Ooh its Thursday today! This week has flown by FAST for me.
I got back from roadtrip of Shizuoka the day before and i had a BLAST. Though it was a mere 3 days, it was fabulous and really nice just to get away from work/city etc. ^^ I took so many pictures..i am going to have to write several blog entries [no excuses to not blog now XD]
Anyway today’s entry is going to be about rest stops/truck stops
In Japan we call them SA [Service Areas] or PA [parking areas]
SAs are usually a lot bigger than PAs. In Japan, SA/PA are a big deal. Many sell things limited to just that particular SA/PA or have famous food/restaurants there. There are books sold in Japanese bookshops about them and some ppl actually drive around just to go SA/PA and not any other destination XD!!!
Anyway i know a lot of you take the train so i thought it would be interesting to write about them today so maybe next time you will drive too ^^
This is EBINA SA!
Its one of the bigger ones close to Tokyo ^^ So if you drive out of Tokyo towards places like Atsugi [waves at Lena], Odawara, Hakone, Shizuoka..you are gonna go past it ^^
Note there are TWO Ebina SA! one going towards, one away from Tokyo. the one going away from Tokyo is the better one. The one going towards is not that great XD
There are so many things to eat here!
Let’s go in for a look!
Honey Latte limited to just Ebina SA!
Incredibly busy XD
Lookie who i saw!
This is a MELON PAN [melon bread] store that is extremely famous for Ebina SA.
Here they are selling it!
The queue is SO long! but there are toys they put along the way to distract you…[i did end up buying one]
See..Hello Kitty X Melon bread toys! Limited to Ebina SA!
If you want to go buy this melon pan..remember they only sell them THREE times a day.
Yup i said it. 3 times a day. See times above. It tastes really really good so if u do go..remember to try it out!
Let’s go look outside!
Lots of food outside too!
It was sooo warm so husband and i decided on some KAKIGORI! [shaved ice]
I got the blue hawaiian [what on earth is tat..i got it anyway]
Husband got the strawberry with milk ^^ Damm i should have gotten milk on mine too.
With our tummies full and relatively..way cooler..we continued our drive..but we had to stop at another rest stop..
This isnt really a rest stop i suppose..its more the station for the cable car. We are in Hakone now.
Its a lot smaller than Ebina SA of course….
But there are still tons of thing to buy XD
And before u ask..no i didnt go on the cable car.
Why? Well its also the reason i stopped there in the first place..check out the FOG!
Oh yes that is the ROAD! i couldnt see anything..far too dangerous to drive.
But everyone was still taking photos hahahahahha
Ok thats it for today’s entry. Next post will actually be IN Shizuoka ok XD
I leave you with a pic of me taken at Joren Waterfall in Shizuoka.
Till next time, hope everyone is doing well!!
XOXO Yumeko
p.s my twitter account is finally working! or rather i think it is. anyway i was able to approve followers requests finally! so if u tried to add me before but it didnt work [not my fault T-T!!] try again now! Oh and do leave a comment here saying u did cos if i dont know who u are, i generally assume its a random spammer on twitter and not approve the request ^^
p.p.s sorry no makeup blog entries for quite a while..hope no one is too upset with me! i’ll try to post some at the end of my next post ^^ i notice ppl comment less on these posts..do u guys want me to stop and just post makeup instead?
woahh!!! i spot some chopper at the melon pan pics!! >.<
thanks for sharing such an interesting things form Japan! ^^
can't wait for your coming posts!! hehe
xoxo
tats what i bought! a chopper hahahaha it was limited so i had to buy it! i am a sucker!
No stopping! I love your travel/everyday life posts. Gives me ideas for where I should travel next! Was the melon pan good? I don’t think we actually managed to eat any last year… oops. Too much good food (and not enough space in my stomach XD)
What did your shaved ice taste like? For some reason blue syrup makes me think of raspberry… that’s usually the flavour they mean when things are blue (like in slurpees and such) here! Very odd XD;
Your shirt looks so pretty. Can’t believe that fog though! Glad you made it home safely – driving in fog makes me so nervous!
most ppl dont comment on these posts so maybe i will stop
makeup is easier to post about anyway XD!
that is a yukata not a shirt XD
you should just post makeup like jap ones.
i’ll keep that in mind ^^ thanks for commenting
WOW S.A.s are not that big and great in here! the melon pan sounds yummy! it must smell so good in that shop!
gulp, hubby’s strawberry milk looks good! hahaha 
i like these kinds of posts, makes me aware of your culture and country better.
yes tat shop smells extremely good!! the bread smells so good even though i didnt eat it till tat night ^^
what a fun trip, Yumeko! i enjoy your travel posts just as much since i’m always on the lookout for places to visit in asia. btw – i plan to make a trip to japan in the fall. are there must see places to go in tokyo? do you recommend any other cities? i’ve been to tokyo twice before.
you can check out my guide here ^^ http://bittenbefore.com/tokyolife/shopping-guide/
hope tat helps
other cities? every city is fun to me. i think everyone has their own style so i’d say u should visit them all or whichever ones u can ^^
Everything seems so oishii… And I would love to try some Choppa Melon Pan LOL. I wish we had Kagikoori here too. It’s been really hot outside, it’ll be nice to have some! I remember I used to have a Doraemon Kagikoori machine, I think it’s still in the basement LOL.
u should look for it n make yourself some! tat’d be cool
its kinda like a snow cone right? or at least i think so, i never had a snowcone before
hi yumeko! was trying to add u in twitter but it seems like you have blocked me?
i’d love to visit japan one day but it’s so darn expensive!
will have to save up for quite some time more before i ever get to visit the land of the rising sun… but then again, should i go to korea first or japan? tee hee!
!! i didnt block anyone! well except some spammers or weird accounts asking for sex or something but i didnt block anyone i know and certainly not you
something is wrong with my acct still i guess cos a lot of ppl dropped me recently and when i asked them, it turns out they didnt so i dont know what happened there
i had a backup account but i deleted it cos i thought my main acct works now
maybe i should make another backup account.
korea would be a lot cheaper than japan i think!!
really? that’s a relief! i thought i was some weird people on your list! haha~ i thought the $$ korea was more or less the same as japan? eeep! then maybe i do consider going to korea first! i am dying to see cn blue already
hahahahah why? did u do something i should know? haha jokin
nah korea is really cheap compared to japan ^^ like wayyyy cheap heh so yes u should go korea first ^^
oh dear, i am still being blocked on your twitter… LOL i think ur twitter hates me! haha
yeap, am saving up to go to Korea in 2010 april… fingers crossed!
i looked up my twitter but i am not blocking anyone with ur name
what is ur username on twitter
i’ll submit a ticket with helpdesk and see what will happen ^^
thanks yumeko!!!
twitter name is midnight_plue so am not sure what actually happen though
*hugs*
Those SAs are so cool! I drive a lot in America, but our rest stops are really lame in comparison. Basically, they just have parking, restrooms, and maybe a vending machine or two if you are lucky, haha! I usually skip the rest stops and just go the nearest fast food restaurant whenever I need to take a break from driving, since they’re much cleaner o_O.
Personally, I like reading both types of posts! I’ve never been to Asia, so I really like seeing the awesome stuff from over there!
i remember when i was in usa..i always stopped at TARGET hahaha or CVS hahahahah
glad to hear you had a fun and relazing trip. it’s definitely nice to be away from work busy city. omg i enjoy reading your travelinf posts as mush as makeup. can’t wait to see more babes. waha lots of yummy food and HK hehe. p.s i like your top and hair color:)
If I get the chance to visit Japan, I’m sure we’ll be coming home with gazillion photos! so many cute stuffs!
I love all of your posts so I don’t mind when you don’t post makeup ! Especially if you talk about trips!! Makes me want to travel more/able to see more places people often over look and get a job that allows me to do that XD
Glad to see you had nice trips so far! LOL oh Japan and their miraculous advertising (that made you buy a toy after waiting in line for so long) XD
hahah i will post a pic of the toy for u to see later.
I love your makeup posts but the these travel posts are great! I just had a friend go off to Japan and we are both giant miyazaki fans, after seeing your post on the borrowers exhibit, I told her to go see it!
ooh do let me know what she thought of it!!
The melon pan sounds really delicious! and the Hello Kitty is just too cute
I love your travel and random posts so please don’t stop making them
Please don’t stop the travel posts, I absolutely LOVE them! We don’t have a lot of these things where I live (Canada) so seeing these kinds of posts are so exciting for me
I hope I’ll be able to go to Japan one of these days & visit some family (which I just found out I had a few actually living out there)
i have never been to Canada so i dont know wat its like but yes i do hope u come out this way ^^
Its actually great to see some travel pix of other places …. I did a long trip from California to Oregon to Washington (I think about 1000 miles each way) and our stuff pales in comparison.
We do have something kind of similar called “Travel of America” which have full restrooms, restaurants and a shop w/ gas station, but nothin special.
thank u it is really kind of u! sadly i got some hater comments so i guess not everyone feels the same way T-T but wow 1000 miles each way, tat is AMAZING!
do u think so? i find USA so fascinating! i enjoyed my two years there ^^
This was a thoroughly enjoyable post. Thank you for sharing some sights of Japan. I didn’t realize the SA can be that big. The melon pan sounds so delicious. Hello Kitty is so cute! Please don’t stop posting these kinds of posts.
*Kat*
thank you! sadly it seems some ppl dont share this view [i got some hater comments] but thank u! it means alot to me tat u are reading too!! <3
That’s sad that you got some hater comments. You have stated that you blog about things that you love, so obviously you’re not going to post only about makeup. It’s good to be able to be educated in this fun way.
I so enjoy your travel posts, please don’t stop posting them. And you’re right, travelers like us mostly take the train, so we’re not able to go to the SA/PA that you post about, so thanks for sharing!
I think your travel posts are really interesting.
The toys look so cute.
The melon bread sounds tasty!
do u like melons to start with
i dont really like the green ones so sometimes i dont really like melon bread haha
i love your travel posts! like this one.. i never would have thought that an SA could be this big lol
you could easily go on a shopping spree when youre tired of driving.. how convenient haha
hahahah buying melon bread and food? heehee
You probably heard me squeal from Japan- I’ve been to that place in Hakone and it was so foggy that day too! I remember it ’cause of the yummy curry rice puffs and seafood flavoured peanuts I bought- so good!
awww we were in the same place but different time
totally cool!
Ah everything looks like so much fun!! That blue hawiann shaved ice looks sooo yummy!! =)
looks like so much fun, i love travelling to far and distant places.
Screw wat the haters say. Dun like then dun read haha
can’t wait for our road trip!
nono i’m very happy with this post!! LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!! <3 you can do more of them as i love to see how is japan/ or other countries is like! XD just ignore the haters!!
Woooww your service area are so much nicer than ours here in america. Lol our service area is basically a pit stop for you to strech your legs, eat some bad fast food, and then leave. Makes me want to visit the SAs if I ever go esp for the melon pan!.
PS I try adding you on twitter; handle same as the name above.
ah but u have some other fab places to stop. i remember in my 2 years in usa…if i went for a road trip i stop at all the walmarts, targets, CVS, walgreen
u get the picture haha
got ur twitter request! approved ^^
Don’t stop posts like these! It’s really got to have a mixture, it is interesting!
The Melon Pan looks so good, if only I knew about it last month when I was there. And the last picture, you are wearing a yukata right? Lovely colors!
yes i am wearing a yukata! its perfect to wear in summer ^^
Whoa! Melon pan Chopper is really cute ><;! I want to fly to there~~~
do u watch one piece? i used to but then i stopped
i think when i was watching Chopper wasnt even in it yet [ooops]
It’s alright if it’s not a makeup post! All of your posts are awesome! lol The waterfall at the end looks sooo nice!
Nice trip
I like these posts -better- than your makeup ones
The haters want just makeup, they need to just buy a magazine.
hahaahah i love u Connie..u know that right? <3 hugs. hope u are well sweets
mmm that melon pan looks good!! I love reading your travel blogs just as much as your makeup ones keep it up!!
oooh honey latte sounds sooo good right now. I bought a melon pan at Sogo the other day, it was delicious.
i love travel posts!! variety doesnt hurt anyone!!
I love SAs!! They’re esp the best in Japan.. Melonpan looks so yummy… I never got to try it cos of the long lines!!
Those SAs are such good ideas though.. I always buy something from every SA I stop at, its the exclusivity of it all ><
I miss Hakone and Izu, its so beautiful there!!
I love this kind of posts … feels like I’m also traveling with you…
Hey Yumeko!
I just sent you a twitter request under Thedabara85-
thanks! i approved it! sorry i took so long!
Yay I love the traveling posts! They let me look at all the cool places I want to go eventually ^_^
It’s so amazing for a SA.
I love all your posts, be it food or makeup or travel or whatever! Please write about whatever you feel like writing ^^
hahahaha a from behind picture! XD well, it’s better than nothing, right? =)
No, don’t stop! I like seeing stuffs only those can who live in Japan!^^
haha i find new and creative ways to not show my face XD
No! I love these posts more than makeup posts. AHAHA.
Melon pan! Guess where I learn about them? From this Japanese Drama called Over Time! There was a scene where Natsuki wanted to whine about her day and bought some buns and pastries for her housemates, and one of the bun is Melon Pan!! Sorry, if this is so random. But I loveee Over Time! I got their vcd set, poster, OST and the novel(in chinese).
SA looks so fun! Something only Japan has it.
i am no makeup expert so i dont know why ppl think i should do more makeup posts hahahah
i havent watched OVER TIME but i guess i should huh?
WOW that looks so awesome… i wanted to visit Japan one day soon!
btw, nice blog, really cool stuff
thanks for reading sweetie!
sorry spelling error.. “i WANT to visit Japan one day soon” (i’m such a perfectionists *hehehe)
OH man i’ve been avoiding your blog ever since I got back from Japan… I miss Japan so much, one day I WILL live there, in fact it’s more likely now that i’ve been rejected by medical schools hahaha… (T_T). This means I won’t be spending the next tens years in university though, instead i’ll only have two more years for my masters degree and then I can finally make plans to live there for a year. Yay!
But yeah still… my heart is breaking a little from looking at melon pan. I miss Anderson’s so much, they had this ‘milk france’ thing while I was there and it was incredible, and I can’t find a suitable substitute here at all and i’m having withdrawals! This SA thing sounds great, I mean I was excited enough to find shops in train stations which is just sad… but they’re seriously lacking here in Brisbane. I’m always like ‘this is a big underground bus station… you can put shops here!’ but no…
Anyway hope you’re not dying in the heat over there… it was and still sounds super hot there!
aww i hope u move here too! hey move to tokyo so u can teach me all your wicked clay skills!!!!
i dont eat melon pan normally so u are making me feel guilty with your post!
its extremely hot here indeed. luckily work’s AC is nice and strong. And so is the AC in the car XD
wow that ebina SA look amahzing! The food, the amostphere…i totally want to go now!
Can you take the train there from tokyo?
as I know you said you drove there!
sadly you cant as the SA and PA are on the expressway and not anywhere near a train station
also to enter the expressway [ie if u wanted to take a taxi] you have to pay the expressway toll and you probably wont be able to get a taxi from the SA/PA back out cos taxis dont stop/wait there
but i think if u join a bus tour to say…mt fuji or something., they will stop there!
what a fab place!! i want to go have good eats
i loveee melon pan!
I love your travel posts. It’s interesting to see what is happening around Japan or other asian continents. Please don’t stop writing these posts! XD
Ah, I remember going to one of those places when I went to Japan when I was younger! It was pretty awesome. Unlike here where we can only stop as like gas stations to go to the bathroom or something LOL. Ours seem more dirty x_x hated going to those rest stops : P.
The shaved ice looks so pretty and yummy : o
oh yah some reststops are so dirty! like some i been to in australia and i was like 0_0