It’s been a crazy few months for Japan with the typhoons, water outages, and earthquakes. It’s hard to think about how many were affected by the devastating natural disaster. Only another two months until the New Year, hopefully, 2019 treats Japan (and the rest of the world) good.
最近這幾個月的日本一直好不平靜。
颱風、水災、地震⋯⋯希望接下來能一切安好，不要再有太大的災害。
I’m finally getting around to do a post for my trip to Tokyo in July. I booked my flight around April and I was so excited about the trip. If you know me then you know how much I love Japan. It has that quietness and it’s serene and patient which I really like.
Tokyo weather was okay when I was there. It was warm when the sun’s out, but most of the time it was is cloudy with some wind. There was also a little rain which was perfect for me because it wasn’t too heavy to cause any trouble, but just the right amount of rain for me to walk around holding a plastic transparent umbrella that’s everywhere in Japan. That somehow made me few closer to the way of life. Another typhoon hit Tokyo right after we left, but none when we were there. It made me so happy because we managed to visit in a perfect timing somehow.
I can hardly remember anything from my first time in Japan. Although I remember that it was a ten-day trip that included Tokyo, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. Personally, I’m not a big fan of traveling through several cities in such a short amount of time. I like to take my time to explore a city then move on to the next one when I travel. In the true sense, this is my first time traveling to Tokyo! I was traveling with my whole family plus my aunt and grandma. I can’t recall the last time I travel with my grandma, it possible that it’s the very first time. Because it’s a family trip, we really just wanted to take our time together and create memories. Besides the few places we ordered tickets for, there weren’t any fixed schedule. Since I was traveling with the elderly, I wasn’t planning on going to that many attractions. Surprisingly, my 81-year-old grandma really had perseverance she took the train with us every day, walk nonstop, and stay out late with us for Disneyland! (I want to be healthy, young at heart and have a strong mindset like my grandma when I’m 80!☻)
Before my trip: I found this apartment in Ota-Ku called Kario Kamata on booking.com. It was a compact room but very homey. It’s close to the train stations and the convenience stores were nearby too!
KKDAY and KLOOK are both travel platforms that allow you to order things such as train tickets, amusement park tickets or services. I ordered my Ghibli museum tickets, Disney tickets, Kimono experience and car service (to commute from the airport to the apartment) there. Oh, I also make a reservation to the Pokemon restaurant on their website.
大概在四五月的時候訂下了七月初去東京。在東京的那幾天，天氣雖然不算太好，但也不糟。
太陽出來的時候有點熱，但大部分的時候都是陰陰的天，有風，還有少許的雨，
滿足了我在日本撐著便利商店透明傘漫步的願望。
離開之後東京又被颱風纏上了，但幸運的是我們的旅行完全沒有被影響到。
除了小時候去的，已經沒有什麼記憶，跟團跨越關東和西兩地的十天跟團行外。這次是真正意義上的日本旅行。
是第一次自由行，也是第一次跟全家人，還有外婆阿姨一起旅行。主要的目的是帶外婆去迪士尼玩！
因為是跟長輩一起旅行，本來想說除了預定的行程以外，都走慢慢散步的路線。
但81歲的外婆展現了超級驚人的毅力，每天跟我們搭電車、走好多路、逛遊樂園到晚上才回家。
（希望我到80歲的時候也像外婆一樣心態年輕 身體健朗☻）
行前準備的方面： 在Booking.com預定了蒲田的民宿Kario Kamata 小小的但很有生活感。
KKDAY買了迪士尼、吉卜力美術館、和服體驗的票券。
自己上網預約了神奇寶貝餐廳，還有用KLOOK預約機場接送的服務。
The flight was in the afternoon but by the time we got to Kamata, it’s already 10:30 pm! We had a little snack on the plane, but we still wanted to get dinner after we check in. Not too far from the apartment, we found this family restaurant called Yayoi Ken that opens until 12 am. (I just found out there is a San Jose location and a Palo Alto location…)
下午從桃園機場出發，到達住宿的地方的時候已經是大概晚上10點半左右了。雖然飛機上有少少的吃過，放完行李後還是決定出去覓食。稍微逛過以後決定吃民宿附近的家庭餐廳やよい軒（一邊寫的當下才發現美國居然也有分店⋯⋯）
I ordered Hokke! / 我點了一夜干！
The second day we took a day trip to the Kamakura and Enoshima. It took about 45 minutes from the Kamata Station to Fujisawa. At Fujisawa, we bought this 1-day pass called Noriorikun which allows you to board and disembark at any station on the entire Enoden line as many times as you like during the whole day. The Enoden line has 15 stops, we decided to go to Kamakura first (the final station) and travel our way back to Fujisawa.
第二天是鎌倉和江之島的一日遊！從蒲田出發大概45分鐘到達藤澤站，買了江之電一日車票的Noriorikun
這是一種可以在江之電全區間，一天之內不限次數自由上下車的車票。
When we arrived in Kamakura, we went to Starbucks Onarimachi. It was cool because it used to be the home of a manga artist, there were a lot of his works hanging on the wall. After Starbucks, we walked on the Komachi-dori.
The Komachi-dori reminded me a lot of the Tamsui old street, but Komachi-dori has more boutiques and gourmet compared to the street food in Tamsui. Oh, Komachi-dori is cleaner too I have to say! (how is Japan so clean???) There were also groups of high schoolers taking field trips to Kamakura. They were wearing kimonos and taking photos, it looked like a scene from one of those Japanese coming-of-age film and my heart was pounding so fast.
買好一日券後，搭江之電到最終站的鎌倉，再一路玩回來。坐車到鎌倉後先是去了漫畫家故居改建而成的Starbucks，再沿著小町通り走，沿路逛小店、找午餐吃！
其實小町通り給我的感覺有點像是淡水老街，但是少了攤販和遊戲，多了店面和乾淨一些的街道。
沿路也常常看到一整群看起來像是在修學旅行的高中生穿著和服拍照紀念 ，
感覺像是青春電影裡看到的情節活生生在眼前上演，心臟一直砰砰跳。
At Fujisawa going to Kamakura / 藤澤站往鎌倉的方向
The Onarimachi Starbucks / 鎌倉御成町店星巴克
These girls were so nice for letting me take their pictures. Their Yukata fits perfectly with the Starbucks decorations / 坐在星巴克的浴衣日本女生 跟裝潢超級搭的！
We were planning on having lunch at this seafood kamameshi place, but by the time we got there, it was sold out already! We stumbled upon this restaurant that serves Donburis. We were craving seafood and rice so it was perfect for us! I ordered Shirasu donburi which is the Whitebait over rice and omg, Whitebaits never tasted so good! It was fresh and has a sweet aftertaste to it.
因為原本打算要吃的海鮮釜飯早早賣光了，我們最後靠著眼緣選了一間餐廳。意外的有會說中文的日本服務生幫我們介紹。我點了特產的吻仔魚丼飯，新鮮又甜！沒想到吻仔魚也能這麼好吃。
I probably watched way too many Japanese shows and coming-of-age films because the words Kamakura, Enoshima and Shonan Coast sounds magical to me. Walking down the coastline made me so happy that even the overcast sky and sandy wind couldn’t bother me at all.
也許是從小受到日劇和青春片的荼毒，覺得鎌倉、江之島、湘南海岸這幾個詞有種魔力。
走在海邊的時候，連陰陰的天和伴隨著黑砂的風看起來都可愛。
Kids on their way home from school / 下課路上的小學生
Waiting for Enoden in front of the Kamakura High School Station! / 在鎌倉高校站前等江之電！
I love traveling with my family. It’s fun to travel with friends too, of course. But like what people always say, you get to know people more after you travel together! It’s so true. I’ve spent the past 20 years with my family and I felt like I know them more than the world. When we’re fighting over something when we are at home, it’s easy to just go back into our own rooms at not talking to each other. But when we are traveling in a city none of us is familiar with, you stick together and you have to talk about your feelings. You have to coordinate, you have to compensate. From what you want for the next meal to when to catch the last train. You have to be honest with your feeling to have a great trip.
We took walks around Kichijoji and visited the Ghibli museum on the third day. The museum is located in Inokashira Park in Mitake and we spent quite some time there. The four hours in the museum was a total immersion. I felt like I was in another world! I always feel like Ghibli films taught me so much about the world and also life itself in general. Believe in yourself and the people around you. When it feels like life is too hard, instead of just give up, find out a way to live with the difficulties in life and find happiness in little things. After the strolling at the museum, we treated ourselves to some Yakitori and I ordered myself a milk highball. (I didn’t even know that exists!)
我覺得跟家人一起旅行很有趣。
跟朋友當然也很好玩，但是就像常常有人說的，當過旅伴會更了解對方。
雖然是二十年來一直在一起的，感覺再了解不過的幾個人，如果在家裡的話，不開心的時候可以各自回到自己房邊不說話冷戰。但一起出去旅行，在陌生的城市要一直在一起。要協調，互相理解想要和不想要的，為奇怪的事情爭執。
小至下一餐要吃什麼，大至末班車會不會趕不上了。對自己和對對方坦承才能旅遊的開心。
第三天的吉祥寺散策和參觀吉卜力美術館，躲進美術館四個小時有點與世隔絕的感覺。
一直喜歡吉卜力電影傳達給世界的理念。關於環保的也好、家庭也好、愛人也罷，電影中的人們好像一直都努力認真的生活。但不是忘記人生中艱難的部分，是學會跟困難共存，從隙縫中找樂趣。
我喜歡跟家人一起被吉卜力動畫感動到不行，再一起拖著疲憊的身體吃串燒，喝兌了牛奶的highball。
We got lost in Inokashira Park for 20 minutes before I found the swan boats / 為了拍天鵝船在公園裡迷路繞了好大一圈才找到
Since we’re in Kichijoji, we had to try the famous Satou fried meatballs! And although it was a little bit out of the way, we went to the amazing dessert place called à tes souhaits! We ordered 4-5 different kinds of cakes and took them back to the park to share, it’s the perfect picnic food!
都到了吉祥寺一定要吃一下的SATOU牛肉丸還有雖然離車站有點遠但超厲害的甜點店a tes souhaits!
買完散步回井之頭公園，幸福的一人一口把蛋糕們分食掉。
Satou facade / 日劇你只想住在吉祥寺嗎！片頭裡出現過無數次的牛肉丸 真的好好吃
I wanted to eat them so bad I didn’t make them picture-ready. Also we were eating in front of the Ghibli museum and people were staring, but it was soooo good! / 克難地坐在吉卜力館前吃著甜點 但太好吃了真的超幸福
Another of our targeted destination was the Pokemon Center/Cafe at Nihonbashi, we made a reservation for a late lunch at 2 pm and decided to go to the Tsukiji fish market for breakfast. (for your record, the Tsukiji fish market is now closed and relocated!)
為了神奇寶貝迷的妹妹，日本橋的神奇寶貝中心和餐廳也在這次的目標行程裡面。我們預約到了有點晚的下午兩點時段，所以臨時決定早上到築地市場吃海鮮早餐。
前不久看到築地市場搬遷的消息覺得有點可惜。但有在熄燈前去到一次真的很幸運。
The famous Sushi Tai! We gave up because the line was too long / 鼎鼎大名的壽司大 排隊的人龍實在太長了只好放棄
We went to Hokkai Banya instead and they are famous for the Uni-don! (I ordered scallops on the side as well). After checking out the fish market, we went to the Pokemon Center. It was really a heaven for Pokemon lovers! I’m not a huge fan myself but I have to admit it was really cute. Pikachu came to all the tables to say hi in a chef costume, my grandma was excited and she was cheering for him!
吃飽後逛了一下築地的場外市場，就往日本橋前進了。很順利的跟餐廳check in之後發現真的是神奇寶貝愛好者的天堂！餐點圖案超細膩，味道也不錯。還有廚師模樣的皮卡丘出來跟大家互動，連不算是粉絲的我也被可愛到了。
（幫皮卡丘拍手的外婆也超可愛的，忍不住放上來）
I still remember a little bit about Asakusa from the last time I visited. The huge red lantern with Kaminarimon written on it, Ramen that was too salty for me, and the shaka shaka sound the box made when people shaking it for the omikuji. There were so many people in kimonos and yukatas this time we visited Asakusa. It was the 7th of July, the Tanabata (or the Star Festival) originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival! My aunt, grandma and I joined the celebrations. We got dressed in yukata and explored Asakusa on foot. In Asakusa, the atmosphere of the Tokyo of past decades survives but you can also see easily see the relatively new Tokyo Skytree in almost any of the little alley. I love how it’s an old world mixed with new, passing by the people looking around taking photographs, everything seems a bit strange but familiar.
十幾年前跟著旅行團的行程裡，為數不多我還有點記憶的，應該就是淺草了吧。大大地寫著雷門的紅燈籠、
對於小時候的我來說太鹹的拉麵店、搖晃著籤筒的聲音。我們吃完午餐後還把妹妹的學習筷忘在了店裡。
這次回到淺草，有點巧合得剛剛好是7月7號。穿著和服來玩的人不少，我跟阿姨和外婆也加入他們，一起穿著浴衣
在巷子裡穿梭。走著走著，在古風的巷子裡一抬頭，出現了相較之下很有現代感的天空樹。
我喜歡那古今融合有點衝突的美感 經過了舉著相機到處拍的人群 一切有點熟悉又陌生
After helping a group of tourist finding the correct fortune slip, I got ask a few more times to help to match their omikuji rod with the right number of shelves. Some even asked me to translate the fortune! I was a little bit embarrassed I told them I can’t actually read Japanese, but I did help the people who got a bad fortune reading to tie their slips to the iron rod, it’s the tradition and this way you don’t bring the bad fortune back home with you! :)
幫一組差點拿錯籤的外國人找到正確的籤以後，接二連三地被搭話、找籤、問能不能幫忙解籤。
很不好意思的說我也看不懂日文籤的意義，但告訴他們拿到『兇』的時候可以綁在旁邊的竿子上，就能逢凶化吉：）
The first part of our trip gave me a real sense of adventure and I didn’t want it to end, but I was excited for the last two days- in Disney! So we all agreed on having a relaxing day saving energy. Even though we’ve been staying in Kamata, we didn’t really get to explore around the area. We decided to spend a day walking around Kamata and just have lunch and shop nearby. We found that Kamata has many interesting stores and is also home for a lot of good tonkatsu restaurants.
連著幾天充實的行程之後，大家決定為了最後兩天的迪士尼鐵腿行要先養精蓄銳。
花一天慢慢的在蒲田的民宿附近走走，吃午餐，再到附近逛街。雖然住在蒲田已經好幾天了，前面幾天都沒有花時間好好地散步，每天都往其他區移動。
但原來蒲田有著東京的玄關之稱，有很多新舊混合的商店和設施，還是很多好吃豬排店的聚集地。
Tonkatsu Maruichi / 丸一豬排！
Two kitties we see every day on our way back to the apartment / 每天回家的時候都會碰上的兩隻貓貓
I saw the restaurant Tonkatsu Maruichi the very first day when we arrived in Kamata but it was closed when we tried to go. I googled and found a nearby place that seems to be popular among the locals so we decided to go there instead! It’s only about 15 minutes walk from the apartment. Walking in Kamata really gave me a sense of how locals live! We walked through a small bridge and passed by the Kamata elementary school. I fell in love with Futaba Shokudo the moment I saw it. The storefront is so tiny and cute. From our experiences from the past few days, because of how small Japanese stores are, they don’t usually serve big parties. When I told the restaurant that we had a party of 6, everyone that’s already in the restaurant seemed to jinxed, they all turned around and looked at us with curious eyes.
We tried our best to understand the menu that was handwritten on the wall. The restaurant is run by a lovely husband and wife team. They looked like they’re in their 70s and it seemed hard to communicate in English. I tried ordering in Japanese but was a bit quiet because I wasn’t sure about my speaking. The wife kept asking again what I was ordering because she couldn’t understand. I was already a bit anxious and that made me more nervous. The guy sitting next to us probably found it interesting, he opened google translate on his phone, put it next to his mouth and rambled in Japanese. He gave me his phone and it reads “she’s hard of hearing”, I froze for a little bit but then realized he was just messing with us because the wife burst into laughter and slightly shook her head.
The restaurant was small, the husband cooks in the open kitchen while the wife hosting and taking out dishes. We ordered Tonkatsu, Shogayaki, and Stir-Fry Veggies. The food came out pretty quickly and while I was taking pictures of the food, the guy sitting next to us had already finished his food. He walked up to our table and said to me, “their food tastes the best when they’re warm, you need to hurry up and eat!”, “how did you not order beers? you have to have beers to pair with the tonkatsu!” I tried to explain to him that we don’t usually drink at lunch, but then he suddenly had a serious look on his face, walked to the owner and pulled out a 1000 yen bill, told her he’s going to buy us two bottles of beers. We were so flattered by his kindness and told him we would buy them ourselves but he insisted. We didn’t want to reject him anymore so we finally agreed on just one bottle. He checked on us and made sure we were fine with only one bottle of beer, then he left the restaurant.
It was almost their closing time and we were the last table, the husband and wife stood by the kitchen counter watching the news. The news was talking about the flooding in Kyoto. There were 100 plus dead already and more than a hundred people missing as well. “things are probably not looking good for those missing…” the wife said, then she turned to us and said “ki wo tsukete ne! kimitachi mo.” (you guys have to be careful, too!) I wish them well too and told them that meal was the best out of everything I’ve eaten in Japan. She gave me a smile that was as beautiful as a blooming flower and told me to visit again. The sun hit me just right when I walked out of the store, I love that warm fuzzy feeling I always got during a trip. The amazing people I encountered, the kindness and hospitality I received was something I never expected I would be able to experience. It made the trip so much more meaningful and made me not want to leave.
第一天到達的時候就有經過的豬排御三家之一丸一很可惜的剛好碰上了公休日（一直在吃飯的地方碰上閉門羹⋯⋯）在網路上查到一間感覺也很受當地人歡迎的食堂，從民宿走路大概15分鐘。
穿越過小學和一個小橋之後就看到了雙葉食堂。從店面開始就好看，我們一行六個人賊頭賊腦的探了進去，用憋腳的日文告知店主奶奶我們的人數。或許是陣仗太過龐大，又或者是不是本地人的氣息太過濃厚 ，在店主奶奶發出『えーー？６名ですかー？』的疑問句的時候，小小店面裡面的四桌客人像是說好了一般的同時望向了還站在店門口的我們。
被招待坐下以後，我們努力地盯著黑板上的手寫菜單試著理解菜名的意義。
點菜的時候因為對日文不是那麼自信，說話聲音太小聲，被奶奶問了好多次到底是要點什麼。坐在旁邊有一個伯伯一直好有興趣的看著我們，主動拿出手機，打開翻譯軟體嘰哩咕嚕的說了一通。 他把放到我的眼前，開玩笑的告訴我『是個耳背的奶奶』。我愣了一下，但很快地發現只是熟客故意在鬧奶奶而已。因為聽到他的話的奶奶開始一直笑，然後輕輕地打了他好幾下。
店內不大，只有廚師爺爺在開放式的廚房做菜，奶奶招待客人和送餐。
我們點了炸豬排飯、薑汁燒肉還有中華式炒野菜。
爺爺俐落的甩鍋，奶奶把香噴噴的飯菜送上桌，我用不熟練的日文跟熟客伯伯閒聊著。
稍微聊了幾句過後，伯伯把自己的飯吃完了。對拿著相機向著剛上的飯菜狂拍一通的我說：
『這邊的飯要熱呼呼的最好吃，快吃！』、『你們怎麼沒點啤酒呢？炸豬排就是要配啤酒呀！』
我笑著跟他說這個時間對我們來說太早了，沒有吃午飯時喝酒的習慣。伯伯突然換上有點嚴肅的臉，直接跟奶奶說要上兩瓶啤酒。緊接著，像是他們早已預謀好的一樣。奶奶笑著說知道了，在我們還緊張的說著不用不用的時候，伯伯已經掏出1000圓的紙鈔遞給奶奶，從冰箱裡拿出兩大瓶冰冰涼涼的啤酒遞給我們。
盛情難卻下，我們只好開心又害羞地接受了伯伯的好意。但因為只有我一個人要喝，我們認真的跟伯伯說只要一瓶就夠了。再三確認後，在離開店裡之前，他說了玩得愉快，我們說了謝謝。
中午休息時間快到了，不知不覺店內只剩下我們一桌。我們一邊感動著飯菜的美味，一邊加快扒飯的速度。
爺爺奶奶一邊看著我們吃，一邊看著新聞報導那時京都大水的災情。
電視上說著已經有一百多人死亡，再加上一百多個人行蹤不明。
『不見的人看來也是凶多吉少了呢⋯⋯』奶奶告訴我們『你們也要注意安全吶！』
『你們也是哦，這是我們這趟旅行吃過最好吃的飯了！下次還想再回來』『ふふふ 再來吧！』
踏出店裡的時候，陽光正好。我們一致同意這餐飯是在東京最開心的一餐，我想是因為旅行中從別人身上獲得的溫暖總是特別迷人吧。
I love the husband-and-wife team / 兩個人守著一間店
The trip ended with the “oh-so-much-walking” two days in Disney. We went to both Disney Land and Disney Sea. My mom really wanted to take my grandma to Disney because, when we were visiting Disney California Adventure, we went on this ride called Soarin’ that allowed guests to fly over landmarks in the world. Riding that really felt magical and we wanted my grandma to able to experience that, too. Ended up, Tokyo Disneyland doesn’t have the Soarin’ ride (not until 2019…) It was still amazing exploring Disney with my grandma as it is one of my favorites place in the whole universe. I love walking around the park with her holding hands, seeing her laughing like a kid and waving to the characters during the parade.
這段旅程的最後兩天是以鐵腿的迪士尼做結尾的。說起旅行的目的，一切起源於在Disney California Adventure玩Soarin' Over California的時候，在夢之國度太感動的媽媽決定也想要帶外婆體驗搭乘Soarin' 開心的心怦怦跳的感覺。雖然最後發現東京迪士尼並沒有這樣設施（2019年才會建完！）
但是跟外婆一起在迪士尼走，看她像孩子一樣笑，對著遊行的卡通人物揮手，還是非常開心。
I didn’t know that my grandma never heard of Cinderella’s story until we went inside the Cinderella’s castle. And not only Cinderella. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid… these stories that I grew up with, things that I thought was common sense. I really shouldn’t take anything for granted. Things that I know, stories that I’ve heard, are something my grandmother never learned about because she was busy making money and raising kids. I explained the story to her and promised myself that I want to spend more time with her. It’s hard because we live in different sides of the world now, but I really want us to be able to travel together again soon! I love the time I have with family and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
This trip was everything that I needed. It was perfect from start to finish. I can’t wait for the next destination I’m going to visit with the fam, but Tokyo you have my heart.
在仙度瑞拉城堡裡的時候，才知道外婆原來並不知道灰姑娘的故事。
灰姑娘、白雪公主、小美人魚⋯⋯這些伴隨著我長大的故事，我們視為理所當然的東西，
在從前賺錢打拼養家，照顧孩子們的外婆眼裡，原來並不是那麼當然的事。一邊解釋給她聽每一個不同的場景，一邊下定決心要更多陪陪她。
希望還能一起旅行、一起笑，雖然有些會鬧彆扭的時候，可以跟家人相處的時間真的超級重要。
去掉頭尾剩下七天的日本行說長不長，說短不短。但我們在東京度過了很快樂的時間。
下次該一起去哪裡呢⋯⋯？☻