Osaka was the very last stop of our family's DIY vacation to Japan. The very last visual memory I have of this wonderful country was not a bowl of steaming Ramen or a plate of fresh succulent sashimi. Nope, given that we travelled in June, it was also not of the pretty cherry blossom trees. Instead, it was the sight of a hotel bell hop, a pint sized Japanese lady (yes, lady!) pushing our luggage from the Swissotel Nankai, Osaka Hotel lobby, accompanying us all the way … [Read more...]
DIY Japan – Maximising your day at Universal Studios Japan
This visit to Universal Studios Japan completes our ‘trilogy’ of the 3 large theme parks in Japan during our inaugural trip in the Summer of 2015. Despite having ran and screamed our way through two of the most popular Disney theme parks (namely Disneyland and DisneySea), our visit to Universal Studios Japan (USJ) still gave us some unexpected surprises in more ways than one - lots of ‘thrills, spills and excitement’ in their many movie-themed rides. In all, we conquered 8 iconic rides and … [Read more...]
DIY Japan: Osaka – Of Deers, Whales and Seriously Stunning Temples!
Exploring Nara Deer Park, Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN, Tōdai-ji Temple, Kōfuku-ji Temple. The next leg of our DIY Japan trip brings us to Osaka – the 3rd largest city in Japan and it is from here that we will fly back to one of the smallest countries in the world – Singapore. While I’m sure there are lots of eating, shopping and taking ‘KAWAII’ photos in Osaka, I made sure we incorporated some educational experiences (this is what happens when you have a teacher in the family). For this … [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...]
DIY Japan – Maximising Your Day at Tokyo DisneySea
The landscaping at DisneySea - detailed and realistic. Set against the evening sky, it is stunning! Fresh from our resounding conquest of Tokyo Disneyland the day before, we were psyched to explore the world’s one and only Tokyo DisneySea. This time, we aimed to conquer all the Fast Past (FP) rides and some of the major shows recommended by travel websites. Introduction to DisneySea: Ariel's Mermaid Lagoon - colourful and playful with lots of fun for the whole family. The Waterfront … [Read more...]
DIY Japan – Maximising Your Day at Tokyo Disneyland
Yes, we did it! We took 16 rides, watched two parades (the Springtime Parade in the day, the Electric Parade in the night) and caught the stunning fireworks display all within 1 day! This being our 1st visit, we never thought we can conquer so much of Tokyo Disneyland but we did, all thanks to the unique ‘Fast Pass’ System it uses. We would like to share how we maximized our visit to Tokyo Disneyland. Disneyland rides are catered more for children and pre-teens. The G-forces here are much … [Read more...]
From Medieval to Manga – Touring Asakusa, Sumida and Odaiba
“We’re going shopping today” my wife teased and I raised an eyebrow. After 16 years of marriage, one of the things Angie knows is that I want our trips to be educational and enriching whenever we travel (in fact, I’m keeping tab on the number of World Heritage sites we’ve visited so far). We didn’t spend money, flown great distances just to be thrown into commercialized air-con malls buying meaningless souvenirs that will eventually be kept in the store room or thrown away. It’s the … [Read more...]
Tokyo in a Heartbeat – Tsukiji Fish Market and CupNoodles Museum
Whenever I hear of families going to Japan on Free & Easy, I always assumed it is an impossible task without basic Japanese proficiency. When the hubby finally gave me the green light early this year to plan a family Summer holiday to Japan, I worked on it without delay, trolling TripAdvisor forums and relying on helpful real-time websites like Hyperdia to plan the itinerary for our 10 days Free & Easy Trip which will take us from Tokyo to Hakone and southwards to Kyoto and Osaka. … [Read more...]