May 26 – 31, 2015
When mami said we MIGHT go to Japan for vacation, I’m not going to lie, I was pretty excited but then the more I thought about it the more convinced I was that I was just going to stay home. #1.) I was more or less 4 months pregnant, I wasn’t sure if I could handle walking the entire day and #2.) Even If I decided to go Marco couldn’t because he’s in the middle of studying for the STEP 1 USMLE, who’s going to assist me? Well, when I talked to mom she said its okay for me to come even in my current state and they were going to help me out so why not, right? And besides it was the first time I’d be traveling with Marco’s side of the family ever since we got married. I think the last time I traveled with this bunch out of the country was back in 2008 when Marco and I were still dating.
Day 1
All set for Osaka—Mami, Nacho, Pauline, Yaya Dids, Pilica, Mikel, Anya and pregnant me. Today was spent on traveling and settling down in our Hello Kitty apartment courtesy of Mika from Air BnB.
Pops of red—I ended up matching Pauline’s luggage. Haha
Love this passport holder, thanks so much Ninang Ito.
Japan and their trains. I just love their railway system, it pretty much gets you anywhere just as long as you know how to go about the machines and deciphering which lines to take. We had mami and Pauline on top of that, thanks so much for figuring out the trains, the map, the itinerary and pretty much everything else.
Pauline and Nacho’s area
Mikel and I got this room
Good Lawd…princess Mikel. Haha
Even the bathroom and the kitchen (not in the picture) was stocked up with pink Hello Kitty products, from soap to shampoo to earbuds to towels. I am no fan of Hello Kitty but I couldn’t help it, I was loving the place. It’s very well organized (she had a welcome note for us with a map and btw the pocket wifi was already included in the room rental), the place was clean, the sheets were very plush and comfortable, it felt like our home in Japan.
If you’re planning a trip to Osaka and are interested to check out the Hello Kitty place, Mika has a bunch of these apartments all over the place, please click on the link below.
Air Bnb Mika
We stayed close to a grocery, a 7eleven and bunch of food places. This one in particular was our go-to one because they had pretty good gyudons at very affordable prices. I understand Sukiya is a restaurant chain all over Japan, we were joking around saying its the Chowking of Japan (of course their food is a lot better)
My Travel OOTD
(TOP:Loose navyblue shirt/ LEGGINGS: black/ ACCESSORIES: fedora hat c/o Pilica, kisses scarf, red round-frame sunglasses, MINTED jewelry necklace/ SHOES: red flats)
Day 2
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN
I just want to clarify that I did not go through any of the rides, I was pregnant bound to a wheelchair and I enjoyed my visit to Universal Studios Japan by just being there. I had fun eating, taking pictures and buying stuff. Oh yeah, I also enjoyed the Magical lights parade. Thanks so much family for pushing me around the theme park especially Pilica. I really felt like a burden…super sorry.
Tourists on the go
Obligatory photo with the rotating Universal sign
This pregnant woman gets a wheel chair…the only ride I could ride
awww…young groupies
Replica of San Francisco’s Fishermans Wharf
Minion-crazy
Hanging out at Sesame Street
Marilyn and Mikel
The infamous Butterbeer (which I think is overrated btw)
(Butter) Beer for me and Butter beer for the baby
Pilica was nice enough to come with me check out this Hello Kitty museum-ish. Oh, did I mention we got to meet Hello Kitty herself. Haha
The day ended with a Magical Lights parade that I extremely enjoyed.
…And a trip to the Anime store just outside Universal.
Day 3: Kyoto
Tenriyu Ji Garden and Temple / Arashiyama Bamboo Groves / Kiyomizudera Temple/ Fushimi Inari Shrine
I can’t drink Green Tea but I think Green Tea Ice cream is perfectly fine
The Bamboo Groves. Finally we made it!
Couldn’t help myself
We just turned Japanese. 😀
Thanks mami for buying us our kimonos and allowing us to play dress up that night. It was fun literally walking the streets of Japan and even getting on the train wearing our colorful kimonos. They did a pretty good job covering my baby bump, btw.
Day 4
Osaka Castle/ Dotonbori
Just because everyones convinced I’m getting twins due to the size of my bump. 🙂
For my eyes only…CRAP!
Day 5
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan/ Shopping in Shin Sai Bashi
Thanks so much Tita Gands and cousin Rei for meeting up with me and treating me out to dinner.
It was really hard to go through all 1,000++ photos and pick a bunch for this entry but I sure had fun reliving Osaka by looking at them, hope you had fun going through this photo diary. I promise to come back, Japan, and next time I’m taking Marco and Spriki with me.
~Rhea
