omotesando / a happy pancake

On our last day in Tokyo we decided to go big on breakfast. We braved ourselves to A Happy Pancake in Omotesando on a weekend morning and was lucky enough to get in without waiting for long.

We tried four flavors, and concluded that pancakes are just pancakes after all. I'm not particularly a big fan of fluffy things so I can't do its fluffiness justice.

We split after breakfast, one group heading to Harajuku and another towards Aoyama.

What a good morning to start with.

from ueno to akb

We went to Harbs in Ueno just to find out they still haven't got their famous mille-feuille ready, so we each got a slice of cake and coffee. The bottomless coffee was definitely worth a try!

Then we took a stroll to Akihabara, the otaku heaven and the birthspot of the AKB girls.

Stopped by a post office nearby to send some postcards.

Finally something AKB! Must've been chilly to dress like this in winter.

Heavenly. I loved this series but haven't got to read it lately...

Let's go to Yotsubashi Camera!

Saw this and immediately queued for our Nintendo Switch here (tax-free and with neon colors! Yipee)

My sister was too happy with her purchase today, and was totally okay to lug the game console and head over to Yotsuya after this.

Found a poster with the CEO of the hotel we stayed in. That's... interesting.

totoro cafe

I've been wanting to visit this place since seeing one of these puffs on the social media. Having more time to spend leisurely on our second trip, I decided to come back to Shimokitazawa to pay a visit to this little place.

The cafe's name literally translates to Whitebeard's Cream Puff Bakery. They have a sister restaurant right upstairs that serves Western style cafe food. The shop already won my heart at the first glance. I personally find the rustic design -that reminds me of the sisters' place in the Totoro movie- to be super cute.

For dine in, head upstairs for the reception, and the lady downstairs handles the takeaway orders. 

SO. MANY. TOTOROS.

We were seated outdoors as the cafe was fully booked that afternoon, which is just perfect. The weather was absolutely amazing, and we couldn't be bugged by bugs when the setting pleases me that much. Spot Gigi.

How to do a totoro puff justice:

We sat and wrote in our techos till the sun starts to set. Two ladies next to us were having a conversation over their boyfriends and wedding plans (unintended eavesdropping). Shimokitazawa is always gonna be special for me.