Planning our first visit to Tokyo started a bit over a year ago when I booked a 7 day cruise with Princess. I honestly procrastinated with the details except for choosing a hotel in Tokyo which was stressful enough. I had no idea about neighborhoods and it all seemed overwhelming so I went on TripAdvisor and selected the options I wanted during our stay. Breakfast being included was a priority because I didn’t want to roam the streets when I was possibly jetlagged and confused. I also wanted air conditioning as I had read that Tokyo can be oppressive in August, a view of the city and possibly a fitness center to work off all the food I was planning on eating. I got 3 out of the 4 by choosing Asakusa View Hotel. It wasn’t the cheapest but also not the most expensive and come to find out months later, it’s in the older part of the city and close to a few of the sites we wanted to see.

Jump forward to May of this year and that’s when the real planning began. As I write this, we are two weeks away from leaving, I’ve read and bookmarked 90 articles on my iPad which doesn’t include the separate ones on my iPhone. I’ve watched countless hours of YouTube episodes about Tokyo. I’ve downloaded and deleted a few recommended apps. I’m finally nearly done with the planning and here’s a summary of our upcoming trip:

Staying connected:

I ordered the Ninja WiFi from GoVoyagin which offered a 30% discount for our 11 day stay in Japan. The Ninja WiFi at $69.57 for 11 days seems to be the most cost effective way for me to make sure I can receive and send work emails with attachments on my phone, iPad and laptop. I’ll also be transferring photos from my Canon to my phone which will indefinitely take forever and a day using the included WiFi at the hotel which does not guarantee its speed or effectiveness.

In addition, I called Verizon and got the $10/day Travel Pass which is only activated on usage. It is more costly and therefore is a backup plan should the router not work or be ineffective when needed.

Tokyo itinerary:

First day:

Dinner with a view of Tokyo Skytree at Makie which is a French teppanyaki restaurant at our hotel. As the first night will be our 13th wedding anniversary, I wanted to go someplace special with a view. I originally wanted to go to Tokyo Skytree’s restaurant thinking the entrance ticket would be included in the cost of the splurge dinner but it wasn’t and their last reservation was too early.

First full day:

Nakamise Shopping Street (street food and souvenirs)

Senso-jo Temple

Lunch at Mochizuki

Tokyo Boat Cruise to Hamarikyu Gardens

Tea ceremony at Hamarikyu Gardens

Dinner at Sushi Katsura

Walk along Sumida River and view

Kachidoka Bridge lit up at night

Second full day:

Ueno garden, shrines and outdoor market

Tokyo Metropolitan Government building for cheap cafeteria lunch at Tocho

Shokuin Shokudo and a free entrance to the observatory deck

Snack at Takashimaya department store basement food court and rooftop garden dining

Meiji Shrine

Dinner and drinks at Piss Alley

Shibuya Crossing

This list will likely shift once we are in town but after likely 50 hours of research and planning, becoming more intimidated with the complexity of the train system, my lack of understanding of the language and the realization that Tokyo is a huge sprawling city, I honed in on what was important to my family and me: seeing the sites, eating great food at a reasonable price and getting a feel of everyday life in Tokyo.

Ninja WiFi Router:

https://www.govoyagin.com/activities/japan-tokyo-ninja-wifi-router-rental-service-in-japan/8762

Asakusa View Hotel:

https://www.viewhotels.co.jp/asakusa/english/

Makie:

https://www.viewhotels.co.jp/asakusa/english/restaurants/thedining/

Nakamise:

http://asakusa-nakamise.jp/e-index.html

Senso-ji Shrine:

http://www.senso-ji.jp/

Mochizuki:

http://レストランアラスカ.jp/mochizuki/lunch.html

Tokyo Cruise:

https://www.suijobus.co.jp/en/

Hama-rikyu Gardens:

http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/index.html

Sushi Katsura:

http://sushi-katsura.jp/

https://m.yelp.com/biz/すし–かつら–中央区

Kachidoki Bridge:

https://en.japantravel.com/tokyo/short-story-of-kachidoki-bridge-tokyo/8092

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building:

http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/english/offices/observat.html

Tocho Shokuin Shokudo:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1066457-d3753672-Reviews-Tocho_Shokuin_Shokudo-Shinjuku_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html

Takashimaya:

https://www.takashimaya.co.jp/shinjuku/store_information/

http://global.restaurants-park.jp/en/guide/

Meiji Shrine

http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/about/1.html

I had not returned to the Philippines since 1985. My last memories of it were dark and negative. It didn’t help that my last trip was in August, the dreary, muggy, rainy season. I was a teenager at the time and I was forbidden to wander off on my own lest some terrible tragedy befall me. I can only imagine what that may have been now that I’m much older. After my last visit, I had decided that I had left the Philippines and all of Asia forever, never to return or partake in anything related to the culture.
It wasn’t until 2011 when Ching He Huang’s show premiered on Cooking Channel that I became remotely interested in preparing Asian food at home. Once I began implementing some of the basic tenets of Asian cuisine, a whole world opened up and I intuitively was able to improvise quite a bit and produce restaurant quality food. The “a-ha” moment came after I cooked up a simple shrimp and broccoli noodle dish which tasted unctuous but was not oily or greasy like at the local Americanized Asian restaurants. That’s when I realized that I had inherent knowledge and possessed skills which had traversed generations and had been ingrained in me. It inspired me to continue to experiment on the cooking front, and I allowed myself to watch shows featuring Asia. When Anthony Bourdain filmed an episode in Manila, I was a bit unnerved because it was his stamp of approval and if he had gone, it was no longer controversial for me to return. By the end of the episode, he had convinced me to venture back and rediscover my roots.
This past Christmas, I went to Boracay, a beautiful but financially challenged tourist spot an hour flight from Manila. The people who inhabited the island exhibited a very severe dichotomy of extreme poverty contrasted with a strong will to survive and persevere. I remember seeing beach vendors selling hats, sunglasses and tours from the crack of dawn til the wee hours of the night every single day, with the hot sun bearing down on them as they walked up and down the beach on the blistering sand and into the pitch black of the evening, being rejected by one person after another with very little success and yet they continued on their path. I appreciated and gained a deep respect for their tenacity, their perseverance and conviction.
Thank you, Boracay, for opening my eyes, heart and mind.
#boracay #boracayisland #whitebeachboracay #station1boracay #station2boracay #morningwalk #beachwalk #tranquility #serenity #findingmycenter #oceanbreeze #turquoisewater #mothernature #vacation #vacationmode #worldtravelhappiness #travel #globetrotter #worldtraveler #travellife #seetheworld #travelingtheworld #wanderlust #travelbug #exploretheworld #philippines

After 3 flights, 6 TSA/customs lines, 6 airline meals, 2 foreign country airport snacks and 26 hours later, we finally reached our destination! Feeling dizzy and bedraggled, we checked into our resort. After a quick unpacking and request for ice, we unpacked our home purchased vodka, toasted and headed on our way. I had read about Smoke Resto on many travelers’ blogs and it was highly rated on TripAdvisor. The challenge was finding it. After asking several people at D’Mall, we found it down an alleyway by a grocery store where we later purchased large bottles of water for our room. As the bloggers reported, it’s very understated but every table was filled which is always a good sign. We waited about 10 minutes and scored a seat at a four top on the left hand side of the restaurant, against the wall, next to a small door heading up to the restaurant’s supply room. Equally important to note is this table sits directly in front of the fan. The chairs were either rustic wooden and backless or plastic chairs with backs. None of that mattered because the vibe was pulsating. As exhausted as we were, the excitement of those who were waiting to order or be served their food was palpable. Those who were eating were in the throes of slurping, devouring and inhaling what was in front of them with complete disregard for grace and your standard social decorum at any fine dining restaurants. At the start of the meal, you’re given a fork and spoon each separately wrapped with one thin napkin. There are small square cocktail sized napkins on the table. We ordered the chicken noodle soup to start which reminded me of the flavors of my childhood. The broth had a sweet tangy taste perhaps flavored with some ginger or tamarind. The chunks of chicken with thin noodles mixed with thinly sliced carrots, cut green beans and cabbage mixed with the tongue burning smoking hot broth was truly a magical potion for our weary bones. It gave us the energy to stay upright for the rest of our meal. We ordered a grilled fish and grilled chicken which both came with rice which were coincidentally or deliberately shaped like a perfect shapedly breast, nipple tip included. Of the two, the thigh and leg combo were a bit more moist, likely as a result of the BBQ sauce marinading the meat. My favorite was the garlic butter shrimp. It came with a dozen perfectly flavored bites of heaven. I found myself going primitive and using my hand to twist off the heads to suck down the meat and trying to quickly devour each and every bite I could separate from its skin. In hindsight, we probably should have ordered two of those dishes. It was that amazing! The chicken noodle soup and the two grilled entrees were each around 250 and the shrimp was 450. We also ordered 2 bottles of water and 3 beers. On the drinks front, they have bottled water, soda and beer only. The grand total for dinner with our usual 20% American tip was $30! Bottled beers were each 50 pesos ($1) and I don’t even drink beer but for a buck, why the hell not?! Unbelievable!! After that, we got one big jug of water and 2 medium sized bottles of water for our room for 150 pesos. We ended the evening by having one of the Smoke Resto guys who happened to be hanging out on the street help us find a reasonably priced tricycle which cost 100 pesos and we tipped our guy 40 pesos. The tricycle ride was an adventurer in and of itself. For those not in the know, it is a 100 cc motorcycle on the left powering a small open air carriage with covered cushioned seat for two alongside the rider and two long cushioned bench seats facing each other, parallel to the rider which could each seat two, totaling six riders on that tricycle. It felt like Mr. Toad’s wild ride, maneuvering the chaotic street traffic and wet roads of Boracay. All in all, it was a fantastic and adventurous start to our trip.

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