The Fashionable Spots where the Girls's Hearts Flutter.

 The day before yesterday, I went to Harajuku, Aoyama, Omotesando and Shibuya to find general merchandise with my friend. In Omotesando especially, there are many high brand shops like Dior, CHANEL and BVLGALI. Today, however, I want to introduce you to reasonable and fashionable shops.

 But before that, "An army marches on its stomach." I recommend eating at "PARIYA AOYAMA", a lunch spot located in Aoyama. You can choose between white rice, brown rice and weekly rice. You can choose what kind of salad, side dishes, main dish, and weekly special you'd like. Various dishes and many vegetable are attractive points. Healthy and tasty dishes! It's awesome

 Then, the featuring shop's name is "AWESOME STORE".

 This shop is popular and since it was a holiday, many people were there.

 Make-up pouches, cute spectacles rests, sweet smell room fragrances... These items made my heart race. 

 Plus these prices are super cheap! You can get these for around 500 yen. I found a miso soup bowl in this shop, but I forgot to buy it. The wooden bowl was only 400 yen. I'll definitely buy it next time. 

 And one more shop I recommend is the "Flying Tiger Copenhagen."

 Photography was prohibited inside the shop, so I can't show you the inside. But I bought this lovely item.

  "What! Strawberry tea strainer!"

 It's sure to make teatime happy!♪ After enjoying shopping, we went to a Hawaiian cafe called "Cafe Kaila." In there, you can eat Hawaiian dishes made of organic Hawaiian food.

 Recently, the popularity of pancakes is booming in Japan. This cafe is also famous for pancake with many fruits. "Look at this!"

 Cute and lovely sweets are necessary for girls talk. Shopping and talking with friends is the best way to relieve stress for girls. Yeah! 

"PARIYA AOYAMA":
3-12-14, Kitaaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0061, Japan
http://www.pariya.jp/shop/aoyama.html

"AWESOME STORE":
5-8-7, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0001, Japan
http://www.awesomestore.net/

"Flying Tiger Copenhagen"
4-3-2, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0001, Japan
http://www.flyingtiger.jp/

"Cafe Kaila"
5-10-1, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0001, Japan
http://www.cafe-kaila.com/

Kyusyu trip Day 1. ～ Go Sightseeing and Eat Up Hakata Specialities! ～

 The other day, I traveled to Kyushu, the southwest part of Japan, with my friend from school. I used Shinkansen Sakura to go to Hakata. From Shin-Osaka to Hakata, it takes about 2h 30min. The Shinkansen is fast and comfortable, so I was able to reach Hakata during the time it took me to take a nap.

 We met at Hakata station and quickly went to the Hakata Men-kaido Road exit of the station. In this district, there are many local noodle restaurants.

 We chose the restaurant DARUMA, one of the most popular restaurant in Hakata. There was a line of people waiting to get in.

 Namie Amuro (singer), Meisa Kuroki(actress), YUZU(folk duo) and etc... There were many Japanese celebrities autographs on the wall. We were waiting excitedly for Hakata Ramen.

 "Nice to meet you, Hakata ramen!" This ramen is pork bone broth based and has slender noodles. It is also topped with minced Welsh onion and roasted pork fillet. I was satisfied with the ramen's rich taste.

 After we were full from lunch, we went to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, a tourist site, in Dazaifu city by local train. This shrine is dedicated to 菅原道真 = Sugawara-no-Michizane. Michizane was a renowned scholar during the Heian period. Now, he is known as 天神 = Tenjin or a god of literature. Many students visit this shrine to pray for their success in exams.

 Since we came to shrine, we tried our fortune by Omikuji or written oracle. Omikuji refers to a Japanese fortune telling. We pick a piece of paper which has good or bad fortune written on it. On the omikuji, the overall fortune is written in words such as 大吉 = daikichi  (excellent luck), 中吉 = chukichi  (very good luck), 吉 = kichi  (good luck), and 凶 = kyo  (ill fortune).

 This time we tried summer limited version, "水みくじ = mizumikuji  (water fortune)."

As I wet the omikuji paper, the fortune is revealed.

My fortune is... Daikichi! Ya-hip! ya-hip! I feel like something good will happen♪

 By the way, there are other beautiful sights near this shrine. One of these spots is Kyushu National Museum. The glass covered wall mirrors the blue sky and shines brightly. Of course there are a lot of art treasures too.

 One of the nicer spots is the STARBUCKS in Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine Omotesando Avenue. With a wooden construction, it has a natural design.

 Wood produces a warm atmosphere. "Let's take break at the special STARBUCKS."

 After taking a little break, we returned to Hakata and ate dinner. If you come to Hakata, you shouldn't miss the opportunity to eat this. 「それは、め・ん・た・い・こ。。。めんたいこ！」 = "That's, Me N Ta I Ko... Mentaiko!"

 Mentaiko is cod roe that has been spiced with cayenne pepper and allowed to mature. We enjoy it not only with rice, but also in a range of dishes, such as spaghetti, mentaiko cheese potato and stir-fries. But, Mentaiko goes really well with rice! It has a food texture of chewing many spicy particles at the same time.

 We toasted our glory trip start and were excited about what would happen the next day.




Hakata Ramen, "Daruma":
1-1, Hakataeki Chuogai, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-city, Fukuoka, 812-0012, Japan
http://www.ra-hide.com/

Dazaifu Tenmangu:
4-7-1 Saifu, Dazaifu-city, Fukuoka, 818-0195, Japan.
http://www.dazaifutenmangu.or.jp/en 

Kyushu National Museum:
4-7-2 Ishizaka, Dazaifu-city, Fukuoka, 818-0118, Japan.
http://www.kyuhaku.com/

STARBUCKS in Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine Omotesando Avenue:
3-2-43, Saifu, Dazaifu-city, Fukuoka, 818-0117, Japan
http://www.starbucks.co.jp/store/concept/dazaifu/

Restaurant that specializes in Mentaiko cuisine, "Mentaiju":
6-15, Nishinakasu, Chuo-ku Fukuoka-city, Fukuoka, 810-0002, Japan
http://www.mentaiju.co.jp/index2.html

The Exhibition of Lovely Monsters! "Piiiii Kaaaaa Chuuuuu!!!!!"

I saw many pretty monsters at the Roppongi Hills observation platform.

 The exhibition of Pokémon the movie XY has just opened. Pokémon is a Japanese video game. The game was released in 1996 and became an instant hit. Following the game, the many related products, such as anime, card game and character merchandise were produced.   

  Pikachu is a cute mouse monster and symbolizes Pokémon. He attacks by discharging electricity. 

 In this exhibition, you can enjoy the Pokémon's movie world. The movie's art and storyboards were displayed. You could also take pictures with the monsters.

 The most fascinating corner for me was the Pikachu Cafe. 

 It sold Pikachu curry and Pikachu pudding! "超可愛い(ﾉ≧ڡ≦)❤ chou kawaii = Irresistibly cute ❤." These were too lovely to eat. But I still ate it... (｡・ ω<)ゞ The curry was mild and the pudding had a sweet mango taste. In addition, this cafe has an original menu with items like monster ball's rice with hashed beef, and the Pikachu's 10 Volt parfait. By all means please try that out.

 The exhibition will be held until August 31th. Adults as well as children will enjoy it. Let's! "ポケモン、ゲットだぜ！pokemon getto daze! = Gotta catch 'em all!"

The Blue Idol in Roppongi. "Hi! I'm DORAEMON!"

 Many Japanese children are on summer vacation now. So, their idols warmly welcome them at Roppongi hills. The name of those idols is..."Doraemon!" Go on! There are 66 Doraemons there.

 Doraemon is a popular character all over Japan and he was created by the cartoonist Fujiko F. Fujio.  Doraemon is a cat-shaped robot who came from the 22nd century. He can use all sorts of secret tools which are stored in his "4-D (fourth dimensional) Pocket" on his tummy.

 The Doraemon movie "STAND BY ME Doraemon" is released on August 8 and it will be the first Doraemon movie in 3DCG. The movie is based on the inspiring popular original episodes of Doraemon and Nobita's adventures. I'm looking forward to watching the movie. (Nobita is an average grade school student. He is a clumsy person, but he is a really kind kid who loves nature and treats all living things with respect.)

　Oh, do you think he looks like a blue raccoon dog? I agree. He doesn't have cat ears. But before, he looked like this. 

 You think he is a cat, don't you? Doraemon's ears were gnawed by a mouse type working robot. He was shocked by the accident and wept for three days and three nights. His metal casing fell off revealed his blue body.

　

 When I was a child, I read Doraemon manga and learned Kanji and Japanese words. Now, I read Doraemon in English and try to remember more English words and phrases. Doraemon is my eternal idol!

 If I could use Doraemon's secret tools, I would use 'DOKODEMO DOOR'. Then, I would go all over the world by using the 'DOKODEMO DOOR'. This pink door takes you anywhere you wish to go. If you could meet Doraemon, what tool would you want to use?

 Next time, I will write about another idol. Maybe Doraemon dislikes him, because he is a yellow mouse... See you soon!