Visiting New Places

 

It's autumn in Japan, yesss! As per usual this weekend I made sure to get some fresh air and check out some more local parks in my area (Tokyo has so many nice green spots!) and thankfully the weather stayed nice and warm throughout the entire weekend. Friday was such a nice day with not a single cloud in the sky- we could even see Mt Fuji from our office- so I was a bit worried that that was going to be it and it would rain again in the weekend. But it didn't! All the pictures above are from yesterday and earlier today.

I checked out Bagel Standard, a cute shop selling New York Style bagels in Nakameguro which I can only recommend. They had so many different types of bagels and fillings it was hard to only pick one. In the end I went with a berry bagel filled with cream cheese, nuts and honey. I also got a green smoothie with no added sugar which I then went to enjoy near the riverside. Perfect day to have lunch outside! I was almost tempted to go back and get some more bagels for breakfast next week but instead ended up walking towards Ebisu from where I rode the train home.

Speaking of home, the most exciting thing I did this weekend was probably go to see two new apartments. I liked them both (they are both sooo much better than where I am currently living) and I will be signing the contract for one of them at the end of next week. I'll be moving a little further out of the city just because it is cheaper and my new apartment is literally going to be double the size of my current one. (Which still doesn't make it big by any means but still! I'm exciteddd.) This also means I will be all moved and settled in less than a month's time so I will be spending Christmas in my new place (and at work, haha). Yay!

I don't really have much more to say right now so I'll just leave you with another picture I took in Shinjuku the other night. I had a really good time in our Shinjuku office this past week! ^^

Hello, hello. It has been a while!

I think I am writing this entry mostly for my brother who always reminds me to update this blog. I really enjoy blogging but I tend to get incredibly lazy. Especially with Twitter and Instagram, it is so much easier and less time-consuming to post micro updates instead of one big weekly post.

Either way, I've been quite busy but the good kind (I think!). Work is very stressful and (emotionally) demanding sometimes, but it's also rewarding. I like that with the kind of work I do, I can really have a positive impact on the people surrounding me (if I do it right!). I don't want to talk about work too much on here so I'll end this saying it's been a steep learning curve so far and I have both good and bad days. But I think that's normal and most people experience this with their job!

Weekends are so much more fun to talk about! I have really been enjoying my days off as I usually just pick a random place somewhere in Tokyo I haven't been to yet and go to explore the local shops and restaurants in that area. I'm pretty sure I easily walk 5-10km every time I leave the house on weekends (which is sadly the only form of exercise I am getting right now, but it's better than nothing for now). Food-wise I've found some awesome cafes, especially for lunch- I kind of want to make a separate post about all the food places I've come across so far which I would recommend. 

Despite the fact my Instagram is full of cakes and dessert in general, I feel like I have been making quite good food choices overall. Monday - Friday I often manage to get at least 4 of my 5 a day (if not all 5 on good days!) as I have discovered "Happy Salada", a salad delivery service for lunch. Luckily they deliver to my work place for free which is awesome! All salads are customisable so I've been enjoying having caesar salads with avocado, cranberries and etc during my lunch breaks at work.

Tomorrow I'm already back in the office and I have a busy week ahead with a heavy focus on training this week. For most of this week I will actually be going to a different office (for said training purposes) so I imagine time will fly with the new environment and new people to meet. Fingers crossed the next weekend will be here in the blink of an eye again! Also, all photos above are from this weekend. For more detailed descriptions check out my Instagram. :)

Japanese Subway (Mostly)

It's been a little while again since my last update! I've started work this week which was really exciting (and tiring, but mostly exciting). I feel like I've already learnt to appreciate weekends, though it's Sunday afternoon now and I am already kind of looking forward to a productive day in the office tomorrow. It's a lot of inductions and training now, but I reckon that in a couple of week's time I'll start feeling more comfortable and settled in for sure.

Yesterday I made a trip to Ikebukuro because I needed to get some more bits and pieces (mostly boring stuff trust me, shopping for bath mats isn't very exciting!) but I also picked up the odd random item to help me feel more comfortable at home too. There's certain items I simply need around to make wherever I live feel more like "home". One of such items is a cute mug. It might sound stupid, but drinking tea is a habit I've picked up while living in the UK and I do it religiously now. Definitely became a "keep calm and put the kettle on" kinda gal.

Anyways, I'm rambling. What I wanted to say is that I've been looking around for a cute little mug and yesterday I've come across one I liked! I also gave in and bought some royal milk tea because it's just such a sweet treat which hopefully will replace actual "dessert" for me once in a while. I've been snacking way too much (especially at work, but I feel like this is something everyone can relate to when starting a new job).

The other thing I want to talk about today is SUBWAY in Japan. I love Subway sandwiches and used to occasionally get them in the UK too as there was one close to our university, but Japanese subs are just amazing. A friend of mine agrees that they're definitely fresher (as far as the salad is concerned) but the whole experience feels different in Japan, too. There's the option of oven roasted potato wedges (with different flavours, I tend to get the cheese ones but they have regular and basil too), soup, ice cream floats, all sorts of chilled drinks (iced coffee, tea, melon soda etc) and they have some different toppings too. They will also recommend a sauce to you which I usually just go along with. Below I got the teriyaki chicken sub with mayo (I don't even like mayo, but with this sub it's quite nice!).

Also, Subway in Japan is a super affordable lunch option with 620 Yen for the above. That's about £3.50! While in Sunshine City (a huge shopping complex in Ikebukuro) I also saw advertisements for a new Pokemon Centre opening up in December, yayy! On my Twitter I also posted a few more bits and pieces of stuff I got, including a heart shaped pillow for when you're taking a bath and a little duck which floats in the water and glows (too cute, I couldn't help but take it home). Japanese gadgets! (★^O^★)