Young and trendy, as only the Japanese can. That’s probably how I would describe the entertainment and shopping district of Harajuku, and that is best embodied in its famous street, Takeshita Dori (or Takeshita Street). Since I passed through here the other day while on my way to Meiji Shrine, I knew it’s something I wanted to check out. Continue reading “Tokyo, Japan 2014: Harajuku’s Takeshita Dori”
Me and my love for mountains. While planning this trip, when it came to choosing between any Disney-related jaunt to checking out Mt. Fuji, I went for the latter. So it was really no contest between Tokyo Disneyland and a Fuji-san sighting. In fact, I’d pick a nature-related sojourn over any amusement park ANY TIME. So it was with so much excitement that I included a side trip to Lake Kawaguchi, or Kawaguchiko on my second day in Japan. Continue reading “Japan 2014: Kawaguchiko”
The morning of the second day of our Christmas Ed Kapangan adventure began way too early, but with so much excitement for what lies ahead, I do not really mind. (By the way, I hope y’all had a nice Christmas.)
Continue reading “6th Christmas Ed Kapangan, Benguet (Day 2)”
Here’s a sad fact: my roots are in Kapangan, but I am not fully acquainted with it, having been born in Baguio and spent most of my life in La Trinidad and Baguio, with the occasional visits to my grandma in Kapangan, and other relatives in Tublay and Atok. I was aware that the Christmas Ed Kapangan (translates to “Christmas in Kapangan”) has been going on annually and, this time, I was especially keen that I join. Before anything else, though, let me just greet you all a very merry Christmas!! Continue reading “6th Christmas Ed Kapangan, Benguet (Day 1)”
Taking a break from my Tokyo posts to make way for this one. You know how others have so-called “birthday posts” on their blogs? Well, this is my version of that, haha! Continue reading “Wasteland No More: Birthday Trek to Mt. Pinatubo”
The area around Meiji Jingu is packed with many other interesting places to check out, which is why I suggest you devote an entire day around this area. In fact, if I had more time, I would have gone to Takeshita Dori too, but I didn’t and I also didn’t want to have to breeze my way through it since I am pressed for time. There are things that are meant to be savored, and this is one of them. So is a visit to Yoyogikouen, also called Yoyogi Park. Continue reading “Tokyo, Japan 2014: Yoyogikouen”
When you say “Shibuya”, the first things that come to mind include shopping, Shibuya 109, the “scramble”, Hachiko, Tsutaya and Starbucks. Places to eat are almost an afterthought. But while checking out blogs of those who have been there, I stumbled on one that mentioned Genki Sushi. True, it’s not the traditional sushi place, with a “conveyor belt”-like mechanism, but it is more than enough motivation for me to check it out. Besides, I was keen on making sure I try out as much Japanese food as I can for the duration of my trip. Continue reading “JapanEats: Genki Sushi (Shibuya)”
While researching places to check out in Tokyo, I read somewhere that, on weekends and national holidays, you are bound to see lots of things at Meiji Shrine, such as Shinto weddings, or kids wearing their finery accompanied by their parents and grandparents. November 24 was a national holiday, so I made it a point to head to possibly the most famous shrine in Tokyo. Continue reading “Tokyo, Japan 2014: Meiji Shrine”
To officially kick off my series of Japan travel posts, I am going to start off with Shibuya. I had an itinerary all mapped out, and it’s quite packed, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go to all of them. I made allowances for the fact that I’d be sidetracked at one place and take too long, and also the fact that nature may throw some curveballs to derail even the best-laid plans (she did). But, just for reference, I had a packed itinerary, listing down the places that I must go to. Continue reading “Tokyo, Japan 2014: "Booyah, Shibuya!"”
The first week of December 2014 is a wonderful, wonderful, time to be an Arashi & CNBLUE fangirl in Nagoya. When we were planning the trip, the concerts weren’t really the “main” event, since (a) the Nagoya leg of thw “CNBLUE 2014 Arena Tour: Wave” was originally scheduled sometime October or November. And the odds of us scoring Arashi tickets were, well, very low, indeed. And then, it happened. The CNBLUE cons were moved to December 3 and 4. Our flight home from Nagoya is on December 7. AND THEN Arashi’s Nagoya concert was set for the 5th. Right there and then, we just knew WE HAD TO GO TO ALL THREE. It’s a good thing Peach is a member of the Japan FC, so she was able to get tickets for two nights. Continue reading “CNBLUE 2014 Arena Tour: WAVE… in Nagoya”
I’m back home from a two-week trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. I’ve seen lots of things, had lots of experiences, met quite a number of people, and been to a considerable number of places, but the first post I am making is that of the concert to top all concerts that I’ve seen live: Arashi Live Tour 2014 – The Digitalian. Continue reading “Arashi Live Tour 2014: THE DIGITALIAN… in Nagoya”
It’s been a long series of posts (haha!) but I’ve finally come to the end of my South Korea series. I had to take several (long) breaks in between, but let’s just say that was my way of stalling having to say goodbye to this chapter of my wandering soul, so to speak. (And, oh, Ohayou from Kyoto! We’re seeing CNBLUE live in concert this evening, so this is a fitting post, don’t you think?)
A warm hello from cold Osaka!! *waves* We’ll be leaving today for Kyoto, wish we could’ve stayed longer in this bustling city, but the pull of Edo aka “old” Japan is much stronger, so off to Kyoto we go~! For now, though, I am making my second to the last post about my SoKor adventure, which you can check out here. This time, straight from Yoggungsa, we took more than an hour bus-and-train ride to Taejongdae. Continue reading “South Korea Pt. 22: Midday at Taejongdae in Busan”
On my first climb at Mt. Pulag, I overheard one of the journalists gripe about how many who reach the summit go “I conquered Mt. Pulag!”. He said that YOU don’t conquer Mt. Pulag; Mt. Pulag conquers YOU. I agree. How, on God’s green earth, can you expect to ever conquer a mountain? And how can you boast to have been able to conquer something that doesn’t even care that you did?
After writing that post about Kabayan’s Four Lakes, I suddenly felt the urge to dig through my hard drive for old photos and, what do you know, I still have them! So that spurred me to write this post about my three jaunts up Mt. Pulag.
One sure sign that you truly enjoyed an experience: you have a hard time letting go of it. I was randomly going through the photos uploaded by others who were with us during the Ambuklao Adventure III last October 24 to 26, and I just knew this deserved a third post, if only to wrap it up. This photodiary will never do justice with the amount of fun we had during this enriching experience, but I hope it shows, even just a little, how much it did.
Continue reading “Ambuklao Adventure III: A Photodiary”
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