We availed the “Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi Tour” from Viator, which costs around €80+ per person. Our first destination was Sorrento, which is the home of limoncello.
APRIL 15, 2019
We availed the “Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi Tour” from Viator, which costs around €80+ per person. Our first destination was Sorrento, which is the home of limoncello. We first visited SORRENTAGRI which sold limoncello in various alcohol volume %. I was not a fan of both 20% and 32% but then again I don’t drink alcohol.
After buying small bottles of limoncello and cooking aids, we headed to the city center of SORRENTO and we were given free time to explore the city on our own.
My sister and I went to the famous DAVIDE IL GELATO and I got a 2-flavor cup: limone (lemon) and nocciola (hazelnut). Good thing I got the nocciola to neutralize the sourness from the limone.
We walked around some more before going back to the parking lot to reconvene with the rest of the group…
Second stop was POSITANO where we had a great view of the ocean and houses built in the cliffside village.
We had our lunch at RISTORANTE LA CALAJANARA where we had a simple 3-course lunch, part of the tour package. My sister and I were seated with a fellow tourist from Sweden, and we exchanged lots of stories about traveling and our home countries.
Last stop of the tour will be continued in the next post. 😊
I was so happy that I got to do the ama hut experience, especially with Ise ebi (Ise lobster) in season. The highlights of this experience were getting to eat seafood that were freshly caught by ama and conversing with ama divers, with the help of an interpreter.
I was undecided which tour company to pick between Osatsu-kamado and Hachiman. But the deciding factor was the free direct shuttle bus offered by Hachiman.
I found out about ama (海女, literally “woman
of the sea”) in 2017 while looking for what to do in Ise-shima. I was unable to
squeeze in a visit though because of the tight schedule of our 2017 trip but
this time, I got the opportunity to meet them.
NOVEMBER 25, 2018
Some of the things I learned about ama
during the visit:
Most ama are women and it is
said that this is because males can hardly endure the cold water during diving.
Ama freedive for about 10m in
the Pacific Ocean, with earplugs to protect their ears from water pressure.
They are mostly known for pearl
cultivation but they also get seafood – octopus is their biggest enemy so they
usually “fish” them; but they also get awabi (abalone), Ise ebi (Ise lobster),
and sea cucumber among others.
There are about 120 ama divers
in the area of Toba I visited, with the eldest being 85 y/o and the youngest
being 24 y/o.
Ama usually work for about 2-4
hours and then take a rest in their huts…
I was so happy that I got to do the ama hut
experience, especially with Ise ebi (Ise lobster) in season. The highlights of
this experience were getting to eat seafood that were freshly caught by ama and
conversing with ama divers, with the help of an interpreter.
I was undecided which tour company to pick between Osatsu-kamado and Hachiman. But the deciding factor was the free direct shuttle bus offered by Hachiman.
I found HACHIMAN KAMADO’s website to be outdated so I was hesitant to book but I read positive reviews online so I booked a reservation. I got an email within 24 hours that the 12:30 schedule I wanted was already fully booked so I asked if I could still avail the lunch set even if the schedule would be at 13:00. I got a reply that this was okay so I sent a new reservation form.
I got the Deluxe Seafood Set (¥7,560) which
includes grilled shellfishes, sashimi, seaweed, soup, rice, pickles, and an
option to choose either awabi or Ise ebi. I was excited for the lobster so the
obvious choice for me was Ise ebi, and besides, I was able to try awabi last
year.
From Ujiyamada Station (after Ise Jingu visit), we took a train going to Toba.
The shuttle was scheduled to leave at 13:00
and apparently there was no other visitor for the 13:00 schedule who availed
this. When we reached the Ama Hut Hachiman area, there were 2 or 3 other groups
in the room but they all had private cars for transportation.
Junko-san, the interpreter, greeted us and she pointed to the basket with the deluxe seafood set.
Look at those Ise ebi — still alive!
Junko showed each group to the assigned then
one of the ama served us this kai (sea bream) sashimi. It was so fresh that I
liked it even without dipping in the shoyu.
While busy with the appetizer, some of the ama started grilling the different kinds of shellfish.
Everything was so good, except for the
weird kind that tasted as salty as the sea. The rice was served afterwards and
that helped in neutralizing the saltiness. Ise ebi, the highlight of the lunch,
was cooked lastly.
(I was so excited when I saw the ama with cooked Ise ebi approaching our table but then she just left after placing it on the table. I was confused how to remove the shell but another ama saw me – she wore her gloves then methodically removed the shell. Yay!
(
Ise ebi is not as big as the usual lobster but it is way bigger than shrimps. One bite and I could jump from joy because it tasted really good. There was a hint of sweetness and I savoured every bite of it!
One of the ama saw the sea bream we finished and she asked if we wanted it grilled so we said yes. It was so yummy but a bit difficult to get fish meat since there was only a little left.
After that heavy lunch, one of the ama went to the center of the room and started speaking in Japanese. Junko interpreted the ama’s story on their work, how they get seafood, and other interesting facts on the remarkable work they do.
Next, a few of the ama showed one of their
traditional dances while music was being played on the background.
Before our visit was officially ended,
Junko introduced us to Reiko-san, the oldest ama in the area. She is 80+ years
old and considered the leader in the group but has retired from diving duties a
few years ago.
We still had around 30 minutes before the bus leaves for Toba Station (15:10) so I took the opportunity to go near the water and walk along the shore. It was a bright day and I thought to myself that the view there would be even better during sunset.
When we returned to the ama huts, the ama
were busy cleaning up. There were no visitors left and I could hear them
chatting lively. Near the entrance, there were two ama talking to Junko. They
saw us approaching and they asked us where we were from. When we said
Philippines, they brought out PH flags so I asked the shuttle driver to take a
photo of us.
They went back to talking afterwards and I was so bummed out that I forgot to buy dried mangoes for them because I wanted to give them a little token from PH. I remembered though that I had a small pack of peanuts so I shared it with them. When it was near 15:00, I said goodbye to them then Junko gave me a piece of chocolate. The ama also told me and Junko that I was “kawaii”. So sweet!
Retro style bus at Toba Station
What a way to end my Ise-Shima adventure.
Some may find this tour to be too expensive but the interaction with the ama
was priceless for me. I wouldn’t mind doing this again when I get to revisit
Toba in the future.
T and I availed the Economy Tour, which costs Php 999 and already includes the following: boat ride, tour proper, packed lunch, and snacks. Aside from this good deal, what convinced us to book this tour is their assurance that their group is authorized by LGU Mariveles and Bataan Tourism as well as being featured in travel pages and TV shows. Click here to find their page dedicated for the FIVE FINGERS TOUR.
NOVEMBER 16, 2017
We started our 2nd day in Bataan early because we joined a group tour for Five Fingers. Our Airbnb host offers breakfast for a certain fee and we availed that since we were not sure if there was any food establishment near the meet-up point for the tour.
From our Airbnb, we took a jeep bound for Mariveles since no bus was passing by. Upon arriving at the port, we met with the tour guides from Bataan Weather Page (BWP). They were responsive to our messages, especially when we got lost trying to find the meet-up location.
T and I availed the Economy Tour, which costs Php 999 and already includes the following: boat ride, tour proper, packed lunch, and snacks. Aside from this good deal, what convinced us to book this tour is their assurance that their group is authorized by LGU Mariveles and Bataan Tourism as well as being featured in travel pages and TV shows. Click here to find their page dedicated for the FIVE FINGERS TOUR.
I wasn’t paying attention to the names of each spot we visited but I’ll mention the various activities we did during the tour.
Our first stop was where we would do trekking. The guides told us that it would only be a “pabebe trek” but most of us concluded that it was not. We were lucky that it was a sunny day so we didn’t have to worry about muddy paths or accidentally slipping up while climbing or going down.
Still, despite having a bit of difficulty, the scenery at the top was worth every sweat!
After this, we hopped to different areas around Five Fingers where one of the highlights was cliff diving. The first cliff diving spot had a height of 25 feet while the second one was about 40 feet.
Snorkeling was an activity mentioned in their page but we didn’t visit any place to do this. Quite a bummer because T and I brought our own snorkelling gear. 😦 We went to a spot though with lots of sea urchin and rocky places for pictures so that compensated it na?
Our last stop during this tour was a beach with fine sand. We were the only people there so we had the place to ourselves. BWP provided us free lunch so none in the group had to cook anymore, yay! After lunch, we spent another hour swimming in this area… we even found a starfish!
We went home around 3PM and spent the remaining hours in our Airbnb, relaxing and chatting with our hosts. I’ll be sharing more details on our Airbnb hosts and their place in the next post!
The travel from Palompon to KALANGGAMAN ISLAND took about an hour. We left Palompon at 6:30AM and arrived in our destination at around 7:30AM.
We rented a cottage near the sandbar, which was less busier and noisier plus we had a great view while resting and eating.
JUNE 25-27, 2017
Our first local trip together – me and my best friend, K! Our main mission was to visit Kalanggaman Island in Leyte… so we first took a plane going to Tacloban. Then from Tacloban, we rode a van for 4 hours to get to Palompon.
Palompon is a small town and less urban than Tacloban so there are only a few restaurants to choose from as well as small groceries. Initially we booked our accommodation via Airbnb but Diana, the host, told me to directly transact with her instead so that we could get a room instead of the whole house. I think this one is an updated link and it looks very similar to the room we stayed in: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13145062?s=51.
We were welcomed by the host’s mom and we were happy to see that the room had aircon because the weather was hot at that time.
We did nothing during our first day except to eat and buy items to prepare for our island trip the next day…
Spotted working while on vacation!
Next day, we got up early to go to Palompon Eco-Tourism Office and rent a boat.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You need to reserve ahead of time because there is a limit to the number of tourists they allow to visit in a day. In this way, they prevent the island from being abused by a large wave of people. Check out this link for more details: http://kalanggaman-island.com/kalanggaman-rates-and-entrance-fee.html
We rented a boat for us two, which costs Php 3,000.00. Share per person would definitely be cheaper for a large group. There is an option to join another group so that the cost per pax would be lower but the time we want to go back to Palompon is different so we had to rent our own.
The travel from Palompon to KALANGGAMAN ISLAND took about an hour. We left Palompon at 6:30AM and arrived in our destination at around 7:30AM.
We rented a cottage near the sandbar, which was less busier and noisier plus we had a great view while resting and eating.
It was still low tide so we explored first the sandbar while there was still sand to walk on. There is a warning board there not to swim during high tide because of riptides.
After walking around, we went back to the main area where people were swimming.
The place was really beautiful to look at – different shades of blue for the sea and white sand everywhere. The only thing we were disappointed was that we read in a lot of blogs (and even in the office) that snorkeling is a recommended activity. We snorkeled for about an hour but we only saw less than 5 small fish. The rest was just people and floating seaweed. ☹
We went back to our cottage to eat early lunch but decided to go back to the sandbar because the outer edge was already submerged in water.
We didn’t go to the outer edge though because we were scared to get pulled by a riptide. We only walked a few meters then ran back to dry sand. Haha!
Admired these sceneries while eating our lunch…
The morning didn’t end well though because while we were eating chocolates for desserts we saw a lot of people going to the sandbar area to swim even if there was a large board already warning people not to. A few minutes later, I called K’s attention because I thought I spotted someone flailing in the middle of the sea… true enough, it was a middle-aged man who got pulled by the riptide.
Rescue team went to save him immediately… everything happened fast because we couldn’t see the guy anymore and 3-4 rescue persons dived into the sea. They got the guy and tried to revive him for a long time. He was eventually taken to a boat to ride back to Palompon while CPR was being continued.
I heard locals muttering that the tourism would be affected especially if the issue would be in nationwide news… all because of not following warning signs. Some blamed the guy, some blamed the staff in the island for not having a life guard stationed near the sandbar. But bottom line is, can’t we just follow instructions and warnings because these wouldn’t be there if there is no harm or danger that would possibly befall you.
My HS friends and I saw the same thing in Magalawa Island (Zambales) – people were swimming in the sandbar area even if there was a huge sign saying not to because of riptide or strong undercurrents. Thankfully at that time, no one got hurt.
We headed back to Palompon after the incident, 3-4 hours earlier than our intended departure from the island. We just stayed in our lodging and watched Running Man to keep our boredom at bay.
The next day, we left early in the morning so that we can have lunch in Tacloban. Tricycle drivers in the van terminal tried to rip us off by charging us Php 150 going to Ocho Seafood and Grill. The last one I just had to answer back that their rate was way more expensive than a taxi so he explained that he would have to pass by small streets to get us to the place otherwise we would have to walk about 5 minutes from the drop off. We told him it was fine so we were only charged Php 50 for the trip. Whew.
No pictures of our lunch in OCHO SEAFOOD AND GRILL but it was such a joy because we finally got to eat really delicious food + everything we had was fresh seafood. It is like dampa style because you get to choose raw seafood then ask them to cook it the way you want it. Highly recommend the place although it gets full even during weekday lunch time.
Our last stop before going to airport was JOSE KARLOS COFFEE where we had hot tea and desserts while watching another episode of Running Man. We went to the airport by riding a jeepney because there was no other option unless you rented a car to go there.
Conclusion after this trip – Cambodia is still the best trip we had together. There were other annoying incidents in this Leyte trip which I choose not to share anymore because it might just be a case of bad luck as others seemed to have enjoyed their time in Leyte.
Being the geeks that we are, K and I went to the ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM where we had a lot of fun thanks to the Future World exhibit (teamLab).
The opening exhibit was called Nature. We went inside a small room for the first part, which depicted birds from Japanese mythology that are believed to be the embodiment of the sun. The digital technology and accompanying music were both captivating, that we decided to watch it for the 2nd time.
APRIL 23, 2017
Being the geeks that we are, K and I went to the ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM where we had a lot of fun thanks to the Future World exhibit (teamLab).
The opening exhibit was called Nature. We went inside a small room for the first part, which depicted birds from Japanese mythology that are believed to be the embodiment of the sun. The digital technology and accompanying music were both captivating, that we decided to watch it for the 2nd time.
The second gallery featured seascape “drawn” in Japanese traditional art. There were bean bags scattered in this area where one could lie down and just watch the moving waves.
The last part was more for kids because it had this interactive slide wherein the path you passed would light up. Can’t remember the names of the other exhibits but they had a lot of interesting activities.
Black Waves depicted the sea in traditional Japanese painting style and the lines were moving to give the effect that the sea was alive.
Light Ball Orchestra occupied a huge space in the exhibit – lots of big balls on the ground wherein touching a ball would change the color and sound. You can push, toss, bounce, or roll the balls to create a unique composition. We weren’t able to try this interactive activity because all the balls were being used by kids. (/ω＼)
We had fun instead in stacking colored cubes…
…and with this digital game which seems to be heat-sensitive? We weren’t sure how this one worked so hula na lang.
The last part of the exhibit was called Space, which featured teamLab’s “monumental installation” called Crystal Universe. The artwork used 178,200 LED lights to mimic starts moving in space. We would walk a short path that allowed us to experience the “universe” as we were surrounded by the thousands of lights blinking and changing colors.
The only thing we did not like here is that the staff kept on asking visitors who would stop to keep on walking. That would be okay if the walking path was long but since this was the last part, a lot of people were reluctant to follow. Anyway, I still managed to take some of these photos…
Thanks propphi! Blurred nga lang, haha!
Before we left the museum, we took photos of these quotes:
We went for one of the popular hotpot restaurants where we waited for about an hour before we got to eat. All I could say is it was worth the wait but I didn’t bring my camera so no photos to share.
After braving the strong wind, we finally saw the famous MEOTO IWA (“Wedded Rocks”). It is said that the larger rock represents the husband while the smaller one is the wife, and this couple is actually a representation of Izanagi and Izanami, the gods who created Japan.
It may not look as majestic as the ones in photos seen online, but they say that the best time to go here is during high tide and sunrise – get to see the sun rising between the two rocks.
Continuation of our Ise-Shima adventure!
After lunch in Ebiya, we went back to the Ujiyamada Station to go to Meoto Iwa. When we arrived at the Futamino-Ura Station, we could really feel the rural life. There was no machine for us to insert our ticket as we headed towards the exit. Instead, there was an old man who checked our ticket. After exiting the station, there was no vehicle even on the main road. It was a good thing there was a local who we could ask for directions going to Meoto Iwa. He only spoke Japanese but his directions using his hands (even including Y gesture to signal the fork road) were very clear.
Different types of Yakult
Can we have this in PH please???
We walked for about 20 minutes before we finally arrived by the seaside. I was expecting to enjoy the scenery but the wind was really strong… strong enough to pull up my hoodie!
We went inside Futamiokitama Shrine, which is generously decorated with frogs of different sizes.
Ema with Meoto Iwa design
After braving the strong wind, we finally saw the famous MEOTO IWA (“Wedded Rocks”). It is said that the larger rock represents the husband while the smaller one is the wife, and this couple is actually a representation of Izanagi and Izanami, the gods who created Japan.
It may not look as majestic as the ones in photos seen online, but they say that the best time to go here is during high tide and sunrise – get to see the sun rising between the two rocks. These rocks, connected by Shimenawa rope (Shinto sacred rope), are also considered as a symbol of marriage.
If you are into drainspotting, do not miss the manhole cover in this area which showcases Meoto Iwa.
Drainspotting: sunrise at Meoto Iwa
Only saw this map when we were headed back — shows the route from train station to Meoto Iwa
When we got back in Ujiyamada Station, we had to purchase tickets back to Osaka. We did not purchase this beforehand since we were not sure what time we will finish our adventure in Ise-Shima. We somehow regretted it because ticket price per person was around 2,000 or 3,000+ yen. We also made a mistake of boarding the wrong train (1 minute earlier than ours!!) so we had to pay an extra fee.
The train is called Premium Express Shimakaze. It definitely looked and felt premium than the train we rode in the morning – reclining chair, automated window blinds… We even got a boarding certificate to commemorate our ride.
Lesson learned: Japanese trains arrive on the dot unless they announce otherwise. Who would have thought that that train which arrived 1 minute earlier is indeed different from the one we should have boarded. Oh well.
For our last dinner during this trip, we decided to go to HONKE SHIBATO, a restaurant famous for its eel dishes. The restaurant is 300+ years old so their quality is definitely something to be trusted. If you are on a budget, definitely skip this place then. We both got the Osaka Mamushi, which costs ¥2,730 per order. It was my first time to eat eel and their unagi definitely did not disappoint.
Even the cover looks premium!
Close up shot of that delicious unagi!
The staff was really nice and they even offered to take our picture outside the shop. 🙂
Anne Goes to Places 