At the Kyoto Station

This is our last picture taken at the Kyoto Sky Gardens, a few minutes just before we entered the shinkansen tracks back to Tokyo.

Luke looked wittingly cute in this photo, probably musing about our exciting 10-day vacation from upnorth in Hokkaido down in the west in Kansai. And now, we're back in the east.

We shall never forget our grand escapade. Amazing. Exciting. Appetizing. Freezing. Simply memorable. Till next time. ;)


Kyoto Sky Gardens
JR Kyoto Station
January 4th, 2007

Exploring Kyoto (Part 3) -- our last day

We didn't want our last adventure day to be just a travel day back to Tokyo. So, with the much-appreciated help of our friend, Mr. Kanai, who have come all the way from Nishinomiya to our hotel in Honmachi, we went back to Kyoto and have a glimpse of the other important and must-see tourist attractions there.

First we headed to Kiyomizu-dera (Temple of Clear Water) and spent our entire morning there. Uphill, we had a view of the central Kyoto where the landmamrk Kyoto Tower was clearly in sight.

Then, we traversed the narrow roads passing by old houses, mostly selling some souvenirs and teacups/teapots, until we reached Kodai-ji. We continued on walking till we reached the Maruyama-koen, which seemingly resembles Ueno Koen. Its main attraction is the weeping cherry tree. Why weeping? Pardon me for I couldn't exactly remember the reason why. Then we went to Chion-in but just on a short stop. We also passed by the Yasaka-jinja before we headed back to Kyoto station.

And oh, Mr. Kanai treated us to an authentic Jap resto where we had a sumptuous lunch of tempura. ;)

And so, our vacation is over, though we didn't want it to end. It is so nice to explore these places. Maybe, next time around. ;)

In the meantime, enjoy our photos:






Eastern Kyoto
January 4th, 2007

Nara deer-venture (aka Oh, di-di-di-deer!)

We went to Nara -- Japan's first capital -- on our third day. There, we met with our dear friends, Rich-san and Tomo-san.

Upon getting off at the Nara Station, we started walking down the Nara Koen until we reached the Todai-ji with the Daibutsu-den (Hall of the Great Buddha) as its main attraction. Before we got into the gate, we were welcomed by hornless deer scattered around the place. Children fearfully but excitedly love to feed them with shika-sembei (you can buy these deer biscuits for only 150yen). But beware! These deer just grab up anything whatever you're holding in your hands, which they believed to be their food. Look at how our friend Tomo-san tried to escape from the flock's plea for food.

Enjoy our photos (please don't mind the other faces in the pictures; the temple was way too crowded to get a chance for a solo):









Todai-ji and Nara Koen
Nara Prefecture
January 3rd, 2007

Exploring Kyoto (Part 2)

After happily munching on the chocolate-coated dango, we headed to the Ginkaku-ji, or the Silver Pavilion, on the eastern side of Kyoto. Luke was already asleep when we arrived there, and it was Dadi's turn to carry him -- while taking pictures of the vast garden and me!

Unlike in the Golden Temple, we stayed here for only about an hour hiking the mountainside walkways through the tall trees. From atop, we had a hazy glimpse of downtown Kyoto. It was almost closing time when we got out of the temple, so we planned to go to Kyoto Station for our dinner before heading back to our hotel. However, the queue at the bus stop was rather long, and the bus arrived after 30 minutes of (im)patiently waiting. Luke and I were lucky to find a seat at the back, but Dadi was far at the frontside. Again, it was about a 30-minute ride to downtown Kyoto, and Luke was already throwing tantrums because of his very wet diaper.

Anyway, despite some uneasiness once in a while, and the not-so-good weather, we still managed to enjoy our "exploration". ;)


Ginkaku-ji, Kyoto
January 2nd, 2007

Exploring Kyoto (Part 1)

Our first stop in our Kyoto adventure was the famous Golden Temple or known as the Kinkaku-ji. It was a surprisingly 40-minute bus ride from Keihan-Sanjo train station. It was raining when we went there, but that did not stop us from luring our eyes with the awesome sight inside the temple.

Roaming around the temple for almost two hours with a heavyweight toddler in tow (frontpack) was kinda back-aching thing to do. We were already hungry halfway through, thanks to those shops that offered free taste of their products, which of course, enticed us to buy some. I especially liked the chocolate-coated dango. ;)

Here are our photos:

Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto
January 2nd, 2007

Tigger also went to Kansai

To start the new year, we set off to see the beauty of west Japan, in the much-coveted and historic Kansai region. Our 3-night-and-4-day stay was rather short as we start our adventure roaming around Osaka, Kyoto and Nara.

I must say that we felt a bit warm in Kansai, as our bodies were somehow got used to the freezing temperature in Hokkaido.

Take a look at some of our pictures. Enjoy!

Inside the train at the Kansai International Airport going to Namba.

Finally arrived in our hotel in Honmachi, Osaka.

Exploring Honmachi and nearby districts in our quest to find a nice dining area on New Year's Day where almost all shops were closed.


Honmachi, Osaka Prefecture
January 1st, 2007

Bye-bye, Fukagawa!

January 1st, 2007 -- we left Fukagawa, Hokkaido. We were a bit sad with the thought that our snow-y vacation had come to an end. But we have our happy memories, and our pictures to share with you and for keepsakes.

In the photos below, we were at the station waiting for our train to take us back to the New Chitose International Airport.



To our dear friends, Rich-san and Tomo-san, thank you so much for your unselfish and warm accommodation, and for showing us how life is like during winter in the coldest part of Japan. Here's hoping to visit Fukagawa again sometime! ;)


Fukagawa Station
Fukagawa, Hokkaido
January 1, 2007

Hokkaido spree: snowman

Unlike in Wakkanai, it was fine (=sun is up and bright, no snowfall) in almost all days of our stay in Fukagawa. On days when we're not busy going here and there, we played on the meter-high snow just beside our friends' house.

Who is scarier -- Luke with big red hands or the snowman, aka snowdevil? Surely, we didn't want to be on a Halloween mood on a white Christmas season, eh. ;)

Do you think Luke is taller than the entrance to the snowhouse? Or he is just scared to go inside? ;)

Luke didn't have any water-proof gloves, but despite his already wet and cold cloth gloves, he went on playing trying to make a snowball, to no avail.



Fukagawa, Hokkaido
December 2006

Hokkaido spree: seal or no seal

We spent two joyful nights and three blizzard-y days in Wakkanai, the northernmost part of Hokkaido/Japan. Aside from devouring the sumptuous Japanese dishes served to our pleasure, we went strolling around despite the bad weather (=snowstorm). We went to the Wakkanai Port to see some seals. Too bad we did not see any, but Luke was still smiling and jolly to be out trying to find some seals. On a fine day (which means about 0-1 degrees), we could've also have a hungry glimpse of Russia (at least the coastal part). Maybe next time...



Wakkanai Port, Hokkaido
Seal Viewing House
December 2006

Hokkaido spree: toboganning

Our first try was a bit short because I was complaining of freezing hands and feet (yup, it's true), so we had our second chance (the place is very near our friend's house) with Dadi enjoying most of it. Of course, it was still freezing cold but we managed to stay a little longer than the first one. However, Luke didn't want to try again and he was crying all the time so we just watched Dadi had the time of his life (pardon the not-so-clear photo). And there were skiers in the area that made me a bit hesitant to try again. Nonetheless, we had fun and enjoyed having our pictures taken, too.

Let's toboggan!




Fukagawa, Hokkaido
December 2006

Hokkaido spree: snowboarding

This is our own version of the sport, k? I recently learned (oh, my innocence) that this is called toboganning (also tobogganing) made for those who are not brave enough to go into the real snowboarding or skiing feat flying high up. We just wanted to get a feel of the excitement of freely gliding down the snowy slope. Screaming, laughing, perspiring. Picture-taking, then freezing to death. ;)




Fukagawa, Hokkaido
December 2006

Hokkaido spree: snow walk

It's our first Christmas in Japan, and we spent it travelling to Hokkaido -- the coldest place in Japan -- chasing snow and enjoying every cold brrrrrr-eeze that we don't experience in any other places we've been.

I'll be posting lots of pictures from our recent trip, so enjoy and feel the snow!


Fukagawa, Hokkaido
December 2006

Tigger is waiting

Anxiously, and perhaps, impatiently waiting. Very eager to catch his plane that will take him to the coldest part of Japan -- in Hokkaido.

Our flight was at 8:30am and we had to leave our place very early. This means waking Tigger up very early, which is not an entirely good idea, especially when traveling, for we can only expect tantrums -- and more tantrums. Luckily and surprisingly, we didn't have any trouble on our way because he slept -- and slept. The only glitch we had was he pooped when we finally arrived at the Fukagawa train station and no comfortable diaper-changing section. So we had to wait till we got to a big shopping mall with wide and well-maintained rest room. ;)

Generally, our entire trip door-to-door was fascinating, especially so that we were flying low I could see the vast mountains and plains covered in snow. More exciting when we finally got upclose with the thick and sparkling snow, seeing all white in every turn. Well, this is not the first time to see, touch and play with snow, but it's a bit different to "live" in snow.


Haneda Airport, Tokyo
December 25, 2006

2nd visit to Shinjuku Gyoen

We first visited Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden last month. It was summer-y green at that time. This month, particularly the first two weeks, is a time to catch a glimpse of the Chrysanthemum Exhibition (which runs until Nov. 15th only). Aside from viewing the vast array of Chrysanthemums of various forms and colors at the Japanese traditional garden, here's what Luke did during this second visit:

admire the awesome scenery
pick some pebblestones along the way


walk with mami especially on the dusty road
playfully wrestle with dadi on the wide lawn



Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
November 9th, 2006
Chrysanthemum Exhibition

One fine day at Shinjuku Gyoen

We were so happy to spend a whole day in a huge park within Tokyo's central district (for free, courtesy of a Jap friend who works there). Autumn has yet to set in a few weeks, and the park is still covered with beautiful green bushes of summer amidst a cool breeze. Walk. Sleep. Read books. Eat. Chat. Take pictures. Anything. Just enjoy the day at the Shinjuku Gyoen. And enjoy these pictures too! ;)