Exploring Japan for the First Time

I loved my experiences in Japan so much, my family and I are going back this December. When I say experiences, I mean that I went to Japan this past December and then again in May... My first experience in Japan was with my good friend (her first time too) and the latter was a last minute trip with my husband. It wasn't his first time there, but he was too young when he did go that there wasn't much he remembered. Because I returned to the some of the same attractions the second time, I will actually talk about both trips in this blog.

Planning the trip
My friend, husband, and I researched on places we wanted to go and narrowed it down to what we are able to do within our five day trip. As usual, I started off creating an itinerary of activities. This included the address, hours of operation, fees, and estimated train fares. I planned the activities according to distances, so the places we went to each day were close to each other. The best part about this itinerary is being able to see how much I can budget for food and shopping.

 Places I recommend for short trips to Japan

There are so many things to experience in Japan, however, if you are only going there for a few days, I will share the things you HAVE TO DO while you are in Japan. :)

1. Edo-Tokyo Museum
   This was a huge museum. There were so many replicas and rich history that I appreciated. I enjoyed learning about the Edo era and gaining more knowledge of the Japanese culture. I would definitely recommend this museum as a first stop.
   
   
2. Ebisuya Asakusa This is definitely a great experience to learn more about Japan. You ride in a rickshaw and are provided information by the person touring you. Our tour guide was Daisuke and he was awesome. In addition to the history he shared with us during our tour, he was really funny. He even offered to take our pictures!
   
   
3. Tsukiji Market
   The Tsukiji Fish Market had a variety of seafood for sale. There are also many food stands and restaurants. My husband and I went to quite a few stands to try their foods. They also hold auctions here early in the morning, we didn't get up early enough for that. =( But we did get to see a little glimpse of cutting a huge tuna.
   
   
4. Takeshita Street
   Takeshita street is a tourist hotspot. There are lots of cute shops here. My favorite shop though was the Daiso store. You'll also find interesting food stands here like the famous Crepe shop.
   
   
   
   
5. Shibuya Crossing
   The Shibuya Crossing has a fun idea to it- the pedestrian scramble. You can basically witness hundreds of people crossing at the same time. Aside from the fun time we had get caught in the scramble, you will find lots of specialty shops and restaurants here.
   
   
   
   
   
6.  Themed Restaurant
   My friend and I went to the themed restaurant called Ninja Akasaka. We dined in a small chamber looking room and were served by a Ninja! We kept cracking up though because we kept thinking that someone might pop out of somewhere and freak us out... It didn't happen, although I wish it did. Haha. It was a really cool experience for us.
   
   
   
   
7. Temples
   You have to visit a temple. Each temple in Japan has it's own history. We visited the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. Although it was crowded, it was a very pleasant experience.
   
   
   
   
8. 
   

Hope you enjoyed!

Vacation in SIN CITY ... with toddlers (PART 2)

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**As I've mentioned on my first Sin City post, you can get more information at VEGAS.com and some sweet deals! We definitely took advantage of the available offers. **

There are just so many things to do in Las Vegas even when you have toddlers with you. Here is the rest of our adventures continued...

Activity 5 - Madame Tussauds
You can never go wrong visit Madame Tussauds. We found a deal VEGAS.com. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

We had so much fun we went a second time and dragged my sister and dad! =)

(pictures will be up soon)

Activity 5 - Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens
The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens was beautiful. My toddlers loved how almost everything was created by different flowers! My oldest actually appreciated the details and the time it took to make the place look "so pwetty". 

Activity 6 - Cirque du Soleil

We didn't take our toddlers with us this time. It was finally a little date night for us. We watched the O show and it was MIND BLOWING! I enjoyed the story line and the explicit performance. There are just no other words to describe this show. You just have to see it for yourself. 

Aside from these great attractions, there are many others that we weren't able to explore. That just means it will be on our checklist the next time we visit Las Vegas. =) 

The last thing I will leave you with is the Feast Buffet that we frequented at the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa. We loved the selections, the price, and how delicious the food was. You HAVE to at least try this place out. With or without children.

Bye for now!

Vacation in SIN CITY ... with toddlers (PART 1)

Hafa adai!

Fair warning, this post may be lengthy but it's worth the read because I will share with you how my husband and I survived our fun Sin City adventure with our toddlers. If we can do it, you can too!

The first thing I did - as usual - was I created an itinerary of things my husband and I will enjoy with our toddlers. Since we were on a budget, I included the fees for each place we planned to go to.  My husband laughed it me for created an itinerary but he thanked me after our month worth of exciting adventures in Sin City. Although we didn't get to do everything we put in our itinerary, we still had a blast.

BAM! Top notch itinerary. Just kidding. (I can't find the actual one we used, but you get the picture. :D)

Activity 1 - Las Vegas Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum offers a rich history and lots of models. Our children enjoyed learning with us as there were did hands on learning. Their favorite part was digging for fossils and making pyramids!



Activity 2 - Discovery Children's Museum
My toddlers LOVED this place. I think my husband and I did too since we didn't take lots of pictures. There are three floors of fun and adventure in this museum. We actually went here right after the Natural History Museum. However, I'd recommend spending a full day here. It was hard to leave this place because of how much fun it was.

Activity 3 - Gravady

Yet another fun place for the whole family. There was an area for the younger children to enjoy, too. This place has trampolines, a foam pit (Woohoo!), and other activities. I think we visited Gravady three times during our vacation, especially because it was during summer and it was impossible to enjoy outdoor activities in the afternoon.

Activity 4 - Circus Circus 

We watched one of the FREE circus acts here. Though the place got really packed, it was definitely worth it. We were able to watch an act on aerial silk called Duo Equilibrio. It was fantastic and scary at the same time. Scary because I feared for their safety. But that's just how I am, motherly instincts? Haha.

Sorry no picture of the performers but here we are eating snacks. 

Do you want more information on the places we've gone to? Visit VEGAS.com. You could also find some hot deals that you can print out.

...adventures in Sin City to be continued

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