Tokyo Rush

Whew! Three years had gone by since my last post. 

I've always loved jotting down my thoughts, my experiences, my new experiences. But life has taken over that I didn't have time to actually sit down and organize anything. 

One of the things I love to do is travel. It is a shared love with my husband and five year old daughter. We started traveling abroad with her on her fourth birthday. And she has caught on the travel bug. Since then she's gone to Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. 

Third time's the charm. On her fifth birthday, we went to Tokyo for her to appreciate our love for this beautiful country. It's our third time in Japan so we were pretty much confident that we can navigate its complex train network easily. 

We went in November, the tail end of fall season. It was practically raining everyday we were there. So there were days we stayed indoor (malls, mostly) because it's hard to walk around pushing a stroller and getting on-and-off subway stations that do not have elevators. Yes, most subway stations do not have an elevator especially the older lines. 

I am your DIY traveler. I like the challenge of researching and putting together an itinerary with the end in mind: enjoy the city for its culture, food and experiences. But I am not the kind that wants to put everything touristy in one trip. In theory, it can be done. But you will be there to take a photo and then off to your next destination. To me, it's not enough. 

I like to explore and people-watch. That is why I spend on a minimum half-a-day in one destination. In some instances, museum visits are a one day affair. 

Fellow members of DIY Travel on Facebook asked for a sample itinerary.  So I thought about the best way to make it available. 

Tokyo Itinerary

Sharing some photos from this trip. 

Our boutique hotel. Shinjuku Knot Tokyo Hotel

Places of intertest include Mt Fuji, Starbucks Roastery, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Ginza for shopping, Shibuya for the scramble, Hachiko, Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo Tower, TeamLab. Tokyo Disneyland. We didn't go to Disney Sea, might include in our next trip. 

Pro Tip: 

Japan is a beautiful place to travel but it is one of the most expensive cities in the world. So might as well prepare. 

In my experience, it is better to prepare at least a year before the date of travel. Here is the order of my preparation. 

1. Buy ticket (it can be expensive so might as well get it out of the way. In this trip, fare was PHP15K per person). 
2. Start researching your itinerary. See mine below for reference.  If it's your first time the things you can do in Japan is overwhelming. 
3. Research your hotel, hostel, airbnb. On this trip, we stayed at Shinjuku. 
4. Apply for your visa. Gather all your documents. And submit to an accredited agency. In the Philippines, there are only three. And my favorite is Discovery Tour (Salcedo Village, Makati) cos it takes only about 3 days for your visa to be released. And it is the cheapest at PHP850 only. Note: You need to ask for a different form if you want to apply for a multiple-entry visa. 
5. Research how will you travel to your hotel from the airport. There are several options: bus limousine (this is like P2P), airport express train, taxi, and Uber. We took Uber because we arrived midnight. Fare: PHP5K. Bus Limo could be about PHP1k/pax. 
6. Buy your train pass. I like using Pasmo as it gets anywhere and in all train lines unlike the JR Pass. Also, you can use it to pay for taxi, food, even your coffee. 
7. Install Maps or Google Map on your phone. Navigation can be a pain but with a digital map, it'd be easier. 
8. Withdraw money at any ATM terminals. I discovered that I don't lose as much money in the forex when I go straight exchange. Service fee is only 3% or PHP150 per transaction. 

And this I hope is the beginning of my reviving my blog. So many trips I have to share yet. 

Thanks for dropping by. Do let me know in the comments if you want to see more travel itineraries you can reference to, some tips and other things that might be interesting especially for a first-time traveler to a particular country. 

Hiatus

I have been away for a whole nine months! Whew! By now, I should have given birth to a baby. :) 

In a way, I did -- I have re-discovered my love for growing things. I am now a quasi serious container gardener, propagating succulents, growing tomatoes. And even started becoming an entrepreneur. 

Green pepper grown from discarded seeds from my kitchen. 

Can you believe I actually had lemonade from freshly picked fruits right out of my garden?

I had so many things I wanted to write about. Memories and experiences that made my motherhood journey enriching. My darling little rascal Kate is more than a handful. She's now in a stage when anything that fascinates her merit the level of excitement only a child would have. She reminds me to retain that childlike wonder so often gets buried in our jaded adult life. 

She loves airplanes flying over our roof. She'd be giddy with excitement waving at them from our tiny balcony. She loves to "swim" so every weekend we trek to the village pool and she would wade and do jumps with me.

Kate at 22 months! Trying to assert her independence and scaring the wits out of me. 

I also live by those teaching moments when she would remember to say her magic words -- please, thank yous, and sorry. Sometimes it's very tempting to just brush off the offense. She was too cute, anyway. But I hold my ground, most often than not. I make her realize that what she did is wrong. Many times, I get rewarded with a fierce hug and an quite "sorry, mommy."

And work life that I juggled (and continue to juggle) while not missing out on the milestones of my kid. In the months that have passed however, living the experiences took center stage. I enjoyed the sleepless nights, the early mornings, frantic work deliverables and the little everyday nothings that filled my day. 

Every now and then, though, I would think about going back to this personal space. By nature, I love to share. And perhaps, anyone who would happen to drop by will pick-up something even if it's just a hint of a smile on the things that make to the pages of this journal. 

I went through a long hiatus. Makes me nostalgic and dreamy. And hopeful of the many wonderful things I claim to unfold. 

I promised myself to share more. Sit down more. Write more. 

Xx