Modern Japanese House Tour

Giving you a quick tour of our home in Suwa, Nagano. This was a few years back, and a lot has changed at our house already. Will share an updated video soon.

How I Spent Spring 2017 in JAPAN

I'm back at my favorite country! Spent three weeks in Japan visiting multiple cities:

Yokohama, Tokyo, Suwa, Matsumoto

Highlights of my trip:
-Coldplay concert in Tokyo Dome City
-family time at Matsumoto Castle
-Ramen Museum and Red Brick Building in Yokohama
-Ichiran Ramen, Yakitori Alley, and more pigout sessions in Tokyo w/ friends
-exploring Yokohama w/ my Japan-based friend, Cheny
-pre-birthday celebration in Disneyland
-sakura aka cherry blossoms everywhere!!!

It's one of my most relaxing and rewarding trips in Japan. I love travelling alone and visiting family and friends. It's really therapeutic! 

Anyway, here's a short video of my trip:

Nagano Quick Shopping and Food Trip

On my trip to Japan last November 2015, I was lucky enough to squeeze in a 4-day trip to Nagano, where my relatives live. It is actually where I usually stay whenever I'm in Japan. But since I was only there for 4 days, I wasn't able to do much. In fact, I opted to stay home and prepare FIlipino dishes for my family because I knew they really missed them. But as a reward, I got treated like a real guest.

From Shinjuku, Tokyo, I had to take a 2.5-hour bus ride to Suwa Interchange in Nagano, where my family picked me up. They immediately brought me to my favorite kaiten sushi place, Sushiro for lunch. Of course, I had the grandest time eating all of the sushi I could.

The next day, we drove to Karuizawa to go outlet shopping at Prince Shopping Plaza, where the biggest brands of apparel are available at really cheap rates. I got to score a Levi's dress that only cost Php 500 (if converted into Php) and a Nike FlyKnit at only Y10,000 or around Php 3,700 (because exchange rate at that time was really low).

Before shopping, we had soba for lunch. It's located 30 mins away from the outlet shops. There, I was able to see how soba noodles were being made and I was able to taste the best soba I've had in my life. For dinner, we had "yakiniku" near our home in Suwa City. In Japan, the things I love to do are: shopping, taking photos, and of course, EATING! They have the best food in the world (at least for me).

the craft of soba making :) #soba #sobanoodles #lunch #foodporn #japanesefood #Japan2015 #NaganoDay2 #citygirltravels #citygirldiaries

A video posted by Roycie S. (@royciepoisie) on Nov 7, 2015 at 7:20pm PST

The next day, my cousin and I visited one of my favorite and most authentic ramen places in our city. I had miso ramen and I was truly satisfied.

I spent my last day in Nagano at home, cooking Filipino food for the family and packing for my trip to Osaka. I didn't spend anything while at Nagano, thanks to my family! Can't wait to be back! :)

Why I Love Shopping in Japan

Japan is my most favorite country to shop at. Yeah, Hong Kong only comes next, and Bangkok comes third. While many think that shopping in Japan is ridiculously expensive, I'm here to be a myth buster. Shopping in Japan could be more expensive than shopping in other Asian countries. However, the technique here is to know where and when to shop in Japan just so you could get a good deal, most especially for signature items.

All of my previous trips in Japan were during Spring; and as far as I can remember, I was able to catch a lot of bargain items due to the changing of the season from Winter to Spring. I remembered shopping a lot from H&M and in Harajuku. Well Shibuya 109 is their fashion center but everything there is just expensive no matter what season it is. The brands there are all local designer brands and those shops really set the trend.

The best time to shop in Japan is from mid-December to mid-January. This is when you see the SALE sign everywhere! One weekend in December, we went to Yatsugatame Resort Outlet (outlet shops of local and foreign brands) and we've gone crazy shopping at Coach Factory where we shopped for an hour. We got 2 wallets, 3 bags, 2 bangles for just 100,000 yen or less (around Php 40,000). The Japanese people are too shopaholic that there are a lot of outlet malls/parks all over Japan. The biggest of which is the Mitsui Outlet Park Shiga Ryuo in Kyoto with 237 stores. The one we went to was the nearest to our place (less than an hour drive), located at 4000 Kobuchizawa-machi (town) Hokuto-shi (city), Yamanashi-ken (province).

The craziest shopping day is the New Year's Day! Yeah, what a way to spend so much on the first day of the year haha! Every New Year, most of the shops, most especially the local brands are preparing HAPPY BAGS. Each happy bag is filled with an entire set of outfit or multiple random items from a store and it's available on promo price. The usual price of a "happy bag" is 10,000 yen or Php 4,300. But its content is actual worth more than that. However, the catch here is that, you don't know what exact items are inside -- the style, design, color. What you only know is the size and the actual worth of all the items inside. Well, I've seen some that displayed the actual content of the bag but they're more expensive than the surprise ones. I watched in the news that there's this shop wherein a lot of people have already lined up at dawn to get HAPPY BAGS worth 10,000 yen each but are filled with items worth 100,000 yen or Php 43,000. Can you just imagine how awesome of a bargain that is?!? (I actually took photos of the happy bags but I lost them 'cause I failed to sync them to my laptop before deleting them)

So on New Year's Day, I went shopping in Tokyo with my cousin and aunts and I spent 2 hours in H&M because there were a lot of ridiculously discounted items and a lot of customers as well. I bought 10 items for only 5,000 yen of Php 2,200. That's a mix of dresses, shorts, tops, and skirts. I could've bought more but I limited my spending and my family has been waiting for me for so long at a resto across H&M. haha!

H&M Harajuku

at the roof deck of Tokyu Plaza (Harajuku)

will never get tired of shopping for bargain finds

In Japan, we live in the province but we're just a minute or two away from boutiques and department stores. I think we go shopping like at least twice a week. On weekends we go to the malls in nearby cities such as the Aeon Mall in Kofu (Yamanashi), Don Quijote (Matsumoto, Nagano), etc. Imagine how much this trip damaged my pocket. But still, I was thankful 'cause I got a lot of free shopping from my aunt, uncle, and cousin.

my cousin is my forever shopping buddy

My First Winter Experience: Snow Lovin'

It's my first time to experience winter because I always go to Japan during spring time, and I have once visited Korea during autumn. However, I've already seen snow because two years ago, I was able to catch the last snow fall before spring and I have visited a ski resort before the snow melted. 

I came back to Japan on November 28, 2013. The temperature at that time was around 7 degrees Celsius. Then as days passed, the weather became colder and colder. The first snow fall happened on December 11. I realized it isn't that cold when it snows. It's much colder when it doesn't snow. As of now, January 31, the coldest weather I have probably experienced was at -13 degrees Celsius. This happened one day at around 6 to 7am.

the view from our balcony

the view from our apartment's lobby (2nd floor)

the woods somewhere beside the main road

I love it when it snows. I like it most especially at night when the surroundings is super white and bright, reflecting the light coming from the moon. It also feels magical seeing snow falling from the sky. I also love the challenge of putting away the snow that piled up on our car's windshield. 

trees covered with snow

silent night

was wearing the wrong boots 'coz I didn't know it would snow

the street covered with snow

safe and sound :)

my cousin's Suzuki Swift covered with snow

I enjoyed doing this haha

In terms of clothing, well I love winter fashion. haha! I normally dress up with 3 layers of top. One fiber heat inner blouse, then a knitted longsleeves, and my outer cover is either a thermal jacket or a thick coat. For the bottom, I either wear jeans or thick stockings/tights under my shorts or skirt. It wasn't really as cold as I have imagined. Probably, it helped that I arrive here during the transition from autumn to winter, that my body was still able to adjust to the weather. I guess it would be a lot harder if I arrived here at around mid-January because it would be hard to adjust instantly from the hot weather of the Philippines to that super cold one of Japan. 

like a Japanese school girl :))

ready with my pink thermal hoodie

it's so fun playing in the snow :))

this was at J-Mart, a shop that sells a lot of house stuff, including garden stuff

The winter halo, even before it was experienced in the Philippines, I first witnessed it here in Japan. It was so nice and magical!:)

Now that I have experienced four seasons, I can't really choose which one is my favorite. Each of the four seasons has its own character. Winter for me seems magical because of the snow flakes falling from the sky and having a pretty view at night as the snow on the ground, with the help of the moon, illuminates the surroundings. Spring is romantic, seeing cherry blossoms in full bloom, with petals falling off the branches as the wind blows. Autumn reflects adventure and drama. Adventure because of its bright colors that make trees so beautiful; but drama as trees go bald, and autumn leaves start covering the grounds. Summer means fun. The beach, sand, and waves are just irresistible.

Winter feels too cold; but I have yet to experience the coldest of winter because they say, February is the coldest month of winter. 

the neighborhood

the white mountains :)

the snow-capped Mt. Fuji (view from the highway)

xoxo,

city girl :)

My Last-minute Japan Trip

As a reward for finishing graduate school, my aunt granted my wish to spend winter in Japan (where she's residing with her family). It's my 3rd 3-month trip to Japan but it's my first time during winter 'cause I usually go during spring. It was a last minute trip because there have been some delays in our (me and my grandmother) visa application. Our visa was released late in the afternoon of November 26, so we were able to pick it up from the agency on the morning of the 27th. That day we confirmed and paid for our ticket, which has been pre-booked on the 28th. We only had the afternoon and night of the 27th to pack our stuff because our flight was at 5am the next day. Each roundtrip ticket (Manila-Narita-Manila) cost Php 24,000 (taxes included) via Delta Airlines. The trip was too sudden that I didn't have the time to say bye to my friends.

luggage :)

super early flight

with the granny

Anyway, I was satisfied with Delta. The ground crew and the cabin crew were very nice and efficient. Thanks to the pilot, we had a smooth flight (especially the landing and the take off). We travelled for 4 hours. However, there was a long queue at the immigration gates so it took us an hour before getting out of Narita Airport. My uncle came to get us. It's a 4 to 5-hr drive from Narita to Suwa, Nagano (my aunt's apartment) so we had lunch brunch first at the nearest service area. Since the weather's too cold (less than 10 degrees Celsius), I got a ramen.

the view before landing at Narita

udon

spicy ramen

My grandmother only stayed 'til December 14. She usually travels with me to Japan and stays for 3 months but this time, she just stayed for 2 weeks since she preferred spending Christmas in the Philippines, plus she'll be coming back here with my cousin on March (spring) for 3 months again. But during the two weeks she's here, we've been going to different places, dining and shopping. We often go to onsen (hot spring) too to relax.

aunt's bedroom

cousin's bedroom

i love buying veggies for the healthy meals I make

it's a dream come true! haha always wanted to try this :))

One place we're visiting often is Matsumoto City (Nagano). We love shopping at Don Quijote, a place with literally everything under the sun. It has lots of cute stuff too, plus some branded items such as bags and jewelries. Hard Off, a recycle shop there is a must visit too. Some of the second hand items there actually look new. And of course, we've visited a lot of Daiso (100 yen) shops too.

Edion Mall (electronics)

kaiten sushi (conveyor belt sushi)

Starbucks tumbler Nagano

ear muffs :)

no Green tea flavor :(

road trip :)

ramen and gyoza love

shoe lockers at the resto

Japanese food overload...and it didn't cost nor taste cheap.

vendo!

one of the best ramen places

used stuffed toys that actually looked new

lovin' these neon kitchenware from Daiso

So I spent Christmas with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and my aunt's bestfriend. (I call my aunt Tita Mama because she's like my second mom). Christmas is just like a usual day in Japan ('cause they're not Christians); however, they acknowledge the Christmas-New Year holidays  that's why they have Christmas-New Year Sale too. On Christmas Even, we exchanged gifts, had Noche Buena, and Skyped with our families in the Philippines. It wasn't a white Christmas because it didn't snow that night/day, but I'm glad to have experienced winter Christmas.

the winter halo before Christmas

our mini Christmas tree and Coach presents :)

Christmas cake

fruits

Noche Buena plus Skype w/ the fam in the Phils

with my cousin in our Santa Claus costumes

Christmas hoodie! haha

More of my Japan trip in my upcoming posts.

xoxo,

city girl :)