Day 6 & 7 of our trip in Tokyo

Berhabuk dah gamba2 ni. Details masa pergi sana pon dah blurry. Tapi sebelom lupa dan malas menerpa, baik teruskan. Alang2 system defect kat office tengah down ni. 

On day 6 I told my husband let's not hurry up. We took our time, woke up late and then head out to Asakusa area. Before that I had been looking up at the weather forecast for Tokyo daily, and that day 6 was the coldest, so we came prepared with extra layer of clothes. It also rained a bit, but did not require umbrella or raincoat. 

Our first stop is at the Sengakuji Temple. The temple of the 47 Ronin temple as also known. I watched the Keanu Reeves movie, while not historically accurate (AT ALL) haha, but it did gave me some interest to look further into the stories. Interesting lah.

The graves of the Ronin.

We walked around the temple and it was a small temple and I think some area are locked off kut, because  I couldn't find the well. Ah well. It was an interesting visit nonetheless.

Here they provided the information about the temple. There is a nice old man manning things here.

We the proceeded to Sensoji Temple which is one of the oldest temple in Tokyo.

It was raining a bit so I just walked around in places that have shades since I am pushing Ajis stroller . Husband walked around more freely which gave him opportunity to shoot pictures of Japanese girls in their kimonos. Terlupa pulak nak letak sini.

It was a very crowded place, but not unpleasant to be around. That's the thing about Japan. Even in crowded place you don't feel crowded. Then husband take charge of Ajis a while and I walked around the temple to people watch. Intriguing. I don't think so I can appropriately describe it. But watching the devotees prayed is really interesting. And watching other people watching other people pon interesting gak. 

We walked along the famous Nakamise Dori. Didnt buy anything here. Sorely tempted nak beli neko yang lambai2 tangan tu, tapi i dah ade satu kat rumah yang waving tail die. Banyak songeh, last2 malas. Sebab I couldnt find one that is attractive enough.

Bought a snack since I was a tad bit hungry, taste a bit like rice crackers but fuh masin.

There were also a row of shops adjacent to Nakamise Dori. And as this place is shaded I am more keen to go here. Some souvenir shops, some snack shops, drugstore. At the end of this street, we found a kebab place.

Stop for a moment to eat our lunch and push little Aziz for his lunch. He was really not into eating at this time, and it took forever for us to convince him the rice pudding is good. And it is good! The kebab was good but still salty.

M y kebab, husband rice with kebab and the rice pudding. It was ok though the kebab a bit too salty for my taste. Rice pudding tu sedap.

Eating a little bit of my kebab.

Then we saw the Skytree and it seems walkable , so we walk!

Stopping a while for a photo. Sejuk wehh time ni. Aziz then cried for his milk and we stopped just ahead of this bridge at a nearby bus station to make his milk and he drank his milk then tidur.

The Tokyo Skytree! We didn't go above, but just decided to walk around the mall under the Skytree instead.

It was not a large mall, but I did manage to buy a skirt! Then some cakes and biscuits and pastries sebab aku memang lemah bab pastries ni. Lemah!

We head back to the hotel to rest a bit, eat a nearby Turkish Restaurant. I can finally have my pide ( aku terbayang2 nak pide walaupon I kinda suspect it is kinda easy to make, tapi aku tak rase aku boleh match kegebuan roti pide tu) !

It was delish but kalau dengan daging mesti lagi sedap. Ni cheese and spinach I think.

I didn't take husband punye gambar food. I think he ordered the kebab, it was ok.

This was delish! Memang lagi sedap dari lunch punye rice pudding la. Damn it now I want a rice pudding.

 Afterwards we went out to Bic Camera to shop. Bic Camera tu opposite je hotel.  Husband bought me a GShock and these!

Placemat untuk main jigsaw puzzles. Hahaha.

Sementara we shopped, Aziz main this keyboard. Since he threw down a fuss whenever we yanked him away from there, we asked the salesperson kat mana nak beli keyboard ni, sekali sold out da. Sian Aziz, but we bought another almost similar one at Toys R Us here.

The main thing is to buy toys for the anak2 sedara since most are quite cheap.

Malam tu we packed since tomorrow we dah balik Malaysia. Itu juga bermakna, aku kena habiskan pastry aku beli tengahhari tu. I love the fruit tart.

Nice!

Ini adalah sangat muak! I can only eat one and i bought 4! Pffttt. 

Our last day in Tokyo, we went to Imperial Palace East Garden. And 2 hours is not enough to walk in the park! Maybe 3 kut... we checked out then went to the garden and it was beautiful!

Spring and that means flower!

The Oriental garden was beautiful! Picture does not do it justice.

Remnants of an old castle, or part of a castle. I kinda forgot. Aziz tu tengah makan power bar. Lama betul die kunyah bar tu. Dari masuk park sampai keluar park tak habis2.

Sempat beli and makan aiskrim sebab favorite aiskrim aku in the whole world is wafer aiskrim. Dan ini did not disappoint!

Jalan di park sambil makan power bar.

Maseh lagi dengan power bar.

Then we went back to the hotel just in time for our airport bus to Narita. At Narita airport had the worst takoyaki ever, and went out to hunt for some various flavors KitKat and Royce chocolates!

Also this!

Amik gamba ni nak tunjuk kat korang! I encountered this in most public toilets in Tokyo, especially for mother and child going out alone,  we can do our business in the stall and at the same time our baby is safe in here ( while maybe kicking and screaming but it is pretty safe for a short while ). 

Haha.. aku suke sebab dulu kalau aku nak kencing masa bawak Aziz keluar sorang diri, selalu kena tahan sampai balik rumah. 

That is that! 

It was fun in Tokyo, though there are some places I wish I could go or have more time to, but this trip is ok jugak. We will never get our fill of a city unless we lived in it pon. Though I have to say, pergi sekali pon ok la. (Unless kalau free I tak tolak pergi lagi :D ). 

Selamat berpuasa to you all.

Sad excuse of a mother

Inundated with a neglect cases, as a mom it breaks the heart. Macam kes budak kena culik or rape or bunuh. There is a special kind of sadness and rage. 

But when the perpetrator is own blood and kin, especially mak sendiri, rase macam tak masuk akal. There can only be sadness in this kind of case.

Macam kes budak kena dera sampai mati and the latest neglected OKU boy. What kind of pressure does it took that you can do that to your own child and not feel pity to them?

I am not a great mother, I am still learning to be a good mother. Especially sensorang jaga Aziz 2 3 minggu ni with morning sickness rase macam fuhhh. There was a low point yesterday when I realized I didn't take care of Aziz good enough these past weeks and that brings me down and I promised to do better. 

Semoga Tuhan will always keep my conscience with me even when things get hard that I don't lose my way like these mothers did. 

And sorry to say, walaupon I kinda get how they can get to the point of tiredness and not caring, to neglecting/abusing their kids, I hope they get what they deserved here and hereafter on their treatment to them. There is no excuse whatsoever that your child gets to be just a bag of bones while you are very well fed. And no excuse whatsoever throwing boiling water to any living things.

Aziz favorite book

My husband and I went out shopping groceries at Carrefour, well I think it is now Aeon Save is it? Sometimes there are a piles of books longgok in between the aisles. The price can be cheap ranging from RM4 to RM30. Depending on the book. 

Can't remember the price of this book though, less than RM12 most probably. Bought it for Aziz because I think he would enjoy a story of a boy. 

It is about a boy name Harold who likes to eat junk food and fries and basically no greens. His mother forbid him to eat the stuffs and he decided to eat himself. Aziz is tickles at every page. 

And he loves it! Wants it to be read to him EVERY SINGLE DAY. I put the book on the living room bookshelf that he can reach. Whenever he got bored of playing his mainan, he will take out his book and go to whoever is available and asked us to 'Aca' ( 'Baca'... sekarang ni kalau cakap semua hurup depan tu silent ).

It is either this or the little dragons pop up book. But this book came way more often. Kenkadang tengah tengok TV he will come with us with the book untuk 'Aca'. Kalau dah macam tu ko mampu lagi nak tengok tv? Semalam pon I was busy since bapak nye tadek outstation, die nampak buku tu he will goes 'Aca'. Lepas tu 'Agi' ('Lagi') . I cakap habis dah.

Anyway, it is funny what sorta book a kid will like. Yang random punye aku amik time grocery shopping la suke. Yang beria-ria aku pilih buat bodoh je. 

Macam mana you people read the book to toddlers who barely understand ABC? I found it easier to just 'summarize' the thing itself in BM while pointing at the pictures. He is more interested in that rather than just I repeat the lines off the book. 

Exhausted and pukey most of the time

I have a bun in the oven!

This is the my third pregnancy. As some knows my first was a miscarriage at 7 weeks, then got Aziz and now this lil bean in my uterus. Hoping and praying that all goes well and smoothly. 

I should be in my 13 weeks or 14 weeks now. Actually my app says I am in my 13 weeks, but my gynae said I am in week 14. Ok. Tak kesah la. excited jugak because Insya Allah, this year all the sisters in our family had or will have a brand new baby to the family. My sister dah deliver 3 4 months ago, my eldest will be delivering her soon in a month time I think and me probably end of November ( laki tak puas hati  November sebab banyak hadiah kena beli nanti)

Continuing with my previous gynae, Dr Tan A.E at PCMC. Senang. Was thinking to go to Gleneagles, tapi Jalan Ampang time bebile buat aku sakit kepala bile nak buat checkup ( also nanti nak deliver I nak bilik sorang hehe ).  

Anyway suffering from the usual first trimester woes. Morning sickness. But this time it is added with exhaustion and back pains. The morning sickness also a whole lot worse from my previous pregnancy. There were days when I can't eat anything. Not eating rice since thoughts of rice make me feel queasy. Hoping this will pass SOON. The house is  a disaster and I can't seems to move a lot without feeling like I want to throw up. All I wanna do is lie down. Guess that is why I am also not really into updating blogs. Datang keje pon kenkadang macam menyesal. There were days I just stared at the screen not comprehending anything because I am feeling so nauseous most of the times.

Here's hoping things would get better for me! And this pregnancy continue to go well with a healthy baby. 

Sonogram and my mum's book.

Day 4 - Kawasaki area & Day 5 - Studio Ghibli and Tokyo Tower

Let's get it on..

The next 2 days are where we headed a little out of the way from Tokyo.

Went to Fujio F Fujiko museum which is in Kawasaki and Studio Ghibli in Mitaka. We bought the ticket from a tour agent. You can buy the ticket at any Lawson convenience store I think which have the ticketing machine, just google it up. You CAN'T buy it at the museum which is so weird to me. I think they want to limit how many people can enter it at a time . 

However since I heard Studio Ghibli tickets can go really fast I first asked a website that handled in buying and sending things in Japan to people all over the world, however we had some language barrier issues which caused me to unable to purchase it. However husband have contact a tour agent there who is willing to take the extra steps to purchase it for us and mail it to our hotel a week before arrival. So those who are interested to know how we purchase it from Malaysa, that is how! Easier if you have someone you know la. 

So on the day 4 which is on Tuesday, we woke up just in time to get to the station and catch a train to Noborito Station. I was worried a bit because the ticket is for 10 am.  and I think you only have a half hour window to enter it from the time you bought. We got to Noborito Station just in time around 10 am, and reached the museum at 10.15 am via the shuttle bus. Not to mention Aziz was cranky during the whole train ride. Ade la sorang pakcik Jepun who tried to tease Aziz back to good humour and a group of Thai ladies who offered him candies.

The shuttle bus to Fujio F Fujiko museum is very easy to spot!

We queued up a bit and was told no stroller are allowed which is a bother because Aziz really wants to drink his milk and he only do it lying down! 

Went to the nursery and let him drink up a bit but then he was excited seeing all those toys and patung to drink! So tak jadi minum pulak! 

My tips to those bringing toddler here, bring the toddler straight up to the play area and you and your partner take turn to watch him so the other people can see the exhibit in peace. At first we tried bringing Aziz along with the exhibit but he is a tots and not really interested and he was acting up. So yeah we took turn for both of us sanity. Sempat jugak Aziz berak time there, which is way better than anywhere else since the baby room is incredibly nice. 

Our ticket!

Passport!

This is actually at the entrance display

The exhibit mostly contained their sketches of Doraemon comics and one of their earlier works that looks incredibly like it.

They will give you an audio guide and this is the best audio guide I had heard. It have the option for English so that makes the exhibit more informational than we just roam around and seeing it. Also there is a replica of their home office which is amazing! Their home office looks like my dream library! So many books and posters and Star Wars memorabilia. Fujio Fujiko were a fan of Star Wars. We can't really take pictures of the exhibit and that passport picture are taken by my husband illegally I think.

Most of the time were spent here. The play area.

There are Doraemon comics all over for people to read but it is all in Japanese so we didn't bother.

One of the things Aziz try to play. I don't quite understand it either.

I actually realized we didn't take picture of the whole place, oh well, there is one part for reading and another for playing. There is a movie, actually more like you can watch a trailer for an upcoming Doraemon movie, but we didn't go in.

Then we went outside for more picture taking opportunities and let Aziz roam around.

I suruh die sayang Doraemon and this is what he did.

Also those who read/watch Doraemon. Remember this!

Ade la few others patung around the outdoor area, the biggest draw is the Pintu Suka Hati, which is a pain to get a picture with because a couple of photographer snapping like 30 pictures in one pose while adjusting their settings. Amateurs! But we manage tapi I tak upload sini la.

There is a cafe but we just opt to eat the melon bread from the stall selling breads and drinks outside. Bought Aziz a dorayaki. He likes it enough that he finished his off.

Then we went to Nihon Minkaen ( Open Air Folk House museum ) which is just 5 mins bus ride from the museum. At first I thought we have to walk there, but my husband asked the guard outside the museum and he informed us that there is a shuttle bus to take us there so we waited around 15 mins for the shuttle bus. Naseb baik tak jalan. Dah la hari panas .

So yeps! This is one of the house in the area. The Nihon Minkaen is a collection of real rural houses that they transported from all over Japan to one area so we can see what old rural house looks like. It is located in a park so it is very beautiful. And hilly!

I love it there, though after 10 houses I kinda give up reading the histories.

Some of the interiors.

The walk is uphill and the houses are really fetching. I bet in winter during snow it is even more beautiful.

 

Comel

Muka Aziz dah ngantuk gile dah time ni.

So we gave him susu in stroller and pushed him up around the hilly area looking at houses and die tidor dalam stroller.

Tea in one of the houses

You can also join in for tea and conversation with these men if you like though I excused myself politely.

That is the exit, and the park is gorgeous! We didn't have enough time to go into the park though. This time we missed the shuttle bus and we had to wait close to an hour for another bus to come! Asked the guard nearby and the walk to the train station is not far. I timed it myself, only 15 minutes! So we walked as the weather is beautiful at the time.

We headed back to Tokyo, rested up a bit and went to Akihabara. At first I was really stoked to eat naan at an Indian place but after many searching the place is closed! Booo! I was hungry and annoyed. 

Not to mention pissed. We were walking out of Akihabara station when a Japanese guy approached us wanting to help us asking where we want to go, we just want to go to the Electric town exit, he showed us the way ( wrongly I may add ) and after he shown us the way he asked us for money! So never say you won't be scammed in Japan. I can always say No but he was insisted saying he is hungry so please give him 300 yen, I eyed him sidewise while smiling thinly which he then change to 200 yen. Since I want to get rid of him I just give him 200 yen. Annoying. So yes, we were in for a rude shock since I never heard tourists got asked for money when Japanese people giving directions. So that is my tale of caution. Maybe only in Akihabara because that guy really looks super otaku. Said to my husband probably this is one of the guy who is addicted to those pachinko machine. 

That unpleasantness aside we walked around in Akihabara. I actually was underwhelmed. Foreigners seems to gush at the place, to me it just look like a bigger Low Yat. Hahahaha. Maybe I don't really appreciate the Electric Town. *shrugs* 

We did spot a Caucasian girl working in costume at one of the shops. To a lot of guys delight. No photos are allowed though.

I don't really find maid cafe or these costumes appealing since these are too objectified , so I guess maybe that is why Akihabara looks blergh to me.

 

Anyway my husband manage to ask from one of the Indian man wearing kopiah buying stuffs at Akihabara if there is any halal shops nearby. And just our luck that the guy do know where to find one since he actually is living here. 

So we went to this Yodobashi Akiba place where at the 8th floor there is an Indian place which served halal food ( chicken ye, not beef). 

So yes! I got my naan. It was a good naan too and the tandoori chicken is actually really good and Aziz ate a lot of it too. 

Aziz actually threw down my naan to the floor when I still have half left and I think the waiter saw that I am nearly in tears ( people just don't mess with my food, I get emotional with my food ) that he gives me another naan free. That waiter is the best ever ok. 

So that is it, we got back to hotel and prepared esok for Studio Ghibli pulak! 

On Day 5, we woke up and got ourself to the station. We waited a while to get to Mitaka Station with increasing anxiety. Rupanye the train going in that direction is delayed. Our ticket was at 10 am and at 9.20 am we are still waiting for the train to go to Mitaka.  Nasib baik sempat jugak. We arrived at the station close to 10.10 am and there is the shuttle bus waiting at the station.

We arrived there at 10.20 and have to queue up for a while but that does not take long. Our visit to Studio Ghibli Museum also coincide with a junior high school trip I believe. So that was interesting and madness to the whole museum. 

 While we were queueing there was I think an Australian guy with his daughter who was pissed and trying to make the worker there understand while showing them a piece of paper that he had bought the ticket from their website online and this paper stated that they only needed to show their passport and this printout to them to collect the ticket. I think that they had been scammed from some weird website or misread which place they are suppose to collect it, since we can't collect the ticket at the museum. 

Anyway. The queue does not take long and as we guess since at the Fujio Fujiko museum we can't bring stroller in, we had closed the stroller by the time we get to the entrance. 

The exhibit is magical! I can't describe it, a lot of it are animated or interactive and most of them wondrous. Aziz enjoy the exhibit very much. We took turn in bringing him to the things which we think he would enjoy, and the rooms that he I think he won't care about ( the replica of the animators office, home and works) we took turn looking at. He especially like the peek and boo sorta exhibit shown in there. Photography is not allowed inside the museum, so yeah.. no pictures here. 

But husband did manage to get Aziz picture on the Neko bus! 

A japanese girl helping Aziz to get into the bus.

See! A neko bus! This is a play area for toddlers and children, and it is nothing much just a cat bus with cuddly round fur things inside but the kids do enjoy it! And I had half a feeling to jump into Neko bus myself! Aziz was really stoked and I think this is the highlight of the day for him. He even cabut Neko bus tu punye bulu to the protestation of the worker. Nasib baik buat sekali je, lepas tu tak buat lagi. Kalau tak kena halau dari main.

He was the youngest child there and got bullied once by a boy who wants to take away his fur balls, Aziz cried and the worker intervene so that's that. Then he continued to play happily in the bus sampai kena tarik dengan mak bapak die untuk amik gambar kat atas. 

Alamak. Gamba ni tak bersedia. Lantak la. There were so many schoolchildren hopping impatiently to take a picture here so aku macam malas nak beria.

The water fountain Aziz main sampai basah baju. Geram. Anyway, lepas amik gamba die terus terpa balik area Neko Bus tu and tanggal kasut nak sambung main. So we let him in there for 10 or 15 mins before going out of the  museum. 

While at the cafe so husband can buy me ice cream, noticed a park next to the museum.  with few sakura trees. Sebab jakun kena pegi amik gamba. 

Then we walked back to museum to take a last photo before going back to Mitaka Station and head back to Tokyo. 

At Mitaka station, we had lunch at KFC. No.. not the chicken but the fried fish. Boleh la for hunger pang. Beli extra for Aziz in case he wants it, but he wants only the biscuits.

 

Got back to Tokyo and decided eh, let's go to Roppongi la.

A place where expats thrived. Memula nak pergi Mori Tower to see the whole view of Tokyo but then saw that the entrance fee cekik darah amat. Don't want. 

So we walked a while and singgah Hard Rock Cafe for the usual tshirt purchase. 

Then we went to Tokyo Tower! 

I really wanted to go here because I heard souvenirs here is cheap and it is! Tips2 mengatakan Nakamise Dori tu lagi cheap,... no the one selling here is the cheapest so far I seen. 

Also partly I was an avid fan of Japanese Drama which then used to have a lot of Tokyo Tower as background and the rainbow bridge! Since I did not plan to go to Odaiba, it was ok by me seeing it from afar.

Ni laki aku la amik. One of the Tokyo sight. Bukan, ini bukan miniature. 

Up there, there is a large robot gliding here to provide interactive information. Aziz suke. Campo takut.

Stayed there nearing sunset time.

Oh the souvenirs I mentioned that are cheap there, it is Level 2 ke 3, not the same level as the observatory.

Afterwards we walked back to Roppongi and had dinner at a kebab place. Not so nice , so salty, maybe that is why I didn't take picture.

My first Mother's Day present

This is my first Mother's Day present. Was really into this bag all of a sudden. Then masuk kedai tu. Org tu cakap kalau datang on Sunday die org ade Mother's day celebration and special discount. Aku tak boleh dengar discount ni. Rase hati bagai ditarik2. So I put down my name to book and included in the VIP list and thought to myself "hey I am a mother .. totes deserves this bag". 

Tapi cakap je lebih sebab sekarang ni once I am at home memang liat nak keluar. Nak berbaringan je. So bile time Sunday tu I mcm moody so I macam nak gi ke tak but then it is after 12. Nak pergi Midvalley after 12 memang tak kose la wehhh. Parking seksa. So cakap kat husband tadek mood la nak pergi beli bag. I had shown him this picture earlier and he didnt say anything. Aku pon macam 'hurmph' je la. 

So tengahhari tu I tengok Reign at my computer while my husband rummage ape tah at one of the unused room while my son sibuk nak ikut ayah die sana sini. Dengar my husband cakap "bagi la kat mommy tuu" . Lo and behold my son grinning like he knows everything that innocent guy that he is and he is holding out the paper bag with my bag in it. Sudah dibelikan rupanye. Patut pon tadek encouragement nak gi Midvalley. Haha. 

Anyway thank you my husband for this gift and for being a trooper this past month dealing with me.