私は日本が大好き(Part 3 & 4)

Hello snow! Today will be an exciting start off as we depart to Mount Fuji! One of the favourite attractions in the world! And for me, a strike off that bucket list finally. Mount Fuji, also known as富士山 Fujisan is located on Honshu Island and is one of the highest mountains in Japan at 3,776.24m.

Still, because of the snow and wet floor, we conquered the 1^st Station of Mount Fuji only. It would be dangerous and slippery to travel up to Mount Fuji during snowy weather, the best  month to climb Mount Fuji will be July and August. During these two months the mountain is usually free of snow and the weather is relatively mild. Experiencing the snow and going up to Mount Fuji seems unbelievable still, till now.

The perfect cool weather allows Mount Fuji to stand out and was visible from every corner nearby, especially at Gotemba Premium Outlet Shopping. Gotemba Premium Outlet Shopping carries big labels and one of the flagship center, situated within view of World Cultural Heritage site, Mount Fuji. I bought Helio Pole green boots and GAP navy green jacket! They were in such a great deal and couldn’t resist buying them within minutes of trying. Heh! Indeed, a shopping haven.

Lunch time! We went to Oshino Hakkai also known as 忍野八海, a small village in the Fuji Five Lake region. They sell food like Mount Fuji tofu and crab roll, super interesting and yummy! We also had a simple udon set for lunch, slurping up a piping hot bowl of soup is one of the best thing ever in such a cold weather! Yummy tummies!

Followed on, we took a bus to Nagoya for BBQ dinner (didn’t have photos as we were too famished)! We visited Nagoya TV Tower and Oasis 21, it seems like Nagoya’s very own “Tokyo Tower”.  That’s about for Day 3, a short yet fulfilling day! (Image credits: Google)

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Morning Kyoto! We arrived in Kyoto town after a 2 hours bus journey and our 1^st station of the day will be Kiyomizu Temple, also known as Kiyomizudera or 清水 (literally “Pure Water Temple”) is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. Certain parts of the temple were under construction during our visit there, but not overwhelming impact. Later in the decade, the main hall will also undergo renovation which can be expected to have a bigger impact on a visit.

We also got some Japanese good luck charms, omamori also known as お守り. There are a wide variety of omamori for the young to the old. Blessings to be with people who carries them around. We also saw many Japanese girls dressed up in their kimonos and going to the temple. So cute! Thereafter, we went around shopping near the streets of Kiyomizu Temple and tried out their specialties Matcha cream puff! So good!

Lunch time! Traveling is all about eating and more eating! Today we are served with Tempura feast! Both rice and noodles were served, with a plate of ebi, chicken and fish tempura.

Proceeding to take on Japan JR Shinkansen Bullet Train to Osaka, traveling at the maximum speeds of 240–320 km/h. Both daddy and I was Vicks fanatic and was applying it while on the train ride! Hahaha! Mentholatum is best!

We reached our destination within 15 minutes! The weather in Osaka was fantastic! It was at about 16 degree Celsius, grab-a-jacket-and-go kind of weather! I like! 🙂 It was easier for us without the thick jackets and long john, wearing them for days sometimes feels like a chore! We alighted at our first station at Osaka Castle Park also know as 大阪城公園, it is a public urban park with many locals doing their usual workout routine. Love the weather and people around. Moreover, in Spring this will be one of the best place to view cherry blossom and plum blossom! Look at the bald trees here, within a month they will bloom into blossoms!

TAKOPACHI! Just queue and eat only! I really like their pull out store from the mini van. So cute! Japanese are always the best at innovation!
Yay! It’s shopping time! We went to Shinsaibashi, the main shopping area of Osaka. Shinsaibashi is famous for its covered shopping street. We went insane with the amount of cosmetics, collagen powder, supplements and creams available in stores! Those Japanese girls are so well-groomed and health conscious. Crossing to Dotonbori, a popular tourist destination, it is famous for its giant crab and other restaurants. We combed Daiso, with so many “special” products” not available in Singapore retailing at $1.20 only! Buy buy buy!

それは食べる時間です! After the crazy shopping along the streets, we came by dinner with our long await Shabu-Shabu dinner and Kobe Beef.

What’s so special about Kobe Beef?

Kobe beef is considered by many to be the best form of beef available in the world, although it is prohibitively expensive and importation from Japan is virtually impossible. Therefore, you will never get to taste Kobe Beef in any part of the world expect in Japan! Gourmet chefs prize Kobe beef for its tenderness, flavor and amount of intramuscular fat, called marbling. Heavy marbling gives steak its satisfying mouth-feel.

I am absolutely in love! It was an expensive add-on for Kobe beef to be served on our dinner plates, but it was worth it. Each slice of this Kobe cost us $125, here’s 2 and that’s $250. The meat is so tender and it practically melt in your mouth. Awww…Delicious! Grilling it brings the best out of Kobe beef, as we can taste the meat directly instead of heavy cooking or ingredients-adding.

That’s about it for Day 3 and 4! To the next! ♡

 

私は日本が大好き(Part 2)

Day 2

Rise and shine Tokyo! After a well rested night the day before we are all ready to explore town! ♡

Temperature checked; 4 degree Celsius .

The first station was Tokyo Skytree also known as 東京スカイツリー Tōkyō Sukaitsurī. It is a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo and became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010 as it reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower. It was a touch and go view from opposite side of the road, therefore not much time was wasted here.

Source of information: Wikipedia

Followed by Sensoji, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple. It has a history of more than 1300 years. Asakusa Kannon Temple is a Buddhist temple and it is one of Tokyo’s most colorful and popular temple. You will see Asakusa Kannon Temple in most TV shows with that famous large Japanese lantern, remember?!

Burning the joss sticks with this flame-less burner, which was so convenient and mess free!  Let me first #take-a-selfie!

At the same time, visiting Nakamise Shopping Street with a variety of traditional, local snacks and souvenirs just right in-front of Asakusa Temple. A shopping street of over 200 meters, sold typical Japanese souvenirs such as yukata and folding fans, various traditional local snacks! The crowd there was huge, but still feeling pretty awesome as along the way we are in awe with all the souvenirs packaging, tourists sighting and embracing the cool weather, 

Here’s one Asakusa ice cream biscuit!

Next, we all headed to Odaiba Park also known as お台場, a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, across the Rainbow Bridge. Around here, was landmarks and amusement parks such as the Statue of Liberty, Hachitama Observation Deck and Daikanransha Ferris Wheel. Sighting around Tokyo was one of the best travel pleasures, not just plain shopping and entertaining, but to understand history and enjoy the country’s beauty.

Love this photo very much of Daddy and Mummy, natural smiles from them and true enjoyment. Feeling famished! We went to the famous ramen store around Ginza and tried their pork broth ramen. This stall was recommended by our tour guide, and was told that it was one of the nicest around town. The long queue form outside the stall very quickly during lunch time also due to the small holding area which contained about 35 – 45 diners each round. 
Do you know? Japanese kids are the hippest! They are well-dressed with the latest fashion and able to carry themselves so well. Japanese do take their appearance seriously and make every effort to dress up and look good. Even if it meant to be ‘just downstairs’ outfit. I really admire that. Next, shopping around The Ginza, also known as 銀座. The Ginza was crowned one of Tokyo’s most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, night clubs and cafes. It is not just a few shops or malls around, but brands go as big as owning 1 whole building! Take Uniqlo for example, Japan most basic casual brand was stacked at a whopping 12 level building. What? It was so huge, shopping there alone takes up 1 hour or more!!

Next stop, Mount Fuji also known as 富士山, Fujisan, with 3776 meters. It is Japan’s highest mountain. Note however. that clouds and poor visibility often block the view of Mount Fuji, and the visibility tends to be better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer, and in the early morning than during the middle of the day. We count ourselves really lucky as we had a full view of Mount Fuji during the evening drive. In awe.Lastly, tonight we will have sashimi dinner! Love the freshness of the seafood sashimi boat. The sashimi was juicy and sweet, we had Japanese style buffet as well. Filled tummies, we are all ready for the onsen later on! It was one of my first experience to have onsen outdoor, with such a freezing temperature of 3 degrees Celsius and below.

Onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral content. A particular onsen may feature several different baths, each with water with a different mineral composition. The outdoor bath tubs are most often made from Japanese cypress, marble or granite, while indoor tubs may be made with tile, acrylic glass or stainless steel.

Before entering the hot water, all guests are expected to wash their bodies and rinse themselves thoroughly. Provided with a small towel only, all of us have to be naked. Firstly for hygiene purposes and secondly, to fully enjoy the onsen without the hindrance of cotton clothing. Definitely, no photography nor phones were allowed in the onsen area for respect and privacy purposes. What a fruitful day 2! The advantages of being on a tour brought us to many places which we may not cover during our free and easy tour, as transport will be a major hiccup and more expenses may be incurred especially traveling on high-expenses city like Tokyo. Cab fares are exorbitant and tours are definitely cheaper and wallet-friendly, taking in consideration that those monies could be spent on other areas like food and entertainment instead. Imagine, renting a car or bullet train to travel from Tokyo to Mount Fuji to Nagoya then to Osaka? At least $300 per pax one way.

Drink green tea and goodnight Mount Fuji! ♡

私は日本が大好き(Part 1)

I LOVE JAPAN! 

This is my first time visiting Japan and I am so excited to share my 9 days experience and fun here! Japan is definitely a place that I will revisit within the next few years. I really enjoy and love their culture; it will be a shopping heaven for all ladies as we go on crazy with Japanese cosmetics and skin care products. Be sure to bring enough monies. Buy and buy only!

We went on a guided tour for 7 days and opted in for an extension of 4 days within Tokyo. We went for 11 days, spending 2 nights on flights through and fro. We had the best of both worlds choosing this, as we saved on our transportation during the guided tour and explored the “Must see” “Must do” “Must go” places. On the other hand, we got enough free time to explore Tokyo, which was a hidden gem. I enjoyed this family trip very much, as it was such a rare opportunity that all of us take time together and travel as a family.

Day 1

Took a midnight flight to Narita International Airport (Tokyo) and our first destination will be Tokyo Disneyland!

It was burping cold as Tokyo Disneyland is located along Tokyo sea bay. The wind was strong and temperature went as low as 2 degrees. Still, we are all hyped up despite the lack of sleep the day before, planes are the worst place to catch a wink. Got the tickets and here we go!

Super cute Mickey burgers for the first meal of the day!

We had ultimate fun in Disneyland, even though half way through with the short downpour that dampens the Disney Walkway Parade. Visitors need to wait and standby within the walk way proximity to catch all Disney characters singing and dancing. This parade lasted about 25 minutes and offers you the best opportunity to be close up with the characters! Camera action!

Greeted by a lovely sunset while exiting Disneyland, feeling grateful =*) Click here for more information on getting to Tokyo Disneyland and ticket prices.

Proceeding from our dinner, we had free and easy night time. We explored the supermarket along Shingawa Station and found so much goodies there!

We have heard enough of Japanese fruits and interesting creative products. Where else have better packaging than in Japan? Bought strawberries, fuji apples, oranges and some snacks! We thought that the melon was a hard-to-consume fruit at that point of time, so we gave it a miss. Boo! =(

Heard so much about Japanese Pachinko Parlour and had always wanted to visit them! Too much Jackie Chan’s movies. Pachinko is Japan’s most popular leisure activity, the parlors are basically slot machine gambling venues, and are usually located in prime retail areas next to train stations. Like slot machines, players shoot small metal Pachinko balls upward, like pinball. The aim of the game is to send the balls upward to bounce off various pins and drop into scoring holes. Personally, I do not know how to play Pachinko and randomly lost about 100 yen after trying a few times!

What’s Tokyo without visiting Tokyo Tower! Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower located in the Shiba-koen district of Minato. At 333 metres (1,093 ft), it is the second-tallest structure in Japan! We took set off from Shingawa Station, via Keikyu Main Line, Asakusa Line to Daimon Station.

Magnificent view of the Tokyo Tower to end Day 1, goodnight Tokyo!