Lunch at Puroland

Ok, you guys know that I would go to Japan and not go to the Mothership.

And by that, I mean Puroland, which is where Hello Kitty is!

You walk in, and you're welcomed with color, Hello Kitty, castle, Hello Kitty, flowers, Hello Kitty, picture spots, Hello Kitty, ice cream, Hello Kitty.... yeah, you get it.

You get to visit her traditional tea house...

See her artwork...

See her Kubuki shows, parade, or musical.

Of course, I must have lunch there!!! DUH!

First off, this is Japanese curry rice.  Yes, I removed the bow, picture before I dig in.  They do brand HK's face everywhere though, on fishcake, sausage.  The curry definitely has less flavorful than my liking but the portion is just right. 

For dessert, I got the My Melody/Kuromi mochi.  One is red bean inside, one is vanilla, you get the marshmallow and candy strawberry.  

I'm not going to lie it's cute and all, but the mochi were a little too chewy, which means they are not fresh.  And overall, it's alot of sugar, despite each of them individually not super sweet but that candy strawberry totally put me over. 

I got the melon soda, which seems to be very popular here.  It's ok, not too sweet, but not something I'd go back to, either.  The whole meal is about $11USD, it's somewhat consider expensive given we have gotten more food for the buck elsewhere. 

Even the napkins are Kitty-fied!

This is the food court, you are either team Curry or team Ramen. 

You also get to sit according to your mood.  And it was designed so that you can relax and enjoy your food.

All together, there are about 3 'real food' area.  But the buffet has been known to not worth the price, and the fancier restaurant operate in limited hours.  So if you're eating kinda late, the main one is the food court.  The Cinnaroll Dream Cafe is super popular, and it's mainly dessert served there.  There's also dippin' dot ice cream stand and don't forget in the vending machine area, they have Hello Kitty popping your popcorn too!

Puroland is about an hour or so outside of Tokyo by train.  And locals love coming to the theme park.  You can do a fast pass for the rides and it cost around $5-10 USD per ride.  Given that I only have a short amount of time here, paying for the extra was totally worth it because some of the rides have 80 mins wait.  Another thing that is big here is that they have characters meet, and those you can also buy a fast pass for, but you can definitely spend alot of money on that.  My advice, bring lots of loose change, there's alot of cute machines and game play that it's easier if you have coins.  Most worth it ride, it's their version of the small world boat ride, where you see the whole story and the details are pretty amazing. 

For tickets, you can buy them at the app, Klook, or at Lawson convenient store, you can get a priority pass, which let you in an hour earlier, but you have to book in advance on that one.  Definitely shorter line if you can do that.   They also have discount tickets after 2pm for entry. 

Another thing to note, the train station to come here to Puroland, is also ALL decorated in Hello Kitty and friends.  There's 2 lines of trains that feeds into Tama Station.  The Keiko Line has a stain glass ceiling and even their station police has a Hello Kitty in Station uniform.  The JR line has HK decorated walls and signs everywhere too..... it's fun to spot around while you wait for your train to arrive. 

Sanrio Puroland

1-31 Ochiai, Tama City, Tokyo

https://www.puroland.jp/

 

Cafe Dior

Now onto fancy cafe!

Ginza has the most expensive real estate in the world.

Naturally the brand names of the world flocked here.  Don't forget to bring your passport to get tax free on your purchase. 

Pretty art at the waiting area. 

This is more French...

Welcome to Cafe Dior

This menu is collaborating with three Michelin starred chef, Annie-Sophie Pic. 

Specially die-cut napkin ring.

The chairs, the china, down to the forks, knives, salt, pepper, all are from Dior's design. 

You can definitely see ladies who lunch after a morning of shopping.

Or gather your friends and brunch.

The water glass and light are pretty.

Ahh, here's my coffee.

For certain kinds of coffee, you can select to have design over it.  I chose a bee for today. 

I got Le Gateau Haute Couture.  It's like a little mushroom house.

The details just impeccable.  Never have I seen the details done on a chocolate that's going to be demolished in seconds. 

What's actually inside is Tahiti and Madagascar Vanilla with Yuzu Infused Batak Berry Cake.  Batak berry is from Indonesia, and have been known to be called lemon pepper by the local.  So paired with yuzu which is a citrus is a great match.

Light, not too sweet, not too overwhelming in flavors.  Went well with my coffee.

Ahh, it was a great morning break.  Honestly, I should've skipped breakfast that morning and have it there, but since they weren't open until 10am, I was ready to get the day started. 

Of course, if you know you're going to Japan and want to try here, you need to book as soon as you know what dates you are free.  I will say, however, Louis Vuitton's Cafe is more well known, which is down the street and they only release reservations the 1st of each month for the month; they get booked up quickly.  Here, however, even though I have my reservation at the open at 10am.  There were not many people walking by.  Another family was able to walk up and sit down to enjoy breakfast.  

My Japanese is poor, but my French sight read is decent, so I was able to communicate what I wanted.  So the staff might not be fluent in other languages like the sales teams are, you can definitely get by.  

The floor where the cafe is located sells home goods.  Then, you have a floor for gowns, mens, pret-a-porter, and ground floor is perfume, purses, shoes and such.  They know you're not local, and will ask for your passport.  They will take care of the tax right as you pay, super convenient. And it is true, for high end purchases, the clerk does walk you all the way to the door, hand you your bag and thank you for your patronage.  So don't get weird if they're not handing you your bag after you pay; it's their custom. 

Cafe Dior

104-0061

Tōkyō-To

Chuo-Ku

Ginza 6-10-1, Ginza six 4F

https://www.dior.com/fashion/stores/en_lt/japan/tokyo/ginza-6-10-1-898954

 

Starbucks Reserve - Tokyo

Going to give you a heads up, this is going to be a photo heavy day!

Super excited for another thing on my list, going to Starbucks Reserve.  

Now, a reasonable person would say, it's just a Starbucks, what's the big deal. 

Just that they have a roastery in-house and there's only 6 in the world.

Here's where they roast the coffee, and the thing is, you don't get the smell of the roastery here.  

And they do sell special roast that is special to this location. 

First floor has merch and of course coffee.  Just follow the sign!

But wait! There's more!  They have their own bakery in-house too.  

So besides the pastries, which they have more than we do in the States.  Their bread for sandwiches and pizza are also done in house. 

If you go up to the elevator, you can see their list of coffee past/present that they sold.

The drum is decorated with sakura, very pretty in person, like it's floating down.

Second floor is for tea, and in case you don't know, here's a giant Teavana name out there.

Cool thing about this tea shop, you can buy the loose leave by weight.

In case you don't know what you like, don't worry, you can shop the bar.  Then tell the clerk which one you want and they will grab it for you.

You can smell it and see what you'd like.

Here's the bar for tea enjoyment.

But there's another floor to go....

But first, art work with ceramic mugs

You'd come up to the Tokyo sign.  By the way, this changes seasonally.

Top bar, is literally a bar.  They offer drinks, food, and desserts.  Some cocktails with alcohol, which is what they're known for.  Don't worry, they do have mocktails, cold brew. Basically mixed drinks using all the ingredients they have in-house. 

Decided to grab dinner here, and look! They gave out cute, seasonal coaster that can be kept as a souvenir. 

I got the mushroom and ham pizza.  It is actually more flatbread-like, but it's pretty good.

Got the seasonal blackberry tea.

And a slice of sakura cake.  It's very much like the yellow cake, with light layer of chocolate on top, with a hint of floral.  So, no, not like eating flowers. 

At the top floor, they have a reserve seating bar, you need to book ahead of time, especially if it's cherry blossom time.  On the other side, there are some outdoor seating that you can enjoy the view.  It does have a good view, which is why you need to have a booking. 

In terms of roastery goes, it is very impressive.  From Shibuya station, you can take a local bus for 4 stops and it'll drop you off literally around the corner from the shop.  It was surprising to see police and store clerks everywhere.  When the weather is nice, there can definitely be heavy foot traffic.  I went around 6-7pm, I just walked straight in.  Yes, I did have reservations for the good seating.

Some things doesn't change, and that is: folks takes up tables here to study, do group projects here like they do back home.  But the staff here were super friendly and polite.  A, they know I cannot speak Japanese and immediately switch to English.  B, they saw I had just gotten done shopping at their merch area, and offer to find me a table so I can leave my stuff there to order.  C, Japanese are very orderly, no one will steal your stuff if you leave it there - so don't go ruining that. 

I want to note, there are alot of Starbucks Reserve all around, but roastery, there's only 6.  Each one has unique building designs, which is also a neat thing to see. 

Starbucks Reserve Roastery

2-19-23 Aobadai Meguroku Tokyo

https://www.starbucks.co.jp/reserve/roastery/