On this slightly overcast day, we JR train trekked’ it over to the beautiful traditional sites of Kyoto! Robyn and I took in the breathtaking views at Kiyomizu-dera, one of Japan’s most famous temples. I’ve visited this site on my 2007 trip and it was my favorite! Here we drank therapeutic water, looked at charms, and touched various god statues hoping our wishes and prayers would be answered. We walked around the souvenir-shop filled streets of Higashiyama district and ate street eats a plenty! At night we headed back to Osaka to enjoy the thriving nightlife in Dotonburi. I came across the best 200yen UFO catcher where I came home with a new alpaca friend

September 20, 2011 – Day 10 in Kyoto

Elevator Outfit Shot! I’m wearing all of my new purchases from Japan! Kitty sundae Galaaxy shirt with these pretty paisley bow leggings from a pricey brand in Shibuya109, lace ruffled shorts, my new tan boots from asbee, and Liz Lisa bowler hat.

Well first we grabbed a quick snack at Manneken Waffle. Man was I glad there was a location at JR Osaka train station! But to those who want to try this, it is only good if fresh and hot from the oven! I mean its still good, but its not AWWW DAMNNNN MIND EXPLOSION good.

Can we figure out how to get to Kyoto without getting lost???

On the train the girls already fell asleep. I swear the gentle rocking of the trains just lulls you to sleep. We somehow gained a sense of when our stop was approaching as we returned back to consciousness.

Once we arrived at the JR Kyoto station, we took a public bus that took you to several sites of interest.

Our destination was at the top of a hill. Let’s do it!

Kiyomizu-dera is in sight! We made it!

I guess people purchase these cute plaques and write blessings, well wishes, prayers and hang it.

so cute though! I’d wanna keep it!

A lot of cute girls wearing yukatas around here

time to cleanse myself

look how far away the city is!

I love the lush forestry around here

How is it that the trees all are nice and neat?

More cleansing/therapeutic water-drinking action below

I swear I took a photo like this on my 2008 trip…if only I had edited them all…

Inhale some incense!

Watch out kids! I’m poppin’ into frame!

All right love stone, gimme your best shot!

So this god is in charge of love and good matches. Work some magic for us single ladies! The rabbit is the messenger of the god.

These school kids were so cute.

Pat the god and he’ll fulfill your wishes…All right!

Better pat all of them for good measure…

At historical sites, I like to pop into frame. Sometimes it seems like I was photoshopped into the shot. I just like popping into random unexpected areas! So here we go..a series of “Stephiee popping into frame!” (Tribute to my former lover, Andy Samberg

Kiyomizu-dera dzown!

Time to explore the Higashiyama district for traditional souvenirs and best of all…the FOOD!

Iced green tea with pumpkin & green tea ice cream…YES PLEASE! The green tea here is so amazingly refreshing. Thank goodness for traveling in the fall so I can eat all enjoy the seasonal pumpkin flavors!

This is the stuff of pure everlasting unicorn dreams!

I wish I can eat all of you! Japanese soft ice cream is amazing!!!

These streets be crowded. But its amazing who you can run into! We conversed with a cute guy we had come across a few days prior when visiting Asakusa back in Tokyo. What a small world for us to find ourselves running into each other in a different region of Japan! Well, spotting the tall hot white guy wasn’t too hard. Turns out the typhoon we swiftly escaped had impacted his trip as he was stuck on the shinkansen (bullet train) for 12 hours! Yikes! We didn’t take a photo with him…Why…

Japanese desserts are bomb. I just want to eat you all…but I can’t

Disney is everywhere! Love it!

Okay so on my 2008 trip, my tour guide Ben promised us of delicious tofu donuts that were a “must-have” when we came to Kyoto. Well during that trip, he told us to come back later to get the donuts since we had to visit Kiyomizu-dera first. We did as was told, but when we returned, the shop was CLOSED. Forever regrets! Nearly 4 years later, I finally got to try these tofu donuts…and WOWOWOWOWOWOW!

I gotta sit down for this…

Don’t mind me…I’m just eating.

Yup, not going anywhere for a while.

kitty creepers

Popping into frame…old school street style!

you knew it was coming…

It’s so cute walking around this area…

Heading back down…

I somehow find myself holed up in a rock of wishes!

And they say Americans are full of glutton? Well we are…but the Japanese aren’t so innocent either!

For Women Only bitches! Back to Osaka we go~

Kyary!

I discovered another Disney store in Shinsaibashi!

Time to re-fuel!

The flashy signs in Dotonbori. Reminds me of NYC

Robyn made me take gangster photos with strangers

Awww even the little dog is out late

On our way home, I discovered this amazing UFO catcher. For 200yen, you simply had to knock the Hello Kitty pillow in to win a prize. After 2 tries, I won a giant pink alpaca friend! I was sooooo stoked and was determined to come home with an alpaca army! However, Robyn & My had to convince me it would be nearly impossible to pack an entire army of giant plushes with my already huge cargo load of goodies to bring home…I vowed to return to win the other cute Hello Kitty pillow prizes!

I mean c’mon! Look at how cute everything is?! I’m specifically eyeing the Alice & Cookie Hello Kitty heart pillows! YOU WILL BE MINE!

the arcade attendent helps position the Hello Kitty pillow to ensure an easy victory!

Everyone’s a winner! …Well, except for Robyn. She tried. :T

Back at the hotel, I’m on a winning high!

The tag cracks me up…Alpaca plashes are soooo cute, but kinda hideous in real life…I love their blush though! It adds a nice touch!

I was so excited that shortly after this photo was taken, my hair was caught beneath my knee as I accidentally ripped a chunk of my hair off of my scalp…wow…buzzkill…

September 24, 2011 – Day 12 Kobe

Elevator Outfit Shot! Our last one with Robyn since she was leaving us for Shanghai on that day.

DON’T LEAVE ME ROBYN!!

Sayonara~!

I went back to my magic UFO catcher machine! I swore up & down that I’d win the two Hello Kitty heart plush pillows…Low & Behold…!

Okay so the arcade worker was extremely helpful. He positioned the Hello Kitty pillow so if I got the crane in the correct position, it was a for sure win! After a few sad attempts, I came out victorious with my two Hello Kitty heart plush pillows! If you believe, you can achieve!…with a little help of course! He gave me the biggest victory hug too! Anyways, now I have 3 large plush items to stuff into my suitcase… heh…heh…

Later we made a sad attempt to meet up with our friend Akira. Both sides claimed they were standing on the same floor. Turns out we were at completely different train stations. Osaka-shin and Osaka JR station are not the same! Whoops! What a terrible first impression! However Akira was gracious about it and took us for a tour of the beautiful city of Kobe!

We went to check out Harborland

Again, they love their ferris wheels. It sure is pretty though, but terrifying.

There’s raptors in Kobe? I like this place already!

Chinatown Kobe

Panda & Pig bao buns! Why you so cute?!

Akira treated us to a delightful lunch!

My life’s motto: “NO CAKE, NO LIFE”

Bear Topiaries, I want!

At night we hit up OPA in Osaka…again. Hey! I had some coupons I had to use. I like this mall since its not as massive compared to Shibuya109. I already perused through the shops prior so I knew what I was here for.

What a neat idea! I shall do this to all my toys one day…make one giant statue of all of my cute junk!

OMG they put out Halloween kigurumis are Donki!! Ahhhh Goth Stitch!

It seems the official Halloween costume for characters is a witch hat with  a cape. I was tempted to buy this, but I figured I can DIY it easily with my already existing Gachapin kigu

We were on a quest for this ramen shop that Akira had recommended. Our initial attempt led us to a random signless shop on the 7th floor…I don’t know what led us to believe this was the right place. Especially when the small party inside looked at me confused when I said ramen? Heh…Eventually we found a sign that had an arrow indicating for us to go around the corner! Aha!
Of course the restaurant is located…just around the river bend~ or uh, canal.

This ramen shop was super legit. You eat in individual cubicles to better focus on your noodles. You fill out a form specifying exactly how you want your ramen! How salty do you like your broth? How about the thickness & amount of noodles? How spicy do you like it? How much fat content do you want?!…Amazing!

Once your noodles are served, a screen is shut to ensure your privacy with your own water on tap. When you’re finished slurping the noodles, simply ring the bell for the staff to grab your bowl and leave. BEST RAMEN YET!

Time for some solo ramen eating times.

No talking! Just eat!

You never see the face of those serving you.

I’m totally okay with eating alone in this situation.

We returned to our hotel with full bellies to a surprising turn of events. The hotel receptionist said our friend had been waiting several hours for us in the lobby…Uh what friend? It was Robyn. Our jaws dropped in shock when we found out she denied access to Shanghai for not having a visa.

We were in quite a doosy! How so?

1. Robyn couldn’t get into Shanghai, WHAAAAT!?

2. Our hotel reservations were only for 2 people. Technically we had snuck Robyn into our hotel. We figured it wouldn’t be an issue since she was leaving a few days early. They would never know right?! Well, now they know! Uh-oh!

Reunited with Robyn, we took her back to our room as we tried to compose ourselves. We needed to figure out what to do! Were they going to charge us for having an extra person all this time?! Robyn wanted to get out for a bit so we decided to go back to Donki to hangout and shop. The plan was to walk by the hotel receptionists and play it off like nothing had happen. If they happen to mention about the hotel reservations, we would just pay the extra costs. As we walked by them, the receptionist asked if Robyn would be staying the night. We said yes. They nodded politely. And that was that. Phew! 

So over at Donki, we were perusing the store at midnight. I love that they are open 24 hours

Man if I had extra room, I’d totally buy one of these pillows!

My haul for the day…

I bought housewares, stockings, compression socks, a TOILET seat cover + matching rug, and more clothes…and won giant pillows… X_X The purple cat dress was a new arrival from the brand mmts. I was literally at this store a day ago and they put out new stuff a day later! I swear…but the cat dress was so good!

Cue all asians bowing respectfully.

Hi, we’re asian and we like to highlight asian stereotypes! It’s so fun it’s AMASIAN! hahahaha!

We were super excited to celebrate Lunar New Year again at Disneyland! We wanted to make it a full-on Asian day by starting off with delicious dim sum for breakfast! Grabbed some vietnamese sandwiches for us to snack on later at the park. And of course we all wore red and/or dragons to be lucky! Sadly, not everyone got the memo…*stares at White Stephanie*

Let the asian-ness begin! *GOOOONNNNNG*

January 29, 2012

Since it was Year of the Dragon, I thought it would be very fitting to wear my Dragon Boy dress! The shirt was by Martin Hsu and reconstructed into a cute dress by Junko of Purrr! My bow & glasses came from Korea!

Dim Sum!! Here we have Irene educating Maria and Aaron on the joys that is dim sum…Maria wasn’t so sure about it! Trust us, it’s delicious!

White people trying chicken feet. It’s kinda gross to look at, but it tastes good!

Tweetie and I were super excited to have a plate of hap cheung to share between us. It’s my absolute favorite thing to eat at dim sum restaurants! It’s wide noodle rice with shrimp inside doused with sweet soy sauce. OMG I could eat this forever.

Tweetie went to get a drink and came back with this monster. That’s a size large folks!

My normally large sized drink was far inferior!

On the tram! The three of us originally celebrated lunar new year at disneyland last year! Tradition!

Over at Disneyland…Irene decided to creep on Tweetie…Alas the buildup let to a disappointing end result. Tweetie was not effected whatsoever by Irene’s creeping. FAIL.

Shortly after this failed attempt we were thoroughly amused with a swirly piece of toilet paper that was rolling along the pavements in front of the Disneyland gates. It captivated us for a good 5 minutes. Just tumbling along its merrily little way. It somehow managed to dodge people walking by. Just imagine 4 girls staring at a piece of toilet paper rolling on the ground. Hey, it’s the little things in life that bring you pure joy…No photo could capture such magic!

Happy New Year to us!

White Girl don’t know!

This year’s festivities were down-sized and moved towards Small World. I was rather disappointed! But we take what we can get yeah?

All the non-asians being asian

Kung-fu fighting chipmunks!

Look at Disney getting all creative for the sake of getting in the spirit! Stapling flowers to tree branches! DIY!

v[^_^]V

White girl gives a thumbs up as we all bow!

asians all have a photo of themselves posed next to flowers…natural or artificial…

Outfit Shots

Bebe wasn’t wearing enough red. It’s okay, she knows she’s a disgrasian.

Her honorary asian status was revoked. No red attire to be found on her punk rock body!

Bebe always ties my shoe…however Irene was quick to notice and took on the task. Bebe was not pleased!

Disneyland offering our culture’s food to the park guests..Egg rolls and edamame! *pst, the japanese don’t celebrate lunar new year but okay!*

Look at Helena! She came dressed to impress!!! Not only was she wearing red, but arrived in a chinese boy’s pajama top! EXCELLENT!

The white girl got owned by the other white girl!

Hayden showed up in red as well! See! Everyone knew!

C’mon Stephanie…you should’ve known!

The Lucky Squad! Asian squatting and viet sandwiches wha wha!

These sandwiches fed us that day…We were grateful. My purse reeking from the sandwiches was another matter…

Hayden’s already biting into a piece of it now!

Bebe embraced Irene with a hug…She was not pleased with close human interaction.

But these two were…awww tender moments.

I dunno what’s worse…an LA driver on her cellphone or an asian driver…

YOU be the judge!

Hey guys! How’s it going?! What’cha doing there?! Why won’t anyone talk to me?! TT_TT

Finally at night we watched the Soundsational Parade!

Bebe and I were gonna finish off the night with some home-made pho courtesy of her dad but we were too tired…and full…or something…How sad! Anyhoo, here’s to a wonderful year!

Hanging out with deer is an essential step to becoming a Disney Princess…

September 23, 2011 – Day 11 Nara

Outfit Shot! I love the ceiling to floor mirrors in our elevator…Oh we fancy~

Complimentary breakfast

I really don’t know how to eat cute…

On the JR train thinking thoughts

We’re in Nara!

Nara JR Station

Get your drink drank on girls~

Always hanging out in the bad parts of town

Hey, we’re with nature!

Little turtles

Just a little warning…

In the land of Nara, deer run amuck!…Or more like just chill…

Feed me biscuits!

*nomnomnom*

Hey, we’re gonna head out!

There are little old women selling biscuits to feed the deer. But take heed because they’ll swarm you. It was really entertaining to see all the japanese people get freaked out & throw all the biscuits at the hungry deer.

The universal symbol for I surrender! No more biscuits!

No biscuits? No touchy!

Uh oh, this boy doesn’t know what he got himself into…

Quick! They’re distracted! Run for your life!

Hands up!

This little girl was kind of the deer whisperer…

Fight!

Temple Time!

This kid is too cute!

Todaiji Temple…It looks almost photoshopped

Buddha says “guuurrlll please”

Kids would crawl through this hole in the column that was said to be the size of buddha’s nostril.

Robyn attempts too!

Success! You will be rewarded with enlightenment in your next reincarnation!

“Oh wait we forgot to take gangster photos with buddha!”

This is Binzuru, the healing dude. It’s said if you rub a part of the statue then rub the corresponding part of your own body, your ailment will disappear. We rubbed his feet since ours were near death from walking so much.

Yeah you knew that was coming…

The character mascots for Nara…Deer & Buddha

My favorite part about visiting old school sites is the soft serve ice cream! TOFU ICE CREAM!!!!

We also had to try some Daibutusu pudding…Buddha pudding!

Classy…Yeah I definitely avoid the squatter’s toilets…

I’m not cool with creepy deer buddha boy…

This is an old g’….

Ok we bought some deer biscuits…Get ready! They already know…

ATTACK! ACCKKK!

They’re after the precious….

They might be peaceful, but they will lick, bite, and headbutt you to get to those crackers!

This photo cracks me up!

Sharing intimate eating moments

My turn!

We finished up our sightseeing and headed to Umeda to check out Hep Five shopping heaven!

There’s giant red whales inside the mall…Not weird at all.

Trying to decide if we should buy these shoes…We did.

The mall was closing and we made our last stop at Robyn’s favorite obsession, Liz Lisa…She was instigating and trying to get me to buy a $100 dress/cardigan set you see on display on the left! What happen to my voice of reason? T_T I was strong and didn’t buy it!

Hep Five Shopping Madness. I have to say they offered a good variety of brands that I haven’t come across in Tokyo. This is very dangerous. Though the layout of this mall is confusing as hell. There’s two set of escalators on each floor.

I specifically remember Robyn saying “Ahhhh no more shopping after this!” UH HUH

Back in our hood, we were low on energy and stopped by a ramen shop for some late night eats

The place was decent, but it was sufficient to give us some fuel to make it back to the hotel.

Then we came across the best street food located right outside our hotel…Say hello to cabbage yaki. super cheap, super delicious!

this stand is always open super early and closes super late! perfect!

My shopping haul from Hep Five…discovered a new favorite store, olives des olive. It all started with trying on a pair of shoes and my eyes started to wander. Next thing you know I left with an entire outfit and then some.

I love that everything I bought automatically coordinated with each other

Super sale from Algonquins…The prices from this brand usually make me rethink if my conversion rates are correct. Got this purse for $17! what?!

We ended the night with a dance party thanks to some awesome dance mix CD’s I bought.

Funny Story: I typically don’t have any problem sleeping, even while on vacation. However our first night in Osaka left me a bit sleepless. We slept three to a queen-sized bed which was possible since we’re all small. I slept in the middle because I sleep like a robot, I don’t move. However I felt extremely trapped by the heat underneath the comforter. I didn’t want to move and wake Robyn or My so I kinda suffered for a bit. Around what felt like 4am, Robyn got out of bed to use the restroom…I quickly shot on top of the blanket and freed myself from the vortex of heat. Robyn came back to find me completely shifted. Relieved, I finally got some sleep. Thank goodness!

I can’t get over how cute we are…<3

January 16, 2012

I guess Dale couldn’t either because he grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go! Even while interacting & taking photos with other guests!

Still holding on, he whisked me away on a little rendezvous!

He’s totally my new boyfriend you guys! <3

We went to say hello to Minnie for a quick second!

Where to next?!

Hopping & skipping to our next destination!

Awww we found Chip!

Oh Dale, you are so awesome!

Now I get two cute boys!

All the families in line that we just cut in front of can wait, I’m having a precious Disney moment! I get to reep in Disney perks for being awesome ;D What a lovely way to start off my day!

A Disney photographer got photo happy with us…We’ll gladly allow anyone to follow and photograph us all day

I don’t usually condone doing the “Charlie’s Angels” pose…It’s way too overdone, but we went along with it. I guess being in Frontierland kinda fit the theme of us shooting invisible guns

It seems a bit overdue. Time for awkward family portrait!

Hayden’s face is really good…

When Asians invade Disney, the outcome is awesome!

Aaron sent us on a scavenger hunt for himself with this sneaky photo! Where in California Adventure was he? What a fun game! Looking for friends! We spent a good 15 minutes or so until we finally found him…

What a handsome couple!

Aaron couldn’t finished his turkey leg so Bebe offered to finish it off for him…He regrets his decision.

womp womp…He’ll think twice about sharing next time…

We thought it be a good decision to finally go on the Ferris Wheel of Death on this blistery cold day. Yeah, bad idea. I’m deathly afraid of this ride, especially since the carts are on rolling tracks. But I gotta face my fears right? At least I didn’t cry this time!

Jon wasn’t too wild about this either. He’s white as a ghost!

Why is this creepy old man hovering over the store? And why is Hayden hugging his leg? The questions we ask in life…

We had some fun with Disney voiceovers…

Bebe & Hayden Couple Fight Re-Enactment: A typical fight between Bebe and Hayden while trying to instill the fight diffuser of robot dancing. The part of Bebe is played by Aaron.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdazn8jArgU

Just 3 Guys getting their very HIGH Ho’s on…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-EcZ1-ECNk

Jon, YOU are the rebel spy! why you sad?!

September 21, 2011 – Day 9 Osaka

I was of the punk culture that day. Wearing all of my goodies bought in Tokyo!

Fried tempura goodness with more crunchies!

We cleaned our bowls.

Amazing conversation with your butt

Our hotel location was about 10 minutes from all the action of dotonbori.

The famous crab legs. I’m sad I didn’t get any! Yeah that bag is full of goodies from the 315 yen shop.

The canals and ferris wheels. The japanese sure love their ferris wheels…

I found my doppleganger in Amemura.

Amemura has a very young, eclectic, and artsy vibe. You’ll see a lot of different styles & brands here.

I LOVE McDonald’s in Japan..Why? Because of BACON POTATO PIE. YES.

Statue of Liberty creeping’

The flashing signs & glico man are very iconic. Funnie how Jamie and I couldn’t find glico man on our 2007 trip

I went back to visit what we thought was “greco man”…oh how the “R” and “L” pronunciation caused such a mixup

I think this led to a bar? I dunno, I was too distracted by all the pretty lights

In the distance we saw a banner for Manneken waffles! OMG! Our feet were dying but we decided to walk the extra two blocks if it meant we could taste those divine waffles again…Sadly, it was just a sign. No waffles….

Lots of love hotels here…for sexy times…

Sex Machine Meat?

in front of the 315 yen shop

Creepy sakura man baby mascot

yanno i don’t think I’ve ever eaten sushi while in japan o.O

I want a long-term good relation.

Back at our luxury hotel, we changed into our cheap japanese pi’s we bought for sexy photoshoot!

PJ Osaka Princesses!

PJ Gangsters 4 Lfye!

Then we turned 12…

casually reading on top of a desk

doin’ my business…

yes i boil water with a knife…

care for some tea?

My shopping haul from Osaka…Now that I actually had floor space, I was able to take photos of everything I bought! Goodies came from OPA, various shops in Amemura, dais, etc.

hell yes i bought circulation socks. my legs were swelling up like crazy from walking all day everyday. these babies helped!

I love these Muppet tops from Forever 21

my hair has been behaving too…I’ve been loving it as of late my hairdresser recently bleached out more of the purple so my pink could be refreshed and well..BRIGHTER you probably can’t tell, but I can

Have a fantastic Friday my babies! Looking forward to theme park(s) fun and more this week!

I got super spaced out on the day of my Super Cute Detox Sale at JapanLA! It was a BLAST and out of this world! People were lined up at 10am with paper bags to get first dibs on our kawaii goodies! We couldn’t believe it! Jamie and I were crossing our fingers that people would show up.  It was possible to open up a new store with the amount of stuff we had for sale. Jamie was definitely my match when it comes to accumulating cute stuff. We marked our prices down insanely low as well! Huge deals all around! The entire day was super busy. I think there was maybe 5 minutes of quiet down time. Everyone was so thrilled & thankful to take our stuff home. It was hard to let go of a lot of this stuff, but we were assured they’re going to new appreciative homes. Passing along the cute karma Perhaps I’ll host another sale before I officially move down to LA! It was way fun you guys! Super thanks to all the new & familiar faces who came out! And Bebe for helping us out!

Please HYPE it if you like it! Click for details on my outfit

I made a lotta cash monies that day! Baller!

I was definitely having a slight anxiety attack from the chaos of our cute clutter. After a few hours, we managed to get a pretty sweet setup. We looked at the couch filled with plushies in disbelief. This was too much! This stuff barely touches the surface of what we still have at home

It felt like a swarm! People everywhere buying!

Cass showed up with her new Black Milk purchases! Whaaa galaxy leg buddies!

Can you ever overdose on space? No.

My beautiful folks of LA, JapanLA owner, Jamie, and I have cleaned out our closets and joined our kawaii hoarding forces to have the ultimate yard sale at JapanLA!!! Please come out this Saturday 11am-8pm, we’ll be selling our NEW & slightly used clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories, toys, phone charms/keychains, and purses!

Expect to see brands such as Hello Kitty, tokidoki, Disney & Tokyo Disney, Japan Fashion Brands, Gloomy Bear, Kid Robot, Betsey Johnson, Jeffrey Campbell, Tarina Tarantino, and lots of hand-made goods from independent vendors such as I’m Your Present, Garden Party Clothing, Cicely Margo, Purrr LA. 

Art prints by Miss Kika, ZambiCandy, Tokyo Bunnie, Mr. Toast Tron print!

I’ve marked my clothes prices down to $1, $5, $6, and $8 with exception custom party dresses!! Craziness!

These are just some of my phone charms/keychains that I’m selling. 95% are brand new, because I’m a hoarder like that. A lot are from Japan and Tokyo Disneyland! Ahhhh!

The Grilled Cheese Truck will be there from 12pm-2pm to fuel your shopping needs!

Please bring CASH only for yard sale items! The store will be open for regular business and will accept credit card on store items.

• RSVP on Facebook! Hope to see you there!

I kinda pulled my back de-bulking my closets so I hope you come and buy my stuff! It was psychologically jarring for me to part with a lot of this stuff since I’ve already gone through my closets with the prior Sparkle Sale! But I’ve gotta get rid of as much as I can for my move later this year. Sorry to those who aren’t able to come because you live on the other side of the world. Just move to LA already!!

September 20, 2011 – Day 8 in Japan

 

Our morning plan was to grab breakfast at Eggs & Things in Harajuku. Sadly My & Robyn had no recollection of the exact location of the restaurant. Wandering lost in the small alleyway streets of Harajuku, we ran into 3 cute guys to help us on our quest. One guy was even kind enough to walk with us, but we still didn’t find the place. Then out of the blue, Sebastian and Mika of 6%dokidoki happen to be casually walking by! Hello friends! They were on their way to lunch so we joined them for delicious feast of ginger pork and fried chicken!

After lunch we went to visit Yuka at the 6%dokidoki shop. Can you believe it was my first time in the shop? I was never able to find it from previous trips. I know I know…*hangs head in shame*


So there’s the shop. See? It’s kinda easy to miss if you don’t look up! The shops are very small in Japan and are located on various floors and basements! So if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you might just walk by it!

I had no trouble spotting this adorable mini crepe stand right outside 6%dokidoki! Baby crepes!  Good for traveling, or finishing on the spot.

There were so many awesome shops located off of Takeshita doori.

Best brand name ever.

Add this to my “favorites” list of brands! Stay Real!

Taking photos inside shops is soooo taboo!!! WE ARE REBELS!!!

Then right across the alley was another awesome brand discovered, HyperCore!

Lovin’ all the character collabs!

Do the Bo Peep Bo Peep dance! Bet you can’t do it better than this little boy!

This would make an excellent soap opera.

DISNEYYYYYYYYYY….I’m wearing all of my goodies bought from Korea in this outfit

We checked out from our wonderful Hotel Tomo. The luggage for 3 girls. We pack heavy.

That’s my stash. Good lord. I shipped off 2 bags to the airport for storage leaving only 2 luggages to lug with me to Osaka. Not so bad right? Ugh. This was the part that I stressed most over. Going from Tokyo to Osaka meant traveling on the shinkansen (bullet train) which was great. It’s fun, fast, and you can sleep for a few hours. The part I dreaded was physically dragging my suitcases through the crowded stations up & down the stairs (if there are no elevators) and getting on & off the trains in a quick manner. That is the part I hate most about traveling in Japan. I shop way too much and its hard for me to maneuver and carry over 100lbs. During our journey up the crowded stairs, My’s suitcase decided to break. Oh man we experienced a bit of a low point there. No one to help during rush hour. All you can do is just take a deep breath, pick up your suitcase and continue on! What else can you do right? Suffer and hate life for a few hours, come home with amazing stuff. Materialism wins! Btw, everyone needs to invest in a 360degree rolling suitcase. It significantly lightens your burden by at least 50%.

In the JR station we kept getting side tracked by food. Hey! We had to be on the lookout for something yummy to eat for the long train ride ;D
I bought one of these sweet corn dog cakes…and never got to eat it T_T

3 & 1/2 hours later we checked into the Fraser Residence Nankai in Osaka. Swanky business hotel with a separate living room and kitchen and free wi-fi!!! We had to sneak Robyn in though, which was rather hard since we were obvious looking foreigners. Eh, we still did it. Rebels.

We explored the area a bit and discovered a lot of arcades nearby. We walked through Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori which was full of shopping & food. Mostly everything was closed though. We took refuge at Family Mart a bit as it started drizzling again.

Angry Asian Man.