Tokyo 9-14Apr09: Day 4 & 5

 Day 4

Not much to share about Day 4 & 5 as I was busy shopping and playing Yu-Fo catchers :p

I guess it's kind of embarrassing to admit, yes both hubby and I were quite hooked onto these Yu-Fo catchers. The entire mechanism and trick into getting the prized catches is just so intriguing. All the prizes can be 'caught', just a matter of how - the method, the positioning, the exact angle, a little bit of luck :) It's not that we wanted those items, it was the thrill of getting them =D
The arcades have an amazing array of prizes - from soft toys, to sweets, chocolates, ice-cream, potatoes (yes, no joke), t-shirts, bags, watches, cups, mugs, plates, cooking pot (yes, no joke. Hubby caught one Mickey Mouse cooking pot)

We would go into every single arcade at Sunshine 60 Street everyday we passed by, whether going out or coming back to the hotel. LOL.

Our lunch for Day 4. The value-for-money Matsuya. We bought our tickets from the vending machine and handed it to the counter staff.

Within minutes, our meal was served. My order - grill pork with ginger. The set meal cost 580 yen and come with rice, miso soup, salad and grill meat. Water, various sauces and pickled ginger are lined at the counter for self-service.

After lunch, I spent the whole afternoon shopping at Loft, Seibu Department Store (there are a few zakka shops as well), and Sunshine City itself. While hubby went on his own to explore fishing tackle shops, electrical and IT stores like Yodabashi and Bic.

We met back at the hotel to deposit my shopping and decided to head to Shinjuku to explore the Yu-Fo arcades there, as well as the Kabuki-cho area which we didn't explore our previous visits.

Dinner was at a small Jap restaurant. It's nice to have curry rice once in a while; rich curry sauce with deep fried pork loin and served with soft, fluffy Jap rice.

Kabuki-cho is definitely an interesting and colourful area, although doesn't seem as notorious as what the area is known for; don't think the yakuza organizations would be so easily detectable or creating trouble openly. Anyway, we steered clear from dark, lone alleys and didn't hang around too late. Basically just visited all the Yu-Fo arcades around the area before heading back to Ikebukuro.

Day 5

Hubby discovered this ramen shop while he was exploring Ikebukuro area. So this was our lunch place on Day 5. Very attractive shop furnishing, very 'genki' feel.

So was the interior. Very genki with the large font menus and kakoii illustrations on the wall.

Can see that this ramen shop is very popular.

First up, gyoza. Gyoza is a must eat side dish with ramen. The skin was chewy and filling of ground pork/chives very fresh. Best with the soy-vinegar dipping sauce!

Here's our ramen. The handmade noodle was slightly thicker than those we ate before but very al dente. The broth was thick and rich but not too heavy. And I love the hardboil egg with yolk that was still runny state! The char siu was very tender but a little fat though.

There was a basket of garlic and a tool used to squeeze the garlic into tiny strips. The Japs like garlic with their ramen. No thanks, no dragon breath for me!

After the delicious ramen lunch, we went together to the fishing tackle shop at Ikebukuro itself to look at a reel that hubby was eyeing on. He couldn't decide whether to buy the previous day he was there, but finally he did.

Saw some sakura trees along the way and took a few 'obligatory' shots. With this sunny weather, a lot of sakuras were wilting.

After hubby acquired his fishing reel, we decided to go to Shibuya. I to Tokyu Food Show, whereas he, another fishing tackle shop at Shibuya.

For those who love food and desserts, I would highly recommend a trip to the supermarkets and food halls in Japan. They are certainly a feast for the eyes! I think I have said this many times :)

Strawberries which were in season! They were really sweet and juicy :d

Andersen, one of the most well known bakery in Tokyo.

Another bakery, can't remember the name. But the bread looked so tantalising.

Colourful desserts with creative ideas of packaging and display.

A trip to the Tokyu Food Show always got me drooling over the desserts.

Oh yes, and the Aoyama Flower Market with such lovely mini bouquets for sale.

Hubby and I met after an hour and deposited my shopping at one of these automated lockers. These are the newer ones which gives a ticket with pin number; the older ones are just normal key locker.

We went to Tokyu Hands and spent like 2 hrs there, exploring all the knick knacks and I was happy to find some household items which would come in handy in my kitchen.

After Tokyu Hands, we explored Yu-Fo catcher arcades around the Shibuya area =p

So cute can! I wanted the purple one with an onigiri on its head, but we gave up after a few attempts. Well, I don't actually need a soft toy.

Shibuya, bustling with vibrancy and life. We decided we gonna stay in Shibuya for our next Tokyo trip (when would that be, I wonder).

Ok, here's presenting our prized catches. Crazy huh? LOL.

Well, that's it. The end of my Tokyo trip.

Nothing to report on my last day. Basically, we woke up very early, took the Airport Limousine Bus (booked tickets in advance with the concierge) to Narita Airport and back to SG. I wonder again, when will I be back to my favourite city?