16 Countries from Canada to Cambodia, Japan to USA, Scandinavia to Indonesia, Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Thailand, (and God-willing many more 'lands'!). Cities include: Bali, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Hokkaido, Kyoto, Osaka, Penang, Queensland, , Reykjavik, Siem Reap, Tokyo. Activities include: Ski lessons in Hokkaido, Self-Drive Iceland, Self-Drive Hokkaido, Farm stays in Taiwan, Northern-lights and Santa Claus Park in Finland. Theme Parks include: Disneyland (Anaheim); Tokyo … [Read more...]
DIY Japan – Hakone Part 3: Romance in Hakone (Lake Ashi, Mount Komagatake, Gora Park, Ancient Cedar Path and Hakone Open Air Museum)
I’ve been deliberating on this last post of Hakone for a while. We’ve shared about our first Onsen experience, our encounter with the Little Prince and introduced you to the beautiful flora at Hakone Botanical Gardens of Wetlands. Now reluctantly, it's time for our final post on Hakone...a place we've fallen so in love with and I can't really describe why.Well, like most love encounters do…it started with some flirting…with the Grand Lady herself, Mt. Fuji. Like a shy … [Read more...]
DIY Japan – Hakone Part 2: Enchanting Botanical Garden of Wetlands & The Little Prince Museum
The next leg of our DIY Japan trip couldn’t be more of a contrast: From the dense, busy streets of Tokyo and Asakusa plus our ‘high-octane’ experiences in Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, we took the Shinkansen to the idyllic town of Hakone (90 minutes away). Honestly, we were so close to abandoning Hakone prior to our departure due to seismic activities from the nearby volcanoes (yes…plural). As it turns out, just like how we took a gamble to visit Hualian, Taiwan years back … [Read more...]
DIY Japan – Hakone Part 1: Naked Truths from the Onsen
“Excuse me Mr. Yoshida. Regarding the Onsen, can I wear swimming trunks in there?” I had taken a quiet moment during our mountain train ride in Hakone to ask our goodwill guide this question. I had hoped he would say ‘yes’ (since we are tourists after all) but he was much too polite. “ That would be very odd, Mr. Sim. It’s not usual...” came his reply. A photo with Mr. Yoshida, our goodwill guide before my polite question on board the Hakone Tozan Mountain Train. Someone's cheeky smile … [Read more...]