“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...]