Boarding Gate 101

I count Japan as one of my favorite travel destinations. There are lots of places to visit and discover - from modern and cosmopolitan cities like Tokyo and Osaka, to ones that are very rich in culture and heritage, like Kyoto, to small Alpine villages where you can do winter sports. Visa  Citizens from certain countries, including the Philippines, need a visa to enter Japan. The application (in case of the Philippines) is done through a travel agency. I picked Friendship Tours, which has a office in Dusit Hotel in Makati, to do the application for me. The fee is PhP 1200 for a single entry visa. I went to their office to submit the requirements, which include the passport, visa application, a photo, itinerary, birth certificate (the new (yellow) one), income tax return, proof of funds and bank deposits, and marriage certificate if application. You may need to submit additional documents if you have a sponsor in Japan. You may check the whole procedure here . For th...

Looming like a giant mechanical beanstalk from where I stayed in Asakusa is the Tokyo SkyTree. It's something that I felt that I must not pass up in visiting simply because of its claim to fame: the tallest tower in the world, and the second tallest structure, bested only by that building in Dubai.  I set aside half a day to visit the tower, which also meant venturing across the river from Asakusa, leaving behind the 6th-century temples to see the gleaming tower of the 21st century, The Tembo observation deck I left the hostel to find some breakfast first then I navigated to the subway to reach the complex. It wasn't that far from Asakusa, only two hops to Oshiage station. From the station I went inside the building, going through a maze of shops first. I actually got distracted from all the cool stuff that I see; I wandered around for a few minutes, making mental notes of which shops I'd visit again. I got to the fourth floor where I lined up to buy the tic...

Kyoto has always been on my radar, as the city evokes the grandeur of imperial Japan - harking back to the time of the samurais and ninjas and bushido . When I visited in Japan, it was next on my list after metropolitan Tokyo (including Yokohama). I am featuring the city in my In Pictures series for this week. Kyoto was established as the capital of Japan in the 8th century, and it remained so until 1869, when the imperial court transferred to Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration. During World war II the city was mostly spared from attacks by the Allied forces and the nuclear bomb, hence it still contains many of the prewar buildings that made the city a charm to visit. A storefront in Kyoto I arrived in Kyoto in the afternoon after a Shinkansen ride from Tokyo. The city's layout is easy enough to understand, as it was constructed in a grid pattern. After alighting at Kyoto Station, I found the bus to take going to where I am staying. Commuting is easy; I purchased ...

At the tail-end of my trip to Japan when I was returning from Nagano I realized that I will be arriving in Tokyo in the evening and that my flight the following day is in early morning. I did some calculations with travel time to the airport - about 60 kilometers away - and I concluded that the best option for me is to spend the night near the airport, so I need to find a convenient place to crash for a night. I didn't want to sleep in the terminal, and booking a whole room at a hotel would seem wasteful as I'd only be spending a few hours on it. If it were a Venn diagram, the intersection of those considerations is the 9 Hours Capsule Hotel in Narita Airport. Like their high-tech toilets and robot butlers, Japan seems to have a solution for everything.  I admit that I've always been curious on what it feels like to stay in a capsule hotel. I've read about them in cyberpunk novels ( Neuromancer by William Gibson, I think) and seen them in anime films, so th...

I was as giddy as a schoolgirl that got a smile from her crush as I walked the winding path that will take me to the make-believe village of Hogsmeade, and the Hogwarts  School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.   Ever since the books came out I've always been a fan of J.K Rowling's books. I've read all the seven books several times already, and listened to all the audiobooks and watched all of the movies as well. I included Osaka to my itinerary during my Japan trip just so I can drop by Universal Studios Japan and visit the fantastical place of witches and wizards called the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  The flying Ford Anglia After taking a morning train from Kyoto (I traded visiting the old castles of Kyoto just so I can visit the make-believe one) and navigating the metro of Osaka I ended up in the theme park just before noon. I got my ticket and got in, and lined up one more time to get a number that will grant me entrance to the castle. All aboa...

Who goes first? This seemed to be one everyone's mind inside the locker room.  I just finished my snowboarding session in Hakuba and as an  après-ski I decided to go to an onsen to relax. The owner of the hostel drove me to the onsen amid sub-zero temps, together with a group of Jewish Australians who just checked in the hostel. I made small talk with them while in the car, and they became my sort of instant buddies just as we entered the facility. The village of Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture Going to an onsen - hot spring (and the facilities around it ) in Japanese - is a revered tradition in Japan. The onsen is an important way of relaxing and getting away from a busy life. It is also a way of getting to know the people in the community in a unique way that being naked around them would allow. It breaks down barriers; they call it hadaka no tsukiai , naked communion. For me, it was a chance to experience one aspect of the culture, and also to rest and soothe...