoration has these pretty yellow lights and stars hanging down. I'm not sure how it relates to christmas though, maybe it's suppose to represent how christmas is celebrated globally all around the world? lol.

  
Drinking coffee at Starbucks and talking with friends. Believe it or not but this is actually my first time drinking the holiday coffee drinks from Starbucks. I am not much of a coffee drinker, I'm more more of a tea person. I got the caramel brulee latte. 

Got these custard cream soft cakes from Fresco last week as a snack to bring to work. I always need to bring snacks with me to work because I have really fast metabolism and I get hungry every 2-3 hours. This was only $2.59 for a box of 12. It has no preservatives, no MSG and no artificial colours so it's a pretty healthy snack! I eat this along with a banana and lychee jelly that I bring to work.