Kiwiana in Japan and Golden Week adventures!
So I found a taste of New Zealand right here in Tokyo. I found a cafe that serves Allpress coffee! And ANZAC biscuits!! Yes, that's right, I had an ANZAC biscuit at a cafe in Japan. Unfortunately, it did have a whole almond in it, which is just not how ANZAC biscuits should be, but it was close enough. Now, back to the coffee... Back in New Zealand, my go to coffee order was a mochaccino, or half coffee, half chocolate, as I was concerned about caffeine keeping me awake and making me jittery. However, the Starbucks cafe mochas that I had been drinking since arriving to Japan came loaded with cream on top, unlike hot mochaccinos in most New Zealand cafes. I realised I needed to cut this habit, and fast, or I would soon be gaining a lot of weight. Also, finishing late during the week means I needed something to keep me going throughout the day and into the night. So I switched to a Starbucks latte, which was ok... but at the Allpress coffee cafe I had the signature New Zealand flat white, and man it was good! You can't get much more Kiwi than sipping a flat white and eating an ANZAC biscuit I don't think. Also there is New Zealand gold kiwifruit in the supermarkets here, which is exciting! I think these things all make me feel a little bit more at home knowing I can find them when I want them.
Last week was Golden Week here, so I had the 3rd-7th of May off work, which was really nice. On the 4th I headed to Yokohama and met up with a friend. We went up the Landmark Tower, battled our way through a crowded Chinatown and ate some delicious food. For lunch, we discovered a hole in the wall hamburger restaurant, where you climbed a metal spiral staircase to get to where you could sit on comfy couches. The burger was also pretty good. Then we had some honey flavoured soft serve ice-cream from a honey store, which was so good! After that, it was time to check in to the hostel I booked, which was in Chinatown. It was a cute hostel, with a nice cafe on the bottom floor and hostel on the top. We got a free coffee for each night we stayed there and it was clean and modern. It was quieter than I thought it would be and it was close to the station, which was handy. The only unfortunate thing was that there was no communal area to kind hang out and chat in aside from the cafe. Later that day we met up with another friend Josh from our training group who lives nearby, and he showed us a great yakiniku (cook your own meat) restaurant, and the meat was melt in your mouth delicious. Yokohama has a ferris wheel near the waterfront, and walking along there at night when it was all lit up was stunning. The ferris wheel changes colours and looks absolutely beautiful.
On Saturday, the three of us met in Kamakura, about 30 minutes from Yokohama station, and went to a cafe called Dandelion Chocolate, which is a really cute cafe with some nice sweet treats and good coffee. We then braved the crowds and headed for Enoshima, about 30 minutes by train from Kamakura. The train you catch is called the Enoden and it's very old and small, and absolutely jam packed during a busy time like Golden Week when everyone is on holiday, so that was quite an experience. From Enoshima station, you walk across a bridge to get to Enoshima Island, where there are lots of shrines, and some interesting caves. You can explore down by the rocks near the caves and there were people parked up enjoying picnics and fishing. Walking around Enoshima is a mission as you are going up and down narrow staircases a lot of the time. When it's crowded, it's very stop start and you can't get anywhere quickly! Aside from that, it's a beautiful island with some amazing views and pretty gardens. You can actually see Mt Fuji, and I'd love to go up the Sea Candle (a big viewing tower) next time. Unfortunately this time around it was just too busy and the wait time would have been insane, so we decided to give it a miss, but it gives me a reason to go back!
A few stops from Enoshima, we stopped off at a Hawaiian restaurant (they're everywhere-Japanese are obsessed with anything Hawaii!) called Pacific Drive Through. It was extremely busy, but the lemonade was some of the best I've had and the food was decent, so after walking most of the day it was nice to sit down and take in the coastal view. We then decided to check out the Daibutsu ( a famous Giant Buddha statue) on the way back to Kamakura and I'm glad we did it later in the afternoon as it wasn't so crowded. It was definitely worth a look! We then walked along the beach to Kamakura station before braving the train again back to Yokohama. For dinner we found a restaurant that serves mostly vegetarian food in the station as we were all craving some vegetables. We all had absolutely delicious salads. Yes I know I just used salads and delicious in the same sentence, but they were! It was nice and refreshing and healthy after a full day's exploring. We were all exhausted, so not long after we parted ways with Josh and headed back to the hostel to plan the next day.
On the agenda for Sunday was Kamakura. Kamakura is famous for its' many temples and shrines. You can catch a bus from the station to Hokoku-ji, a temple with a beautiful bamboo forest/garden. We then wandered from there to another temple nearby, and it feels like you're up in the mountains. It feels very rural and secluded, which is a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Many of the temples and shrines have stunning gardens and are very peaceful. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu temple is one of the more popular temples in Kamakura and there's a lily pond next to the temple. It was however very busy due to it being Golden Week.
Kamakura has many nice looking cafes and coffee shops, which I'd definitely like to check out next time. After this we headed to Kita Kamakura, one station away. It felt even more rural here, and there are more temples to explore. We were particularly interested in looking at Meigetsu-in, which has a round window, unusual for most temples. The gardens here were beautiful too!
So that about sums up my Golden Week adventures! Good food, beautiful scenery and a lot of history and culture. I would highly recommend visiting Kamakura and Enoshima, only an hour and a half-two hours from Tokyo and there's so much to see and do! Many people do this as a day trip, but I'm glad we spread it out over a couple of days as we could take our time, especially as it was busy.
Last week was Golden Week here, so I had the 3rd-7th of May off work, which was really nice. On the 4th I headed to Yokohama and met up with a friend. We went up the Landmark Tower, battled our way through a crowded Chinatown and ate some delicious food. For lunch, we discovered a hole in the wall hamburger restaurant, where you climbed a metal spiral staircase to get to where you could sit on comfy couches. The burger was also pretty good. Then we had some honey flavoured soft serve ice-cream from a honey store, which was so good! After that, it was time to check in to the hostel I booked, which was in Chinatown. It was a cute hostel, with a nice cafe on the bottom floor and hostel on the top. We got a free coffee for each night we stayed there and it was clean and modern. It was quieter than I thought it would be and it was close to the station, which was handy. The only unfortunate thing was that there was no communal area to kind hang out and chat in aside from the cafe. Later that day we met up with another friend Josh from our training group who lives nearby, and he showed us a great yakiniku (cook your own meat) restaurant, and the meat was melt in your mouth delicious. Yokohama has a ferris wheel near the waterfront, and walking along there at night when it was all lit up was stunning. The ferris wheel changes colours and looks absolutely beautiful.
On Saturday, the three of us met in Kamakura, about 30 minutes from Yokohama station, and went to a cafe called Dandelion Chocolate, which is a really cute cafe with some nice sweet treats and good coffee. We then braved the crowds and headed for Enoshima, about 30 minutes by train from Kamakura. The train you catch is called the Enoden and it's very old and small, and absolutely jam packed during a busy time like Golden Week when everyone is on holiday, so that was quite an experience. From Enoshima station, you walk across a bridge to get to Enoshima Island, where there are lots of shrines, and some interesting caves. You can explore down by the rocks near the caves and there were people parked up enjoying picnics and fishing. Walking around Enoshima is a mission as you are going up and down narrow staircases a lot of the time. When it's crowded, it's very stop start and you can't get anywhere quickly! Aside from that, it's a beautiful island with some amazing views and pretty gardens. You can actually see Mt Fuji, and I'd love to go up the Sea Candle (a big viewing tower) next time. Unfortunately this time around it was just too busy and the wait time would have been insane, so we decided to give it a miss, but it gives me a reason to go back!
A few stops from Enoshima, we stopped off at a Hawaiian restaurant (they're everywhere-Japanese are obsessed with anything Hawaii!) called Pacific Drive Through. It was extremely busy, but the lemonade was some of the best I've had and the food was decent, so after walking most of the day it was nice to sit down and take in the coastal view. We then decided to check out the Daibutsu ( a famous Giant Buddha statue) on the way back to Kamakura and I'm glad we did it later in the afternoon as it wasn't so crowded. It was definitely worth a look! We then walked along the beach to Kamakura station before braving the train again back to Yokohama. For dinner we found a restaurant that serves mostly vegetarian food in the station as we were all craving some vegetables. We all had absolutely delicious salads. Yes I know I just used salads and delicious in the same sentence, but they were! It was nice and refreshing and healthy after a full day's exploring. We were all exhausted, so not long after we parted ways with Josh and headed back to the hostel to plan the next day.
On the agenda for Sunday was Kamakura. Kamakura is famous for its' many temples and shrines. You can catch a bus from the station to Hokoku-ji, a temple with a beautiful bamboo forest/garden. We then wandered from there to another temple nearby, and it feels like you're up in the mountains. It feels very rural and secluded, which is a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Many of the temples and shrines have stunning gardens and are very peaceful. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu temple is one of the more popular temples in Kamakura and there's a lily pond next to the temple. It was however very busy due to it being Golden Week.
Kamakura has many nice looking cafes and coffee shops, which I'd definitely like to check out next time. After this we headed to Kita Kamakura, one station away. It felt even more rural here, and there are more temples to explore. We were particularly interested in looking at Meigetsu-in, which has a round window, unusual for most temples. The gardens here were beautiful too!
So that about sums up my Golden Week adventures! Good food, beautiful scenery and a lot of history and culture. I would highly recommend visiting Kamakura and Enoshima, only an hour and a half-two hours from Tokyo and there's so much to see and do! Many people do this as a day trip, but I'm glad we spread it out over a couple of days as we could take our time, especially as it was busy.
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