Like stated in the posts before this, the highlight of my winter holiday was my trip to Japan. For six days I was in Japan, but to be more clear, three days in Tokyo and three days in Osaka. Japan is such a wonderful country, I love everything about the people, the fashion, the art, and their culture. I want to go back as soon as possible! 日本は大好き！
I didn't realize how long the flight was actually gonna be. It was four freaking hours and I thought that because of how excited I was gonna be I would be up during the entire time, but nah, I knocked out immediately lol.
I woke up with only an hour left and managed to snap some pictures of Japan's coastline. It was so interesting seeing country life melding into city life the more we inched into the country.
We landed in Narita which is a good hour and a half away from from Tokyo. I was so happy that we decided to rent out two pocket wifi's for this trip. It gave me the chance to update my Instagram with real time pictures and videos of stuff that was going on around me.
We had a car service pick us up, the driver was so kind! After four years of studying Japanese, I was able to prove to myself that it didn't go in vain, actually this entire trip I was my family's interpreter lol.
So refreshing to see people driving on the opposite side of the road. The last time I saw this was during my trip to London back in 2012.
Usually I'd be so antsy after a long flight but it was quite nice driving through Narita heading to Tokyo. I snapped a few pictures of buildings and bridges.
So finally, we made it! I was super stoked seeing so many cool things all at once. I felt like I was getting an informational overload, in the best sense.
One thing I did a lot during this trip, which you'll see in each subsequent post is that I tried my hand at street photography. I love catching people in their most natural state. Look at the Grandpa on the right!!
Our hotel was in the heart of Shinjuku and it was so convenient, everything was near and from my hotel window I could see a lot of things happening even in the wee hours of the morning.
After freshening up and getting our stuff together, we went out to find something to eat. I was so excited. You have no idea how excited I was to eat LOL
Right outside our hotel was this gigantic screen that played music videos and various ads. Kind of an unreal thing when seeing artists I was very familiar with on the huge LCDs.
We found this amazing ramen place. Hands down, the best ramen I've had in my entire trip in Japan. I wish I could've gotten the name of the restaurant, but I was too busy slurping away, lol.
Chose Tonkatsu ramen. I'm getting hungry thinking about this.
Always a fan of seeing Japanese alleyways. The alleys are prettier at night.
Walked past this Karaoke building and spotted the YG Family 2014 Tour poster. Always a big fan of YG!
Of course I couldn't go without taking a picture of Japan's vending machines.
Walked on this one street with tiles that had various famous cities on them. Home was haunting me, lol.
I wanted to take pictures of the people walking past me, but with such an obvious lens, it was kind of awkward to just shoot them, so instead I shot their backs as they walked away. LOL
Was a big fan of the color blocking going on with the gentleman's blue coat and his orange, black, and white bag.
The two sales people outside were so energetic, they kept jumping up and down to attract customers! They also had real cute costumes going on.
We headed to Bic Camera and I am so jealous to everyone who has access to that store on a daily basis. In a nutshell, Bic Camera is a multi-level building that deals with camera equipment, clothing, and such. Think of it as a department store if you may, but a whole lot more exciting.
Before we were actually at Bic Camera, I took some shots of the nearby buildings.
Super cool Lego man at the front of Bic Camera. While my mom, sis, and aunts headed to the clothing area, my uncle and I stayed in the electronics section. I wanted to stay there for hours on end.
I saw an aisle dedicated to stationery and stickers and gawked at how cute some them were!
Various models of Fujifilm's Instant Camera. I have the Wide Camera uptop, but I really want the one right under it, especially the red one on the far right.
If there's one thing you all know about me through my blog posts it is that I really like architecture that both incorporates geometric and organic shapes. Look at that building on the left!!
As much as I love Naruto I have to give One Piece props for being so popular in Japan. Everywhere I went there was so many One Piece related paraphernalia, like these golf club protectors up there.
It was getting pretty late as is so we headed back to our hotel for some rest. My dad was flying in that night! Before that however, we went to a 7/11 to get some snacks and water.
Saw this guy's leather coat and coveted it so much! I love the patchwork detail on the back and the fur accent along his lapel.
While they shopped around for snacks, I went around photographing stuff at the 7/11. I managed to get a few shots before a lady kindly told me photographs were forbidden, heh.
More One Piece! Shin Chan on the left.
Various snacks at the 7/11. Saw some of the pudding cups everywhere on the internet. I kept thinking of that one commercial that went viral, Puddi Puddi!
The Karaoke Building from afar. It didn't seem too busy that night I passed by.
Yes, I love taking alley pictures.
Once we got back to our hotel I showered and got ready for bed, but not before browsing some Japanese TV. Found this kid's show and saw that they were making curry! My dad flew in from the US an hour later, but at that point I was already asleep, so my sis, M, and my Uncle took him to dinner.
Stay tuned for Day Two!
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