This was my second last day in Tokyo and my friends and I just decided to roam around to the main shopping belts- namely Shinjuku and Shibuya and pick up souvenirs and gifts for our loved ones back at home!
Before anything can happen we headed back for my all time favorite Ramen in Tokyo. I know right. Tokyo- Capital city of Japan. Home to Michelin starred restaurants serving world class Ramen and my favorite is part of a franchise chain. ICHIRAN RAMEN. *insert hearts for eye emoji* This is my all time favorite ramen IN THE WORLD. I like that it's broth is flavourful but light; not swimming in oil and not jelat- tasting after several mouthfuls. I always order the same combi everytime I go there- An onsen egg, medium broth, medium chewiness, medium everything, add pork slices, add thinly sliced spring oinions and the cold 'fat burning' tea. Hahaha. (Yes, Inchiran has an in house bottled 'beauty' red tea that they claim is 'fat' burning. Hurhur I only choose it because it's the only sugar free option but crossing fingers it does what it says as well haha)
Sorry I collaged everything but this is the only photo I have of my beautiful bowl of Ichiran ramen! The extra photos are pictures of my breakfast haha- my favorite smoked salmon onigiri and a green juice!Then on to Shinjuku for some shopping!
Shinjuku is a great place to shop because it is slightly cheaper than the famous 109 places in Shibuya. There are plenty of stores there lining the streets. Get off the train at Shinjuku san-chome for the slightly cheaper shopping districts.
You must be wondering why this post is titled 'A tale of a Cat in Shinjuku'. That's because just as we got off the station, I spotted an arcade! Normally I ignore them because well, arcades are not my thing (I'm a tea and book kinda person, remember. No fun and excitement for me please. I am 26 turning 85, thank you) but this time I just couldn't resist! Right at the front of the store was a UFO catcher machine with a whole bunch of huge Sumikko Gurashi plushies! Have you ever heard of them?
They are a bunch of characters with unique personalities! The polar bear is afraid of cold (haha) and the brown one is the last piece of a tonkatsu. Nobody wanted to eat him coz he is 99% fat! Hahahah. So he has self esteem issues. Super cute and funny. Anyway, I saw the cat lying REALLY near the drop hole of the machine! All my friends were about to walk away because nobody ever wins at such machines right? But I was adamant and wanted to try! So armed with 200yen, I tried my luck and actually caught it!!!
I was so excited and happy! This was the first time I ever played with a UFO catcher and I actually won something!
Then it struck me that I now have a very round and fat cat to carry.
All around Shinjuku.
#storyofmylife.
So carry I did, with a large round cat tucked under my arm I wandered around Shinjuku with my friends (I notice there was a friendly berth of space between me and them after I got the cat, haha). Credits to the shopkeepers in Shinjuku who still treated me as if I was an upright, wonderful citizen of society with a sound mind. Thank you, Tokyo :)
In case you are wondering how big he is, here is a pic!
I saw him in NBC, JEM on my return back to Singapore and guess what! He's $77 here in SGD!!! I got him for $2.50! :D :D :D HAPPINESS :DShinjuku is a great place to shop. If you are there, I highly recommend checking out this place called 'BICQLO'. It's a collaboration between BIC camera which is like an electronic store and Uniqlo. It's NINE FLOORS of amazingness and above that is GU as well which is Uniqlo's sister brand targeting teens and young adults so things are slightly 'trendier' and more importantly, less expensive! I bought my ugg inspired boots there (that I wore to Hakone) for only $10! :D
Other than to get my Uniqlo fix, this is where I go to to buy CHEAP and discounted electronics/ thermal jugs for soups etc!
On the first floor you can see they have this thing called ' BIC theme zone' and they usually place all their picnic stuff and thermal house ware here (depending on the theme for that month). Zojirushi thermal jars, usually retailing at around $60 in Singapore's Takashimaya retails for only $20+ at BICQLO!
Everything there is slightly cheaper as well but I love shopping the streets of Shinjuku. D bought a pair of Adidas shoes at over 70% off what it retails here in Singapore. While he went around saving money by garnering huge discounts, I splurged excessively on random cute tableware and bento accessories at the 4 story MUJI. Oh well. At least someone was saving money. Haha.
Ending this post with a mish mash of our supper that night! One of the greatest joys of wandering around Tokyo the whole day is just 'collecting' food and tapao-ing everything back to eat at night! :D
Mos burger nuggets & burgers | Tempura soba | Delectable cream filled pastries!
Till next time guys :)
xx
