Family trip to Tokyo again!!!
TRAVEL
This time around we have a special guest staying with us for the first week!
Actually special guest means my new baby sitter + personal hair stylist lolol.
No la. Amy came to Tokyo for Number76’s study holiday. She’s gonna come back with new hair witchcraft that’s gonna create a bang lololol bad pun sorry.
My favorite Japan Airlines as usual. And first experience for Amy! Learn the JAL’s omotenashi service for her salon!
Junya almost cannot fit the bassinet this time. He has grown so long he has to sleep with his knees curved. And i must bring him on more more more trips next year because once he is 2 years old we will have to pay for child air fare liao lolol kiasu much.
LIVE
Our kickass apartment!!!!
Omg it’s soooo huge i feel like it’s too much of a luxury. (We booked a two-room apartment because there will be a few guests coming to stay with us.) Plenty of room for Junya to run around!! (The last time in Japan he juuuuust only started toddling.)
And a kickass kitchen with double stove!!!! Ok now that’s luxury in Japan lol.
And a kickass view in day time.
AND night time.
Also i heard from my friends in Malaysia and Singapore that the haze situation is so bad now that they had to even wear masks in the house. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy!!! I feel so bad and so lucky at the same time cuz you know how we take fresh air for granted until you start to breathe shit air?
I am so so thankful to be here, every breath i take is a blessing. Not only that, some breaths i take is blessing dipped in magic soft boiled to a crystalized happiness that is peace flavored.
Because it is osmanthus season.
This is how osmanthus look!
You may have eaten osmanthus jelly in Chinese restaurant before. And this scent, is the favorite scent of mine and the danna’s (other than the scent of newborn Junya). And every late Sep/Oct, Japan will smell like it. A whiff of joy and peacefulness here and there.
COMPANION
When Amy is free i request her to give me some quick styling hahhaha. In return i sponsor her onigiri LOLOL.
XD
Look alike ma? XD
EAT
It’s so so so much easier this trip as Junya is slowly introduced to adult food so i can just share a combini onigiri or sandwich with him without having to prepare separate meals for him.
Street lunch for Junya lol.
😀
His appetite shot up again so confirm is Japanese magic.
Seriously i’m not kidding. My kitchen is so bare that the only cooking essentials i have is cooking oil, a bottle of Ajinomoto salt, shoyu and a bottle of spicy dressing. That’s all. But even with the worst cooking skill the food still came out quite yummy. I am impressed.
A typical quick breakfast. If i had cooked this in Malaysia it would have tasted really yucky lol. I don’t even eat raw cucumber or tomato!
Even the natto of the same brand tastes better here than in the one i bought in KL!!! Am i crazy??
(After that the danna explained to me that it is because the natto here is fresh and not frozen like the one sold in Malaysia.)
Splurge
I loooooove splurging on expensive food stuff in Japan. It’s like buying a new life experience.
Rich and thick yogurt from various brands (they are soooo goood), fruit tomatoes that cost a bomb but really is the best, and avocado (not even from Japan but imported from Mexico) was so good one!!!!!!
This King Avocado is about 280 yen (SGD3. Sorry i refuse to use MYR because my heart breaks when i see the conversion), but it is sooooooo soft and creamy and rich T____T.
Cucumber and tomato with just a sprinkle of salt.
Nasu. Omg how i love the Japanese eggplant. Have you eaten one that is foil-grilled in butter & shoyu. Omg.
Thrift
I am trying to convince the world that Japan can be very, very cheap. Not everything is expensive. Sometimes, Japan is much cheaper than Malaysia. Definitely Singapore.
Go to Don Quijote and you will find cheap everything.
A block of tofu for SGD0.30. HUH?
A whole huge bag of bean sprout for the same price.
A pack of natto (3 boxes) for SGD0.70. ??!?!? (If i’m not wrong 3 boxes of natto is SGD5 in Singapore.) What is going on?!?!?!
Also please try this milk when you see it in Japan!! (Usually sold in supermarkets and not combini.) Even more kao than the Meiji Hokkaido milk it’s almost like drinking cream.
I love Japan.
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Taste of Tohoku
Have you tried the Japanese Persimmon – Kaki?
It’s autumn now so Kaki is everywhere! There are two types of persimmons, Sweet and Astringent.
Sweet persimmons are round and you can eat them raw and it tastes sweet and crispy. Whereas the astringent persimmon are oblong and pointed at the end. They are usually dried to remove the astringency before eating, and you can also eat them raw once it ripens into soft jelly texture.
In Tohoku, there is a tradition where the astringent kakis are picked, peeled, attached with straw ropes and dried in the sun. And that is called Hoshigaki.
Also, not only is persimmon a popular fruit in Japan, its leaves can be used to make tea, and used as a wrap for sushi, and even the kaki peel from the hoshigaki is also useful!! Kaki can even help hangover apparently. XD You read more about kaki on this website.
For more tips on Tohoku gourmet and delicacies, you can visit Taste of Tohoku!
Hi Cheesie! Wanted to ask where you booked your apartment at, cus i’m looking from something similiar to that for my trip to Japan! And thanks for the cheap recommendations for food lololol, seeing as I’m a broke student preparing for a university exchange in Tokyo.
Thanks cheesie for sharing about all your trips to Japan!! Even though I can’t visit now I really enjoy reading your posts about it cos it kind of makes me feel like I’m there 😀
I see Junya trying to grab the milk from you. Oh, it breaks my heart too to see the depreciating msia ringgit. 🙁
I bought air ticket to Aus next year… thinking wanted a change from the Japan’s scenery… Pull my ear please, I was wrong! Because after that, I researched and booked my accommodation in Aus… and realised that traveling in JAPAN is so much more cheaper and affordable than going anywhere in the world!! Hahaha, but before my Aus trip, I will be visiting Tokyo for SAKURAsss!! I cannot wait for April to be here….
Hi Cheesie, are you staying at the Duplex?
I’m just a block away in the same “chome” and have been an ardent blog reader of yours!
Would be cool if we could meet up to say Hi.. Maybe will bump into you at the Lawson downstairs or at Donki haha. Enjoy your trip!
hi cheesie! do you usually book your apartments from sites like airbnb? thanks for sharing about your experience again, i am shocked and amazed at the cheap grocery finds in japan! :O
ps gelationi doesn’t have eyes in the second pic!!! >< 😀 so funny!!!
Persimmon in BM is pisang KAKI! lol
Hi Cheesie! Was wondering through where did you book your apartment? Have checked through airbnb but have never found one that looked as good as yours! Would be awesome to book it for a family trip instead of booking 2 hotel rooms like we used to do. ^^;
Hey Cheesie! I have the same question as the others about the accommodation. We are a family of 5 (2 a, 3 kids) and a 2 bedroom apt right in the city wld be perfect for us. Where do u rent them from?
Hi Cheesie!
I’ll be going to Tokyo and Osaka in Jan with my 14m son! Was wondering if you have any tips on keeping the lil bubba warm? or maybe do you have any warm clothes to let go and can pass if you’re travelling to SG soon.
Hope to hear your reply!
Thanks a bunch!