My Wildheart

Too bad when we went here it was pouring rain and the scenery is foggy. This is my 2nd time to visit Skytree (the first one was during our Jenesys 2.0 program)
but this is the 1st time I've seen it up close.

Tokyo Skytree is also famous for it's lights illumination in the evening.
One of the patterns is Iki (chic-skyblue) and the 2nd one is Miyabi (elegance-purple) 

Inside skytree you can buy tickets  for the aquarium there. There are lots of shops, cafes and restaurants there. They even have a "tourist guide area" just in case you are lost.
Elevators and escalators are available in the area. 

 The station is easy to find.
From Skytree station to Asakusa station it will take only 9-13 minutes.

You can buy Omamori/ Lucky charms here.
Each temple or shrine in Japan has a small shop that sells omamori. 

Omamori is like an amulet of protection and a talisman of luck. There are different types of omamori.
Omamori for health, study, wedding, business and more.
It is said that you should never look what's inside or else the the luck and blessings will be released. Also after a year when it is "expired" or after you achieved your goal, you need to go back to the shirne/temple where you bought it from and the priest will dispose it on a fire.

There are lots of shops here, and in every building there could be 2-3 shops there. 

Sample, in one building: top floor could be a café, middle floor could be a cosplay shop and underground could be a place for gundams. I was really shocked with this type of arrangement, you really need to get to go inside and explore every store to be able to find shops there. Shops that are big and well known are quite pricey, that is why I suggest to explore each building if you can. There are shops that sell 50% off and have big discounts compare to others. Most shops in Japan don’t accept credit cards but no worries there is a foreign money exchange in the center of Akihabara. 

If you are not familiar with the place and google maps are a little bit difficult, you can ask for a map in some shops in Akihabara. With limited English, sellers are willing to help you and some of them are really friendly. I was shocked when one of the sellers from a gundam shop handed me a map of Akihabara and told me where are we can find affordable Anime merchandise. Also when we went to a cosplay shop and we couldn’t find what I was looking for, the staff there suggested me where to find thee other cosplay shops in akihabara and which floors are they located. They are not stingy, I mean they are suggesting their competitor‘s shop. 

Akihabara is really easy to find, once you got out of JR Akihabara station you will find it easily.

The concept of the cafe will depend on the popular Anime and Game of the month.

This type of cafe kept changing their themes unlike other themed cafe in Japan.

We are lucky that the month's theme is Himouto Umaru chan which I really love.

Since we decided to have an early lunch, the place has few customers only.

The inside are decorated with Umaru-chan's merchandise.

The foods and drinks available in the menu are named after the Himouto Umaru-chan's characters and even the food designs are also inspired from it.

It was surprisingly affordable . No time limit also, you can stay there until they closed.
There are parts of the cafe that you are  not allowed to take photos.

For those who won the games they will received some merchandise.

It was really fun to experience that type of cafe.

We received some freebies because when we went there it was Umaru-chan's birthday. 

Animate shop :

Animate is actually a big shop full of Anime merchandise, manga  and Cosplay stuffs.

For cosplayers this is a one stop shop for your needs in cosplay, you can find make-ups, wigs,

costumes, shoes, accessories and etc. 

Hanano Miyako Koen

Started late, supposed to be there by 9:00am but there was a train schedule from the place where we stayed in so we arrived there during lunch time.To be honest I wasn't expecting that Yamanashi is far from Nagoya. Going there by shinkansen you will see mountains, forests and a river there, I was quite shocked that Yamanashi looks like a country side, I really thought it would be like Tokyo.

Yamanashi is famous for the Fuji 5 lakes. .

This one is a huge lake, and a lot of people come here. Some for sightseeing and some do boat tours.
I was told that Autumn season is the best to come here, since this area is surrounded by trees. .

Yamanakako Hanano Miyako Koen ( Flower Garden) 

For those who like flowers and plants, this is the place for you.

This is called a Kitsune (Fox) plant.

Orchids in Japan is said to be expensive.