Sakura Festival

Happy Sunday, people! How was your day? I spent my day at the Ojima Komatsugawa Park attending my first ever Cherry Blossom (Sakura) Festival! So according to this forecast, the best viewing time for Sakuras in Tokyo is from March 30th - April 7th. My sister and I went to the park last Friday and we saw the posters about the festival which will be held on the 3rd of April (today) and decided to give it a go. The Ojima Komatsugawa Park is a huge park which is around 5-minutes walk from where I stay. The festival started from 10am till 3pm; we planned to go around 11am Japan time but I woke up late. There's just something about sleeping in 15 degrees Celsius weather that makes you never want to get up every morning, or it might just be the fact that I sleep at almost 4am every morning, +/- an hour. I put alarms to wake me up every morning but I tend to just wake up and off them.

Anyway, we left the house at 1pm and went to nearby combinis (convenience stores) to get some snacks and drinks for the "party". I also had to get some plasters for that nasty cut I got from breaking in my new shoes. *cries in pain* When we arrived at the park, we were welcomed by the smell of delicious barbecued meat coming from the barbecue pit nearby. The park was divided into two areas, connected by a big bridge with a river flowing underneath it. Both areas were filled with people sitting on their mats, walking their dogs, playing with their kids, etc.

We made our way across the bridge and to the busier side of the park. There were food trucks and stalls selling food and Japanese beer, a small petting zoo, a stage for performances, even a mini ranch for horseback riding! We found a spot in the field and sat on the grass with our plastic bags as memories of GBS came flashing by (fellow GBS people would understand this). We talked while enjoying our snacks and the peaceful serenity the park gave; as sounds of laughter filled the air. It was forecasted to rain today, but thank God it didn't; the weather was perfect, not too cold and not too windy. The scenery was breathtaking! All the trees bloomed with different shades of pink and white Cherry Blossoms, they were so so beautiful! I thoroughly enjoyed all the dogs in the park and OMG THERE WERE SO MANY DOGGIES!!! I LOVEEEE DOGS LIKE I CAN'T EVEN. If you didn't already know, I am a crazy dog fan. I wanted to hug and pet every single dog I saw today, they were all so adorable! I only got to pet two dogs today though :( I think some of the owners were frightened by my pervy looks on their dogs or even my stalker-ness? Idk man, I ain't no bad person, I just love your pups so much *cries*. I miss my puppies back in Malaysia, can't wait to get back to them. Oh btw, I got to pet a Shiba Inu today, or also known as the Hachiko dog! Its fur was so soft and fluffy and he was so adorable omg.

Look at that doggie! Wasn't the one I pet though

Okay, let's leave the dog topic aside coz I can talk about it all day long. We took a stroll around the park and joined the crowd infront of the food stalls and trucks lined along the street. Some of the stuff sold included fries, tacos, popcorn, cotton candy, Mochi, fried chicken wings and so on. There were also a firetruck and an ambulance parked at the side, for kids to experience and take photos. Three adorable horses was in the ranch with kids on their backs, two of them had braided tails. So adorbs! One decided to take a shit halfway though, and dayumm that was some big shit.

Inside the petting zoo were a parrot, some rabbits, guinea pigs, a chimp, a ferret and two sheep! I touched the wool on the sheep's back and it was sooo soft. Poor older sheep was getting terrorised by the kids pushing the cage against him and sticking straw into his wool. I fear Japanese kids man. The performances on stage include Japanese drums, singing, lots of Hawaiian dances and some sort of tribe dance. The kids were so amazing and the coordination was on point! I enjoyed the Hawaiian and tribe dances the most.

We walked around some more and took some photos / Polaroids / Snapchats then I decided to quit school and become a Mochi maker. :p The Mochi store was letting people tryout how to make Mochis by letting them beat the sticky rice dough with the big hammer-like wooden stick. It isn't as easy as it seams because the hammer was already very heavy and you would need a lot of strength to beat the dough; this was when they already switched the hammer to a smaller one for girls. Here's a video of me struggling. The crowd was so nice though!! :) They were shouting words of motivation for me haha.

Sorry there aren't many photos guys. :( My Polaroid ran out, my iPhone camera is currently at war with me and I didn't bring my DSLR! Sigh. If you would like to see more of my everyday adventures here, follow me up on Snapchat @missmaverrr 

This was taken last Friday when I first visited the park

During the Sakura Festival

The street outside the park filled with Sakuras!

Eating @ Makuhari (Part 1)

Last year, Malaysia opened it's first Mitsui Outlet Park at KLIA. It is bigger than JPO and said to be the largest factory outlet shopping mall in Southeast Asia. Not bad huh, Malaysia? I've been there a couple of times and every time I would return empty handed but with a longing for something while my boyfriend returns with stuff from Club 21. Yeah, if you think I love to shop you haven't met Ryan yet. :p

Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA is a Japanese Premium Outlet and originated from the one in Chiba, Japan; which is called Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari. It is a little far from the city and is a large full-scale outlet mall; it's sooo big it puts the outlet malls in Malaysia to shame. I've been here two times; during my previous trip in December and last week when my mom and other sister were here.


How To Get There
Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari is located just opposite of the Kaihin-Makuhari railway station. Once you get out form the South Exit of the station, it is a one-minute walking distance.

Firstly, you take the subway from your respective accommodations to Tokyo Station, where you'll then take the JR Keiyo Line to Kaihin-Makuhari Station. The journey will take about 30 minutes and costs 550 yen (RM19)/one-way. There are other routes to get there but this would be the most generic one.


The outlet store feature many branded goods such as Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Coach, Adidas and etc. Sometimes the deals would be great and sometimes, well, it's just same as the price you would get elsewhere I suppose. It consists of two buildings connected by a bridge; with restaurants included as well.

We had dinner there on both our trips as it is quite far away from my place and usually after a whole day of shopping, it would be preferable to just take a seat and grab a bite to eat somewhere near before travelling back home. So, I'm going to talk about the food I've eaten there! :)


Ikinari Steak
I used to dislike beef coz I've heard people say that red meat gives our body toxins and stuff so I tried to stay away from it. It was also due to the fact that I didn't know the degree of doneness that would suit my taste. After I started dating my dear chef, he recommended that my steak doneness be medium. I've loved steaks ever since! I usually don't like raw or bloody food and also for it to be too hard, so medium was just perfect.

Anyway, my dad brought us there coz he has been there multiple times already and said it's delicious. I've read reviews online as well that said they serve one of the best steaks ever, so why not give it a try. The concept of this restaurant was rather different as the guests had to stand while eating and there were no chairs in sight. Being used to sitting down and relaxing while having a meal, it was a rather unpleasant yet eye-opening experience I would say.

Once we entered the restaurant, the waiter showed us to our table and gave us all a paper bib to tie around our necks to prevent the steak juices from spattering all over our clothes. Then, we proceeded to order our meat cuts, weight and doneness; as well as any side dishes and drinks. Cold water was provided for free.

After that, we were handed a order receipt and had to pass it to the counter. The restaurant adopted the open kitchen concept, with only a glass window in between the customer and the chefs. We could watch and examine our meats sliced in front of our eyes and also cooked.

When the steaks arrived, we were all starving and couldn't wait to sink our teeth into those delicious-looking meat. It was served on a hot plate and it sizzled for awhile and if you decided to add some sauce, it will most likely get onto your clothes; hence the bib.

The steak was magnifique, excellent, any good words you can think of. The knife sunk into the tender flesh like butter, it was succulent and juicy, and just melted in my mouth! The cut had the perfect amount of fats to meat ratio. It was served with garlic chips, corn and onions.

Ikinari Steak did not disappoint and did live up to the hype. Although I didn't quite enjoy the standing up while eating coz I felt like I had to finish it as fast as I can. Don't ask me why, I still have no idea; but there are other branches that provide seats.

If you ever come to Japan, this is a must try! :) I'm getting hungry just writing about this ugh. *drools* I think this post is already long enough so I've separated it to two parts. The next one will be about a Japanese food restaurant.

Just look at that beauty!

To my dearest who is busy working right now, 
yet still finds the time to read my blog, 
thank you for all your support and love. 
Just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking of you 
and how much I miss you. 

Happy 27 Months!

I love you
♥