Kyoto Kimono Rental and Photoshoot by Yumeyakata

Posted on May 22, 2016 by missuschewy

Hello chewys! This will be our last post documenting our Japan trip and we have saved the best for last! Apart from our visit to Shirakawa-go which we had blogged about previously, another highlight of our holiday would be..

The Chewy’s very first kimono wearing experience and outdoor photoshoot in Kyoto!

Kyoto is the best place in Japan to explore traditional temples, shrines, gardens, as well as for tourists to immerse themselves in Kyoto’s rich culture. Over the years, it has become very common and increasingly popular for tourists visiting Kyoto to go sightseeing in a kimono.

There are so many kimono rental shops in Kyoto so it’s highly advisable that you do sufficient research before your trip to ensure that everything goes according to your plan!

I was initially overwhelmed by the various recommendations provided online and began to shortlist based on two factors: 1) Price and 2) Provision of photoshoot services.

Yumeyakata was the best choice because it offers one of the lowest kimono rental rates at ‎only ¥3500/person (~S$44) upon reservation. Please note that all prices mentioned from here on excludes 8% tax. Female and male couple kimono rental rates are quoted at ‎¥6500 – ¥7000 (~S$81.50 – ~S$88) and I reckon it’s a really good deal considering you get to wear the kimono the entire day, as long as you return to Yumeyakata by 19:30! If you wish to make a reservation, you may fill in an online form via Yumeyakata’s website or email info@yumeyakata to have your enquiries answered. Sisca was our main contact person and she was very prompt in all email communications, at times going out of the way to make sure our needs were met!

Apart from the really affordable price, Yumeyakata is one of the few kimono rental companies in Kyoto to offer both indoor and outdoor photoshoot services, which Yumeyakata terms as “Location Photo Plan“. Photoshoots are carried out by a team of professional photographers, some of whom can converse in Mandarin and English! Their profiles and photography works can be found on Yumeyakata’s website and you can even designate your desired photographer at ‎an additional ¥2000 (~S$25).

Depending on the location(s) chosen, the photography package price starts from ¥‎22000 (~S$276) and you get to receive over 200 beautifully captured photos from a 2-hour photoshoot! Yumeyakata also offers a “One-Day Location Photo Plan” where you can hire their photographer for an entire day! This is definitely a good choice if you are touring Kyoto with a group of friends!

A photoshoot usually starts at 10:30 or 14:30 and since it takes about 1.5 hours to get ready, we chose to have our photoshoot in the afternoon to avoid being late as we had to travel from Osaka. As we had a bit of time upon reaching Kyoto, we visited Kiyomizudera and subsequently took a train and alighted at Gojo station. From Exit 1, we only had to walk straight for a couple of minutes before reaching Yumeyakata’s store!

Not surprisingly, the place was packed; a good sign that business was brisk. I had to fill in a form indicating our heights, along with some other information and we were handed recyclable bags to store our shoes and clothes. We were first ushered to one of the floors to pick our kimono, which is estimated to take about 30 minutes. I almost hyperventilated at the vast array of kimonos available! One tip would be to first browse through some of Yumeyakata’s kimonos collection online to get a rough idea about your preferences. I knew I wanted large bold prints against bright colors like pink. Knowing what you want right from the start makes the picking process a lot easier! For ladies, we also had to pick an obi and sash, and you are advised to choose contrasting colors to make your outfit stand out.

Due to privacy reasons, there are different levels that cater to female and male customers exclusively. Also, photography is strictly prohibited when getting dressed as there are other customers around. A professional dresser helped Little misschewy and I into our kimonos and it took only 15 minutes.

Hairstyling is optional but I highly recommend it if you want to at least look like the real deal at the end of the day! Depending on the type of hair styles chosen, prices range from ‎¥‎1500 – ‎¥‎5000 (~S$19 – S$63). Hairstyling will take another 15 minutes.

Our photographer, Yang Suhao, is a Taiwanese, so we communicated easily in Mandarin. From Yumeyakata, we took a short taxi ride to Gion, our location of choice and commenced our photoshoot. Suhao put us at ease with his warm smile and good naturedness, which made us enjoy the photoshoot. When Little misschewy got tired and became cranky towards the end of the photoshoot, Suhao remained very patient and encouraging.

Even though we only spent two hours in Gion, we had a fun and memorable time posing for photos in our traditional kimonos. Some of the passers-by went, “Kawaii-neh!” while trying to take photos of Little misschewy. We were also very lucky that there were beautiful cherry blossoms to serve as a nice backdrop in some of our photos!

The two hours passed by very quickly and we cabbed back to Yumeyakata after the photoshoot as we had no intention of wearing our kimonos till late evening. We received a link via email to download close to 300 photos the very next day! Our family photos were really well taken thanks to Suhao and these will serve as wonderful memories for us to keep!

This is one of my favorite photos, which I have selected as my iPhone’s wallpaper!

For more information on Yumeyakata and a complete overview of its services available, please head to http://www.yumeyakata.com/english/. Alternatively, there is an e-brochure http://www.yumeyakata.com/english/images/top/en.pdf for the more important and condensed information.

Kyoto Kimono Rental Yumeyakata
600-8103
Hosai Bldg, 353, Shiogama-cho, Nishiiru sakai-machi, Gojo-dori, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan

Tel: +81-75-354-8515
Special phone line for Chinese & English: +81-75-354-9110
Fax: +81-75-354-8506
Business hours: 10:00 ～ 19:30 (entry by 6 pm) *Subject to changes depending on the season*
Closed on Dec. 31 until Jan.3 every year.（Return by 17:00 on Dec. 30.）

Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 8: Thunderbird Limited Express from Shin-Osaka to Kanazawa > Check into Hotel Nikko Kanazawa > Kenroku-en Garden > Kanazawa Castle > Lunch at Sushi Zanmai > Omicho Market > Higashi Chaya District > Tonkatsu dinner at Tomikinton (富金豚)

Day 9: Nouhi bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go > Sightseeing around Shirakawa-go > Nouhi bus from Shirakawa-go to Kanazawa > Thunderbird Limited Express from Kanazawa to Shin-Osaka > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

Travelling around Shirakawa-go during winter!

Posted on May 19, 2016 by missuschewy

I had not heard of Shirakawa-go until one night, as we were having our me-time after completing the household chores, misterchewy casually mentioned that he came across some photos of this village in Japan. He went on to rave about how beautiful the entire village was captured in photos, especially during winter, but also remarked that Shirakawa-go would be totally out of the way and inconvenient to be included in our itinerary. I merely listened because I wasn’t so keen initially and less than two weeks before our trip, misterchewy decided to try his luck again. I figured it would be a nice change to include a small village in our itinerary, since we had planned to go to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.

We tried searching for a ryokan in Shirakawa-go that could accommodate us for a night, via Japanese Guest Houses, but we were informed that all the ryokans were fully booked for the second half of March. As mentioned in our previous post, we stayed in a hotel in Kanazawa instead. From Kanazawa station, we boarded the 8.40am Nohi route bus. We had reserved our seats the day before at the Nohi Bus Reservation Centre located at Kanazawa station. A round trip ticket costs ¥3290 (~S$30). Prior our trip, misterchewy checked the Nohi bus timetable online and planned our itinerary accordingly. We reached Shirakawa-go at around 10am.

Of all the places in our itinerary, Shirakawa-go was the coldest! Little misschewy was already dressed in numerous layers of thick clothing, so we made her don a knitted owl beanie. Hehe.

Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, Shirakawa-go is famous for its traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old. If you notice, the farmhouses’ thatched roofs actually resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer, and that is exactly what Gassho-zukuri means — constructed like hands in prayer.

Most of the beautiful photos we saw online were of gassho-zukuri farmhouses covered in thick snow during winter. In fact, Ogimachi Village in Shirakawa-go typically gets covered by one to two meters of snow during the peak of the white season. However, we were there in March and although it was still very cold, all of the snow had already melted by then and we got to see a different side of Shirakawa-go instead.

Myozenji Temple from afar. It has the biggest thatched roof in the village, which when covered in snow, is simply magnificent.

Breathtaking, isn’t it? This is the Shiroyama Viewpoint, which offers nice views of Ogimachi Village and its farmhouses. We took a shuttle bus at about ‎¥200 (~S$2.50) per adult and we were glad we did because even though the viewpoint can be accessed via a walking trail in about 20 minutes from the centre of the village, the walking trail is a steep upslope!

We strolled back to our starting point, which was the place where we alighted the Nohi bus, and had lunch at this small cafe. The place was packed with cold and hungry tourists like us!

Curry udon to warm ourselves up!

Since we had plenty of time before our scheduled bus back to Kanazawa, we decided to walk around and take more photos.

We were so surprised when it began to snow! :O

Little misschewy was also very thrilled and she even tried to ‘catch snow’ (in her own words) with both hands. 😀

Here’s one of the videos we took!

We spent about 4 hours in Shirakawa-go which we felt was more than sufficient. However, if you prefer to explore every nook and cranny of Shirakawa-go, it is highly recommended that you stay in a ryokan. I would definitely love to visit Shirakawa-go again and witness its idyllic winter landscape!

Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

One-Day Kanazawa Trip: Kenrokuen Garden, Kanazawa Castle and Omicho Market

Posted on May 17, 2016 by missuschewy

We have come to the best leg of our Japan trip, which I will be sharing over two blog posts! When misterchewy and I first planned for this trip, we had intended to visit only Tokyo and Osaka. It was less than 2 weeks before our flight that we finally made up our minds to visit Shirakawa-go! One of the major reasons which held us back initially was the thought of having to travel long hours by train and bus with a toddler, which can be quite inconvenient and tiring for us. We eventually managed to convince ourselves that everything would turn out fine and we would have the time of our lives! Not surprisingly, all the ryokans in Shirakawa-go were fully booked for the second half of March and we made Kanazawa our stopover instead.

Woke up bright and early to catch the 7am Thunderbird Limited Express from Shin-Osaka to Kanazawa! We left our two big luggages in our Airbnb and brought only the small one along since we were only going to spend a night in Kanazawa. This was our 7-Eleven breakfast on the go!

Reached Kanazawa station after 2.5 hours! Do you know that Kanazawa station is one of the most beautiful train stations in Japan?

Even though it was very last minute, we managed to secure a room at Hotel Nikko Kanazawa, and it was a 5 minute’s walk from the station! We paid about S$150 for a night and it was totally worth it!

Our cosy room was perfect for the three of us!

The view from our hotel room.

After freshening up, we took the JR bus using our JR pass to Kenrokuen Garden, classified as one of Japan’s “three most beautiful landscape gardens” alongside Mito’s Kairakuen and Okayama’s Korakuen. There is an admission fee of ‎¥310 per adult. As you can see, we specially packed a thicker set of clothing for our trip to Kanazawa and Shirakawa-go because these places were so much colder! Shall let the photos do the talking!

Small tea house selling snacks and souvenirs.

I don’t remember we had lunch but misterchewy wasn’t hungry so I made him buy these dango for Little misschewy and I to share.

When in Kanazawa, eat GOLD FOIL soft serve ice cream!

There were a few stalls outside Kenrokuen Garden selling gold foil ice cream at various prices and we randomly purchased from one at ‎¥890 (S$11). Definitely not cheap but so delicious! I’m not sure if the gold foil played a role in enhancing the soft serve’s taste!

Enjoying my precious ice cream outside Kanazawa Castle!

We headed to Omicho Market, in search of some of the freshest seafood available! It was late afternoon by the time we got there, thus the market was not very packed.

We ate uni straight out of its shell at only ‎¥500 (S$6)!

Little misschewy was shocked to see a gigantic fish head that she ran to us, whimpering that she was scared. Hahaha.

Stopped by Sushi Zanmai for more food, plus we needed to sit and rest after a long day.

We visited one of the many temples in Kanazawa and shortly upon our arrival, it began to drizzle.

Most of the tea houses were closed by the time we reached Higashi Chaya District in the evening.

There are a couple of shopping centres around Kanazawa station which is very convenient for tourists. It didn’t take us very long to decide what to have for dinner! Good thing we got there early because a queue was seen forming outside Tomikinton Kanazawa Forus shortly after we placed our orders.

The tonkatsu was seriously good! The outer crumbs were fluffy and crisp while the meat was amazingly tender and juicy! Rice, side dishes, cabbage, miso soup and tea are all free-flow!

Walked around the mall for a bit before calling it a night!

We will be sharing details on our trip to Shirakawa-go in our next post! Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 9: Nouhi bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go > Sightseeing around Shirakawa-go > Nouhi bus from Shirakawa-go to Kanazawa > Thunderbird Limited Express from Kanazawa to Shin-Osaka > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

Day Trip to Kyoto: Kiyomizudera Temple and Kichi Kichi Omurice

Posted on May 10, 2016 by missuschewy

The Chewys went on a day trip to Kyoto on the 7th day of our Japan trip. We took the Shinkasen at about 7plus in the morning from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto. Since we were a bit early, we decided to buy a bento to share before departing.

Japan is the land of bentos! LOL! They have all kinds of bentos at the train station and we stood there in awe. I wanted to get the Hello Kitty one for Little misschewy but it was out of stock! 🙁

After a short 15 minute ride, we arrived at Kyoto Station! Took the public bus to Kiyomizudera Temple, also known as “Pure Water Temple”. It is one of the temples that you must visit in Japan!

Omamori in the form of randoseru for school children! So cute! Randoseru are large and sturdy backpacks used by Japanese elementary school children.

Women clad in kimono is a common sight in Kyoto!

Dramatic story-telling in Japanese within the grounds of Kiyomizudera Temple.

We didn’t spend much time at the temple as we had an appointment with the kimono rental company in the afternoon. So, off we went, in search of some food!

There was a queue for cream puffs and we joined in! I had the matcha cream puff and it was delish!

Our first MacDonald’s meal in Japan! Haha! Why no Mc Pork! 🙁 We had one of their chicken burgers instead and the meat was so tender! We ate our burgers en route to the kimono rental studio, which we will share in a separate blog post.

In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview! We spent about 4 hours in total inclusive of the photoshoot, which explains why we didn’t have time to visit the other attractions in Kyoto. Would love to head back to this amazing place again!

After our photoshoot, it was close to dinner time and we were famished! Stopped by for a quick meal at one of the restaurants at Kyoto Station. I ordered the Katsu-don with udon set, which worked out to be less than S$12! Good thing I was really hungry because I managed to finish all my food! Hahaha.

Not sure if you can recognise him, but he’s the famous Chef Yukimura Motokichi of Kichi Kichi Omurice in Kyoto! Chef has generated quite a hype online through photos and videos uploaded by customers who patronised his restaurant! We didn’t include Kichi Kichi in our itinerary and one day before our Kyoto day trip, misterchewy emailed the restaurant to make reservations. Not surprisingly, they couldn’t take in any more reservations and suggested that we try walking in about 30 minutes prior to closing time, which we did! BUT, the 8-seater restaurant was still packed and unable to accommodate us.

The waitress told us to return 15 minutes later and they managed to squeeze us in! I suppose we were really lucky because I read reviews that reservations are strongly recommended if you want to dine at Kichi Kichi, or be prepared to be turned away!

It was an eye-opening experience for all of us, being able to watch Chef Yukimura in action! Even though it was almost closing time, Chef and his two female wait staff remained very upbeat and amicable.

A display of Chef’s skillfulness! We ordered only the Omurice in regular (‎¥2500 ~ S$31.50) and mini (‎¥1350 ~ S$17). There were other items on the menu but we just wanted to try Chef’s omurice. Hehehe.

TADAHHHH! Chef wasn’t looking in my direction because he was busy entertaining Little misschewy and making her crack into heaps of laughter. LOL.

Omurice in demi-glace sauce! This meal certainly wasn’t cheap but I shall not go into that. Chef’s omurice tasted quite good and heartwarming; it felt as though we were eating a home cooked meal prepared by a close friend!

Little misschewy had some omurice from misterchewy’s regular portion.

She gave a thumbs up without any prompting and Chef was so amused that he roared with laughter!

Here’s the video which I took using my iPhone! Must watch as it’s highly entertaining 🙂

Thank you Chef Yukimura for accommodating our little family! We certainly had a wonderful time! Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

Kichi Kichi ザ・洋食屋　キチキチ
京都市中京区材木町185-4
185-4 Zaimokuchō, Nakagyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto 604-8017, Japan
Nearest Station : 京阪三条駅 (keihan sanjyou)
Lunch: 12pm-2pm (Sat, Sun & PH)
Dinner: 5pm-9pm

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 8: Thunderbird Limited Express from Shin-Osaka to Kanazawa > Check into Hotel Nikko Kanazawa > Kenroku-en Garden > Kanazawa Castle > Lunch at Sushi Zanmai > Omicho Market > Higashi Chaya District > Tonkatsu dinner at Tomikinton (富金豚)

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

One-Day Suggested Osaka Itinerary: Osaka Castle and Dontonburi

Posted on May 1, 2016 by missuschewy

If you only have one day in Osaka, where will you go and what will you do? Our original intention was to spend at least 3 days taking in the sights and sounds of Osaka but due to some last minute changes in our plan, we only had one full day instead! On Day 6 of our Japan trip, we took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka in the morning. We actually missed our train by a few seconds (!!!) and had to reserve seats again for the next train. Well, at least that gave us a bit of time to hunt for breakfast at the station.

These Siretoco donuts caught my attention from afar and I found myself oohing and aahing over them. Aren’t they the cutest?! I mean, just look at the innocent panda face peering out of the donut! LOL.

If my memory serves me right, each donut costs about ¥310 (~S$4) which definitely isn’t cheap and not knowing if it would taste nice, we only bought one, the Tokyo version, for Little misschewy. Verdict? It’s totally Instagram-worthy and let’s just say that we were glad we only got one. Hahaha. 😛

We reached Shin-Osaka station after a 2.5 hours train ride and had no problem locating Studio Shin-Osaka, our Airbnb, as our host gave us very clear directions via email. Also, it was just a 5 minute walk from the station! So convenient! We didn’t get to meet our host, who lives in Tokyo, so we retrieved the keys from the mailbox.

We were very impressed by how spacious and clean our Osaka Airbnb was!

Mattresses on tatami mats! As we only had one day in Osaka, we decided not to waste any more of our precious time and quickly made our way to our next destination!

It took about 15 minutes from Shin-Osaka Station to Osaka-jo Koen Station via JR Osaka Station. Upon exiting Osaka-jo Koen Station, we saw plenty of food stalls selling street snacks! HUNGRY!

I have no idea what these are called but they are like savoury pancakes wrapped around chopsticks.

We tried the one with a poached egg on top and it was so darn delicious!

After a bit of walking and eating, we found ourselves outside the majestic Osaka Castle!

Treated Little misschewy to ice cream as a reward for her good behaviour. Hehe.

Dotonburi is a must-visit if you are travelling to Osaka! It is like a one-stop food paradise for all types of delicious food that you wouldn’t want to miss out on!

I was quite amused by all the giant food boards at Dotonburi! They certainly caught my attention and I just had to snap photos of the more flashy ones.

Almost mistook this for a food board as well, only to realize it’s a caricature shop. LOL.

The famous giant crab!

We tried a box of two Charcoal Grilled Crab Legs (‎¥700 ~ S$9) which tasted pretty decent. Juicy with a hint of smokiness.

The giant octopus can only mean one thing.

Takoyaki balls!

We didn’t have any concrete plans for dinner and joined the queue to get into Mizuno Restaurant, which specialises in Okonomiyaki. We queued for more than an hour in the cold!

Shall let the photos do the talking! 😉

We had two types of Okonomiyaki — the one with pork loin, and the Mizuno Okonomiyaki. Both were equally delicious, and the cabbage gave the Okonomiyaki a nice crunchy bite. Must try if you are heading to Dotonburi! Remember to avoid peak hours!

Shopped for souvenirs after our dinner and passed by the famous Glico running man sign!

The hubs prefers Asahi. Hahaha.

We did what everyone else was doing — selfie with Glico man! 😀 This concludes our one and only full day in Osaka! Next up, we will be covering a short post on Kyoto!
Do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

From Singapore to Tokyo & Suggested Tokyo Itinerary!

Posted on April 27, 2016 by missuschewy

As most of you should know by now, our 10D9N Japan trip was also Little misschewy’s 2nd birthday trip 🙂 We had been to Phuket, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Penang as a family last year. This time, we decided to venture a little bit further and made Japan the holiday destination of our choice! A visit to Japan in the month of March this year was almost perfect – cold weather and cherry blossoms! I used the word ‘almost’ because the weather was actually quite cold and many times we found ourselves freezing lol, and also the blooming of cherry blossoms didn’t reach its peak only until end March. But it’s ok! We saw plenty to keep us happy till our next trip to Japan. LOL! We took advantage of Singapore Airline’s promotional offer and booked our air tickets early. Red-eye flight to Narita Airport for us! Little misschewy fell asleep in the Tula toddler carrier before we boarded and woke up at 4am on the plane asking for drinks and snacks. She stayed wide awake throughout the rest of the flight and kept pointing at the window, “Go out!” This girl ah!

Upon arriving at Narita Airport, we made our way to the JR station and bought our JR Narita Express tickets to Tokyo, specifically Ikebukuro station because that’s where our Airbnb is! The Narita Express departed the station at 8.13am and we reached Ikebukuro at 10.02am. About 2 hours’ journey! The fare cost ‎¥3190 (S$39) one-way per adult. We didn’t use our JR Pass as it was meant for the second half of our trip and didn’t get return tickets because we would be flying back to Singapore from Osaka. The NEX Tokyo Round Trip Ticket is available for foreign travelers at a discounted rate of ‎¥4000 (S$49) for a two-way trip from the airport to Tokyo and back within a 2-week period. Something worth considering if you are planning a trip to Japan! We didn’t consider the Airport Limousine Bus because the time taken to reach Tokyo is much longer and is subjected to traffic conditions. It is also by no means cheaper than the JR Narita Express. However, if you are not hard pressed for time, the Airport Limousine Bus is a convenient choice too! There are many ways to travel from the airport to Tokyo, but if you are travelling with children, the JR Narita Express and Airport Limousine Bus are your best bets 😉

After meeting our Airbnb host and her baby girl, we took the public bus from the bus stop at Ikebukuro to Sensoji, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple. The hubs and I had been there separately before and we agreed that Asakusa Temple is one of the heavily commercialized temples in Tokyo. Even so, we still made it our first stop in our Tokyo itinerary. Haha.

A photo with the iconic giant red lantern!

Hordes of tourists were there to offer their prayers.

Omamori are Japanese amulets that are commonly sold at religious sites such as temples and shrines. They come in different colors, sizes and designs. It is believed that these omamori provide various forms of protection and luck. Interestingly, there is almost an omamori for everything – love, marriage, childbearing, smooth delivery, health, wealth, studies, safety for driving, and many more! The price of an omamori typically ranges from ‎¥500 to ‎¥1000 (S$6 to $12). Some street peddlers and shops in Japan also sell omamori but for obvious reasons, people prefer to buy them at religious sites.

We also observed the purification ritual whenever we visited a particular temple in Japan. Before entering the temple, there is a purification fountain for visitors and worshippers to purify themselves. The steps are fairly simple; scoop the water from the purification fountain by using the ladle. After rinsing both hands with water from the ladle, proceed to rinse your mouth but do not transfer the water directly into your mouth with the ladle. You should use the ladle to pour some water into your hands to rinse your mouth before spitting the water at the side of the fountain.

Not surprisingly, there was a queue to enter the temple as worshippers took their time to pray fervently. Do you know the significance of this 5-yen (Go-yen) coin? In Japanese, Go-yen sounds like ご縁 which translates to fate, bond and relationship. I think that it also sounds like 有缘 in Mandarin. Therefore, it is only naturally that worshippers prefer to use the 5-yen coin when praying at a temple or shrine. It makes you feel that your prayers are more likely to be heard and answered.

Asakusa Nakamise Shopping Street is located right outside Asakusa Temple. There are plenty of shops selling omamori, souvenirs and street snacks.

There was a long queue for melon pan so we joined in as well!

As we were strolling and nibbling on our melon pan, we saw another queue for Senbei, a type of Japanese rice crackers.

I really liked the Wasabi flavoured ones! So good!

Plenty of late night shopping at Ikebukuro!

If you are planning to visit Tsukiji Fish Market and wish to witness all the action at the wholesale market, please be there early. Like, really early! We knew right from the start that we wouldn’t mind giving it a miss so we slept in a little after our trip to Disneyland 😛

Tsukiji has an outer market, which is packed with rows and rows of stalls selling fresh seafood, vegetables, fruits, etc.

We wanted to eat at Sushi Dai, which to many, is Japan’s best sushi restaurant. However, we ended up at another sushi joint instead because Sushi Dai placed a sign “Unfortunately, we cannot accept any more customers for the day.” at the end of the long snaking queue. 🙁

Itadakimasu!

The hubs had included Ueno Park in our itinerary because he thought that it would be nice to sit and have a picnic, while admiring the blooming cherry blossoms around us. However, the reality was, there was only ONE cherry blossom tree (the one in this photo) and everyone was queuing to take a photo with it. LOL!

We spent some time walking around Ueno Park, which is a large public park next to Ueno Station. Great place for small kids to run around! Little misschewy was so happy that she could finally be out of the Tula for awhile 🙂

We saw another cherry blossom tree as we were leaving Ueno Park!

Just across Ueno Park is Ameya Yokocho Market, where you can buy souvenirs, clothes, shoes, snacks, cosmetics, etc. I bought my Sana Namerakahonpo Soymilk products there, along with some face masks, which were eligible for tax rebate after meeting the minimum spending.

We spotted this claw machine full of Japanese food keychains as prizes! So cute! We didn’t try our luck at winning any of these because we know we are not professionals. Better don’t waste money. Hahaha.

Had absolutely no qualms about spending on ice cream though! 😛

Yummy matcha flavoured ice cream in cold weather!

I had actually shortlisted a handful of cafes to visit in Tokyo, but somehow, we only managed to go to Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant in Shibuya for Little misschewy’s birthday cake! The strawberry shortcake was delish!

Back in Ikebukuro, you can find Sunshine City, where the Mega Pokemon Center is! There were some items which we wanted to buy, such as the Life Sized Snorlax and Graduation Pikachu but they were no longer available when we were there 🙁

Get one of these life sized plushies if your luggage allows it! Hahaha. If not, you can always choose to hand-carry and snuggle with one on the plane 😛

Another night shopping area which we would recommend is Takeshita Dori at Harajuku, where you can find plenty of trendy shops and fashion boutiques.

Little misschewy had her first conveyor belt experience at Sushi-Nova and she was surprisingly well-behaved, considering she sat really still in misterchewy’s lap and ate some of the cooked food.

We walked past the Croquant Chou ZakuZaku store and decided to try one of the almond-coated chou pastries. The special custard cream is made from milk obtained from free-range farms in Hokkaido. Really yummy!

Back to where we stayed in Ikebukuro! Honestly, I was pretty freaked out most of the time when we walked back late at night because the entire place was really dark and quiet.

Our first Airbnb experience! Our host’s family had lived here before moving to another part of Tokyo so this is like a real Japanese home which we found comfortable and cosy! When it got really cold at night, we would turn on the portable heater only when Little misschewy was asleep as the place is rather small and we didn’t wanna risk having her go near it.

This is something that will stay in our memories for a long time! Sometimes we felt lazy to take the underpass to cross over to the other side, so we would wait for the trains to pass and then dash across the street.

On our last day in Tokyo, when we were in a mad rush to get to the train station to go to Osaka with three luggages, we waited for about 15 minutes before we could cross! Hmph.

We have pretty much covered our itinerary in Tokyo and will be blogging about Osaka next!

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

Tokyo DisneySea Travel Blog

Posted on April 23, 2016 by missuschewy

Hello! It has been a long week for us and I’m spending my Friday night updating this space on our trip to Tokyo DisneySea, which wasn’t in our itinerary in the first place. We only decided to go to DisneySea the night before, after we tucked Little misschewy in bed. It all started like this..

Me: Where are we going tomorrow ah?
Him: Oh. Going to Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Harajuku..
Me: Go there do what?
Him: Shop lor.
Me: Huh? Shop only? You mean whole day go shopping? AIYO DON’T WANT LAH!
Him: …
Me: Wah lao you think Chanelle will enjoy meh. Eh why don’t we go DisneySea!!

I’m so glad that misterchewy was really spontaneous and agreed to my crazy proposal. It was crazy because without any ticket reservations, it meant that we had to wake up really early to beat the crowd. Purchasing our tickets online wasn’t an option because it is mandatory for visitors to print their tickets before entering the theme park. Guess what. We woke up at 4.30am Singapore time but it was worth it because we didn’t have to queue to get our tickets! The sky was gloomy though and shortly after we entered the park, it started to drizzle. We didn’t bring our umbrella along, so we ‘invested’ in these Mickey and Minnie headgear! 😛 The hubs had been to DisneySea before, but not for me!

The drizzle got heavier, and we started to wonder if we had picked the wrong day to go to DisneySea. People around us were all smiles though, and we felt a little more optimistic!

I was feeling a little bummed that we didn’t get the chance to take photos with the Disney characters at Disneyland, which we visited two days before our trip to DisneySea. Not even a single one! 🙁 This time, I was determined to have our photos taken with any of the characters available and the first thing we did was to head to Lost River Delta where the Mickey & Friends’ Greeting Trails were! Little misschewy woke up at this point and protested from being constrained under the hood of our Tula which was supposed to shelter her from the drizzle. A kind family who was queuing behind us gave us their spare umbrella!

At the end of these trails through the Lost River Delta jungle, you’ll find one of the Disney friends. Mickey and his pals are studying the ruins of an ancient civilization or researching the jungle plants and insects. Along the trails are fun activities that will make you feel like an explorer, too!

After what seemed like eternity, we finally got to meet and greet Mickey Mouse! Wheeee!

I was surprised to learn that the Disney characters actually station themselves at a particular place the entire day! This is unlike Disneyland where the mascots would suddenly appear out of nowhere and everyone could be seen chasing after them.

Since it was STILL raining, we sought shelter at one of the restaurants and ordered something to share even though we weren’t really hungry.

Aiyoooo why so happy! 😀

Yay! The rain finally stopped and we found ourselves at Mermaid Lagoon!

This is Triton’s Kingdom, situated within Mermaid Lagoon. It’s an indoor facility and a pretty cool one! Really gives you that ‘under the sea’ feeling!

I was drawn to The Sleepy Whale Shoppe in Triton’s Kingdom because you can have your caricature done at a fee! Prices listed were for one and two pax. We tried asking but they were not able to accommodate three. Also, they only do side profiles.

The caricature artist took only about 5 minutes and this lovely souvenir was ours to keep!

Shortly after we stepped foot into American Waterfront, it started to drizzle again.

Hehe the little one fell asleep. Weather too nice la!

Apart from Mermaid Lagoon, I really liked Arabian Coast for its beautiful yet mysterious architecture.

The Caravan Carousel at Arabian Coast has two levels but Little misschewy was contented as long as she could ride on any of the camels. Lol.

Many people were queuing to have a go at Abu’s Bazaar, which was like a little carnival area, and we joined in as well. Nobody leaves empty-handed! For ¥500 (~S$6), you get to try your luck at winning a giant stuffed toy. Consolation pin prizes were given out for trying, so nobody leaves empty-handed.

It took us a few tries and misterchewy won a giant Dale for Little misschewy. She was really jubilant over a stuffed toy whose face is bigger than hers. LOL.

Hahaha I duno what’s with her expression!

Jasmine’s Flying Carpets!

At Mysterious Island, we highly recommend the attraction, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea where you get to board a ‘submarine’ and explore the fantastic undersea world.

Before leaving Disneysea, we went for a final round of queuing at Lost River Delta, where we found Donald Duck dressed in colourful Latin American apparel! Mission accomplished and we were very happy!

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe

Posted on April 18, 2016 by missuschewy

My favourite colour is blue and since young, I have a strong preference over cartoon characters that are predominantly blue in colour like Donald Duck, Cookie Monster, Smurfs and not forgetting, DORAEMON! Of course, no trip to Japan would be complete for a Doraemon fan without stopping by the Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum, more affectionately known as Doraemon Museum, in Kawasaki! Fujiko F. Fujio (Fujimoto Hiroshi) was the creator and manga artist of Doraemon, and he had lived in Kawasaki for a long time.

From Shinjuku Station, we took the train via Odakyu Odawara Line to Noborito Station, where shuttle bus services are available at ¥210 (S$2.60) per person each way. The bus journey took about 10 minutes and we cruised past various houses that looked similar to the ones we had come across in Doraemon manga! It was an interesting experience.

Tickets are not sold at the museum and must be purchased in advance. Our helpful Airbnb host from Tokyo bought the tickets using the Loppi automatic ticket machine at one of the Lawson convenience stores and passed them to us on the day of our arrival. A specific entry date and time slot (10:00, 12:00, 14:00 or 16:00) must be selected when purchasing your ticket, so we gave our host a few options just in case tickets for a particular time slot were sold out. Alternatively, you can also purchase your tickets online but it will be relatively more expensive.

Photography is strictly prohibited at areas where Fujiko F. Fujio’s extensive collection of artwork is displayed. Upon admission, you can request for an English audio guide which will give you greater insight into Fujiko’s life and artwork. Finally! We could take photos at the Woodcutter’s Spring. Keep pressing the lever and Gian will pop out!

Manga Corner. The manga were all in Japanese.

Gachapon Machines.

Interactive Play Area which caught the attention of many kids.

Joined the queue to catch an exclusive Doraemon short film, not available anywhere else!

Movies run every 20 minutes.

Children’s indoor play area.

Time for diaper change and milk feed!

We took our very first Neoprint at Doraemon Museum and I think it makes a pretty nice souvenir too!

Small shop selling Doraemon snacks.

We headed to the outdoor area where plenty of photo-taking opportunities await us!

Remember this playground? It’s where Nobita likes to hide whenever he’s being bullied by Gian and Suneo.

This Dokodemo Door (Anywhere Door) is one of Doraemon’s most commonly used gadgets. Be transported to anywhere you want just by walking through this pink door!

We bought this vanilla-flavoured Dorayaki ice cream to share and it was sooo good!

Deliciously creamy vanilla sandwiched between two fluffy pancakes! What a great cold weather sweet treat!

We had our lunch at Doraemon Cafe! Prior to this, we had to get a queue number and it took about 45 minutes to an hour before our number was called. The wait wasn’t that agonising for us because we were occupied with taking photos at the outdoor area.

Iced Strawberry Flavoured Milk (‎¥510 ~ S$6.40) is also available as a hot drink. There are 9 types of latte art and you will be randomly given one, so treat it as a surprise!

You can take home this cardboard coaster as a souvenir.

Doraemon’s Rice Casserole with Soup (‎¥1230 ~ S$15.40) was quite tasty; Little misschewy enjoyed it too! It was creamy and cheesy, but I don’t think we found any ingredients in there!

From the Sweets Menu, we ordered the Dessert Plate (‎¥1200 ~ S$15) which resembles the layout of the outdoor area where we took photographs earlier!

Cafe staff offered to help every table take photos!

Before leaving the museum, we made a beeline for the Gift Shop and it was really crowded! Everyone wants a piece of Doraemon!

Be prepared to set aside approximately half a day (inclusive of travelling) for a visit to the Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum! We reckon it’s totally worth it if you want to relieve those precious childhood memories! 🙂

Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum
Location: 2-chome 8-1 Nagao, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-city, Kanagawa Prefecture, 214-0023
Transportation Access: Shuttle bus service run from Noborito Station (Odakyu line or JR Nanbu line)

Opening Hours:
10:00 – 18:00
Closed every Tuesday except during the Golden Week (April 29th to May 5th) and summer holidays (July 20th to September 3rd). Also closed during Year-end and New Year Holidays (December 30th to January 3rd).

Purchase admission tickets in advance by selecting preferred date and time slot.
Entrance time is divided into quarterly time-schedule: 10:00; 12:00; 14:00; 16:00
(Visitors must enter the museum no later than half an hour within the reservation time schedule.)

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

Guide to Eating Ichiran Ramen in Japan

Posted on April 15, 2016 by missuschewy

5 nights in Tokyo, 3 bowls of Ichiran Ramen. Honestly, we could have easily eaten 5 bowls if it wasn’t for my concern that we were only eating Ichiran ramen and nothing else in Tokyo. After our 3rd consecutive night of Ichiran ramen, I told misterchewy that we should stop and at least try other types of Japanese food. LOL. The hubs had his first taste of Ichiran back in 2010 when he was in Japan for an attachment programme and when he got back, he wouldn’t stop raving about it. Of course, he had to revisit his old love on our first night in Tokyo, and the nights after.. For the first-timer like me, the dining experience at Ichiran is definitely unique, and can be a little intimidating as well. Luckily, everything is still fresh in misterchewy’s mind and we didn’t hold up the queue for not knowing how to place our orders. By the end of our trip, I became such a Ichiran ramen pro that I could do everything with my eyes closed. LOL.

1. Automatic Vending Machine

Upon entering the restaurant, you will see this vending machine where you purchase your meal tickets from. There was only one vending machine at the branch we patronised in Ikebukuro and three in Dotonburi (Osaka). Put in sufficient cash before selecting what you want. Your meal ticket will be generated. It is quite small (about a quarter of the size of my palm) so be careful not to misplace it!

2. Customise Your Ramen

One of the staff will then hand you this piece of paper for you to circle your preference. You get to select the Flavor Strength (weak/medium/strong), Richness (none/light/medium/rich/ultra rich), Garlic (none/a little/regular/half clove/one clove), Onion (without/white green onion/green onion) Sliced Pork (wihout/with), Ichiran’s Original Red Sauce (0/0.5/1/2/others) and Noodle’s Texture (extra firm/firm/medium/soft/extra/soft). In case you are wondering, Ichiran’s Original Red Sauce is their red pepper sauce mixed with three types of spices.

3. Direction Board of Vacant Seats

This signboard shows you the occupied vs unoccupied (空) seats. If you go in pairs or groups, the staff will try their best to have all of you seated together.

4. Locate Your Cubicle

The cubicles are all numbered at the top. This reminds me of my school days in the library!

5. Hand Over Meal Ticket and Preference Sheet

This is where your meal ticket and preference sheet come in. A pair of hands will grab these two items before shouting something in Japanese while pulling down the bamboo screen and scurrying off to prepare your order.

6. Ramen is Served

It took only about 5 minutes before the bamboo screen was up again, revealing a pair of hands placing my bowl of piping hot Ichiran ramen before me. There I was, feeling very blessed that I could have my bowl of ramen in my small little cubicle, without any distractions or conversations. YES, SAVOUR THE MOMENT!

7. Itadakismasu!

Taking photos is optional. Eat your ramen while it’s still hot!

I took a mouthful of the broth after mixing the Ichiran original red sauce in. The broth was milky rich with a zing of spice, yet it doesn’t feel like it had been artificially laden with too much MSG. Very addictive! On my first visit, I went for the “extra firm” noodles which were too firm for my liking, and for the subsequent visits, I had it toned down to “firm”. It was PERFECT! Each bowl of ramen with pork slices costs ¥790 (S$9.80) which is really affordable for such exemplary standards. It is a little more expensive at ¥910 (S$11.40) if you want an additional egg to go along with it. The egg wasn’t fantastic so we only had it on our first visit. All in all, Ichiran ramen is the BEST ramen I have ever eaten!

8. Refilling of Noodles (Optional)

Don’t finish all your soup if you wish to refill your noodles as Ichiran does not accept orders for extra soup. You can choose either Kae-Dama (¥190 ~ S$2.40) or 1/2 Kae-Dama (¥120 ~ S$1.50).

9. Calling for Dessert (Optional)

This step is applicable only if you order the dessert like I did. It was new on the menu and I just had to try it! When you are ready to have your dessert, follow the instructions on the small metal tray. Place the tray on the bell and press the bell to alert the staff. Initially, I thought that my dessert was going to be served in that tray. Hahaha.

The Matcha Annin Tofu (¥390 ~ S$4.90) looked promising! It was wobbly silky smooth and tasted rich of matcha without being overly sweet.

10. Ichiran Souvenirs (Optional)

There wasn’t any Ichiran souvenirs at the Ikebukuro branch but on our last night in Osaka, Dotonburi, we chanced upon magnets and coasters on our way out after dinner. I collect magnets so these were totally ideal for me! There are also packaged Ichiran ramen with soup bases that you can purchase as gifts for family and friends.

For full list of Ichiran restaurant locations, click here.

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

Tokyo Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth

Posted on April 11, 2016 by missuschewy

OHAIYOU! It has been two weeks since we got back from our Japan trip and we are still suffering the post-holiday blues! Before we share more about our Japan itinerary as highly requested already by a number of readers, we will first be doing a series of short posts on certain places of interests. Of course, we will kick things off by sharing our trip to Tokyo Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth! This was my third visit, misterchewy’s second and Little misschewy’s first!

Little misschewy’s birthday was on a Friday but after much deliberation, we decided to go to Disneyland a day earlier to avoid the weekend crowd. A few weeks before, we bought our tickets via Tokyo Disneyland’s website, which in our opinion, is a highly recommended move if you want to get into the theme park as swiftly as possible! WHEEE! WE ARE READY! 😀

We went straight for the Castle Carrousel ride at Fantasyland!

Spinning teacups and saucers at Alice’s Tea Party!

Fly on a pirate ship to Never Land at Peter Pan’s Flight!

This is nice but be prepared to queue at least an hour!

Dumbo the Flying Elephant!

Somehow, I was quite amused by the sight of all these parked strollers. Haha.

Little misshewy actually ran towards the Castle Carrousel and gave us a cheeky smile, indicating that she wanted to go on the ride again.

We managed to catch the colorful Daytime Parade, “Happiness is Here”!

This colorful parade filled with fun will make your heart thrill with happiness. Goofy leads the parade followed by a float designed with a huge Mickey Mouse toy. And there’s a float that expresses the vibrant, lovely world of the Disney princesses and fairies, and lots more. The parade presents all kinds of happiness for you to experience.

After all the excitement, we took a short break by stopping at one of the restaurants at Disneyland for lunch. As expected, the food was overpriced and tasted mediocre. But we really needed to rest our legs plus the little one was sleeping in the Tula.

Pooh’s Hunny Hunt at Toon Town!

HAHAHA Little misschewy was frightened by the weird lightings and loud noises from the honey shooting game.

I think Little misschewy adores Donald Duck as much as I do! She was shouting “Nonald Nuck! Nonald Nuck!” but it was a pity they stopped allowing people to queue for photos with Donald 🙁

We saw many kids and teenage schoolgirls with popcorn buckets slung around their necks and couldn’t resist getting one for Little misschewy as well. Actually, there are plenty of other designs but we were too lazy to scout for them. This is one of the popular designs featuring characters from Frozen.

We got the normal Caramel flavoured popcorn but if you are popcorn connoisseur like one of our neighbours, you can also try the other flavours such as Salt, Curry, Chocolate, Honey, Strawberry and Soy Sauce & Butter! You can’t get all flavours at one location, so check the map!

This girl really very happy leh!

We managed to get one miserable Fast Pass at Tomorrowland and we used it for Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!

It was quite a run ride and our first time on it!

After Little misschewy’s diaper change and milk feed at the Baby Center, we headed to one of the shops and these caught my attention!

If you refer to the photo of our lunch earlier, you will notice that this is a mini replica of our pork katsu bun!

I bought the miniature Donald Duck popcorn bucket but now I kinda regret not getting the pork katsu bun and Mickey pancake!

I think it was about 7pm when we sat and joined the crowd for the Nighttime Parade, “Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights”.

The Disney stars are literally sparkling in this nighttime parade of lights and music. With Mickey and his pals, including characters from Aladdin, Toy Story and other Disney films, appearing on colorful floats, nighttime in the Park is even more fantasy-filled.

After the intriguing Electrical Parade, we rushed off to It’s A Small World at Fantasyland. As children of the world sing, enjoy the “happiest cruise that ever sailed”. This is one of my favourite rides in Tokyo Disneyland and I love to experience this all over again each time I visit the park.

Fireworks were cancelled so we decided to leave as it had been a long and fruitful day for us!

Last minute souvenir shopping!

Here’s a brief outline of our itinerary which we promise to share in greater detail! In the meantime, check out these 16 Hotels near Tokyo Disneyland That Have the Wow Factor by HotelsCombined to complete your Disneyland experience with the entire family.

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

missuschewy

Singapore Lifestyle and Travel Blog

Tag Archives: travelling to japan with kids

Kyoto Kimono Rental and Photoshoot by Yumeyakata

Travelling around Shirakawa-go during winter!

One-Day Kanazawa Trip: Kenrokuen Garden, Kanazawa Castle and Omicho Market

Day Trip to Kyoto: Kiyomizudera Temple and Kichi Kichi Omurice

One-Day Suggested Osaka Itinerary: Osaka Castle and Dontonburi

From Singapore to Tokyo & Suggested Tokyo Itinerary!

Tokyo DisneySea Travel Blog

Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe

Guide to Eating Ichiran Ramen in Japan

Tokyo Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth

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