A Touch of History

A day after our trip to Yatsugatake, we went to Matsumoto. It's one of the most popular cities for tourists in Japan because of its rich history and a lot of nice places to visit.

Outfit of the day: Fun Casual (Pink Vans Kicks, F21 Tank Top, Shorts, Black Stockings, Mickey Jacket, Coach Sling Bag, Baseball Cap, Sunglasses From XOXO in Shibuya 109)

and I feel like a child too haha

Before heading to Matsumoto, we chose to have fun first along the way; so we stopped by Sojiri for go-karting and a walk at the park.

 Tita, Cuz, and I

fun!:)

 Spring!

fter Sojiri, we proceeded to the Matsumoto Castle. It's one of the four castles identified as "National Treasures of Japan" and oldest castle donjon remaining, which was constructed in 1592. Wow, that's history! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go inside the castle since we didn't have much time; but the view outside was more than enough. By the way, thanks to Instagram's photo filters.

ready to walk!:)) 

they said the water from this fountain heals 

macha = green tea -> having my "macha" ice cream :)

 so picturesque! 

i love this pic!:)

Then we went shopping in Parco but we weren't able to buy anything. Instead, my little cousin and I entered the mini "trick art" museum. After that, we did real shopping in Don Quixote, which is one of my favorite shops in Japan because of cheap but good stuff it has. We also bought toys for my cousin at Toys R Us. We ended the day with a yakitori dinner.:)

 no matter how I rotate this photo, it's still posted this way. pls. just tilt your heads :p

 cute Hello Kitty suitcases in Don Quixote

the only thing I was able to buy that day haha

 interesting ipad/iphone/ipod game!

 I wanna try this one!

 yakitori place :)

And that ends our family's Golden Week bonding.:)

A Taste of Science

Golden Week is probably the longest holiday in Japan celebrating the time for kids. So last May 4, we went to Yatsugatake for a small picnic in the park and planetarium visit. We were also there to see some animals. However, we didn't find them inside the huge park. Our search for the animals turned into trekking; and I wasn't so prepared for it. Haha!

clean water

After letting my little cousin play at the playground, we've gone...uhm, trekking?:)) And when we lost our way, we went back to where we started then proceeded to the planetarium. We came right in time for the show. Unfortunately, it was in Nihonggo so I didn't completely understand. The presentation was about Hayabusa, an unmanned spacecraft developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched in May 9 , 2003 to Itokawa, wherein it studied about the asteroid; and brought samples back on earth's surface on June 13, 2010. I also got fascinated with the photographs of Tetsuya Nakagaki. Truly amazing shots! Please explore http://aurora-dance.com/ for more.

 inside a spacecraft

my cousin went inside to take a photo of me haha

Since it was a long presentation, and we were all lying on reclined seats, my uncle, aunt and grandmother all fell asleep! haha! My cousins and I have been "silently" laughing since the middle part of the presentation towards the end because the oldies were even snoring haha! Anyway, after the show, we bought some souvenirs and my cousin rode cute toy rides (i can't call them bicycles because some have more than 2 wheels haha) outside. And since we all got hungry, we had an early dinner at a ramen place.

nice view