Green Tea Ice Cream

I am having Green Tea ice cream withdrawals it's not even funny. My blog's green theme is driving me insane. There is such a shortage of green tea flavoured anything here in Australia!

Such a contrast to Japan right? In Japan, you couldn't pass a restaurant or food shop that DID NOT sell Green Tea flavoured dango, ice cream... even kit kat!

I will forever miss Japan's green tea craze.

To get such delicacies, one must travel to the edge of the world! Lol literally!
Nahhh in Australia, you would most likely find it in an Asian grocery, or in a Chinatown. I don't know if Sydney has a Japantown..

Green Tea Ice Cream - Bought in front of the Kinkakuji trail exit

I ate so much green tea stuff in Japan, I may have a whole album of it. Hmmm do I?

[Update]
I just checked the pics I took in Japan.. I'm not the type to take pictures of my food before eating it. As you can see from my ice cream above, I was in the middle of eating it before remembering to take a photo! It's SO YUMMY!

I definitely recommend that ice cream snack bar in front of Kinkakuji!

Usually in Japan, they offer green tea ice cream combined with vanilla option.

But me.. im like "NU-UH! I have plenty of vanilla ice cream at home! Im going to make the most of my tourist experience and have stuff I can't have back home. In it's completion!"

So here's a bunch of pics. Most of the green tea stuff I found was in Kyoto.

The Snack Bar at Kinkakuji

 At the kinkakuji exit, there were also stalls selling these cute boxes filled with cute Japanese snacks. And the sellers spoke okay English. They even let us eat some samples!
But I felt like a pig just eating the samples and not buying. All the Japanese people around me that were trying ended up buying. Is it impolite not to buy? I sure felt impolite ahahah.
So I coerced my sister into buying a box.

Box of Dango

Dango Sticks

Oh! And you can't forget actual Green Tea tea right? The hotel we stayed at in Kyoto gave us free green tea every day! They were such hospitable people!

Green Tea at the Village Kyoto Hotel

Munching on green tea dango while drinking some green tea in our hotel room

 Okay, so not everything Green Tea I bought was edible! I regret buying this hand cream because it's so small! There was a larger size that I wanted but I was saving my money for Tokyo afterwards. But I wonder if maikos actually use this hand cream? I bought this hand cream at a store in Gion, the 'geisha district'. Mind you, I didn't see any geishas that Wednesday night. My mum saw some in taxis though.

Green Tea Hand Cream Case

Green Tea Hand Cream - 300 Yen

Snapchatting

 We also went to the Kyoto International Manga Museum! It was such a beautiful place and I could have been there all day just reading the manga! Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside.. but I can't stop kicking myself about not taking pictures or selfies OUTSIDE. The building was so pretty! And the courtyard had the greenest grass ever I could've eaten it.

The only pics I took at the International Manga museum was what I ate. It was really good though! It was so cold that day and I had been so tired after walking around and getting lost in Arashiyama all day just a few hours before.

Green tea + mochi cubes

the animation on the wall of the restaurant (in the background)

 On our final day in Kyoto, we went to the only halal restaurant on our Japan trip. Wow. Rose cafe was a cosy little place right around the corner from the Kyoto Masjid. I loved how we had our own little room at the back. And best of all, it was halal!
So we ate here while my dad was at Jum'ah Prayer at the Masjid. Convenient right? Unfortunately women weren't allowed in. My dad said the place was packed to capacity. (Masha Allah). After my dad finished, there was another round of Muslim men waiting outside to pray Jum'ah. Subhanallah. Whereever you go, you are bound to find Muslims.
Most of them were from Malaysia and Indonesia though.
So anyways, when we got to the restaurant, I was craving some hard core meat. The store didn't really have any traditional Japanese food. But I was okay with that. I've been eating that for the past 3-4 days. So I ate a steak burger. And of course, the green tea thing on the menu: green tea (of course) and green tea chocolate cake. I couldn't really taste the chocolate though. And the green tea was subtle. But still. YUMMM.

Green Tea Chocolate Cake

 And then it was the shinkansen to Tokyo. I bought a packet of green tea kit kats from Kyoto station. I had bought a packet in Osaka as well..  but forgot to take a pic of it. To be honest, I can't really taste the difference between the green tea kit kats I bought in Osaka and the green tea kit kats that were labelled with "Kyoto Edition" as if it were some limited "must buy" thing. But hey. Blowing money on a holiday to try new things is what you're meant to do hey?

Eating Green Tea kit kat on the Shinkansen to Tokyo

 I've had a green tea latte before. But I have NEVER had a green tea latte at STARBUCKS before. IN JAPAN. IN SHINJUKU!
There was a foreign couple sitting behind me at starbucks. One was an English man, the other.. I can't remember. Was it a Scottish or Irish woman? Anyway, they were speaking in English and were talking about learning the Japanese language. The woman was going on about how difficult reading Japanese might be because of all the kanji.
I really wanted to join in on that conversation because... after all, I did study Japanese for two semesters and could have offered my bag of 2 cents'.

Green Tea Latte - Shinjuku Starbucks

I ate a green tea ice cream cone at the Ghibli Museum as well. But forgot to take a pic.

And to end my Japan journey, what better way to end it with a green tea bang! I think the best treat was saved for last. I bought this cup of green tea ice cream + wafer + red bean glutinous rice balls. It was delicious. It makes me want to cry because I miss green tea Japan so much!

Green Tea Parfait: Green Tea Ice + Wafer + Red Bean Glutinous Rice Balls - Haneda International Airport
Taken by my Mama

[Update] Exchanging AUD for JPY

Now that my trip to Japan is over, I think I can safely say that the rates in Japan are really Bad. With a capital B!

As you might know, I did not exchange any AUD in Osaka, but did in Kyoto. I also found a couple in Tokyo as well. 

In Tokyo, I exchanged at two places. One in Akihabara, using Travelex. And the other, at Shinjuku.. 

Hmm...

well at Akihabara Travelex, I believe we visited it on a Monday. And I think they were selling 80JPY for 1AUD.. big difference from the 90 at Sydney aye?

And at Shinjuku, the money exchange office was just outside Odakyu department store, near the west exit from Shinjuku train station. They were selling at 83JPY, and we visited it on a Tuesday, the 17th of December.

So yeah... if you guys want to know the exact places.. ermm... I can't really remember. LOL. 

But I saw that exchanging JPY for USD was so much better. It was like around 101JPY. Sooo much better. Such a pity we didn't bring any USD with us :(

Exchanging AUD for JPY in Kyoto

Hey everyone!

おひさしぶりです！
So it's been a while eh?

How are we all?

As I am typing this, I am on day 8 of my Japan trip. And it has been VERY difficult to find a sole foreign exchange place. By sole, I mean a place that's not a bank, nor an ATM.

Throughout these past 8 days, I have only exchanged money once, and that was at Kyoto. It's called "Tokai" and boy, was that rate so low! They were buying JPY at ~83JPY!!
We found the place by asking our hotel's receptionist. FYI, we were staying at Village Kyoto Hotel. It's a nice place. And I'll be posting up a review soon :)

Anyways, if you decide to stay around the area, I guess you could change your money there. The location on Google maps is here.
I don't really recommend it, but it was the only one I went to so... yeah.

Exchanging AUD for JPY in Sydney

Before departing for Japan, I've heard from a couple of people that it is best to cash up on the yen in Australia, rather than in Australia. These people are Japanese, or just people that travel to Japan regularly from Aus.

Apparently the exchange rate of the AUD in Japan isn't that great. However, I hear that the USD in Japan isn't too bad though. Well, this is what I hear, I haven't been to Japan yet. But Insha Allah I get to go soon!

So you're probably wondering where to get JPY? Well, depending on which part of Sydney you're living in, the Sydney CBD may be your best bet. I tried to get some JPY at Bankstown today.. but they did not have any. And well, why would they? Considering the demographic of the area, people would most likely want Middle Eastern cash.

Before heading off to the CBD, a cousin of mine that lives there and knows the city like the back of his hand actually recommended a good exchange place. It was on George St, and I think it was of the Western Union. They were selling JPY at 90yen! That was way better than the rates at the other places I saw that day. UAE Exchange was selling at 88, and Travel Money Oz was selling at 86! Of course, different branches would also vary, and I found other Western Union branches on George St varied as well.

Anyway, the point is.. THAT Western Union was the only one selling in the 90s! Oh! I wished I remembered it address! It was somewhere near the Goulburn St and George St intersection. I tried finding it on Google Maps, but I think Google Maps is seriously outdated.

The name of that western union I THINK was called "Money Exchange"?! LOL. I seriously can't remember. But it's not exactly a shop that you can walk in. It's more like a counter. And it's sign is a bright yellow, with green text.

Well.. I hope that helped...

Shop around before exchanging money! I sure did! I walked the entire George St from Broadway Shopping Mall to the Travel Money Oz in Wynyard.. and it was THAT Western Union "MONEY EXCHANGE" that gave me the best rate that day. My feet kill though. I hope they don't hurt when I'm in Japan! That would be the biggest bummer ever!

My mum's friend actually changes her money for JPY at Circular Quay. I didn't go to Circular Quay because she didn't say where exactly the place in Circular Quay was. But oh well.

So yeah!

I might be exchanging some money in Japan though. So I'll try to update on how that goes!

~Nurilen

My Essentials Before Travelling Overseas

I have quite a list of essentials before this trip. I haven't been overseas in 5 years.. so let the paranoia set in.

1. Toothbrush + Toothpaste
   Very important. First impressions count. Although it would be unlikely for a stranger to be so close to me while I talk, I don't want the chance of them smelling my breath and fainting.
   Mouthwash is also important. And dental floss if you must ;)
2. Phone Charger
   Whilst in the midst of visiting a World Heritage Site, or eating your expensive exotic dish.. you decide to take a picture and upload it onto Instagram. And show off to your friends.
   But oh the horror! Your phone battery is dying!
   ahhh not to worry. I'll just share this picture back at the hotel while it's charging.
   *come hotel room*
   WHERE'S MY CHARGER??? AHHHHHH!!
   Seriously, you don't want to forget it. Especially if you're the only one in your village that has your phone model.
3. Powerpoint adaptor
   I guess this one's pretty obvious. And I place this on equal importance to a phone charger. Why? If you can't plug your phone charger into the power socket, how will charge your phone? How will you upload your photos on instagram? How will you call your Mum?!
   Remember to buy one before departing for your trip, just in case you won't be able to get one when on the trip itself.
   You can buy them online, or in most convenience stores. But some might not have the adaptors you're after. I think I saw Strandbags sell some, but they are really pricey. I think they were around $20 at strandbags and I was like "NUH-UH!"
   
   I bought my Australian to Japanese adaptor from a Japanese store in Sydney, Town Hall. It was a store called Maruyu and I bought 4 for $10. Super cheap compared to Strandbags.
   

   

   Australian to: Indonesian (left) and Japanese (right) adaptors

4. Sunscreen and Moisturiser
   Whatever weather you're travelling to, you're going to need this! You don't want to come home sunburnt, nor with skin cancer. The sun in winter can also be just as deadly as the summer's!
   You'd also want to bring a moisturiser because... well, having dry skin doesn't feel nice!
   You can buy sunscreen that acts as a moisturiser, or a moisturiser with SPF30+ in it. The Australian sun is harsh, all year round. If you're thinking of coming to the Land Down Under, I recommend anything with SPF30+, or greater. It's that bad.
   Everytime I go outside without sunscreen, even if it were just for 5 minutes, I notice I am a couple of shades darker. I don't really like tanning.
5. Compass (optional)
   This is optional for some, but for me.. this is one of the most important as I don't know how to tell North from South, nor East from West by looking at the sun. One of the reasons why I need to know my direction is because I have to know the Qiblat (the direction to the Ka'bah in Makkah) to pray my 5 daily prayers. There are some compasses that come with a book of cities to tell you how many degrees from North the Qiblat is. It's super cool! I'm using the ones my parents got from Hajj, but I think you can buy them from your nearest Islamic bookstore.
   I know some smart phones come with compass apps, or Qiblat apps, but well.. if your phone runs out of battery, or you have not internet data connection, you're going to have to find NSEW using the good ol' compass. I really learn how to tell direction by using the sun. That'd be pretty neat.
6. Hygeine Things Now I'm going to go into the things that you will definitely need! These are things which I don't think anyone will forget. But I'm putting it into this list anyway.
   Soap, shampoo. And for the ladies, remember to bring your pads for your monthlies.
   'Nuff said.
7.  Any Others?

A Map of Masjids in Tokyo

So I will be going to Tokyo in a couple of weeks, and I was wondering how awesome it'd be to visit some masjids while I'm there!

I looked up a couple of websites, and they've listed quite a few! And also from other cities as well!

I thought it might be useful if I compiled them all and put all the Tokyo masjids onto one map. So that you can see which masjid is closer to where you are and can compare and stuff.

Some masjids I'm not too sure of the location, such as Shibuya Mushallah, Ikebukuro Mushallah, ShinOkubo Mushallah and I think Machida Mushallah. Basically all of the ones that I couldn't find a picture of (or couldn't see on Google maps), which is understandable since they're technically not what you call a mosque, but in the building itself which doesn't look like a mosque on the outside. Nevertheless, I've included them anyway.

So here's the link: Masjids in Tokyo


Credits go to these 2 websites where I found the addresses:
http://www.masjid.jp/list.html
http://www.geocities.ws/msajscp/mosques.htm#Shinokubo