Travel Tips for Pinoys Visiting Japan

I had a lot of assumptions about traveling to Japan, two of them were: (1) that it's easy to find a money changer and that they change any currency; and (2) it's easy to buy a sim! We essentially had to exert extra effort to make sure we would not get lost during our 8-day trip, so here's a few tips for Pinoys traveling to Japan.

1. Money - I actually got some Yen in Singapore before the Christmas holidays and brought Singapore dollars as pocket money. My uncle suggested that we exchange our foreign currencies at the airport. I exchanged only half of the SGD I brought and didn't realize that banks close for the New Year holiday and that it was hard to find a money changer in the city and that they only exchange US dollars (argh! but I saved some money because of that). So, best to exchange foreign currencies at the airport or just bring USD to be sure or better yet get some Yen beforehand.

2. SIM - I hate having to roam especially for data. I'm really scared of bill-shock so I always buy a local SIM. I always get one wherever I travel, but I was really surprised that it's hard to get one in Japan. At the airport they only rent out pocket wifis at $18/day (so expensive!). We found prepaid sim cards being sold a Lawson (convenience store), but the shop keeper said that it was a different size and they were expensive as well at Y3,500++. We didn't buy one since they could not reassure us that the sim would fit my phone. My uncle lent me one of his sim cards, but that one didn't work either. So we decided to just do all our research at my uncle's home and enjoy the whole day without internet.

3. Public wifi - there is public wifi in Tokyo, but you are basically required to register and activate your account (which requires connectivity to activate). We managed to get wifi with help from a good friend who shared access through her phone so we could activate our free account. Best to check the night before from your hotel/home and register before going to your intended location the next day. Stay offline, it's actually more fun!

4. Commuting is the way - I have a bad history on walking since I have flat feet. My feet can only take me around for around 5,000 steps per day before they start refusing to walk, so I really had to prepare myself that we were going to take many thousands of steps per day. Taking the taxi isn't an option since it's very expensive and the best way to tell the driver where you are going is by showing a map, so forget about taking a taxi. The train can bring you anywhere you want to go, so go get  PASMO or SUICA reloadable card. I got help from my uncle and cousin to get a train card although the machines have the option for English translations too. Do note though that getting a SUICA card will require you to input a local phone number and your name in Japanese characters, so best to get a PASMO card (I have 2 cards now since I misplaced my PASMO card, found it when I got home). If you have trouble adding load you can get help from the train station staff (they're very helpful!) and if you can get lost the train staff will also help you find your way. Jorudan was our best friend for our train routes (aside from Google Maps), but we still had my uncle check our chosen routes to be sure.

5. Spend - my friends said that everything's expensive in Japan, I think though it depends on where you go and where you eat. We managed to save a lot since relatives took us in so you can definitely visit Japan without breaking your bank account. Here's what we generally spent on (a very practical approach IMHO):

Food - about Y1,000-1,200 is a good budget per meal (approximately PhP500/meal)
Train trips - about Y1,000-1,200 per day depending where you are going
Daiso budget - it's just Y100 per item (just about PHP36-37!!!)
Disney - bought tickets online at Y6,400 per person which also gave us the benefit of getting into the express lane for rides and we just walked in the park, skipping the long lines to buy a ticket
Akihabara - Y10,000 will already buy you quite a lot of Manga/toys; just make sure you have a list of what you want to buy to save time looking for it, bring much more of course if you are buying electronics/devices.

It's winter now in Japan, a friend said that it's better to buy winter clothes at your destination and she was right because there was a huge crazy sale going on in Japan when we were there and we got additional winter clothes at discounted prices. It gets really cold so make sure you have the appropriate clothes (and heat pad!) so you don't get sick.

Happy trip!

Disney and my Happily Ever After

My Mom taught me how to read in two ways - through newspaper headlines and through the big hardbound Disney story book we had at home. The story book contained the story of Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and many others. I loved leafing through that book since it had a lot of drawings in it and my Mom made sure I took care of the book and not tear it (I think it's still on one of the shelves at home).

So you can just imagine when they brought me to Disneyland in LA when I was just 4 years old. I was very much like any kid who goes to Disney - excited, happy, ecstatic, enthralled and I never wanted to leave. I don't remember much about what I did at Disney when I was four years old except that I always wanted to be carried or be on the stroller (at 4 I already didn't like walking around too much). We went back when I was 12 to visit Disneyworld in Florida and the only thing I remember from that trip was my Dad won a hat that had lights on it when we entered the gate (he's really very lucky!) and well we went to the shiny new Epcot Center.

I also had the chance to visit Disneyland Tokyo when I was a junior in high school when I was an exchange student. I was terribly shy then and went with my classmates. I certainly enjoyed the rides and I remember it was quite cold in Tokyo at that time. A few years back I managed to finally bring Miguel to Disneyland Hongkong when he was 12. We went with 2 of my dearest friends from high school and that was the last time I've been to Disney.

When we planned our #yolo trip to Japan we planned to make a trip to Disney the highlight of our trip (although I think the boys now think the highlight is going to Akihabara). We got our tickets online and so we breezed through the gates (skipped the long lines!) and we had the benefit of using fast pass to get in some rides without having to queue. It's winter in Japan, but the last few days the weather has been quite kind to us so we were quite shocked with the cold that greeted us at the happiest place on earth! Good thing the sun decided to go out so we managed to have a good time (clocking over 20,000 steps!).

The highlight of the day for me though was watching the parade. I felt overwhelmed with the thought that finally our tiny family has managed to come visit Disney together. My Mom keeps reminding me to go and enjoy life sometimes and not to overwork. I think the boys felt the same way because we all hugged after the parade.

We also had the chance to watch the evening show "Once Upon a Time" which was projected on the castle. Of course they showed all the movies which I grew up with Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, etc. and I realized that the last time I was at Disneyland Tokyo I was just 15 and had no idea what lay ahead in my life. I smiled widely because my second visit was with two of the most important men in my life right now - my handsome prince and my handsome baby prince, my happily ever after.

A lot of people would probably say that Disney just presents the ideal, I think though that each person defines his own happiness and I saw that in the many happy families I saw today at Disneyland Tokyo. The weather was really cold today, but the excited, happy, ecstatic, and enthralled kids (including me!) made Disney the warmest, happiest place on earth.

Blog 4/30

New Year in Japan

I've spent a couple of New Years away from home. I was asked today by a friend how is New Year celebrated in the Philippines. I said that very much unlike in other countries, New Year is celebrated in my country with a bang... actually a lot of bang-bang because of the firecrackers. When I was a kid my Mom would buy firecrackers and they would light a fire inside a drum and throw in the triangulo (a type of firecracker) for small-scale explosions. Just before midnight they would light up the sinturon ni hudas (Judas' belt) which ends with a big bang at midnight. After that we all come inside the house for media noche.

It was always fun, but I've always been scared of fire so I never played with lusis (sparklers) and I realized disliked watusi since I was anxious it might cause peklat (scaring) on my legs. As I grew older I found myself hiding inside the house when all the paputok festivities were happening and the firecrackers grew stronger every year and since 2008 I've been asthmatic so I've really been avoiding the crazy way we celebrate new year in the Philippines. What I miss though whenever we spend new year in other countries is attending the midnight mass.

That being said I truly appreciate how we celebrated New Year in Japan. The three of us left Odaiba just before 9 in the evening and thought that we would make it back home before eleven so we could hang out with the family. Uh, we got a bit confused with the trains so we made it back to my uncle's house at around 11:40 pm, surprising my cousin who was rushing to the train station to attend a party. We were actually kidding each other that we might end up welcoming the new while we were still in the train. Haha!

We made it back in time and hung out with Uncle Fumio and Tita Pet. We asked a lot of questions about how New Year is celebrated in Japan. During new years eve people go to the temple to pray and this is what is featured on TV. On new year's day people basically just stay home and eat and eat and eat and spend time with family. That's actually how mochi was created. Mochi is made out of sticky rice and is made to last a couple of days so wives can rest and relax for a few days during the new year. The next day Uncle Fumio toasted some mochi for us and prepared some soup. He said that it is traditionally served during New Year for long life (the soup was very tasty and the mochi was heavy on the tummy and really matched the soup).

My other cousin arrived on new year's day with her husband so we had a grand sukiyaki dinner prepared by Uncle Fumio. As he said, new year's day is spent eating and eating and eating, so it was bottomless sukiyaki for us. After the bottomless sukiyaki we had chocolate cake and bottomless fruits (haha!). The last few new years for me have been troublesome because of my asthma, so I think maybe it would be great to just celebrate new year where the air is clean and I can really enjoy without worrying about getting sick.

Blog 3/30

Japan!

The last time I was in Japan I was part of a short term exchange student program back when I was in junior high school. Back then we were allowed to select an elective, I wasn't able to sign up for my original selection so I ended up in the cultural anthropology class (if I remember correctly). There were only about ten or eleven of us in that class because part of the requirement was to spend about 10 days in Japan for a cultural immersion. According to my old passport we went at the end of October in 1990.

We attended Nihongo classes in a local school and attended some of their classes as well to observe. What was memorable though was staying with a Japanese family where we really experienced local life. I was with my class partner, La Raine who we had to nickname Bambi because our foster parents wanted a simpler name for her. We got really attached to them and they even sent us a copy of the video they took of us after our trip. I remember exchanging snail mail with their daughter for a couple of years, but I eventually lost touch with them (I probably still have her letters somewhere). Oh, and, of course, we went to Mt. Fuji for a night and we were all forced to experience the public bath (it's something unheard of in the Philippines).

During that time my Uncle Fumio and Tita Pet had moved back to Japan from Bacolod and they visited me at my foster parents house. I had been a flower girl during their wedding since I grew up with Tita Pet (my Mom's first cousin) at home. My foster parents were so overjoyed with the visit.

Fast forward to 2015, yes, that's how long I have not managed to visit Japan. I always wanted to go back. Sweetie and I got lucky last July when we were able to book promo fare tickets for the three of us. So here we are spending a few days in Japan staying with relatives. I have not seen my cousins for 8 years so it's truly a joy to spend time with them and catching up.

Narita Airport. (Photo from Tita Pet taken by Uncle Fumio.)

We arrived last December 30 and spent the day planning our itinerary for the rest of our stay and Uncle Fumio teaching us how to take the train. The highlight of the day was eating a gazillion sushi near their home. I absolutely loved the salmon sushi and ate countless plates (hahaha). Walking back to the house we passed by the supermarket to get some yummy matcha ice cream (it was divine!). (Jay's highlight of the day was eating rice again after 400 days!).

Jay eats rice again after 400 days!

Must have matcha ice cream!

One thing we didn't realize when we booked our tickets during a yolo moment was that it would be winter in Japan during our trip. What we saved on tickets we spent on buying winter clothes (for the boys mostly). Investing in Uniqlo Heattech undergarments is a must for your winter attire. Aside from that Uncle Fumio also told me to get pocket disposable heat pads, it's a must-have to survive cold weather (like my Dad I really don't like it when it's too cold).

Miguel sporting his snuggly warm winter jacket.

Jay eating ice cream at 2'C. Brrrrrr!

Tomorrow, new year in Japan and seeing a gigantic toy!

Blog 2/30

The Year that was 2014

Funabashi, Japan

The work side of my brain has gone on leave and my writing muse has been bugging me to write the last few days. I'm supposed to be crunching some numbers to see how productive I've been, but I just can't seem to get my brain to cooperate.

If I was going to describe 2014 in one word I would say that it was a very PRODUCTIVE year. I took a couple of vacations this year - Boracay for a few days with my boys and my Mom and a longer one in Palawan last August also with my boys, but I must admit that I was not able to fully turn off work from my mind because I just had a lot of things ongoing. The short breaks though helped prevent further burn-out and gave me time to clean our tiny home. The after-effect though is finding myself unable to be productive in my last work week (although I can actually use this week to compensate for all the weekends I worked this year).

I know my body would never be the same as before. Knowing my limits post-surgery I think has made me more aware of what I can and cannot do and I thank God that I am surrounded by people who understand my limitations and who help compensate when I am unable to do some things. I'm also glad I have my Mom's positive outlook since despite my limitations I am still able to do a lot of things I thought I wouldn't be able to do.

Some Highlights

Went to London for the very first time!

Strawberry picking in Benguet (before La Preza became famous!)

Managed to do 2 local vacations with my family (Boracay and Palawan - I will never forget the monkey that attacked me!).

Visited Siem Reap for the first time and of course went to Angkor Wat.

Had more than 100 additional children.

Went to the US again after such a long time.

Survived hiking through the 7 falls of Mambukal (I couldn't walk for over a week!).

In between was a gazillion stuff I did for work. I missed a lot of get togethers and weddings though. 2014 was also full of trials with family getting sick, losing Tito Ben and a couple of friends and other issues. I've learned not to stress out too much since I know you are only given trials that you can handle, but it was still quite a hard year.

I met a lot of really amazing people in the last year from all over Asia (that's aside from the 100++ children I now have) and I'm just really thankful for the opportunity to meet all the wonderful people in the last 12 months. It's really going to be hard to name all of you, but you know who you are. I know I'm sometimes quite limited by what I can physically do, but I hope that all of my new found friends know and feel that I care for them. All I could say is, "Thank you for coming into my life."

[Insert mosaic of "everyone" here - may take time to unearth all the photos I want to put in]

But here's my year in photos according to Google+

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In 2015 I have a very basic plan: improve my work-life balance and get to the right weight as prescribed by my doctor (I need to choose between 2 different recommendations though!), but I would basically like to go down a size so my other clothes can fit again and I would like to be able to spend time to serve as I used to (it's really challenging when you keep traveling).

I know 2015 is going to be a great year since we ended 2014 with a very special family trip to Japan! Got tickets at promo fare, we didn't realize though it would be winter! Haha! All's well though since we're very much cared for by my Uncle Fumio, Tita Pet and cousins. And that's what you're going to read more about in the next few days since I'm once again doing the 30-day blogging challenge!

Woohoo! Happy New Year!

Thoughts on "The Trial"

I have been feeling under the weather the last 2 weekends but I insisted that we go out and watch "The Trial". I even bought tickets ahead of time so the boys wouldn't back out (haha!). They both didn't have a clue what the movie was about, but I knew that it was a heavy drama (so I brought a lot of tissue!).

"The Trial" is one of the most intense films I've watched. The topics at hand were pretty heavy - developmentally challenged adults, rape, unconventional family, divorce, death etc. The story was beautifully crafted. Sweetie said that he noticed no one got up to step out during the movie (2 hours+!). Each scene unfolded a part of the story and you really need to pay attention to each segment because it ties up to something else in the story. There was no wasted minute in the whole film. I also liked the fact that the plot was unpredictable.

The actors in the film played their roles superbly and consistently. Each character was well thought-out and each of the actors were given a chance to show the depth of the role they were playing. They all made the pain they were going through felt (that's why you should bring a pack of tissues when you watch).

"The Trial" is a must watch movie. Be warned though, the light moments interspersed isn't really enough to erase the pain that each character shares in the movie. You'll be crying long after you watch the film.

Thank You Teacher!

I had an interesting conversation with one of my elder cousins a few months back. He's been tracing our roots and whereabouts of relatives in the last few years. He also shared that our family always had teachers, someone in the military and engineers in every generation. That's when I realized that my Dad, both my siblings and I have been teachers. My Mom also conducts craft workshops every summer. I also remember one of my grand-aunts was a public school principal (and she was a beauty queen too!).

My academe teaching experience is so far limited to one term. And I had tried being a substitute teacher at a nursery school. I am not sure which is harder. Both experiences were really hard and made me realize that being a teacher is one of the hardest jobs in the world (imagine having to study every single day!).

In the last year I've had the privilege of working with teachers. Hearing their stories always inspire me and I cannot help but remember all the teachers who helped shape me.

Thank you teachers, this is me today!

THANK YOU TEACHERS!

Ms. Parcon - my elementary English teacher who was so strict! I didn't do well in grammar tests and spelling and I was a slow reader, so my grades were always on the low side. I pushed hard to learn how to write and became a bookworm in high school. I bumped into her when I finished university and proudly told her that I became the editor in chief of our university literary student publication.

My 4th grade social studies teacher - I flunked the fill-in-the-blanks Philippine map exam (haha!), but that left a huge mark on me. I'm still geographically-challenged and this is one reason why my 20% time at work is mapping and getting more people to map. (And I think I'm finally getting better with directions).

Ms. Octaviano - my elementary school science teacher. She made me love science!

Ginang de Vera - my super-strict, terror freshman year Filipino teacher who would have us roll our papers while taking a quiz. I was scared of  her most of the time that I always barely passed the subject. To get over that experience I asked one of my editors in our university literary publication to train me on writing in Filipino short stories. That helped me improve my written Filipino skills.

Mr. Pulmones - my chemistry teacher. He made studying chemistry very interesting. I remember always looking forward to his classes.

My sophomore year history teacher - she made studying Asian history very interesting. We were only stuck with books back then, but I would read more at the library about Asian history because her stories were inspiring. She always gave anecdotes about her trips abroad.

Mr. Dumrique - our junior year class adviser, for being the gentle giant that he is. We were in his class during an earthquake and he really made sure all of us girls were safe.

Bro. Gene Tianco, FSC - my religion teacher in DLSU. He actually still remembers the class I was enrolled him every though it's been over 2 decades! I was a troubled soul back in college and he took me under his wing. I'm so glad I found him again after all these years! <3 <3 <3 you Bro!

Mr. Teehankee, Mr. Buendia and Mr. Holmes - my very cool PolSci professors and thesis mentors! For believing in me and getting me out of potential trouble back then!

My Quattech teacher - who actually flunked me even though I was just .3 points away from passing. I got a really good grade when I took it again (ha!). Re-taking the subject taught me how to be more process oriented and helped me pass that hard P&G employment exam (I just didn't choose to go the consumer route).

Judge Reyes - my legal management professor on Conslaw (I don't really remember if it was conslaw), but he made studying law very interesting. He said I reminded him of his daughter so he used to scold my seatmate (Rico Yan) for being too makulit with me. Sorry for not pursuing law studies, I know I disappointed the whole department :(

Mr. Garcia - my MBA marketing professor who taught us out of the box thinking. A lot of my classmates didn't like his teaching style, but it was really effective for me.

Dr. Ned Roberto - I was assigned to study market research under him for a few months when I was tasked to do our company's UAI study. It was such a privilege to have been one of his students. I <3 you Lolo Ned!

I have many, many more teachers I'd like to thank, including my parents, my siblings, my bosses/managers and whoever I bugged to teach me. I hope the work I am doing today would be a way to thank all the teachers who have contributed to who I am today. I'm so happy to have spent the last few days with amazing teachers from so many countries. I really admire all of you!

At the Google Teachers Academy

With teacher-leaders of the Google Educator Groups.

Happy Teachers Day!