Monday 26 March 2012

Sunny day in Odaiba

Even though I've lived in Tokyo now for  6 months, there are still so many places I haven't seen.
One of these "new" places was Odaiba.

Odaiba is a man made island in the Tokyo Bay area. You can either go there by monorail train or by an sea bus - ferry.

Waiting for the ferry
We decided to try the ferry option, which was to be fair - totally awesome in the sun! To sail under the Rainbow Bridge, see the Japanese Statue of Liberty and all the space-like architecture was truly amazing.

Nice view



Crazy space ball action going on there!


Just after sailing under the Rainbow bridge



Me and Villi <3

No need to go to NY!

When we came to Odaiba, we had mouth watering good food at Hawaiian place Kua Aina.

Turkey sandwich
 Then we decided to go for some science action at the Miraikan (or the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation - who decided that name!?).

It was pretty awesome. We saw the robot Asamo, petted the robot seal, did some weird experiments and saw a 3D show.

The world and a futuristic city

Villi was so excited to meet Asamo

Villi performing brain surgery
Me and Villi with our own orbits


Me and the baby seal bonding




The Miraikan was a nice thing to do but we also just liked wandering around the very futuristic Odaiba.  I feel like this is the most futuristic part of Tokyo with many very weird buildings, wide streets and a very different atmosphere from the normally crowded Tokyo.

We also went to two different shopping centers that were pretty good all though the one called Palette Town was definitely the weirdest mall I've been to. 
One picture to prove it:
Old Rome theme plus laser and a disco ball. Really?

 We took the monorail back home which was also fun as it drives in between all the interesting houses and gives great view over this weird island.
I definitely recommend a spacy day in Odaiba, just to get the vibe!
The sun setting next to an interesting sculpture


xx

Thursday 15 March 2012

Silver or Gold...

Sometimes I can't choose

xx

Wednesday 14 March 2012

A day in Shimo Kitazawa

One of my favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo is called Shimo Kitazawa. It's close to Shibuya but still very different. Shimo Kitazawa is way more quiet and cosy and sometimes reminds me of my hometown Reykjavík.

In one of Shimo Kitazawa's cute street

A friend of mine told me that very many artists and musicians live in this neighborhood and that does not surprise me.
The streets are narrow and filled up with small shops - vintage shops in particular! There are also many cafes, bars, restaurants and live spaces.
When we walked through there last week, I found an interesting theme on the streets - pandas!

They were located in front of various shops and restaurants, all doing different things. I snapped a photo whenever I found one.
Drunken panda outside a liquor store


Pill-panda outside a drug store
Studying panda?
Pants panda
Happy pencil panda outside stationery shop
This theme just made me love this neighborhood even more!

But I think my favorite discovery was a second hand store called New York Joe.
Entrance
You can see how the floor is very "bath house-y"!
In there you can sell your clothes, exchange them and then buy some new ones.
The inside of the shop is kind of cool and I didn't really know it at the time but this was a public bath house (sento) before.

The price was way lower than in other second hand stores I've found in Tokyo so far so of course I didn't go out empty handed! Got an American Apparel mesh shirt,  a dress and a cape/jacket all together for less than 3000 yen.

It was a wonderful day in Shimo Kitazawa and I'm actually really looking forward to go again and see what New York Joe has in store for me next time!

xx

Monday 12 March 2012

One year

Today it’s one year since the tragic events happened in Japan. My thoughts are with the victims and their families but I also want to mention how amazed I am by strength and unity of the Japanese nation through these hard times. Stay strong! ♥

Monday 5 March 2012

And now it's time for Osaka!

I visited Osaka 2 weeks ago. My mission in Osaka was rather special! I was asked to sing the Icelandic National anthem at the national soccer match between Iceland and Japan - Kirin Challenge Cup.
I was really surprised when I got this task because this is clearly not something that I had done before and at the same time I've never sung in front of such a big audience!

The audience was about 50.000 people at the stadium and then it was also broadcasted live in Japan and Iceland!
 

We took the shinkansen to get there - but that is the fastest type of train in Japan. It was my first time riding a shinkansen and I really liked it.  It's so fast and convenient. Up till now I've only traveled with night buses.

When we arrived in Osaka we took a train to get to Nagai stadium. I was rather shocked when we saw the stadium because it looks like a space ship and felt way bigger than other stadiums I've been to!

                  Outside Nagai stadium in Osaka

 My room!

I did a sound check on the stadium and I was thrilled. My voice has never sounded so big! It was amazing!
 Me and million people working in the sound check

After the sound check me and Villi had a nice time walking around the stadium, eating donuts (as I do every other day), having coffee and then I did a live radio interview in Iceland. 

The day passed, and soon the big moment was arriving!

I tried my best not to get nervous but it was kind of hard - i at least had a dozen of butterflies flying around in my stomach!

Just before walking out on the field. The coat is from a small shop in Harajuku called Good Morning House (that name is just too silly) and the dress underneath is also bought in Harajuku - Momo.

Then there was the big moment. It was like an adrenaline rush to sing in front of so many people, but definitely one of my most memorable experiences so far!

Nervous!

After my performance me and Villi watched the game from the VIP lounge. It was freezing cold but it was fun watching the game although Iceland lost..
Soccer time!

It was a great evening and I received so many heartful messages afterwards! It was truly amazing! 
Then we ended the night with other Icelandic people going to Izakaya and karaoke until the break of dawn.

More about our Osaka trip soon!

xx

Thursday 1 March 2012

The crazy crepe culture of Harajuku!

Last week me and Villi went to Harajuku because I needed to do some serious shopping  before performing in Osaka.

I sometimes get really worn out from threading the shops in Harajuku because their pretty crowded and full all of the time and can get seriously loud!

That's why we decided to take a good break and get something for my sweet tooth. I had often noticed all the crepes stands when I was in Harajuku so we decided to give it a try.

It was confusing to choose from all the stands because they seemed to be a copy of each other - but I decided to use a good old tactic that always seems to work out marveously if you're willing to wait.

Go where the longest line is! What people are willing to wait in a long line for must be really good! 

 The plastic crepes outside the crepes shops tell you EXACTLY what you get!

I had a hard time choosing ( like in every situation!) but the idea of a cheesecake and a crepe at the same time was just too tempting!

Strawberry Cheesecake crepe or how the Japanese would say it 
"sutoroberi chiisukeeki kurepe"

Eagerly awaiting my beautiful bite!

This crepe was too good to be true and at this point I'm so excited to try it.

Happy people with crepes and cream beard <3

The verdict:  My strawberry cheesecake crepe was seriously good but even for a person like me that LOVES cream it was way to much!  I couldn't finish all the cream and had to take some of it off. And if you have the cheesecake be prepared for a full meal! I was exploding afterwards.
Villi got a banana chocolate crepe which was a wiser choice if you wanted to be able to walk around afterwards  - haha! 

 I recommend you try these!
xx