there is no direction needed to get you to Myeongdong because it’s just so popular, nobody would get lost going to this place. after getting off Myeongdong station, you’ll find your way. but you might get lost if you wanna find the same shop twice.

since I lived in Myeongdong at that time, I come here EVERYDAY. it’s fun because there are a lot of stalls at night selling things at a reasonable price. there was this shop selling super adorable socks. regret for not taking pictures of that stalls. and their socks begins from as low as 1,000won!

my cute bear socks! wore it once hahaha. cute ain’t it? it has ears too!

the typical view of Myeongdong.

this place kind of reminds me of Hong Kong. and I am shocked to find that the lanes are actually not THAT wide. it seemed so wide in the drama “You’re Beautiful” haha. but it is indeed crowded and filled with tourists.

Korean designers are amazing. all the way to the glass!

the night before me and my mom marveled around Myeongdong when all shops were closed. so what’s there to see when all the shops are closed? well, they spend the whole night decorating their shops with christmas decos!

if you like Forever 21, this will be your heaven. never seen such a huge Forever 21 before. and their sale is madness. something like.. buy 1 free 1?

I have to salute to their marketing strategies because they do not only have a good packaging and a handsome artist as their ambassador.. they make beautiful bags, limited stuff, make up as gifts if you buy products from their shop. tempting you like mad. vert smart.

entrance to a casual cafe. so pretty yet so common in Seoul. I’ve always told my sister that if we were to take the most stylish cafe/restaurant to Korea, it would probably just be a normal looking one there.

awesome fire engine is awesome!

just another casual picture of Myeongdong at night.. wait what?

didn’t we see that red banner in the picture earlier too?

and that’s a picture of fire below those words.

it was really loud and that guy was literally shouting on his microphone saying LORD JESUS HEAVEN, NO JESUS HELL. maybe security was chasing them, they moved really fast. it felt something like a demostration. except it wasn’t political. it was really quite offensive.

yes, I was offended. they did it in public and they DO NOT respect other religions. no offense to Christians, but this is just wrong. to my surprise, Natalie told me these are not unusual and they often speak out their thoughts and does all kind of demonstrations in Myeongdong. D=. basically, Myeongdong is a popular place for demonstrations.

pictures below taken with my mom’s Sony which is now gone T_T.

furry store selling furry stuff. furry hats, tails.. tails to hang on your bag. hahahaha.

if you’re a foreigner and you forgot to bring cotton. no worries. they give free boxes of cotton. you don’t even have to buy anything. all you need to do is take a strool in their shop. but as usual, their stuff are just too attractive to not buy T_T. well at least you get a free box of cotton with cheap products =D.

the price of Korean beauty products in Korea are around 40-50% cheaper than the ones sold here!

Holika Holika branded by CN Blue, Mishha, and another Missha. Missha have awesome eyebrow pencils. they only cost 2,000won. they are selling the same thing here for RM18 I think. for what you can get for RM6 in Korea!

mom’s spying level : ASIAN.

she told me she took this picture just to show me that handsome Korean guy which she thought was SUPERRRR handsome. okaaaaaaaaaaaay lah. hahahahahaha.

all I see is JYJ and 2PM! didn’t go into the store because their pictures are huger outside. HAHAHAHHA.

Etude House! probably every girly girls favourite christmas decoration!

just so you know, the main street is long, beautiful and all.. but then..

the more interesting/cheaper stuff are all in the smaller lanes. and there’s where you’d never get to find the same shop twice. it’s a maze. A MAZE!

saying this because I found an awesome stationery shop (two side by side! awesomeness) the first time I was in Myeongdong and I wanted to get more stationeries before I leave. I was looking for it for about 2 FRIGGIN’ HOURS! and in the end, I still couldn’t find it. RAWR!

that stationery shop sells things like keyboards, hair accessories to loads of things you don’t need before you see it. teehee. =3.

unfortunately, I reached at about 430 and missed the entry. because I took my own sweet time over at Changdeokgung and slowly walked over to Gyeongbokgung. hahaha. yes, it’s walking distance. but it’s not exactly near. it’s funny that we actually followed the road signs for cars to get to Gyeongbokgung heheheh.

what’s behind me is the Gwanghwamun gate directly facing the main road. that’s just the first gate of the palace. fuh. and from this gate to the next? probably another 100m walk.

TIP : see that thing bulging out from my jeans? battries die 50% faster in cold weather. so it’s best to keep it around your body so it can last longer =D.

and the NEXT gate of Gyeongbokgung. even more grand. but this is the gate where you need your pass to get in. eventhough according to wikipedia, there are THREE GATES.

awesome place to take pictures though. =D.

the second gate, the Heungnyemun gate in close up =3. look at those details!

I peeked through the second gate and that’s the third gate! I guess the second gate is still the prettiest!

Geunjeongmun, the third gate.

translator lady in hanbok! korean traditional clothing.

outside Gwanghwamun and met this group of very cute kids! T_________T. MUST TAKE PICTURE WITH ALL OF THEM!

hello all. as usual, I decided to visit the not as famous but still famous destination. compared to Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung is considerably small but is said to be more beautiful =D.

the second reason was also because it’s located right next to Changgyeonggung. but I seemed to had clearly underestimated the gungs/palaces. it’s my first time actually visiting a PALACE since previously I’ve always only visited temples in China. haven’t been to the Forbidden City yet, sadly. =(. I was thinking a mere 1 hour strool would be enough but it’s far from being adequate. I think it took me around 2 hours to just finish HALF of the palace. it started getting gloomy and it was 4 before we knew. the palaces closes at 5 in winter. so the last entry is at 4. haha.

poser mom. hahaha. AND NOTICE THAT PRETTY AUTUMN TREE BEHIND?

a GINKO tree! =D.

wait, are those fruits? D=. GINKO SEEDS?!

it was coooooooooold. I wore 3 layers of clothing inside and was still freezing.

a tree growing on my head. hahahaha. anyways, admission fee is 3,000won. that’s about RM9. if you would like to visit Changgyeonggung as well which is just next door, you’ll have to be prepared to fork out another 3,000won!

since I had no tour guide, I don’t exactly know the history of the place. but here are some pictures and.. I’ll tell you whatever I know.

I especially like this picture eventhough it’s not too proportional. that auntie in red does good in brightening the gloomy picture up a little haha. it was a gloomy day U_U. only reason bad for visiting in winter, the sun sets too quickly. good thing is that it doesn’t really rain. hehehe.

love how the palace is right in the middle of the city, surrounded by the modern buildings. showed its contrast and preservation very well.

already stretching hahahahha.

like I said, the palace is huge. I can’t imagine Gyeongbokgung. I’ll probably take a day if I want to go through the whole Gyeongbokgung haha.

I was wondering if the wheelchair is provided by the people who runs the palace. in case the elderly are unaware of the size of the palace and it can help them get back to the entrance eventhough tired. hahaha. I think too much ey.

these gargyoles(?) are made to protect the palace!! at least I know SOMETHING!

because I love the flare, I set this picture as my phone’s wallpaper!

asian architecture, especially Korean ones are very photogenic because they pick attractive colours which directly compliments each other!

FACT : in the colour wheel, the main 3 colours are red, blue and yellow yes? so green, is made from blue and yellow and hence that colour is DIRECTLY complimenting red. it’s more attractive that way =D.

the entrance to Changgyeonggung! yes, it’s linked!

since I was too tired and was unable to finish the whole palace, I thought it would be great to show you how pathways around the palace look like. ain’t it attracting you to take a strool? but make sure you visit in autumn. =D.

if those autumn leaves didn’t attract you that much, I bet these will. since it was late November when I went, most trees went bald already but THANK GOODNESS FOR CHANGDEOKGUNG! =D.

can’t stop admiring the gargoyles on the rooftop!

I have a thing for cascading architecture.

and this part of the palace is pretty unusual compared to the rest of the palace. rather than being colourful and.. woody, it is made out of bricks mostly and is painted in almost black — dark brown and white.

the palace as a whole is not exactly too much of an interesting place for us youngsters especially without a proper tour guide telling us about the history but I would highly recommend it for photography =D.

it’s also a UNESCO world heritage site by the way!

this place can be easily seen through google. just one click and millions of photographs of the beautiful fully bloom sakura view will be viewable. but it was pretty sad that when I was there, there wasn’t any. =(. I am not sure about this but I felt that sakura’s bloom at a different time sometimes. like the ones at DisneySea, they were fully bloom! even at such a cold weather. and even some in Kamakura. so I guess it really depends on the location? but as for Ueno, it comes early April. to be safe, travel a little before mid April since the sakura flowers will 0nly last for 2 weeks.

another picture which requires your brain to visualise how light pink flowers are filled on every tree behind me. hehehe. and during winter it looks so gloomy. gosh winter is such a gloomy season!

so if you think you’re not the type that likes to take strolls in a park, you may skip this place. but one thing I know for sure, is that there are beautiful temples here.

I saw this and immediately pulled my mom over. not the cute dogs. btw that’s a very old grandma walking 3 dogs with a baby. Japanese (old) people, forever so healthy!

anyway! I was talking about what could be found in Kyoto, those red thrunks behind. eventhough the ones in Kyoto is clearly more attractive, but this one’s not bad!

indian movie scene phail.

I don’t know what to call these.. pillars? but as far as I know the huge ones are called gates haha. so erm mini gates??

okay googled and I am right! #likeaboss. they ARE called gates! and mom said they are called Torii.

if I ever get to get married, I want to have my wedding photos photographed at the Kyoto one. PFFT.

you know you saw it. that’s a fox over there. (with a napkin? HUH?) and it’s absolutely not a rumour that people worship foxes in asia.

this is the fox temple. which I stupidly thought it was a dog temple pfft mainly because I think dogs are the most awesome animal.

I am not sure about Japan, but in Taiwan and China, they worship foxes for love luck. like maybe praying for their other half to be faithful to them or perhaps just getting the other half.

I don’t know what are these but I bet people put them up for luck. =D. whatever it is. it’s beautiful. wondering if it would mean like tails for the fox hmm.

they even have pretty drawings on it! gosh these Japanese people! and it was there where I realised how pretty Japanese words are. the neat handwriting of the Japanese people written on the wooden plates.

holy water! it is seriously drinkable. I drank once at a.. well, a place that has much more people drinking it so I tried. it tasted like mountain water. very pure. best thing was, IT WAS COLD! =3.

I bet no one actually noticed the foot of the basin. looks like it’s folding his arms angrily but I still couldn’t guess what it is. the protector perhaps?

I have never enjoyed visiting temples as much as visiting temples in Japan. seriously, it makes you feel as if you’ve entered a calm place to relax.

the surroundings of the fox temple. and this is a different one! they have so many sometimes I wish I understand Japanese to explain more. =S.

can you see those cherry blossoms behind me?!

clearer view.

the place for people to hang what they got from their prayers!

I like how dogs are so obedient while their owner is doing something serious pfft. is it me or do I think that this dog is more lovable and adorable than the puss in boots cat. =D.

another place to drink holy water! =D. actually I guess it’s more for washing our face and hands. the ratio of people who actually drinks it is probably 1:20 *coughs* usually men.

and after exiting Ueno Park. me and my mom just kept walking. we didn’t know where we were heading to but we are pretty sure we’ll eventually find our way back. until we saw ANOTHER beautiful temple!

this one has its own beauty because it is in the middle of a lake.

that stall behind me is what I expect Japan to have when I first stepped on Japanese soil. and THERE IT WAS! it’s pretty rare in Tokyo but don’t it remind you of NARUTO?! or perhaps other Animes? =3.

I’m not sure if it’s a good thing but the lake is more attractive than the temple. HAHAHA.

because there are plenty of ducks on it. =3.

the ducks are damn pretty alright?! except all the ducks there seriously have scary eyes pfft. did you even notice that different types of ducks don’t only vary in size and colours, but EYES TOO? maybe these are the angmoh ducks or something with different colour iris. wth.

Winter view. I am positive I’d love Japan even more in Autumn.

did you know, most birds in Japan are fat? I guess they are not exactly REALLY FAT. but it’s maybe because they have thicker feathers. =P.

and because this was the last day of my trip, my mom was very exhausted for sleeping for merely 6 hours a day. so she went back to the hotel to rest and I went to Ikebukuro(again) for more shopping! I couldn’t get enough of Cold Stone too. BANANA CARAMEL! and if you visit Shinjuku please try Mr Donut. eventhough there’s a shop here in 1Utama, IT IS NOT THE SAME. I’m pretty disappointed with the one here =S.

I am sad to tell you but it’s already the end of my Japan posts. *SNIFFF*. until the next time I visit Japan again! but come to think of it, it isn’t so bad because I still have a few things to talk about for Korea. =3. really hope you find the series of post on Japan interesting!

it’s completely hitting 2 birds with 1 stone. for the first attraction in Ueno, I’ll be telling you about Ameyokocho. so wait up for the other post. it will probably surprise you much =D.

the huge Ueno station. one of the huge stations in Tokyo. but this one, filled with PANDAS!

there’s a park(zoo) in Ueno with Pandas but unfortunately my mom doesn’t want to go because we heard that it’ll take up at least half of our day there.

so as you can see, Ueno is really proud of their Pandas =D. and after exiting Ueno station, you’d probably see this across the street.

the row of shops with a huge number of Pachinko shops. Pachinko’s are gambling shops. with er.. little round metal balls. no idea how they do it since I don’t encourage gambling.

the wide zebra crossing!

you get what I mean by WIDEEE?

and by the way, that’s not Ameyokocho yet. but just walk on it. on the second right turn after entering the street, turn left, and walk across the train tracks. and you’ll find yourself at Ameyoko.

well errrr, there’s two ways to get there quick. here’s the direction map to Ameyoko

clear enough? teehee.

I took way 1 to go and way 2 back. haha.

our city lacks of these. a very good way to be as eco friendly as possible. BICYCLES!!

there are quite a few of these conveyor belt sushi shops. or the Americans call it hole-in-the-wall-sushi. hahahaha which I find absolutely amusing. =P.

the trtuh is, I took a picture of this because I want to have a list of what certain sushis are called. =D.

the more traditional looking restaurants. love these type! =3. but the prices are not so traditional though T_T.

look at how fake the real Sakuras look like!

unfortunately when I went it wasn’t the sakura season yet so there were very little sakura flowers. but I wonder.. where does Sakura trees get their nutrients if they don’t have leaves?!

AMEYOKOCHO! actually, they seriously sell everything. food, vege, fish, clothes, junks, things…. everything. it is a part of Japan less seen. well, let the picture do its work for your understanding =D.

dry food stall. everything that’s dried up. you can find it here.

can you imagine what if spiders have legs this huge. it’ll scare all my wits away wth. they belong to the Alaskas king crab. to be honest, I do not fancy these crabs so much. it’s pretty soft in texture and if eaten grilled without seasoning, it has a

strong taste of the.. sea. at some point I like crabs like these. but as of now.. no. but really, one crab leg is filling enough.

but those crab legs costs like RM40-RM240(!!!!!!! just for its legs?! you must be freaking kidding me).

discounted seafood hahaha. I am pretty sure things here are bargainable. so if you have the heart to buy it, no harm trying =D.

RM240 for this large piece of tentacle!

this is where Ameyoko splits. whatever it is.. WALK THROUGH IT ALL! see that little ice cream there? =3.

TEEHEE! PEACH ICE CREAM! oh did I tell you how amazing Japanese peach products are? they literally have everything in peach flavour. you can find it ANYWHERE. yum yum.

RM10 or 250yen for a cone of ice cream. you know it isn’t worth it. but you know you want it. =/.

I heard Malay food was damn expensive in Japan. but RM20 for kebab.. still not as bad as what I heard, RM40 for roti canai wth.

how old people in Japan makes their cake. with machinese!

if you think you hate parks/temples, it’s okay if you skip this spot. but if you’re already planning to go over to Ueno Park. seriously, WHY NOT DROP BY?!