Little Tokyo in Makati

Back in the day, if you wanted to have high quality authentic Japanese food, Little Tokyo in Makati was the place to go. I actually hadn't been to this place in about 15 years so when I had the opportunity to have dinner here again recently, I naturally took it.

Little Tokyo entrance from Fernando Street

Little Tokyo is a collection of a many different Japanese restaurants located next to each other in a small area in Makati, just a short walk away from Don Bosco. It is designed with a Japanese aesthetic, with a lovely Japanese-style bridge and a torii gate at the Chino Roces entrance.

Little Tokyo entrance from Chino Roces Avenue

We had dinner at Hana, which is the first restaurant you pass when entering from the Chino Roces entrance.

Hana Restaurant

They have a very extensive menu and it took me a while to figure out what I wanted since I kinda to wanted so many items haha. I ended up ordering omurice with some fried fish and cabbage because it had been a while since I had omurice. The dish is served with some miso soup. They actually allow ordering food from the next door restaurant - Kagura - which serves okonomiyaki (Hana doesn't). I decided to order okonomiyaki from Kagura as well. Needless to say, I had a very filling meal that night (I also ended up only eating half of my okonomiyaki and taking the rest home since we also ordered sashimi for sharing).

Omurice with fried fish and miso soup and Okonomiyaki

It was a really good meal and I'm glad I got to visit Little Tokyo again after a really long time. Dining here again reminded me why I love this place, not just for the food but also the vibe. It does kinda make you feel like you're in Japan. Hopefully, I get to visit this place again in the near future.

Little Tokyo

You can find Little Tokyo at the corner of Chino Roces Avenue and Fernando Street.

Hana
https://www.facebook.com/Hana.Restaurant.Little.Tokyo.Makati/

Kagura
https://www.facebook.com/KaguraOkonomiyaki/

Alex Eala: Miami Open Semifinalist

Congratulations to Alex Eala, the top-ranked Filipino tennis player (female or male), for reaching the semifinals of the Miami Open. She did in incredible fashion, beating three Grand Slam champions in a row - 25th seed Jelena Ostapenko (2017 French Open champion), world #5 Madison Keys (2025 Australian Open), and world #2 Iga Swiatek (who has won 5 Grand Slam titles). In the semifinals, she put up an incredible fight against world #4 Jessica Pegula before losing in three tough sets 7-6, 5-7, 3-6. Amazing! Her achievement so monumental for a Filipino tennis player that she was celebrating with a very supportive audience after the loss. Even the commentators had to say that it's rare for the loser to have a bigger smile than the winner. Check out her celebration as she exited the Miami Open:

Alex Eala feels the love despite the loss

💙❤️#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/DeNmdiM4Fu

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 28, 2025

Alex Eala moves up to #75 in the world, which I believe is the highest ever ranking for a Filipino tennis player in the Open era. This ranking also means that she now automatically enters the draw of the next Grand Slam event, the French Open. Awesome! It also means she has a chance of making the main draw of Wimbledon, which will be played about three weeks later.

This is not Alex's first success in tennis. In 2022, she won the US Open girls tournament, making her the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam event. As a Rafa Nadal fan, I also love the fact that she has been training at the Rafa Nadal Academy for the last 7 years. I don't know what the future holds for her but I am just really happy for her incredible achievement at the Miami Open. I also wish her all the best in her tennis career. Way to go, Alex!

Trying to be healthier

So I am finally back at the gym.

Making use of the elliptical machine at the gym

For the first time since the pandemic, I have a gym membership again. I decided it was high time to renew for the following reasons:

1. I need to exercise. I am getting older so I need to try to have some physical activity.
2. Ever since my Fitbit broke, I haven't been able to walk more than 10,000 steps a day and I have slowly gained weight.
3. I could have gotten a new smart watch or activity tracker but I wanted more vigorous exercise than just walking.
4. I haven't really been able to use any workout apps because I amassed so much stuff during the pandemic that there is no space left in my pad for me to exercise.
5. The only way I can sustain going to a gym is if I go to one that is right next to either my residence or my place of work. I decide to get one close to where I live.

I started really slowly, going to the gym once a week for the first two weeks of my gym membership and then twice on my third week. Hopefully, I can hit the gym three to four times a week soon and maintain it. I will be getting my annual health exam some time in the next few months so hopefully, my results will be better then.

Gym membership is an expensive choice for me, short-term, but I am hoping that getting just a bit healthier will keep me out of hospitals and reduce my chances of getting sick. And that really worth more than the cost of my membership. After all, as they say, health is wealth.

Happy 20th Anniversary to My Blog!

Happy 20th anniversary to my blog!

Since I started this blog 20 years ago, I have written a total of 2,046 posts (including this one). This means that I am averaging one blog post every 3.57 days. Not bad.

Considering that I almost stopped blogging more than a decade ago, it's amazing that I have continued to write - sometimes quite extensively - throughout the years. What kept me going was this short post about Valentine's Day. How? I found myself reading some of my old blog posts until I got to this particular post. I realized that I had completely forgotten about it! It was such a wonderful experience to suddenly be reminded of something that made me smile. As such, I declared to myself that I would keep writing so that I could capture more of these memories.

The biggest value of my blog to the people I know has been my travel posts. Whenever I have friends traveling to places I had been to and who are asking for thoughts and ideas, I share my travel posts and usually, they find my posts helpful.

I updated the list of all my travel posts that I wrote in my 15th year anniversary post to include trips I took since 2020. I have also added links to all the throwback travel posts I wrote about during the pandemic.

International travel

KENYA

Trip Summary and Final Thoughts, Travel Tips, Safari Adventure, Maasai Mara, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Maasai Village Experience, The Big Five, Giraffes, Elephants, Lions, Special and Memorable Safari Adventure, Samburu Sopa Lodge, Sentrim Elementaita Lodge, Mara Empiris Safari Camp, The Social House in Nairobi

JAPAN

Trip Summary and Final Thoughts, Travel Tips, Family Trip to Japan, Osaka, Nara Park, Kyoto, Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko, Temples and Popular Areas in Tokyo, Hachiko and Shibuya Sky, teamLab Planets and Odaiba, Tokyo DisneySea, Monster Hunter Bar in Tokyo, Mini-Reunion at Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu, Food and More Food, Hotel Visa Osaka Namba, Marunouchi Hotel in Tokyo

SOUTH AMERICA
My South America Trip Summary and Final Thoughts, South America Trip of a Lifetime, Prepping for our South America Trip, South American Wildlife, South American Food and Drinks, Challenges before and during our South America Trip, Condor Travel, Journeyou, and Going on a Tour versus DIY
PERU
Machu Picchu!, Aguas Calientes and Getting to Machu Picchu,  Cusco, Sacred Valley, Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba, Lima, Casa Qorikancha in Cusco, Tunupa in Sacred Valley, Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, Palacio Del Inka Hotel in Cusco,
BRAZIL
Rio de Janeiro, Iguassu/Iguazu Falls
ARGENTINA
Perito Moreno Glacier!, Buenos Aires,  El Calafate and Patagonia, Museo Del Filete in Buenos Aires, Casimiro Bigua in El Calafate, Loi Suites Iguazu Hotel, Hotel Kosten Aike in El Calafate
RUSSIA
Overview, Kremlin and Red Square, more Moscow sights, Moscow Metro, Sergiev Posad, Vladimir and Suzdal, Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg walking tour, the Hermitage, palaces around St. Petersburg, more St. Petersburg sights, Russian ballet, final thoughts, navigating the Moscow Metro, Travel tips
ICELAND
Summer holiday in Iceland and Austria, Blue Lagoon and Hallgrímskirkja, Glacier Lagoon, whale-watching in Reykjavik, the Golden Circle, Dettifoss and the Jewels of the North tour, last day in Iceland + suggested itinerary
TOUR OF NORWAY AND SWEDEN
Overview, Oslo, Norway in a Nutshell, Bergen, Stockholm
BRUNEI
Overview, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin and ame'asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosques, Empire Hotel and Country Club, Kampong Ayer and Royal Regalia Museum, Travel tips and suggested itinerary, final thoughts
SWITZERLAND
Lucerne landmarks, walking around Lucerne, Locarno and the canton of Ticino
SOUTH KOREA
2011: Overview, Seoul, Incheon, travel tips and final thoughts
2019: Return to Seoul, Seoul City Tour and the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul Food, DMZ Spy Tour, Nami Island and the Garden of Morning Calm, U2: The Joshua Tree Tour in Seoul
AUSTRIA
Summer holiday in Iceland and Austria, Overview, Vienna, Salzburg, Sound of Music tour, Final thoughts and travel tips
LEGOLAND AND SINGAPORE
Overview, Legoland Malaysia, Universal Studios Singapore (part 2), Final thoughts
FAMILY TRIP TO SINGAPORE
Overview, Universal Studios Singapore, Singapore Zoo, Suntec City, and the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Overview, Amsterdam sights, other Amsterdam experiences, final thought
DENMARK
Copenhagen, more on Copenhagen, sights surrounding Copenhagen
LUND AND MALMO, SWEDEN
Lund, Malmo sights, more Malmo sights
BELGIUM
Belgium, living in Brussels 1, living in Brussels 2, Ghent, Bruges

UK

Trip Summary, Vacation in the UK, London Landmarks Part 1 and Part 2, London Experiences, Stonehenge, Bath and Lacock Village, Newcastle, Edinburgh Sights and Landmarks, Edinburgh Experiences

CHINA

Trip Summary, China Vacation, Summer Palace and Lama Temple, Great Wall of China, Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, and Forbidden City, Xi'an and Terracotta Army

EUROPE (ITALY, GREECE, FRANCE)

Trip Summary, Italy, Greece, and France

ITALY

Rome, Landmarks, Vatican City, Experiences and Memories (Bonus: Pope John Paul II in Rome)

GREECE

Athens, Experiences and Memories

FRANCE

2002: Paris and Lourdes, Paris, Lourdes, Experiences and Memories

2003: Trip Summary, Return Trip to Paris, Louvre, Sights and Landmarks

US

Trips to the US, California, Ohio and Kentucky, New York

MEXICO

Trip Summary, Mexico, Mexico City, Guadalupe and Teotihuacan, Chichen Itza, Playa Del Carmen and Xcaret 

OTHER INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
Hong Kong Disneyland, Macau, Brazil, Bali, Bangkok, Luxembourg, Vietnam

I also have almost 30 posts about my life in Lund, Sweden from January to June 2007. There are too many posts to share them all here so you can look through my 2007 posts to find them. Special mention: Photo finishes at the train station Part 2 still remains to be one of my favorite blog posts ever.

Local travel

SAGADA
Overview, Sumaguing Cave, Hanging coffins and other Sagada sights, Sagada terraces and falls, Banaue Rice Terraces, final thoughts and tips
KALIBO
Visiting Kalibo for Ati-Atihan, Sadsad, Sunday Mass and Final Day Festivities, Primavera, Peil, Ramboy's, La Esperanza Hotel, Final Thoughts and Travel Tips
BORACAY
Boracay, La Cozina, Lemoni Cafe, Epic, Cafe Del Sol, Don Vito, Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel 

BATANES 

Trip 1: Overview, Basco, Sabtang Island, more of Basco, Travel tips and final thoughts
Trip 2: Revisiting, Basco highlights, new sights and experiences, changes since 2012, final thoughts and more travel tips
KALINGA
Overview, White water rafting, Shooting and rappelling, more Kalinga experiences, Travel tips and final thoughts
CEBU AND BOHOL 

2015: Cebu, Bohol, Bohol Bee Farm

2022: Shangri-La Mactan, Final Thoughts
BACOLOD
2015: Bacolod, The Ruins, 21 Restaurant, Ading's Pala-Pala, Calea, Felicia's, Byron's
2017: Revisiting Bacolod, Lakawon and the Tawhai Floating Bar
TAGAYTAY

Tito Tito's Wedding, Visiting Taal, Nanay's birthday
Food Trip 1: Restaurant Verbena, Sonya's Garden, Bag of Beans, Buon Giorno, Chateau Hestia
Food Trip 2: Breakfast at Antonio's, Chine, Mano's Greek Taverna, Java Jazz Coffee
Food trip 3: Amoroma Ristorante Italiano, Morielli's
Airbnb find in Tagaytay: Casa dlF 
PANGASINAN
Puerto Del Sol, Hundred Islands
DUMAGUETE 
Dumaguete, Sans Rival in Dumaguete
DAVAO
Davao, S'mores from Kai Artisan
SUBIC
Subic weekend, Texas Joe's House of Ribs, Rachi Curry Corner

PALAWAN

Coron, Busuanga, El Nido

BATAAN 

2019: Sinagtala Resort in Orani, Bataan

2022: Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar, Hotel De Oriente, Final Thoughts

OTHER LOCAL TRAVEL
Intramuros, Corregidor, Cagayan De Oro (this proves I didn't use to include photos), Baguio, Club Balai Isabel, Tuguegarao, Mt. Pulag

*****

I started this blog on a whim and I almost stopped after a few years before I decided to keep posting. Now that my blog is on its 20th year, I am very thankful that I have continued because I can very easily look back at all the amazing things that have happened in my life. I have always known how fortunate I am to have had all these opportunities but getting to read and relive all these incredible memories and experiences I documented in my blog over the years makes me feel even more grateful.