Our last full day in Japan was spent strolling the streets of Kichijoji. My sister and I parted ways early morning at the hotel. She was heading off to the JE Family Club in Shibuya, while I was meeting Yuka at the Shu Uemura store in Omotesando for a makeup atelier lesson. I won’t get into too much details about the lesson, but you can read about it here if you’re interested in attending a session. (Japanese language only)
 
Moving onto Kichijoji – one of my favourite areas in all of Tokyo. My sister met us just outside the store in Omotesando, then we headed off to the station to take the train to Kichijoji. Since Junko lives in Kichijoji, she met us as we arrived at the station. It was past lunchtime already but none of us had eaten yet, so we went on a hunt for a soba restaurant. Since it was a national holiday, there were other festivities happening on the streets. I could already smell food wafting down from where we were walking, so I couldn’t help but stop and buy some yakitori before continuing on our hunt.
 
We did manage to find a soba restaurant before long and went inside to eat. I always seem to forget what to do everytime I have soba, so I have to re-learn the steps whenever I go. Heehee.
 
We didn’t have any particular locations in mind to visit in Kichijoji. There was a couple famous shops that Junko pointed out while we walked, including one that sold specialty tea and another popular donut shop (not Mister Donut!). We went inside a number of furniture shops selling the cutest little accessories imported from Europe. There was also a bakery tucked away in the basement that had the most amazing selection of bread. Junko was busy filling her tray while we waited off towards the side. Initially I thought she was buying it for herself, since she carried it with her the entire time we were out. Little did I know, she was buying it for our breakfast the next morning. ^_^

After an afternoon of walking, we decided to stop for a tea break at a quiant little cafe hidden just past a residential area. It turns out that Junko’s friend owns the shop. She was surprised to see two Canadian Arashi fans travel all the way to Tokyo for the concert. =P
 
Our tea sets were really cute. The store is split on two levels, with the seating area upstairs on the second floor. I had a hard time deciding what to order, but I settled on a persimmon tart. North Americans aren’t big on persimmons, but I love eating them when they’re in season. It was my first time having dessert made from it. Everything we ordered tasted as good as it looked.

Afterwards we continued strolling along Kichijoji. We went past the main shopping strip Daiyagai, and I went inside the Loft store to browse around. When we exited the store, we were pretty much right in front of Satou, a restaurant famous for serving menchi katsu. We had been going back and forth from the restaurant all day, and each time there had been a long lineup of people waiting out front. However, towards 6pm there was hardly anyone waiting outside. I finally had a chance to try their famous menchi katsu! I wasn’t sure what to expect out of their Matsuzaka beef (it was in there somewhere), but I nearly burnt my tongue it since it was so hot!

After our little snack, we walked over to a restaurant where we were meeting Junko’s friend Seiko for dinner. The restaurant was a very casual sit-down place. We tried a bit of everything Yuka and Junko ordered. Seiko is a huge Arashi fan, so we were engaged in Arashi talk for most of the night. She also shared some of her FC newsletters and magazine clippings with us. It was very sweet!

After stuffing our tummies with food, it was time to say goodnight. I had an amazing time in Tokyo and it’s always hard to say goodbye. Thanks to Yuka and Junko for taking us out one last time!

Moving onwards – Hong Kong!