[Tokyo Trip] - The Music in Koenji

Ready to continue our little trip with me? I headed to the Koenji in the late afternoon and spent the earlier part of the night there as well. Aided by the cool evening wind and the considerable fewer number of people, this suburb is all charms! I strolled leisurely, checking out the beautiful shops and cafes that dotted the little lanes. Some happy music was playing softly in the air all the way, punctuated by the sound of the occasional cyclist that passed me, presumedly heading home for dinner. I wished I could walk on such streets everyday.

If you love second-hand clothings, you’ll like Koenji.

Cute cafe that sells baby’s clothes too

Super duper cute Hattifnatt Cafe that’s like a tree-house!

They serve yummy home-cooked style food and really pretty desserts!

Handmade menu and stool seat covers

We’ve been on this Tokyo journal for quite a while. Are you loving the city yet?

[Tokyo Trip] - Kichijoji

I’m going to show you some cool/cute cafes and shops I visited in Kichijoji. This time, the photos will do the talking :)

My stomach had just started to growl when I discovered Sometime Cafe that is way cool with its vintage furnishings and located in the basement of a building. Very decently-priced lunch sets that are oishii! Live music at night.

Karel Capek Teatime Shop is cuteness galore! The friendly shop assistant was offering very fragrant tea and cookies for samples. They also stock some kitchenware and cards. I don't ever want to leave this place!

After shopping in the area, I stopped by Il Cappetit, a sweet little cafe for something sweet. They also have a small zakka shop with many cute items (small but I still found things to buy)!

I hope you're not sick of this Tokyo series yet? I'm having fun though!

Linguine for Dinner

I made linguine with shrimps and tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil for dinner awhile ago. Simple and good.

I thought we’ll take a break from the Tokyo series today. It’ll be back in the next post!

[Tokyo Trip] - Music Sunday

Hi there, today I’m going to show you a different side of Tokyo! I spent my Sunday in Tokyo in a really leisure way, without much shopping. I wanted to experience Tokyo as a local as far as possible. Looking back, I really enjoyed it and it made my trip a rounded one.

I went to Yoyogi Koen to enjoy the greens, watch little kawaii Japanese kids run about, soak in the vibes and listened to several bands play. They were playing/singing music of different genres but the common denominator was that they were all passionate. You could see the joy on their faces!

Walked towards the stadium later and chanced upon a food fair showcasing famous dishes from all over Japan! Yippee! Wasted no time in sampling some really oishii food and washed it down with Kirin beer! I was too busy stuffing my face but here’s one of the best grilled fish I had, stuffed with ikura. Mmm!

After dinner, T and I walked out of a shop to see a number of Japanese heading to the basement. Curious, we checked it out and found out that they were going to a gig. With my limited Japanese, I found out that it was a rock concert. T and I decided impromptu to go for it. So before we knew it, we were rocking on with a roomful of Japanese! It was such a blast! I felt like I was in Nana (Japanese manga, anime and movie).

[Tokyo Trip] - Bagful of Cuteness

A walk around Tokyo got my bag stuffed with cute flyers/postcards/namecards! Other than the kawaii factor, I think they are generally well-designed. Whenever T sees me slipping one into my bag, he gives me an “again?” look, and I return a “what?” look :p. Here are a few:

It’s a national holiday over here tomorrow, so I’ll see you back here on Monday. We’ll continue our journey then. I hope you have a beautiful weekend!

[Tokyo Trip] - Shimokitazawa

Welcome back! Are you ready for more Tokyo? You are going to love today’s post! Okey dokey, here we go:

One of my constant companions on this Tokyo trip is the Hello Sandwich Tokyo Guide by the wonderful Miss Ebony. It led me to some really cute places! At the same time, I had also decided that I wanted to wander freely without having my eyes glued to a map all the time. I simply wanted to see what wonderful things and places I would stumble upon. This ought to be the spirit of traveling, right?

So on this particular day, I headed out for Shimokitazawa on my own. My plan was to head for the places I must go and then to stroll around freely. Shimokitazawa became one of my favourite places in Tokyo in no time. It was lined with lots of quaint and interesting shops!

I headed to Mois Cafe (from the Hello Sandwich Guide) for lunch and fell very much in love with this charming cafe set inside an old Japanese style house. It was quiet with soft calming music in the air. The room was filled with old wooden furniture and sunlight was peeking in from the windows. This place was like a respite from the outside world.

I didn’t do that much clothes shopping on this trip (too busy loading my luggage with fabric, zakka stuff, books and magazines etc.) but believe me there were lots of beautiful apparels that caught my eye.

Every bike I see in this country is so perfect! Major coveting!

Sigh...wish I had more time to wander around this lovely surburb.