MIND FART #14: Cheese Cares

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Why do I even care, geez

I just need some cheese

I don't really wanna, please

But hey, it's alright

Someday you'll sleep so tight

No more tears at night

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Just thought about this while I was browsing my Twitter feed earlier today. Originally posted it there but deleted it after a few minutes, just because. 

Oh, the thoughts that snow and silence can bring.

I hope that your hearts are always warm. I sincerely do.

Summer in September Day1 ♥

A few weekends ago, my beau and I caught an early train ride to Enoshima. Yayyyyy!!!  But yeah, before laziness gets into my system again, I'll write about it now regardless of the trips I've had prior to this, which I should've written but haven't. Blame it all on the alcohol. *kidding I don't drink much now haha*

Soooo.... Enoshima. What about it? A few years back when my beau and I were still friends (we still are now, btw haha), we went on an Enoshima-Kamakura day trip with a few of his friends. Now that we're a we, we had a B1-B2 moment (hello, Pinoy childhood!) and decided to go back to Enoshima -- visit spots that we haven't been to and re-visit old favorites in a span of two days. Enoshima is a tiny bit of heaven with some Hawaiian touch and us being from a tropical country, this might be our safest and nearest bet, time- and budget-wise.*wink*

Now, I'll just let the gazillion photos we took on our first day in the touristy offshore island help me with the talking! :))

Arrived at a gloomy Katase-Enoshima Station (via Odakyu Enoshima Line) a little before nine o'clock. Don't you love the exteriors? It's not everyday you get to see a train station somewhere in or near Tokyo like this, well, except if you pass by Asakusa Station all the time. ☺

From Katase-Enoshima Station, we decided to go straight to the nearby Enoshima Beach, a good 15-minute walk from where we were. Good thing we packed light for this trip so our luggage wasn't a problem. However, lockers can be found inside Katase-Enoshima station and in most stations in Japan, so if you want to tour luggage-free, you can opt for that in exchange for some coins.

Looking back, I hated long walks.  But being in a country where everyone walks, who am I to complain? And besides, I get to see minute yet interesting details of life in and around the city during those walks. If only I'd have all the time in the world to walk and stop at every little sugoi thing I'd find aahhh that would really be great~

♫♫ I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming~ ♪

Finally, beachhhhhhh! 

 Happiness is where the beach is! ♥

Yeheyyyy!

I thought I won't be able to use the swimsuit I bought for some summer soaking but guess I'm wrong! Who said summer in Japan is already over? Not yet! Not for me! Summer in late September it is! ♥

QT with this cutie hihi ♥

The gloomy skies won't bring me down 'cos I have a fluffy ball of sunshine beside me! ♥ Behind us is Enoshima Island! Yay! And yeah, whoever invented the tripod, a big fat thanks to you haha!

After spending some time at the beach, we headed to Shichirigahama, a few stations away from Enoshima Station via the Enoshima Dentetsu / 江ノ島電鉄 / Enoden line, to check-in to our airbnb home. This is seriously the cutest train I've ever set my foot on! What makes this train unusual besides the cute design? Its wooden floors and ceiling fans! I'm sure you'll notice those when you happen to ride one! ☺

Vendo ice cream!


Somewhere near Shichirigahama Station.

  Finally arrived at our airbnb house, which was a few minutes bus ride from Shichirigahama Station yey! The house, I thought, was a good spend; spacey room, free wi-fi, nice bathroom, free hair dryer (a must for me haha) plus a very kind host, for less than 7,000yen a night. Many thanks to our host, Ayano! ☺ Settled and rested for a few hours then rode the Enoden again to Enoshima Station to go for some sightseeing. 

Got really excited and got off at Kamakura Koukou Mae Station, which is a station away from our destined stop haha!  But yeah, everything was fine.

 I don't mind waiting for a couple of minutes if the view is like this! Ahhhh love!♥

 So yeah, our stop, Enoshima Station!

We initially wanted to go to Enoshima Aquarium and Iwaya Caves but we lost track of time and those places close at 5PM! ☹

We then decided to walk around and wander the streets near the station, instead. It was pretty interesting but eerily quiet. Countryside feels~

Hello, high schoolers haha~

Afterwards, we walked a few minutes to Katase-Enoshima Station (again) and then a few minutes more to Enoshima Island.

 Chanced upon a photography exhibit in the island about the island itself! Lucky!

Window-shopped for a bit. Not really a good time 'cos most stores are already closed at around 8PM.
 Shirasu Pan! Afraid to try it at first cos shirasu...pan...fish...bread...hmm. But lo and behold, it was delicious! A little pricey for ¥250 for three pieces, though.

'Cos as I've said most of the shops were already closed, so impromptu Pokemon GO sesh it was! Didn't really expect a lot of players in the island but hell yeah there were so many lures and people playing so we joined in!☺

Capped off our first night in Enoshima with a sumptuous curry dinner over a few drinks at Moana Makai! If you get the chance, go there! I liked their Coconut Ice Cream! It's a nice place to dine, drink, and have heart-to-heart talks! We didn't notice the time passing that we even missed the last bus to our airbnb house so we needed to walk for less than 20 minutes in the middle of nowhere haha! Adventure right there, homies~

Our first day was full of glitches, yeah, yeah. We had an itinerary (which, by looking at the photos above, we failed to follow haha) but unplanned things happen which makes the trip all the more wonderful! Wouldn't change a thing! ♥

Thanks for reading and yeah, do watch out for the second day of our Enoshima trip some time this week!

Showa Sakura Situation

Yesterday's mini escape: SHOWA KINEN KOEN

Yup, one of the biggest parks in all of Tokyo's twenty three wards!  *yay* It is located in Tachikawa, about 40 minutes from Shinjuku by train. If you have been reading my blog, you might have known that I have been to and posted about Showa Kinen Koen a couple of times already ('cos it's near where I live) yet it's a first for me to visit the said park during early spring and it did not disappoint! This blog post will show you why. *wink*

Let's start, shall we?
*Warning: photo-heavy post*

Pretty, pretty spring flowers welcomed us  near the ticket booth in Tachikawa Gate. Showa Kinen Koen has 5 existing gates, each near a train station. If you're planning to visit, you might want to check out the park's website first, here.

Tickets are 410 yen for adults (over 15 y/o), 210 yen for senior citizens (over 65), and 80 yen for children (6-14 y/o). Discounts are available for visitors coming in groups.

Got tickets! Now off we go~

Can you guess who I am with? :))

Of course, I'm with my Tikki Tikki Tembo birthday boy, Kenji!
 Happy birthday, love! *yay*

And since this is my blog, I want a picture of myself, too hahaha :))

A few minutes of walking and voila, the Waterfowl Lake. Visitors can rent boats and bikes in this area for a fee of less than 1000 yen. 

The park has many zones, and in each are different areas of concentration. There are also lots of amenities, it has barbecue areas, courts for various sports, swimming pools, playgrounds, restaurants,  and flower gardens. For this particular visit, we wanted to go on a picnic under cherry blossom trees so we went to the Flowering Tree Garden Area.

Such a lovely welcome courtesy of these peonies!

And some plum blossoms, too!

And of course the star among the stars, Sakura/Cherry Blossoms! ♥

Lovely!

Sakura couple ♥

And another~

 When will I ever get enough of these cherry blossoms ahhhh~

 A few more steps and *poof* more blossoms at the Cherry Blossom Avenue! What a view! *lubdub* ♥

 The part where the pink cherry blossoms were was where we opted to do our picnic at.

Hanami/ cherry blossom viewing essentials: picnic mat, mini blankets (it can get really cold in the afternoon), food and drinks (you might want to bring sakura-inspired ones for a more sakurafied hanami haha), plastic bags for garbage, and lots of stories to share with people you are with! *wink*

Leisure painting, Someday, self, someday~

 Our chosen spot! Yay to matching Kankens! And yeah, hello Kumamon! ♥

 Our stash! It's been ages when I last made something for a picnic!

Sakura-printed paper plate just because ft. Kenji's maguro-umeboshi onigiri ♥

 This view, the birds' chirps, and the wind's swish swoosh-- so relaxing! For a second, we thought we were not in Tokyo!

No wonder someone fell asleep~ hahahaha kidding

 More sakuraaaa~

Beautiful ♥

Every spot was just picturesque!

kaya feel na feel ni teh hahaha

Run~

and have some fun!

Really glad I got to play with my camera cos it's been rotting in storage for heaven knows how long. 

 Bubbles~

Ahhh childhood!

Forever kid at heart!

And another one haha!

 Such a happy person haha!

 Spotted a choo choo train roaming around the park. This reminded me of my brother's Thomas toy trains when he was little! Visitors can opt to ride this if they want to see the park's beauty minus the walking part haha!

Not sure about this tree hmm. Is this a Carolina silverbell tree, anyone?

Saw some white sakura on our way out  ♥

 Wintessed some pre-nup sesh, too!

Capped off park day with soft cream cone! :)

This picnic day is supposedly the second leg of Kenji's birthday celebration but looking at the pictures, I think I was the one who enjoyed it more haha! Such a breather for the stress consuming me these past few weeks! Nature really does wonders! I would definitely go back here! ♥