I still have post backlogs but I've been busy with some home-related things for the past week --
But I thought I'd share this with everyone --
Design your own Lomo LC-A contest.
Contest ends January 2010.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tokyo: Day 6 & 7 --
September 30 was our last full day in Tokyo and my brother took us to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.
The weather forecasts were correct -- it drizzled the afternoon of the day we were supposed to go to Tokyo Disney and September 30 was also a wet (and cold) day for us.
We took the train from Ikebukuro to Mitaka -- we had to switch somewhere and got a bit confused but managed to make it to Mitaka where we had breakfast at Muffinari. (We were amused by my brother's text message, instructing us which trains to take and what time they arrive:
"Take train A. Arriving 9:42. Transfer to train B. Arriving 9:47."
The Japanese are very exact about time and can guesstimate how early or late (<-- a rare occurence) they will be for an appointment by catching/missing their scheduled train. Johann and I just decided to leave our hotel 30 minutes early to give ourselves some leeway.
Muffinari is an amazing muffin shop. They serve both sweet and savory muffins. Johann decided to try out their Lox (salmon and cream cheese on bagel) while I had a peanut butter and chocolate chunk muffin with hot chocolate.
<-- look at that gloriously crisp muffin top! (It reminded my of that Seinfeld episode - 'Top of the muffin, to you!' =^_^=)
It was a lovely light breakfast.
We then walked to the bus stop that would take us to the Ghibli Museum.
<-- we didn't get to ride the Ghibli bus because it was full. =( We had to wait for the next bus, which was a regular bus.
My brother told us that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Museum -- they do have some outdoor areas where it was permitted.
<-- it's a water pump -- apparently, it's a big hit with kids and teenagers who have never seen or used one before. ^_^
<-- outside of the children's section are these benches with little cranks on them.
The Ghibli Museum has a small theater where they show short films that they've made throughout the years. We were able to catch the first show and managed to get good seats. (The shows are about 10 minutes long and are shown 30 minutes apart.)
My brother has been to the Museum 5 times but has never tried the cafe -- so we lined up early.
<-- when the cafe opens, they hang a "welcome" sign around her neck
<-- the specials for the day
<-- while waiting, they have a box of storybooks and flipbooks (of animations that they have made)
<-- inside the cafe! (My brother was very happy that he finally got to try it out.)
Johann had their beef in gravy on rice while I had the pork croquette sandwich. We also shared a strawberry shortcake for dessert. ^_^
Outside, the line to the cafe was getting longer and there was no sign of anyone inside leaving -- it was a nice, cozy, comfy place and the food was delicious.
The pamphlet from the Museum begins with the words, "let's get lost together" and explains that the place isn't arranged in any logical way -- it was created to inspire people to go exploring into the lesser-known nooks and to discover Ghibli magic in those places. ^_^
I wondered why the Museum didn't allow one to take pictures of the inside -- but after walking around the place, I think I know why --
It's such a magical place and it's quite difficult to describe the place or the experience of going through the place. I grew up watching Miyazaki's works (way before I knew their significance) and visiting the Museum was a dream come true.
I noticed that I was smiling throughout the tour as well. ^_^
After the Museum, we walked through a Park that would lead us to the nearby city of Tachikawa. Where my brother brought me to Yurazawa, a hobby shop. This one had the biggest selection of cloth <-- more on this later
Then we took the train to his city -- Kunitachi, where he brought us to see his university and his small place "nearby" --
Hitotsubashi isn't as well-known as Sophia or Waseda or the University of Tokyo but, apparently, it's a very prestigious place that many students aspire to attend. (My brother *koff* is a student there. *koff* <-- proud sister mode)
When we were waiting for my brother, we saw a large group of high school students on tour of the school.
We then walked to my brother's place --
It was cute because the sidewalk had markers telling you how far/near you are to the university. (10m from the university. 20m from the university. etc.)
My brother's place was about 2km from the university -- it was a bit of a walk but we saw lots of interesting sites along the way.
<-- did I mention it was still raining?
<-- cute way to display your house number
<-- I thought this was really clever. You know how annoying rain sounds as it drips done your roof? The have these cute chain like things that slows down the dripping (and even makes a pleasant musical sound. ^_^)
After visiting my brother's place, we went to another city, where my brother treated us to dinner. (Our last dinner in Tokyo and our most memorable one!)
Yakiniku!!! Wagyu!!!
<-- scallop
Everything was so tasty! The meat was tender and insanely juicy!
I couldn't help but be amazed at the marbling of the meat. (We passed through a grocery in my brother's city of Kunitachi and standard meat looked like this -- the Japanese don't compromise on quality, which justifies the price of certain items there.)
The next day was our last day in Tokyo. Our flight was at 2 in the afternoon but we had decided to take the airport bus instead of a train. Because Tokyo traffic was very unpredictable, we chose to ride an early bus 9 am and our estimated travel time was 2 to 3 hours, depending on the traffic.
We arrived at the airport at around 11ish and went through all the check-in procedures.
We had lunch at a small restaurant inside the airport --
<-- glorious onion rings!
While we were waiting for our flight to board, I was already thinking about when I would be going back -- if I had my way, I'd go back there tomorrow. ^_^ (But I need to save up again.)
I had such a lovely time in Tokyo and I'm so happy I got a chance to go. (I think a big part of what made the trip so nice was that my brother was there to show us around. ... and to treat us to a glorious Yakiniku meal! >_<)
The weather forecasts were correct -- it drizzled the afternoon of the day we were supposed to go to Tokyo Disney and September 30 was also a wet (and cold) day for us.
We took the train from Ikebukuro to Mitaka -- we had to switch somewhere and got a bit confused but managed to make it to Mitaka where we had breakfast at Muffinari. (We were amused by my brother's text message, instructing us which trains to take and what time they arrive:
"Take train A. Arriving 9:42. Transfer to train B. Arriving 9:47."
The Japanese are very exact about time and can guesstimate how early or late (<-- a rare occurence) they will be for an appointment by catching/missing their scheduled train. Johann and I just decided to leave our hotel 30 minutes early to give ourselves some leeway.
Muffinari is an amazing muffin shop. They serve both sweet and savory muffins. Johann decided to try out their Lox (salmon and cream cheese on bagel) while I had a peanut butter and chocolate chunk muffin with hot chocolate.
<-- look at that gloriously crisp muffin top! (It reminded my of that Seinfeld episode - 'Top of the muffin, to you!' =^_^=)
It was a lovely light breakfast.
We then walked to the bus stop that would take us to the Ghibli Museum.
<-- we didn't get to ride the Ghibli bus because it was full. =( We had to wait for the next bus, which was a regular bus.
My brother told us that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Museum -- they do have some outdoor areas where it was permitted.
<-- it's a water pump -- apparently, it's a big hit with kids and teenagers who have never seen or used one before. ^_^
<-- outside of the children's section are these benches with little cranks on them.
The Ghibli Museum has a small theater where they show short films that they've made throughout the years. We were able to catch the first show and managed to get good seats. (The shows are about 10 minutes long and are shown 30 minutes apart.)
My brother has been to the Museum 5 times but has never tried the cafe -- so we lined up early.
<-- when the cafe opens, they hang a "welcome" sign around her neck
<-- the specials for the day
<-- while waiting, they have a box of storybooks and flipbooks (of animations that they have made)
<-- inside the cafe! (My brother was very happy that he finally got to try it out.)
Johann had their beef in gravy on rice while I had the pork croquette sandwich. We also shared a strawberry shortcake for dessert. ^_^
Outside, the line to the cafe was getting longer and there was no sign of anyone inside leaving -- it was a nice, cozy, comfy place and the food was delicious.
The pamphlet from the Museum begins with the words, "let's get lost together" and explains that the place isn't arranged in any logical way -- it was created to inspire people to go exploring into the lesser-known nooks and to discover Ghibli magic in those places. ^_^
I wondered why the Museum didn't allow one to take pictures of the inside -- but after walking around the place, I think I know why --
It's such a magical place and it's quite difficult to describe the place or the experience of going through the place. I grew up watching Miyazaki's works (way before I knew their significance) and visiting the Museum was a dream come true.
I noticed that I was smiling throughout the tour as well. ^_^
After the Museum, we walked through a Park that would lead us to the nearby city of Tachikawa. Where my brother brought me to Yurazawa, a hobby shop. This one had the biggest selection of cloth <-- more on this later
Then we took the train to his city -- Kunitachi, where he brought us to see his university and his small place "nearby" --
Hitotsubashi isn't as well-known as Sophia or Waseda or the University of Tokyo but, apparently, it's a very prestigious place that many students aspire to attend. (My brother *koff* is a student there. *koff* <-- proud sister mode)
When we were waiting for my brother, we saw a large group of high school students on tour of the school.
We then walked to my brother's place --
It was cute because the sidewalk had markers telling you how far/near you are to the university. (10m from the university. 20m from the university. etc.)
My brother's place was about 2km from the university -- it was a bit of a walk but we saw lots of interesting sites along the way.
<-- did I mention it was still raining?
<-- cute way to display your house number
<-- I thought this was really clever. You know how annoying rain sounds as it drips done your roof? The have these cute chain like things that slows down the dripping (and even makes a pleasant musical sound. ^_^)
After visiting my brother's place, we went to another city, where my brother treated us to dinner. (Our last dinner in Tokyo and our most memorable one!)
Yakiniku!!! Wagyu!!!
<-- scallop
Everything was so tasty! The meat was tender and insanely juicy!
I couldn't help but be amazed at the marbling of the meat. (We passed through a grocery in my brother's city of Kunitachi and standard meat looked like this -- the Japanese don't compromise on quality, which justifies the price of certain items there.)
The next day was our last day in Tokyo. Our flight was at 2 in the afternoon but we had decided to take the airport bus instead of a train. Because Tokyo traffic was very unpredictable, we chose to ride an early bus 9 am and our estimated travel time was 2 to 3 hours, depending on the traffic.
We arrived at the airport at around 11ish and went through all the check-in procedures.
We had lunch at a small restaurant inside the airport --
<-- glorious onion rings!
While we were waiting for our flight to board, I was already thinking about when I would be going back -- if I had my way, I'd go back there tomorrow. ^_^ (But I need to save up again.)
I had such a lovely time in Tokyo and I'm so happy I got a chance to go. (I think a big part of what made the trip so nice was that my brother was there to show us around. ... and to treat us to a glorious Yakiniku meal! >_<)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Things I should've done (and finished) yesterday --
1. Review my brother's Chapters 4 and 5 of his dissertation and send my comments.
2. Write my son's monthsary letter.
3. Tidy up my night table -- it is cluttered with books and my daughter's stuff.
4. Do the grocery. Get coffee. Buy bread.
What I ended up doing yesterday was go to our pulmonologist, get a prescription for my laryngitis and be cranky the rest of the day.
(You should hear my voice right now -- I am croaking like an out-of-tune frog. The pulmonologist advised me to rest my throat but that is impossible.)
2. Write my son's monthsary letter.
3. Tidy up my night table -- it is cluttered with books and my daughter's stuff.
4. Do the grocery. Get coffee. Buy bread.
What I ended up doing yesterday was go to our pulmonologist, get a prescription for my laryngitis and be cranky the rest of the day.
(You should hear my voice right now -- I am croaking like an out-of-tune frog. The pulmonologist advised me to rest my throat but that is impossible.)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tokyo: Day 5 --
Day 5 was a fairly light day for us -- we had intended to spend the whole day at Tokyo Disney but because of the weather forecast, we decided to go the day before.
The day began with an early lunch at a Kaiten Sushi place found on the top floor of a building. (Not sure about the name) --
It was an enjoyable experience and I took advantage of the cheap price of the the Tako sushi. (Octopus)
What was amazing was how particular they were about their tuna -- they had three different kinds -- the fatty part of the tuna (premium), the "medium" and the regular tuna, which was minced and mixed with spring onions. We splurged on a plate of snow crab legs, which was amazing.
My brother also insisted that I try the uni, which was buttery. I have a cousin who loves uni but I've never tried it -- I don't like the texture so much. I prefered the chewiness of the octopus.
My brother then decided to take us to ... Tokyo! The actual Tokyo, the one near Ginza -- my brother explained that, while places like Ikebukuro and even his city Kunitachi (which is far) are part of Tokyo, the real Tokyo is just another small dot on the subway map. (It is 8 stops from Ikebukuro on the Marunouchi line.)
There is one special thing found in Tokyo -- this is where the Meiji Chocolate Cafe is located. The cafe is located on the ground floor of the Meiji company building and, according to my brother, this place is usually packed.
For this one place, I would pay the Y230 (?) one-way subway fare again just to go back there.
<-- chocolate varieties kept in a temperature-controlled display
<-- 56 chocolate varieties
<-- the strangest one
We got there early and were able to get a table. Everything on their menu is chocolate-based. I ordered a hot chocolate (which was amazing).
Your order comes with a complimentary piece of chocolate, with the date of your visit and an explanation of the flavor/variety.
They had cakes and ice cream but I was feeling a bit full from the Kaiten sushi place so I passed on it. (When my brother first visited the place with his friends, they ordered 1 of everything on the menu. ^_^)
I ended up buying two pieces of chocolate to bring home to my sister:
<-- cheese and the commemorative 1926 edition
My brother then brought us to the swanky part of Shinjuku and left us at Kinokuniya, which was beside a Tokyu Hands. That's where Johann and I spent the rest of the day.
I love, love, love Kinokuniya. I love their Singapore store and enjoyed the small one we stumbled upon in Thailand.
I was able to find a really cute romance novel at the Kinokuniya we visited. <-- more on this later
We rested a bit at our hotel before going to Sunshine City for dinner.
Dinner that night was at Italian Tomato Cafe Jr. <-- it's a junior because it's a smaller branch
Johann had a seafood rice and I had a tomato cream pasta and we shared a French Onion soup -- and everything was delicious!
The Namco theme park is located inside Sunshine City and we wanted to check it out -- but we forgot the the mall closes at 8pm and we didn't have enough time anymore.
We ended up spending our time at the Disney store (where I found really cool Eric Carle Hungry Caterpillar merchandise) and at Toys R Us for last-minute toy shopping for Seth and Anya.
The day began with an early lunch at a Kaiten Sushi place found on the top floor of a building. (Not sure about the name) --
It was an enjoyable experience and I took advantage of the cheap price of the the Tako sushi. (Octopus)
What was amazing was how particular they were about their tuna -- they had three different kinds -- the fatty part of the tuna (premium), the "medium" and the regular tuna, which was minced and mixed with spring onions. We splurged on a plate of snow crab legs, which was amazing.
My brother also insisted that I try the uni, which was buttery. I have a cousin who loves uni but I've never tried it -- I don't like the texture so much. I prefered the chewiness of the octopus.
My brother then decided to take us to ... Tokyo! The actual Tokyo, the one near Ginza -- my brother explained that, while places like Ikebukuro and even his city Kunitachi (which is far) are part of Tokyo, the real Tokyo is just another small dot on the subway map. (It is 8 stops from Ikebukuro on the Marunouchi line.)
There is one special thing found in Tokyo -- this is where the Meiji Chocolate Cafe is located. The cafe is located on the ground floor of the Meiji company building and, according to my brother, this place is usually packed.
For this one place, I would pay the Y230 (?) one-way subway fare again just to go back there.
<-- chocolate varieties kept in a temperature-controlled display
<-- 56 chocolate varieties
<-- the strangest one
We got there early and were able to get a table. Everything on their menu is chocolate-based. I ordered a hot chocolate (which was amazing).
Your order comes with a complimentary piece of chocolate, with the date of your visit and an explanation of the flavor/variety.
They had cakes and ice cream but I was feeling a bit full from the Kaiten sushi place so I passed on it. (When my brother first visited the place with his friends, they ordered 1 of everything on the menu. ^_^)
I ended up buying two pieces of chocolate to bring home to my sister:
<-- cheese and the commemorative 1926 edition
My brother then brought us to the swanky part of Shinjuku and left us at Kinokuniya, which was beside a Tokyu Hands. That's where Johann and I spent the rest of the day.
I love, love, love Kinokuniya. I love their Singapore store and enjoyed the small one we stumbled upon in Thailand.
I was able to find a really cute romance novel at the Kinokuniya we visited. <-- more on this later
We rested a bit at our hotel before going to Sunshine City for dinner.
Dinner that night was at Italian Tomato Cafe Jr. <-- it's a junior because it's a smaller branch
Johann had a seafood rice and I had a tomato cream pasta and we shared a French Onion soup -- and everything was delicious!
The Namco theme park is located inside Sunshine City and we wanted to check it out -- but we forgot the the mall closes at 8pm and we didn't have enough time anymore.
We ended up spending our time at the Disney store (where I found really cool Eric Carle Hungry Caterpillar merchandise) and at Toys R Us for last-minute toy shopping for Seth and Anya.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
My vote for 2009 Philippine Blog Awards: Flavours of Iloilo
I'm very happy to see that one of my favorite blogstops: Flavours of Iloilo is a nominee for the Bloggers' Choice Special Award (Visayas category) --
I'm voting for this blog because it has helped me appreciate my city more -- I've discovered new loves -- Piazza, Panaderia de Iloilo cupcakes -- and rediscovered forgotten loves -- Love and Kisses Pizza, Carlos' Bakeshop, Roberto's meatballs, etc.
It's a great blog and deserves the recognition. ^_^
I'm voting for this blog because it has helped me appreciate my city more -- I've discovered new loves -- Piazza, Panaderia de Iloilo cupcakes -- and rediscovered forgotten loves -- Love and Kisses Pizza, Carlos' Bakeshop, Roberto's meatballs, etc.
It's a great blog and deserves the recognition. ^_^
Tokyo: Day 4 (Theme Parks!) --
The day began with breakfast at Mos Burger -- Johann and I ordered their rice burgers (because we loved them when we were in Singapore and we wanted to taste the "original" --)
<-- beef
<-- seafood
Then we took the train to Asakusa to do the temple bit --
<-- Buddha's sandal (the other one was hanging on the other door)
We shook the fortune sticks to find out our fortune --
And I tied mine to the "tree" because my luck was so-so.
We walked around the gardens and my brother brought us to a little-known part of the complex -- way, way at the back -- where the parking lot is located, is the statue of a famous Kabuki actor --
I felt sad because he was relegated to the back and no one was there to visit him.
On our way out, we visited the market stalls outside of the temple --
<-- these are supposed to be charms. You buy the one that corresponds to the area of your life that you need the most luck/help with.
Walking around, we heard the sounds of screaming (joyous ones, not the panicked ones) and asked my brother about it -- he told me there's a theme park nearby. It was not on his itinerary but we outvoted him and went in.
It wasn't just any theme park -- it was the oldest theme park in Tokyo. The Hanayashiki has been around and entertaining kids since the early 1900s.
Entrance fee was 900 yen, which is a far cry from the entrance fee to Tokyo Disney and other theme parks.
Johann was very excited -- believe it or not, this is his very first theme park experience and he's always wanted to try out the thrill rides.
The Space Shot looked interesting enough so he lined up for it.
It was fun (and funny) watching him shoot up to the top and then go back down again. (He said he was screaming, but we couldn't hear him because my brother and I were laughing so hard.)
We walked around the whole park, which isn't very big --
<-- remember Hi-C? They have a vendo machine that dispenses it in bottle form pa!
<-- Japanese Dr. Pepper!
Hanayashiki is simple, as theme parks go, but it as it's own charms -- they have 2 haunted houses and one of them is simply called "Bikkuri House" (Surprise House) -- a far cry from the sophisticated ride names found in other theme parks.
It was fun to see kids get so excited over the rides -- (I'd love to bring Seth and Anya there when they're bigger. ^_^)
We were supposed to go somewhere else but, when my brother checked the weather forecast, it said that the next day was going to be rainy (and we were scheduled to go to Tokyo Disney for the day) --
We made the quick decision to cut our tourist-y bit short and just go to Tokyo Disneyland that afternoon.
We said goodbye to my brother and took the train to Tokyo Disney by ourselves! (At this point, we could understand a bit how the systems go and could figure out which train/line to take given a few minutes to pause and plan.)
The special thing about Tokyo is that they have 2 Disney Theme Parks -- Disneyland and Disney Sea. Our original intention was to go to Disneyland -- but my brother convinced us that it would be better for us to go to Disney Sea because it can only be found in Tokyo. (There are Disneylands everywhere else.)
We arrived at Maihama Station at around 2 in the afternoon and the first thing we did is have lunch -- outside Tokyo Disney -- turns out, this was a good idea because when we got in, there were lines EVERYWHERE! Not just for the rides, but for the food and popcorn and drinks!
My brother shared a very helpful tip with us -- go souvenir shopping first (there's a big Disney Store outside of the theme parks) so that we could focus on the rides and attractions when we are inside. He predicted that, if we left this off for last, we would be too tired to get it done.
We took the Disney train to Disney Sea and this is the welcoming area --
<-- Halloween!
We had already planned out which rides to line up for: the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea one and the Indiana Jones one.
Wait time was 2 hours for each ride, but it was worth it. (Especially the Indiana Jones one) -- we wanted to go to the Tower of Terror next but when we got there, the line was so long (and the wait time was more than 2 hours!) so we passed and decided to walk around instead.
<-- American Portside
The cute thing about Tokyo Disney (Land and Sea) is that they have popcorn stations in each area -- if you have the Disney Popcorn bucket, you get your popcorn at a discounted price. We bought a Tinkerbell one for Anya and were looking for a nice one for Seth.
We discovered later on that they have a different design for each quarter(?) and for the time that we were there, they only had the Minnie Mouse and Tinker Bell design.
We did enjoy the Black Pepper popcorn -- we also stumbled upon Curry Popcorn (which Johann wanted) and Caramel Popcorn (which I wanted) -- but we weren't able to get either because we couldn't resolve the impasse. (Plus, we still have some Black Pepper popcorn which we were planning to share with my brother the next day).
Tokyo Disney Sea has two areas that are meant for the younger crowds -- they have a Little Mermaid-inspired one and an Aladdin-inspired one. (Forgot the names -- sorry!)
It was almost 8 at that point and we hadn't had dinner yet -- only Black Pepper Popcorn -- so forgive the silliness of the next set of pictures:
<-- see the thing around my neck? That's the popcorn bucket. ^_^
We were so, so tired after this -- and we still had a long-ish train ride back to the hotel.
Dinner that night was instant ramen. ^_^
* * *
Best part of Day 4 --
The theme parks were amazing but nothing beats stumbling upon Donner Kebab!
I will ask my younger brother where we were when we found it. (They have roving branches that park in empty lots in major areas -- we found one in Ikebukuro the next night.)
<-- beef
<-- seafood
Then we took the train to Asakusa to do the temple bit --
<-- Buddha's sandal (the other one was hanging on the other door)
We shook the fortune sticks to find out our fortune --
And I tied mine to the "tree" because my luck was so-so.
We walked around the gardens and my brother brought us to a little-known part of the complex -- way, way at the back -- where the parking lot is located, is the statue of a famous Kabuki actor --
I felt sad because he was relegated to the back and no one was there to visit him.
On our way out, we visited the market stalls outside of the temple --
<-- these are supposed to be charms. You buy the one that corresponds to the area of your life that you need the most luck/help with.
Walking around, we heard the sounds of screaming (joyous ones, not the panicked ones) and asked my brother about it -- he told me there's a theme park nearby. It was not on his itinerary but we outvoted him and went in.
It wasn't just any theme park -- it was the oldest theme park in Tokyo. The Hanayashiki has been around and entertaining kids since the early 1900s.
Entrance fee was 900 yen, which is a far cry from the entrance fee to Tokyo Disney and other theme parks.
Johann was very excited -- believe it or not, this is his very first theme park experience and he's always wanted to try out the thrill rides.
The Space Shot looked interesting enough so he lined up for it.
It was fun (and funny) watching him shoot up to the top and then go back down again. (He said he was screaming, but we couldn't hear him because my brother and I were laughing so hard.)
We walked around the whole park, which isn't very big --
<-- remember Hi-C? They have a vendo machine that dispenses it in bottle form pa!
<-- Japanese Dr. Pepper!
Hanayashiki is simple, as theme parks go, but it as it's own charms -- they have 2 haunted houses and one of them is simply called "Bikkuri House" (Surprise House) -- a far cry from the sophisticated ride names found in other theme parks.
It was fun to see kids get so excited over the rides -- (I'd love to bring Seth and Anya there when they're bigger. ^_^)
We were supposed to go somewhere else but, when my brother checked the weather forecast, it said that the next day was going to be rainy (and we were scheduled to go to Tokyo Disney for the day) --
We made the quick decision to cut our tourist-y bit short and just go to Tokyo Disneyland that afternoon.
We said goodbye to my brother and took the train to Tokyo Disney by ourselves! (At this point, we could understand a bit how the systems go and could figure out which train/line to take given a few minutes to pause and plan.)
The special thing about Tokyo is that they have 2 Disney Theme Parks -- Disneyland and Disney Sea. Our original intention was to go to Disneyland -- but my brother convinced us that it would be better for us to go to Disney Sea because it can only be found in Tokyo. (There are Disneylands everywhere else.)
We arrived at Maihama Station at around 2 in the afternoon and the first thing we did is have lunch -- outside Tokyo Disney -- turns out, this was a good idea because when we got in, there were lines EVERYWHERE! Not just for the rides, but for the food and popcorn and drinks!
My brother shared a very helpful tip with us -- go souvenir shopping first (there's a big Disney Store outside of the theme parks) so that we could focus on the rides and attractions when we are inside. He predicted that, if we left this off for last, we would be too tired to get it done.
We took the Disney train to Disney Sea and this is the welcoming area --
<-- Halloween!
We had already planned out which rides to line up for: the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea one and the Indiana Jones one.
Wait time was 2 hours for each ride, but it was worth it. (Especially the Indiana Jones one) -- we wanted to go to the Tower of Terror next but when we got there, the line was so long (and the wait time was more than 2 hours!) so we passed and decided to walk around instead.
<-- American Portside
The cute thing about Tokyo Disney (Land and Sea) is that they have popcorn stations in each area -- if you have the Disney Popcorn bucket, you get your popcorn at a discounted price. We bought a Tinkerbell one for Anya and were looking for a nice one for Seth.
We discovered later on that they have a different design for each quarter(?) and for the time that we were there, they only had the Minnie Mouse and Tinker Bell design.
We did enjoy the Black Pepper popcorn -- we also stumbled upon Curry Popcorn (which Johann wanted) and Caramel Popcorn (which I wanted) -- but we weren't able to get either because we couldn't resolve the impasse. (Plus, we still have some Black Pepper popcorn which we were planning to share with my brother the next day).
Tokyo Disney Sea has two areas that are meant for the younger crowds -- they have a Little Mermaid-inspired one and an Aladdin-inspired one. (Forgot the names -- sorry!)
It was almost 8 at that point and we hadn't had dinner yet -- only Black Pepper Popcorn -- so forgive the silliness of the next set of pictures:
<-- see the thing around my neck? That's the popcorn bucket. ^_^
We were so, so tired after this -- and we still had a long-ish train ride back to the hotel.
Dinner that night was instant ramen. ^_^
* * *
Best part of Day 4 --
The theme parks were amazing but nothing beats stumbling upon Donner Kebab!
I will ask my younger brother where we were when we found it. (They have roving branches that park in empty lots in major areas -- we found one in Ikebukuro the next night.)
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Tokyo: Day 3 --
Day 3 was Sunday. We planned to meet up with my brother for lunch at our hotel so we had the morning free.
Resisting the temptation to go to the nearby McDonald's or Mos or Lotteria (read: fastfood place) for breakfast, we headed for Becker's inside the Ikebukuro Station (North Exit) --
We were a bit apprehensive because it was our first time to order (without the help of my brother) -- thankfully, all restaurants in Japan have a picture menu and you can just point to what you like. (It does help to understand a bit so you know what you are ordering -- more on this later.)
While waiting for our order, Johann was observing the people around us -- he wanted to make sure we did things right and proper. He noticed that, after a meal, people would dispose of their own trash -- segregating paper from plastic from PET, etc.
Our meal was delicious -- we both opted for the croissant (over toast) and he had sausages while I had bacon. (Sorry, no pictures!)
After our meal, we walked to Sunshine City, which is about 2+ blocks from our hotel. There's also a Tokyu Hands beside it so we stopped by there first.
On our way to Sunshine City, we found this:
<-- it's the Johnan Cram School. At first glance, we thought it was "Johann" -- ^_^
We also found this:
<-- Illy ready-to-drink coffee! Glee! >_<
And also saw this:
<-- One of the things I love about Tokyo is her deep love for her traditions -- ladies in their kimonos walking alongside other women wearing the latest fashion. It's an amazing mix of old and new.
Our main goal inside Sunshine City was Toys R Us -- and we spent most of our morning walking around, making the difficult decision of which toys to buy for our two kids.
We were slightly hungry as we were heading back to our hotel and the lure of the fastfood chains was irresistible --
So we went to McDonald's and I got a Happy Meal (because the toy was cute) and Johann got a Shrimp Burger.
Throughout our stay, we ended up trying the Shrimp Burgers of McDonald's and Lotteria and had made plans to try out Mos Burger ... but didn't have the time and opportunity.
My brother was waiting for us at our hotel and we all took the train to Nakano.
Our plan was to visit Nakano Broadway Arcade for our anime/manga/gaming needs. When we exited our station, we heard the soft beating of the drums and decided to follow it. There was a mini-festival happening in the nearby park so we took time to check it out.
We stayed for 2 performances (more were scheduled throughout the day) and tried out the foodstalls --
<-- Dragon Fruit juice sold by:
<-- these cute kids in their cute aprons =^_^=
<-- Grilled Pork (So, so yummy!)
At Toys R Us, I kept seeing these flat plastic mats being sold and I didn't know what their purpose was. Turns out, moms carry one or two in their bags and lay them out for such occasions:
Our first stop at Nakano Broadway Arcade was the takoyaki stand --
I remember watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and how cute he looked struggling to eat the very hot takoyaki ball.
There is no waiting for the takoyaki ball to cool down -- you can blow and blow until you think it's cool enough but the inside will still be steaming hot -- it was a delicious albeit painful lesson to learn.
Broadway Arcade is an awesome place for anime/manga fans -- the second (and third) floors are filled with little stalls selling merchandise -- unfortunately, I am very out-of-touch with the new titles so I wasn't really able to appreciate the place as much as I should.
Our trip to Nakano Broadway ended with dinner at Capricciosa where we had a rice croquette, a pizza and two types of pasta.
<-- a rice croquette is a rolled ball of rice with cheese in the middle. It is then fried crisp and served with tomato sauce. Glorious! Given the chance, I'd probably eat one by myself.
<-- we were very full so my brother took this home with him. And, yes, they even packed the shell!
* * *
Because I am ancient, my memory is a bit fuzzy but we also visited another place near Nakano (Shibuya? Shinjuku?) --
We went to Yellow Submarine, a local gaming store (with branches in other parts of Tokyo) and also to a place that had this:
<-- Gashapon Heaven!!!
They had a gashapon for everything!
<-- Evangelion
<-- donuts!
(Apparently, there are even "naughty" gashapons found at places of ill-repute. O_O)
There was this cute bear, meant to draw people into the Sega game arcade. The bear was doing a lot of cute poses. --
It was really cute! A lot of girls stopped to take pictures of it and with it. (While others were screaming "kawaii~" at the sidelines.)
Our very last stop for the day was Book Off -- I don't know where we were at that point -- my feet were hurting and my eyes were bleary na by then.
<-- even my pictures were bleary!
BookOff specializes in used books -- they buy and sell used books. (My brother sells his old manga to them. ^_^)
The branch we went to had a very good selection of English books and Johann was able to find 2 graphic novels and a book. I got a copy of Anne Rice's Christ the Lord for my sister. They were having a sale on English titles when we were there -- 20% off the price. So my sister's Y350 became Y280 (or about PhP140) --
It is an excellent place to find Harry Potter hardcovers in both UK and US releases ...
Resisting the temptation to go to the nearby McDonald's or Mos or Lotteria (read: fastfood place) for breakfast, we headed for Becker's inside the Ikebukuro Station (North Exit) --
We were a bit apprehensive because it was our first time to order (without the help of my brother) -- thankfully, all restaurants in Japan have a picture menu and you can just point to what you like. (It does help to understand a bit so you know what you are ordering -- more on this later.)
While waiting for our order, Johann was observing the people around us -- he wanted to make sure we did things right and proper. He noticed that, after a meal, people would dispose of their own trash -- segregating paper from plastic from PET, etc.
Our meal was delicious -- we both opted for the croissant (over toast) and he had sausages while I had bacon. (Sorry, no pictures!)
After our meal, we walked to Sunshine City, which is about 2+ blocks from our hotel. There's also a Tokyu Hands beside it so we stopped by there first.
On our way to Sunshine City, we found this:
<-- it's the Johnan Cram School. At first glance, we thought it was "Johann" -- ^_^
We also found this:
<-- Illy ready-to-drink coffee! Glee! >_<
And also saw this:
<-- One of the things I love about Tokyo is her deep love for her traditions -- ladies in their kimonos walking alongside other women wearing the latest fashion. It's an amazing mix of old and new.
Our main goal inside Sunshine City was Toys R Us -- and we spent most of our morning walking around, making the difficult decision of which toys to buy for our two kids.
We were slightly hungry as we were heading back to our hotel and the lure of the fastfood chains was irresistible --
So we went to McDonald's and I got a Happy Meal (because the toy was cute) and Johann got a Shrimp Burger.
Throughout our stay, we ended up trying the Shrimp Burgers of McDonald's and Lotteria and had made plans to try out Mos Burger ... but didn't have the time and opportunity.
My brother was waiting for us at our hotel and we all took the train to Nakano.
Our plan was to visit Nakano Broadway Arcade for our anime/manga/gaming needs. When we exited our station, we heard the soft beating of the drums and decided to follow it. There was a mini-festival happening in the nearby park so we took time to check it out.
We stayed for 2 performances (more were scheduled throughout the day) and tried out the foodstalls --
<-- Dragon Fruit juice sold by:
<-- these cute kids in their cute aprons =^_^=
<-- Grilled Pork (So, so yummy!)
At Toys R Us, I kept seeing these flat plastic mats being sold and I didn't know what their purpose was. Turns out, moms carry one or two in their bags and lay them out for such occasions:
Our first stop at Nakano Broadway Arcade was the takoyaki stand --
I remember watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and how cute he looked struggling to eat the very hot takoyaki ball.
There is no waiting for the takoyaki ball to cool down -- you can blow and blow until you think it's cool enough but the inside will still be steaming hot -- it was a delicious albeit painful lesson to learn.
Broadway Arcade is an awesome place for anime/manga fans -- the second (and third) floors are filled with little stalls selling merchandise -- unfortunately, I am very out-of-touch with the new titles so I wasn't really able to appreciate the place as much as I should.
Our trip to Nakano Broadway ended with dinner at Capricciosa where we had a rice croquette, a pizza and two types of pasta.
<-- a rice croquette is a rolled ball of rice with cheese in the middle. It is then fried crisp and served with tomato sauce. Glorious! Given the chance, I'd probably eat one by myself.
<-- we were very full so my brother took this home with him. And, yes, they even packed the shell!
* * *
Because I am ancient, my memory is a bit fuzzy but we also visited another place near Nakano (Shibuya? Shinjuku?) --
We went to Yellow Submarine, a local gaming store (with branches in other parts of Tokyo) and also to a place that had this:
<-- Gashapon Heaven!!!
They had a gashapon for everything!
<-- Evangelion
<-- donuts!
(Apparently, there are even "naughty" gashapons found at places of ill-repute. O_O)
There was this cute bear, meant to draw people into the Sega game arcade. The bear was doing a lot of cute poses. --
It was really cute! A lot of girls stopped to take pictures of it and with it. (While others were screaming "kawaii~" at the sidelines.)
Our very last stop for the day was Book Off -- I don't know where we were at that point -- my feet were hurting and my eyes were bleary na by then.
<-- even my pictures were bleary!
BookOff specializes in used books -- they buy and sell used books. (My brother sells his old manga to them. ^_^)
The branch we went to had a very good selection of English books and Johann was able to find 2 graphic novels and a book. I got a copy of Anne Rice's Christ the Lord for my sister. They were having a sale on English titles when we were there -- 20% off the price. So my sister's Y350 became Y280 (or about PhP140) --
It is an excellent place to find Harry Potter hardcovers in both UK and US releases ...
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tokyo: Day 2 (Food and other things!) --
After our excursion to the Tokyo Game Show, we had lunch at a restaurant in the nearby mall before going back to Ikebukuro (where we were staying) --
They served katsu (fried stuff) --
I love that they give you a mound of cabbage with your meal. (I love that you can ask for seconds. ^_^)
<-- yummy sauce!
My brother had Deep Fried Oysters. They serve miso soup with the meal and it had tiny clams. ^_^
After our meal, we headed for the station and found this:
It's a cute concept! You pay Y300 and choose a box. The top prize was a Wii but you could also get neat stuff like DS games and iPods. You could also get duds (like we did) ^_^ --
After resting in our hotel and going through our loot from TGS, we walked a few blocks from the hotel to Junkudo, a bookstore.
<-- this entire building is all books and magazines
We went directly to the floor that contained the English books and I ended up buying a nice planner for 2010 and some cute small notebooks to take along in my bag.
Dinner that night was an adventure at Sunshine City! We cooked our own okonomiyaki! It was also my youngest brother's first time to do it so we all had fun figuring it out.
Thankfully, they had a really handy illustrated guide that shows you how to do it:
The meal began with a plateful of gyoza which we had to cook ourselves.
To make sure that you don't burn your food, they have handy sand timers at each table -- the magic number is 4. 4 minutes to cook/steam the gyoza. 4 (x2) minutes for the first side of the okonomiyaki and 4 (x1) minute on the second side.
The gyoza was really delicious. What was interesting was the sauce they served it with -- they call it "basil sauce" (pesto) and I wasn't sold on the idea at first but Johann told me to try it. It was yummy!
<-- mixing the okonomiyaki
<-- flattening, flattening, shaping, shaping ...
<-- waiting for one side to be cooked
After a total of 12-something minutes, this is what it looks like:
We also ordered Octopus with Kimchi and they gave us a foil pouch with the instructions to steam it for 4 minutes.
<-- the octopus was yummy!
We also ordered Yakisoba. The instructions were bewildering (to my brother) so we asked the nice server to cook it for us. (I guess you can also ask them to cook the okonomiyaki for you when they're not so busy...)
It was a yummy dinner! I remember Samantha Brown saying (on one of her shows) that you know you've had a good meal when you come home smelling the food on your clothes. We did -- and the smell was heaven. (Too bad we were scheduled to do our laundry the next morning. ^_^)
Dessert was ice cream at Blue Seal.
Johann had pistachio and I had milk chocolate chip.
We walked around Sunshine City, looking for the Toys R Us -- unfortunately, it was very late at that point and most of the places were getting ready to close.
They served katsu (fried stuff) --
I love that they give you a mound of cabbage with your meal. (I love that you can ask for seconds. ^_^)
<-- yummy sauce!
My brother had Deep Fried Oysters. They serve miso soup with the meal and it had tiny clams. ^_^
After our meal, we headed for the station and found this:
It's a cute concept! You pay Y300 and choose a box. The top prize was a Wii but you could also get neat stuff like DS games and iPods. You could also get duds (like we did) ^_^ --
After resting in our hotel and going through our loot from TGS, we walked a few blocks from the hotel to Junkudo, a bookstore.
<-- this entire building is all books and magazines
We went directly to the floor that contained the English books and I ended up buying a nice planner for 2010 and some cute small notebooks to take along in my bag.
Dinner that night was an adventure at Sunshine City! We cooked our own okonomiyaki! It was also my youngest brother's first time to do it so we all had fun figuring it out.
Thankfully, they had a really handy illustrated guide that shows you how to do it:
The meal began with a plateful of gyoza which we had to cook ourselves.
To make sure that you don't burn your food, they have handy sand timers at each table -- the magic number is 4. 4 minutes to cook/steam the gyoza. 4 (x2) minutes for the first side of the okonomiyaki and 4 (x1) minute on the second side.
The gyoza was really delicious. What was interesting was the sauce they served it with -- they call it "basil sauce" (pesto) and I wasn't sold on the idea at first but Johann told me to try it. It was yummy!
<-- mixing the okonomiyaki
<-- flattening, flattening, shaping, shaping ...
<-- waiting for one side to be cooked
After a total of 12-something minutes, this is what it looks like:
We also ordered Octopus with Kimchi and they gave us a foil pouch with the instructions to steam it for 4 minutes.
<-- the octopus was yummy!
We also ordered Yakisoba. The instructions were bewildering (to my brother) so we asked the nice server to cook it for us. (I guess you can also ask them to cook the okonomiyaki for you when they're not so busy...)
It was a yummy dinner! I remember Samantha Brown saying (on one of her shows) that you know you've had a good meal when you come home smelling the food on your clothes. We did -- and the smell was heaven. (Too bad we were scheduled to do our laundry the next morning. ^_^)
Dessert was ice cream at Blue Seal.
Johann had pistachio and I had milk chocolate chip.
We walked around Sunshine City, looking for the Toys R Us -- unfortunately, it was very late at that point and most of the places were getting ready to close.