Flowers – Anne Goes to Places

Kyushu, Day 12: Nokonoshima

We took a bus then ferry to go to the island then another bus to reach the main area of Nokonoshima. Note that the ferry runs every 30 minutes only.

MARCH 15, 2020

Every breakfast in our Airbnb felt like a feast… and as someone who does not eat breakfast, I always end up feeling super full after eating our breakfast.

Before leaving the house, Hisako-obaasan gave me a plastic mat and snacks for our Nokonoshima trip. Such a super sweet person as well as her husband! They made us feel like we were their grandkids.

We took a bus then ferry to go to the island then another bus to reach the main area of NOKONOSHIMA. Note that the ferry runs every 30 minutes only so better get the schedule first from any tourist info center to be able to plan this trip properly.

We paid for ¥1,200 entrance fee per person to get inside the park. And while there were no sakura trees blooming yet, there were a lot of flower types already in full bloom.

After a long walk, we finally reached the area which I only saw in pictures before.

The rapeseed flowers were in full bloom and there was a pathway you can enter to be closer to the flowers.

Once satisfied with the pictures, we set the plastic mat and munched on the snacks provided by Hisako-obaasan. What a wonderful picnic especially with good weather that day!

We had lunch already in Hakata station where we tried HAKATA ISSOU. C still prefers Shin Shin because she found Hakata Issou’s broth to be nice at the beginning but too salty towards the end.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for clothes and souvenirs then went back to our Airbnb to rest.

Singapore, Day 1: Gardens By The Bay

First stop was the FLOWER DOME and when we saw that it was an enclosed space, we were not quite excited because we initially thought it would be hotter and more humid inside. But to our surprise, the place was cool!

This is the largest greenhouse in the world and it showcases hundreds of flower types from different regions. Here are my favorites from the first portion of the Flower Dome:

APRIL 21, 2017

Our mission after DTF lunch was to pick up the orders we placed from Irvin’s then went to GARDENS BY THE BAY with our big plastic bags of pasalubong. Haha!

First stop was the FLOWER DOME and when we saw that it was an enclosed space, we were not quite excited because we initially thought it would be hotter and more humid inside. But to our surprise, the place was cool!

This is the largest greenhouse in the world and it showcases hundreds of flower types from different regions. Here are my favorites from the first portion of the Flower Dome:

While I was trying to find a good angle for the yellow flower below, a fellow photographer nearby approached me and told me how to find the best flower from the bunch. She said that all the outer petals should be open while the inner petals are upright. So I took the picture below and she complimented it. Yay!

Here is a picture of our group while inside the Flower Dome:

Still high energy level even after walking around NGS for 3 hours

An interesting portion in the greenhouse was the placement of flowers of different colors to mimic some of Vincent Van Gogh’s artworks. It was difficult though to take good pictures because of the volume of the crowd…

Last batch of favorite flowers (including tulips!) before we left the place:

Next stop was CLOUD FOREST which was sort of surrounded by mist and a colder place than the Flower Dome. Upon entering, this indoor waterfall welcomed us…

Just in pure awe of the architecture and planning that went into building this place. We went to the topmost “floor” then started making our way downwards (to the exit). Definitely not for acrophobic people.

I met with my ninang and her family for dinner and they treated me to a buffet in RISE RESTAURANT (Marina Bay Sands). I stuffed myself with all the food I could eat and I kind of regret not getting a lot of duck meat in the cold cuts section because they did not refill it anymore.

Since all of us got too full after dinner, we decided to walk around the area before heading home.

Bridge that looks like DNA (helix shape-ish)

Mission for the next day is USS with J, K, and my best friend who also had work training in SG!

Kansai, Day 7: Himeji – Osaka

Our 2nd daytrip was in Himeji, almost 2 hours away from Osaka by train. From Himeji Station, we rode the Himeji Castle Loop Bus which looked like an old-fashioned bus.

Our main stop here was the famous HIMEJI CASTLE (UNESCO), which is also known as “shirasagi-jo” or “white heron castle”. It was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 16th century and during our visit, a portion of the castle was undergoing restoration – goes to show how Japan highly values their history and puts great effort in preserving this.

MARCH 12, 2017

Our 2nd daytrip was in Himeji, almost 2 hours away from Osaka by train. From Himeji Station, we rode the Himeji Castle Loop Bus which looked like an old-fashioned bus.

Our main stop here was the famous HIMEJI CASTLE (UNESCO), which is also known as “shirasagi-jo” or “white heron castle”.

It was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 16th century and during our visit, a portion of the castle was undergoing restoration – goes to show how Japan highly values their history and puts great effort in preserving this.

What was interesting for me during our visit was whichever area we were in the castle grounds, we could always clearly see the castle. Before going to the main keep, we explored the other areas nearby including a long passageway.

Inside the main keep, we climbed 6 floors. This was not the only challenge as the staircases were narrow and steep so if you have kids with you, better be careful in climbing those stairs. At the topmost floor, there was a small shrine where the local visitors all paid respect and prayed for a short while. Aside from this, we were also able to see the spectacular view of the city and the maze-like layout of the castle.

Fish ornaments placed on the roof are believed to protect the castle from fire

Before leaving, I was trying to look for a magnet that had its cute “mascot” as the design. Unfortunately, there was none so I decided to just buy the coin-like souvenir with しろまる姫 (Shiromaru-hime).

We went to KOKOEN GARDEN afterwards, which was just a few blocks away from the castle. The ticket we bought included admission for the castle and this garden. We were lucky because there were some flowers that had already bloomed but I bet that it would look even better during springtime.

We were supposed to visit Mount Shosha but given the time we finished the garden, we decided to go back to Osaka so that we still had time to visit ONE PIECE MUGIWARA STORE. I only bought two small boxes of keychain with random characters since I could not find any Zoro goodie that I liked. I was sooo lucky that one of the boxes had Zoro in his Film Gold costume! (Note that a few days after this, M told me that Den-den Town stores were better since he was able to buy the ship that was out-of-stock in OP Mugiwara Store.)

Since we did not have the energy to go far from our Airbnb, we bought dinner at MCDONALD’S and tried some of the sakura-themed items. I had the fries and soda for this but I bought a regular cheeseburger. The fries was yummy at first but I found it to be too salty later on. I guess I shouldn’t have poured all the powder… The sakura float tasted like medicine so good thing I bought an apple-flavored alcohol beverage, which was a good pair with my food.