This is the second day in Setouchi!

Read my previous post on Matsuyama and introduction on Setouchi.

Highlight of the trip.

We arrived at Uchiko from Matsuyama, the capital city of Ehime Prefecture. You may get to Uchiko from Matsuyama by express (25 minutes) or local train (1 hour), and it is covered by Japan Rail Pass if you have one. ^^

Uchiko is a traditional small town in Ehime Prefecture, which can be entirely covered on foot. It was once a prosperous center of wax and washi (Japanese paper) production. read more

I am 33 this year. Typing this alone gives me a little bit of a shock. Admittedly I have not really liked to mention about my age because I feel that doing this is putting a lot of limitation and attracting unnecessary stereotype on myself.

There was once, during an influencer selection for a campaign, I had to tick “NO” at the “are you under 30” column and then I was immediately rejected from the job HAHAHAHAHA. Ouch.

If only the world operates without the label of age. Imagine that! You will no longer need to shop for age-appropriate clothing, answer to your relatives why you are not married at 28 during CNY reunion dinners, have awkward “how old do you think I look” guesses, and hesitate to buy all the Hello Kitty stuff lol. read more

This is Day 1 of our Setouchi X HomeAway trip. (Read previous post here .)

Highlight of the trip.^^

I am so thankful for HomeAway because it helped me unlock my 28th Prefecture: Ehime.

First time in Matsuyama Airport!

So Chanwon and I took a flight from Changi to Haneda via JAL, which landed at 5am in the morning ahead of time, and we were in luck because we had to rush over to the domestic departure after a loooong line clearing the immigration, for our connecting flight to Matsuyama. We got there just in time! read more

When I was 14, I had a dream. My dream was to visit Japan.

However that dream was held on for 10 years. One whole decade. I was 24 when I first visited Japan. And the reason why it look me so long was that Japan was way too expensive for a regular Malaysian fresh grad like me.

Yearssssssss later, I still get people telling that they are putting Japan on hold as their travel destination because it is too expensive to travel to.

So today I would like to change a little of that misconception, because nowadays, honestly, I sometimes think that certain things in Japan are so insanely cheap that I feel worried for them. Gyudon chains are rivaling to bring the price down down down down, supermarkets are all fighting to offer the lowest price. Want more customers? MAKE IT CHEAPER!! read more

You know, sometimes I wish that I can live 100 lives, so that I can spend each life living a different existence in different places in Japan. As a farmer, as a fisherman, as a sushi master, as a popular comedian, as a ninja, as a Shiba Inu. That is how amazing Japan is. Allow me to borrow their tourism tagline: Endless Discovery. Because one life is not enough.

What is Setouchi? You have been following my Instagram feed for the past week but you still have no idea what where how why. Hahahah. Relax. In this post I am going to explain it all, the beginner way. Because this blog’s mission is to spread the love for Japan to the world. And today I am going show you how traveling to Japan does not only stop at Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hokkaido, and also how to experience the most authentic local ways of life and get a peek into the historical wonders in the lesser travelled parts of Japan. read more

Sakura is 13 months today and Junya turns 3!!!

Neither of them is a baby anymore😭

For Junya

1st month , 2nd month , 3rd month , 4th month , 5th month , 6th month , 7th month,  8th month, 9th month , 10th month , 11th month , 12th month , 13th month , 14th month , 15th month , 16th month , 17th month , 18th months , 19th month , 20th month ,21st month , 22nd month , 23rd month , 24th month , 25th month , 26th month , 27th month , 28th month , 29th month , 30th month , 31st month , 32nd month , 33rd month , 34th month and 35th month here. read more

Please don’t flag my blog for having suspicious content based on the title above. In fact, This blog post is gonna be so useful for many people, that I think it deserves a medal.

So, if you followed my Instagram for the past week you’d know that I have been away for a trip to Japan without the cheesiepetits.

One of the hardest thing for me to be away other than emotional guilt, was to maintain my milk supply while I was not with Sakura. I was not ready to give up breastfeeding just yet. Our travel schedule was quite packed so it would not be very wise to keep asking for toilet breaks to pump. Plus there’s no way I would be bringing a breast pump. So I devised a plan: read more

Actually this post is about the most loved castle in Japan, Himeji Castle, and the most coveted beef worldwide, Kobe Beef. But it was also my birthday. So I win the title. But I still love you, Himeji Castle and Kobe Beef. You are welcome.

So for the past two days (31st March and 1st April) we had been traveling to different places in the Kansai region to fulfil my #47prefecture life mission. We had another day free for traveling, but I couldn’t decided where to go. Okayama for fruits? … Wakayama? It’s kind of a very unpopular place for tourists but that’s exactly why I wanted to visit, because I’d probably not get many chance to do it 😅. Hmmm… perhaps the lake in Shiga? read more