Off to Japan

Ok, we are off to Japan! Its gonna be an interesting 9 Days. I’ll be bringing my digicam and Mac along with me, so i’ll be blogging on the road. Hope to get some good wireless along the way.

Ciao now. no no… its Sayonara… :)

Nick and Pearl Japan 08 Tour Itinerary


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Yes i’m excited about the upcoming trip to Japan & i’ve plotted out the WHOLE trip’s destinations onto my Google Map.

This trip is via a group tour as Pearl and I don’t really want to be think so much on this trip, so we’ll just go with the flow and enjoy ourselves. The detailed itinerary is as follows:

30 Apr, Day 1: SINGAPORE > NARITA TOKYO
When we arrive at Tokyo it will already be 6+ in the evening. We will deifnately go out and explore the city.

1 May, Day 2: NARITA – TOKYO DISNEY RESORT
We will try to wake up super early, then go to Tsukiji Fish Market before day break to see traders auction for the finest catch of the day.

The original tour plan is to go Disneyland, but we are not sure if we want to do that. I mean American Culture in Japan? Strange right. We are not bringing our girls, so Disneyland might not really make sense to us full grown adults who were never into disney stuff. Then again its been paid for and our Disneyland passport offers unlimited rides on all attractions, so we’ll decide when we get there.

2 May, Day 3: TOKYO – YOKOHAMA – LAKE SAIKO (Mt Fuji Region)
In the morning, its a Tokyo Sightseeing Tour and we will visit the Asakusa Kannon Temple, then do some street shopping at Nakamise Avenue near the temple.

Next stop Tokyo Tower, Yokohama Chinatown, then Factory Outlet Shopping.

We will then visit the Ramen Museum, where we will find many types of ramen and even get to try them. Apparently its by a coupon system and our coupon can get us any Ramen we want.

Then from here on, we travel thru the valleys and will arrive at Lake Saiko in the evening. After dinner Pearl and I will prance around naked to indulge in a soothing and relaxing Japanese onsen at the nearby spa Izumi-no-Yu.

3 May, Day 4: MT FUJI – HAKONE – TOYOHASHI: Bullet Train Experience
In the morning, we will visit an ancient village and this area was once the village with the most gorgeous thatched roofs in Japan. This ancient village is located along Lake Saiko and this is where we will have the best view of Mt Fuji as i was told.

We will proceed up to Mt Fuji’s 5th station (subject to weather permitting). Its suppose to be cold up there, let see.

There is also suppose to be a visit to Owakudani Boiling Valley where we will absord some Japanese flavoured National Geographic Channel. lol…

In the afternoon, its Bullet Train time and its just for an experience. We will board at Hamamatsu and alight at Toyohashi which we will spend the night at.

4 May, Day 5: TOYOHASHI – KYOTO – OSAKA
Morning, we will go to Kyoto and visit the Heian Shrine; the most represented Shinto Shrine in Kyoto, and Kiyomizu Temple, one of the oldest temples in Kyoto famous for its unique architecture style.

We will also be going to the Nishijin district, world-famous for its traditional silk weaving and reputed to be the place for Japan’s highest-grade textiles. We will see a Kimono Show there. To bad the time at Kyoto is really short.

Its off to Osaka where we will visit Osaka Kurumon, Black Gate Seafood Market. Maybe will try try Fugu dishes, also known as the Poisonous Blowfish!!

Next Osaka Nipponbashi.

5 May, Day 6: OSAKA: Universal Studio
After Breakfast, we will visit Osaka Castle. Day 6 suppose to be Universal Studio, but then again, its the whole American culture in Japan thing which make us want to just go do our won thing.

Evening its shopping at Osaka’s finest and busiest shopping district Shinsaibashi Dotonbori.

From here on, our extended 2 day free and easy starts and we gotta quickly figure out where we gonna stay, what we gonna do. We’re gonna visit a friend and do some catching up as we have said we will come to Japan to visit him for the longest time and we are finally doing it.

the following are tentative.

6 May, Day 7: KYOTO free and easy
Maybe during the extra days, we will go back up to Kyoto to soak up more traditional Japan and explore as many places as we can.

7 May, Day 8: OSAKA free and easy
We will be meeting a friend of mine, whom i got to know from work previously. However we do have quite alot of time in Osaka, so if you have any ideas what to do at Osaka, do drop me a comment.

8 May, Day 9: KANSAI > SINGAPORE

Lets see how the trip turns out. Photos for sure, stay tuned.

Desaru 08

Cleo on Beach

Earlier this month we made a trip up to Desaru and stayed at The Pulai together with our friends Kelvin and Laurine.

The drive up was long as we did not really know how far it was. When we left JB, the signboard showed “Desaru 92km”. Being an unexperienced driver in Malaysia, i had to follow Kelvin’s car closely.

Clié on Beach

It was a pity as when we were there, it was mainly raining, hence we could not play in the pool for too long and the beach had the red flag up. With waves crashing harshly, the kids also kept their distance.

Clié at Pool

We managed somehow to jump into the pool for about an hour, but it was cold. How i wished the sun was bright and chirpy.

Clié and Daddy in pool

Clié and Daddy floating in pool

Cleo sitting in Pool

Clié in room

When we got our keys, apparently the room that we were assigned to had people inside painting the room, very strange, hence we went back to the front desk to get another room. Room 312, thats where we spent the night.

Clié and Cleo in cot

The kids were excited knowing that they are actually on a holiday and that they are sleeping in a hotel room. We got an extra cot for Cleo, not that she needed a cot, its just that the cot is free. hee… Cleo wanted to sleep in the cot, Clié wanted to sleep on the bed. Perfect. No fighting.

thepans having seafood

Kelvin also brought us to Jade Garden Seafood Corner which is apparently very popular with Singaporeans who travel up to Desaru for seafood. Channel U even did a review on them.

The drive back at night from the seafood place back to the resort was challenging as it was pitch black and with only 1 lane both ways, over taking seems to be like a game of chicken.

We only stayed at the resort for 1 night and it does feel super short, but it was a special deal and we really needed to spend time with kids, so we went for it. However we did stop over at Jusco for lunch on the way back and did some shopping. Next time, minimum have to 2 nights, else quite pointless.

During the drive back, it was pouring, hence visibility was bad and when cruising at 130km/h its hard to fall asleep at the wheel.

It was overall a nice trip and i do look forward for the next one with kids. Would love to bring them to take a plane soon.