No matter how many times I come to this city doing the same things, I never get tired of it.

Just look at this. How could I ever?

Nagasaki is one of my favorite cities in Japan (and I have visited soooo many!), because you will just fall in love before you even realize, and of course, it is extra special because this humble little city holds all my danna’s childhood memories.

We were back to Nagasaki to visit his family this past summer, and the hotel/ryokan that we booked this time was the most amazing, family-friendly hotel I’ve ever stayed in. read more

In this post, I’ll be sharing my experience on Edo Kiriko – cut glass making and also kimono wearing, all within Tokyo!

If you are unsure about the route to your destination via the subway, you can always look out for the Tokyo Metro Welcome Board!

Tokyo Metro Welcome Board

There’s an info board called Tokyo Metro Welcome Board in major stations which contains useful info for tourists written in English, Simplified Chinese and Korean, so first-time visitors to Tokyo can get around with peace of mind.

There’s also the Tokyo Metro route search screen mounted on the wall, and you may utilize this to easily find the route and time needed for the train ride. read more

If you are someone who loves to get in touch with the traditional and cultural aspects of Japan, I hope this blog post will be helpful for you to plan something that’s out of the ordinary for your upcoming or future trip.

In this blog post, I will blog about two heritage sites that I visited for the first time, despite having been to Tokyo countless times now.

But first, I’d like to share with you about Tokyo Metro’s super convenient Wi-Fi service.

Tokyo Metro Wi-Fi Service

If you don’t have a pocket Wi-Fi and do not want a shocking mobile bill from turning on data roaming, be assured that in most major Tokyo Metro stations, there will be free Wi-Fi service! read more

In this post I will be sharing some of the halal souvenir finds, certified with the halal mark, so that Muslim travellers can now have better selections when it comes to bringing some gifts from Tokyo for their family and friends back home!

Retro Style Ginza Line

The first stop was Asakusa station, and I took the subway from Omote-sando station.

There are the Ginza Line, Hanzomon Line and Chiyoda Line in Omote-sando station.

If you are a fan of Japanese trains, you should definitely check out the retro-style train on Ginza Line! read more

Tokyo might be known for its wacky Harajuku fashion and sometimes over-the-top street styles, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find the perfect piece that your wardrobe is missing.

We know some of the big brands – CDG, Yohji Yamamoto, UNDERCOVER, Mastermind Japan, just to name a few. Here, I would like to share a few fashion shopping spots – a newly opened high–end concept store in Ginza, a vintage clothing store loved by all the stylish youngsters from Harajuku, and a classy European-style select store. read more

I will be recommending a few Muslim-friendly restaurants that serve halal food or have a halal menu. I was very excited to write about this as I’ve been getting requests from Muslim readers to do a guide on this for some time now! I would be so happy if more Muslim visitors are encouraged to travel to Tokyo as the city is really getting more and more convenient in terms of halal choices and Muslim friendly facilities!

Tokyo Metro Guide

And to help travelers navigate Tokyo better, Tokyo Metro has placed a Tokyo Metro Guide with Subway Map in their stations that is available in different languages. read more

This past September I went to Tokyo for a Tokyo Metro project. This is my Tokyo guide for all of you who love Tokyo as much as I do. It will help you enjoy this megametropolis from an even more in-depth dimension, other than the neon, skyscrapers and famous eats that most of you are already familiar with.

I believe a lot of you who are reading this blog have made your maiden trip to Tokyo, and you have done all the classic and cliched – a walk down Takeshita in Harajuku, Sushi in Tsukiji, omikuji at Meiji Shrine, shopping in Shibuya… you don’t really need this blog for those. What this series of blog post will do, is to inspire more people to come back to Tokyo and take on an adventure off the beaten track. I will be sharing some of the rare cultural gems, affordable eats that are not in every other travel guide book and even delicious halal food. read more

Today I will be introducing an affordable small luxury that you can treat yourself to, or gift it to someone ever so special.

And it is… handkerchiefs.

Yes, I know what you mean! In this modern era where wet wipes/tissues have replaced handkerchief when it comes to personal hygiene purpose, I hardly recall the last time I actually owned one. I do have lots of fabric napkins, but they are mainly for wiping that pasta sauce off my babies’ faces.

For a quick history background of handkerchief’s origin, apparently the first handkerchief might have been used dated back to 3000BC, as an intricate linen cloth was discovered in the tomb of an Egyptian princess Dahshur. In Persia in around 700 BC, handkerchiefs were symbols of nobility and were often made from the finest-quality silk adorned with embroidered decorations, and were only permitted to be owned by members of royal families. Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, reigned over the French court as a fashion leader at the end of the 18th century, while the ladies in the French court competed in terms of how beautiful their handkerchiefs were. read more

(Anyway I promised myself to blog twice a week to keep good ol’ bloggers from going extinct, so here’s me making effort. I did 3 posts in the past week. You are welcome.)

I want to laugh at myself.

When was the last time I did this? Anyway here’s a super quick post to fill up all the other real posts, and to save myself some dignity when it comes to effort of trying to not look like a frump😅.

So when I am in Singapore, the only time I do step out of the house is to pick the kids up from school, usually in the clothes I wear at home to dust the cabinets and cook in the kitchen so pardon me if you see ketchup stains or spider web on my shirt. And thank goodness Singaporean mothers all look quite down to earth (although I feel a little ashamed when all full-time working moms come in their elegant work wear complete with high heels), so I don’t feel so super stressed out with my choice of outfits and the amount of color paint I put on my face.😟 read more

This post is for all mentaiko lovers!

Did you know? There are actually a Mentai Park (it’s more like a factory museum rather than a park) in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, by one of the most famous mentaiko manufacturer in Japan, Kanefuku. They have a total of 4 parks across Japan.

Oarai Mentai Park

This is Mentai Park in Oarai! There’s a huuuuuge free parking  space, and you can spot the giant mentaiko mascot – Tarapiyo, on the rooftop from afar.

Haha. Mentai JunJun.

Entrance to Mentai Park is not only free, you are also invited to try their freshly produced Kanefuku mentaiko!! read more

Ibaraki Prefecture is located in the Kanto area, about 1-2 hours’ drive away from Tokyo. It is one of the closest places from Tokyo (apart from Chiba) that has great surfing spots, which is the reason why we were there in the summer this year. The danna was really itching to reach for the waves.

It is not a very popular tourist destination, but you may have seen pictures of the Hitachi Seaside Park (ひたち海浜公園), famed for its super dreamy and surreal seasonal scenes.

(image from Google) read more

So I have blogged about what I feed cheesiepetits for breakfast and lunch, and this time it’s about their snack time!!

Recently I have allowed them to snack as much as they want, as long as they have finished a proper meal. It’s also a good plan to load them up with extra calories that they really need and to fill any nutritional gaps.

So here are some of the perfect timings to dish out those yummy snacks!

1. Hunger fix

It is not yet lunch/dinner time, but your little munching machines are getting fidgety. Junya will usually start whining that he’s hungry when he comes back from school, and I have yet to cook dinner. read more