Tokyo Study Trip Episode 6:
Day 6 - Monday 31 July 2017.
Hohoho~The moment is here! It’s my first day of school and I’m so nervous yet excited at the same time! I have been alone in Tokyo for a few days already and am starting to crave for some social interaction.
I left home especially early today because I wanted to have time for proper breakfast. The train was crowded but manageable. I decided to have my breakfast at a nostalgic-looking cafe called Kohikan located in front of my school. This cafe was established in 1970 (older than me) and looks very retro with old fashioned furnishing. (see video below). Their specialities are charcoal roasted coffee and traditional hotcakes cooked on copper plate stove.
I catered an hour for breakfast but overlooked that this kind of breakfast will take a longer time to prepare and I have to report to school 15 minutes earlier for briefing! Omg! In the end, I only had 15 minutes to gobble down the very delicious hotcakes 😋😋😋 and I was late for the briefing. 😅
After the briefing, we were asked to go to our respective classes in the next building. Class size was 8 students and I was surprised by the diversified group!
Excluding me, the other 7 classmates were: 1) Singaporean guy (CS-san)- I was initially a bit disappointed to have another Singaporean in my class but we eventually hang out quite often together🤣; 2) Chinese lady (Grace-san) - my “housewife friend” whom I still stayed in touch and will catch up with whenever I’m in Tokyo 😍; 3) French man (Rudolf-san)- who is also Grace-san’s husband! Both of them relocated to Tokyo due to Rudolf-san’s job and are staying as expatriates in Tokyo; 4) Italian-Chinese girl (Sofia-san) - a cute young girl whom I hanged out with almost everyday during this trip and had so much fun together 😍; 5) UK guy (Ben-san)- a good-looking undergraduate who was also on summer holiday; 6)Australian girl (Jane-san) - a very bright student on a 2- year university exchange programme in Tokyo; 7) Spanish guy (Roman-san) - a very young shy chap who was sent to Tokyo by his parents during the summer holiday to pick up some Japanese skills.
At the end of class, the hospitable CS-san decided to bring Ben-san and Sofia-san to Harajuku. I still haven’t warmed up to my new friends and was too shy to join them. Also, I had plans to check out the Muji flagship mega store in Yurakucho.
Lunch was matcha- themed Starbucks food at OIOI Yurakucho, and I of course did some shopping! 🤪The Muji flagship mega store was amazing and had so much more stuff than the one in Singapore, including a designing studio, electrical appliances department, fruit/vegetable market and Muji infant/kids department. However, this Store has closed in December 2018 and reopened in Ginza as the World Flagship Store/building which incorporates the Muji Hotel. I have yet to visit that though.
Dinner was food from Lawson’s - my favourite combination of Lawson’s fried chicken with 2 Onigiri. Simple yet so yummy. Overall, an enjoyable first day of school!
Lunch at Starbucks in OIOI Yurakucho. Matcha scones, matcha chiffon cake and coffee.
A different kind of retro breakfast cafe in Iidabashi.
Very delicious hotcakes straight from the copper plated stove.
My school pack: handphond pouch, a Hello Kitty notebook, pencil case from Daiso and water bottle.
Muji Flagship 3-storey Store in Yurakucho which has since closed down. I’m glad I at least had the chance to visit it!
Dinner: Lawson’s fried chicken (best among all convenience stores), my two favourite onigiri. 😋😋😋
Kohikan Cafe:
Feel free to check out previous posts on this study trip!
- Day 1 and 2, settling down in new apartment
- Day 3, a walkthrough of the Japanese apartment that I will be staying for a month
- Day 4, Venturing into Akihabara to solve a IT problem
- Day 5, enjoying the last day before school starts
See the post on facebook https://www.facebook.com/jrvacationsg/posts/1158327827841046