To cut the story short – our flight from Fukuoka going back to Manila got cancelled and the only way to go home was fly from Osaka, Nagoya, or Tokyo. Osaka was the nearest so we had our rerouted flight be there.
MARCH 18, 2020
For our last breakfast during this trip, Hisako-obaasan prepared different dishes with mentaiko: pure mentaiko, grilled fish with mentaiko, and mentaiko mayonnaise. She gave us melon and her signature yogurt with honey for desserts!
Before leaving, we had a quick pictorial with them. I already miss our Japan grandparents while typing this. Whenever we would leave their home, we would say “Ittekimasu” while she would say “Itterasshai”. Then every time we went back, we would greet her with “Tadaima” and she would reply “Okaeri”. T_T
They drove us to the train station and Hisako-obaasan even went with us inside and made sure that we would be able to ride the train on time. Even in the previous days, she made sure that we would ride the bus and would always wave us goodbye once the bus left.
So from Hakata, we rode the shinkansen going to Osaka. To cut the story short – our flight from Fukuoka going back to Manila got cancelled and the only way to go home was fly from Osaka, Nagoya, or Tokyo. Osaka was the nearest so we had our rerouted flight be there.
It was C’s first time in Osaka so I brought her to Dotonbori for late lunch – Ichiran’s ramen and Creo-ru’s takoyaki. C was able to research a café selling Cremia (¥550).
We went to DEN DEN TOWN afterwards because I was not satisfied with the anime shops we visited in Fukuoka. Even here, there was not a lot of Kimetsu no Yaiba merch.
We went to KIX afterwards by boarding the airport limousine bus in Hankyu Hotel stop near Osaka Station.
We were lucky that there was a Botejyu branch in KIX so C was able to eat more food well-known in Osaka – kushikatsu and okonomiyaki.
This trip was nerve-wracking as we travelled during COVID-19 crisis (not yet super bad in Japan at that time) but definitely a memorable one with all the nice people we met and the good experiences we had. ❤
A short walk from Maizuru Park, we reached Fukuoka Castle Ruins. I was expecting to see remnants of the main keep but there was not so much to see.
MARCH 17, 2020
We passed by MAIZURU PARK but none of the trees had any flower blooming.
A short walk from there, we reached FUKUOKA CASTLE RUINS. I was expecting to see remnants of the main keep but there was not so much to see. What survived were some turrets and guard towers in the castle grounds. Portion of the moat was also noticeable.
We went to ICHIRAN TENJIN NISHIDORI afterwards and ordered the premium tonkotsu (kamadare style) again. This time, we did not buy the set because we were still full from breakfast. I bought extra osukaran vinegar (¥120), Ichiran’s original premium vinegar, and added it to the broth. That brought out a nice touch of sourness although my conclusion is not adding the vinegar is still better.
I shopped for tea bags and tea leaves in the store recommended by Hisako-obaasan. It was difficult to spot because there was no English sign but good thing she sent me a picture of the store.
We went back to Canal City and spotted a Studio Ghibli shop…
…then went to HAKATA GION TETSUNABE for early dinner. We ordered the bestselling tetsunabe gyoza, which were bite-sized pieces of gyoza served in hot skillet.
We went back home afterwards because Hisako-obaasan and Masanobu-ojiisan prepared a yummy light dinner for our last night in Fukuoka.
They served us okonomiyaki, homemade umeshu, sake, and a side of salad with prosciutto.
What a perfect way to cap off our last night for this Kyushu region trip!
Our visit in Atomic Bomb Museum was very depressing but at the same time I felt that we must not shy away from visiting it. I wrote a lengthy post in IG on this day and I still stand by it.
Our visit in ATOMIC BOMB MUSEUM was very depressing but at the same time I felt that we must not shy away from visiting it. I wrote a lengthy post in IG on this day and I still stand by it. Japan definitely fucked up the Philippines during WWII and I can still recall the horrifying experiences shared by surviving comfort women when I was in college. Every deed that the Japanese soldiers did was unforgivable.
But, we cannot deny that the deaths of the innocent citizens in Nagasaki and Hiroshima were also unjustifiable. It put a stop to the war… but at what cost? May what happened be a lesson that in any war, no one wins and only casualties are gained.
Some of the stuff inside the museum were the wall clock that stopped at the time of atomic bomb explosion, a replica of Urakami Cathedral’s wall remnant, and videos showing uncensored dead bodies / injured survivors.
There was also a replica of the atomic bomb (called “Fat Man”) and what it contained inside.
When I read the poems made to the atomic bombing, I had to put a lot of effort not to cry really hard. C and I were not talking after our visit and had to eat after just to put some good vibes…
We visited IWASAKI HONPO near our Airbnb. Famous for its kakuni manju (¥400 per piece), we bought 6 pieces to share. The meat serving size was generous and it had a kinda melt-in-your-mouth texture. That brought up our mood to a bit of better one.
We bought castella (¥1,200) at FUKUSAYA, one of the famous shops in Nagasaki.
It was time for us to return to Fukuoka and for dinner, we decided to go to ICHIRAN to boost our mood again. We got the premium tonkotsu (kamadare style) set (¥1,580) which included extra chashu slices, tamago, nori, and kikuage. Only the Tenjin Nishidori branch and Hakata Station branch serves the kamadare style Ichiran ramen.
This was C’s first time to try Ichiran ramen and she really, really enjoyed the experience.
Our first stop for our last day in Kyoto was KINKAKU-JI (UNESCO) – also known as the “Golden Pavilion”. It is one of the famous Zen temples which has its top 2 floors covered in gold leaf. This golden structure overlooks a pond, which is a real sight to see.
Near the exit, there is a spot where one can write in an ema but what we did was light candles. There was a variety of candles depending on which one you want to wish for – career, health, and safety among others.
MARCH 10, 2017
Our first stop for our last day in Kyoto was KINKAKU-JI (UNESCO) – also known as the “Golden Pavilion”. It is one of the famous Zen temples which has its top 2 floors covered in gold leaf. This golden structure overlooks a pond, which is a real sight to see.
Near the exit, there is a spot where one can write in an ema but what we did was light candles. There was a variety of candles depending on which one you want to wish for – career, health, and safety among others.
We decided to have lunch @ KYOTO KATSUGYU – a restaurant famous for Kyoto-style Wagyu beef and aged beef; interesting for us since we were used to pork as key ingredient of the katsu. Another interesting thing about the katsu in this place is how they deep fry the beef for only 30 seconds, which results to medium-rare meat (which is my preferred done-ness!)
After our early lunch, M suggested we go to KYOTO INTERNATIONAL MANGA MUSEUM. Good thing Shu, our Airbnb host, was kind enough to let us leave our luggage in the unit longer than the check-out time. In the museum, most of the manga were in Japanese (obviously). While I could not read kanji, I still felt in awe handling physical copies of manga, especially titles that I encountered from childhood up to present. Before leaving, I bought a few souvenirs to take home, including earphone plugs with Law and Luffy from One Piece.
Time for us to head to Osaka after the short trip in the museum! It was quite confusing inside Kyoto Station because there are different platforms, depending on your destination. When we found ours, we had to figure out which side would take us to Osaka. We asked a kind Japanese lady and while she did not speak any English, when a train arrived, she motioned to us not to get inside because that was not the train bound for Osaka. We had to wait for the right one otherwise we might end up in a different place.
When we arrived in our Osaka Airbnb, we took time to rest our feet and we only went out for dinner.
[Just like in previous posts, I was supposed to share here the details of the Airbnb but unfortunately, host took down the listing already. 😦]
We went straight to Shinsaibashi-suji to check out shops we may be interested to check out on another day. Afterwards, we went to one of the ICHIRAN branches in Dotonbori. The one we went to was a different style because instead of the individual counter, there were tables for groups (ideal for family and friends).
Just like my Ichiran experience in Tokyo, I also enjoyed this one and it was interesting that we could freely talk with each other because of the set-up. We went home after finishing our big ramen bowls because the trip to Kobe would require us to leave early.
We went straight to Akihabara, and Mark and I were in pure bliss because we were in the popular anime place! We visited the big DONKI (DON QUIJOTE) store first to buy all sorts of pasalubong, mainly food (instant noodles + chocolates). After that, we headed to RADIO KAIKAN and went crazy at each floor. We were not allowed to take pictures, especially in areas of action figures. T.T
JANUARY 18, 2016
We were greeted in the morning by the first snowfall in Tokyo for 2016. Toshi-san’s prediction that we would be able to experience it was right on mark. We were not able to witness the actual snowfall but seeing that much of snow was already enough to make me happy. The last time I saw snow was back in January 2014, which was also my first time to see it.
Thick snow covering the roofs of every house and building
More snow!
We started the day quite late, leaving the lodging at past 1PM. We had our late lunch in the food court of SOLAMACHI, and I picked the store which sells Japanese curry dish.
We went straight to Akihabara, and Mark and I were in pure bliss because we were in the popular anime place! We visited the big DONKI (DON QUIJOTE) store first to buy all sorts of pasalubong, mainly food (instant noodles + chocolates). After that, we headed to RADIO KAIKAN and went crazy at each floor. We were not allowed to take pictures, especially in areas of action figures. T.T The place has all sorts of merchandise for anime lovers — manga, action figures, CD copies of the shows, drawing guides, OST CDs, etc.
I wished we could have stayed longer so that we could visit more anime/manga places in Akiba. *sigh* We went to Shibuya afterwards to do some more shopping…
Hello there, Hachiko! We finally met!
Our first stop was TOKYU HANDS, which has 7 floors and per floor, it has 3 sections (A, B, C). The place sells all sorts of items — ballpens, friction pens & highlighters, brush pens, postcards, stationery, bags & wallets, cosmetics, etc. Shopaholics will definitely love this place!
I was excited and itching to go to our next destination, which was recommended by Mark since he absolutely loves the same show to… ONE PIECE MUGIWARA STORE in Parco Shibuya. YAAAYYY!!! Good thing it was just walking distance from Tokyu Hands. So happy to see huge figures of Zoro, Luffy, and Chopper outside the store. I splurged on the One Piece gachapon machines outside, and bought some more keychains inside the store. I also bought a Perona cellphone audio jack, but I AM SO SAD TO SAY THAT I LOST IT HERE IN MNL. 😥
We went to look for ICHIRAN after our shopping trip for One Piece goodies…
There was a line but we decided to stay since it seemed like we would not wait that long. We ended up sitting in separate cubicles so we were able to experience eating alone.
It was interesting how we ordered our ramen — we were asked to “create” our ramen using a vendo machine, which would let out a small paper slip after you paid for it. Then, the waiter would hand out a paper so that you can check your preferences when it comes to flavor, richness, garlic, sliced pork, green onions, original red sauce, and noodle texture. This part resembles the way Ramen Nagi in MNL does things so it was familiar to me at that point.
I liked the way they cook their ramen because it is not that salty. It was good but still not decided if that is indeed the best ramen.
We called it a night after this dinner since we still had to wake up really early the next day for Tsukiji Market.
Anne Goes to Places 