i had a day to spend in Tokyo so decided to go to Shibuya since it has food and shopping, two great pastimes.
chupa chups
outside of the 109 building there was something going on for chupa chups. the name sounded familiar but i thought it was a brand of asian potato chips (you know, potato chups? iono.) thanks to several people on twitter, i discovered they are lollipops! i don’t think i’ve ever had one before (maybe in europe once?) but you can forgive me for thinking it was a chip brand given their mascot (below), right? turns out they were handing out a umm, lollipop cozy. since you know, they need cozying. but who am i to turn down a free thing?
i finally am trying the lollipop — i’m assuming they were launching a new green tea/matcha flavor for japan, since that’s what it tastes like? (or maybe they’ve always had this flavor?)
ramen
this place was recommended by foursquare and man, was it popular! i got there two minutes after it opened at 11:30 and managed to get one of the last seats upstairs (it’s a teeny place with a small bar downstairs [which was full] and maybe 6 small communal tables upstairs). by the time i left, the line was down the staircase and out the door. (they had a limited english menu; i got the wonton ramen.) the last time i came to Tokyo i had ramen at a place where you had to buy a ticket from a machine (thank goodness an employee spoke english!), but this time, you get a ticket and pay as you leave.
strawberry cheesecake frappuccino
you know how i love to try out local starbucks flavors, right? well, i think this might be my favorite of all. it’s not very Japanese, but damn it was good. i had to get two! i guess it doesn’t help that i heart cheesecake (cue Golden Girls theme). unfortunately the store (the one at the famous crossing) only had tall cups 🙁 i am pretty sure i only paid ¥490, not ¥640 as the sign indicates, but i could very well be wrong.
sidebar: speaking of yen beware that “0,000” button on ATMs. i pressed “5” + “0,000” thinking oh ten thousand is so common it has its own button, but ended up withdrawing ¥50,000 instead of ¥5,000 — $500 instead of $50. oopsie!
I like the light & humorous way in which you share your informative travel experiences!
heh thanks! yeah, i don’t take myself (or my blog) too seriously — travel is supposed to be fun, why bog it down with official-sounding language?
Cheesecake is so popular in Japan, though it’s usually not exactly NY-style. I love it though.
Ooh I’m intrigued now by Japanese cheesecake!