Note that this photo is a posed shot. You are supposed to cycling anti-clockwise around the lake! Haha If you are deciding between taking the train to Kawaguchiko or driving, you can check out the car rental prices at https://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/user-guide/reservations.html and train prices at http://www.hyperdia.com/ It depends on whether you’re staying overnight at Kawaguchiko and the number of people travelling. Remember to add toll fees of about ¥4200 one way. We decided to rent a car but forgot about the toll fees so it ended up being more expensive. I’d say if you’re staying for one night and there are at least 3 of you, renting a car is a good option. If there are two of you and you want more freedom to move around (such as going to neighbouring places like Oshino Hakkai, Chureito Pagoda, Yamanakako etc) it is also better to rent a car. You should also be warned that traffic is congested upon leaving and arriving at Tokyo. We parked our car at ou...
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Tokyo Harajuku with Kids: Cafe-hopping and non-stop shopping
Harajuku is the place to go for its collection of quaint cafes and shopping options. My nieces, the city-dwellers had so much adrenaline here it was difficult for me to keep up. We were literally eating and shopping the whole time.
Kiddyland
Let loose your kid here and you’ll regret it! It’s like Disney Store cum Sanrio Store cum Rilakumma Store etc all rolled into one. Be prepared to burn a hole in your pocket. My sister-in-law set a limit of 3 items per child so my nieces had to decide carefully what they wanted to buy.
I wiped out every Princess Leia plushie on their shelf! Haha
Even the toilets are so cute
Luke’s lobster
Sinking your teeth into soft and fluffy brioche bursting with succulent Boston lobster flesh when you are hungry from all that shopping is just too satisfying. The clam chowder was awesome too, packed with ingredients, hot and flavourful, a warm welcome in the cold weather.
Dominique Ansel Bakery
There was already a queue when we arrive just after opening hours so we had to wait for a seat. Note that if you order from level 1, you can only dine at level 1.
My nieces enjoyed watching the torching of frozen smore (vanilla ice cream coated with chocolate cookie bits encrusted in marshmallows), cookie shot and blossoming hot chocolate. It was the most expensive breakfast we had but the smiles on my nieces’ faces tell me it was worth it. Which kid doesn’t like sweet stuff? I sometimes feel that you can get diabetes just by looking at the food here but for kids, they have the metabolism to burn off all that sugar! Haha
Owl cafe
I had planned to go to a cat cafe but we figured that since Singapore also has one, we should try something more exotic so we settled on owl cafe and got the gentleman at the tourist information booth at Harajuku to help us make a reservation. The owls are so cute and I didn’t know they had such soft feathers. My nieces very gamely tried holding an owl and letting a bird fly to them. Interesting experience indeed!
Takeshitadori
This busy street has so many shops and snacks we had to be selective. Crepes are too filling so we popped into the Calbee Store for the chips, the kind of food your mother forbids you from eating too much of because it’s heaty but your aunt brings you there so you can cart back a few boxes home to slowly savour.
Long fries
Just at the entrance of Takeshitadori from the side away from JR Harajuku station is a tiny hole in the hall counter that sells these amazing fries. They are made by passing mashed potato through a tool with holes so they form noodle-like strips before hitting the boiling oil to be fried. The 6 of us cleaned out one tray of these in less than 5 mins.
Note that this photo is a posed shot. You are supposed to cycling anti-clockwise around the lake! Haha If you are deciding between taking the train to Kawaguchiko or driving, you can check out the car rental prices at https://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/user-guide/reservations.html and train prices at http://www.hyperdia.com/ It depends on whether you’re staying overnight at Kawaguchiko and the number of people travelling. Remember to add toll fees of about ¥4200 one way. We decided to rent a car but forgot about the toll fees so it ended up being more expensive. I’d say if you’re staying for one night and there are at least 3 of you, renting a car is a good option. If there are two of you and you want more freedom to move around (such as going to neighbouring places like Oshino Hakkai, Chureito Pagoda, Yamanakako etc) it is also better to rent a car. You should also be warned that traffic is congested upon leaving and arriving at Tokyo. We parked our car at ou...
The Tsukuba Kasumigaura Ring Ring Road is a cycling route from JR Iwase station to JR Tsuchiura station and continuing to Lake Kasumigaura loop. The stretch between JR Iwase station and JR Tsuchiura station is 40km and the loop around the lake is about 100km so the total return trip is 180km. Map of Ring Ring Road from JR Iwase station to JR Tsuchiura station We only did part of the straight route and part of the lake so we covered only about 50km. Here’s a video of our trip. IMPORTANT NOTE: We based in Tsukuba because we needed to meet a dear friend. Tsukuba is not the best starting point for this cycling route because we had to cycle 10km to intersect at a part of the Ring Ring Road since public transport connection between Tsukuba and Iwase or Tsuchiura is poor. We took a taxi from JR Tsuchiura station back to Tsukuba (¥3400). When we told the taxi-driver our destination, he smiled happily and said Arigatou!! 🤣🤣 A better plan will be as follows: Use Mito in Ibaraki as a base. Mit...
I was very thrilled to visit jiufen because it is the inspiration of Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Spirited Away and it certainly did not disappoint :) we took the TRA to Ruifang and had lunch there which cost only TWD$95!!! Amazing value for money! Intrigued by this oven, we bought a baked black pepper bun to try. Although the crust is tasty with the sesame seeds, we found the filling a little too peppery. We took a 15-min taxi to Jiufen and since the roads are very narrow, had to walk a short distance to find our minsu. When Chris told me we will be staying in a minsu 民宿, I pictured myself squatting in the bathroom scooping out water from a tub/pail to bathe. But when we arrived at 日光涵管, I was very impressed with the amazing view from our rooms. It's a maisonette unit where the lower level is a living area and the upper is the bedroom, toilet and bathroom. And thankfully, I didn't have to squat in the toilet and scoop water to bathe hahaha perhaps because I didn't ...
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