Prada In Japan

Prada at Omotesando is a very unique building as you can see but I’m sure you wouldn’t expect anything less in Japan  – plus this is Prada you are talking about.  Look at the bubbles on the building – you cannot mistaken it as any other brand right?

I didn’t go in the day I took the pictures because I wasn’t dressed appropriately.  I just didn’t feel right – as the Japanese thinks that you don’t respect them or their establishment if you walked in with your bermuda.

A Walk Thru’ The Golden Pavilion

Living in Japan for 6 months reminds me of my walk at the Golden Pavilion Temple – also known as the Kinkaku-ji.  So how do one get to the Golden Pavilion Temple?  The temple is located in Kyoto – and I was there for a few months at least – so i became very familiar with the place.  Open from 9am to 5pm – I take my afternoon walks here with my apple nano and to rest my eyes after a few hours of looking on the computer or talking with engineers.   At that time – I had to get my Apple Nano from Canada – because I couldn’t understand the ones in Japan – so before going to Japan – I saw them in Canada – and had bought them immediately.  Little did I know that my apple nano was going to be my constant companion during my stay in Japan.

The admission fee for the KinKau-ji was 400 yen then – I don’t know if it had change now.  But as you can see – it was a great place to spend the afternoon to relax before heading back to work.

The Golden Pavilion – said to be covered with gold leaf on two storey – this was used as a retirement villa for a shogun.  The surrounding is quite extravagant as you can see here – almost breathtaking the first time I came here for my walk.  I avoid talking to anyone – when I’m out for a walk – so by using my apple nano – it was perfect.  If you are visiting Kyoto – take a walk at my favorite place.

Hakone Train & Adventures

Hakone is part of a national park and one can take this train up to Mt Fuji – but like most tourists – you won’t get to see Mt Fuji clearly unless you are really lucky because Mt Fuji is known for being a shy mountain.  Many like to take the train because they can get to view the scenery around them – and this is the best time of the year to be taking this train up to Mt Fuji because of the fall foliage.  Of course, people visit Hakone also for its hot spring or onsen.

Some omiyage shops in Hakone

Awesome scenery !

Shopping In Downtown Shinjuku

If you hear anyone tell you that shopping at downtown Shinjuku is a blast – they are not wrong – there is just so much to pick from – you don’t know where to begin and don’t know where to stop.  I used to be so addicted to shopping in Shinjuku – that I had to put my credit card on freeze for a week to stop my addition.  I would look for those discount ray bans and handbags and the most funkiest looking dresses or shoes.   If you walk in the downtown Japan, you will see that you are surrounded by the most fashionable kids and you just envy them for being able to wear what they do.

How I wished I was young and rich – that way I can buy anything and wear just about anything instead of being confined to work clothes since we spend a lot of time in the office.  But on can’t resist those discounted ray bans for they were so popular once upon a time.  If I can go back to Japan – I would spend a few days just shopping at downtown Shinjuku.

Nijo Castle Kyoto

Like all foreigners who have been in Japan for several months – we tend to go visit our nearby neighbors and Kyoto is one of my favorite place to go to – if there was a long weekend.  I’ve been to Nijo Castle in Kyoto once with some friends and it was pretty quiet and tranquil.

We had taken a bus to Nijo Castle and like most foreigners we thought we were being smart by getting the bus pass – that takes us to several touristy places in Kyoto – but alas, apparently, we are not the only one with smart thinking haha!  Yes ! it was packed but that’s alright – we had fun waiting for the next bus and we met some really nice people going to Nijo Castle as well.

Nijo Castle had very impressive architecture as you can see here at the entrance and it was built to protect the Imperial Palace.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the grounds but the outside garden was not a problem – like most castles in Japan – this one was quite similar.  Admission to Nijo Castle is about 600 Yen – about $5 Canadian I think and if you want an English guide you have to pay extra.  Nijo Castle is said to be build by a Shogun and they lived inside the castle to protect the imperial palace.

Japanese Wives Club

When I was living in Japan for 6 months – I’ve had the privileged to meet some wonderful wives of my engineers stationed in Japan – and they taught me many things about shopping in Japan.  A lot of people thinks that shopping in Japan is expensive but they are just like us in the West – and only buy quality things and things that are on sale – and using wet seal coupons as well – to get the best deals.  One very important lesson I learned from these Japanese wives is that they never buy things that are not of good quality and of a good deal.  Even when it comes to groceries and marketing – they buy the freshest but the cheapest and make the best dish for their husbands when they come home from work.  So yes!  the Japanese wives club had ladies ranging from the age of 25 – right up to 45 of age.  And for every thing they buy for themselves and for their family – they take care in getting the right things for them.

Nail Art In Japan

Nail art from Japan has gotta be one of the most amazing art work that I’ve seen and they really make you feel like yo8u are so outdated.  This is a halloween nail art – so it looks kinda horror but there are so many cute ones that one can choose to wear.   i don’t know how one works with nails like that but when you are shopping in Tokyo – you will see lots of younger girls having nail art on their hands.   I hear they are pretty expensive – but I do like them and will try them out when I do visit Japan again.

Yabaton In Nagoya

Some said this will caused a cardiac arrest – hahah! but I still had to try it.   A huge pork cutlet with miso sauce with rice at the bottom of the bowl and it was super cheap too.  The miso sauce isn’t as thick but was still good but just be prepared to wait for 15 mins for your seat – I’m just happy that the friend I was with knows the owner and we got in immediately.

1000 Yen @ Mac’s Japan

So summer just ended in Japan as well last week but in Japan – they had a set menu for 3 for 1000 Yen and 1000 Yen is like 10 bucks here and this campaign lasted the entire summer.  For 1000 Yen – 3 person can expect a Big Mac, a teriyaki burger, a cheeseburger, 3 fries and 3 drinks – not bad for $10 in Japan if you asked me – wished I had known about this earlier – so that I could tell my readers.

Living In Japan

Houses may be small in Japan – and most people only lived in cubicle houses or apartments – but the Japanese living is by far the most innovative – because they have all sorts of gadgets to make living easier and so much more pleasant.  One would think you cannot entertain in such a small place – but it’s far from the truth – because the Japanese uses the electric grill to BBQ and entertain so much – just like us in the west.   They also have this tako machine that I wished I had bought one back from japan – and they make this yummy tako and have tako parties.  The Japanese loved grilling everything and anything they can lay their hands on – and entertaining whether family or friends is second nature to them.