Whirlwind In A Mama's Head

  I have known of the Nunobiki Herb Garden And Ropeway for a while but there was always something else to see in Kobe and there was not enough time. This time, I made the time to go to check it out, especially because it was spring. We went with an old friend of mine from my university days, she is Japanese and lives near Kobe. It was so nice to see her again and to finally meet her two precious daughters. I regret not practicing my Japanese with the kids more haha but oh well, maybe next time.

 It's time to go to Kobe! From Tokyo to Kobe we reserved seats on the shinkansen departing from Tokyo Station, and changing to a Limited Express Train at Shin-Osaka Station, and got off at Sannomiya Station. If you have the option, reserve seats on the right side of the train so you can hopefully see Mt. Fuji on the way. If not, then just walk to the space in between the cars and use the window there. We were so lucky to get a clear sky that day and were able to see the white-tipped mountain in all its glory! Now about luggage. With a baby and a couple of seniors in the group, I didn't want to drag large suitcases on the street and on the train, so we made use of the TaQBin (delivery) service from Lyf Hotel in Tokyo to Monterey Kobe Hotel in Kobe. The service is normally 'next day service' as long as you drop it off before their pick-up time. You can check with the hotel concierge to see what their schedule is like, it's different from hotel to hotel. Give yourselve...

Some of our family photos by Alvan Giovanni

When I learnt that the Easter and Eid holidays in 2024 are so close together and are almost combined, I proposed to the big family that we go Sakura chasing in Japan. The timing couldn't be more perfect! We eagerly bought the cheapest full-service airline we could get to Tokyo and back with transit in Taipei. Taipei Taoyuan Airport Our flight with China Airlines left the Soekarno-Hatta Airport at around 2 am, and we arrived in Taipei early in the morning. We walked around for a bit and headed to the food court, ordered a bit of breakfast, and then I thought of the multiple credit cards in my purse and decided to see if any of those could give me lounge access at the airport. And it turned out that some did! The Oriental Club Lounge in Taipei is accessible with JCB's Lounge Key and we all were able to go in. Yay! It was so much more comfortable to wait in the lounge with free food and drinks. :D Thank you, JCB! (Don't forget to get your free donut and drink at Krispy Kreme T...

In the few times I've visited Japan, I've tried several different accommodations. I thought that it would be good to write a review for each of them. The review will be sorted by area. Prices listed was for the time that we stayed there. Tokyo Name: DASH Living Tsukiji Address:  Japan, 〒104-0045 Tokyo, Chuo City, Tsukiji, 6 Chome−1−4 Type: Apartment Hotel Price: IDR 19,760,118 for 6 nights Time: April 2024 Pros: Studio apartment large enough to fit a sofa and dining table comfortably. Kitchen is available, large refrigerator, washing machine available and the bathroom ventilation system has drying function!  Heated toilet seat, and bathtub. Walking distance to Tsukiji Market. Cons: No JR stations nearby, no luggage storage, and no ta-q-bin services. But, they were able to receive our luggages when we sent them over from our previous hotel. Conclusion: Considering the sakura season, the price is relatively low. It's okay for a longer-term stay but not as convenient to ta...

  Planning a trip to North Sumatra? Check out my posts from our trip in 2023! We did a road trip from Medan to Simalem, then continued to Sibea-bea and Samosir Island before going back to Medan. I've also compiled a list of food to try in Medan for you. Just click the links below!

The Tjong A Fie Mansion was the residence of the Tjong A Fie family now turned into a museum. However, one of his grandaughters still lives there.  Tjong A Fie was a prominent figure in Medan, a successful businessman with connections with the Sultan of Deli. If you visit the mansion, they offer a guided tour and you can learn about the history of the family as well as see all the vintage tools and equipment they used to use. If you have time in Medan this is definitely worth visiting :)

  If you talk to anyone about Medan, the number one thing that comes up is definitely the food. The distinguished Chinese-Medanese cuisine is known to Indonesians as exceptionally delicious. Just as famous is the Batak cuisine with its pork dishes and others. Now that we've been to Medan, these are our recommendations! Macehat Coffee Macehat is famous for their Avocado Coffee drink, but they also offer snacks and coffee beans. I've heard so many rave reviews for this coffee shop, but my final verdict is: it's ok, just so so.

  On Good Friday of 2023, we went from Taman Simalem Resort to Sibea-Bea Hill , and then continued by land to Samosir Island. This is not a common nor well known route to reach Samosir Island, but there is a way to get to Samosir Island from the mainland without a ferry. Samosir Island is the largest island within an island and is the homeland to Batak people. At 630 km2, it is almost as big as Singapore! A friend who is a local recommended the Samosir Cottages Resort, stating that this was the only one he could recommend. Even so, we were rather disappointed. It was a huge, overpacked resort, not particularly the cleanest, and the breakfast spread was simply bad. That being said, I don't know a better alternative. I think the accommodation sector on the island could use a lot of improvements. The most memorable of the resort for me was the tight and narrow parking lot that was under renovations at that time that really tested my driving skills. 

  It was Good Friday, a fitting day to visit Bukit Sibea-Bea in my opinion. We drove from Taman Simalem Resort  through winding roads up and down the mountain. Let's just say it was not for the faint of hearts, with landslides to boot. Bukit Sibea-bea was supposed to be a hill, and I was a little concerned when the Google Maps brought us through downward loops for a good half hour from the main road. Alas, when we reached the bottom, we saw the hill in the distance. Bukit Sibea-bea is home to a statue of Jesus, still under construction at the time of our visit (and still not finished as I write this). The statue is going to be 61 meters tall, though I'm not sure if that counts the base and pedestal in or out. I guess we'll see when it's done!

Continuing our Medan Lake Toba Journey, on the second day we woke up early to catch the beautiful sunrise. The garden behind our rooms gave us an amazing sunrise view of Lake Toba and the surrounding mountains, with Gardenias in the foreground. 

Last year for Easter weekend, our family went to Lake Toba . It was my very first time in North Sumatra so I was quite excited. I had several friends who were born and raised in Medan so I tried to get as many information and references as possible for this trip. Thank you, guys! You know who you are.... If one simply wants to go to Lake Toba, there is an airport closer that you can fly into from Jakarta. This time, however, I flew to Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra. For this trip I drove from Medan to Lake Toba and back with a somewhat circular route, allowing us to cover more cities. Upon arrival in Medan, we rented a car (booked in advance) and I drove to our destination for the day: Taman Simalem Resort . The drive itself was about 4 hours long, but we stopped in Brastagi's Asia Restaurant for lunch (recommended!) and also at Sipiso-Piso Waterfall.

It felt good to finally finish my Japan Winter 2019 series after more than 4 years lol. I had forgotten a lot of details but at least we have the spots and pictures. The journey started with Kyoto , and then to Kobe and Tokyo, with side trips to Himeji , Nara , Kawaguchiko , Yokohama , and Chureito Pagoda . I especially loved seeing the cool construction of the Rokko Shidare Observatory.  We also had good timing with the Kobe Luminarie ! Now, since I have quite a few posts on Tokyo, I'm going to list them here so it's easier to find. You can also see the links for my other travels on the Travel Link page.  Asakusa TeamLab Borderless Odaiba Rainbow Bridge Odaiba Tsukiji Fish Market and Ginkgo Avenue Koishikawa Korakuen

  And we have finally arrived at the final post of the long Japan Winter 2019 series!  In the last couple of days we were in Tokyo, we did a lot of shopping, so there's not a lot to write home about. Anyhow, there are a few things worth mentioning. 

  It was getting closer to the end of our trip, this day was planned to be laid-back and relaxing. Early in the morning we all went to the Tsukiji Outer Market. It was still very busy there even though the fish auction had been moved to Toyosu. Of all the places we visited in Japan, I think this visit to the famous fish market is the one that my dad looked forward to the most :D We didn't spend too much time there, but we did buy the grilled butter scallop that my dad really wanted to try :) We then split up the group with some of us having sushi at Tsukiji and the rest went elsewhere. 

After spending about half a day inside the TeamLab Borderless Odaiba , we went to a mall in Odaiba for a late lunch. I can't remember what the mall was called, but they had an area where they displayed old cars. That was pretty cool. Here are some of the vehicles we saw... We also saw this futuristic car displayed in Odaiba :) We hung out at the mall and moved on to a cafe while waiting for the Rainbow Bridge to light up. We found an escalator by the deck to go down closer to the beach and were able to take some amazing pictures with it! Let's not forget that Odaiba has one of my favorite Daiso stores in Tokyo, I thought that's worth mentioning :) That evening Miss Kiki had forgotten her Pasmo Card at a restaurant where we had dinner, she was pretty upset about it. So while everyone went ahead to the hotel, I went back to the restaurant with Miss Kiki (we ran to make it just in time before they closed!) and we had a fun time going back just the two of us. It wasn't with...