Insta-neko

Where is Neko now? :

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Day 5 - Home Sweet Home & My BuySs

its our last day in Japan... 
chanced upon the ad of this place the previous night and I decide to visit it for our lunch~
Sweets Paradise : sweets buffet
did a search when im back in SG and found out that they have many outlets around japan. 
buffet price : 1480 yen for 1.5hr 
(ard SGD 20+)
OMG so cheap for a desserts buffet!!
i felt its very very worth it to have buffet in japan:
1. cheap
2. lots of varieties
3. every food look so pretty and tempting
its cheap because jap believe that its good to eat till you are full, so you actually wont see them keep taking food even though its only 1.5hr...so even they serve good food they wont really lose their profit, 
however our SG concept is...
EAT AS MUCH AS WE CAN! EAT TILL ITS WORTH THE MONEYYYY!!!

bought our tix before entering the restaurant
the spread~
Choc fondue
tarts / mini cake / strudel / puff 
see the cakes still look very nicely display even though half was already taken... 
if in other asia countries.... the cakes probably will look super messed up...till you dont feel like eating..
for the not so sweet tooth... 
they have pasta too!!!
very worth right? (suited BF best!) 
ice cream ~

and later that day.. we decide to eat sushi~
here are some that we didnt get to see in sg~

tamago....with rice inside!
scallops sushi @ 105 yen.. cheap!!!
kappa ume maki.. 
i love ume... and its hard to find ume stuff in sg jap rest. 

our last meal before we leave for home... 
its a restaurant at the basement of KIX airport
definately we will order our favourite cold soba.... 

fresh wasabi DIY~!!!!
*home sweet home*
My BuySss of the trip~
my fave cawaii magazine 600 yen with my fave jap brand liz lisa cosmetics pouch

signature food of kyoto - triangle mochi 630 yen & 1050 yen 
other kyoto goodies
bookmark 110 yen, buddha 350 yen, hello kitty 420 yen, stitch 525 yen

from clockwise: Japanese crackers that i bought from sogo 1575 yen, kyoto exclusive: matcha pocky 1050 yen, osaka exclusive: takoyaki pretz 1050 yen, season exclusive: ume calbee prawn crackers, kyoto bunny mochi 525 yen

I have to show you this crackers.... its pretty inside out....
truly japanese presentation~

even the crackers inside is so nice...the little tray is made of the crackers too

another thing which I wanna intro is.. 
area exclusive cartoon hp chain... a good gift/collector you cant find anywhere esle..
where can you find stitch as geisha?
only in kyoto!!!!
and hello kitty at kiyomizu

at osaka dotonbori
kitty as the glico running man, snoopy eating takoyaki (takoyaki originate from osaka)
however you for character like snoopy or stitch to cant find them at all attractions..
so i decided to start collecting hello kitty japan area exclusive hp chain whenever i visit an area as it always represent the area well and you can always find hello kitty like everywhere... 

some other things that i got....
fake lashes 1260 yen, hello kitty 420 yen, snoopy 525 yen, toy pen 365 yen, macaron craft 940 yen

heart shaped earphones, sg selling at $45...same brand but different older design
i got it at BIC at around 1980 yen!

they have pretty sneakers too! 9900 yen

not sure whether this is a exclusive... but its written tokyo at the inner..

stuffs from daiso~ spend 1365 in total

this LOOK choc is good and cheap! like around 98yen...i saw this is selling is SG ard $3...another the price!!!
 super love this flavour... parfait a la mode .. ice cream flavourssss =)))
didnt think i will even buy clothing... 
but i managed to find this super duper cheap at the basement of namba station...  
shirt 525 yen ~ SGD 8+!!! Dress 1575 yen SGD 20++!!!
boots 2000 yen SGD 16!!!

wo hao li hai, nv think that i can get fashion stuff at this price!!!

from disney store...
cute stuff you wont find in sg!
mickey/minnie stylus 800yen each, stitch earphone wire coil 600yen, stitch hp chain 750 yen
totally in love with the stitch organiser 1399yen... quite ex at SGD20+  but its refillable... and its after 50% disc... how can I not buy... i think i nv get to see stitch tying up it's ears like that!!!



Friday, January 30, 2009

Day 4 - Kyoto

took the special rapid JR to kyoto...
its around 20mins away!! thats so near!!

ladies only cabin during rush hour

Inside the train....

now you see it... 

now you dont... 
its a good concept! 

Kyoto Station
many people mentioned that it is an attraction itself as it is designed by a famous japan architect 

bought the 1 day unlimited bus tix at 500yen
per bus trip within the city is 220yen so its not worth to buy the day pass
The first stop is 
Kinkakuji
金閣寺
I always see this on japan travel brochure... and i felt that its very pretty... 
closer view... 

and theres this little stall selling 'fu' 
regret that i didnt buy the hello kitty fu there.... i cant find it anymore... =(

a little disappointed that there nothing much to see...

we went for a tea break near the exit...  
matcha & traditional sweets (500yen/pax)
this is the first time i drank matcha... whats the different between that and normal green tea? 
hmm... a powdery and stronger green tea taste... super duper nice! and kyoto is famous for matcha! 

the sweets... with kinkakuji & gold flakes 

you can pay and make a wish too... 



i know japan have all kind of vending machines... 
but i don't expect they have vending machine that tell you your fortune... 
how true will that fortune be??? 
anyway if you get a bad lot, tied it below...
it mean... dont bring the bad luck home~

on the way to our next destination... we saw this mountain with a 'DA' word... 
on a certain festival if i nv rem wrong is august... they will light it up with fire... 
sounds cool! but i doubt i will get a chance to see it ... 

the bus arrival screen.... 
its not digital... but the yellow sign will change and you will know the approx. arrival time.. 
kawaiii !

Reached our next destination: 
kiyomizu temple
清水寺

while walking... we saw people dress in kimono to pray~
lots of shops on the way up.... 

matcha kitkat spotted!

and there we reached the entrance~ 
kiyomizu temple is one of the UNESCO world hertiage site

the main shrine


as the back there another shrine where people pray for love
it is said that if you walked from this stone to another stone at the end with your eyes close, you and partner will be together for long.

The Otowa Waterfall 
Its waters are divided into three separate streams, and visitors use cups attached to long poles to drink from them. Each stream's water is said to have a different benefit, namely to cause longevity, success at school and a fortunate love life. However, drinking from all three streams is considered greedy.

on the way back... we stop by to eat matcha ice cream... lol yea at 5 degree!! shiokness!

and the matcha taste is superb!!!

its getting dark and we hurried to our next destination nearby....
GION
the only place where you still can see geisha/maiko on the street... 
but guess we arrived too late ... not much people around ~
went to hanami-koji to try our luck...
seems like they are all in the machiya houses already.... 
so we shopped around .... 
there many shops selling traditional kyoto stuff around... like things made from kimono fabric...

had our dinner at the restaurant near the bus stop... 
yummy!

and we went back to osaka ~