AdBlock

Saturday, 25 August 2018

Day 1 & 2 (Furano)



Refer to below links for more Hokkaido summer trip blogs:

1. Our Pre Wedding Photoshooting Memories: Pre Wedding Photoshooting Blog
2. Executive Summary: Executive Summary Blog
3. Day 1 & 2 (Furano): Day 1&2 (Furano) Blog
4. Day 3 (Furano & Biei): Day 3 (Furano & Biei) Blog
5. Day 4 (Otaru & Sapporo): Day 4 (Otaru & Sapporo) Blog
6. Day 5 (Hakodate): Day 5 (Hakodate) Blog
7. Day 6 (Lake Toya & Noribetsu): Day 6 (Lake Toya & Noribetsu) Blog
8. Day 7 & 8 (Noribetsu & Otaru & Airport): Day 7 & 8 (Noribetsu & Otaru & Airport) Blog
9. Top Foods in Hokkaido: Top Foods in Hokkaido Blog
10. Top Dessert in Hokkaido: Top Dessert in Hokkaido


Itinerary Summary:

Day 1: Flight on board
Day 2: Farm Tomita → Ningle Terrace


I have always hear from people that once you visit Hokkaido, you will go back again and again. The charming island certainly attracts my attention as I would like to explore the true self of Hokkaido and the charm that makes people come back to this beautiful country again and again. Is not hard to know why, especially after I just back from here 2 weeks ago! Once we reached the airport waiting to embark on our journey, we can already see many people who have visited Hokkaido before and they are again setting their foots for Hokkaido. There are many senior citizens as well, maybe the place is truly relaxing and suitable for those retiree? We can't wait to see the island ourselves!

And, why's that Hokkaido for us? The main purpose for us is to take pre wedding photoshoot and we chose Hokkaido as the lifetime destination. We love purple colors and lavender certainly tops the list. We like those kind of pre wedding photoshoot album feeling for memories. So, why not exploring Hokkaido at the same time after the pre wedding photoshoot?

Hokkaido is famous for winter and now slowly expanding to summer time as well. I have read a lot of blogs and articles, mentioned that if you ever have the chance to visit Hokkaido, make sure to visit it in winter time, you won't be regret as it turns into a romantic charming little island during winter. Everyone can just easily relate Hokkido during winter equals to romance. Well, we don't have the chance to see snow as we visit Hokkaido in summer, however we have the chance to self drive during summer time, stop at any places that we would love to, see the vast colorful flower fields in front of us, everyday ice cream day in different places! You will know why Hokkaido is charming during summer time as well! 😍


During our Hokkaido summer pre wedding plus road trips, we have completed below bucket lists!

💜 Immerse in purple fields of lavender
💜 Witness colorful fields of flowers
💜 Strolling in the dreamy and romantic little wooden village
💜 Self drive in the famous roller coaster road Hokkaido
💜 Be in the Mild Seven's cigarette advertisement place
💜 Be in the Apple's wallpaper place
💜 Ring the bell at Hinode Park, where couples celebrate wedding together and ring the bell together for the blessings, and the place where sunset and lavender become perfect blend.
💜 Be in the famous city where Japanese movie 'Love Letter' shooting takes place
💜 Be in the dreamy white chocolate factory
💜 Indulge in the freshest seafood that we have ever ate before
💜 Try the raw snow hokkaido crab, so fresh till we not realized it was raw
💜 Try the world's most expensive melon which melts in our mouth the moment we put inside
💜 Witness Mt. Hakodate night view, which is the top 3 Michelin star night view in the world
💜 See the active volcano in front of us, with the unbearable sulphur smell
💜 Ice cream day in Hokkaido with flavours: lavender, green tea, milk, blueberry, rainbow color, etc.
💜 Stay in onsen hotels to pamper our skins and bodies
💜 Completed our once per lifetime pre wedding photoshoot in Hokkaido!

Thanks for the great weather, thanks for the great companion, thanks for everything.. as we are so blessed that everything from the pre wedding photoshoot to our holidays are so perfect! 💏



Farm Tomita

Map Code: 349 276 804*00
Operating Hours: 8.30am - 5pm
Average Time Spent: 2 hours
Highlights: Lavender flowers, colorful flowers, pretty scenery, relaxing, lavender ice creams, lavender souvenirs
Suits: Nature lovers
Personal Star Rating: ★★★★★ (Must Go)
Description & Tips:
👉 Most famous and biggest lavender farm in Furano, Hokkaido. Especially famous during summer time, for lavender and assorted varieties of flowers blooming around.
👉 Lavender flower is in full bloom starting mid to end of Julyevery year. 
👉 Very crowded with people and hard to take photos. However, a must place to visit if you come to Hokkaido from mid to end of July, as the lavender is in full bloom and the entire farm smells so calming and nice! Is just lavender kind of smell everywhere in the farm.
👉 Have a rooftop cafe in Farm Tomita to overlook the lavender farm, Furano houses and trains from afar. Remember to order the lavender limited edition foods during summer time! We got ourselves sweet baked potatoes with butter spread and lavender ice cream as dessert.
👉 Potatoes are very fresh and well cultivated in Hokkaido. The ever famous Hokkaido souvenir snack named Calbee Jaga Pokkuru is made from Hokkaido premium potatoes and it is the crunchiest potato snacks that we have ever taste! There are many people grabbing this snacks and buy many boxes in one shot, and that explains why the potatoes in Hokkaido is truly delicious! I have to admit that I really not try so nice and crunchy potato snacks before, is so yummy!! 😋
👉 Must try the lavender ice cream, which is the most famous dessert that everyone buys. It is certainly delicious and very far different from the one we tried in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. The taste in Farm Tomita is so savory nice and the lavender flavor itself feels not artificial. The light yet tasty texture of lavender ice cream makes you can't stop eating it!

Ningle Terrace

Map Code: 919 553 426*33
Operating Hours: 12pm – 8.45pm
Average Time Spent: 0.5 ~ 1 hour
Highlights: Romantic, wooden cottage, night view, handicraft
Suits: Sightseeing, Romantic
Personal Star Rating: ★★★★ (Recommended)
Description & Tips:
👉 A small area of traditional handicrafts shops and cafe which sit in the midst of forest and situated at the New Furano Prince Hotel. 
👉 A romantic place for strolling at night. Furano at night is fairly quiet and shops normally close around 8pm to 9pm. The same goes to shops in Ningle Terrace, usually crowds will leave around 8.30pm.
👉 Romantic and dreamy especially during winter night time, just Google it for the images! During night time, the little wooden cottages are well lit with romantic lights, as well as the staircase surrounding the entire area of Ningle Terrace. This place turns out to give us the most romantic pre wedding photos feeling that we ever had. 💓 (p/s: Of course we are not professional DSLR peope, so slight playing with lighting already gives us an awesome factor, haha 😂)










Refer to below links for more Hokkaido summer trip blogs:

1. Our Pre Wedding Photoshooting Memories: Pre Wedding Photoshooting Blog
2. Executive Summary: Executive Summary Blog
3. Day 1 & 2 (Furano): Day 1&2 (Furano) Blog
4. Day 3 (Furano & Biei): Day 3 (Furano & Biei) Blog
5. Day 4 (Otaru & Sapporo): Day 4 (Otaru & Sapporo) Blog
6. Day 5 (Hakodate): Day 5 (Hakodate) Blog
7. Day 6 (Lake Toya & Noribetsu): Day 6 (Lake Toya & Noribetsu) Blog
8. Day 7 & 8 (Noribetsu & Otaru & Airport): Day 7 & 8 (Noribetsu & Otaru & Airport) Blog
9. Top Foods in Hokkaido: Top Foods in Hokkaido Blog
10. Top Dessert in Hokkaido: Top Dessert in Hokkaido




⭐Follow me below:




💗 Author: Ng Mei Lian/ Adrian Yeoh Aun Hong
👉 Date: 22/7/2018 ~ 29/7/2018
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , ,
Location: Hokkaido, Japan

Thursday, 9 August 2018

Hokkaido Summer Travel Blog (July 2018)


Executive Summary

(8D5N for RM3.5k All Inclusive)





Refer to below links for more Hokkaido summer trip blogs:

1. Our Pre Wedding Photoshooting Memories: Pre Wedding Photoshooting Blog
2. Executive Summary: Executive Summary Blog
3. Day 1 & 2 (Furano): Day 1&2 (Furano) Blog
4. Day 3 (Furano & Biei): Day 3 (Furano & Biei) Blog
5. Day 4 (Otaru & Sapporo): Day 4 (Otaru & Sapporo) Blog
6. Day 5 (Hakodate): Day 5 (Hakodate) Blog
7. Day 6 (Lake Toya & Noribetsu): Day 6 (Lake Toya & Noribetsu) Blog
8. Day 7 & 8 (Noribetsu & Otaru & Airport): Day 7 & 8 (Noribetsu & Otaru & Airport) Blog
9. Top Foods in Hokkaido: Top Foods in Hokkaido Blog
10. Top Dessert in Hokkaido: Top Dessert in Hokkaido





1. Flight 🛪
Airline Company: AirAsia
Flight Route: Kuala Lumpur Airport - Shin Chitose Airport
Return Flight Price (2 pax): ~RM2221 (inclusive of 40kg luggage and meal on board)

2. Ground Transportation 
Transportation Mode: Car
Car Rental Company: World Net Rent A Car
Car Rental Duration: 5.5 days (23/7 11.30am to 28/7 7.30pm)
Car Rental Price (2 pax): 16600 JPY
⭐Tips:

  • Various car rental companies can be found online, such as Toyota (higher price but most famous), Tocoo, Nissan etcetera. May check across sites and you may get your preferred car with the reasonable price.
  • Car rental company usually will release online booking 3 months ahead. Early booking can secure you cheaper rates and reduce the booking procedure time in airport. Please bear in mind that car rental is popular especially on summer season!
  • Remember to get yourself ETC highway toll card if possible. It will save the road toll for those heavy users who drive from one place to another. For us, we were unable to get the card and burn a big hole in our pockets. Trust me, the highway fares in Hokkaido are really expensive, no joke! Of course, if you are traveling in just the vicinity of one city, then can skip this.
  • May need to top up additional money to upgrade collision waiver insurance etcetera. Car rental personnel will discuss and finalize the price with you after top up and you need to pay money on the spot. However, this is optional and they won't force you do so. Is completely up to you!

3. Accommodation 🏡
As we traveled from one place to another, we had the chance to stay in hotels at different location.

a) Furano
Hotel Name: Furusato Furano
Booking Website: Agoda
Stay Duration: 1 night
Hotel Price (2 pax): 6510 JPY

b) Otaru/Sapporo
Hotel Name: Hotel C-Stage Otaru
Booking Website: Agoda
Stay Duration: 1 night
Hotel Price (2 pax): 6800 JPY

c) Hakodate
Hotel Name: Hakodate Onuma Prince Hotel
Booking Website: Agoda
Stay Duration: 2 nights
Hotel Price (2 pax): 18112 JPY

d) Noribetsu
Hotel Name: Noribetsu Manseikaku
Booking Website: Booking.com
Stay Duration: 1 night
Hotel Price (2 pax): 14106 JPY

Accommodation Price (2 pax): 45528 JPY

⭐Tips:
  • We had booked Airbnb previously, however received cancellation email from Airbnb one month before traveling, due to the Airbnb host is not valid host and not able to rent the room. 
  • Take note Airbnb is not really welcomed in Japan. Those house owners would need to apply for business license from government in order to become a valid Airbnb host. This law has been strictly enforced starting June 2018. So remember to check with the house owner first before proceeding to book just for the peace of mind.


4. Area of Interest with Stars Rating (Only for Summer, may varies according to season)


Hokkaido is a very big island for visitors to explore. We not managed to visit all parts of Hokkaido, however had visited those areas which are famous and a must for first time traveler. Each of the location has attractions different from one another, which means you will have different feeling when visit from one place to another. Each of them really unique and has it's own charm! To further assist on how to decide your itinerary, I will further break down the above Hokkaido google map into several famous locations, together with the highlights and specialties for the area! Besides that, I have listed down the attractions for each area and the star ratings on it! Refer the star ratings guideline below (Note: Ratings based on personal preference, not a representative for all)

 ⭐Star Rating Guideline:
  • Must Go (★★★★★)
  • Recommended (★★★★)
  • Worth to Visit (★★★)
  • Can Skip if Time Constraint (★★)
  • Not Recommended (★)

 a) Furano 
Highlights: Lavender, colorful flowers, pretty scenery, village, relaxing
Suits: Nature lovers
  • Farm Tomita (★★★★★)
  • Haystack Biei (★★★)
  • Roller Coaster Road (★★)
  • Mild Seven Hill (★★)
  • Zerebu Hill (★★)
  • Blue Pond Biei (★★)
  • Shikisai No Oka (★★★★★)
  • Hinode Park (★★★★★)
  • Ningle Terrace (★★★★)


b) Otaru
Highlights: Shopping, desserts, specialty shops for souvenirs/ omiyageee
Suits: Shoppers, Dessert lovers
  • Otaru Canal (★★★)
  • Otaru Old Town (★★★★★)
  • Otaru Sakaimachi Shopping Street (★★★★★)
  • Otaru Music Box Museum (★★★★★)
  • Old Temiya Railway Track (★★)

 c) Sapporo
Highlights: City life, summer festival, shopping
Suits: Shoppers, City tourists
  • Shiroi Koboito Park/ White Chocolate Factory (★★★★)
  • Former Hokkaido Government Office (★★)

 d) Hakodate
Highlights: Seafood (cheapest across Hokkaido), church, sightseeing, night view (rated 3 Michelin Stars! Top 3 must see night view in the world!)
Suits: Sightseeing tourists, Seafood lovers, Romantic
  • Hakodate Morning Market (★★★★★)
  • Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse (★★★★★)
  • Motamachi Hachiman Zaka Slope (★★★★)
  • Hakodate Orthodox Church (★★★)
  • Hakodate Episcopal Church (★★)
  • Mt. Hakodate Ropeway (★★★★★)

e) Noribetsu & vicinity (Lake Toya)
Highlights: Natural hot spring, valley, fireworks
Suits: Tourists who seek for relaxation & pampering holidays
  • Shikotsu Toya Silo Observatory (★★★)
  • Lake Toya (★★)
  • Jigokudani Hell Valley (★★★★)
  • Onsen Hotel (★★★★★)

f) Chitose
Highlights: Airport fulls of Hello Kitty & Doraemon & Teddy Bears themes
Suits: Anyone (p/s: You must come to airport for your return flights, haha 😂), bonus for those who loves the cute characters
  • Airport Smile Road (★★★★)


5. Itinerary & Cost Breakdown
I have tidied up and compiled the itinerary and detail cost breakdown for our 8D5N Hokkaido summer pre wedding trip (Yeah! You heard it right! We chose Hokkaido as our pre wedding location and at the same time can travel as well! 😍). As you can see below, Day 2 and Day 3 have been used as the pre wedding photoshooting. So our real Hokkaido journey started from Day 4 onwards! Since Hokkaido is very big and places of interest are scattered around the whole island, we (actually only my bf 😋) drove crazily from one place to another (big love & thanks to him 😘, must be a tiring journey.. 😩) and had the chance to be in different parts of Hokkaido, as all of them gave us different kind of feeling and experience! 👍

Total Price: ~RM6.9k for 2 people (inclusive of flight, car rental, hotels, foods, expenses in Hokkaido, souvenirs etcetera!)
Thus, RM3.5k per pax all inclusive for 8D5N Hokkaido summer trip accomplished!



That's all about the sharing of Hokkaido travel guide. Please let me know if you have any doubts and I am happy to help you! Follow me in Facebook and Instagram to get updated on new blog posts and photos too! Xoxo 💗




(Notes: My website contains some affiliate links and advertisement which are not scam, they are safe to click and at no cost to you, it gives me a little bit of commission for me to keep on maintaining the website. Your support is my biggest motivation!)


 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Refer to below links for more Hokkaido summer trip blogs:

1. Our Pre Wedding Photoshooting Memories: Pre Wedding Photoshooting Blog
2. Executive Summary: Executive Summary Blog
3. Day 1 & 2 (Furano): Day 1&2 (Furano) Blog
4. Day 3 (Furano & Biei): Day 3 (Furano & Biei) Blog
5. Day 4 (Otaru & Sapporo): Day 4 (Otaru & Sapporo) Blog
6. Day 5 (Hakodate): Day 5 (Hakodate) Blog
7. Day 6 (Lake Toya & Noribetsu): Day 6 (Lake Toya & Noribetsu) Blog
8. Day 7 & 8 (Noribetsu & Otaru & Airport): Day 7 & 8 (Noribetsu & Otaru & Airport) Blog
9. Top Foods in Hokkaido: Top Foods in Hokkaido Blog
10. Top Dessert in Hokkaido: Top Dessert in Hokkaido



⭐Follow me below:
📌Instagram: melon_journey
📌Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelonJourneyBlog/



💗 Author: Ng Mei Lian/ Adrian Yeoh Aun Hong
👉 Date: 22/7/2018 ~ 29/7/2018

Posted by at 9 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Location: Hokkaido, Japan

Monday, 9 July 2018

Celavi Skybar @ Marina Bay Sands Singapore



FAQ on Celavi Skybar MBS:

1. What attracts you to come to this restaurant?
👉 One of the bucket list which we should visit if we come to Singapore! Iconic sight of Marina Bay Sands is needless to explain further in this blog already. All of us will have this spectacular attraction comes into our mind whenever we talk about Singapore. How about dining on the 57th top floor of this high rise building? Only one factor ⇢ WOW! 😲

2. What you expect to dine in this restaurant?
👉 Just a lounge or skybar for us to chillax. So do expect only light tidbits such as fries, sushi roll (hmm quite surprising to see this in skybar menu?) and beverages such as juices, wines and etcetera.

3. Any set meal available in this restaurant?
👉 No, only have ala carte meal. The menu consists of only starters/ tidbits, juice/ champagne/ beers.

4. Any promotion available in internet for this restaurant?
👉 No, you have to pay full for this skybar dining experience. Worth to try out if you haven't do so. For Celavi skybar visitors, you have to pay for $20 each before entering the hotel lift to the skybar at level 57th, however good news is that you can use the $20 on foods and drinks at the skybar. There is another option for observatory visitors, you have to pay for $23 each and you do not get yourself any foods or drinks, but you get yourself the clear front view of Singapore from level 56th, similar with the hotel guests. Hotel guests get to enter the observatory for free, and of course the well instagrammable infinity pool.

5. What is the recommended time to dine in this restaurant?
👉 To us, both day and night time! Come here before sunset to enjoy the changing of Singapore city view from day to night time. You must come very early to secure the seats as we found it was super hard to get seating by the time we arrived at 5.30pm. 


On a weekend date, we made our minds to visit this skybar which is located at level 57th of Marina Bay Sands Singapore. This also served as an early birthday celebration for my dearest partner in crime, my fiance! 💏 I guess everyone knows Singapore iconic buildings and Marina Bay Sands certainly tops the list. So, it is certainly very famous for tourists to flock there just to enjoy the spectacular night view of Singapore city. The boat shaped structure that well sitted on top of 3 big pillars of Marina Bay Sands, is the place where you can find Celavi skybar, restaurant, lounge and the most famous infinity pool! While the hotel itself is abit too expensive for us to stay, we compensate it by standing on the same level of hotel guests and get to enjoy the city view as well, not bad thou.. 😄

We ordered wine from the menu, and my eyes fixed at pink rose wine, the name is just so dreamy right! Pink and rose, certainly is captivating for girls. So we chose pink rose wine from France named Terres de Berne. Just because the name is so sophisticated and it is pink rose wine, so i will give it a like, even I am not a truly alcohol lover 😂. For snacks, we ordered bbq spiced french fries. This french fries is super delicious! The french fries are well spiced up and the portion is quite large, well worth it! 👍

We barely able to get ourselves seating and it was located in the skybar counter there. Skybar is just beside restaurant and for those diners in the restaurant, you get to sit ner the edge of boat structure and enjoy good view of Singapore if you spend minimum of $300! For skybar, is just cramping here and there, so is very tourisy and not as romantic feeling as what I thought off. 

We ended the night with fireworks display! In conjunction with Singapore's National Day, there are few sessions of fireworks preview held on every Saturday (may refer to Google for more details). We are so lucky that we get to dine in this skybar with free fireworks show that lasts for about 5 minutes or more? To be able to view fireworks from this high rise building, it's feeling good! So for those living or visiting Singapore soon, why not drop by Celavi skybar on Saturday night and create a memorable night date for you and your beloved! 😍 Guess this preview will last throughout the whole month of July.

For those interested to go here, may refer to the official website listed below. They have restaurant, skybar and lounge options available to choose from. For skybar, there is no reservation required, just walk in will do. However, for restaurant it is recommended to get reservation done. For lounge, is just located beside infinity pool and we only get to see this at the end of the day when we walked on the way back. Personally, we think lounge is a better way to relax as it is less crowded and it has few sofa which located at the edge of the boat shaped structure, unlike skybar which is crowded and not very clear view of Singapore's skyline. For those ladies which would like to have happy hours on beers, can consider to visit on Wednesday, as it is ladies night on Wednesday and you get some discounted drinks! May check website for more details. Till then, feast the eyes with some photos below.

Marina Bay Sands Singapore! The boat shaped on top of 3 pillars, skybar spotted!


Observatory located at level 56th. Admission fees: $23.
Pros: Front view of Singapore city.
Cons: ONLY front view of Singapore city (note: money spent is not redeemable on F&B)


Venturing around and somehow managed to see Garden by the Bay from here!


Celavi skybar menu


Celavi skybar menu


Left: Terres de Berne (pink rose wine from France)
Right: BBQ Spiced French Fries (super yummy!!)


Selfie time! I am on top of Singapore's sky today!
And holding pink rose wine, 1st try on this!
The name is so sophisticated and is pink wine! 💗


Night view, crowded with people everywhere!


Wefie time, US on top on MBS Singapore! 😎


Just like the hues of sky. If only the place is not so crowded,
it would be a romantic dating place!


Fireworks spotted!


Fireworks end the night with a very fine touch!


Infinity pool at night! Can't imagine the situation at sunset..

 A Little Info. on Celavi Skybar
Official Website: Celavi Sg
Facebook Webpage: https://www.facebook.com/celavisingapore/
Location/ How to Go: Alight at Bayfront mrt station, walk for 2 minutes.
Opening Hours: Refer below.
Monday & Tuesday: 12pm to 2am
Wednesday & Friday: 12pm to 4am
Thursday: 12pm to 3am
Saturday: 11am to 4am
Sunday: 11am to 2am
Personal Rating: 
Taste ➪ 6.5/10 (1-3: Below average, 4-6: Average, 7-10: Above average)
Price➪  3/10 (1-3: Expensive, 4-6: Average, 7-10: Budget-friendly)
Ambiance ➪ 8/10  (1-3: Below average, 4-6: Average, 7-10: Above average)



💗 Author: Ng Mei Lian/ Adrian Yeoh Aun Hong
👉 Date of Visit: 23 June 2018




Share

Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , ,
Location: 1 Bayfront Avenue Marina Bay Sands Tower 3, Singapore 018971
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)