First post of Aomori here.

Continuing from Hakodate….

We left Hakodate and bound for Aomori again, because it was the first day of Nebuta Matsuri Festival!! More on that later. ^^

To board Junya’s favorite shinkanse, Hayabusa. <3

This is another cheat post because I think I’m losing my mojo a bit lately haha.

Plus I wrote one fake post PLUS a real, long post last month that isn’t about unicorn cupcakes and donut floats, so I think it’s ok. 😀

Here are the old posts you can read instead of this one.

This post is a brief account of our family trip to Hakodate!

This was summer 2017, almost a year ago.

Because the previous post was a Cheat One™.

Hi. I’m back.

Here’s the account of @cheesiepetit in the past month. I finally had some time sanity to sit down and pen my thoughts.

Today Junya turns 47 months old and Sakura turns 2 years old.

It’s been 4 whole years of logging their monthly milestones and update.

The more I get out of the city, the more I develop a longing to try living in the suburbs.

I recently just finished reading the best-seller – Ikigai, the Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. The book introduces the island of Okinawa, whose residents live longer than people anywhere else in the world. Many of them lived as long as over 110 years old.

Many people have told me that some of their favorite blog posts from all the 2000 over that I have written, are from the “The Meaning Of…” series. I have written a few so far:

1. The Meaning of Itadakimasu

2. The Meaning of Mottainai

3. The Meaning of Umami

These are some of my favorite too. Recently I read the trending book called Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. I have my very own definition of Ikigai, but let’s reserve that for another time. What I want to say is that, sometimes I really learn so much from just researching about one single Japanese word that carry such profound, sophisticated meaning.

Disney time!

Junya and I have been to the parks in Tokyo a few times (including when he was in my tummy!), but this April was our first visit as a family all together!

Kanazawa, the capital city of Ishikawa prefecture, is best known to be culturally rich and its beautifully preserved historical townscape.

The most touristy of all, is probably Higashi Chaya (東茶屋街), a well-preserved traditional district that used to serve as tea houses in Edo period where the geisha performed.

When it comes to Ishikawa, most people know it by the city of gold – Kanazawa (金沢).

There are much more to explore on this prefecture located on the Japan Sea coast. The first stop for me was Wajima (輪島), a historical city known for its Asaichi (morning market) and lacquerware.

I could say that this is the highlight of my trip to Chubu-Hokuriku region in Japan. A registered world heritage site – Gokayama (五箇山).

When it comes to the Chubu region, the hottest tourist spot in recent years is perhaps Shirakawago (白川郷) in Gifu prefecture. When I first saw the travel itinerary, I was a little sad that Shirakawago was not included in this trip, but little did I know that we were in for a surprise, that is the same 250-year-old gassho-zukkuri farmhouses as the ones in Shirakawago, are also found in Ainokura (相倉) in Gokayama, Toyama prefecture.

Junya turns 46 months today and Sakura is 23 months old!

For the past whole month we have been… traveling!! This is probably the first time for our family to travel non stop for an entire month… and counting! By the time we return to Singapore, it will be two full months of away from home.