[Japan] Kyoto

One of our most memorable days in Japan was spent in Kyoto, where we participated in the Maikoya Tea Ceremony with Kimono Experience...

Maikoya Tea Ceremony with Kimono Experience

...and we visited the Samurai and Ninja Museum, which included Ninja and Samurai experiences.

Samurai and Ninja Museum with Experience

Our original plan was to take two day-trips to Kyoto. One day would be dedicated to the Tea Ceremony and the Samurai and Ninja Museum while the other day would be spent seeing several famous Kyoto sights. However, as I had written previously, a typhoon hit Japan, resulting in many places being closed and intercity trains being suspended. Our two Maikoya activities were scheduled on that day so I was initially very disappointed, thinking that we lost our chance to experience them. This was because both were almost fully booked when I purchased tickets a couple of weeks before and I thought there was no chance for them to reschedule our bookings while we were in Japan. I called them to ask what options we had given that we were leaving Osaka in a few days and they said they would email me shortly. To my very pleasant surprise and relief, they did email me shortly after and they said that they could accommodate us the next day. This was great news for me and my family!

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Our first stop in Kyoto was Fushimi Inari Taisha, or Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is one of the most important Shinto shrines in the world and is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. It is also world-famous for thousands of torii gates that were built over pathways that lead up the mountain. Pretty much everyone who visits the shrine takes photos of the torii gates and I'm quite happy that we managed to take several pictures in the area without multitudes of other people photobombing us haha.

Torii Gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha

We didn't have a lot of time at the shrine because of our very tight schedule but we did manage to go up the most famous section of the torii gates. One thing we learned that day was that foxes, or kitsune, are associated with and represent rice god Inari. As such, many fox statues can be found all throughout the shrine. My nephew even got a fox mask as a souvenir. I do love this shrine and I hope I can visit it again and spend more time here in the future.

One of many kitsune or fox statues at the Fushimi Inari Shrine

We then headed over to Nishiki where our Maikoya Tea Ceremony would be held. To get there, we took the train and got off at the Sanjo Station. We crossed the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge where we got to see the Kamo River. Naturally, I had to take some photos.

Sanjo Ohashi Bridge over the Kamo River

We were only a short walk away from the venue and we still had about 45 minutes before our schedule so we figured we had enough time for a quick lunch. When we passed by a Japanese barbecue place, we decided to go in to eat. I'm not particularly sure what the name of this restaurant is but we enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

Japanese Barbecue Restaurant where we had lunch

Finally, it was time for our Tea Ceremony with Kimono Experience. (I ended up booking a private ceremony, which was significantly more expensive, because the regular tea ceremony experience was fully booked and only private ceremonies were available. I felt that we might not get another chance to do this as a family so I got the private ceremony tickets, even if it did cost me a lot of money.) Once there, we got to choose a kimono and an obi (although I think that technically, what I wore is called a yukata). We were then taken to a room where our our host, Haru, welcomed us and explained what would happen. We learned a lot about the significance and the value of this tradition. Haru taught as the Japanese phrase Ichi-go ichi-e, which roughly translates to "once in a lifetime", meaning that what we experience will never be repeated (or not in the exact same way) so it's important to treasure these moments. We also learned about the different elements of a tea ceremony: harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. (Read more about it here: https://www.revolutiontea.com/blogs/news/japanese-ceremony-tea)

Our host Haru performing the Tea Ceremony

The actual tea ceremony then began. I was in awe as Haru performed the ceremony with breathtaking precision and grace. It was truly inspiring to watch! After that, she taught us how to make our own green tea. When drinking our tea, we learned that the the most decorated side of the cup should first face outward so that your companions can appreciate it and when you finish drinking your tea, you should turn the decorated side towards you so that you can appreciate it yourself. What a wonderful way to make you feel even more in the moment and to celebrate with people around you! Once we had all consumed our tea, we shared some stories with Haru before taking photos inside.

We got to make our own green tea

We were then led to the garden where we were given plenty of time to take photos. We spent maybe 1 1/2 hours in total at the tea ceremony, including getting in and out of our kimonos. While that doesn't feel like a lot of time, it was more than enough and it didn't feel rushed. In fact, it was quite relaxing as we got to slow down and enjoy the tea ceremony and we got to take dozens upon dozens of pictures. It was a truly wonderful experience!

Taking photos at the Maikoya Garden

We then took a short walk to the Samurai and Ninja Museum. We were given instructions how to get there and I also used Google maps. When we arrived at the spot that Google Maps told us to go, we couldn't immediately see it. My nephew spotted a sign saying we had to go up the stairs to get to the Samurai and Ninja Museum. We got the basic tickets, which included three things. First was a guided tour of the museum. This was another incredible experience, with our tour guide being very engaging and knowledgeable of Japanese and Samurai history. The tour lasted maybe about 45 minutes but it didn't feel that long because it was tremendously interesting. It was also great seeing all the samurai armor and weapons on display!

Samurai and Ninja Museum

The second inclusion in our ticket was also the most action-packed: a shuriken throwing competition! A shuriken is a ninja throwing star and anyone who has seen movies with ninjas would be familiar with this weapon. We were all given shuriken made of either hard rubber or plastic (which made sense because metal ones would be quite dangerous!) and our guide taught us all how to throw it. We were then told how the scoring would work and the competition began. I have to say, it wasn't easy to get the shuriken to actually stay on the board. Only a handful of people, including both my nephews, consistently got their shuriken to stick. One of my nephews actually hit the bullseye twice: once during practice and again during the actual competition. In the end, he won first place and my other nephew placed third. So cool! The winner was given a a prize so my nephew went home with a really nice blue shuriken.

Shuriken throwing competition

The third and final part of our package was the Samurai Armor Trial. This involved putting on Samurai armor, including a very heavy helmet, and getting to wield replica swords. We then got to take photos against beautiful backdrops at the venue.

Samurai Armor Trial

It was around 430pm when we left and while it was getting quite late, I thought that maybe we could visit one more place before calling it a day: the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. It would take a while to get there by train so I decided to just take a taxi. The sun was a bit low on the horizon when we arrived at around 5pm but there was still enough light to make our short visit here enjoyable. We also visited and took photos at Nonomiya Jinja, a small shrine located within the Bamboo Forest.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

There were a couple of places in Kyoto that I planned for us to see that we didn't have time to visit, including the Golden Pavilion and the Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Maikoya also has many more amazing experiences, including Samurai Sword Lessons and a Samurai Sword Cutting Experience! Maybe one day, my family and I can visit Kyoto again to see the places we missed and revisit the places we got to see and enjoy. Kyoto is considered to be the cultural center of Japan and it is a truly beautiful city that is definitely worth visiting. 

Nonomiya Shrine in the Bamboo Forest

Next: Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko

[Japan] Nara Park

Nara Park was the first tourist spot we visited in Japan. We went there the day after we arrived. Over the years, many of my friends who traveled to Osaka would share photos of themselves interacting with and feeding deer at Nara Park. I've always been interested to go and I thought my family would like to go here too.

Nara Deer Park

Based on my research, I knew that we needed to travel from the Osaka-Namba station to the Kintetsu Nara Station. I also knew that there was a 35-minute rapid express train. However, I didn't know how to get tickets to the rapid express or how to check its schedule. As such, I decided to just purchase tickets from the machine even if it would take us longer to get to Nara. As it turned out, the train we got on WAS the rapid express! (Interestingly enough, on our way back from Nara to Osaka, we also got on the rapid express. I don't know if all trains from Osaka-Namba to Kintetsu Nara and back are rapid express of if we just lucked out both times we took this route.)

Nara Park is known for having hundreds of free-roaming deer, which are believed to be messengers of the gods. As you walk around the city, you will actually see a lot of signs on the streets warning motorists of deer that may cross the road.

Visitors can feed the deer with special rice crackers that can be purchased from a multitude of kiosks scattered all over the park. One pack costs 200 yen and it contains 10 crackers. It was around noon when we arrived and the Japanese summer sun was blazing so most of the deer were laying in the shade. Most of them seemed to be full since initially, none of them seemed interested in eating the crackers we offered them. It didn't take too long though for us to find hungry deer that gobbled up all our crackers. We even ended up getting another pack.

Feeding the deer

If you are planning to go to Nara Park to feed the deer, I do have a few reminders. First, it smells like a zoo, which is completely understandable given the hundreds of deer here. Second, there is a lot of deer poop all over the park so you have to be careful. I actually stepped on some poop myself when I was moving back after feeding a deer. Thankfully, the poop stayed only on my shoe's rubber sole and didn't mess up the fabric part so I was able to clean it when I got back to the hotel. Finally, if you do plan to feed the deer, don't force them to eat the crackers you offer them. If the deer really wants to eat a cracker, they will eat it from your hand almost immediately. (If you also pay attention to their body language, you can kinda tell if they want to eat more.) My nephew and I would just offer a cracker and if after a couple of seconds, the deer doesn't eat it, we would leave it alone and look for another deer that might be hungry. However, I did see many tourists that insistently shoved their rice crackers into the faces of the deer even if the deer didn't seem interested. Please don't do that.

We started to get hungry and I read that there are restaurants inside the park but I couldn't quite figure out where they were. Thankfully, while walking, we stumbled upon a tea house inside the park. The tea house doesn't have chairs but it has these low "tables" with a tatami mat covering them. We sat by the edges of this table, which was what everyone else was doing. There were only a couple of Japanese sweets on the menu so we ordered both of them along with some cold tea. This was enough to temporarily fill out stomachs and give us energy to see more of the park. (I also have to say, the lady serving us was very friendly and hospitable.)

Tea and sweets at a traditional Japanese Tea House in Nara Park

As it was tremendously hot, we decided to just visit one more place: the Todai-ji Temple. I used google maps to help me figure out how to get there but I think it only brought me to the entrance of the temple complex. Thankfully, I found a park map that helped me figure out exactly where the temple was. To get there, we had to pass through the Nandaimon Gate.

Nandaimon Gate that leads to Todai-ji Temple

This large wooden gate is flanked by two large statues, both of which look very fearsome and intimidating.

One of two large statues that flank Nandaimon Gate

While entrance into Nara Park itself is free, you need to purchase a ticket to enter Todai-ji Temple. There are two tickets sold - one that gives you access just to the main hall and another that gives you access to the museum. The heat and the exhausting flight the day before meant that some of my family were a bit tired and we hadn't had a proper lunch yet so we decided to just get the main hall access.

Big Buddha Hall at Todai-ji Temple

Todai-ji Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Nara Park. This magnificent structure is said to have once been the largest wooden building in the world. It is also one of the most famous temples in Japan. Seeing it from afar, we could understand why: it looks quite impressive!

Todai-ji Temple

At the center of the main hall of the Todai-ji Temple is this massive 15-meter bronze statue of Buddha Vairocana.

15-meter-tall bronze Buddha

There are many more huge statues around the main hall, some of which look just as fierce as the ones at the Nandaimon Gate.

Despite the oppressive heat, our trip to Nara proved to be very enjoyable as we got to interact with deer, see some impressive views and structures, and enjoy traditional Japanese food.

Bodhisattva statue

Next: Kyoto

[Japan] Osaka

Osaka was the base of the first part of our Japan trip. This was because there are direct flights from Manila to the Osaka Kansai airport. From there, the plan was to take day trips to Kyoto and Nara. I booked a hotel at the Dotonbori area because this place is known for having many good restaurants, which meant it would be easy for us to find places to eat. I also wanted us to be near the Dotonbori River because that area is a really good place to take photos.

Dotonbori River

The highlight of our stint in Osaka was spending a day at Universal Studios Japan.

Universal Studios Japan

It was summer, which meant that Universal Studios was crowded and the lines for the rides were very long. I bought our tickets a bit late and unfortunately, express passes were already sold out. We made an attempt to go to Super Nintendo World once we arrived, which was about an hour after the park opened, but when we got there, we were told that the next available slot to go in was at 9pm. Wow! We gave up our attempt to get into what is arguably the best section of the park and instead, we made our way to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

We took some photos before falling in line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, which is located inside the big castle. It's an incredible ride that is very well-made but I gotta say, it really made me and my mom dizzy. We rested a bit, had some Butterbeer, and took lots of photos before moving to our next stop.

"Snow-capped" stone houses at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The attraction we were after the most was the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne XR Walk. My nephew is a huge fan of Monster Hunter and he really wanted to try this. Tickets for this attraction have to be purchased separately and when you buy tickets, you have to select the timeslot you want. Once we got there, we chose our avatar and a weapon (I got a long sword) before getting instructions: how to use our weapons to attack and to shield ourselves, which direction to walk, when to stop walking, and how to gather items as we go along our way. They then fitted us with virtual reality gear and we were off. The actual XR walk lasts about 10 minutes but it was a really amazing experience. The quality of the XR is topnotch and we had a couple of pretty intense battles against huge monsters. Against the first monster, I must have either been killed or I followed the walking instructions incorrectly and ended up in front of a wall because I was instructed not to move (I had a red grid fully surrounding me). However, against the second monster, my entire family was locked in fierce combat. By this time, I had figured out when the monster's attack patterns so I knew when to block and keep myself alive. In the end, we were able to beat the monster and win the game. Hooray! This attraction was only available in Universal Studios Japan until August 31 so we were really lucky to go there at the time we did because we were still able to enjoy it.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne XR Walk

Another attraction that's closing soon is The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man 4K3D so  we decided to try it. The big challenge we had was that a typhoon was coming to Japan at the time and hitting Osaka so it started to rain in the afternoon. One of my nephews got o try one more ride, the Hollywood Dream Backdrop.

Hollywood Dream: Backdrop

Meanwhile the rest of my family had coffee and snacks and checked out the souvenir shops. We ended up eating at the same place where we had lunch: Beverly Hills Boulangerie which is quite near the entrance. I had the Mini Parfait with Double Pudding. I really enjoyed it! (Actually, the desserts here are quite good!)

Mini Parfait with Double Pudding at Beverly Hills Boulangerie

Before we left Universal, we were able to have our photos taken with the minions. (I think this one in the photo with me is Stuart.)

The typhoon hit Japan full-force the next day. While the Osaka Metro was still running, intercity train operations were suspended. We ended up just spending the day in our hotel rooms, although we did have lunch and dinner in the Dotonbori area, so at least we still got to enjoy some really good food.

Dotonbori on a rainy night

The typhoon threw our plans off, which meant we weren't able to visit a couple of places that we wanted to see. We did manage to pass by Osaka Castle before heading to the Shin-Osaka station which is where we would take the Shinkansen (or bullet train) to Tokyo. We didn't have time to go inside or visit the garden but we were able to take some photos. I've seen pictures of the castle before but I had never seen it up close until now and it was a lot larger and more impressive in real life! If I ever visit Osaka again, I would love to spend a bit more time here.

Osaka Castle

Next: Nara Park

Family Trip to Japan

I took my mom and my nephews to Japan!

Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto

We were there for about two weeks and we got to spend time in Tokyo and Osaka. We got to see more of Japan by taking day trips to Kyoto, Nara, and Lake Kawaguchiko. This was my first international trip in almost four years and it was also the first international trip of my nephews in almost a decade!

Dotonbori in Osaka

Several years ago, I asked one of my nephews if he wanted to go anywhere for the summer. He said he wanted to go to Japan. I told him that it was too expensive for a summer trip but I promised to take him once he graduates high school. Unfortunately, passport issues and the pandemic prevented me keeping my promise. That is, until now.

Mt. Fuji

My family was actually planning a different trip this year but because my grandmother was confined for a while before passing away earlier this year, we weren't able to make that happen. I thought that maybe we could go to Japan instead during my nephews' school break since visa application takes only a week and Japan is not that far away. Unfortunately, because this decision was practically last minute, my mom was the only other person in my family who could join us since everyone else couldn't take 2 weeks off of work on such short notice.

Hachiko statue in Shibuya, Tokyo

What helped me was that I already prepared a high-level itinerary for a trip to Osaka and Tokyo a few years ago. (The initial idea was to go there back in 2020 but we were faced with a global pandemic at the time.) I dug up those plans and started adding more detail into it. It also helped that many of my friends had just been to Japan and they shared a lot of tips and suggestions. In the end, our itinerary looked like this:

Day 1: Travel from Manila to Osaka
Day 2: Day trip from Osaka to Nara
Day 3: Universal Studios Japan
Day 4: Day trip to Kyoto
Day 5: Day trip to Kyoto
Day 6: Travel from Osaka to Kyoto via Shinkansen
Day 7: Lake Kawaguchiko to see Mt. Fuji
Day 8: Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa, and Ginza
Day 9: Akihabara and dinner at Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu
Day 10: teamLab Planets and Odaiba
Day 11: Disneysea
Day 12: Shibuya, Meiji Shrine, and the Imperial Palace
Day 13: Travel from Tokyo back to Manila

Unicorn Gundam statue in Odaiba

It was a full schedule and in fact, we ran into some bad luck: bad weather disrupted our plans and we didn't get to see everything we planned to see. Nevertheless, it was an incredible trip that I got to enjoy with my family. Over the next several blog posts, I will write in greater detail about this amazing trip.

Torii gate at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo

Next: Osaka

Escolta at the Peninsula Manila

For the first time, I took my family to Escolta, the luxury buffet restaurant at the Peninsula Manila. We were celebrating the birthdays of my mom and my brother and I thought this place would be a perfect venue.

Another reason why I chose that place was because I got a 1-year membership package at the Manila Pen. This membership comes with a free overnight stay at a Superior Room along with several discount vouchers. One of those vouchers gave me 50% off for Sunday Brunch at Escolta for a party of 4 to 12 people. The challenge though is that Manila Pen is a very popular place to visit on Sundays, which means parking is always full. We had to park some distance away from the hotel because when we arrived, even valet parking was full!

My membership also allows me to avail of up to three vouchers at a time, so I decided to also use my vouchers for a free celebration cake and for a free bottle of wine. The requirement to claim these gifts is that you dine at any Manila Pen restaurant in a group of at least 4 people and that you inform them in advance of your plan to use these vouchers. 

Having buffet brunch turned out to be a great plan because everyone enjoyed the food and ate a lot! I have now more than made up for the cost of my 1-year Manila Pen membership: I've used my free overnight stay, I got 50% off of Sunday brunch for 9 people, I got a free cake, and I got a free bottle of wine. Hopefully, I can use more of my vouchers and that my family can enjoy more meals at the Peninsula Manila.

New Shoes

I kinda went on a bit of a shoe buying spree recently. In two weeks, I ended up buying three pairs of shoes. To be fair though, I needed to replace two pairs. I wrote about having to retire my blue and yellow Metcon 2 Flywire shoes a couple of months ago. Most of my other pairs of shoes were predominantly white or black (or a combination of both) so every time I would go to a shoe store, I would check whether they had any shoes with bright colors. Recently, when I went into a Nike store, I saw these Nike SuperRep Go 3 Next Nature Flyknit shoes. They are bright blue with yellow-orange highlights, similar to my retired Metcons. I tried them on, thought they fit well, and decided then and there to buy them. This purchase came with two bonuses. First, the salesperson told me that if I bought three items (including those shoes), I could get 30% off on all of them. My brother's birthday was coming up so I decided to buy a couple of shirts for him and that allowed me to avail of the 30% discount. Cool! The second bonus is that these shoes I got are made with at least 20% recycled content. Awesome! While I may not be able to use my favorite Metcon shoes anymore, I'm happy I was able to find a good-enough replacement.

Nike SuperRep Go 3 Next Nature Flyknit

I also recently noticed some damage in my brown Sperry shoes recently. I've had them for a while now so I thought that maybe it was time to replace them. I finally found a pair that I liked in Aldo. It helped that they weren't as expensive as the other brown shoes that I had seen and liked. After trying these Aldo shoes on, I decided to get them.

Brown Aldo shoes

The third pair I got were these white Metcon 8 shoes with bright crimson and obsidian highlights. I had been seeing this style of shoe for a while but I only saw this particular color scheme on the app. It was also on sale. However, it wasn't until I saw someone wearing these shoes that I decided I wanted to get them. I went to a nearby Nike store but they told me that this particular shoe with the colors I wanted wasn't able in any Nike store in the Philippines. It was most likely available on the app because it would be shipped from abroad, possibly Singapore so they suggested I just buy from the app. So that's what I did. It was my first time using the Nike app to make a purchase and my shoes arrived in 4 days, which was the estimated delivery time. I know that I just bought another pair of sneakers that I don't actually need but I got them at 30% off and I do like how they look so I guess I shouldn't feel too guilty haha.

Nike Metcon 8

If you're wondering about the shoes that I got rid off, I donated them. Don't worry, I made sure that the recipients understood the condition of the shoes and I checked if they were okay with them and they said that they were. Hopefully my old shoes can still serve their new owners well.

Fitting into my old new suit

My friend and ex-colleague Mitchell invited me to his wedding. The invitation specifically asked the men to come in a black suit. This caused me a bit of anxiety because I had only one good black suit; the previous two I had were a bit ill-fitting now because I had lost weight since I got them. The problem with my good black suit is that I had it tailor-made right before the pandemic, when I was at my thinnest in 10 years. I am still about 2 kilos away from my pre-pandemic weight so I was worried that the suit wouldn't fit me. I tried to go on a bit of a diet shortly before the wedding by eating a lot more salad but I didn't seem to lose any weight haha. Thankfully, on the day of Mitchell's wedding, I was able to fit into my suit, albeit very tightly. Still, I could close all the buttons and I could even sit! Hooray!

Mitchell's wedding ceremony was held at the Shrine of Jesus - The Way, The Truth, and The Life in SM MOA. There was threat of rain that day so it was cloudy but that also meant that it wasn't too hot inside the church.

After the ceremony and the pictorial, it started to rain a bit. Thankfully, there is a covered walkway from SMX (which is just across the street from the church) all the way to Conrad Manila, where the reception was held. There were a couple of hours between the church ceremony and the reception so cocktails were laid out for the guests to while away the time. While we were enjoying coffee and snacks, one of the wedding coordinators approached me to ask me if I could say the prayer before dinner. The coordinator didn't explain to me why I was being asked last minute but I just said yes.

(That actually wasn't the first time I was asked to come up with and lead a prayer at the last minute. The first time that happened, I was hosting my friends' wedding reception and even singing a couple of songs. I was stressed enough as it was so when I was asked to come up with a prayer, I ended up with something that felt too short and didn't really have any impact. I think I learned my lesson from that because this time, I was able to calmly prepare what I felt was a good prayer. And no, I didn't ask Chat GPT or Google to prepare it for me haha.)

It was a lovely wedding, with beautiful speeches and an abundance of delicious food. The experience was made even better by the fact that several of our ex-colleagues were there so it felt like a mini-reunion. I'm also really pleased that I managed to fit into my suit and that I finally got to wear it after I had made right more than three years ago! I do think that I need to lose about 2 more kilos to fit into it comfortably. Hopefully, I can achieve that before I get invited to another wedding haha.

More Fitbit Achievements

Just a couple of months after I got my previous Fitbit badge, I apparently took enough steps to earn me my latest badge: Japan. That's 3.007 lifetime kilometers I've walked.

And just a month after that, I got my next badge: India. This means that I have now walked a total  of 3,123 kilometers since I started using my Fitbit. Wow!

I also achieved a new record. In the previous week, I walked a total distance of 74 kilometers, my new personal best! 

I do have an upcoming trip planned. If that pushes through, I may just improve on my personal best pretty soon.