Fun in Japan 🎌

By


What a beautiful country. Where everything was organized. Where everything was curated for comfort and convenience. Where everyone was courteous without sacrificing warmth and authenticity. That is Japan.

While Europe's beauty was magnified by grandiosity and drama, Japan's charm was defined by simplicity, convenience and comfort. Everything was designed for easy living and traveling...

I am usually drawn to fantastic architecture so Japan was definitely outside my bucket list. It was edged out by Thailand and Indonesia because of this. Regardless, I enjoyed our tour to Japan. Thanks to my sister, brother, and sister-in-law, our trip was filled with so many wonderful and happy memories. 

But a heartfelt gratitude, most of all, to our father who sponsored the plane tickets and hotel accommodations. It was, after all, supposed to be his birthday celebration if not for his sudden ailment a few days before the trip began.

We visited several destinations in Japan. You can read about them through the thumbnails below. Just click on the name of the city where the places are located or are closest to. Read on and enjoy my articles...






Alluring Kyoto 🌸







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Romantic Beige Sand Beaches Near Mayon Volcano

By
Image
  We were entranced... We sailed the eastern seas off the coast of Albay Province for our weekend getaway. Every time we see a beige sand beach common in the area, the enigmatic Mayon Volcano peers over the scenery. There were many of these beaches, appearing every once in a while, with the dazzling volcano in each and every view. I will never forget this past weekend for each turn had a magnificent scene looming in the horizon --- from isle to isle, from coast to coast, from beach to beach! Tambilagao Port Tambilagao Port We drove from our hometown Daraga, Albay setting off to our main destination, Namanday Island Resort . After making our way to Cagraray Island via Sula Bridge, I felt as though we already left the country. I've never been outside Luzon Island since before the pandemic so leaving Luzon already feels like traveling abroad. On Cagraray Island, we saw magnificent views of the many islands dotting the eastern seas of Albay, but it was the Tambilagao Port where the get...
Read more

2024 || Enter the Green Dragon

By
Image
  It's always nice to look back and reminisce one's fondest memories. Seeing old pictures evokes many emotions, mostly good, sometimes bad but somehow still gives you peace (reminding you of how you managed to get out of the rut). Good pictures are always good, no matter what was actually going on. After all, a sad movie can still be a masterpiece. In 2024, I learned so many valuable lessons that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Though I didn't really venture out of Bicol Region this year, I was still able to enjoy and have fun. In 2023, we went to Europe and, even here in the Philippines, I saw many masterpieces with strong foreign elements.  This year, on the other hand, the things I saw were mostly native and local (with little to no foreign element). Nonetheless, they're not any less superior. Coming home and enjoying home gave 2024 its own vibe and zeitgeist. All in all, 2024 has been a decent year so far... January 1: Happy Fam 2024 started on a high note. ...
Read more

Awesome Osaka 🍥

By
Image
Shinsaibashi Shopping District in the heart of Osaka Our first stop was Osaka. We arrived at Kansai International Airport at about 30 minutes after sunset. It was comfortably warm inside but, after stepping out, we immediately felt the cold winds embracing us like crazy. It was my first time to experience 12 degrees. Ironically, I was able to withstand the cold by just wearing my IBP jacket. Took a selfie to prove that IBP jacket was enough for 12 degrees 😅 What can I say about Osaka? It's a huge metropolitan city. I thought it was just some city. It's actually so huge, it could be bigger than Metro Manila. I didn't check and compare the two cities anymore because I'm that lazy. What I'm saying is, Osaka is huge. Train to Osaka from Kansai Airport Because of this, I felt that I will not be a hundred percent here and I would not be in my element. I was simply reminded by my experiences in Metro Manila where the crowd and traffic drove me home.  Osaka wasn't real...
Read more

The Farthest Ends of the Philippines

By
Image
         The Philippines, a large archipelago of 7,641 islands, is endowed with many natural wonders and surprises. These multitudes of gifts from Mother Nature, however, seem to be found on the islands’ farthest ends.          Would you like to know what can be seen in these far-and-beyond places? Well, you will satisfy your curiosity as you come with me in this virtual tour  that unravels the very beautiful and exotic places located on the remotest points of the Philippines... Batanes Photo Credit: Eva Marie Gutierrez Cantero. Batanes is the northernmost province in the country, and also the smallest, both in population and land area. Very distant, the island group is located approximately 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of the Luzon mainland. The entire province is listed in the UNESCO tentative list for inscription in the World Heritage List. This headdress is known as the "vakul." Phot...
Read more

La Dolce Vita 🇮🇹🇻🇦🇲🇨 🍸

By
Image
September 2023.  My birthmonth, my birthyear. I was born in the year of the Hare so I needed to make 2023, another year of the Hare, special. As I had never been out of the country, I decided to finally make that long-awaited "first trip" on my birthyear. It happens once every twelve years so why not make it special? My first time past Immigration! So many countries were considered. Spain and Portugal came to mind. Thailand seemed plausible. Nearby Indonesia's fantastic architecture were tempting, and because Singapore was close enough, it was also suggested. Malaysia came into the radar too. But, not until visas were approved or airline tickets were bought, nothing was final. And then - out of the blue - I heard my aunt and sister talk about a possible Euro Tour on no other month but September ... Since it happens to be my birthmonth, I immediately asked if I could join them... "Sure," said my aunt! Up until that point, my options were as flexible as they could...
Read more

Eternal Rome 🇮🇹

By
Image
A view of the Colosseum Rome, the city for all eternity where we've seen massive structures dating back to antiquity, was part of our itinerary. It's not the most beautiful city we've been to, but it nevertheless has its charm due to its sheer historical value. It is, after all, one of the oldest inhabited cities on earth and was the center of everything during the Ancient Times. As the cliche goes, all roads lead to Rome. Arrival Roma Termini Train Station After exploring cosmopolitan Florence, Rome was our next destination. Just like the other cities, train was our mode of transportation. Everybody knows that Rome is an ancient city that still stands today, but I didn't expect that pieces of evidence of its age are evident even on a train station. The photo above shows a mural that seems to date back to around 500 AD. I've tried to google about this mural but no success. It looks really old, ancient to me, so I was surprised that a train station, which is a creatu...
Read more

Mesmerizing Monaco 🇲🇨

By
Image
  La Condamine, Monaco We were almost done with our Euro Tour, but our last stop - unbeknownst to us - would make our escapade even grander exponentially. Monaco is indeed the wealthiest, most affluent nation in the world... and the dollars are speaking from amongst everything you see in every corner of this miniscule country. It is beautiful, it is organized, it is spotless! If we saw tiny bits of candy wrappers and cigarette butts in very few places in Italy, we didn't see any gram of litter in all of Monaco! Beautiful Nightscape of Monaco with Late 19th Century Buildings Perfect. Flawless.  I have said several times that perfection is unattainable, but our stay in the microstate of Monaco proved me wrong. In the billions of square miles all over the world, there is one tiny country where perfection is, surprisingly, a reality. Arrival Our Bus from Nice, France 🇫🇷 to Beausoleil, France 🇫🇷 It was September 14th, my sister's birthday, when we flew from Rome, Italy 🇮🇹 to ...
Read more

The Vatican: A Divine Enclave 🇻🇦

By
Image
St Peter's Square, 12 September 2023. The Vatican. The smallest nation on earth is also the holiest. Roman Catholic Church, the largest religion in the world, has its capital in the micro-state of Vatican City.  We visited its hallowed grounds during our Rome explorations. It is officially my fourth country after the Philippines, U.A.E., and Italy. We were there by a couple of hours on two separate days while still staying in Rome. Despite its small size, the Vatican is grand in many respects. No less than the pope is its sovereign head. Its main basilica is massive. And of course, several ancient artifacts and paintings are kept within its hallowed halls. Arrival One of the alleys we passed by on our way to Vatican. Completely surrounded by the larger city of Rome in Italy, the Vatican can be accessed by mere walking. You just need to present your passport before entry. No need for plane or bus tickets. Even on our way, we saw instagrammable sights We haven't taken our breakfa...
Read more

Phantasmagoria: My Favorite Films From 1999

By
Image
Own Image. All rights reserved. A quarter of a century has already passed since the last millennium ended. I recall, I was a mere adolescent, naive and inexperienced, and was beginning to see the world in the eyes of an adult. This slow and gradual discovery of a previously unknown world was guided by the frequent trips to the cinema. To me, there was nothing more entertaining yet pseudo-experiential than watching a film within the the four corners of a movie house. 1999 was the very last of an entire millennium but it wasn't just the number that makes it special. Week after week, we saw fantastic movies that opened our eyes to the reality, giving us several epiphanies in engrossing, entertaining, and sometimes, astounding manner. If there was something that makes me reminisce 1999 with a smile, it was certainly the phantasmagorical movies of that year. All stacked up, one after another, these masterpieces show that producers and directors were especially creative, inventive, and i...
Read more