It's impossible to not take any pictures. Take your time and be patient because there would be thousands of tourists doing the same thing at your spot. Especially for me who's solo traveling and only relying on tripod and timer, it's so tricky and I was afraid someone would bump into my camera and destroy it. I would recommend you to visit as early as possible, 9.30 a.m is where the park's open and I'm sure there would be fewer tourists. I arrived around 12.30 and it's definitely not a good time to take pictures without being distracted

There were a few dramas involved in the day

1. I lost sight of direction. Ueno is supposed to be only 4 stops away from my place, but I kept going back and forth on the same line because I was confused which direction it was. Was it reverse or clockwise? So I spent 45-50 mins getting on and off lol

2. I forgot to reserve a ticket for the limited express. All limited express trains bound for Katsuta requires a reservation and I had to move 2 times because there'll come notification light on top of your seat that the seat is reserved for the next stop. I made sure I didn't make mistake on my return journey hence I had it reserved and luckily I did. The train was full and some people had to stand around 1.5 hours to Tokyo!

3. Jackpot drama is, I forgot my wallet. I thought I lost it on the train but I believed no one really pickpocket in Japan and my coat's pocket is pretty deep. Which turned out yeah, I found my wallet at home. I realized it when I was about to pay for my bus fare ticket to Hitachi Seaside Park and only found my coin wallet that consisted of 200-300 yen lol

I was thinking either to walk to the park (6km) or just go back home (and not return, because the total return journey would be around 4 hours and it'd be too late to take pictures). In the desperate mode, I was standing in front of JR stations while looking at tourists groups pass by. I even thought to approach one of them whether they would like to hire me as a photographer as long as I could pay for my ticket and bus fare lol

And in the middle of chaos, I quickly approached Indonesian Tourists and abruptly said, "I am sorry I forgot my wallet and I need 2000 yen to buy ticket and lunch at the park. Can I buy your 2000 yen and I'll transfer to your BCA via internet banking?"

If someone approached me like that, I would think that person's trying to scam me or hypnotize me or what lol I know how fishy it sounds. I mean, who the hell forget their wallet when traveling right??

Turned out the tourists were a daughter and mother from Surabaya, and they're willing to share me their 2000 yen which I successfully transferred the rupiah through my digibank app in 2 mins. (Thank you Digibank, Thank you Internet, Thank you Indonesian's hospitality, Thank You, God)

So yeah, this blog post is existent in the pile of chaos and debt lol

I owe them this blog post!

As for the foods, there were a few stalls and restaurants inside the park. The park itself was pretty big with Tulip Garden and Rose Garden, including mini theme park (I wanna ride the ferris wheel next time!). There's also bicycle rental and basically a good getaway from Tokyo to enjoy a little bit of nature

I had myself a japanese hamburg set with Karage for 950 yen. I didn't touch my phone while I was eating, and basically enjoyed the landscape, trees, weather, and everything around me instead of being online. It was a bliss

I would love to come back here again next year if the schedule allows, and better maybe with friends. As for now, my tripod and phone (as timer) is sufficient

See you guys again on my next post!

One thing that I truly love about Japan is their Japanese Supermarket! Being such an indoor person that loves cooking, nothing impressed me more than real Japanese Supermarket where there can be dozens of fresh foods, high-quality condiments, wide varieties of Japanese seasonings and condiments, pre-packaged foods (bento), and of course the night sale! 

My apartment is just 1-2 mins walk from a big supermarket called LIFE (But I heard the cheapest supermarket in Tokyo is named OK, but it's not near my place). I often shop there for groceries because it's so convenient and truly life-saver. I know you must have heard about the discounted meals in Japanese Supermarket and it really saves you a lot of money for food expense

Most supermarkets start giving discounts from 7pm to their fresh products that will be expired the next morning. However, from 7pm they'll only give you the 20% discount. Most of the products will be sold by this time because salaryman and housewives quickly snatch them away for their dinner time. However if you wait until 8.30/9pm, they will start giving 50% discount off instead!

Here are a few items on sale that will make you want to rush to the nearest supermarket (every supermarket has a different kind of meals, so these prices are just for references) =

LIFE at my place closes at 12pm. At 8pm, they start giving 20% off, and from around 8.30-8.40pm, some of the products have started being sold for 50% off. If you want some supper or the day after breakfast, this is a good deal compared to going to Matsuya or Sukiya!

TIPS

If you decide to not buy it in the end, then just simply put it back again at the place that you took it from


- Stuck around to the guy who sticks the discount stickers, and grabs the 50% meals that you've been eyeing on as soon as he stuck it on. I kinda followed him back and forth for a while to the point he must have thought I was such a poor student lol

- Also, another tip is to not think too much about the expiration date. Japanese health standard is too high and in fact 'expiration date' is such a bogus from companies. It is in fact still edible and safe to eat as long as it doesn't taste or smell weird. Expiration date is only what companies feel the best time to eat their food and because of that, there are so many foods thrown away (You can watch Adam Ruins Everything on Youtube to hear about this debunked myth). Hence if you really don't mind the risk or believe that your stomach is strong enough, you don't have to follow the expiration date. Let's say it's expired at 7th 3am, and you want to eat it at 7th, 7pm. Try a bite first and if you find it still edible, then it's edible. Especially Indonesians, our stomach is pretty strong compared to Japanese. And don't forget to always put it in the fridge to keep it safe, but I try to eat it as soon as possible within 1 day after the expiration

Sometimes I do eat food that has passed the expiration date in Japan because it doesn't taste weird and I am still alive up to now. I won't recommend this trick to people who have a weak stomach, so please do this trick at your own risk!

The expiration date is written easily on the printing. Above below is sashimi picture and you can find 18.4.7 and 18.4.6. The below is the production date and the above is the expiration date. They also provide the time for some foods for precise calculation

I hope this would help to increase your knowledge about Japan a little and helpful for both tourists and students in Japan. See you guys again on my next post