CANDANRAN TAKE ASIA: Tokyo

The comforting glow of the vending machines as we stayed overnight at Haneda. We would soon discover that vending machines are practically around every corner in Tokyo.

Our flight got in a little past midnight. When we booked our tickets, we thought this would be fine because people sleep in airports all the time and we were willing to spare a bit of comfort if it could save us money. It was actually kind of fun and a little eerie, although I think my travel accomplices would disagree on the fun part. There were so many sleeping bodies strewn about.

I took a lot of street snaps, except not of passer-by fashion but of actual streets. I'll spare you the monotony and only post a few.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Harajuku! Cat Street has a deceptive title, although we did our homework beforehand and knew to expect fashion rather than cats. We observed the chaos of Shibuya Crossing from up above and down below, which isn't actually all that chaotic when you're actually walking among it, and we said hello to Hachiko.

Tsukiji Fish Market

Nakajima Tea House

Some tea and sweets in Hamarikyu Gardens, as per the recommendation of the greeter by the garden entrance. He was an excited old man who told us all about the gardens and included his own personal recommendations for the best spots, which turned out to be practically everything.

Tokyo Imperial Palace

Fuji Shibazakura Festival

Sakura ice cream as we enjoyed the festival! I took every sakura option I came across, including sakura taiyaki.

The pink moss was actually past its peak bloom but it was still super crowded. Afterwards we went on Tenjo-Yama Park Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway, which has the most messed up folktale behind it, I love it. It also provided a view of Mt. Fuji without the usual crowds on ground level.

Zozoji Temple

I met some friendly cats here. The ginger cat was so lovey - it would rub against my leg and then roll around on its back, asking for pets. There was also a black and white cat and a cat with one blue eye and one green eye. I wanted to bring them home with me.

The Last Day: Breakfast

I have many thoughts on my stay in Tokyo, but I'll try not to bore you with excessive detail.

• As Can says, Japan has perfected the egg. I had the most softly poached egg in all of the universe in my curry. It flowed like a liquid.
• I enjoy the vending machines used in restaurants to order as I am all for minimal social contact.
• I satisfied my craving for tsukemen.
• There were so many crows in Tokyo! At one point, their cawing blended together and sounded like a symphony.
• No one uses a bike lock and that's all sorts of amazing to me.
• We tried natto and discovered that the off-putting aspect wasn't the smell or the taste but the texture. It was so stringy.
• Everyone warned us that Japan would be expensive and yet everything seemed fairly reasonably priced? Or maybe we're just cheap by nature, so we were naturally attracted to cheap food too.
• I loved all of the gardens! Beautiful!

I managed to check a lot off my checklist, although Mister Donut eluded me. That being said, there's still so much I want to see, so I'll be coming back to Japan eventually, hopefully, one day in the distant future. I'm not quite sure when.

CANDANRAN TAKE ASIA: Hong Kong

15h of flight time, 20h in transit total, and we found ourselves greeted by the humid air of Hong Kong. Hong Kong was different from the other cities we visited because Can & Ran had family there and they had travelled there before. That was great for me because I then left them completely in charge of the itinerary and transport (minimal effort on my end) and because I got to stay with Ran's relatives rather than spending money on a hotel. Thank you Auntie and Uncle Simon!

Victoria Peak

We ended up going to the Peak on one of the gloomier, cloudier days, but I was fine with that because I didn't really want to deal with sun on top of the humidity. I'm good with dry heat but I cannot function in humidity, it makes everything feel heavy and gross. Can suggests I visit a desert next. However, Hong Kong appears to be an ardent believer in AC and I have a great appreciation for that.

The average human body is 65% water but I'm fairly certain I was 98% Pocari Sweat in Hong Kong.

Repulse Bay

It feels like so long since I last went to the beach. We felt really lucky because most of our sightseeing days were bright and sunny! Okay, the above photo doesn't look so sunny but it was, trust. And, as was just mentioned, the day of the Peak was cloudy. Also on the last day of Hong Kong we were lucky enough to experience a black rainstorm so we had to cancel our plans to go to Lantau Island. But other than that.

Stanley Beach

One of my favourite moments in Hong Kong was eating at this super cool dai pai dong. The extremely narrow, sketchy entrance leads into a large room equipped with many powerful fans, thankfully. It reminded me of Zelda, when you crawl through tiny tunnels or whatever and find a treasure chest on the other side. (I never finished Ocarina of Time because I was too scared of the monsters so don't quiz me beyond the beginning.) In our situation, the treasure was food! That we paid for. Admittedly the comparison isn't perfect.

Happily we got to see a high school friend who had left Canada for university and work in Hong Kong. He took us to a super traditional dessert place - Can & Ran seemed equally uncertain about the hardboiled egg in the black sesame soup. (It was pretty good.) I asked him how he dealt with the heat and humidity and his simple answer was that he doesn't, he just sweats and suffers.

This driver decorated his bus! He apparently likes hunting, if the photos of him proudly holding up various dead animals was any indication.

We went through the Mongkok markets, of course. The Ladies' Market gave me some fun memories involving my inability to bargain. I didn't end up getting anything because 1. the vendors are a bit intimidating and I'm the opposite of that, and 2. they were trying to rip me off a lot (because tourist). I'm just happy I didn't get pickpocketed.

Goldfish Market

Bird Market

Not Pictured: Broccoli Dish

It should go without saying that I loved the food. I had siu long bao at a restaurant with one Michelin star, discovered food courts are on a whole other level compared to those in Canada, and enjoyed some delicious homecooked meals with Ran's relatives. I was told Auntie only makes sweet and sour pork for very special occasions!

Auntie said I should wait at least ten years to visit again because I had exhausted all of the interesting things there is to do in Hong Kong, besides the obvious of shopping and eating. I definitely enjoyed my week and a bit in Hong Kong but I think she may be right.