Christina already told you about our trip to Nikko with our internship program AYUSA. So here are some additional pictures from our trip to Nikko...

 

Our boat ride group picture (with some strangers in the back of the boat)

 

One of our funny looking "life pillows" - just in case...

 

What you recieved for colleting all stamps...a gold charm.

 

Poor little fish ...but it was delicious.

 

At the Toshogu shrine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A poor horse, Christina felt pity for...　　　　　　　　      ...so she bought some carrots and fed it.  

And here are some pictures of the Toshogu Shrine...

The famous wood carving of the three monkeys...

who "see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil".

 

Last friday, Sakura House had a party at Sakuratei which is a restaurant where you can eat okonomi-yaki, monja-yaki, teppan-yaki and have a good time!

English menu are available together with easy-to-follow pictutorials on how to cook your okonomi-yaki!!

cooking in process...

 

well... it was pretty quiet at the start... probably because the alcohols are not doing its job yet...

 

Junya san going around making sure that everyone gets some alcohols in their system while Ochiai san can't wait for our first round of kampei!

 

delicious okonomi-yaki...

 

 

christine looked really excited to cook this teppan-yaki :)

 

and, the party get started.....

Thank you Sakura House!

 

I really enjoyed the party and Sakuratei.

 

 

Sakuratei is located in Sakura House Design Festa in Harajuku and it is spacious with big tables which is ideal for big gathering with friends :)

Check out Sakuratei here.

Check out Design Festa here.

 

 

 

I tried two famous ramen store around Sakura House Shinjuku Office over the weekend and I will like you to try them too!

 

This store is just located on the 1st Floor of Sakura House Shinjuku Office Building. Ochiai san says that this is probably the best ramen store in Tokyo!

 

 

Interesting stuff: you will hear the chef saying some cheers everytime he cooked a ramen!

yummy!!!!

 

If you prefer spicy ramen, you can take a short walk (3min walk) further down to find this mongolian style spicy ramen!

Nakamoto Ramen!!!

 

various spicy levels for you to choose from...

 

if you come during meal times, be prepared to queue up :)

 

I tried the one with medium level of spicy...

Address of Nakamoto Ramen:  東京都新宿区西新宿7-8-11　美笠ビルB1Ｆ 　

 

 

I know I know, today is Monday. Moreover it's a holiday here in Japan, "Umi-no-hi" or the Day of the Seas in English.

Well it is THE day to get out to the beach to catch the waves but if you prefer not to go on head-to-head with the scorching sun, there are still plenty of places in Tokyo to hang out.

While I am working at my desk at this moment, I am already thinking of the day after tomorrow because of this:

You might think it's just another ordinary red bean cake. But behold! This is the infamous "Shiro Imagawa-yaki", only available on Wednesday!

The chewy middle layer is wrapped by a snowy outer crisp, plus the red bean filling which is not too sweet. A perfect combination that took the good old Imagawa-yaki to a whole new level.

The shop is located on the 1st floor in Sangenjaya's landmark Carrot Tower:


This place is so famous that if you google the keywords "三軒茶屋 今川焼" it would pop out on top of the search results! Prepare to line up on Wednesday ~ (Red bean / Cream: 80 Yen; Cheese: 120 Yen)