Jacqkie | Travel and Lifestyle

I have officially become one of the millions that overcrowded the Japanese parks in Tokyo during Sakura season. Can you blame me though??? Initially, I didn't understand the hype about the Sakura but after seeing with my own eyes how they gracefully disintegrate in the breeze and fall like gentle rain over the many passerby, laughing, toasting and hugging - I totally understand why the Sakura season makes one of the most romantic, most iconic backdrop walks of all time. Because it truly is. This is that trip (I usually have one in a year) with mum. And we've been talking about the Cherry Blossoms for as long as I can remember. Personally, I've never seen the Sakura flowers. It's the kind of flowers you only see in movies, as a backdrop of a dreamy date. Or in a Korean TV series, and you always think it's so beautiful but will not remember it after. And do you know, that the Sakura flowers only bloom for approximately a week? Which is why being able t...

The first time I Googled about Japan, there were a lot of articles out there talking about the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. Everyone seemed to be wanting to give travelers out there one specific advice: SIT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TRAIN.  So we did just that. The ever so helpful and friendly Japanese customer service guy at the JR Office Station in Tokyo reserved us the seats on the right aisle a day before the actual departure. and guess what, WE MISSED IT. I had a hunch that we would miss it because I wasn't confident in taking the train really early in the morning at 9.00am. But thank heavens for the awesomeness of the JR Pass , we can book the next train anytime we like from any JR Station! So we estimated our journey, this time to be expecting Tokyo Station in less than half an hour to be able to FINALLY catch the shinkansen to Kyoto. Luckily this time we manage to reach Tokyo station on time. PHEW. I was fidgeting the whole time making sure we don't miss th...

I need to start this post with a fact. After this trip, I Googled "the most populous city in the world" and guess what came in first? TOKYO. Yes, seriously. Not any cities in China, neither in India, nor in America, but TOKYO JAPAN! I haven't actually dive into the reason why Tokyo is the most populous city in the world, I'm sure there is some history, campaign, law or legislation to this, but I have yet to read it somewhere, so if you DO know, please let me know! How true this article from IB Times is, must have somewhat truth in it because... planning to go into Tokyo Disneyland, without purchasing ticket online, on a weekend is a little crazy. We had Disneyland in mind simply because, we just had to. We are child at hearts and we're already in Tokyo, might as well check it out. That sounded so simple. We stumbled upon the Disneyland Ticketing Office while walking around Shibuya looking for the Robot Restaurant , and decided, HEY, let's see how...

Every year I devote myself to one big vacation. I made sure I have a lot of savings to splurge on that vacation, and calculated all the things that I needed to do or buy. JAPAN WAS THAT VACATION THIS YEAR. Not knowing whether I will ever come back to Japan, I decided this trip was to cover most of the areas that I wanted to. Like, simply, staying in a traditional Japanese home, eating sushis in Japan, checking out Tokyo Disneyland, discover manga, the very few Japanese stuff I know of. I really know SO LITTLE of Japan, and decided this was the chance to learn all of that. Tokyo We flew in via AirAsia to Tokyo (Haneda) first. Our take off was around 2pm in the afternoon (Kuala Lumpur) and reached Haneda around 11.30pm. We were made to understand that the train stops operating around 12am, and counting the fact that we needed to pay an extra night just for a couple of hours till we move to our airbnb home, we disregard the idea, and stayed the night in the airport. Apparently...

When I started airbnb a few years ago, I'd never thought I'd be completely smitten by it. During my last trip to Sri Lanka, I fell in love with the idea of staying in the suburbs with a local Sri Lankan. Despite having to brave through the suburbs, finding solace in the homes of the locals' is eventually the ultimate prize.  Also, in such a short period of time to know the city, the idea really kills a few birds with one stone.  We did the same in Japan. I'll share with you here on the places that we stayed using Airbnb. In average, each of us spend about MYR 85 - 100 in one night and that's in a twin setting. I Googled to see some of the average rates for accommodation / hostels in Tokyo, and it would cost from MYR 150 onwards per person. After thinking sometime about it, we figured it's best we use some of our money to stay in a real Japanese house with a local Japanese as the host. Tokyo Our first stay in Japan was in Tokyo with the lovely young f...

I just came back from a trip to Japan (Tokyo - Kyoto - Hiroshima - Osaka). From my car, to my household items, Japanese influence is massive if not the biggest in my life, but I had never intended of visiting Japan ever until my trustee travelling partner, Daren invited me to. I did all the research I could and next thing you know - I'm in love. AGAIN. Like most of the countries I visited, and the amount of annual leaves I have, I am only able to explore a few cities within a few days. That means, a lot of walking or travelling! We stayed in Tokyo for a few nights, took the train to the beautiful Kyoto (if not my favourite) and then stopped by Hiroshima for a day and then took the train to Osaka where we eventually flew out back to Malaysia. Safe to say, we made complete full use of the Japan Rail Pass.  Japanspecial.co.uk The number one essential for us was the Japan Rail Pass , which to us was godsend. Especially if you plan to visit different prefectures (or sta...