bullshit bbq @ okutama river

#flashbackfriday to one of the last BBQ's I went to before leaving Japan. Also my first time out at Okutama River! Hosted by my friend's label, Bullshit Records, we headed out of inner city Tokyo for swimming, beautiful scenery and lots and lots of good eats :)

bullshit bbq 

It's so hard to believe that Okutama is still considered "Tokyo"! One thing that I think a lot of people don't realize about Japan isn't just how much unspoilt nature there still is, but how close it is Tokyo. According to WikiTravel, it's supposedly a 2 hour trip, but it felt a bit shorter than that to me. Then again, I love trains haha.

Before moving to Japan, BBQs were--to me--held in someone's backyard, and hotdogs, burgers, and corn-on-the-cob were pretty much standard fare. BBQs in Japan are generally held by the riverside or the beach, and feature tons and tons of delicious yakiniku. This one also featured some interesting seafood choices like giant scallops and conch shells. And by interesting I mean, I'm sure they were delicious, but I'm not that into seafood as is and they kind of terrified me, haha.

Anyway, great for a day trip out of Tokyo! You can go fishing, kayak, tube, etc and camp there if you like, as well :)

Check! 

▶ Okutama River (Tokyo)


As always, if you see this post and end up visiting (or have visited) this place, leave me a comment and tell me how you liked it!

♡ jennifer

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miss wave & miss anna

#flashbackfriday to round two of hanging out with Miss Anna in Tokyo! No one can match this girl's stamina for traveling and I'm pretty sure no one can match either of us in coffee consumption. How our brains didn't short circuit this whole time is beyond me, haha.

miss wave & miss anna 2014

day 1

Our first expedition took us out to Odaiba. I have to admit, I went there once with my dad on one of his stopovers in Japan and kinda...never made it back? For some reason it was super crowded the day Anna and I went. Stopped for dinner and desert at Ku'aina (delish) and then walked around, discovered the Statue of Liberty, watched Rainbow Bridge light up, got some Pink Berry, and stumbled upon some Grecian Sculptures. All this in one place, you ask? Totally.




Check!

▶ Kua'aina (Odaiba)

135-0091 Tokyo, Minato,
Daiba, 1−7−1

 ▶ Venus Fort (Odaiba)

135-0064 Tokyo, Koto,
Aomi, 1−3−15

 day 2

When I say that it rains every time I go to Shonan,  I mean it rains every.single.fucking.time I go to Shonan. Anna and I were originally going to go only as far as Kamakura, but we ended up heading on to Enoshima instead. And after trekking up and down Enoshima in the humidity and rain, we were fully deserving of even more food by the time we got back to Tokyo. Though I was a bit disappointed my apple crumble was cold :(

Here's a much more detailed post with shiny Canon shots and place names! These are just extra photos that didn't make it into the original :)


day 3...or 4?

I honestly can't even remember now if this was day 3 or 4 or both? I'm guessing two days because there's clearly a wardrobe change here, haha. Pretty sure the first couple pictures are from Ikebukuro, my old home turf. Then off to what would become one of my favorite cafes in Shibuya, Hole Hole! Unfortunate name, but I ended up taking a bunch of people there for tomo-dates, haha. Can't beat good taco-rice! Last but not least, even more puri because, well. That's what we do.

 Place names etc below! To the best of my memory that is. Can't believe it's taken me almost a year (exactly) to update about this, haha.


Check!

▶ Tamago to Watashi (Ikebukuro)

Sunshine City Alpa 3F
3-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro
Toshima Tokyo

 ▶ BAKERs DINER (Ikebukuro)

Sunshine City Alpa B1F

3-1-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro
Toshima Tokyo

 ▶ hole hole (Shibuya)

2-10-1 Dogenzaka
Shibuya Tokyo

As always, if you see this post and end up visiting (or have visited) any of these places, leave me a comment and tell me how you liked it!

♡ jennifer

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sunset bbq @ yuigahama beach

Today's #flashback friday heads back to Yuigahama Beach in Kanagawa for a BBQ planned by my  good friends Chico and Eri.


sunset bbq @ yuigahama beach

True to form, rain is nearly always waiting for me in Shonan, haha. By the time we got to Yuigahama beach, the rain had started and we walked to the "beach house" with t-shirts and towels draped about our heads. Why Kanagawa? Why do you always rain on me?!

The beach house that Chico and Eri rented out was really nice. The interesting thing about "beach houses" and restaurants in Shonan, is that they're really not houses at all, more like outdoor lounges and restaurants. To top it off, they change every year! They go up and go down over the course of the summer and are reincarnated as something totally new the next year. Which is pretty cool.

One thing I don't love, however, is their massive NO TATTOO rule. I get that Japan isn't as forgiving regarding tattoos and I can understand it in onsen and water parks, but at the beach? It's kind of like the last bastion of freedom and water sport. I really hope that rule gets a lot more lax in the following years.

That being said, Yuigahama Beach is beautiful and I love seeing the mountains and hills roll right up to the beach; it was an amazing end of summer day to spend with some of the best friends I'd made in Japan and enjoy one of my favorite areas of Kanagawa before leaving.

▶ 由比ケ浜 (Yuigahama Beach)

4 Yuigahama, Kamakura 
248-0014, Kanagawa Prefecture

Here's to hoping it's sunnier for you guys!

♡ jennifer

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