Days in Tokyo 2013 part 3

Monday 27th of May, 10th day in Tokyo

Well, my "trying to go early to sleep" ended up being just an trying to so... I slept quite late, maybe to 10am or something like that. Okay, in a way that's pretty normal to me but still... I shouldn't stay up so late so I could wake up earlier.

Well, I left to Shibuya few hours before the concert started. I went to LOFT and bought a polaroid camera. I have wanted one for myself maybe since 2008 or something and now I finally bought it! I just still need to buy some normal film to it because I only bought film with dalmatian print on them. *laugh* But here's a picture of my little precious camera. Don't laugh at the color! Really, everything isn't pink in my life! Only some little details.

Well, after that I ate and then rest of the day I spent in one event. It started at 15.30 and ended a bit after 22. So, it was a very long one. *laugh* But I still enjoyed of it. But like I have earlier said, I won't tell anything else in this entry again. I'll do an own entry to the event like to other events/concerts also~

 Night view of Asakusa

Night view of Shibuya crossing. I know the picture isn't so good. I'll maybe try to take a better one later.

Tuesday 28th of May, 11th day in Tokyo

My days in Tokyo are ending soon so I decided to have a shopping day on Tuesday. I bought a lot of stuff! First I went to h.Naoto's shop in Harajuku and bought one skarf, which I saw in there when I first time visited. Yes! I thought over one week that should I buy it or not but in the end I decided to buy it. *laugh* After that I went to Forever 21 and bought 4 shirts and 2 skirts from there. *-* From there I then went to Yoyogi park and walked through of it to the Yoyogi station. Here is few pictures from the Yoyogi park:

Also during this time when I visited Yoyogi park, I watched the map so closely that I noticed that Meiji Shrine is there. That also helped me to make my decisions where to go on Wednesday which was going to be a sightseeing day. ^^

Wednesday 29th of May, 12th day in Tokyo

I went to sleep yesterday night already around 9.30pm so I woke up a bit before 7am this morning but it was only a good thing because I was going to do some sightseeing! So, I started from The Imperial Palace East Gardens. The place is HUGE! And I want to go there again since I'm 100% sure that I really didn't see everything because I didn't have a map with me and I bought a guide book just before I left from there. So stupid from me. -.-' But now I at least have it ready for my next trip because I just want to go there again. Even though it's in the middle of a city, still it's a very peaceful place and it was great to just walk in there and enjoy of the quietness. Okay, it wasn't quiet all the time. *laugh* When I entered to the gardens I heard some screaming from some building so some people were maybe having their kendo practices in there. *laugh* Then after a while walking in there I heard some "weird" music from another building so maybe there were going on some practices also. I have heard someone playing that instrument (I think it's somekind of instrument) earlier also but I have no idea what is it. *laugh* But here is some pictures from the gardens. ^^ I have a lot more on my computer than just these and I'll share them with everyone a bit later.

After spending quite a lot time in the gardens, I went to Hamamatsucho and to Zojoji temple in there. This my third time going there but still I just always enjoy of going there. ^^ I spent there only little time and took only few pictures since it's not a new place to me.

 

 The temple and behind it you can see Tokyo Tower.

After spending some time in there I went to CoCo Ichibanya to eat some curry. It was good but I just have to say that still I prefer more the curry in Yoshinoya. And CoCo Ichibanya is also much more expensive than Yoshinoya so this was maybe my first and also last time going there. Just going to stick with Yoshinoya's curry which btw is delicious. *-*

Well, from Hamamatsucho I went to Yoyogi park and to Meiji Shrine. It was in so nice place because it's like in the middle of the park. ^^ I sat there a while because I needed to rest for a while. I walked sooo much already before that. *laugh*

Meiji Shrine

I also saw some just married couples in there or maybe they were still in the middle of the wedding but it was kind of cool. The clothes they had on were so beautiful! *-* Well, anyways... *laugh* It started raining just a bit before I left from the Shrine so I really were lucky because I had already done almost everything what I wanted to do today. ^^ I just went to Shibuya after that... *laugh* I went to buy one shoes, which I tried on yesterday but decided not to buy but then... I thought that the price wasn't so bad and they were so cute that I went back to the shop and bought them. ^^ Then I went to Boyfriend Cafe. *laugh* Yes, that K-Pop group Boyfriend has their own cafe in Parco in Shibuya. Basically it's like a normal cafe but there are just pictures of Boyfriend, videos of Boyfriend and stuff like that. *laugh* But at least I can now say I have been in there! And it's only like a limited time in there so...

I drank some matcha latte in there. Costed 650yen and it was quite small...

Some things from there, the coaster I got from there but the phone strap I bought. I didn't even get my favorite of them! Hmfp! *laugh*

Well, after that I have just spent some time here at the hostel and tomorrow I'll go to a event again. I still have 2 events after that so... Going to be a busy last days in Japan. *laugh* But still it's hard to believe that I'm already leaving from here like on next Monday and that I'm going to Seoul. In a way I don't want to think about it but still I know I should do even some plans. It's a new place so I can't just go there without any plans. I think... But well... I'll have some time tomorrow because I'm all the time so tired that I decided that now when I have an event tomorrow and on Friday and after that I'll go to party with my friend and then the last event, or actually 3man live, is on Sunday and then on Monday I'll be leaving. I have to have a lot of energy or otherwise I won't be able to enjoy of my last days in here. ;_; But now I'll go and get something to eat before starting to make even some entries of the concerts/events where I have already been.

ByeBye for a while~

Days in Tokyo 2013 part 2

Wednesday 22nd of May, 5th day in Tokyo

I went to Nakano to go around in Nakano Broadway. It’s a quite big shopping mall and I have gone there during my every trip. I always find something interesting from there. *laugh* This time I just bought some candies from there because they were cheap in there~ I also thought of buying a Polaroid camera but still haven’t bought it. But I have to buy it before next Friday 31st. I have some special plans for that day. xP

I met my friend in Nakano after 5pm and then we went to Akihabara. We went to one bar which is found by Ken (ex. bassist of アンド –Eccentric Agent-). It was nice to go there. The only problem is that I don’t speak Japanese so well and I’m very afraid to speak even that little what I know so my friend needed to translate quite a lot to me. I’m sorry! ;_; But well… The evening was nice and at least I was able to understand what my friend was talking about with the J-Rockers in there.

It was nice to see Ken because I never got to see アンド at live. He has changed a lot! But still he’s kind of cute. *laugh* He did some things, which reminded me of his time in アンド. Oh gosh… I miss them so much. ;_; But still… I had great evening and I just can’t do anything else than just laugh at myself because I were so excited in there that I couldn’t do almost anything. *laugh* And I almost totally froze when Ken came behind me and touched my hair. Every fangirl’s dream or something. *laugh* (Yes, Ken was my favorite from アンド.)

We sat at the bar like almost 3 hours, I think. After that we went to Shinjuku to eat at McDonald’s. *laugh* So, again I got some great memories and more reasons why I should learn more Japanese. ^^ The J-Rockers were like: “Come again when you next time come to Japan.” and stuff like that and I just said to my friend later in train that I really have to learn much more Japanese before I go there again. *laugh*

Thursday 23rd of May, 6th day in Tokyo

I slept quite late and did some laundry so my plans didn’t work so well what I had hoped… I was supposed to go to Yebisu Garden Place before I met my friend again but in the end I hadn’t enough time to do that. So, I just met my friend at Ebisu station a bit before 5pm because I went to her work place with her. ^^

I thought that I could just go there and sit there a while but in the end I sat there like 4 hours and translated some things from English to Finnish. That maybe sounds weird but it’s because I’m the new leader of musicJAPANplus’ Finnish team. I should find team members for our team but still haven’t found anyone, so… If anyone of my readers is interested, message me or leave me a comment and I’ll tell you more about what is going on. ^^

But yeah, in a way it sounds maybe funny that when I’m on vacation, I work but still that’s for a good reason. I really want more J-Rock bands to Finland again so this is going to be a good thing! I do it because I want and it’s totally voluntary thing but when I sat at the office, my friend’s boss gave me one magazine full of アンド and also one CD of their, which includes 2 CDs and a DVD. *-* I’m so happy of that~ Well… We left from there a bit before 10pm and again we went to Shinjuku and ate in McDonald’s. This doesn’t sound good but oh well… *laugh*

Friday 24rd of May, 7th day in Tokyo

I left from the hostel few hours before one concert. I quickly went to Harajuku and I didn’t even buy anything what I was supposed to buy… I just walked in there without buying anything. Okay, that’s maybe a good thing I think. *laugh* But after that I went to Ikebukuro where the concert was.

I had great time at the concert! I also got a new friend again. ^^ She’s from Germany and we had fun together so we also went to Shibuya and there to Starbucks after the concert. ^^ It was nice to meet her and I really hope to meet her someday again~

I’ll make a separate entry of the concert because I’m not sure how many of my readers are interested of it and it’s also easier that way. ^^ But just to mention… The bands in the concert were: NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST/Signal/トーマス/BLACK LINE/Circus/GALEYD. I went there because of GALEYD, Circus and Signal. ^^

Saturday 25th of May, 8th day in Tokyo

I had been exactly one week in Tokyo but still the time had passed by so fast that it didn’t even feel like a week. I met my friend in Shibuya but I went there so early that I had some time to go to Tower Records before she came to Shibuya. This was my second time in Tower Records but still I haven’t bought anything else except J-Rock CDs. This is great! I really am starting to find some J-Rock bands again and I have to admit that I have missed this a lot! ^^ But yeah… There was also some event of Scandal at that time so there were a lot of middle-aged Japanese men. *laugh*

Well, my friend came a bit late because of some troubles but nothing more about those… We walked in Shibuya a while and then decided to go to Harajuku. At first we really didn’t have anything special to do but after eating (actually we ate before we left to Harajuku) and some walking around we decided to walk back to Shibuya. We went to Karaoke. *laugh* We sat there like 1,5 hours and my friend was singing and I were just enjoying of my melon soda. *laugh* That’s basically how it works but it was still fun! I’m not so much into singing so it’s better this way. ^^

After that we went to izakaya to eat. The food was sooo good! We ate some pizza and something a bit Mexican thing where was a lot of cheese and some beans. And the food in there was also very cheap! 3 different foods + drinks + desserts were like 1650yen/per person! ^^

Sunday 26th of May, 9th day in Tokyo

Today I just walked around here in Asakusa. I went to Sensoji temple and did some shopping around that area. I found some nice souvenirs, something to my little brother and to my best friend and also to my godson. ^^ But yeah… I love going to temples because it feels that there I can really relax and just forget everything. ^^

After that I went to buy some drinks to myself from one shop, which is quite near the temple area. We found that shop by accident last summer and it’s was good thing because everything is a bit cheaper in there than in a kombini. ^^ After that I came to the hostel and sat here a while and drunk some ice tea. The weather was very hot today also! Or okay, not too hot but still hot. *laugh* And it feels even hotter when you’re walking all the time.

After a while of sitting I went to Oshiage and to the shopping mall under Tokyo Skytree. I bought some make-ups and then the rest postcards, which I needed. I also tried to search a new blouse to myself but didn’t find any. *sigh* I need to continue searching maybe on Tuesday.

I came back to the hostel a bit after 5pm and then I have just been sitting in here. I also wrote all postcards, that I needed so I can take them to post office tomorrow. ^^ One more thing less to stress about. ^^

But I’ll try to go to sleep at latest around 11pm because I should wake up maybe around 10am tomorrow. I’m going to a concert again and it starts from 3pm. *laugh* Going to be a long one~

(Sorry that there wasn't any pictures this time. ;_; Going to post them to Facebook later.)

Days in Tokyo 2013 part 1

Sunday 19th of May, 2nd day in Tokyo

Picture of the Shibuya crossing. It looks a bit "dead" because there are cars going.

I left to Shibuya a bit after 11am because I needed to be there 12pm because I was supposed to meet my friend at that time. Well, my friend then send me a message that she’ll come 1 hour late because someone had jumped under the train where she was so she needed to come a longer way to Shibuya. In a way I always feel a bit bad to hear that someone has done a suicide even though it’s not a new thing here in Tokyo. My friend also told me later yesterday that lately there have been done more suicides than normally.

 

Hachiko statue ^^

Well, I spend some time in Tsutaya and then went back to Hachiko statue to wait my friend. After she arrived we walked from Shibuya to Harajuku to just walk in there and go to some shops. After that we went to eat to some place where you can eat and drink as much as you can. You have 60 minutes time and it costs like a bit over 1500 yen, which isn’t bad at all! There was some salad, pizza and pasta and also some desserts but I didn’t eat any desserts. *laugh* But the food was veryvery good! *-* And they had melon soda in there. *-*

After we had eaten we walked back to Shibuya and then walked there a while. There was also some kind of Matsuri going on but we didn’t stop to watch it so I only have few pictures of it. But honestly, I wouldn’t even have wanted to stay there because there were a lot of people and it was quite difficult even to get past them. We walked for a while in Shibuya and then we again walked back to Harajuku. *laugh* Then we went to Starbucks and I drunk Soy Vanilla Cream Frappuccino. It was good. *-* I decided that I really should try to taste even few others and not always drink just Soy Matcha Cream Frappuccino. *laugh*

Picture of one part of the Matsuri.

 

Random picture from Shibuya. There's a big poster of TVXQ. I have seen few other K-Pop posters too. 

We sat quite a long time in Starbucks and just talked about everything. After that we went to Shinjuku and to one shop buy something special. You’ll get to know about it later. ;3 And then we went to McDonald’s to eat something little before my friend left home and I came back to the hostel.

My feet were killing me after I got to the hostel a bit after 11pm but it doesn’t matter! I just had so great and fun time with my friend that I can’t wait to meet her again on Wednesday. ^^ It’s always so nice to spend time with her since we see each other very rarely because she lives here and I live in Finland. We also made some great plans so Wednesday won’t be the last time when I’ll see her during my stay in Tokyo. But I won’t tell about those plans~ You have to wait some time and I’ll just write about them later. ^^

 

The concert tickets, which my friend bought to me. Thank you<3 

 

Monday 20th of May, 3rd day in Tokyo

So, today I was alone. I slept until 10am, which is quite late to me. *laugh* Then I just did everything what I needed and then I left to do some shopping. First I went to Harajuku and went to eat some kebab. *laugh* I know it’s something what I can get also from Finland but still I wanted to try it. And I have to say that it tastes much better in here than in Finland. ^^

Then I just started shopping. From Harajuku I bought a new bag (again!). I know, it sounds stupid but I just can’t use my Sixh. bag yet because it’s tax free so I have to wait till South Korea before I can start to use it. But well… Then I also bought a new bag to my make-ups because of the same reason and then a new wallet also~ The wallet costed only a bit over 500 yen so it was very cheap~ Then I went to Daiso to buy some stuff like matcha to my friends and a little towel to myself and then some candies to my little brother. ^^

The wallet I bought.

The bag. Isn't it nice? Quite simple~

 And then the little bag for my make-ups. ^^

After that I went to Shinjuku and in there I went to one CD shop. I bought 3 BAELSCOPE’s CDs from there because they weren’t expensive at all and I love BAELSCOPE.<3 I’m just a bit sad that they disbanded earlier this year. ;_; After that quick visit in there I went to Shibuya. I first went to Tower Records and bought ALSDEAD’s new CD ‘Separator’. I bought both editions of it. *laugh* Then I also bought Kagrra,’s DVD, one single from exist trace and also one album from them. ^^ After that I went to LOFT because I need to get new cheki pages to my cheki album. Sadly I didn’t find any of them so I maybe go there later again and try to search harder. But I bought a mini umbrella from there because my mom asked me to buy her one. ^^

 

The CD shop where I went.

All CDs and one DVD, which I bought. Quite a lot. *laugh*

 

Random pictures from Shibuya. Like I mentioned there are few K-Pop posters. *laugh* 

I already had one mini umbrella on my own but as a stupid person I left it in front of our hostel because there is a rack for umbrellas and someone had took it from there. -.- I left it there on Sunday when I came and now it was gone. -.- I’m so pissed off because of that. Apparently you can’t leave anything to somewhere where anyone can take them! Like last summer first someone stealed my shampoo, which I had left to the shower room and then later someone had also took one pair of my shoes. -.- ARGH! Why can’t people just buy their own stuffs and not take others?!

 

Picture of rainy Asakusa. It was a bit foggy also.

Tuesday 21st of May, 4th day in Tokyo

Happily I got the umbrella back this morning so someone had just borrowed it. But still… Not going to leave anything to the public places in this hostel. -.-‘

So, this morning I haven’t done anything. *laugh* I woke up at 9am but it took me like 1 and half hours to get up. *laugh* It was just so nice to lie in the bed because I’m not so busy today. But I’ll leave around 3pm and go get something to eat before I’ll leave to Yurakucho~ I’m so excited because today is Teen Top’s first concert in Tokyo during their Asia tour. ^^ I’m so thankful to my friend of all that work what she did to get me a ticket to there~<3 But I'll tell you about the concert a bit later. ;3

Leaving and arriving to Tokyo

Okay! This entry is going to be quite long one so... Have fun and welcome to a trip to Tokyo with me! ;3

Friday 17 of May, Leaving to Tokyo

I was excited the whole day and it was a bit hard to concentrate on work because of that but I did my best and worked as hard as I could. It just felt like I was drowning to all that work because I had few things to do and then during making them I also got some extra work. *sigh* But I managed to fight through it and make everything what I was supposed!

After my work day I went to home to get ready to leave to the airport. I felt quite calm but then I started to panic when I got to the airport. I was so scared but also happy at same time. Well, everything went fine until we heard that there was some technical problem in our plane so they needed to delay our flight for 1 hour. It wasn’t nice but because of that I got time to go to Starbucks and get a cup of tea. It was good. ^^

Well, after waiting 1 hour we finally got to plane but then it took a bit extra before we were ready to leave so in total we were 1 hour and 15 minutes late this morning when we arrived to Tokyo. Everything started well and I felt quite calm even though I almost started to cry because when I realized that I really am going to Tokyo all by myself, I started to miss my friends and family. That’s maybe the hardest thing in traveling alone, especially when I travel this far. The time difference makes it a bit hard to talk with anyone from Finland. Okay, of course 6 hours isn’t so bad but still it’s a bit hard to think that when I wake up maybe around 9am-10am, clock is 3am-4am in Finland.

Flight went well except that I couldn’t eat as a dinner almost anything because there were peanuts in the food and in the other food was cream and I have lactose intolerance. So, no food for me. I ate one sämpylä and some fruits and after a little while one lentoemäntä brought me a banana and a mandarin so I wouldn’t starve to hunger. *laugh* I also watched one Korean movie during the flight. It’s called ‘The Werewolf Boy’. It was good but the end was a bit sad. ;_; But after finishing that movie I was able to sleep almost 3 hours or something like that. It’s a lot to me since on my earlier trips to Japan, I haven’t been able to sleep in the plane while I have been on my way to Japan. *laugh*

Here is some nice pictures I took during the flight~

18 of May, First day in Tokyo

Like I said earlier, our flight landed 1 hour and 15 minutes later than it should have so the trip didn’t start so well… Then, when I needed to give one paper to Immigration and I was put into a line where was one man before me. I don’t want to be mean or anything but I got a bit pissed of because everyone else from our plane got before me because that man had some problems at the Immigration. In the end I was luckily put into another line so I was able to go through. Then I got my suitcase and this time the customs officer didn’t want to search through my suitcase. I’m so happy of that! It’s never nice but on my last trip to Japan one officer wanted to look through my suitcase. Well, no can do...

 The first picture which I took when I arrived to Narita Airpot. *laugh*

After that I needed to wait train almost 30 minutes because the earlier one had just went. And when I got to Asakusa and to Asakusa Smile (the hostel where I’m staying) the reception wasn’t open anymore. Happily I was able to leave my backpack and suitcase to Bekkan (their other building) so I was able to go tour a bit in Harajuku. I was surprised how well I still remember how to get somewhere. But it was just 2 stops before Omote-sando when I realized that I should change metro in there so then I could get straight to Meiji-Jingumae ‘Harajuku’ without going to Shibuya first.

 Picture from Harajuku.

Well, my plan was to visit quickly h.Naoto’s shop and buy one back from from the brand Sixh. But oh well… My plan didn’t work out as I had thought. *laugh* When I went there, I looked around a while and noticed that AGAIN the designer of Sixh. was there. Well, I then got to down stairs to get one seller to help me because I knew she speaks little bit English. So, I was going to buy the bag and then she told me that IBI (the designer) is having some special event at the shop at that moment and she asked that would I like to join to that. The only condition was that I need to buy stuff worth of 10,000 yen. Well, I then decided to buy the bag and also a little bag for my make-ups. I had drooled over both of those on h.Naoto’s webshop and thought about buying them. Well… Then in total I paid 12,000 yen. (I got them also tax free because I bought so much. Yay!)

Window of h.Naoto's Harajuku store.

 The bag which I bought. (Price: 9,000 yen)

 The little bag for my make-up. (Price: 3,000 yen)

It was nice to get to hang out with the designer but the only problem was that I suck at Japanese and he doesn’t speak English so well. *sigh* And even that little what I know Japanese, I had forgot some of it and I need few days to remember more again. And it doesn’t help at all that I’m mixing Japanese and Korean together. *sigh* Well… The seller who speaks a bit better English helped a bit by translating something if was needed. It was just a bit awkward to sit there. But in a way I enjoyed of listening to those people speak Japanese. ^^ There was also one Japanese girl. I felt so sorry when he wanted to ask something from me but I couldn’t understand the question. ;_; I really should study Japanese muchmuch harder!!

Well, I spent almost 2 hours in there and before I left I also got to take a cheki picture with IBI. (I already have one from last summer because I bought so much stuff that I got one.) It was nice but felt a bit weird that IBI came so close to me. But I have to say… He’s perfume smelt so good! *-* I felt so bad being beside him because I had slept so little and I last time went to shower yesterday around 14.10… Oh well, I survived alive! And in a way I was happy when he seemed to know where Finland is and he also said that I have nice hair color. When he complimented my hair color the seller, who was helping me, said that we are good “pair” because we both have some not so usual color in our hair. *laugh* So in a way my trip couldn’t have started in any better way! Drinking tea and orange juice in my favorite designer’s company. *laugh*

 

Cheki which I took with him and a little message from him~ *-*<3

After that I came back to Asakusa and went to check in. The girl who was working in the reception remembered me. *laugh* I stayed here in Asakusa Smile on last summer during 3 weeks with two friends of mine. ^^ After that I came to my room which is veryvery small! But it’s enough for me and at least I have my own privacy since I’m staying alone in this room. It’s a good thing since apparently I need to use my computer on the upper bed because the internet connection is better in here. *laugh*

The building where I'm staying.

 My room. I'll be sleeping on the lower bed~

When I had settled down a bit I went  to eat some カレー (Japanese curry). It was sooooo good! *-* And after that I decided to walk to Oshiage (it takes maybe 5-10 minutes to walk from here to Oshiage where is also Tokyo Skytree). I went there because I wanted to go to Starbucks and get my first Soy Matcha Cream Frappuccino. Before that I went to buy new mascara. *laugh* I love Japanese make-ups. They seem to be much better than those which I used before I first time came to Japan.

カレー Omnomnom<3

Soy Matcha Cream Frappuccino<3

Tokyo Skytree

But well… That’s basically all what has happened today. Next thing what I’m going to do is buy some breakfast for me so I don’t need to go to konbini on the morning. *laugh* I also need to wake up at latest maybe at 9am tomorrow since I’m meeting my friend in Shibuya around 12pm. Can’t wait that! I haven’t seen her since my last summer’s trip so it’s great to see her after a long time! ^^ I’ll try to update soon again because otherwise I need to work way too hard to remember everything (even though I have my private diary, which I also write during my trip) and I’ll just get too lazy to write everything in here. And I hope that even someone reads my entries. *laugh*

But now… Good bye and good night~! Or should I say: おやすみなさい～ ^-^v