How is adjusting to this holiday mode so easy, even after no sleep the days before? I should’ve been asleep hours before. It’s the weekend, so that means it’s parental time, but luckily they are bloody late sleepers, so after some quick PABLO cheesecake breakfast, Chen and I headed out to Shinjuku well before the shops were open to do a preliminary scout. After walking the streets, we spot a First Kitchen and decide to have a bite while checking out the Google Map of things we wanted to do nearby.

Glorious PABLO Cheesecake

Laziest post-cheesecake breakfast

I found calligraphy heaven at Sekaido Art Store. It opened at 9, it was beautifully beautiful. They even had a small Sailormoon section! We spent about 40 minutes and ¥150,000 ($200AUD) in there.

Just a quick window shop at Lucky Camera on the way to Sekaido

*insert heavenly glow*

It’s so beautiful inside.

Traditional brushes

Tokyu Hands finally opened after that so we decided to check it out as well. We were naive to think we’d only spend 20 minutes in there before meeting up with Dad Yee. Luckily, he was running a little late so we ran over to Isetan to browse the food hall. OMG food halls overseas are the bomb. All the gorgeous, glorious foods. I grabbed a custard-filled pig bread because, how could I pass up that face? In addition to chocolates, cabbage & yuzu, ice cream, and Sailormoon, I’m also a sucker for novelty.

Look at that face

Lunch with Dad at this awesome soba place Tominokura (富の蔵) Shinjuku. They do basil-infused soba and finally, they actually give you the stock the soba was cooked in to drink with the sauce at the end. HURRAY!

No English!

That pot there is the delicious soupy goodness

They come as a two stack. One was basil infused, and the other was regular

It was actually grinding wheat!

Quick ice cream pit stop (IC#1 HM#1) – my first Hokkaido milk ice cream (¥300) of the trip and I’m already in love. This was on the way to Loft in Ginza where we spent a good hour browsing absolutely everything and buying more than we should’ve. It was a big day of calligraphy splurging.

Hokkaido milk & Hokkaido melon swirl soft ice!

Loft Ginza

We went a little crazy with calligraphy stuff here too…along with a lot of other things

On to some pre-dinner sushi at Sushizanmai Yurakucho. Beautiful, fresh ikura and uni – my favourites – as well as a selection of other goodies.

Look out for the giant fish under the bridge

Drinks & starters

Plates of favourites.

Delicious oysters! I’m not usually an oyster fan.

I needed a nap before going out to dinner, so we headed home, but stopped by the Familymart for one of those fancy Haagen-Dazs combinations I saw the night before (IC#2). I’m totally cataloging my ice creams as IC#00 and Hokkaido Milk Soft Ice Creams as HM#00.

Yup, tasted good.

First dinner at about 8pm in Shinbashi was some shellfish place where you cook your own food and some fancy sashimi. Is the sashimi in Tokyo ever not fancy? I officially love cold, iced oolong tea. Why did I never have this at home?!?! And there was no English on any of the signs or menus and the English menu had no restaurant name! Go Google location history for knowing where I was.

新橋 丸冨水産

Cheers! Introducing the parental units.

Shellfish…….

So delicious

Crackle

Lack of miso in this miso soup.

Second dinner for some skewers at izakaya before having some Cremia ice cream [¥500] (IC#3 HM#2). So glad I happened upon it instead of having to go on a hunt for this. Thick, creamy ice cream.

No English again!

who would’ve thought cabbage and sauce is so tasty?!

Skewers and burgs.

CREMIAAAAAA

On the way home, I talked mom into buying some creamy dorayaki so I could eat some as well. I spotted them on the way out of the station, but didn’t say anything. I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity twice in one night!

Some fancy rockmelon to end the night.