Ichiran Ramen 一蘭 @ Shinjuku - Shibuya

After visiting Meiji Jingu, we headed to Shinjuku to meet up with Yuri for lunch. I chose Ichiran Ramen as it is one of the highly raved ramen in Japan other than Ippudo ramen. 

Ichiran Ramen @ Shinjuku is about 3 minutes walk from the south east exit of JR Shinjuku station. The big and striking signboard made it easy to spot the shop.  

We made our order using the machine located at the entrance of the shop. Everything is in Japanese but i had Yuri with me so everything is alright!

Then we were seated side by side in a cubical  facing the kitchen. The server will double confirm your order and serve the food. However, I dislike about the cubical design as i would like to be seated together so that we can talk easily rather than eating by ourselves.

Ordered this salted tamago as appetizer and it was the best thing ever! It is refreshing and not salty at all! 

Ramen is served! We are able to customise the ramen according to our liking. We can choose the amount of garlic, oil, hardness of noodles and spiciness. I chose normal for everything but minimal oil and spiciness. 

I prefer ramen from Ichiran than Ippudo as I find the soup from Ichiran was more flavourful and I actually finished the whole bowl of soup!

Ichiran Ramen @ Shinjuku (south east exit)

〒160-0022　東京都新宿区新宿3-34-11 ピースビルB1F

After lunch, I said farewell to Yuri as this was the last time I will see her during the trip. Yuri and I met during my trip to New Zealand in July 2012. I was a solo traveler and she was studying in nz. We met on the magic bus and our friendship began. I hope that we will meet again no matter in Japan, Malaysia or other parts of the world! :)

After that, we took a train to JR Shibuya station to see the famous shibuya crossing and Hachiko statue! 

We exited the station via Hachiko exit and we were greeted with the Hachiko statue. The Hachiko statue also served as a meeting point for the locals so there are a lot of people hanging around the area.

Then we move on and cross the famous shibuya crossing multiple times! It wasn't too crowded during that hour. We tried to cross once during rush hour and it was really spectacular

We did some shopping in Shibuya and decided to end our day early as both of us were not feeling well. Shopping during winter is not convenient as there are so many layers to take off and put back on. Also, we felt really uncomfortable when some shops set their warmer too high. It is too hot for us as we had heatech underneath our clothing.

Here i present you a train during rush hour in Tokyo. They will board the train facing backwards and slowly move their way in while the doors are closing. The whole train was jammed packed and it was really fun to watch them squeeze into the train!

Meiji Jingu Shrine 明治神宮

This was my attempt to dress like Japanese to blend in with the crowds. I normally wear sport shoes when I am travelling as I will be walking a lot and my feet really need a good pair of shoes. The plan for the day was mainly to walk around Shibuya so I decided that I can at least dress up nicer for once.

Passed by this shop selling Taiyaki (鲷鱼烧) - Japanese fish-shaped cake. The shop offers fillings with red bean paste or custard, I went with custard as we are not a big fan of red bean. 

The batter is poured into a fish-shaped mold and filled with fillings. The mold is cooked on charcoal and it’s ready to serve!  

We made a short visit to the Meiji Jingu Shrine (明治神宮) before meeting up with Yuri for lunch. Took a JR train to Harajuku station and we saw the cute Hachiko bus!

Meiji Jingu Shrine is just a short walk from Harajuku station. You will know that you have arrived at the correct location when you see the mighty Torii at the entrace to Meiji Jingu Shrine.

The Meiji Shrine complex is really big and we walked for about 15 minutes to reach the main area. There are other halls and galleries within the complex with clear directions shown.

Sake Barrels

We were greeted by this water fountain once we entered the main yard of Meiji Jingu. Without any instructions given, we observed and followed what everybody was doing – scoop some water to wash both hands and take a sip of the water. It is said to ritually purify yourself before entering the shrine.

The shrine is surrounded by north, south, east and west gate. Our trek from Harajuku station leads us to enter through the South gate.

The shrine building

We made our prayer following the instructions written: flip a coin into the offering box, clap our hands together and say our prayer, then clap their hands twice we when are done.

Trying to read some of the prayers left by visitors from all over the world. 

No photos allowed - image taken from google

Before we left Meiji Jingu, we bought a few Omamori for ourselves and families to pray for their health and safety.

Opposite the Juyosho (amulet office), there are a place for visitors to return their omamori. I asked Yuri why are them returning/throwing their omamori and she explained that the omamori needs to be returned when it has served it's purpose or they normally return it one year later. Soooo.. i guess we should make a yearly trip to Japan!

Sensōji (浅草寺)

After renting a kimono, we went to the oldest temple in Tokyo - Sensōji (浅草寺, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple). Sensōji is one of the famous tourist spot in Tokyo. It is filled with tourists from different places even though January is a non-peak season. One of the things that I like about Tokyo is that most tourist spots are free admission. This enables us to travel Tokyo with a small budget as we only need to spend on the necessities like flight ticket, accommodation and transport. This post contains a lot picture of me in kimono as I took lots of pictures of myself to make the money I paid worthwhile. Haha

To enter the temple, we have to pass through the outer gate of Sensōji which is the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate). I am attracted to the giant red lantern at the gate. There are keychains/magnets/miniature lanterns for sale in the shopping street but I didn’t get any of them because I think that it is quite pricy. Now I deeply regretted my decision! 

After the Thunder gate, we are greeted with a stretch of shops at the shopping street called Nakamise. This shopping street is located between the outer and second gate of them temple. Other than local Asakusa snacks and typical souvenirs (keychain, t-shirt, postcard, etc), there are also Japanese traditional items such Yukata, fans, ninja swords and so on. You can easily spend hours in such small area to slowly discover each and every item. We however did not spend much time there as we have a busy day ahead. The only item we bought from this shopping street is a snack called agemanju which is a battered and deep fried soft cake with fillings. 

Then we reached the second gate called Hozomon (Treasure-House Gate) after we passed through the shopping street. Behind the Hozomon is Sensōji’s main hall where all the statues located.

 Main hall (image from google – I realized I didn’t have a full picture of the main hall L )

You can get incense sticks from the booth side it with a small fee. Incense sticks are used for prayers and blessing. It is said that the smoke from the incense can cure illness so you can see some people rub it on themselves. We did not purchase the incense but we did made some prayer in the main hall and made a small donation to the temple.

We ended our short trip to Sensōji and continue with more photos taking session in the temple and around Asakusa. I was gaining a lot of attention from other tourist that day as I was the only person wearing kimono in the temple. Some of them even ask to take pictures with me which I happily agreed to. I think most tourist thought I am Japanese due to my height and my Asian face. Most talked to me in English and was surprised that I could speak their language. Growing up in Malaysia allows us to be exposed to many languages. I spoke Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Indon and of course English that day which was really fun and memorable.  

One funny incidence happened there was that there were 3 Japanese women talking Japanese to me but I couldn’t understand anything. After telling them that I don’t understand Japanese, they asked me where am I from in English which I answered “Malaysia”. Then they continued talking more Japanese to me. In between their sentence I heard “kawaii” which means cute so I thank them by saying “arigato”. Other than that, I could only stand there and smile non-stop while they are talking. But I was really happy because Japanese themselves approve my look. HAHAHA

One of the tourist activities to do in Asakusa is to have a short tour on the back of the man-powered rickshaw cart called Jinrikisya. These rides are available in front of Sensōji and there are people giving out flyers promoting it. However, we did not take the ride as it is really expensive. 

We were supposed to take a train to Tokyo Skytree as it is just one station away from Asakusa. But I was too cold in the kimono and not really interested with the building, so we decided to change our plan and head to Ueno for Ameyoko instead.

Winter is Strawberry season in Japan. Price of strawberries in Japan can range from about ¥300 to over ¥6000 yen for the premiums ones. We bought a pack of Nagasaki strawberry for ¥399 and it was the best strawberry we ever had. It was really juicy and sweet without any acidity! Now I’ve lost interests to any strawberries available back in here Malaysia. 

Here’s to many years more of adventures with you J

My Priceless Travel Moments (Part 2)

Click here for My Priceless Travel Moments (Part 1)

10. 認識不同地方的人

10. Meet people from different places

Yes! And I miss them a lot.

 JJ & MJ from Korea. Delphine from France

Yuri from Japan. Carol from China

Selena from Taiwan

11. 在歷史名城裡遊蕩

11. Wandering in a historic city

Historic city……. Is Malacca counted?

I’ve been to Cambodia too but I do not have any pictures with me. I was too young to appreciate the joy of travelling. I will be back!

12. 來一杯地方特飲

12. Try the local drinks

 This drink from Taiwan is awesome. This shop in particular

Fresh coconut in Bali

And many many more drinks that I do not have pictures..

13. 發掘一些隱世的海灘

13. Explore some hidden beaches

I never discover any hidden beaches. But I’ve been to some really nice beaches.

 Cathedral Cove, NZ

 Phuket, Thailand

Echo beach, Bali

14. 體驗滑雪的刺激

14. Experience the excitement of snowboarding/skiing

Look at me looking pro there! @ Mt Bullar, Melbourne. I think I fell shortly after the picture was taken. Hahaha It was my first time snowbarding.

15. 與出租車司機聊聊天

15. Chat with taxi drivers

This is my driver in Bali. Hahaha. We rented a bike and travel around Bali with it.

Well, I do have experience with chatting with bus drivers. Once I was happily talking about everything with a bus driver in Gold Coast. We were so into the conversation till he forgot to check my bus ticket. I was secretly glad because I was holding an expired ticket. I AM SO SORRY! hahaha

16. 去一趟天體海灘

16. Go to nude beaches

I’ll be there.

But I did go to a special beach in NZ called Hot Water Beach. “There are underground river of hot water flows from the interior of the earth to surface in the Pacific Ocean at Hot Water Beach”… Basically you need to dig a hole and mix the correct portion of hot water and sea water and you will get your personal spa pool.

17. 考驗自己的勇氣

17. Test your courage

I am the most courageous person I’ve ever known in terms of extreme sports…. I think.

Rap Jumping @ Melbourne

Auckland bridge bungy 

Nevis Bungy (134 m), Queenstown

Skydiving @ Lake Taupo (15 000 ft, 1 min free fall)

What’s next? Cliff diving @ Ariel's Point, Boracay for my upcoming trip! Can’t wait!

18. 遊覽標誌性建築和博物館

18. Tour landmarks and museums

Refer point 3 and 4

19. 試一下地道秘製解酒配方

19. Try the local remedies for hangover

My travel time is too precious to spend it on hangover

20. 學習地方舞蹈

20. Learn the local dance

I will when I have the chance.

21. 帶走一些東西

21. Bring something back

Lots! Most importantly is that I brought back a lot of memories and experiences.

22. 留下一些東西

22. Leave something behind

I think I’ve never done this other than leaving my footprints behind.


Click here for My Priceless Travel Moments (Part 1)


Finally I've completed all 22 points! While writing this post, I realised that I have a hard time remembering the details of my trips. Hopefully I will be able to write down all my previous travel experiences so that I will never forget about those precious moments in my life. I am starting with Japan! I hope those that are reading this will do a recap of your own travelling experiences while going through the points. It will be the best if you can write about it and share with others! Enjoy travelling, enjoy life. Bon Voyage!