Embracing Bohol in 3 days (Dec 2013)

A 3day-2night getaway to the island of Bohol before Christmas was all we could squeeze in to our busy December homecoming holiday. 

Bohol is one of the thousands of islands with beautiful beaches in the Philippines. It is famous for its beaches (of course) as well as the country's natural wonder The Chocolate Hills and is home to the Philippine tarsiers (one of the smallest known primates). We are a family of beach bums so this was a good way to spend a few days of our holiday. And what's more, it's with the company of other family members (some time for the kids to spend with their cousins).

Pagsanjan / Cavinti Falls Eco-Adventure (Dec 2013)

It was supposed to be a Laguna day trip including a boat ride up to Pagsanjan Falls, hunt for the delectable buko pie and visit UP Los Banos (my SIL's alma mater), but time wasn't on our side, almost getting lost in the new hway and taking the road less travelled. We only got to accomplish one.

here is the driving map to Cavinti from Manila following the expressway

Konichiwa, Japan: The Land of the Rising Sun

It was in the beginning of 2013 when hubby said maybe this year we could visit Japan. It's not in the initial travel plans for the year, just a spur of the moment decision. I was hesitant at first because I am used to planning way ahead (like a year, minimum 6 months) and the target month to travel was May/June school holidays. That only gave me about 5-6 months preparation. Yes, barely made it to my cut off period.

both hands up for Japan!!!

Japan 2013 - Day 11: Last Day in Tokyo... Sayonara, Japan

We still had the whole day to explore Tokyo for the last time as our flight back to Singapore was at 11:55pm. But since it was also check out day, we had to prepare our luggage after breakfast. The hotel has a left luggage facility which was very convenient for us.

By 10:30am we were on board the shuttle bus to Shinagawa Station, then took the JR Yamanote Line to Harajuku Station (160 yen). It was a short walk going to the first gate to the Meiji Shrine.

Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken. In commemoration of the virtues of Emperor (died in 1912) and his Empress (died in 1914), people donated 100,000 tress from all over Japan and from overseas, and worked voluntarily to create the forest that it is now. "The forest was carefully planned as an eternal forest that recreates itself." It was completed in 1920. Ninety-three years on, I wouldn't have guessed that these trees were intentionally planted in this area. 

Meiji Jingu

1-1 Yoyogi Kamizonocho, Shibuya-ku

Tokyo 151-8557

Phone: +81-3-3379-5511 (Japanese)

www.meijiingu.or.jp

at the main entrance, O-torii, the first torii gate to Meiji Shrine.

made of beautiful cypress wood more than 1,700 yrs old.

Japan 2013 - Day 10: flying back to Tokyo

So that was it. Our time in Hokkaido was over. We felt sad to leave this beautiful island behind. But we had high hopes of (and will definitely plan for) another trip soon, exploring the northern part of the island, and maybe coming back to the favorite places we've been to (but that is going to be hard to choose).  

we've only explored a small part of Hokkaido, and we will definitely go back for more!

Japan 2013 - Day 9: Niseko and Mt Yotei on the way back to Sapporo

Our last day in Hakodate. It was hard to leave as there were still so many things to see that we couldn't squeeze in to our itinerary. Maybe next time...

For now, we had to look forward to yet another long journey, driving all the way back up to Sapporo (about 250kms away). 

first half of our route to Sapporo (the star to the right of point B is Mt Yotei)

Japan 2013 - Day 8: Hakodate

Hakodate is Japan's 3rd largest city located at the southern tip of Hokkaido. Famous for stunning views from Mt Hakodate (which we saw the day before), we were glad to be able to tick one important attraction off our list. Next in the list, Hakodate's fresh, delicious seafood. One advantage of staying at New Ohte hotel was that it's located just across Morning Market.

in front of New Ohte Hotel

Japan 2013 - Day 7: Lake Toya to Hakodate

Before we headed for the long drive to Hakodate (163kms / about 2.5hrs drive), another onsen bath for the family. We checked out around 10am, went to the convenience shop for packed lunch and snacks for our road trip, and consulted our map for our Lake Toya exploration day.

the stars denote the places we've been to so far (except for those on top of A, which will be on the way back). Our drive down to Hakodate, the down at the tip of Hokkaido Island, would traverse the coast of Uchira Bay.

Japan 2013 - Day 6: Jidai Mura to Lake Toya

Got up early in the morning for our Japanese-style breakfast which was included in the room package. We dressed up in our yukatas and headed to the first floor dining area, as advised last night by our friendly host.

ready for breakfast

Japan 2013 - Day 5: Moerenuma Park to Lake Shikotsu to Noboribetsu

Before we bid goodbye to Sapporo today, we drove the boys to Moerenuma Park. I've shown Ira photos of attractions in the park and he was really interested in a lot of things there. He was so excited to finally be going to the park. And we made sure they had a lot of time to explore the park and play around.

thanks, Swanky Hotel, for the 2 nights of comfort

Japan 2013 - Day 4: Furano

We've arranged with the hotel that we were to have our breakfast earlier (5-530am) since we were driving to Furano. It was about 150kms away, roughly a 3-hr drive. We didn't use the expressway (with toll) and just followed the national highways. There's not really much difference in travel time and distance anyway.

our route map to floral heaven

Japan 2013 - Day 3: Shakotan Peninsula and Otaru

Our third day in Japan, and first long-drive around Hokkaido. We drove off 60kms to Shakotan Peninsula. There was no phone number to plug in so we had to consult our google map of starred attractions in my tab and estimate the location in the GPS map. After an hour or so, we saw signs pointing to the famous natural attractions in the peninsula.

our route for the day, towards the central western tip of Hokkaido Island

Japan 2013 - Day 2: On our way to Hokkaido

As per itinerary, we should have gone to Odaiba in the morning, before we head to the airport. But we decided to stay in the hotel so we could wake up later (830am) and have breakfast in the hotel before we check out.

By 10am we were ready to check out and looked forward to our Hokkaido roadtrip. 

farewell for now, Toyoko Inn. We'll see you again after a week!

This huge trash basket was located in front of our hotel. Not really sure why this was there. Maybe it symbolizes proper trash disposal, which we have observed in Japan.