Last Day of 2014

2014 menjadi tahun yang spesial karena banyak hal terjadi tahun ini. Banyak hal baru yang gw rasakan, enak maupun ngga enak.

Yang paling memorable adalah 2 mimpi gw terkabul di tahun ini. Gw akhirnya menjejakan kaki di tanah Majapahit pada bulan Mei, dan negri sakura di bulan Oktober. Tahun ini gw lumayan banyak jalan-jalan, dan untungnya dengan segala kekurangan dan kelebihan semuanya bisa gw nikmati dengan sebaik-baiknya.

Sadly, dalam urusan kerja, tahun ini gw merasa kurang perform. Tapi mungkin saking stucknya gw jadi banyak refleksi diri dan makin punya gambaran sama apa yang sebenernya gw inginkan di tahun-tahun selanjutnya. Selama ini gw selalu pake banyak alasan untuk ngga berkarya dan gw sudah capek. Gw harus ngilangin sikap setengah-setengah gw untuk mimpi-mimpi gw di tahun-tahun selanjutnya.

Tahun ini juga menjadi tahun politik yang paling panas dan emosional bagi bangsa ini, termasuk untuk gw. Banyak hal yang berubah sejak pemilu, termasuk di lingkungan tempat gw kerja. Gw jadi rada menghindar ngomongin politik atau ekonomi di kantor, karena buntut2nya pasti ada aja yang nyinyir. Namun di sisi lain di tahun ini gw jauh lebih banyak mau tahu dan cari tahu soal 2 urusan itu.

Ngomong-ngomong kantor, tahun ini juga jadi tahun perpisahan. Beberapa rekan kerja memutuskan untuk keluar setelah sekian lama bersama-sama. Yah, gw rasa lumayan lumrah dimanapun pasti ada yang keluar dan ada yang masuk, tapi gw lumayan merasa kehilangan. Rasanya 2015 bakal berasa beda banget suasana disini.

Dari dunia komik, gw banyak nemu judul-judul bagus yang gw bener-bener nikmatin dan tunggu-tunggu setiap chapternya. Beberapa mungkin dah keluar dari tahun-tahun lalu tapi baru gw temukan sekarang. Yang paling favorit buat gw adalah Shoukoku no Altair, Otoyomegatari, dan Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun. Sementara anime mungkin bisa dibilang cuma 2 yang gw tonton tahun ini. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun yang gw tonton karena komiknya cukup berhasil membuat gw akhirnya memutuskan ngikutin animenya, lalu yang kedua Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Yang terakhir ini gw putuskan nonton gara-gara twitter temen gw yang bikin kepo dan gara-gara musiknya dibikin sama Yuki Kajiura. Ternyata emang ini anime mindfuck yang membohongi penonton pake karakter magical girls... : |

Sebagai penutup tahun ini, gw juga turut berduka untuk kecelakaan QZ8501 Air Asia. Semoga seluruh keluarga korban diberikan kekuatan dan ketabahan. Gw selalu berdoa agar semua proses evakuasi dapat berjalan dengan baik dan lancar sampai selesai.

Farewell 2014, I really enjoy this year. Hello 2015, please take a good care of me.

The Bustling Metropolis of Tokyo

At last... we set our foot at the capital of Japan, the big metropolis, the most busy place of all over Japan. The sensation when I arrived were kind of similar to the time after a several days trip around Java and finally back to Jakarta where finally back to the concrete forest. I'm not saying there're no tall building in Osaka and Kyoto, but the scale are quite different. And plus, I just came from Kawaguchiko so it was really a contrast scenery.

There are so many things to do in Tokyo, but not much time left. I secretly wished for our flight to be delayed, though. xD; We really want to go back to Japan again, mostly because there are a lot of things we still want to do in Tokyo Area.

As crowded as it's people, Tokyo local train and subway lines are much more complicated. It's a good decision we arrived at Osaka and Kyoto first so we've already used with Japanese train and bus system.

I find Tokyo people dress in much more variations of types and colors, but nothing weird like in anime. I rarely people in spiky hair unless they're cosplaying. Speaking of cosplay, it was Halloween when we were there. So many people dressed in costume around after hours. Many shops also had some Halloween decorations and Halloween themed products.

For some reasons my appetite turn to worse in Tokyo. I really wanted to eat and tried more kind of foods but I couldn't find the will to eat or fully enjoy my meal, even though I was hungry. It's not because the food is bad, though, since we found the best pork ramen of our life in Tokyo. Maybe it's because of the accumulated tiredness or because the cold weather... It quite hindered us from really enjoying this city, and I hope we could go back to experience what we've missed. Nevertheless, we're still enjoyed our city tour very much.

Tokyo Tower
The city's most famous iconic structure that appears in many anime and comic books. Although nowadays people recommend Tokyo Sky Tree more than this one. We only took pictures of this tower as we feel our visit to Tokyo won't be complete without seeing this one with our own eyes. It's near Akabanebashi Station. :)

Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro is like Akihabara for female since here lies the famous Otome Road. The scale might be smaller than Akihabara, though. Many people are cosplaying when we came here. Since our inn located around Ikebukuro we have a good access to this area. We choose Nekorobi Cat Cafe as our first animal cafe also because of the location.

There are anime related shops like Animate and Mandarake. They're targeting women more in this area. I only visited Animate and I can tell it's a paradise for fujoshi, with many yaoi mangas displayed in the first floor and Bakumatsu Rock exhibition(?) on the top floor. My brother kinda freak out everytime he found himself as the only man in the floor. But there are also boys in merchandise floor and he feel more in his elements as the merchandise displayed here are from general anime and manga.

We also visited Tokyu Hands because we want to buy some good quality nail clipper and sewing scissor for our mother (She's a dressmaker). It has an aura "we sell everything you need here" so we went inside despite we didn't really know if we will find what we're looking for. And yes, we found them, although prices here are quite expensive... ^^;

If you like ramen, you might want to try Bankara Ramen in this area. The portion are big, the broth are thickly rich and delicious, and the pork chop are scrumptiously thick yet so tender as it melts perfectly in your mouth. We ordered their number one tonkotsu ramen and tsukemen. Both were delicious but the pork ramen was really incredible. Ugh, I really miss that ramen...

Best Seller Tonkotsu Ramen

Tsukemen, it's ramen but in separated noodle and broth

I'm not sure if it's the same branch, but there's also Bankara Ramen in Jakarta, at Lottle Shopping Avenue Ciputra World on the 4th Floor. Their menu and their ramen really looks like the Japanese Bankara Ramen, but the one we had in Ikebukuro are much better especially for the tonkotsu.

Odaiba
To get here, we go to Tokyo Teleport Station. As we went out from the station, we can see the buildings have unique and modern architecture in this area and there's an amusement park across the road.

But the only reason why we came here is to pay our respect for the 1:1 scale Gundam Statue in Diver City, and that's all. Initially we also wanted to look around in the shopping mall. But we came to early and shops aren't opened yet.

Meiji Temple
Located in Yoyogi Park and near Harajuku, talk about a huge contrast... Meiji Jingu Mae Station is also known as Harajuku Station. Many important Shinto rituals or ceremonies are happened here. And again, even though I know I'm in the middle of big cities, the atmosphere was so nice with big trees all over the place as if we're surrounded by small forest.

There seemed to be some ikebana and other exhibitions, and also a ritual prepared. Those who attend for religious activities were dressed finely. We only saw procession of priests walking in through torii gates to the main temple, but we don't know what kind of ritual were they doing.

Harajuku
Harajuku is one place where you can find more Japanese people dressed in striking colors (the majority of them always use calm and earthy colors). Many people come here to shop for clothes, cute stuffs, and crepes. There are many crepe stalls in this area and we tried two of them. Just choose which crepe number you want from the display and tell the number at the cashier, pay, and then wait for it. They're cost around 300-700 Yen each according to the toppings.

Harajuku is also near Omotesando area. But my feet was already started to killing me and we didn't look around that much. We just went inside the station and took subway to Shibuya.

Shibuya
We get here to pay a visit to the famous Hachiko Statue, and take a look around the shopping district. I wonder how is it in weekdays, but it's really crowded in Saturday. The light rain was making people walked around in their umbrellas.

I found Shibuya as high-end shopping district since most of the shops are branded and seems expensive. But we still have our otaku time here at Parco building when we visit Mugiwara Store and all shops around it. :3


We also have great time in Genki Sushi Shibuya where they served sushi in new system of conveyor belt. I'm not even sure it's a conveyor belt. People ordered from a monitor/tablet and the sushi will arrived in front of you via train belt. It's fun and pretty efficient since it's fast, people will get what they want, no spoiled sushi, and they only need fewer waiter with this system.

There's a Genki Sushi branch too in Jakarta's Plaza Senayan. But I feel it's much cheaper in Shibuya, since I found myself ordering almost 12 plates of various sushi but pay a little cheaper and more satisfied than 'when we don't even eat that much but pay a bit more expensive' in Jakarta. I even try different fishes this time, other than tuna and salmon. And my brother loves to find pork sushi there.

Akihabara
Practically Otaku Heaven... Lots of action figures, plastic models, maid cafes, and specialty shops. We walked around Yodobashi and some action figure shops, but there's more than just anime-related products around here.

Inside Yodobashi Camera, after a while, you will notice the curious Yodobashi song played over and over again. I really wonder how all the staffs feels since in works they only hear this music for almost everyday. It's really brainwashing. And now, I'm trying to brainwash you too. Let's join the dark side of Yodobashi Camera... :V



People said you will hate this song after two hours inside Yodobashi, but you will really miss it after you leave Japan. Aside of the song, my brother buy some Gundam plastic models here. It's quite cheaper compared to the price in Indonesia, but of course since there's no shipping fee and such. The item sellection is much better too. I'm also curious with all of the food or kitchen related electronic products. But the staff always approached us with their big smile and sparkly eyes, makes me feel bad since I didn't plan to buy any...

There's Sushizanmai, a sushi restaurant in the ground floor just outside of Yodobashi Camera for delicious sushi in reasonable price. It's near an escalator towards subway station.

Asakusa
Asakusa is famous for their Japanese traditional style shopping alley that leads to Senso-ji Temple, the main attraction of this area. Both are exciting experience. We tried some fried mochi (we're not sure that's the name, though...) for snacks and buy some souvenirs for our friends and family. It seems that Asakusa always packed with tourist from all over the world who wanted to experience a bit traditional Japanese atmosphere in Modern Tokyo. People also like to get omikuji (fortune telling paper) and buy omamori (good-luck charm) in Sensoji Temple.

Note. Tokyo Banana and White Chocolate Daifuku Mochi. this is the most loved snack souvenirs. Everyone who I gave this always gobbled them happily, except for those who don't like banana. We found them sold only in Asakusa, but maybe there is another place we just didn't notice.

You can see Tokyo Sky Tree, the highest skyscraper in this city, from Asakusa. We didn't go there due to the lack of time (and we choose Tori no Iru Cafe instead for the love of owls). It's more to the east from Senso-ji Temple, across the river.

Shimokitazawa
We came here to search for the rabbit cafe, but we're pretty surprised to also found cute alleys with a lot of cute shops in this area. It's only one station from Shibuya and it feels really different already, almost like suburban feeling. Most of the shops are cafes, small clothing stores, or artsy souvenirs, makes us wonder if there are many artsy people in this area. It's not as crowded as other places I've visited in Tokyo, so we had more relaxing atmosphere here. We would love to come back here and explore more around this area. :)

Haneda Airport
I expected Haneda will be a little better than Kansai airport, but it's more than that. Haneda International Airport is the best and the most enjoyable airport I've ever experienced so far. The structure is big and very modern, but they give a touch of traditional Japan style with Edo Koji Alley. This alley is for shops and restaurants so visitor could enjoy their time while waiting for flight or baggage check in. The toilet room is our best Japanese hi-tech toilet experience with spacious area in each room, many buttons for your needs, including dryer, and they're very clean. Some of them are still in squat toilet for people who prefer that one.

On the upper floor around the back, there are character souvenir shops, heaven for those who love certain characters and cute characters such as Hello Kitty and Rilakuma. The famous planetarium cafe also located around here. If we go to the back door, we'll reach observatory area where people can see the plane take off, like in those dramas or comic scenes where they're departed with their loved ones. But it's night and raining, so... not much to see at that time. :S

After immigration process, there are still quite many shops inside. But we spent too much time before immigration so we didn't have chance to properly look around. Our gate is pretty far and we still need to dragged our sore feet to the plane. There was something like transport vehicle, like the one for cleaning the floor, but little bigger and it can bring some passengers. But it's only for elderly, sick people, pregnant women, and mother with small child. I don't think my hurt feet is reason enough for it to bring me along...

Finally we get into our plane and it's time to say goodbye. After all those adventure I felt really hard when we had to departed to Jakarta. Hopefully not too far in the future, we can have another escapade to this wonderful country. And I hope they can fix their nuclear reactor problems too... :S

Arigatou, Nippon~ Until we meet again~ ^^

My Animal Cafe Adventure in Tokyo

Before I tell our visit in Tokyo, I want to give some reviews about Animal Cafes in Tokyo. Rather than maid or butler cafes, I do prefer the animals since I will feel a bit awkward with maids and butlers. Although there are also pet cafe in other city, we choose to search them in Tokyo to fit our schedule. :3

I only choose cafes I can search from Google so I could get the address, map, and other information. We have several options, but finally we could only visit this three.

Nekorobi Cat Cafe, Ikebukuro

Our inn is around Ikebukuro, so this cafe is our first animal cafe. Nekorobi, as the name implies, is a cat cafe located in 3rd floor of Tact T.O Building in Higashi Ikebukuro. It opens everyday from 11am to 10pm. The place is quite spacious, with lots of cute cats playing all around. The system reminds me with internet cafe in our home country. The first hour fee is 1100 Yen at weekdays and 1300 Yen at weekend. After 1 hour, it'll be charged 250-300 Yen for every 15 minutes. The fee included all you can drink from vending machine in the cafe. You don't need to pay anymore for the drink.

The cats are so cute and playful. The staffs maintain the cafe very well and all cats are well cared and well trained too. I mean, the toilet training, the cat's didn't do it in cafe area. And their fur are really clean and soft. Some of them didn't like to be touched, though...

For more information : http://www.nekorobi.jp/english/


Tori no Iru Cafe, Asakusa

I didn't even know that Bird Cafe is exist until my brother mentioned that he wants to see owl cafe in Tokyo. Tori no Iru Cafe wasn't his first choice, but the cafe also has owls and the location fits our schedule so we decided to visit this one. They're located in 1-12-8 Asakusa Taito-ku B1 F Oyama Building. We got lost a little when searched for this place. The cost is 1000 Yen per person for half hour. The one hour price is around 1500 Yen. There's no food served in this place. And since it's a birds cafe, we need to be careful with their droppings. The cafe lent us an army motif jacket to cover our clothes.

This is my first experience to touch tame and cute owls. Their feathers were so clean and soft and it's kinda cute how they didn't really mind to be petted. They're given pellets food special for owls.

In the inside part of the room, there are different kind of birds. The majority of them... I'm not sure if they're parrots, parakeets, or canaries... ^^; They are also very cute and they like to eat sunflower seeds from our hands. But it scared me a little when they seized our sunflower seeds case and opened it on their own  and then they're fight to scramble the food. Reminds me on how people went frenzy at sale event. The birds liked to nibble at my fingers too. T_T

For more information : http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~asakusa/  (Japanese)

Usagi no Ehon, Shimokitazawa

We visited Shimokitazawa on our last day with Usagi no Ehon as our objective. We found Shimokitazawa is actually an interesting area too. Usagi no Ehon is around 10-15 minutes walk north from Shimokitazawa Station through lovely Shimokitazawa alley. The fee for the rabbit cafe is 1000 Yen for half hour. Unfortunately we need to reserve first if we want to play with the rabbit, especially since it's weekend and they're full booked.

But the lady owner is really nice. When we desperately try to explain with our bad Japanese language (She can't speak English) that we will leave Japan in the afternoon, she allowed us to go inside and take a look for a while. So we just take a look and some photograph just for around 5-10 minutes and didn't touch all those cute little bunnies since we had only permitted to take a look. We're willing to pay even for just that since we feel bad for bothered them by getting in when it's a bit crowded. But she said it's okay for not to pay. I'm really grateful for her kindness.

The rabbits here are very cute and well taken care too. The space is a bit small, but I really love how they decorated the place to be so cute and give a warm feeling. I can tell they love rabbits and this cafe very much. I promise if I could return to Tokyo I will visit Usagi no Ehon again and make the reservation this time.

For more information : http://usaginoehon.web.fc2.com/  (Japanese)

Kawaguchiko, A Piece of Heaven

We're really thankful for overnight highway bus service in Japan since we can just sleep in our way and save one night hotel expense. The cost is also much much cheaper than shinkansen. We choose Fujikyu Overnight Bus since it has route from Osaka, passing Kyoto, to Kawaguchiko and Mount Fuji. The bus condition is nice and there's blanket for each person. The driver is also nice and always full of smile even after those long hours of driving in the middle of the night.

Our journey in Japan finally reach Kawaguchiko, one of Fuji Five Lakes that is famous for the lake and Mount Fuji scenery. It's located in Yamanashi perfecture and around 2 hours driving from Tokyo. Kawaguchiko Station is the smallest and the cutest station I've ever seen. We bought 2 days unlimited pass for the area. Even though we only used it for 1 day, it still worth the cost since we visit several places along the way. The 2 days bus pass is actually for visitor so they can go to Lake Kawaguchiko one day and Lake Saiko area for the other day. But since we have limited time (not even all day), we only went around lake Kawaguchiko.

Kawaguchiko is one kind of place where you really wish time should just stop even for just a while. Fresh air, clear blue sky, gorgeous nature scenery, and the peaceful atmosphere are perfect for people who want to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. It's a famous spot to view Mount Fuji. But you might want to check the weather forecast before going here if you want to see it, otherwise the clouds would obstruct the view.

The bus usually arrived every 10-15 minutes in Kawaguchiko. Since there were lots of tourists, the driver also use English Language when they were speaking. Sometimes foreign visitor didn't understand how to ask to stop in the bus and make the driver a bit troubled. I wish to say "Ganbarimasu" to them. There's a retro kind of bus in this service, but we weren't lucky enough to get into one of them.

KachiKachi Ropeway and the Usagi Shrine
Around 10 minutes by bus from the station, we arrived at KachiKachi Ropeway and a boat pier where you can ride the boat around the lake with some fees. Inside KachiKachi Station there's a story about a clever usagi (rabbit) who bullied... I mean... taught some lessons to the naughty tanuki (raccoon). At least that what we had guessed from the pictures and statues.

We go up with the ropeway across the sea of trees and landed in observation deck at Mount Tenjo where we can have an amazing panoramic view of Mount Fuji. There is a small shrine for the rabbit. People can try to throw small clay plate across the rope if they have some wish. If they succeed means there's a good chance the wish will be granted, or so they said. There's also a heart-shaped bell. I can guess the legend might be something love-related if we ring the bell.

Beware of the tanuki...

People can also use hiking trail in KachiKachi Area if they don't want to use the ropeway. Some use the ropeway 1 time only, and go down walking on the trail. Around summer seems to be the right time for Hydrangea to bloom and makes a wonderful scenery in this area. But even though there's no flower blooming when we're there, the autumn foliage is also beautiful. I think it will be more amazing around November.

Near the bus stop, there's cookie shop that sell Fujiyama-shaped cookies in various flavors. And if you go to the boat pier, you can ride the boat around the lake with some fees.

Kukuna Hotel
No we didn't stay here. But we did stop at this area and strolling for a while in the side walk until the next bus came. This is also another great spot for Fuji viewing.

Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center
The last stop for Kawaguchiko tour bus. Most people refer this place as the best Mount Fuji scenery in Kawaguchiko since they can get a good scenery of Mount Fuji with Lavenders all over the ground. But it's late October, so they were already withered. The best time to for the Lavender field seems to be around summer.

The Natural Living Center is also a souvenir shop sells blueberry and lavender products as their speciality. If we take a walk to the back side, we can find some autumn flowers and weird bushes I've never seen before (well, I just don't know what kind of plat is that) that looks like red-orange colored ball of fur from faraway. Aside from Mount Fuji scenery, the surrounding mountains is also astonishing.

Momiji Corridor
At Itchiku Kubota Art Museum Bus Stop, we take a walk to the back and found an alley with momiji (maple) trees in the roadside. Although we're not sure if it's the right momiji corridor or not. ^^; The red coloration was just started, so there's still lots of greens.

There's some preparation for the upcoming momiji festival at November. Weather forecast said it would be raining at the first day of the festival, which is why I choose to go to Kawaguchiko earlier for it's better sky. Though I'm also curious with the festival...

We walked to the lake area and found some shrine facing Mount Fuji. This place is also amazing for Fuji viewing.

Hoto Fudo

Across Kawaguchiko Station there's a restaurant called Hoto Fudo. Most people go there to eat 'Hoto', Kawaguchiko local dish. It's like ramen but with very thick noodle, vegetables, mushrooms, rich and creamy yellow broth (maybe they put egg yolk in the broth), served in very big pot. It's very delicious and the portion was big that I need to give some to my brother to finished them. But Japanese people seems to have no trouble to eat one big pot for a person. o_o;

I have a hypothesis the name of Hoto Fudo came from a hungry foreigner ate the dish from local people and said "Hot Food!". That's why now it's called Hoto Fudo. :) *get bricked*

In Hoto Fudo, we also try anmitsu. It's slices fruits with a little shaved ice, read bean paste, and some jellies, with sweet honey sauce.

From Kawaguchiko Station, we bought ticket for highway bus and went to Tokyo, our final city before we left Japan... I'm actually curious in using trains from Kawaguchiko but it seems take more time and the cost will be double than highway bus.