Yuki (雪) in Bunkyo ward

After waiting for almost two years - it finally snowed! I am so happy! I immediately dressed and went out to the nearest garden for a walk. Just in case, you didn't know which garden I am talking about - read up my post on the Bunkyo Green Court. And the snow is like what I imagined it to be -white and fluffy snow. It quickly covered the ground.

For me, it always felt strange, not to get any snow in winter, not to mention, it sucks. The drab and gloomy weather of winter is not my favourite weather. Plus, it rains in winter in Tokyo!! That is double sucks for me! But if there is snow, then, it is different! The whole scenery became romantic. I feel that there is more purpose to visit somewhere covered in a white blanket of snow than visit some bare trees.

The garden was quite empty when I was there. It was already towards the end of the year and the offices are closed for the new year celebration. But looks like there are some people who have already enjoyed their walk in the snow and left some footprint that has been quickly covered with more snow.

The walk was peaceful and unbelievably invigorating. I love Tokyo when it snows. Everything looks like it is ready for a new start. Since I will be hibernating for one week during the new year, I am wishing you a happy new year and stay warm in this cold winter!

Three shades of autumn in Bunkyo ward

Bunkyo ward (文京区 Bunkyō-ku) together with Hongo and Koishikawa was made into a special ward and into one of the 23wards in Tokyo in 1947. This is the ward I live in now. I did some internet searching on this area and found out that this place is actually quite hilly compared to other wards. Out of the 433 hills in Tokyo, 133 of them are located in Bunkyo-ku. No wonder my legs are getting stronger every day after several months of living in Bunkyo-ku.

This ward is the capital of culture since the Edo period. In fact, the name of this ward, Bunkyo  (文京), say it all - Culture-ward. This is the home to Tokyo's most prestigious academic institution, Tokyo University (the Hongo campus), or fondly abbreviated as 'Todai' by the local. 

Apart from 'Todai', it is great to know that this area has been home to many great writers and scholars such as Ichiyo Higuchi, Japan′s first prominent woman writer of modern times and who has her portrait on the current 5,000yen note. Around where I live, there's a number of galleries, printing and publishing companies which reflects the flourishing intellectual scene in this ward. 

As I will delve deeper into the Bunkyo-ward's place of interest, I found quite an abundance of aristocratic villas, beautiful parks, stunning botanical gardens, temples and shrines and quaint Japanese ryokans. Although the area where I stay is largely residential, this place is pretty quiet compared to the vibrant cities of Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Shibuya or the nearby Tokyo Dome City. I heard that this area has the lowest crime rate in Tokyo. It is definitely one of the safest place you can stay in Tokyo. 

I really like Bunkyo-ku for the quiet family atmosphere, but it has a low density of chain stores and supermarkets. Fortunately, the place where I stay has an awesome supermarket which stocks really good ranges of bread, deli meat and cheese. I find that it is kind of hard to find food such as cheese and bread, not to mention that they are expensive if you find them, but you will definitely have no problem finding a bottle of wine in Tokyo. They are also relatively inexpensive and pretty good selection of locally made and imported wine.

Okay, I admit that I am not a true-blood Malaysian. The only taste that still defines me as a Malaysian is spiciness. I crave for sambal belacan, cili padi, cili potong and everything that is spicy. To satisfy my craving, I usually go for Thai food or have a good shake of pepper flakes on my food whenever I can find it. Sometimes, that is not enough, but it will have to do until I get my next supply of sambal belacan from home.

For fresh fruits and vegetables, I usually walk to Komagome station, because there is because a hidden-and-word-of-mouth-only wet market that sells the cheapest fruits and vegetables in the whole of Tokyo! I sometimes go when they have the all-you-can-stuff deals. The deals are cheap and fun!

Starting from this year, my life will be treated with seasonal delights. When I first moved in, I can see the cherry blossoms blooming in front of my apartment and in the summer, there are the local festivals where you can join in. I love to take a walk in the green patch of a quiet garden near some office building in front of my apartment. Now, I am enjoying the changing colours of gingko trees on the main street and hopefully, this year, we can have some snow. Coming from a tropical country, snow has always been my fascination. I still remember the feeling of amazement and awe when I first saw the snow falling from the blue sky in Vienna many, many years back. It was such a magical moment for me. I hope to experience it soon here in Tokyo.

This is my favourite haunt near where I stay. Tucked in a corner, this garden, Bunkyo Green Court, is easily overlooked. It is neither famous nor a landmark. It is just a small garden to refresh yourself when you feel overwhelmed by your new life. 

How to get here

The nearest station to Bunkyo Green Court is Sengoku station (千石駅, Sengoku-eki) on Mita Line (三田線, Mita-sen). Just exit from exit No. A3 and it is only a 5mins walk. 

It is 12mins walk from Sugamo station (巣鴨駅, Sugamo-eki) or alternatively, you can walk 10mins from Komagome station (駒込駅, Komagome-eki). Both stations are serviced by JR Yamanote Line.

You can also walk 10mins from Komagome station (駒込駅, Komagome-eki) serviced by the Metro Namboku Line (南北線, Namboku-sen).

Address and Website

2-28-10 Honkomagome, Bunkyo 113-0021, Bunkyo ward, Tokyo.

〒113-0021 東京都文京区本駒込2-28-10

www.bunkyo-greencourt.com/

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How about the area you live in? Do you have the chance to explore it?

Hottest summer in Japan and the smiling flower

Before Japan, I live and work in Europe for an extended time. And some of my best memories of Europe happened to be in the summertime. While it was hot, but, it always has been with a nice sunshine.

So, with that kind of happy and sunny memories, I thought that the summer in Japan would be exactly the kind of weather I had experienced in Europe. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that the summer in Japan is definitely sunny but not necessarily happy.

Usually the temperature in the summer in Tokyo averages around 30°C-ish. Although, the temperature is almost like in Malaysia or Singapore, but when the heat is combined with high humidity, it can turn into a very unpleasant climate. At night, the temperature doesn't go down too. The heat continues to blanket the city, making you sweat in your sleep at night and uncomfortable. You will wake up tired. The Japanese has a term for this condition, necyusho (熱中症) or heat exhaustion.

I know that my electricity bills usually rockets up at this time of the year. Yes, I don't care. The air-conditioner is my new best friend. Together with shadow-shade of tall objects (building, traffic light pole, tall people, etc...) whenever I am out. In fact, any air-conditioner and any shady area are my two best friends in summer.

So, it is no-brainer that I want to tell you that it is a terrible idea to travel to Tokyo in the summertime. Unless you are planning to be indoors most of the time, stepping outside of any building to go for sight-seeing in Tokyo means you risk melting yourself until you get re-animated again by the cool breeze of an air-conditioner. You can sometimes see Japanese people walking around with towels around their necks, ready to mop up their sweat. 

This year, with the mercury actually hitting 38°C, making it one of Tokyo's highest temperature records, it has definitely become a very miserable summer for me. However, determined not to be beaten by the heat, I randomly tell a friend about having a picnic in a sunflower field. She is keen on the idea and we decided that going to the nearby park to have a picnic and to enjoy some sunflowers. After filling up a small backpack with food and drinks, we set off, risking ourselves in this fever-induced heat and headed towards the Showa Kinen Koen.

Although, we missed the peak flowering season for the sunflowers, we are still treated with a few beauties. 

If there is a competition to vote for the happiest summer flower, my guess would be the winner would be the sunflower. To me, the more blazing the sun is, the happier they look. Or maybe it is their yellow colour that convinces me so. Or maybe it is how they always seem to glow under the bright light of the sun. Well, they sure cheer me up on this miserable hot day! 

Smiling under the sun

The best time to see the sunflowers is at the height of summer, anywhere from the end of July till end of August. You can find the direction for the Showa Kinen Koen in my previous posts:

Spring is in the air.... in Showa Kinen Koen

Enjoy the sunny beauties and enjoy a lot of water! 

Spring is in the air.... in Showa Kinen Koen

Wow! I can't believe that now is spring. This spring makes it my 2nd year in Japan.

Flowers are blooming everywhere and I woke up to the sound of birds singing outside my window this morning. The sun is bright and everything is sunny. I felt that this is one of the most beautiful mornings I had in a long time. It has been so quiet during winter with everything so bare and gray before, but life seemed to have returned from its sleep. I have flowers blooming outside my apartment and they bloom so brilliantly as though they have always been forever like that.

To me, I felt that the spring is the best wake-up call for me to start to get active and do all the fun stuffs, especially after this year's cold, bare winter that seem to make me slow down on my work and studies.

And when spring arrives, it actually felt like the beginning of a new year. Everything starts moving. Everybody is getting busy as school starts and new employees start their first day at work in April. Some of us moved out and into a new place to live.

Even the nature is getting busy. The plants are budding out new leaves. Flowers are blooming. I guess spring is a wake-up call for every living thing on this planet.

I will be getting busy as well with hanami parties lining up, new semester at the university and of course, preparing more posts for this blog.

Today, I just want to introduce to you a place that is a favourite with Tokyoites whenever we need a big, open space to relax. I am sure that many who lives in Tokyo know about this place, the Showa Commemorative National Government Park (国営昭和記念公園 Kokuei Shōwa Kinen Kōen).

It is my favourite escape door to nature whenever I feel overwhelmed with life in Tokyo. It is relatively easy to get to from Shinjuku station and it takes about 30mins to get there by train.

The Showa Kinen Koen is a lovely park to go to at any time. And like Tokyo, it has never failed in surprising me with its beautiful flowers and peaceful walkways (although it is always full of people).

Before I start going on and on about how I love Showa Kinen Koen, first, enjoy some spring photos taken from the park.

It is seriously a beautiful day and I am happy to spend it with the yellow daffodils

Although you can't see the crowd from the pictures, but it is a busy park and lots of people come here (especially in spring and autumn) to take photos of the park, to relax, to play frisbee... But it still manages to feel spacious and peaceful despite everything.

I wished I lived nearby enough to bring and read my book in this park

This is a huge park and you will need at least half a day just to enjoy a small section of this park. I would recommend spending a whole day here because there is so much to see and much more to do. You can hire a small boat to row in the big lake, you rent a bicycle and ride around the park, have BBQ or picnic, kids can enjoy splashing around in the Rainbow Pool and much, much more to do.

Lovely park to relax

The famous gingko lane

It is a 400 Yen (update: it is 410yen as of 06.07.2014) for anyone above 15 years old and half price for senior citizen above 65 years old to enter the Showa Kinen Park, but I can assure you that you will feel the price is worth it once you enter this park.

The nearest station to the park is Nishi-Tachikawa Station (JR 西川 駅 or JR Nishi-Tachikawa eki) on the JR Ome line (青梅線) or you can stop at the JR Tachikawa Station  (JR 立川 or JR Tachikawa eki) and walk 15-20 mins walk from there.

The website of Showa Kinen Koen also provides additional information on how to get there in English from various major stations, but I will put it up in this blog for you.

Photo credit: Showa Kinen Park

Photo credit: Showa Kinen Park

And the direction to get there if you arrive at the JR Tachikawa station (JR 立川) instead.

The Showa Kinen Koen is one of the easiest parks to go to whenever you are in the city and wanted to go somewhere naturally beautiful or whenever you just simply wanted to feel the grass under your feet. 

So, have you been to the Showa Kinen Koen yet? If yes, what do you think of the park? 

If no, do you think you will make a trip to the park after this post? 

Share with me your experience at the park! So, till the next time ( ^_^)／

Is it expensive to travel in Japan?

I think we all know that Japan has a reputation of being one of the most expensive countries in the world to visit together with Tokyo as one of the world’s most expensive cities. However, after several years of living here, I find that the reputation is a bit overrated. 

Especially when taking the wonderful, efficient and clean subway in Tokyo. The fare starts at the mere of 130yen. Also, venturing slightly outside Tokyo most of the time will only set you back around 1,000-1,500yen per way. And there are also area passes that are so useful for that slightly longer distance travel to places such as Karuizawa, Mt Fuji, Kamakura and Nikko for us who are residents of Japan.

Eating out doesn't cost as much as you think. You can eat out for less than 1,000yen per person. The lunch time is the best time to splurge on meals. Meals such as a kaiseki ryori in Kyoto, where prices usually start around 10,000 yen for dinner, can be enjoyed at lunch at about half of that price (There is also mini-kaiseki set ^^). Many restaurants offer special lunch sets and it is the best meal deal for you to try out something new or famous (like the Kobe beef) or curiously strange (eel or octopus sushi, anyone?). I find that Japan is getting less expensive as the years goes by whereas other countries are getting more expensive.

Having said all that, there are still two things in Japan that I find it expensive and can still make quite a damage if you are not careful. One of it is accomodation and the other is the long-distance transportation. 

To find budget accomodation in Tokyo is sometimes a needle in a haystack in this metropolis. For a night in a budget hotel in a reasonable location, you will still have to fork out an average of 5,000-8,000yen and this is a stay in a budget hotel. Although staying in a budget hotel is not a bad lodging choice in terms of comfort and cleanliness, I still feel that Tokyo is somewhat lacking of a vibrant scene of other cheap lodging options.  

As for long-distance travel, I must stress that for those who are travelling into Japan from overseas, there is always the Japan Rail Pass that you should take advantage of it, especially if you have lots of long-distance travel in between cities in Japan.

So, in a nutshell, travel in Japan can be an expensive affair without some sort of planning. Otherwise, the prices are not as bad as you would have imagined it. I think it is pretty comparable to prices in London, Paris or New York. Well, I hope this post helps to prepare you for what prices to expect when you travel in Japan. 

Japan is one country that never fails to amaze anyone, even for me. Every time I step out, this city fascinates me with its beauty, quirkiness and energy. I feel that everyone should include Japan in their bucket list and come here to experience this place at least once in their lifetime. 

Welcome to my unofficial travel guide to Tokyo and Japan ^^

Hello, everyone!!!

After some time of thinking, I have decided to make this blog a little more helpful for those who are planning to travel to Japan and who would like to explore Tokyo a little more in-depth than what the conventional guidebooks can offer you. I will be posting the less-explored places in and around Tokyo with transportation guide, regular travel advice and other news (funny or serious) about Japan and most of all, showing you what Japan has to offer. So be sure to bookmark this blog so that you can return regularly and immerse yourself in my travel adventures.

Also, this blog is for those who are already living here in Japan for several years and would like to get to know more about this city we are living in. We will be discovering and sharing the fascinating nooks and crannies in this sprawling metropolis and beyond Tokyo too. And yes, you are more than welcome to share your secret escapes too! Let's discover this wonderful city together!

Well then, have a look around and I hope my articles can inspire you for your next trip to Japan or motivate you to visit a newly discovered secret spot in Tokyo in this travel blog ^^