Colourful lights

7 May 2015

It was a cold, drizzly morning, and all I wanted to do was sleep, but I had decided the previous night that I was going to have Ichiran Ramen for breakfast (since this was the only thing open at 930am). This is the Shinjuku outlet and it's an underground one, next to Ootoya.

Self-service vending machine. This is seriously the most efficient way of ordering food. It's brilliant. You save so much time and effort, the process is (relatively) simple and straightforward, no fuss, no frills, great. 

Ichiran is amazing for lone(rs) diners because it's all individual seats, and there are even boards on either side of you to prevent (?!) you from conversing with your neighbour. Maybe they want you to focus on your food. It is a little claustrophobic though.

You don't get to see anybody else's faces in this shop (unless you're walking in/out as someone else is doing the opposite). The restaurant staff's faces are blocked by the board, and they just speak to you from behind. It's a really, really strange concept. Good for shy people, perhaps?

You customise your order, pass the chit and your order ticket to the staff, and wait for goodness to appear.

After they serve you, they lower the bamboo blinds so you're really eating completely by yourself. Very considerate, but a little bit lonely.

Anyway, this was pretty amazing. I was wondering why it didn't look as appetising, and I realised it's because I ordered without spring onions, so it looks unexciting and plain. BUT the taste is really something different.

The broth is sweet and salty and spicy and creamy all at the same time. How is that possible! And it tastes like they included egg yolks into the broth kind of creamy. It was really quite good. I would happily return for another round of lonesome eating. One thing about eating ramen though: you're encouraged to slurp because it supposedly enhances the flavour (this is really true; slurping makes a world of difference) but that also means that you consume a lot of air. Which is not the best thing when you need to release it somehow somewhere (oops).

Decided to make a trip to Odaiba today. Was initially a bit worried because it drizzled in the morning, but the day turned out really hot. I even got slightly burnt. There's this huuuuge Gundam larger-than-life-size figurine in front of one of the malls. He looks pretty heroic.

The detail to every part of the figurine is amazing.

I've been trying to take photos of people recently, but it's quite challenging, especially because there's the chance that people get offended or something.

There is a takoyaki museum, which sounds ridiculous, and it kind of is. But, well, rather than a museum, it's really just a lot (there were 5-6 I think) of takoyaki shops together, and you can take your pick, and there are apparently different types (like soup takoyaki). I didn't eat any because I wasn't hungry. I was quite amused though.

Odaiba has a rather futuristic feel to it. I mean, look at this beast which is supposed to be a ferry. The doors open upwards, like those you see in sci-fi movies. 

Lots of highways and expressways which just feels futuristic for some reason (media constructions!).

This is a huuuuuuge bridge, called the big bridge of dreams. It felt like forever walking from one end of it to the other.

They have a lot of bridges in Japan. This is the Rainbow Bridge, which connects Odaiba to Tokyo. It is supposed to be quite romantic at night because it lights up and all. But I didn't stay until nightfall, so I wouldn't know. 

As I sat across the Rainbow Bridge, gazing at the landscape, both natural and man made, I am reminded of why I love the ocean and seasides and beaches. The sickly salty smell of saltwater is almost nauseating, but in a comforting, nostalgic sort of way.

The question I sometimes ask people is, are you a mountain person or a sea person? I struggle with being able to choose one. I love mountains, I love hiking, and I love the cold, crisp, fresh air you get on a mountain. Mountains also give you great views of the world beneath. But oceans and seas. They are limitless. Endless. Powerful. It's scary to get lost in a forest atop a mountain, but it's worse, I think, to be lost out at sea. But I love both. And I choose both.

For some reason, we like to think in binaries. I don't know if it's something inherent, or learnt, but it is limiting sometimes, isn't it. Much as I try not to see the world dichotomously, it seems to backfire, and I end up in yet another dichotomy: either the issue is dichotomous, or it is along a continuum. Are there no other ways of thinking. Maybe there are, but not orderly.

I walked the entire day, and my legs were super aching, so I went hunting for somewhere to rest. I found a Calbee+ shop, so I decided to have a snack, having read about this potato chips and royce chocolate sauce thing. It was pretty good. But although my chips were warm, I felt they weren't quite warm enough. But it was still a good snack.

Decided to go to Harajuku for a bit, to find crepe. This is a relatively tame Takeshita Dori on a weekday. 

Supposedly one of the best crepe shops around; crepes range from 350ish onwards, savoury and more elaborate ones most more than 500.

This is the other supposedly best crepe shop around (on par with Marion Crepes) which is directly opposite its competitor. I wonder if the employees are friends. I decided to have Angel's Heart because there was no queue, and it was just slightly cheaper.

So this is the much hyped-about Japanese crepe, chocolate whipped cream flavour. And now I understand why the hype. The crepe is really cooked to the perfect texture, and when you chew it, the outermost layer of the crepe is slightly crispy, and retains that crispiness, so you don't get a soggy crepe even towards the end. That texture was fun and pretty incredible. There are also white chocolate shavings towards the end. Every bite was a step towards diabetes. I would eat it again, but I  wouldn't queue for it.

And after the potato chips and the crepe, all the walking in the earlier part of the day was for naught.

I headed back quite early, because I was so tired for some reason. My travelling stamina thus far has not been well. I suspect it's partly because a lot of the streets are very cramped and have extreme bright and colourful lights that are over-stimulating. It takes so much energy and effort to process everything visually and mentally. 

I met this guy on the way back! Really friendly, approached me, but ran away when 2 dogs came. 

And then I spotted another! Two cats in a day; such luck! This one approached me as well, but it seemed to have something funny with its left eye. It was friendly with dogs though. Very cute.