One-Day Suggested Osaka Itinerary: Osaka Castle and Dontonburi

Posted on May 1, 2016 by missuschewy

If you only have one day in Osaka, where will you go and what will you do? Our original intention was to spend at least 3 days taking in the sights and sounds of Osaka but due to some last minute changes in our plan, we only had one full day instead! On Day 6 of our Japan trip, we took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka in the morning. We actually missed our train by a few seconds (!!!) and had to reserve seats again for the next train. Well, at least that gave us a bit of time to hunt for breakfast at the station.

These Siretoco donuts caught my attention from afar and I found myself oohing and aahing over them. Aren’t they the cutest?! I mean, just look at the innocent panda face peering out of the donut! LOL.

If my memory serves me right, each donut costs about ¥310 (~S$4) which definitely isn’t cheap and not knowing if it would taste nice, we only bought one, the Tokyo version, for Little misschewy. Verdict? It’s totally Instagram-worthy and let’s just say that we were glad we only got one. Hahaha. 😛

We reached Shin-Osaka station after a 2.5 hours train ride and had no problem locating Studio Shin-Osaka, our Airbnb, as our host gave us very clear directions via email. Also, it was just a 5 minute walk from the station! So convenient! We didn’t get to meet our host, who lives in Tokyo, so we retrieved the keys from the mailbox.

We were very impressed by how spacious and clean our Osaka Airbnb was!

Mattresses on tatami mats! As we only had one day in Osaka, we decided not to waste any more of our precious time and quickly made our way to our next destination!

It took about 15 minutes from Shin-Osaka Station to Osaka-jo Koen Station via JR Osaka Station. Upon exiting Osaka-jo Koen Station, we saw plenty of food stalls selling street snacks! HUNGRY!

I have no idea what these are called but they are like savoury pancakes wrapped around chopsticks.

We tried the one with a poached egg on top and it was so darn delicious!

After a bit of walking and eating, we found ourselves outside the majestic Osaka Castle!

Treated Little misschewy to ice cream as a reward for her good behaviour. Hehe.

Dotonburi is a must-visit if you are travelling to Osaka! It is like a one-stop food paradise for all types of delicious food that you wouldn’t want to miss out on!

I was quite amused by all the giant food boards at Dotonburi! They certainly caught my attention and I just had to snap photos of the more flashy ones.

Almost mistook this for a food board as well, only to realize it’s a caricature shop. LOL.

The famous giant crab!

We tried a box of two Charcoal Grilled Crab Legs (‎¥700 ~ S$9) which tasted pretty decent. Juicy with a hint of smokiness.

The giant octopus can only mean one thing.

Takoyaki balls!

We didn’t have any concrete plans for dinner and joined the queue to get into Mizuno Restaurant, which specialises in Okonomiyaki. We queued for more than an hour in the cold!

Shall let the photos do the talking! 😉

We had two types of Okonomiyaki — the one with pork loin, and the Mizuno Okonomiyaki. Both were equally delicious, and the cabbage gave the Okonomiyaki a nice crunchy bite. Must try if you are heading to Dotonburi! Remember to avoid peak hours!

Shopped for souvenirs after our dinner and passed by the famous Glico running man sign!

The hubs prefers Asahi. Hahaha.

We did what everyone else was doing — selfie with Glico man! 😀 This concludes our one and only full day in Osaka! Next up, we will be covering a short post on Kyoto!
Do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 8: Thunderbird Limited Express from Shin-Osaka to Kanazawa > Check into Hotel Nikko Kanazawa > Kenroku-en Garden > Kanazawa Castle > Lunch at Sushi Zanmai > Omicho Market > Higashi Chaya District > Tonkatsu dinner at Tomikinton (富金豚)

Day 9: Nouhi bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go > Sightseeing around Shirakawa-go > Nouhi bus from Shirakawa-go to Kanazawa > Thunderbird Limited Express from Kanazawa to Shin-Osaka > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

From Singapore to Tokyo & Suggested Tokyo Itinerary!

Posted on April 27, 2016 by missuschewy

As most of you should know by now, our 10D9N Japan trip was also Little misschewy’s 2nd birthday trip 🙂 We had been to Phuket, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Penang as a family last year. This time, we decided to venture a little bit further and made Japan the holiday destination of our choice! A visit to Japan in the month of March this year was almost perfect – cold weather and cherry blossoms! I used the word ‘almost’ because the weather was actually quite cold and many times we found ourselves freezing lol, and also the blooming of cherry blossoms didn’t reach its peak only until end March. But it’s ok! We saw plenty to keep us happy till our next trip to Japan. LOL! We took advantage of Singapore Airline’s promotional offer and booked our air tickets early. Red-eye flight to Narita Airport for us! Little misschewy fell asleep in the Tula toddler carrier before we boarded and woke up at 4am on the plane asking for drinks and snacks. She stayed wide awake throughout the rest of the flight and kept pointing at the window, “Go out!” This girl ah!

Upon arriving at Narita Airport, we made our way to the JR station and bought our JR Narita Express tickets to Tokyo, specifically Ikebukuro station because that’s where our Airbnb is! The Narita Express departed the station at 8.13am and we reached Ikebukuro at 10.02am. About 2 hours’ journey! The fare cost ‎¥3190 (S$39) one-way per adult. We didn’t use our JR Pass as it was meant for the second half of our trip and didn’t get return tickets because we would be flying back to Singapore from Osaka. The NEX Tokyo Round Trip Ticket is available for foreign travelers at a discounted rate of ‎¥4000 (S$49) for a two-way trip from the airport to Tokyo and back within a 2-week period. Something worth considering if you are planning a trip to Japan! We didn’t consider the Airport Limousine Bus because the time taken to reach Tokyo is much longer and is subjected to traffic conditions. It is also by no means cheaper than the JR Narita Express. However, if you are not hard pressed for time, the Airport Limousine Bus is a convenient choice too! There are many ways to travel from the airport to Tokyo, but if you are travelling with children, the JR Narita Express and Airport Limousine Bus are your best bets 😉

After meeting our Airbnb host and her baby girl, we took the public bus from the bus stop at Ikebukuro to Sensoji, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple. The hubs and I had been there separately before and we agreed that Asakusa Temple is one of the heavily commercialized temples in Tokyo. Even so, we still made it our first stop in our Tokyo itinerary. Haha.

A photo with the iconic giant red lantern!

Hordes of tourists were there to offer their prayers.

Omamori are Japanese amulets that are commonly sold at religious sites such as temples and shrines. They come in different colors, sizes and designs. It is believed that these omamori provide various forms of protection and luck. Interestingly, there is almost an omamori for everything – love, marriage, childbearing, smooth delivery, health, wealth, studies, safety for driving, and many more! The price of an omamori typically ranges from ‎¥500 to ‎¥1000 (S$6 to $12). Some street peddlers and shops in Japan also sell omamori but for obvious reasons, people prefer to buy them at religious sites.

We also observed the purification ritual whenever we visited a particular temple in Japan. Before entering the temple, there is a purification fountain for visitors and worshippers to purify themselves. The steps are fairly simple; scoop the water from the purification fountain by using the ladle. After rinsing both hands with water from the ladle, proceed to rinse your mouth but do not transfer the water directly into your mouth with the ladle. You should use the ladle to pour some water into your hands to rinse your mouth before spitting the water at the side of the fountain.

Not surprisingly, there was a queue to enter the temple as worshippers took their time to pray fervently. Do you know the significance of this 5-yen (Go-yen) coin? In Japanese, Go-yen sounds like ご縁 which translates to fate, bond and relationship. I think that it also sounds like 有缘 in Mandarin. Therefore, it is only naturally that worshippers prefer to use the 5-yen coin when praying at a temple or shrine. It makes you feel that your prayers are more likely to be heard and answered.

Asakusa Nakamise Shopping Street is located right outside Asakusa Temple. There are plenty of shops selling omamori, souvenirs and street snacks.

There was a long queue for melon pan so we joined in as well!

As we were strolling and nibbling on our melon pan, we saw another queue for Senbei, a type of Japanese rice crackers.

I really liked the Wasabi flavoured ones! So good!

Plenty of late night shopping at Ikebukuro!

If you are planning to visit Tsukiji Fish Market and wish to witness all the action at the wholesale market, please be there early. Like, really early! We knew right from the start that we wouldn’t mind giving it a miss so we slept in a little after our trip to Disneyland 😛

Tsukiji has an outer market, which is packed with rows and rows of stalls selling fresh seafood, vegetables, fruits, etc.

We wanted to eat at Sushi Dai, which to many, is Japan’s best sushi restaurant. However, we ended up at another sushi joint instead because Sushi Dai placed a sign “Unfortunately, we cannot accept any more customers for the day.” at the end of the long snaking queue. 🙁

Itadakimasu!

The hubs had included Ueno Park in our itinerary because he thought that it would be nice to sit and have a picnic, while admiring the blooming cherry blossoms around us. However, the reality was, there was only ONE cherry blossom tree (the one in this photo) and everyone was queuing to take a photo with it. LOL!

We spent some time walking around Ueno Park, which is a large public park next to Ueno Station. Great place for small kids to run around! Little misschewy was so happy that she could finally be out of the Tula for awhile 🙂

We saw another cherry blossom tree as we were leaving Ueno Park!

Just across Ueno Park is Ameya Yokocho Market, where you can buy souvenirs, clothes, shoes, snacks, cosmetics, etc. I bought my Sana Namerakahonpo Soymilk products there, along with some face masks, which were eligible for tax rebate after meeting the minimum spending.

We spotted this claw machine full of Japanese food keychains as prizes! So cute! We didn’t try our luck at winning any of these because we know we are not professionals. Better don’t waste money. Hahaha.

Had absolutely no qualms about spending on ice cream though! 😛

Yummy matcha flavoured ice cream in cold weather!

I had actually shortlisted a handful of cafes to visit in Tokyo, but somehow, we only managed to go to Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant in Shibuya for Little misschewy’s birthday cake! The strawberry shortcake was delish!

Back in Ikebukuro, you can find Sunshine City, where the Mega Pokemon Center is! There were some items which we wanted to buy, such as the Life Sized Snorlax and Graduation Pikachu but they were no longer available when we were there 🙁

Get one of these life sized plushies if your luggage allows it! Hahaha. If not, you can always choose to hand-carry and snuggle with one on the plane 😛

Another night shopping area which we would recommend is Takeshita Dori at Harajuku, where you can find plenty of trendy shops and fashion boutiques.

Little misschewy had her first conveyor belt experience at Sushi-Nova and she was surprisingly well-behaved, considering she sat really still in misterchewy’s lap and ate some of the cooked food.

We walked past the Croquant Chou ZakuZaku store and decided to try one of the almond-coated chou pastries. The special custard cream is made from milk obtained from free-range farms in Hokkaido. Really yummy!

Back to where we stayed in Ikebukuro! Honestly, I was pretty freaked out most of the time when we walked back late at night because the entire place was really dark and quiet.

Our first Airbnb experience! Our host’s family had lived here before moving to another part of Tokyo so this is like a real Japanese home which we found comfortable and cosy! When it got really cold at night, we would turn on the portable heater only when Little misschewy was asleep as the place is rather small and we didn’t wanna risk having her go near it.

This is something that will stay in our memories for a long time! Sometimes we felt lazy to take the underpass to cross over to the other side, so we would wait for the trains to pass and then dash across the street.

On our last day in Tokyo, when we were in a mad rush to get to the train station to go to Osaka with three luggages, we waited for about 15 minutes before we could cross! Hmph.

We have pretty much covered our itinerary in Tokyo and will be blogging about Osaka next!

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

Tokyo DisneySea Travel Blog

Posted on April 23, 2016 by missuschewy

Hello! It has been a long week for us and I’m spending my Friday night updating this space on our trip to Tokyo DisneySea, which wasn’t in our itinerary in the first place. We only decided to go to DisneySea the night before, after we tucked Little misschewy in bed. It all started like this..

Me: Where are we going tomorrow ah?
Him: Oh. Going to Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Harajuku..
Me: Go there do what?
Him: Shop lor.
Me: Huh? Shop only? You mean whole day go shopping? AIYO DON’T WANT LAH!
Him: …
Me: Wah lao you think Chanelle will enjoy meh. Eh why don’t we go DisneySea!!

I’m so glad that misterchewy was really spontaneous and agreed to my crazy proposal. It was crazy because without any ticket reservations, it meant that we had to wake up really early to beat the crowd. Purchasing our tickets online wasn’t an option because it is mandatory for visitors to print their tickets before entering the theme park. Guess what. We woke up at 4.30am Singapore time but it was worth it because we didn’t have to queue to get our tickets! The sky was gloomy though and shortly after we entered the park, it started to drizzle. We didn’t bring our umbrella along, so we ‘invested’ in these Mickey and Minnie headgear! 😛 The hubs had been to DisneySea before, but not for me!

The drizzle got heavier, and we started to wonder if we had picked the wrong day to go to DisneySea. People around us were all smiles though, and we felt a little more optimistic!

I was feeling a little bummed that we didn’t get the chance to take photos with the Disney characters at Disneyland, which we visited two days before our trip to DisneySea. Not even a single one! 🙁 This time, I was determined to have our photos taken with any of the characters available and the first thing we did was to head to Lost River Delta where the Mickey & Friends’ Greeting Trails were! Little misschewy woke up at this point and protested from being constrained under the hood of our Tula which was supposed to shelter her from the drizzle. A kind family who was queuing behind us gave us their spare umbrella!

At the end of these trails through the Lost River Delta jungle, you’ll find one of the Disney friends. Mickey and his pals are studying the ruins of an ancient civilization or researching the jungle plants and insects. Along the trails are fun activities that will make you feel like an explorer, too!

After what seemed like eternity, we finally got to meet and greet Mickey Mouse! Wheeee!

I was surprised to learn that the Disney characters actually station themselves at a particular place the entire day! This is unlike Disneyland where the mascots would suddenly appear out of nowhere and everyone could be seen chasing after them.

Since it was STILL raining, we sought shelter at one of the restaurants and ordered something to share even though we weren’t really hungry.

Aiyoooo why so happy! 😀

Yay! The rain finally stopped and we found ourselves at Mermaid Lagoon!

This is Triton’s Kingdom, situated within Mermaid Lagoon. It’s an indoor facility and a pretty cool one! Really gives you that ‘under the sea’ feeling!

I was drawn to The Sleepy Whale Shoppe in Triton’s Kingdom because you can have your caricature done at a fee! Prices listed were for one and two pax. We tried asking but they were not able to accommodate three. Also, they only do side profiles.

The caricature artist took only about 5 minutes and this lovely souvenir was ours to keep!

Shortly after we stepped foot into American Waterfront, it started to drizzle again.

Hehe the little one fell asleep. Weather too nice la!

Apart from Mermaid Lagoon, I really liked Arabian Coast for its beautiful yet mysterious architecture.

The Caravan Carousel at Arabian Coast has two levels but Little misschewy was contented as long as she could ride on any of the camels. Lol.

Many people were queuing to have a go at Abu’s Bazaar, which was like a little carnival area, and we joined in as well. Nobody leaves empty-handed! For ¥500 (~S$6), you get to try your luck at winning a giant stuffed toy. Consolation pin prizes were given out for trying, so nobody leaves empty-handed.

It took us a few tries and misterchewy won a giant Dale for Little misschewy. She was really jubilant over a stuffed toy whose face is bigger than hers. LOL.

Hahaha I duno what’s with her expression!

Jasmine’s Flying Carpets!

At Mysterious Island, we highly recommend the attraction, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea where you get to board a ‘submarine’ and explore the fantastic undersea world.

Before leaving Disneysea, we went for a final round of queuing at Lost River Delta, where we found Donald Duck dressed in colourful Latin American apparel! Mission accomplished and we were very happy!

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe

Posted on April 18, 2016 by missuschewy

My favourite colour is blue and since young, I have a strong preference over cartoon characters that are predominantly blue in colour like Donald Duck, Cookie Monster, Smurfs and not forgetting, DORAEMON! Of course, no trip to Japan would be complete for a Doraemon fan without stopping by the Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum, more affectionately known as Doraemon Museum, in Kawasaki! Fujiko F. Fujio (Fujimoto Hiroshi) was the creator and manga artist of Doraemon, and he had lived in Kawasaki for a long time.

From Shinjuku Station, we took the train via Odakyu Odawara Line to Noborito Station, where shuttle bus services are available at ¥210 (S$2.60) per person each way. The bus journey took about 10 minutes and we cruised past various houses that looked similar to the ones we had come across in Doraemon manga! It was an interesting experience.

Tickets are not sold at the museum and must be purchased in advance. Our helpful Airbnb host from Tokyo bought the tickets using the Loppi automatic ticket machine at one of the Lawson convenience stores and passed them to us on the day of our arrival. A specific entry date and time slot (10:00, 12:00, 14:00 or 16:00) must be selected when purchasing your ticket, so we gave our host a few options just in case tickets for a particular time slot were sold out. Alternatively, you can also purchase your tickets online but it will be relatively more expensive.

Photography is strictly prohibited at areas where Fujiko F. Fujio’s extensive collection of artwork is displayed. Upon admission, you can request for an English audio guide which will give you greater insight into Fujiko’s life and artwork. Finally! We could take photos at the Woodcutter’s Spring. Keep pressing the lever and Gian will pop out!

Manga Corner. The manga were all in Japanese.

Gachapon Machines.

Interactive Play Area which caught the attention of many kids.

Joined the queue to catch an exclusive Doraemon short film, not available anywhere else!

Movies run every 20 minutes.

Children’s indoor play area.

Time for diaper change and milk feed!

We took our very first Neoprint at Doraemon Museum and I think it makes a pretty nice souvenir too!

Small shop selling Doraemon snacks.

We headed to the outdoor area where plenty of photo-taking opportunities await us!

Remember this playground? It’s where Nobita likes to hide whenever he’s being bullied by Gian and Suneo.

This Dokodemo Door (Anywhere Door) is one of Doraemon’s most commonly used gadgets. Be transported to anywhere you want just by walking through this pink door!

We bought this vanilla-flavoured Dorayaki ice cream to share and it was sooo good!

Deliciously creamy vanilla sandwiched between two fluffy pancakes! What a great cold weather sweet treat!

We had our lunch at Doraemon Cafe! Prior to this, we had to get a queue number and it took about 45 minutes to an hour before our number was called. The wait wasn’t that agonising for us because we were occupied with taking photos at the outdoor area.

Iced Strawberry Flavoured Milk (‎¥510 ~ S$6.40) is also available as a hot drink. There are 9 types of latte art and you will be randomly given one, so treat it as a surprise!

You can take home this cardboard coaster as a souvenir.

Doraemon’s Rice Casserole with Soup (‎¥1230 ~ S$15.40) was quite tasty; Little misschewy enjoyed it too! It was creamy and cheesy, but I don’t think we found any ingredients in there!

From the Sweets Menu, we ordered the Dessert Plate (‎¥1200 ~ S$15) which resembles the layout of the outdoor area where we took photographs earlier!

Cafe staff offered to help every table take photos!

Before leaving the museum, we made a beeline for the Gift Shop and it was really crowded! Everyone wants a piece of Doraemon!

Be prepared to set aside approximately half a day (inclusive of travelling) for a visit to the Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum! We reckon it’s totally worth it if you want to relieve those precious childhood memories! 🙂

Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum
Location: 2-chome 8-1 Nagao, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-city, Kanagawa Prefecture, 214-0023
Transportation Access: Shuttle bus service run from Noborito Station (Odakyu line or JR Nanbu line)

Opening Hours:
10:00 – 18:00
Closed every Tuesday except during the Golden Week (April 29th to May 5th) and summer holidays (July 20th to September 3rd). Also closed during Year-end and New Year Holidays (December 30th to January 3rd).

Purchase admission tickets in advance by selecting preferred date and time slot.
Entrance time is divided into quarterly time-schedule: 10:00; 12:00; 14:00; 16:00
(Visitors must enter the museum no later than half an hour within the reservation time schedule.)

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

Tokyo Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth

Posted on April 11, 2016 by missuschewy

OHAIYOU! It has been two weeks since we got back from our Japan trip and we are still suffering the post-holiday blues! Before we share more about our Japan itinerary as highly requested already by a number of readers, we will first be doing a series of short posts on certain places of interests. Of course, we will kick things off by sharing our trip to Tokyo Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth! This was my third visit, misterchewy’s second and Little misschewy’s first!

Little misschewy’s birthday was on a Friday but after much deliberation, we decided to go to Disneyland a day earlier to avoid the weekend crowd. A few weeks before, we bought our tickets via Tokyo Disneyland’s website, which in our opinion, is a highly recommended move if you want to get into the theme park as swiftly as possible! WHEEE! WE ARE READY! 😀

We went straight for the Castle Carrousel ride at Fantasyland!

Spinning teacups and saucers at Alice’s Tea Party!

Fly on a pirate ship to Never Land at Peter Pan’s Flight!

This is nice but be prepared to queue at least an hour!

Dumbo the Flying Elephant!

Somehow, I was quite amused by the sight of all these parked strollers. Haha.

Little misshewy actually ran towards the Castle Carrousel and gave us a cheeky smile, indicating that she wanted to go on the ride again.

We managed to catch the colorful Daytime Parade, “Happiness is Here”!

This colorful parade filled with fun will make your heart thrill with happiness. Goofy leads the parade followed by a float designed with a huge Mickey Mouse toy. And there’s a float that expresses the vibrant, lovely world of the Disney princesses and fairies, and lots more. The parade presents all kinds of happiness for you to experience.

After all the excitement, we took a short break by stopping at one of the restaurants at Disneyland for lunch. As expected, the food was overpriced and tasted mediocre. But we really needed to rest our legs plus the little one was sleeping in the Tula.

Pooh’s Hunny Hunt at Toon Town!

HAHAHA Little misschewy was frightened by the weird lightings and loud noises from the honey shooting game.

I think Little misschewy adores Donald Duck as much as I do! She was shouting “Nonald Nuck! Nonald Nuck!” but it was a pity they stopped allowing people to queue for photos with Donald 🙁

We saw many kids and teenage schoolgirls with popcorn buckets slung around their necks and couldn’t resist getting one for Little misschewy as well. Actually, there are plenty of other designs but we were too lazy to scout for them. This is one of the popular designs featuring characters from Frozen.

We got the normal Caramel flavoured popcorn but if you are popcorn connoisseur like one of our neighbours, you can also try the other flavours such as Salt, Curry, Chocolate, Honey, Strawberry and Soy Sauce & Butter! You can’t get all flavours at one location, so check the map!

This girl really very happy leh!

We managed to get one miserable Fast Pass at Tomorrowland and we used it for Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!

It was quite a run ride and our first time on it!

After Little misschewy’s diaper change and milk feed at the Baby Center, we headed to one of the shops and these caught my attention!

If you refer to the photo of our lunch earlier, you will notice that this is a mini replica of our pork katsu bun!

I bought the miniature Donald Duck popcorn bucket but now I kinda regret not getting the pork katsu bun and Mickey pancake!

I think it was about 7pm when we sat and joined the crowd for the Nighttime Parade, “Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights”.

The Disney stars are literally sparkling in this nighttime parade of lights and music. With Mickey and his pals, including characters from Aladdin, Toy Story and other Disney films, appearing on colorful floats, nighttime in the Park is even more fantasy-filled.

After the intriguing Electrical Parade, we rushed off to It’s A Small World at Fantasyland. As children of the world sing, enjoy the “happiest cruise that ever sailed”. This is one of my favourite rides in Tokyo Disneyland and I love to experience this all over again each time I visit the park.

Fireworks were cancelled so we decided to leave as it had been a long and fruitful day for us!

Last minute souvenir shopping!

Here’s a brief outline of our itinerary which we promise to share in greater detail! In the meantime, check out these 16 Hotels near Tokyo Disneyland That Have the Wow Factor by HotelsCombined to complete your Disneyland experience with the entire family.

THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)

Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran

Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku

Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)

Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka

Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME

We will be covering more on our Japan trip, so do stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy for more updates! 🙂

Chinese New Year 2016

Posted on February 13, 2016 by missuschewy

Happy Year of the Monkey, everyone! Psst.. I’m typing this post in the living room at 8 in the morning while misterchewy and Little misschewy are still asleep. I actually woke up at around 7am, no thanks to a toddler who kept whining for milk. So now that I’m wide awake and can’t get back to sleep, I decided to sterilize all the milk bottles and dump our load of bedsheet into the washing machine. Moving into our own place has kept us very occupied with nothing but household chores everyday! LOL! Even the simple task of folding clothes can take up quite a bit of your time and by the time we are done with everything, it’s time for bed. Haha!

The hubs and I felt that the CNY atmosphere is somehow lacking this year.. Perhaps we should place some pussy willows around the house and blast CNY music next year la! But this year’s CNY is more enjoyable because Little misschewy is a toddler now and never fails to make us laugh with her silly antics! Here’s a photo of us on the first day of CNY. It just so happened that we were color coordinated! I wanted to wear something red or yellow this year but I ended up with dark colors when shopping on Zalora. See! Really no time to even shop outside. Haha. Online shopping is too convenient! 😛 Ok, gotta go iron clothes now. Tata! 😀

Share Your Special #MyMandai Moments and WIN Vouchers!

Posted on January 29, 2016 by missuschewy

– Advertorial –

Through my growing up years, I had made numerous trips to the Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park. There is always so much to see and do at these nature attractions that it really never gets old! Apart from the occasional trips with my parents and younger brother, excursions organized by my primary school teachers were equally fun-filled. One of #MyMandai moments is riding on this adorable little pony at the Singapore Zoo when I was about 5 or 6 years old! I was excited yet nervous at the same time, hence the slightly awkward smile. Hehe. Check out the full story behind this picture here!

When misterchewy and I started dating in mid 2010, I was a little surprised when he suggested a trip to the Singapore Zoo so that we could both relive our childhood memories together. Haha I guess that is what most newly dating couples like to do! Look, we even brought Sally and John along!

It was during our zoo trip that we discovered our common passion for photography. I also vividly remember that it started to pour midway and we ran to the nearest cafe to seek shelter. It was when we chatted endlessly and took random selfies while waiting for the rain to stop. This has got to be our unforgettable #MyMandai moment!

I’m glad our relationship took off from there and now that we are parents, it is only natural that we want Little misschewy to experience the same joy and excitement as we did visiting Mandai’s wildlife parks during our younger days. Since one of her first words is “bird”, we decided to take her to Jurong Bird Park where she could be charmed by a plethora of birds! She was 16 months old at that time and it has been a good six months since our last visit!

I bet she didn’t know that penguins are not like all the other birds; they can’t fly but they can swim. Just look at her face. She’s probably thinking, “You guys gotta be kidding me right? Are those birds or fishes?!” LOL. Marvelling at the penguins swimming gracefully could be Little misschewy’s #MyMandai moment!

Looking back, the Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park certainly played a special and significant role in my life. I’m proud to say that I’m one of the many Singaporeans who grew up with these nature attractions and it was nostalgic recollecting #MyMandai moments. In January 2015, it was announced that the Mandai area will be rejuvenated into a nature precinct. There are also plans to add more nature attractions in the Mandai area which is really an exciting piece of news for us!

Do you have a special #MyMandai moment too? It’s time to start digging out old photo albums and take a trip down memory lane!

The Mandai Team has launched a photosourcing campaign last December to call for the public to send in their earliest or best memories of Mandai’s wildlife parks. I had a great time browsing memories from other contributors too.

Share your personal special #MyMandai moment at mymandai.com! By sending in your best #MyMandai moments, you can see your memories being brought to life in the growing digital mural over the next two months. See the grand reveal at the Singapore Zoo entrance from 29 January 2016 onwards or check here to see the digital mural grow! It could be at any of these wildlife parks — Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, River Safari and Night Safari. Receive a $10 F&B voucher from Wildlife Reserves Singapore for the first 1000 memories submitted and $100 F&B voucher from Wildlife Reserves Singapore for the most moving memory of the week!

Peppa’s Christmas Surprise at United Square and Christmas Workshops at OneKM

Posted on December 2, 2015 by missuschewy

Peppa Pig stages their first Christmas ‘Live’ show – Peppa’s Christmas Surprise in Singapore! Sing and dance along with Peppa, George, Mummy and Daddy Pig, accompanied amidst vibrant backdrop, props and decoration. Get up close and personal with these loveable show characters after their performance when you spend $50 at any retail outlet. Remember to bring along your camera to capture these precious moments! At United Square, the delightful season of the year just got even merrier!

Gear up for Christmas with a series of Peppa Pig kids’workshops! Simply spend $100 at any mall to redeem an activity pass which entitles you to two crafts at OneKM and one meet and greet session at each mall. Unleash your creativity and create your own Peppa Pig sand art, exclusive photo frames, scratch art greeting card and glass decoration. Don’t forget to bring along your camera and have a photo taken with Peppa and her family!

United Square
Wednesday, 25 November to Monday, 7 December
Monday to Friday – 2.30pm & 7pm
Saturday and Sunday – 2pm, 5pm & 7pm
(No shows and meet & greet on Tue)
Spend $50 in a single retail receipt to redeem a Meet & Greet photo queue number. Limited to first 50 families per session.

OneKM
Friday, 11 December to Wednesday, 23 December
Meet & Greet
Monday to Friday – 1pm & 7pm
Saturday and Sunday – 12.30pm, 3.30pm & 6pm
(No meet & greet on 16 Dec)
Peppa’s Christmas Surprise Workshops
Monday to Friday – 12pm to 7pm
Saturday and Sunday – 11am to 7pm
(The last craft session will commence at 6pm / No activities between 4pm to 5pm)
Spend $100* to receive an activity pass for workshops and Meet & Greet. Limited to first 100 families.

iSnap The Selfie Place

Posted on November 29, 2015 by missuschewy

– Advertorial –

Why do we take photos? This is a question that I ask myself time and again, and the answer is always the same. I shoot just about anything under the sun but taking photos of my husband and daughter is something that I find so much joy in doing. Of course, I would want to be in the frame too and my fondest memory is when misterchewy and I lugged a tripod around during our three-week long honeymoon in Europe just so that we could capture precious moments for safekeeping. Things became different after Little misschewy came along. It was too much of a hassle, so we chucked the tripod in the store room and resorted mostly to taking selfies with our mobile phones. However, sometimes I feel that even with all the photo editing apps available, the photos taken with our mobile phones just don’t cut it.

Imagine our excitement when we found out about this really cool place called iSnap The Selfie Place! iSnap is the first photography company in Singapore that offers professionally equipped personal studio rooms for taking photos without the need of a photographer. It kinda reminded me of the neoprint booths during my secondary school days except that iSnap is so much more sophisticated of course!

After lunch on Sunday, we headed down to Bugis Village where iSnap is located. Wah seriously I feel so old. I can’t remember when was the last time I shopped for clothes at Bugis Village! It’s conveniently located just across Bugis MRT Station and Bugis Junction shopping mall so I still remember how to go there. Hahaha. iSnap is not difficult to find too. It’s right above Bee Cheng Hiang store, which is near the bus stop.

iSnap has 6 individual studio rooms with a total of 24 themes. Before we went into each room, we had a preview of the backdrops using one of these computers. Basically, the six rooms are Aries, Aquarius, Capricon, Leo, Pisces and Virgo. The variety of backdrops are very fun and colorful, which is definitely suitable for people of all ages!

Our first stop was Aries room which comes with a physical swing and a green backdrop. Doesn’t this look like a professional studio for photoshoot? The difference is that you are now your own photographer and you ~~call~~ take the shots. How? Very simple! Just hold the camera remote in your hand and adjust your pose by checking the huge screen in front of you. Satisfied? Simply press the remote and your shot will be captured! The good thing is that there is no limit to the number of photos taken so you can just fire away and be trigger-happy, which was exactly what happened for us because misterchewy was amused by all the candid and unglam shots of me. LOL.

There are costumes and props but let’s not get too excited first ya! Anyway, we also didn’t want to frighten Little misschewy so we had to make her feel at home by allowing her to roam around and play with the soft toys. I’m sure iSnap has child-friendly vibes because in less than 5 minutes, Little misschewy was smiling and pointing at the swing, going “Kiki! Kiki!” Yes, she likes Hello Kitty too!

Does this even look like a SELFIE to you? I whatsapped this photo to my mum and she instantly replied, “Photoshoot again? Where?” Hahaha. Usually for photoshoot sessions, the photographer will give you instructions on how to pose but at iSnap, we are allowed to unleash our own creativity! The hubs and I are the more conservative type, so for most of the shots, we just stand there and smile. HAHA.

Let your imagination run wild with over 500 costumes and props! Not only do they have costumes for adults, the children costumes are crazy adorable!

See what I mean?! LOL. I believe this is Alice in Wonderland? This Alice looks a bit blur blur hor?

Most of the costumes are quite big for Little misschewy but customers are more than welcome to bring their own costumes and props to the studio!

Love the range of couple wear! It’s not everyday that you get to dress like a Korean and call your hubby OPPA!!

Room Virgo! The hubs’ horoscope! Haha. Oh in case you are wondering.. The milk bottle is not a prop! The little one was asking for her milk so we had no choice but to let her drink while we continue taking our selfies.

Little misschewy was taking quite long to finish her milk so I told her to hold up her bottle and say, “CHEERS!” just so that we could capture a smiling shot of her.

Haiyo.. Little misschewy’s attention span is too short. The little pumpkin was more interested in walking around the studio room! But it’s ok! The hubs and I had fun posing in our silly animal costumes!

Moving on to Room Leo! We decided to go au naturel and by that I meant no costumes la! This is one of my favorite backdrops! It looks like some scene straight out from a fairytale.

Holding a bunch of balloons so that we can go UP.. UP.. and AWAY!

At the end of the day, we got to keep ALL the digital copies of the photos taken. Just remember to bring your thumbdrive along! In addition, iSnap also provides 5 4R photos FREE! Definitely saves you the hassle of having to print your favorite photos elsewhere!

As you can see, the studio rooms are clean and spacious, which provides a very conducive environment for corporate and private events!

Currently, there is an SG50 promotion so all personal photography packages are going for half the usual price!

For more information on iSnap, do head over to http://www.isnap/sg or iSnap’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/iSNAP-The-Selfie-Place/781321901984024?fref=ts 🙂

PhillipCapital Invests in What Matters to Me!

Posted on November 27, 2015 by missuschewy

– Advertorial –

I have a confession to make. I think I have been taking my parents for granted all this while and I didn’t know how much they have actually sacrificed for me until I became a new mother myself last year. My husband and I know that the journey of parenthood is definitely not a smooth sailing one. Even at the start, it is fraught with plenty of heartaches and challenges. Apart from having to adapt to a totally different lifestyle in terms of caring for a new member of the family, misterchewy and I have to worry about other aspects such as our increase in financial expenditure and also be mindful of our own health.

Even though we had assistance from my in-laws and confinement nanny during my first month postpartum, I was suffering from slight post natal blues. I remember breaking down at the slightest things and my parents were very concerned about me. They came by to visit whenever they could just to make sure that everything was in place. Now that we have moved into our own home, we can still rely on my parents to help take care of Chanelle when we need to stay behind to clear our work after office hours, or when we just want the occasional couple time over the weekend.

Now that I’m a mother, I have truly learned to appreciate my parents even more than ever. Not only have they supported and protected me for the past 20 odd years of my life, they have also extended their love to my husband and our daughter. With that, I have always wanted to do something for them in return to express my gratitude and also to do my part as their daughter. To be honest, I simply didn’t know where to begin but I am very certain that I want to invest in my parents because they matter the world to me.

I consider myself fortunate because after sharing my aspirations, PhillipCapital contacted me and communicated that they are willing to invest in what matters to me! This made me feel very humbled and overjoyed at the same time because PhillipCapital is a globally recognized financial institution with over 40 years of experience! They have a comprehensive suite of financial products and services which includes broking in securities, futures, foreign exchange, bonds, precious metals and commodities, unit trusts, contracts for difference, exchange traded funds; fund management, managed accounts, insurance planning, regular savings plans, investment research, equity financing and property consultancy. I know that I can count on PhillipCapital to do something for my family!

After much discussion to get to know more about our family, PhillipCapital will be sponsoring my mum and dad an annual travel insurance plan each! My folks were also very thrilled when I shared this piece of good news with them as they share a passion for travelling. Since young, my parents have been to numerous countries and I must say that my brother and I are very blessed to be able to travel abroad with them every year without fail. My parents have worked hard during their younger days and I think it is about time that they stop to smell the roses and see more of this beautiful world now that they have more free time to enjoy what they love to do!

Through our meetings with PhillipCapital, I learnt that clients will benefit from PhillipCapital’s customized solution to meet clients’ individual needs with their comprehensive range of products from more than 10 General Insurance partners. Specifically, I was interested to know how PhillipCapital can cater to my parents’ travelling needs. As much as my parents love travelling, the last thing they want is to worry about being thrown off their travel plans due to flight diversions, accidents, lost baggage and other travel inconveniences. Gotta thank PhillipCapital for the comprehensive travel insurance plans! My parents can now travel stress-free!

I’m sharing our very first video which features The Chewys and my parents! In celebration of PhillipCapital’s 40th anniversary, share your aspirations with PhillipCapital here http://phillip40.poems.com.sg/aspiration/#share and stand a chance to have your aspiration fulfilled! 🙂

missuschewy

Singapore Lifestyle and Travel Blog

Category Archives: #Little misschewy

One-Day Suggested Osaka Itinerary: Osaka Castle and Dontonburi

From Singapore to Tokyo & Suggested Tokyo Itinerary!

Tokyo DisneySea Travel Blog

Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe

Tokyo Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth

Chinese New Year 2016

Share Your Special #MyMandai Moments and WIN Vouchers!

Peppa’s Christmas Surprise at United Square and Christmas Workshops at OneKM

iSnap The Selfie Place

PhillipCapital Invests in What Matters to Me!

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