Sakura at Roppongi

I've been to this section of Roppongi for sakura at night but not during the day.

I'm really surprised by the number of people having a picnic there on a working day. But I guess many of them are mothers or housewives.

Shidarezakura~

Lol~ this is super cute. I found some kids playing by the rocks and one was even topless. I can feel the summer energy from them even though it's only spring!

That section just now were for those who brought their own picnic mats and food. Then there is this section for the high class picnic~ High class because you get a proper table and chair with props such as pillows or blankets. You can order cute high tea food and champagne served in glasses.

Here's one where the people just left. Look at how fancy the setting is?

Next here is probably is most popular spot.

This scene here is probably one of the most common ones you see for sakura in Roppongi. I have taken pictures here for night sakura for the 3 years straight.

Food marathon at Hikarie

Meeting up with JS after more than 4 years!

JS visited Tokyo with her hubby, mother-in-law and son. It was sooo nice to see her again. It's been so long since I've seen her. The last time was in Sydney when I've stayed over at her family's place. It was nice to see that she's married and with a son now. Time truly flies~ 

We grabbed ochazuke for lunch at Hikarie, followed by dessert at Tojiro. I suggested ochazuke to her because it thought that it was a japanese dish that's not easily available outside of Japan. It was the first time they all had it and they found it yummy.

At Tojiro, we grabbed some matcha ice, kakigori and cheesecake. They were all yummy and great summer desserts. Very thankful to JS for treating me to both meals~

After the meetup, I bought some seafood kimchi pancake from the basement food section of Hikarie and 2 chicken wings for dinner. Both were yummy, as one would expect of food stalls in a fancy mall.

Various March happenings

The weather for March this year was crazy~!!!

Look at this picture taken in Yokohama! Who would've thought that it would snow in MARCH???

It's not just any snowfall, it's a pretty heavy one too.

While it's not a great weather to be out, I'm thankful that I was out because the scenery was amazing~

I love the combination of snow with flowers <3

But it is pretty dangerous as the floors are slippery which makes it difficult to walk.

In March, I also met up with G & A who came here on a business trip. It's been a year since I've seen them and at that time I have not moved yet. Thanks so much for the delicious yakiniku meal.

Visiting one of favourite place near my office for sushi again. This here is my favourite 1.5 pax set which costs only 1k yen.

Heehee....I had to snap a picture of this locomoco dish because it is huge~ This was from a farewell party for a colleague at a Hawaiian restaurant.

We got served huge drumsticks too~ heehee......

This here is the popular cup noodle from the Michelin star ramen shop, Tsuta. I've always wanted to try it and I finally did. The soup was yummy. My favourite part were the noodles.

This was from the night of another late night work at the office. I grabbed dinner at Nagasaki Chanpon and they ran a promotion for gyozas where we get 6 instead of 5.

Yay~ an extra gyoza is good anytime! :D

Night Sakura at Naka-Meguro

Date night at Naka-Meguro for night sakura.

It was my first time here when there's an actual night festival going on so there crowd is crazy.

But we were there when the sakura were fully bloomed too so it was either we go this weekend or miss the sakura at their prime season 

While the crowd was crazy, I'm really happy that we went on that night!

The sakuras were super pretty~

After that we went for ice cream at Baskin Robbins.

heehee, that blue one was the Naka-Meguro special during that season. We also ordered the chocolate and salted caramel! :D

Rice people, Nice people!, Hikarie, Shibuya

Back at Rice people, Nice people! at Hikarie, Shibuya~

This time we ordered something different.

We were really happy to spot the pandan chicken in the menu! It's been a long time since I've had one. I'm glad that it was delicious~

We also ordered the curry because it was super yummy!

Lastly, we decided to try the Thai style chicken rice there which was just ok. I probably won't order it again.

McD snacks

J and I have always been fans of McD's fries, so I can't help but be interested in their bolognese fries. 

And as the weather is getting warmer, it gives me a reason to get some ice cream too. Japan's version of the oreo McFlurry. Is it just me or is it tinier than the ones back home?

Hanamaru Udon

Hanamaru Udon~

A cheap and yummy place to grab udon~ 

I'm not a fan of udon but every now and then I do crave for it. I like hanamaru udon because the price is reasonable and they usually have some new items on their menu every now and then. I also like that you can pick fried tempura to go with your udon.

Can't remember the exact name of the dishes that we ordered, but it was on of their pork specials if not mistaken. 

After udon, we visited the nearby grocery store and got this humongous strawberry!!! Super happy with it's size and sweetness! :D 

Must've been the biggest I've ever had!

Road trip date to Chiba

First road trip together~

J rented a car so that we could drive down to Chiba.

First stop, Starbucks at a rest area for breakfast.

It was my first time at Starbucks for breakfast. I ordered the salmon cream cheese salad wrap while J ordered this chicken subway which was delicious! Not that the salad wrap wasn't good but because it was a chilly day.....and it just feels nice to have something warm.

The driver and I~! lol

We arrived at our first destination which is a bbq seafood place but unfortunately, they were packed full with tourists from tour buses. We'd have to wait for a few hours if we wanted to dine there. We decided to just visit the small strawberry farm next door and head elsewhere for food instead. Unfortunately, the strawberry farm is not open for picking on that day, so we just bought a pack of strawberries for the drive to out next destination.

Arrived at the next destination which had several restaurants surrounding a huge parking area. Judging by the full parking area, we should've known that all the restaurants would have a queue outside, so we just went to a souvenir shop and bought this biwa jelly drink. At first, I was wondering what biwa is.....and after googling it, biwa is actually loquat.

After that we made another stop at the bay area for some sea view and toilet break.

You can spot out exact location from this tourist guide.

After that we stopped by Mount Nokogiri. We didn't hike up to the famous jagged-over hang (as you can see in the picture below) or to the famous Buddhist sites. 

Instead we went to the place with a view of the bay.

There was a restaurant up there and we grabbed a light lunch there. 

We had the biwa curry and fish cake. Judging by how frequently we're seeing biwa, it must either be really popular in Chiba or it's just the right season for the fruit.

The view up there was amazing~

Interesting looking post box like structure with an area for locks behind for couples to place their locks on it.

As we didn't have much time, we couldn't explore the Buddhist temple grounds, but we will be back!

After that, we stopped by 漁師料理 かなや for a late lunch/ early dinner/ tea break. We were determined to get some BBQ seafood, as it was the reason why we decided to make this road trip in the first place!

Website: http://cgi3.hanto-kanaya.com/

We went for the buffet which costs 2900 yen for an hour and 3500 yen for 90 mins for adults if I'm not mistaken. As it was a weekend, they're open from 10 am till 5pm.

Look at the amount of food we're grilling on that small grill! Lol~

Absolutely love the shrimps and hotate!!! <3

They served sashimi too but there wasn't much variety.

Those that are wrapped up in aluminuim foil are oysters. I didn't try any as I'm not a fan but J said that they were good.

No worries if you don't speak japanese as they have sign is multiple languages.

After that, we walked to the rocky beach behind the restaurant for some pictures.

There were many people there too, just walking around or digging for clams.

After that, we continued on with our journey and we were so lucky to be able to spot the huge Tokyo Bay Kannon-sama from afar.

Our last stop was the 富津岬 (Futtsu misaki ) or Futtsu Cape, to catch the sunset from the 明治百年記念展望塔 (Meiji Centennial observation tower)

We arrived just in time~

The view from the top!

No sign on Mount Fuji on that day, but nonetheless...the view was amazing~!

There were many people there for the sunset too. While it's not the most romantic structure or the prettiest, it is an interesting structure with all the different connecting stairs to the different levels of platforms.

After that, it was time to go back and return the car! Huge thanks for J for driving us around the entire day~

Chiba is a really big prefecture and while there are many attractions, they are spread out. So it is better to have a car if you plan to explore several places in a day.