Japan Trip : LAST DAY in Asakusa - Narita

Assalamualaikum~ finally it is down to the very last day. iSad.

The day before was my last day with my Malay friends. This day, I met up with a good university friend of mine from Mongolia. She came all the way from Yokohama just to meet me! I'm so touched~ The day was scorching HOT! It went up to 26 degrees, in Spring! I could hear even Japanese girls were complaining 'Is Summer already here? It's freaking April!' Thanks for saying my thoughts out loud. Exactly..regardless, the sky was PHENOMENAL! See it for yourself!

Asakusa's main attraction : Senso-ji

Nakamise Shopping Street

My friend had imo yokan (sweet potato bengkang) and me imo soft cream!

Okay..just a quick introduction to Asakusa. It's a MUST VISIT place if you want to experience historical side of Japan in the middle of Tokyo Metropolitan City. How old are we talking about? Senso-ji was first built in the 7th century and we're living in the 21st century now so you do the math! Needless to say that I've been here so many times with either my parents or friends, mostly sightseeing on foot. There are many interesting things to do here. Check out more info on Asakusa HERE! Recently, Muslim market has become a boom in Japan, mainly in Tokyo. Before this, the choices to Halal food was limited to Middle-East countries, Indian, Indonesian and also Malaysian food. Now, to our surprise, they even have Halal authentic traditional ramen restaurant called Naritaya and it is right here in Asakusa! Only halal ramen? No, there are MORE! I was able to visit Naritaya and had the recommended Maze soba ramen (soupless ramen) in below picture. OHMYGOODNESS! The noodles were chewy, the chopped seasoned chicken mixed with seasoned boiled egg along with other condiments = PERFECT HARMONY! You need to mix the whole thing and add a little spicy oil to it and BAMM! Cry.  

Arcade pathway to Naritaya is so unique!

Can you imagine the feeling of having a halal ramen in this traditional Japan setting? 

My Mongolian friend had the same thing and she was shocked at how delicious the ramen was. Ramen is not suppose to be halal because the broth is always made from pig bones. This restaurant is 100% halal and more shockingly it is owned by a Japanese! *grateful tears* Visit here for more details of the restaurant and other halal ramen restaurants in Japan as well. 

Then we went to Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center just right across Kaminari mon and directly dragged our feet to the rooftop for a different view of Asakusa. Breathtaking! We could also view Tokyo Sky Tree, the tallest building in Japan, towering at 634 meters high!

Kaminari mon and Nakamise Shopping Street view 

Tokyo Sky Tree and Sumidagawa River cruise

The obligatory karaoke session! Hisabisa ni nihon no uta utatta naaa

After a short session of karaoke at my favorite Karaoke Kan, we said our last goodbyes and I went straightly to Narita. My flight back to Malaysia is at 10;30am on the next day so I need a place to crash. I would strongly recommend APA Hotel for a night stop. I was staying at my friend's place while in Tokyo (one of the perks of having friends in Tokyo) to save some cash but had to spare some since I took an early flight. I've always enjoyed my previous stays in APA Hotel elsewhere; very convenient location-wise with mostly next to train station, breakfast included, bidet toilet (IMPORTANT) but the rooms are a tad small compare to hotels in Malaysia. Who cares? As long as they have bed and doors, I'm all in! Just show your booking confirmation via your smart phone, they'll give you your room card, check in at a self check-in machine & pay. For check-out, just drop your room key in a box at the desk/nearby elevators while you're on your way out. Simple! Everything is hassle free here. Moreover, they provide free airport shuttle bus with earliest one leaving at 6:00a.m and it takes approximately 15mins to Narita International Airport. This hotel is so my style, fast fast fast!

APA Hotel Narita

In Narita Airport, they also have an all halal Japanese curry restaurant called La Toque. Yeayyy Japanese curry~ Maybe their curry is nothing close to Malaysian style curry but I like the taste! I prefer Japanese curry more actually. Japanese can't really eat spicy food so their curry is SWEET and has a creamier texture. Me gusta. It's a shame that I went there too early since they only prepare breakfast menu until 11a.m. If you don't mind shoving in extra calories from early in the morning, try the curry udon with onsen (3/4 boiled) egg. So rich, so sinfully good! 

Heaaaavennnnnn

Breakfast menu

Hi there sexy thang

So here we are, already at the end of my short yet adventurous Tokyo trip. The main motive of this trip was to survey halal restaurants here for me to spread the news to other Muslims who have plans to visit Tokyo in the future. Though I couldn't go to other halal restaurants, I'm proud of myself because I only gained a few grams from this trip, thanks to heavy luggage and long, tiring walks around town! lol I sincerely hope that I was able to help you to plan your trip to Japan with all the infos that I shared. Please check out all the links attached in all posts for more helpful information. Tokyo, you've been wonderful! Thanks for the memories and will definitely, if God wills, see you again soon. 

Till my next journey Japan! Mata ne!

Japan Trip : Ikebukuro - Ebisu - Omotesando Hills - Meiji Shrine

Assalamualaikum and hey there!

I'm back with more photos from my last trip exploring non-cliche parts of Tokyo! I've compiled day 3 & 4 together since I walked with 20kgs luggage up and down subway stations in day 3, resulted in almost zero photos to share! hah. Actually, I was busy satisfying my tummy on day 3 by myself lol. First was Ikebukuro~ hmm what to say about this place? It was known for a rather 'slump' area in Tokyo and I'm not quite sure why..one thing for sure, if you would like to experience capsule hotels, HERE IS THE PLACE! Ikebukuro hosts a lot of capsule hotels; basically a 'room' for you to feel what its like to be in a coffin. *evil smile* It's called capsule because of the size & shape. You can see for yourself  if you just google "capsule hotel". I won't share pictures from google, just so you know. ;)

For Malaysians who miss home food, I think you'll have one legit reason to go there; there's a reasonable and delicious Malaysia ethnic restaurant called Malaychan located just 5 mins walk form Ikebukuro JR station. 

Dumpling soup & Popia tempe recommended by darling Hidaya

Erm..it's kind of embarrassing to say but I actually went to have a very nice halal hamburg in the evening and I don't have the picture. But you can view it on my instagram here, it's private though so you might need to follow me to view it. LOL see what I did there? Actually it is the first ever halal Italian restaurant called Pran Prone, run by a Muslim Bangladeshi. I invited myself to what supposed to be a closed halal hamburg party and luckily I was able to had one! It tasted soooooo good! Would definitely revisit again some other time!

The next day, I again went around to find a halal steak don (rice bowl) that I vouched to eat before my flight to Tokyo. I'm THAT determined and so off I go. I saw the ad on FB, figured out the place which was at Mitsukoshi in Ebisu. It's kind of like a tasting event for rice bowls with fresh ingredients from all over Japan and a halal beef steak was one of them. The meat was so tender it MELTED. I swear any grandpa would have no problem with it. The black pepper sauce, slayed! I was literally moaning while having it alone, unleashing the pervert side of me hahahahaha *facepalm* I'm pretty sure they still do this kind of promotion so I seriously recommend this to EVERYONE! 

Hey you sly devil you! YOU! Why so good?

After the oh so good lunch, I headed over to Harajuku and met my friend there. Later she brought me to the place I've been longing to go, Omotesando Hills! Yeah..I have no idea why I never stepped on that area though it is just next to Harajuku. Seriously no idea! Believe me, if you are visiting Tokyo and would like to bump into famous celebrities, here is the place. Luck was not on my side on that day, or maybe they were around and I'm just too ignorant. Hmmph. It felt surreal to finally walked along the high end brand stores, chit chatting at organic garden cafe and to just strolling around that area accompanied by the perfect weather!

Ginger tea & tofu cheese cake

To calm my tummy before the next incoming food, we walked a few hundred meters to the famous Meiji Shrine. Wow. Just wow. Just what I needed to escape from the heat! I just cant believe that they have a thick forest in the middle of Harajuku! Meiji Shrine located just next to Harajuku JR station and yes, it was my first time as well. Duh. Please visit the link for more info about the shrine. Don't get me wrong, I admire the place for its beautiful landscape and lush greenery. I'm sure all of you are not close-minded people who thinks that Muslims should not visit other religions' sacred place, right? If you are, you're going to have a tough time travelling Japan since shrines and temples are EVERYWHERE. Just remain faithful to your beliefs and stop judging. Peace&love~

Main entrance gate 

Sunset at Yoyogi Park

Later at night we joined my other friend who's working in Tokyo for a small gathering. It was great to catch up with each of our lives after graduating, reminiscing good old times when we were preparing to fly back in 2008-2010 and of course, GOSSIPING! We went to an izakaya called Isomaru Suisan. I love the ambiance, so Japan-like. The best thing is we can order fresh seafood at a very reasonable price and grill them all you want, by yourself! Now here's a humble confession; I had a misconception about kani miso (crab innards) this whole time. Kani miso that I had there, MIND-BLOWN. No eewy smell with creamy texture mixed with a slight taste of crab meat together..oh God I'm salivating already. Other menus were equally delicious! Satisfaction guaranteed.  

Dinnahhh for you to swoon over. Bad Kina. ;)

All photos were taken by me or Hidaya.

Thanks to a packed day, I slept soundly that night. Stay tuned for more updates~ xoxo

Japan Trip day 2 : Ochanomizu - Mansei Bridge - Shinjuku

Assalamualaikum~ Hello everyone!

Here's day 2 update on my previous Japan trip~ This day was very relaxing (since I'm worn out of exhaustion from the day before), more catching up stories with my friends, exploring new places together and also making new memories. Before anything, I would like to apologize for insufficient food and scenery photos (if any of you were expecting). So the day started at Ochanomizu, a university town famous for the sacred arched bridge called Hijiribashi. I've passed by this place several times while taking JR Chuo Line and from inside the train just before arriving at Ochanomizu Station, you'll be able to see the bridge. There's nothing much to see here but I'm glad I've been there nonetheless. Special credit to my dearest Hidaya for all pictures with me in it!

Lovely flower along the way

Me thinks of the bridge as my runway *raise eyebrows*

View from on top of Hijiri Bashi

My other friend mentioned about a new place called Mansei Bridge which located just a few minutes walk from Ochanomizu Station. We decided to walk there and have a look. WAAHHH so kewl (cool) !! It was actually an old train station but they turned the place into restaurants, cafes, shops while keeping the old structure. There was an information place inside the building where visitors can see the old Tokyo when the station was still operating. Such a fun new experience for us! We took our sweet time exploring the place, took thousands of pictures, hang out chit chatting..basically just spent some quality time with my girls. 

Our lunch of the day~ 

Macarons for display, REAL ONES. 

I forgot what's it called huaaa

Caramel chocolate balls. They are fruit flavored caramel. 

A glimpse of Mansei Bridge. This photo was taken outside the classic Old Mansei Station

By Kanda River with borrowed outer wear, borrowed hijab, borrowed purse

Then we proceeded to Shinjuku. Here's a question! If Shibuya has the world's busiest intersection, what about Shinjuku? Jeng jeng jengggg ahaaa Shinjuku station turns out to be the busiest transport hub in the world, connecting 11 different lines and has 36 platforms! Japan and its world title. *shakes head* One thing about this station, I HATE IT! I've lost my way every single time I need to take a bus from there to Sendai. Buses just stop anywhere along the streets around Shinjuku. ANWHERE. If you have to take bus from there, make sure you familiarize yourself with buildings, street/road names, convenience store (konbini) and sometimes if you're lucky, your bus will be waiting at normal bus stops. IF YOU'RE LUCKY.

But on this day, thank God that was not my purpose! Phewww. For the first time, I got to walk leisurely, just strolling around, went to a high-class second hand shop, stopped by the awesome Cafe Muji for another round of stuffing. Cafe Muji are everywhere but I think Shinjuku's branch offer bigger eating hall and of course, you can browse around Muji located on the same floor! 

Early light dinner. Pay one price for 3 different sides with bread/rice.

An alley in Shinjuku area

After that, we continued walking for a splendid night view of Tokyo at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. I never knew that there are a few buildings in Tokyo (not just Shinjuku) where you can access to their observatory deck and some of them are FREE! Check them out here--- Tokyo Observatory Decks

Night view from observatory deck.

I know it is super compact but still a very systematically planned town.

Beautiful night sky + skyscrappers

Peace out from Shinjuku!

So that's the end of day 2. My apologies if this post lacks information but I'll try to share as many as I can. Please look forward to my upcoming posts as I embarked into my halal food tour! yeah you can only drool~