We bet some of you have scrolled through our #ellejessinjapan instanture (short from Instagram adventure, yeehaw!) and waited for us to blog about em, so, here we gooo~~!!!
[WARNING: it's gonna be a loooooong post filled with pictures, just the way aha aha we like it aha aha]
ELLEJESSinJapan 2013 #1
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| ♡ Shibuya crossing ♡ |
It all started with an email from this guy ↓
Let's call him Mr. B! ^^ Picture above (ignoring the kawaii camera straps and accessories clutched by the girls) really shows how dedicated and helpful he was toward us girls during the trip lolol.
Here's the said email:
AND… Here's the official invitation letter~ :D :D
WE KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMFGBBQ, RIGHTTTTT????????????????????
It went like, usual day, usual day, usual day, and suddenly, "you are invited to Japan, your favorite country."
So basically, we were invited by the awesome people of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) 'to be recognized as a key influencer in your respective region because of the activities you have conducted related to Japanese contents.' ← when we read this, we were like, "Omg… our love of Japan has finally paid off…" Not that it gave us nothing before (because we've been in love with Japanese culture since we were kids, thanks to mangas, animes, J music, dorama, magazines, etc. and they have filled our days literally almost everyday with countless amount of laughter, tips and even moral lessons; e.g. true sincerity from One Piece stories, etc.), but THIS! This could never happen if not because of our love of Japan!!! *happy tears* (˘̩̩◡˘̩̩ƪ)
Back to topic, so METI would like to appoint us as a CoFesta Ambassador for the Cool Japan project; 'a government funded project that looks to promote Japanese contents such as games, anime, manga, character, broadcast, music, film, fashion, and design to the rest of the world'. The main purpose is to give us an amazing experience in Japan, in the hopes that we will document our stay and share that experience from a non-Japanese point of view with our followers. ← IT'S LIKE A DREAM TRIP!!! All expenses paid for doing something we love -taking pictures and sharing our experiences to our followers- about something we love (Japan and what it has to offer; lots of it, for sure) and moreover, we're acknowledged and invited by the Japanese government themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *felt super honored, blessed and ecstatic at the same time* #happytearsagain (˘̩̩◡˘̩̩ƪ)
By all means, do check out our real-time photo and video updates during our stay (17-25 October 2013) right here on our Instagram. We also keep posting the rest of the pics and vids on the #ellejessinjapan hashtag after the stay because there are too many of them and they're all very, very Instagrammable!! ♡
♡ Inside the MRT ♡
// Welcome to Japan! //
Our first breakfast: Japanese style inflight menu by Garuda Indonesia. Omg so happy already!!! Σ(✧Д✧ﾉ；)ﾉ
We landed at Narita International Airport, Tokyo, at about 8-9am on 17 October 2013 and got picked up by Mr. B. Some welcome pics from Narita:
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| Animal Quarantine Guide - Narita, Tokyo |
"Hammie~~ Hammie picture!!! Must take pic!!!" －Jess
Iyemon Japan Espresso － didn't get to drink it, choosing a hot cocoa at the end, but according to this site; this isn't actually a coffee drink, but a very strong maccha (green tea) instead, that they name it 'Japan Espresso'. WTF now I have to drink it!!! Japan has the coolest machine drinks, we swear!
By that time, there were only four of us including Stella and Mr. B.
Beckii arrived about two hours later, then we hit the bus to the nearest taxi station(?) -- forgot what it was, too tired to notice BUT there were a lot of these bunnies queueing along right there on that place *kawaiiiiiiiii*
Ok so after the bus and the pink bunnies, we took cabs to reach Hotel Sunroute Shinbashi - our small yet cozy hotel for the next six days:
P.S. They gave us two rooms, but we ended up using one for our luggages and another one for a good night sleep. We find it so much easier that way because our hair, skin and make-up products are mostly the same and we've been sleeping in the same room since we were kids babies. XD
The hotel is located at Shimbashi / Shinbashi and it is really close to the train stations; a perfect place in this business area. The neighborhood was, as expected, busy, yet it was not as cramped as Shinjuku or Shibuya. There were a lot of restaurants and cafes nearby (mostly Japanese food) if you wanna grab a bite. Overall the hotel gave a fresh, modern and new feel. The rooms were tiny, but it is expected in Tokyo. The bathroom and everything was very clean and designed for efficiency. They provided free wifi, both in the room and the lobby. Breakfast was delicious but nothing special except the extra yum fruit yogurt that gave us the much-needed morning disposal, if you know what we mean. But the most winning point of this hotel (to us, at least) is that IT HAS ITS OWN ACCCESS TO A 24/7 LAWSON!! No, seriously, convenience store is a big win for convenience-seeking (read: lazy) people like us. For example, when we got to the hotel late at night after a very tiring day, we just popped to Lawson first to get a pack of hot bath powder (there are lots of these in Japan and choosing one is as exciting as choosing something from the drink vending machine), a can of beer and a pack of sweets, THEN go upstairs and ahhhhh..... an instant hot bath slash heaven before going to bed, relaxed and contented.
↑ pics taken in and around the hotel ↑
After a short freshen-up in the hotel, we were taken out for a late lunch at this petite Okinawa restaurant located in the Shiodome area called SEIJIROU SHIODOMETEN (清次郎 汐留店):
Jess ordered the Goya Champuru / Chanpuru, as it was recommended by the waitress because apparently, this bitter gourd (or pare in Indonesian) dish is a classic Okinawa cooking.
Stir fried bitter vegetable, tofu, spam, sea cakes and egg - Goya Champuru Lunch Set with polished rice, miso soup and 4 small dishes was ¥900. Well, it was pretty good, but we guess it's not as special as this one that we're dying to try (link). ^^ Our favorite menu here was THIS ONE:
Blue Seal Ice Cream @ ¥200. Apparently this is a famous ice cream brand in Okinawa and the ones we tried were the Beni-imo (purple sweet potato) and the Shio Chinsukō (sweet-salted cookies) flavors.
They were so! awesome! (\(✧Д✧)/)
Shortly after lunch, we all took off to Bellesalle Garden at Shibuya for our first fashion show here: the rebellious Nozomi Ishiguro's:
As you can see, the setting was very romantic and dimly lit. The music was nice, too. Ishiguro's SS 2014 collection was overflowed with a mixture of deconstructed cuts and asymmetric-volumized pieces with ruffles, layers and pleats. The most exposed graphic prints that night was none other than stars and stripes; which resembles American flag. Overall, the collection depicted Harajuku style, which is colorful, unpredictable and young. But what we love the most from Ishiguro's SS 2014 collection is that his choice of colors was not that extreme, resulting in more wearable pieces. ^^
After the show has ended, we gathered together, the CoFesta Ambassadors. *rhymes* ~♪
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| Hi, fellow Indonesian! *waves* |
Oh, and with the people from METI, too! Arigato gozaimasu for inviting us~ (ˆヮˆ)づ♡
♡ Just the two of us ♡
Change of outfit: GOWIGASA Ice Cream Sleeveless Top, VOGUE Snapback, Pink Neon Socks (upcoming collection)
Dinner time!! METI guys splurged (again) for us woohoo! We had this traditional Japanese dinner experience at TEMPURA TENMATSU SHIBUYAHONTEN (御料理・天婦羅 天松 本店):
Click here for more food pics from this lovely place. ♡♡
We're very very happy because this was our first Tempura set dinner, ever! In Jakarta, we'd always take Tempura as a side dish, or even overlook it when ordering because we're simply not a fan. But Tempura in this place!!! All super super yummy and fresh! There were fish tempura, shrimp tempura, vegetable tempura, etc. and they were all excellently deep-fried, not overly oily or greasy and the crisp level was just right.
Our room was a private one, with tatami, sliding doors and all. The waitresses were wearing kimono, too! That night was an introductory night for all of us, and it was kinda awkward because the ice breaker Stella was not around (she's trying to get her lost luggage back lol). But it was a great night afterall because even though we were all very tired from the flight and a long, productive day, everybody was still nice and friendly. (ﾉ≧▽≦)ﾉ*:･ﾟ
↑ This vid kinda sums up our first night in this Tokyo trip! ↑
Kay guys, hope you enjoy this long-ass post! Please wait for the next post ^^v
ELLEJESSinJapan 2013 #2
(will be linked after we publish it)
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