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mrbrown and mrs brown go to Japan (again)

The wife and I just came back from a trip to Japan. I can hear you all saying, “AGAIN?”

I don’t blame you. Last year alone, I think I was there almost every other month. I enjoy visiting Japan too much and never tire of returning.

This time, it was a special trip because we have not traveled together since 2012. And the wife has not been to Japan since 2010. Most of our trips together have been with the family and I thought it was time for some We Time. Also, it is to celebrate twenty years of marriage.

There is a contest at the end of this post where you can win a free trip to Japan! Link: Japan Dreaming Contest

I took charge of the trip and planned it all myself. I normally travel solo, but including the wife this time was not very different. I just had to make sure the itinerary did not include too long a train journey. When I travel solo, I tend to take these long and ridiculous train and ship journeys which I enjoy. But for the wife, I thought I would slow the pace down a little. But my itineary applies to solo travelers too. In fact, if I did the journey myself, this would probably be my path.

I bought us a JR East Tohoku Area Pass, which only costs ¥19,000 (about SGD240) if you buy it in Singapore or ¥20,000 if you buy it in Japan itself. The pass allows you to have unlimited travel on JR Shinkansen and limited express trains, within the Kanto and Tohoku regions, for any five days of your choice within a 14-day period.

Here is what that means. You can use the JR East Tohoku Area Pass for unlimited JR train travel within the region specified for five full days, but the days don’t have to be consecutive. This is unlike a 7-Day JR Pass, where you have seven consecutive days of unlimited travel but throughout Japan.

This means we could use one day to travel long distances, then stay in one city or town for two to three days, then use it again to travel to the next place, up to five times in total within the 14-day period.

It is very good for solo travel or couple travel, especially if you plan your destinations in advance.

Where did we go in our 9 days there? We started by heading straight to Karuizawa when we landed in Tokyo. That is one day of the JR East Tohoku Area Pass used. We spent two nights in Karuizawa, skiing and shopping at the outlet mall, and visiting the sights like Kumoba-ike or Swan Lake Pond.

Then we departed Karuizawa and headed for Nikko. The second day of five-day pass used. We stayed two nights in Nikko too, choosing to visit Chuzenji Lake and Kegon Falls by bus, and then the UNESCO shrines and temples. We tried to go to the Akechidaira Ropeway too, but it was closed due to high winds. Ah well, it was still a nice little visit there and the view from the ropeway station was also lovely.

People tend to make Nikko a day trip from Tokyo but I find it a bit rushed. Spending two to three days just exploring the area is way more pleasant.

Nikko, we used Day 3 of our five-day pass to head to Yamagata Station. Instead of checking into our hotel near Yamagata Station, we went all the way to Oishida Station. It is about four stops from Yamagata Station. Since this is part of our day of unlimited travel, we wanted to maximise our passes. We went to Oishida Station because I wanted to show the wife Ginzan Onsen. It is a lovely little onsen town where the tv drama Oshin was shot. The town used to be a silver mine area, but it is now a very pretty hot spring town in the mountains of Yamagata. In winter, the snow-covered old buildings make you feel like you have gone back in time.

We caught the bus from Ginzan Onsen back to Oishida Station and then back to Yamagata Station by evening. This was one of the longest journeys of our trip: Nikko to Oishida, then Ginzan Onsen by bus, then back from Ginzan Onsen by bus, then Oishida to Yamagata. All in one day. We really made the pass worthwhile.

While in Yamagata, we also spent a full day in Mount Zao, the famous ski and onsen mountain resort. We bought a special pass that covered the bus ride to Mount Zao from Yamagata Station, and the return journey on the ropeway. If the weather is not too snowy, you can see the famous “Snow Monsters” on the slopes. And if you like, you can also ski there. We just enjoyed the scenery this time, since we already skied in Karuizawa.

We did not use the JR East Tohoku Area Pass for our day at Mount Zao. There was no need to.

We departed Yamagata for Sendai with the fourth day of our five-day pass. Again, we did not check into our Sendai hotel first but used our pass to head for Geibikei in Iwate. About a kilometre from Geibikei Station is Geibi Gorge, where you can take a 90-minute boat ride on the waters. The boatman (or boat-woman) even sings folk songs, and you can order a meal to dine onboard during certain seasons.

The Gorge is beautiful in autumn, with the red and orange foliage. But I am also very partial to the winter season, when the trees and ground are covered in snow.

After Geibikei, we only had two days left of our trip. I was saving the last day of our five-day pass to return to Tokyo on the last day from Sendai. So we spend the second-last day of our trip visiting Shiogama Seafood Wholesale Market. We just took a short train ride (using the SUICA, their stored-value card like our ez-link or FlashPay card) to Higashi Shiogama Station from Sendai, and walked about 15 minutes. In the winter, there are way less people visiting, so we thought the market was closed. But it was humming with customers.

You can shop for fresh fish and seafood to cook back home or, in our case, just buy all the sashimi we like from the fishmongers, then go to the dining corner to order a ¥300 set of rice and miso soup. DIY Sashimi Donburi! A meal like that would cost you way more in Tokyo, so I think it is totally worth visiting port where they have one of the largest fresh tuna catches in Japan.

After a hearty meal at Shiogama Seafood Wholesale Market, we took another short train ride to spend the rest of our day at Matsushima Bay. We took a cruise around the bay and also walked to Fukuura Island, which is connected to the mainland by a 252-metre-long bridge.

Our last day in Japan came too soon. We set off from Sendai early so that we could do some shopping in Akihabara, mostly for our kids. And my wife got addicted to gachapon, the machines where you put coins into, and turn the knob for some cute little collectible. The wife wanted to collect the cup-clinging office lady figurine called Koppu no Fuchiko. I ended up changing my notes for many many ¥100 coins to fuel the wife’s gachapon needs.

Our JR East Tohoku Area Pass covered our final day journey from Sendai to Tokyo, and also from Tokyo to Narita airport. So you see, with a little planning, you can really see Japan for quite a reasonable sum of money. And enjoy seeing the views from the Shinkansen and regular trains as they travel through the snow-covered countryside.

Whether you try my itinerary as a solo traveler or as a couple, I think you will enjoy it as much as we did. If you are interested, I have created a simple itinerary at the JAPAN by Japan site.

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Quickly go and submit your entries to win! Gambatte!

Contest details are here: https://japanbyjapan.com/contest?cid=soc_blog_japan-dreaming_14022017_mr-brown

It is very simple:

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May you win the contest and visit one of my favorite countries in the world!

South of South Korea: a Photo Essay

South of South Korea by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

I visit the south of South Korea and become a Crown Prince.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

#GXLikeABoss: Japan, There and Back Again: a Photo Essay

Japan: There and Back Again by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

A (massive) photo essay of my time shooting the Panasonic LUMIX GX85 in Japan.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

mrbrown goes to the Ogasawara Islands: a Photo Essay

mrbrown goes to the Ogasawara Islands by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

One of the most amazing trips I have ever made to Japan, visiting the Ogasawara Islands, also known as the Bonin Islands.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

Taitung, the Hawaii of Taiwan: a Photo Essay

Taitung, the Hawaii of Taiwan by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

I recently visited Taitung in Taiwan and saw its beauty on the ground and from the air. Literally, from the air.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

mrbrown goes to Taiwan: See Ferry, Take Ferry

Ryan and I are in Taiwan visiting Taitung and a few other cities. 

More on the Taitung stories in a later blog post but today, we are in Kaohsiung. Our day in this southern city of Taiwan encapsulated the mrbrown School of Travel:

We were cycling around Kaohsiung on free Giant bicycles provided by our wonderful hotel, and we stumbled upon a ferry terminal and scores of motorcyclists and some cyclists boarding it. (Note to self: Install a basket on my bicycles when I get home. Bicycle baskets rule.)

Me: "Let's go!"

Ryan: "Yeah!"

Me, after we board the ferry: "What pier were we at just now ah?"

Ryan: "Not really sure."

Me: "Where does this ferry go ah?"

Ryan: "Dunno also."

Me: "Cool!"

So here I was, following the locals up the We-Don't-Know-Where-This-Goes ferry. We parked our steeds at one side, so as not to block others boarding the ferry.

For someone who doesn't know where he is going, I looked pretty pleased with myself.

 

This kid is so darn cute.

After a short voyage, it was time to disembark.

When we got off the ferry, we finally checked our map app and found out this is Cijin Ferry Pier.

And where we boarded the ferry was Gushan Ferry Pier. ORH, now we know.

Heng the ferry didn't take us to Hong Kong or something. That would be bad, because we didn't pack a change of underwear in our daypacks.

Cijin turned out to be quite fun to cycle around. We rode along Cijin Coast Park and also went up to the Cihou Fort.

I know, I know. I am very random.

 

#GXLikeABoss: My LUMIX GX85 and me in Japan

I am in Japan (I know, again) for ten days of travel shooting. Follow me as I take the Panasonic LUMIX GX85 camera out for a spin through Nagano, Yamagata and Iwate.

I will be posting on Instagram under the hashtag #GXLikeABoss and also on my Facebook page. And the occasional Snapchat (My Snapchat username is mrbrownlah).

And yes, I know I look like Paddington Bear in that hat. It's my favorite hiking hat and you can't take it away from me!

Waiting for our train from Shinjuku, Tokyo, to Matsumoto.   

Kamikochi in Matsumoto.

The place where they filmed Oshin, Ginsan Onsen. I want to come back in winter to see it again.

Lovely lake at Mount Gassan (月山 地蔵池), Yamagata. 

And yes, all the photos here were made by me with the GX85. Ryan took the photo of me above with a second GX85. It's like GX85ception. 

mrbrown's Great US Train Adventure: New York

Three days to reach Chicago with the California Zephyr and I was only 24 hours from New York. I arrived at Union Station in Chicago a little worn around the edges but still alive and not smelling badly.

I grabbed a Calzone for a late lunch at Chicago (it was already 4pm by then, why no Bak Chor Mee?), chilled at the Legacy Lounge until boarding time for the Lake Shore Limited to NYC at 8.30pm (Legacy Lounge users got priority boarding we got to board early). By 9pm, most of the passengers were already on board and we were off.

I chose the second window seat from the front, on the left side. Malcolm from Toronto whom I met on the previous train ride told me the left window provided a better view on this train.

This train journey was shorter than the SF to Chicago leg. People didn't talk or socialize as much, maybe because the ride was shorter. I never needed to share a table at the Dining Car. My wife said maybe East Coast folks were colder. 

I was so tired I slept on the Lake Shore Limited train. Slept right through dinner. I woke up at 1am, I think, which meant the Dining Car and the Cafe Car were closed already. I wasn't very hungry anyway.

At the frontmost seat in the right row were two African American old ladies. One of them came in a wheelchair and had some difficulty boarding. They weren't very happy with the service provided by the junior train staff, a young black man, and kept complaining about him the entire trip to each other. "Did you see how he apologized to the other passengers for the delay? We needed help and they should have boarded us early, amirite? What was he thinking, boarding us so late? And he kept apologizing to the other passengers like it was our fault we took so long to board? Didn't he know I have a wheelchair?"

On and on, Wheelchair Old Auntie talked about this for the entire trip with her companion. The conductor, an older white gentleman, popped over to ask if they needed any food because it would be hard for her to make it to the Dining Car which was four cars away (we were the last car). He told his assistant, the young fellow that Wheelchair Old Auntie didn't like, to take their order and bring the food to her so she needed walk all that way.

I thought the fellow was trying his best to be patient. He stood there waiting for her to make her lunch order, even offering some suggestions. When he left to fill the order at the Dining Car, Wheelchair Old Auntie started complaining again. "The conductor is such a nice man! But that young man, I never saw him come over to check on us the whole time! And you remember how he apologized to the other passengers because we were slow in boarding…" and her song would start again.

She was quite amusing to listen to. Harmless old lady but opinionated as heck.

I didn't see much of a view at the start because we departed Chicago at night. But I did manage to catch the station of Toledo, Ohio. I could not resist taking a photo of the station in the darkness, and posting it on Facebook with the caption "Holy Toledo!"

I've always wanted to say "Holy Toledo!" at the actual place. I know, I very boliao.

The friendly conductor made some announcements throughout the journey. AT 8am, he announced, "The Dining Car is open and requires some kind of footwear to be worn".  I wonder why he had to say that. Seems like a common sense thing to do. Do people actually go to the Dining Car barefoot?

Another announcement he made was to the effect of "If you are watching any kind of video on your video-type devices, please ensure that they are of a family nature". I think he meant no porn or R-rated stuff, since there were kids on board too. I should know, I heard one kid all night. Poor thing, the parents, who had to deal with the crying 5-year-old 

Because my body was already trying to adjust to the 15-hour time difference between Singapore and San Francisco, and because my cross-country train journey took me across four time zones in 4 days, my body clock was a mess. By Day 4 of my train journey, 5am at the East Coast was only 1am at San Francisco, PST vs EST.

I chose to watch videos that were of a "family nature" and watched Season 2 of Fresh Off the Boat. It was fun stuff. I kept laughing out loud on the train and had to close my mouth so I wouldn't disturb others sleeping.

Breakfast on the train was at 7.38am EST but it was 4.38am PST in my SF mind. But a man's gotta eat, even if the Continental Breakfast, with three miserable slices of bacon added as an extra, cost USD$17.50 with tip.

USD17.50 could buy me the top of the line Bento Box on a Shinkasen in Japan, man. I missed my bento box meals so much.

I slept a little on and off, after lunch (they ran out of pasta in the Dining Car so I had a salad with a slice of grilled chicken breast), and when I woke up we were approaching Penn Station already. There was a mad scramble to pack my stuff back into my bags, and I think I left a small adaptor plug behind. Ah well, got to buy a new one, I guess, making a mental note to visit B&H in New York City, the Funan/Sim Lim Square of NYC. Wait, Funan is gone already hor? *silent sobs*

I know, it's just an excuse to go tech window shopping. 

Penn Station was a madhouse of people. Kind of like Shinjuku Station in Tokyo but not as clean.

I looked for the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) because I would be staying in Flushing, Queens, where the REAL Chinatown is. I got off my LIRR train toward Flushing Main Street, a station too early though. Aiyah. Touch down in NYC only make noob train mistake.

The view of the parked trains at the train depot at Mets-Willets Point station was quite nice though. Nearby, folks were going to Citi Field stadium from this station. The depot looked like a place where an action movie would be shot. Or maybe a clandestine deal made in the late night between parked trains.

In the words of Tay Tay, "Welcome to New York". It is the city that never sleeps. Jialat. I'm already having trouble sleeping.

mrbrown's Great US Train Adventure: Day 2–3

I didn't sleep well on Day 1. I was still recovering from jet lag from arriving in San Francisco a few days ago.

The train journey to Chicago was progressing into Day 2. We entered Nevada, Utah and Colorado, chugging along the ever-changing scenery of the countryside. A recap to those who didn't read Day 1 of mrbrown's Great US Train Adventure: on a whim, I am taking a four-day journey from San Francisco to New York City — three days to reach Chicago Union Station using the California Zephyr train, and then one more day from Chicago to New York City's Penn Station via the Lake Shore Limited train.

Some tips to make this trip easier for anyone contemplating this trip on Coach class (meaning not Sleeper or First Class):

1. Bring a pillow of some sort. It helps a lot. The seats are wide and recline quite far but a pillow will be more comfortable for sleeping.

2. A blanket is also useful but I got by with my Icebreaker merino wool cardigan. The air-conditioning on the train can be cold at night.

3. There are no shower facilities onboard except in the Sleeper cabins. So you need to clean up some other way. I used wet wipes a lot and that worked for me. If you like, you can take a leaf from your National Service days and take a talcum powder bath, but I don't recommend it. Because you'll leave a trail of white powder around.

4. I know, it sounds a little hard to live for 3+1 days on the train without a shower but it's not a big deal, really. You don't sweat much while taking the train so you never get very grubby. Unless you spill coffee on yourself, then yes, that may be a problem. And besides, you are kind of saving two nights in a hotel with the price of your ticket.

5. Pack some food and drink for the journey and you don't have to be at the mercy of the Dining Car prices. 

I had breakfast with Rudy, Betty and Ethel, three lovely elderly African-Americans from Denver. They were coming back from Reno and Las Vegas. They experienced a four-hour delay on the way from Denver to Reno but this happens a lot because Amtrak doesn't own their own track in many places and often has to give way to freight trains belonging to the freight companies who own that stretch of track.

Rudy, Betty and Ethel were fun to talk to. Rudy highly recommended visiting Denver, where they come from. "Take your family too," he said. 

The Scrambled Eggs dish I had wasn't very good value. Scrambled eggs with grits, and a side of pork sausage patties for US$15. Ouch.

But — pro tip —the Continental Breakfast with fruit, cereal, Greek yoghurt and a croissant is much better value. I added two pork patties for an additional US$4.25. What can I say, I like living the high life. 

Some folks didn't want to pay the higher Dining Car prices and either brought their own food (see tip number 5 above) or they bought food from a supermarket to feed themselves for the journey.

Having an ever-changing roster of mealtime companions helped make my journey less lonely. And also having fun buddies in the same car as you, going on the same long journey to Chicago, helped too.

You can either get out of your comfort zone and make conversation with new friends in the carriage or dining car, or you can keep to yourself for three days. I opted for the former. 

Every time we were near a station, our patient conductor, Jimmy, would make his announcements to remind folks who were going to get off the train at the next station to get their stuff together, and get ready to disembark.

Occasionally we would get announcements by the Dining Car crew that Breakfast was being served "on a first come first served basis" or that "We are operating at full capacity now so please leave your name on the waiting list" or "Party Number 5, your table is now ready". 

You can tell I have memorized the train announcements quite well. They are like markers of your hours and days, helping you keep sane on the train.

Some of the station stops were longer and passengers could step out to have a smoke or stretch our legs or even buy something if the station had a store. I only encountered one store in the entire route to Chicago was at Grand Junction, Colorado. There was a tiny store at the station and we had about 25 minutes for a break.

I grabbed two muffins for US$1.50 each, and a peach that cost a US$1. I needed some backup food for the night. That peach was sweet and nice but such a pain to eat, dripping everywhere. One must be careful on a 3-day train ride without shower facilities.

One time, we got this announcement: "Please be reminded that this is a no-smoking train. This extends beyond tobacco products. If you smoke weed on this train, you will be asked to leave the train and you may be subject to criminal persecution. So please be considerate to our other passengers and we can all get to where we're going. We have detected some weed onboard and we are now looking for it. Please do not smoke weed."

 Apparently, even though it is legal to smoke marijuana in the state of Colorado, it was illegal to smoke it on the train. I explained to my train buddies that pot was a Class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act in Singapore and the possession or consumption of weed can result in up to 10 years of imprisonment or S$20,000 fine or both, and trafficking in more than 500 grams can lead to the death penalty.

That's a stronger penalty than being kicked off the train, I reckon.

 

Some stretches of the train ride are such empty stretches of land that you have no cell phone signal or if you do, there are no Pokestops or Pokemon to catch. I know this because I opened my Pokemon GO app to try.

The viewing car is also a place for minglin' and socializin'. I went there a few times just to take a photo or two, and to listen to the volunteer guides tell you stories about Dead Man's Curve as seen in the Steven Seagal movie Under Siege 2, or the history of the Rockies.

I miss the old Steven Seagal. When he had less chins and really looked like he could kick ass. 

I slept a little better on the second night. But I was still waking up a few times. "Go to sleep, buddy," Malik would say to me, at 3am, when he saw me on Facebook, my face lit up by the light from my iPhone.

I did catch up on my sleep eventually, during the day. But I really snored when I knocked out in the late afternoon. And my train buddies made a video of my less-than-glamorous sleeping position and sounds. I hope they don't release that video when I become famous one day. It would destroy my fledging movie career.

I called the Wife and kids when we were in Grand Junction, CO. Our FaceTime video call was a little laggy because my internet connection was probably spotty. But at least it worked.

Very often on the train ride, I would experience No Service on my cell signal. Kind of like flying economy on an American airline. After the initial withdrawal symptoms, I learned to cope with the stretches of zero Internet access. I used some of that time to read, or stare out the window, or think of what I was going to eat at the next meal time. 

I decided to give lunch and dinner in the Dining Car a miss on Day 2. I just had a muffin for lunch and an Angus burger from the cafe car for dinner. The sad little microwaved burger was a little cheaper than a $22 dinner entree but I think they should spell it without the letter "g".

On Day 3, I had a Continental breakfast and shared a table with Malcolm from Toronto. He was on a vacation by himself and went to California to visit family and Nevada for some festival. He also took the same journey as me, from San Francisco to Chicago, where he would stay a night and then fly back to Toronto. He told me I had picked one of the nicer train routes to travel on. He has taken quite a number of Amtrak long distance routes like the Coast Starlight (from Seattle to Los Angeles), and the Empire Builder (from Chicago to Portland) and he thinks the California Zephyr is one of the best for scenery.

After three days of living out of seat 37, I finally arrived at grand old Chicago Union Station, the same station where that scene from The Untouchables was shot, you know, the one with the pram rolling down the stairs in slow motion, and Kevin Costner trying to save the baby while shooting the bad guys. 

In three days, I had crossed two time zones and seven states: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. I've seen parts of America I've never seen before. Miles of desert, miles of cornfields, and the fabulous Rockies.

Sure, the Amtrak trains are not as nice or as punctual or as fast as the Japanese Shinkansen, but the views are pretty and the company I had was diverse and chatty. On Japanese trains, I never had anyone to talk to (probably the language problem and the fact that Japanese passengers tended to keep to themselves). Not so on American trains. 

I have five-hour layover till my Lake Shore Limited train to New York City so I'm chilling at the Legacy Lounge (US$20 for a day entry) because they have a Happy Hour and a roomy toilet that isn't the size of a cheap IKEA wardrobe.

As I queued at the Amtrak counter to ask about the next part of my journey, I met my lunch companion from Day 1, Levi, a young man who took the train from the West Coast like me, who spoke with a strong Southern accent. He showed me his bag with US$10,000 of pro fishing equipment that he was going to use at the bass fishing tournaments in Michigan.

"Ah have never fished in the Great Lakes before in mah life, so Ah came down here to give it a trah. I can catch anything with mah rods, just gimme an hour in them waters."

Some of these tournaments have prize money up to US$100,000, and a new car, he told me. But you have to work your way up the tournaments system which can cost princely US$250 each tournament.

"This is mah cheapest rod, but I have mah more expensive gear comin' in the mail," Levi said.

I tell you, the people you meet on a long train ride in America is as diverse as the scenery across the continent. I also learned about the challenges of driving and delivering RVs (recreational vehicles) and trucking from my other friends. 

That is an experience I won't exchange for the luxury of a shower or a bed in a three-day American train journey.

mrbrown's Great US Train Adventure: Day 1

It has been almost 24 hours since I made the fateful decision to jump on an Amtrak train that will take me from San Francisco (Emeryville, to be exact) to New York City.

I made that decision at 5am on a Thursday morning in my hotel room, booked the train tickets on my phone, and quickly packed to get to Emeryville Station in Oakland for the 9.10am departure.

The journey will take me three days to reach Chicago Union Station, then another one day from Chicago to New York City.

I have only my Aeronaut 30 carry-on bag for my clothes, and my Synapse 19 backpack carrying my camera, lenses and tech, so hopping unto a super-long train journey like this wasn't going to pose an issue. No luggage to check in or drag around. 

So far, the view from the train has been awesome. Except at night, of course, when you see nothing but the darkness outside and within you.

I make many new friends, some because they will share my carriage for the entire journey, and some because we meet new people at the dining car at every meal.

Big shoutouts to Ali and Brian who were off to Reno to see the hot air balloons, and Sandy, the backpacking grandma from New Zealand, and Jackie, mother of twins from Munich on her yearly solo trip, and Malik, my trucker friend and fellow Apple fan, and Arlene, RV driver and writer of books, and Melissa from San Francisco who has a super-talented daughter doing a Masters in music, and Louie on a two-week trip through Seattle and Colorado.

So many new friends, and it's only Day 1.

 

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After 13 hours of riding the California Zephyr train, in the middle of my first night, we crossed from Nevada into Utah. And my Apple Watch adjusted the time zone automatically while I tried to sleep.

But I'm restless. Yet excited. And thinking of about a million things. 

Where am I going to stay in the East Coast where hotels cost a bomb? 

Should I fly back to SFO or take the train back? 

How do 小妹妹 bloggers take selfies of themselves asleep while aiming the camera of their phones?

What shall I have for breakfast later in the Dining Car and who will I sit with next?

Why can't Amtrak trains go as fast as Japanese trains?

Did I turn off the gas at home?

Does it matter since the rest of the family is there?

Have the children done their homework before the school holidays end?

What is my wife wearing to work today in Singapore?

How will the recommendations of the Constitutional Commission to raise the criteria for candidates who wish to run for President impact the candidates who qualified the last time?

Should our leaders stop pretending they want an elected president when the ruling party can change the goal posts until they get the candidate they favour, and just go back to the Selected Presidency?

Should we rename the amendments to the elected presidency to the Tan Cheng Block Act?

Should I pee before I go back to sleep? 

Where can I find a shower at Chicago's Union Station where I have a 6-hour layover before my next leg to NYC?

Then I told myself not to think too much. But just go with the flow. Just in case, I booked my NYC air ticket on my iPhone first. American domestic airlines have a nasty habit of raising prices aggressively if you don't book early.

I also paid my bills using my AXS app and watched my bank account shrink with one tap. I was almost scared to "Slide and Peek" at account balance in my POSB app. 

And most important of all, I took this selfie of myself sleeping but looking like someone else took it. 

 

Read: Day 2–3. 

mrbrown goes to Tohoku, Japan, July 2016

In July, I spent four wonderful days with my new travel blogger/writer friends in the Tohoku region, Japan.

Tohoku Chihō or 東北地方 ("North East Region") is made up of six prefectures in the north of Honshu, namely the prefectures Aomori, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Yamagata.

Tohoku is known for its hot springs, mountains, lakes, and lovely countryside. And if you are near the coastal regions, the awesome seafood. You can get more info on Tohoku at voyag.in/jptohoku.

DAY 1
My first day in the Tohoku region and this was the view of the Mount Hakoda in Aomori prefecture. It's summer in Japan but here in the north, it's around 24°C. The air is refreshing and the sun is out. Not a bad way to spend a Monday. It gets hot in Tokyo and further south in Japan during the summer months, but when you go north, temperatures hover around 22ºC to 25ºC. Winters can get cold in the north though.

Our first stop was the Mount Hakkoda Ropeway. Taking the ropeway up this mountain in Aomori gives you awesome views, especially on a clear day.

Lunch was in a lovely farmer's restaurant in Hirosaki where you don't get a menu to choose from. The ladies there cook a different set menu daily from the produce in their farm and take great pride in producing meals the old fashioned way. They hold cooking classes here to promote the culinary culture of their community so that their food culture isn't lost.

We also made our way to see rice paddy art at Tanbo Art in Inakadate Village, Aomori. You can take a seasonal train to the Tamboāto Station nearby. This station only operates from April and November.

We ended our day at Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu Hotel, nestled in Towada, Aomori. It has its own baths and huge rooms (my room view was that of the mountainside and stream), and a breakfast and dinner buffet to die for. The food here revolves around an apple theme, because Aomori is famous for its apples. We had apple cider, apple pie and pork chops with apple sauce. So good.

I know. This was just Day 1.

DAY 2

On my second day in ‪Tohoku‬, I woke up at 5am to cycle along the Oirase Gorge in Aomori. It was a lovely 14km along the Towada Stream, especially when you get to enjoy views like this.

After breakfast, we did some hiking through Oirase Gorge and explored the flora and moss-cover rocks of the area. Then we checked out and drove down to the Tanesashi Kaigan or Tanesashi Coast (種差海岸) in Hachinohe, Aomori. There we tried some sea kayaking.

Lunch was seafood freshly caught from the Pacific Ocean and prepared for us by the lovely aunties there.

In the afternoon, we walked around the forest near the coast and then in the evening had a BBQ seafood dinner by the sea.

Even after we checked into our hotel in Hachinohe city, the day was not over. We went bar hopping in the famous back alleys of Hachinohe.

DAY 3

So many places to share. This was an unforgettable part of my trip: The Geibikei boat ride, in Ichinoseki city, Iwate prefecture.

The air was clear after the rain. And we moved through the waters of the 2km-long Geibi Gorge surrounded by nature, by fish in the waters, and dragonflies. Then the mist rolled in. And then our boatman (boat lady?) broke into song, her voice ringing through the gorge and echoing through the soaring cliffs.

Magical.

Chuson-ji Temple in Hiraizumi, Iwate is a very significant Buddhist temple in Japan. Built by Lord Kiyohira of wealthy and powerful Fujiwara clan, the temple is home to Konjiki-do, a golden hall or mausoleum containing the mummified remains of the three leaders of the Fujiwara clan: Kiyohira himself, his son Hidehira , and his beheaded grandson Yasuhira.

After the long day, we checked into Ryokan Onuma in Naruko Onsen hot spring resort in Miyagi. Ryokan Onuma is owned and fun by the family of Shinji-san, who is a fifth-generation innkeeper. This ryokan has been his family for more than 100 years!

DAY 4

In one day, I soaked in the outdoor onsen in Ryokan Onuma where I stayed, then went hiking at Naruko Gorge, followed by lunch at Shiogama Seafood Wholesale Market (we ate FRESH tuna and salad) and a boat ride at Matsushima Bay, ending at the Godai-do Temple and tea at Kanrantei Teahouse that overlooks the bay.

I wish I had more time in the outdoor onsen at Ryokan Onuma.

Shiogama Seafood Wholesale Market is huge and being near to Shiogama Port, receives one of the largest tuna catches in the country.

While it is a wholesame market, it is also open to the public, so you can get some really fresh tuna and seafood for very decent prices here. If you ate the same stuff in some Tokyo restaurant, it would easily cost you twice as much.

After we selected the fresh seafood and fish from the stalls, we bought a rice and miso soup combo for ¥300 each and tucked right in. I have never eaten this much fresh tuna in my life. Burp.

From Shiogama, we made our way to Matsushima in Miyagi prefecture. Mr Miyagi, my buddy, told me I was visiting Miyagi without him and felt left out.

We took a Matsushima Bay cruise and sat in first class, my first time in the first class area of a ferry. It felt pretty swag.

From the ferry. you can see the islands peppered throughout the Matsushima Bay.

I didn't get enough of the onsens and countryside and food this time round but the four days certainly gave me a taste of the region. I am certainly coming back to the Tohoku region again.

Update:

Some have asked me if it is possible to do this itinerary without driving, in a Free & Easy way. It is quite possible but it will take longer. Here are some broad tips:

1. Places like Tanbo Art, there is a train station. The station isn't open all year though (simply because in winter, there would be no point).

2. There is a free shuttle service to Hoshino Resort Oirase Keiryu Hotel from Shin-Aomori and Hachinohe.

3. The Tanesashi Coast is a five minute walk from JR Tanesashi Kaigan Station.

4. The Geibikei gorge is just a short walk from Geibikei Station along the JR Ofunato Line.

5. Chosun-ji Temple takes about 25 minutes on foot, from Hiraizumi station.

6. Ryokan Onuma is a five-minute walk from JR Naruko-gotenyu Station.

7. Shiogama Seafood Wholesale Market is a 15-minute walk from Higashi Shiogama Station.

8. For Matsushima Bay, you can take a train from Sendai to Hon-Shiogama Station then take a cruise from Shiogama Pier to Matsushima, then return to Sendai via the Matsushima Kaigan Station. Or vice-versa.

Or you could also book Tohoku land packages from these two sites:

1. Voyagin

2. Viator

(All photographs here by me.)

Our little island city state

"Papa, where we live now, is it city or countryside?" the kids asked me yesterday.

I replied, "Singapore is a city state, kids. We have no countryside or suburbia. And even if we do, it will eventually become city too. We only have Urban, Almost Urban, and Punggol.

Actually, on hindsight, we do have a countryside. But you only get to enjoy it for 3 months when you serve NS.

(No, that's not were we live, we were just visiting friends. But Photos By Me.)

Fifteen: a Photo Essay

I am usually the one who writes about Faith on her birthday. But this year, my wife wrote something on her own Facebook account which expressed our feelings more beautifully. So I am going to share her thoughts about being the mother of our firstborn, who has autism.

Today is Faith‘s 15th birthday. It‘s been a long journey. Like all 15s, they have their growing pains. There are much angst, emotions and other issues. It makes it sadder when any 15 year old have to brace more than they should. Some have to deal with broken family issues, loss of loved ones, physical disabilities and so much more.

You‘ll be surprised how resilient some of our kids are. Sometimes they carry more than us adults think we are bearing. Sometimes they even have to be stronger than us so that we can feel better.

I admire my little Faith. She has to be stronger than any normal teenager. She has to brace herself every day just to overcome the small normal things we make her do everyday. It takes so much from her, to force herself to overcome the overwhelming sensory experience just to get a normal task completed, things we take for granted for, things we complain and gripe about.

For reaching 15, I celebrate with Faith on this special day.

She has done so well and I know she will do better with so much love her school teachers and my families have given her. I am forever grateful for the love, patience and time spent on her.

My Faith is strong. My Faith is beautiful. Happy birthday my little girl! You will always be my little girl and a very resilient one. We are so proud of you!

Love, Mommy

(See more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

Fifteen by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

Winter in Japan: From Tokyo to Nagano: a Photo Essay

Winter in Japan: From Tokyo to Nagano by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

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Winter in Japan: From Tokyo to Nagano by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

Why I choose to shoot with a fixed lens camera like the Fuji X100T

A reader emailed me to compliment me for my photo essays from my Japan trip with my son. and asked me why I chose to shoot with a Fuji X100T, a fixed lens mirrorless non-full-frame camera.

“Why not a DSLR or some other mirrorless interchangeable lens camera?” she asked, considering that the price of an X100T can get you a pretty good interchangeable lens camera.

The X100T and the X100 series of cameras are an acquired taste, I have to say. I use DSLRs and mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras too but if you ask me why I prefer to carry just the X100T, it is harder to explain. I will try.

1. Quality. The APS-C sensor on the X100T is the same one in the top of the line Fuji XT-1. It gives 16 megapixel images that are sharp and as good as any full frame sensor. I often shoot at 3200 ISO without an issue. The X100T handles low light with very little ugly noise.

Frankly, the quality gap between APS-C and Full-frame isn’t that big a deal, as some pro photographers like Zack Arias have shown. The gap between full-frame and medium format, yes. But not for the former, especially if you don’t plan to print huge prints. And frankly, you can print fairly large and detailed prints from this camera anyways.

I know. It sounds sacrilegious to say it but full-frame matters very little in the current scheme of things (please don’t start an APS-C vs Full-frame flame war in the comments below).

And Fuji is one of the few companies that make lenses and film. So their color and glass expertise is incredible. I love the various film simulations on their cameras.

2. Lens. The lens is a fixed 23mm f2, which is equivalent to a 35mm full frame field of view. And because they fix the lens into the camera, they can make the protrusion very small and optimize the lens to the sensor. You can’t do that with interchangeable lens cameras due to the variance in the lens mounting.

I like shooting in 35mm for travel, it is one of the most versatile focal lengths. Though for my recent Japan trip, I shot slightly wider with a WCL-X100 wide-angle adaptor which gives me about 28mm full frame equivalent.

Fixed lens has its pros and cons. The con is that you can’t shoot everything. The pro is that you can’t shoot everything. Let me explain.

Not being able to shoot everything means that you end up focusing on making good photos with what you have, and focusing on composition. I find that liberating.

So I cannot shoot that bird 2km away with my X100T. I don’t shoot it then. It’s not a big deal.

You take the camera you need for the type of photos you want, of course. If you are on a trip to shoot birds, you are going to need a camera that has 200mm to 600mm options. But for general travel, I don’t think I’ll need my telephoto lens.

And being able to zoom can sometimes make you lazy. You think you can get something by zooming instead of trying to move to a better spot for the shot.

The fixed lens also sometimes means you have to move up close to the subject. It often means more intimate photos.

3. The camera is small and light, and doesn’t call attention to itself. Interchangeable lens cameras, both DSLRs and mirrorless ones, are usually big and loud (unless you are using small m4/3 cameras with tiny m4/3 primes, like the LUMIX GM-5). People can see you a mile away. And sometimes you don’t want that. Also, lugging big lenses and a heavy body is a real pain, especially when you get to my age.

4. It looks CHIO (beautiful). It’s a funny thing but having a camera that looks retro-nice makes you happier. Who knew?

5. The Viewfinder. The X100 series has a hybrid viewfinder. You can choose to shoot in optical or EVF mode. Some people like the feel of optical. Some like the what-you-see-is-what-you-get nature of EVFs. I like having both options available to me.

The viewfinder position is also very useful for a rangefinder shooter like me. I can see the viewfinder with my right eye and see the rest of the real world with my left eye, and having that visual worldview is important to me.

6. The Silence. The X100 series uses a leaf shutter. It is literally silent. For a stealth street shooter like me, it is a godsend. I even turn off the fake shutter sound provided. And because it is a leaf shutter, there is next to no vibration. I can shoot handheld below 1/15 and still be fine.

Some current cameras have electronic shutters that do the same silent thing but I’m old school and I guess I’m fond of the good ole leaf shutter.

7. The High Speed sync. The leaf shutter means I can shoot at high speeds with my flash, doing stuff like using flash during a bright sunny day.

8. The Built-in ND filter. I can shoot at f2 in broad daylight by cutting the light up to 3 stops, to shoot portraits of people in the sun, with shallow depth of field. Or shoot long exposure shots.

9. The Controls and Handling. The X100 controls are intuitive and very familiar to someone who used to shoot manual film cameras. The only other camera I like as much for controls is the X100T’s big brother, the XT-1. This is of course a subjective thing. But feel matters a lot to me.

The X100T also comes with USB charging, which is a great boon for an ultralight traveler like me. I don’t need to carry the charger if I don’t want to. Or if I take the charger along, I can charge two batteries at once: one in the charger and one in the camera.

10. The Wifi. This model has wifi on it, compared to the X100S before it. I own both the X100S and X100T and love both versions, but the wifi on the X100T has allowed me to shoot and send my shortlisted photos to my iPhone/iPad to be edited and uploaded immediately, and as a backup. That’s handy for a social media addict like me.

I’ve traveled with both an interchangeable lens camera and the X100T before. Like for my recent SF trip in June, I packed an X-T1 with three lenses (I had an event to shoot) and my X100T. But when I reviewed my photos for my SF photo essay, I found that 80% of that trip was taken with the X100T. It tells me that I enjoy shooting with it a lot and my hit rate of favorites is higher.

So that is why for my trip to Japan, I decided just to take that (also, with my son along, I didn’t feel I’d have the time to fiddle with lenses or a more elaborate camera).

Now if Fuji will make an X100 with a flip screen next. That will be neat. Then I won’t need to lie down to do low shots, and look like a bozo on the streets of Japan. Oh and make it weather sealed too, while you’re at it.

P.S. Check out some of my more talented friends who shoot with the X100T, like Gent Ho and Aik Beng (site and Instagram).

This article originally appeared on my Medium blog.

Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 9, Going Home: a Photo Essay

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co)

DAY 9: GOING HOME

All good things, as they say, must come to an end. And so we were finally on the last day of our time in Japan.

We slept in till 9:00 a.m., bathed, packed our stuff and left the apartment at 10:45 a.m., just before the stated 11:00 a.m. checkout time.

As per my usual practice with Airbnb apartments, I taught Isaac to make the bed and carry our own trash out, and to leave the place as close to the condition we moved in as possible. It's only good manners when you are a guest in someone's home, even if you paid for it.

We had one more stop to make before our 9pm flight: Akihabara, for one more round.

We took a train to Shinjuku Station and picked a block of lockers in the path towards the tracks for Narita Express.

The Narita Express was going to be our ride back to the airport at 5pm, and so it made sense to place our bags in a locker near our departure track 5.

I took a photo of our locker number and a few photos of the surroundings, so we won't be lost when we came back for it later.

Then, armed with just our daypacks, we took the Chuo-Sobu line to Akihabara. Or what I called the Chiobu line. I was corrected by my son on this though.

I set a return timing that we had to leave for Shinjuku station by — 4:00 p.m. — to give us ample time to get on our Narita Express.

Brunch was at a ramen shop outside Shinjuku station, after some hunting in the backstreets. No, I do not know the name of the shop but it was very very good. As you can see from the photos. The shop allowed noodle refills up to two times.

I saw a petite lady next to use polish off two helpings of the already generous portion. Isaac and I only managed one serving each.

We had a mission in Akihabara. One, to get a present for Joy, who liked Hatsune Miku, and two, to spend the $50 that Isaac received from his maternal grandmother.

We walked from building to building, floor to floor, evaluating each toy for replay value and coolness. The streets of Akihabara were closed to traffic on Sunday and we could walk freely on a street normally used for cars.

And boy, they were serious about the pedestrians-only rule. The wardens even pulled over moms riding their mamachari bicycles ferrying their kids, to tell them they were not allowed cycle across the road. The moms promptly apologized and dismounted to push their bicycles.

In the middle of our toy mission, we stopped for octopus balls and ice-cream. Every time I mentioned my love of octopus balls, the boy laughed. Same pattern one, the humour.

At 3:46 p.m., we finalized the items we wanted for his younger sister and himself. And precisely at 4pm, we left Akihabara to take the train back to our locker in Shinjuku station, and then onto the Narita Express to the airport.

I had one final mission at the airport after we checked in. To buy Tokyo Banana, Japanese Kit Kat and other random Japanese biscuits that I planned to give away to my mom, my mom-in-law and my own family.

I did a guesstimate of how many boxes I would need and when it came to payment, I used every last Yen note in my wallet and almost all of my coins. Swee swee.

Our flight home was nice and smooth. I watched Ryucho and His Seven Henchmen (a comedy about aging Yakuza) and then zonked out for the rest of the flight. Isaac finished his Ant-Man movie (continued from the Singapore flight to Tokyo) and watched movie after movie until we landed.

Mommy came to pick us up at the airport, which was sweet of her because it was 3:00 a.m. in the morning. I told her we could take a cab but she insisted on coming to get her boys.

When we landed, Isaac reminded me to return my Changi pocket wifi device (lifesaver, this device). Good man.

Isaac couldn't stop telling her all the stories of our trip on the car ride home.

When we reached home, a banner drawn by Joy was stuck on the door. It said, "Welcome home, Pa and Koko! ♥U!"

And with that, Koko and Papa finally completed their first Father-Son trip abroad.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

Day 9: Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Going Home by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 8, Back to Tokyo: a Photo Essay

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DAY 8: TOKYO

It is our last night here in Japan and our feet hurt. Hurt a lot.

Mainly, it came from standing for two hours and twenty minutes for the Tower of Terror ride at Tokyo DisneySea.

But we are home now. Home as in our apartment in Tokyo. And I just drank some Calpis and Isaac ate his fave Family Mart spicy fried chicken cutlet. So all is well.

We started today not knowing where to go. As usual. But Isaac whispered into my ear in the morning, "Disneeeeeey… Disneeeeeey… Papa… Disneeeeeey…".
I had grand visions of taking a Shinkansen to Hakone or Nikko to show him the beauty of the Japanese countryside. But all I heard in the my ear was "Disneeeeeey…"

It is amazing what gentle persuasion will get you, compared to whining. The boy learns fast.

So off to Tokyo Disneyland we went. Or rather DisneySea. I decided that since he had already seen Disneyland in France, it was no point repeating the experience in Japan except with another foreign language.

DisneySea is pretty neat, I told him. He looked skeptical. "Trust Papa. Papa knows his theme parks."

His first ride was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He liked the undersea ride a lot.

I regaled him with tales of Jules Verne and all the cool books he has written, with the suggestion that he should read his science fiction and maybe also check out the 1954 Disney movie.

"Is there a reboot?" he asked.

No, I told him, laughing. Though I'm sure one is in the works.

This reminded me that our kids live in an age of reboots. The good old stuff is made new again. Or made worse again.

We also took the Journey to the Centre of the Earth ride. It was very popular and wait time was 150 minutes, with Fast Pass tickets already all given out. So we moved on.

Later in the afternoon, we found out it was closed for maintenance indefinitely. That was an even bigger bummer. It looked like we would miss this ride completely.

But a few hours after that, as we walked by on the way to another ride, we saw a few extra staff at the closed Journey to the Centre of the Earth ride.

"Let's stay and see if they reopen the ride," I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Trust Papa. I have a good instinct for these things. You hear that? The rumblings of the ride being tested."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a manager walked around the area inspecting things. The extra staff was for crowd control as there were other hopeful lingerers like us. And then one of the staff announced the ride was open again.

The boy and I moved fast and were the second in line of the regular queue. 30 minutes later, we got our ride. Little victories.

Some of the "lands" in DisneySea were a little kiddy but we didn't care. As long as the line wasn't too long, we joined it. So we ended up on the Sinbad Storybook Voyage ride (kind of like the It's A Small World ride in Disneyland), the Flounder's coaster ride (a milder roller coaster for kids), and even bigger ones like Stormrider and Indiana Jones.

We just focused on the rides. Ain't got no time for any shows. The Tower of Terror was the most challenging queue. 150 minutes, it said. And it was one of the scarier rides in DisneySea.

Challenge accepted.

For two hours, we queued. We activated the deepest Singaporean Queuing Gene in our body and went the distance.

Isaac kept himself entertained by reading the backstory of the Tower of Terror's fictional founder, Harrison Hightower III and retelling it to me, with fan fiction he added himself. He just rattled on for two hours, and in a bizarre way, time flew by.

Only our sore feet reminded us how long the wait was. It was worth the wait though. We enjoyed the drop tower experience.

We bought extra drinks and sandwiches from the convenience store near our place before going to Tokyo DisneySea. So we managed to avoid eating in the park till about 5pm. As I tucked into my scallop burger in Mermaid Lagoon, land of Ariel the Little Mermaid, Isaac quipped, "I wonder what Ariel feels about us eating her friends."

When we took our Indiana Jones ride, I told Isaac some trivia about Indy.

"Did you know the actor who plays Indiana Jones is the same guy who plays Han Solo?"

"No way!" Isaac exclaimed.

"Way."

We managed to squeeze in a second round at 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Sinbad Storybook Voyage rides. Isaac seemed to like those two rides a lot.
I enjoyed watching him take the Sinbad Storybook Voyage ride. He sat there, staring at the singing animatronic characters in wonder. A sense of wonder is a beautiful thing to have and to behold. We lose that so quickly as we grow up.

Throughout the day, sometimes I would explain how some of the rides work. And other times, I would just leave out the technical explanations.
It is good to let some experiences remain a little magical.

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Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 8, Back to Tokyo by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 7, Osaka: a Photo Essay

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DAY 7: OSAKA

We started Day 7 at 4:45 a.m. By the end of the day, we would clock two Shinkansen rides, and would bounce across three cities.

From Hiroshima, we decided that we would catch the first train out, the 6:17 a.m. to Shin-Osaka and ultimately to Universal Studios Japan. That meant we had to get up early, check out of our hostel by 5:15 a.m., walk to the Hiroshima station about 900m away, so that we could have enough time to board our train.

Isaac was a real trooper about it. Got up, bathed, changed and packed without any prompting.

We grabbed some sandwiches and drinks from the combini at the station platform before boarding the Shinkansen and ate our breakfast on board. It was about 9:30 a.m. by the time we got to Universal in Osaka, just nice.

We placed our backpacks in the lockers (Pro tip: The lockers are the Universal City station are cheaper than the ones at Universal itself), took out what we needed for the daypacks, and off we went.

On hindsight, we should have bought some bentos for lunch from outside. Lunch inside was an expensive ¥2700 meal of Mel's Burgers.

My mother, bless her, used to make fried rice in the hotel room and pack them into Tupperware when we were kids traveling to Disneyland and Universal Studios in California. Back then, the exchange rate was USD1 to SGD3, so you can imagine the savings. Don't ask me how mom cooked entire meals in the hotel/motel room with just an electric hotplate. It was her magic.

Lunch time was also a life lesson in chope-ing. It's not something they teach for PSLE. I told him to stand near the tables of people finishing their meals while I queued to buy the burgers. He needed to overcome his inner paiseh and really cover his territory like a hawk. We managed to get a table in the end but it took a bit of gesticulating from me to ensure he secured the table.

"Behind you, behind! They finish already. Now. Sit down now. Don't let the other party that just came in take your camped table…"

I said all that with gestures and pointing. I looked like a kiasu uncle.

So we had only one meal in the theme park, which wasn't so bad. And we refrained buying all the popcorn and random theme park souvenirs. The boy didn't even ask for any of it, which is a sign of his maturity.

We didn't do all the rides. It was just impossible. For one, the Japanese were out in force. It was Halloween and kids, youth and adults came dressed in costume. So the queues were super long. Secondly, the Express passes were sold out by the time we got there, you have money also cannot buy.

But we didn't need to try everything so it was okay.

Isaac and I had a go at the Spider-man ride (like our USS Transformers one but with Spidey), Back to the Future (nausea-inducing motion simulator with ancient tech, it's an old ride), Backdraft (fire display), Terminator 2 3D, Jaws, and the Jurassic Park ride. We also took a roller coaster ride at Harry Potter land.

Our trick was to always queue at the Single Rider line. It was usually about half the queue time. But it meant we may not sit together but hey, you saved a lot of time.

We gave the Hollywood roller coaster ride a miss because the queues were just insane. Also, we were a little afraid. Hey, Limpeh not young punk anymore. Play Call of Duty also can get giddy and motion sickness, so forget about a backwards roller coaster ride, ok?

To kill time while we queued, the boy and I would chat. And here is what I realized. Most of the movies referenced by Universal Studios are totally outside of his pop cultural universe. Not very Universal leh.

I had to give him a summary of movies like Terminator 1 and 2, Jaws, Back to the Future 1-3, Backdraft, Alien and Aliens, AVP, and Harry Potter.

I felt like IMDB: Isaac's Movie Database.

Because it was Halloween, there were many new horror maze walkthroughs. We managed to queue for the Alien Vs Predator one, which was quite well done. I tried to make my squeals of fright sound like I was scolding the Aliens.

As evening fell, we needed to wrap it up because we had an 8:37 p.m. last Shinkansen to catch at Shin-Osaka to Tokyo.

We managed to squeeze our second Spider-man ride before we left. Though we aimed to leave by 6pm, we left by 6.40pm in the end, which was within the buffer I created.

We even got to Shin-Osaka by 7:30 p.m., queued at the JR ticket counter and switched our tickets from the 8:37 p.m. train to the earlier 7:40 p.m. one, and made it to Track 25 by 7:38 p.m. Boom, one minute later, our 7:40 p.m. bound for Tokyo pulled up.

Dinner was a bento box each from the Shinkansen food trolley lady. It wasn't cheap but man, the boxes are so beautifully made that you don't feel like eating them. The bento box food tasted as good as it looked.

Ate a meal from a bullet train trolley: check.

We reached our Tokyo apartment close to midnight. In one day, we did Hiroshima-Osaka-Tokyo. Not sure if all that train hopping was more intense or the theme park rides.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 7, Osaka by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 6, Miyajima Island: a Photo Essay

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co)

DAY 6: MIYAJIMA ISLAND

On day six, we took a ferry to Miyajima Island, said to be one of the top three scenic spots in Japan.

It was nice to be outdoors with nature. He didn‘t even ask me for the iPod Touch the whole day. Mother Nature kept us occupied.

We were on the ferry fairly early and the island looked like it just woke up. Isaac was very fascinated that cars could drive up into the ferry itself.

On the island, the first thing we heard was the announcement declaring that the deer on the island are wild and during mating season, they can get aggressive. So please don‘t approach them, especially the deer with antlers.

So we tried to stay away from the horny deer.

The deer though, did not stay away from us. They are very brazen and will eat anything. Even paper and plastic bags.

Isaac was accosted by one such deer at the pier while he was eating his soft serve ice-cream. We managed to get away.

We bought some bottled water because we were going to hike up Mount Misen.

Uncle Pro Tip: It‘s ¥130 at the shops nearest the pier. But it‘s ¥110 at the small provision shop deeper in.

While I sat on a bench enjoying the view at the coast, I heard a rustling sound and thought Isaac was trying to get his bottle of water from the plastic bag.

But when I turned to look, it was a deer looking into my plastic bag for food. I went “Oi!“ and tried to take the bag back but the fella bit on the bag and fought me for it.

When I finally pulled it away from the deer, it shifted targets and grabbed the map of Miyajima from my back pocket. I fought to get that back too but lost half my map, as the deer walked away chewing the other half happily.

Isaac laughed his butt off.

Later, as I was taking a photo of Isaac, in the background was another man wrestling with a deer for his map too.

The deer on this island are gentle and yet pretty in your face at the same time.

For some reason, the deer reminded me of my oldest daughter. Faith has the same doe-eyed innocent look when she comes up to us. And also the same assertiveness when she wants something. Perhaps she has the soul of Bambi.

We took a leisurely walk up to the cable car station. It usually takes about 30 minutes from the pier but we took longer, since we planned to spend the day here (and we had all those deer incidents).

We had udon at a small eatery on the slopes and took a long, lazy lunch there, sitting at a low table without our shoes on, and just soaking in the view.

Then we hiked up to the first cable car station and twenty minutes and a transfer later, we were at the highest station. It wasn‘t over. To get to the summit, you still have to hike another 30 minutes uphill.

This is where I realized my son has way more energy than I do. He hops his way up the slopes, I grunt my way up.

Out of kindness (or pity), he would stop for me to rest, usually looking for a bench or tree trunk for me to rest my aching feet.

But we did reach the summit in the end. And there was a nice observation station built there. You can even take your shoes off to lie down on the platform.

The view was quite lovely and we tarried there. As I laid on the deck, the boy went out to explore the surrounding rocks.

One lady climbed one of the higher rocks to take a selfie. I had to keep reminding Isaac not to attempt that himself.

He said, “Don‘t worry! I can do it!”

“Don‘t climb that tallest rock ah. It‘s dangerous.”

“But I can!“

Then he disappeared down the stairs and went out there to the rocks.

I walked over to the balcony to check on him, worried he might really climb up that tall rock but he didn‘t. He was at a lower, safer rock, just sitting there playing out some imaginary scene in his mind.

“I only climbed to this lower rock,“ he declared.

I nodded in acknowledgement and returned to my lazing but at a spot where I could still see him.

We have to trust that our children know what their own limits are. But it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on them too.

We made our way down in time to catch the sunset at 5:30 p.m. By then all the shops selling street food and little cute cakes were closed. I was happy to see the sunset and capture it, but a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to have rock oysters for dinner.

We did manage to buy some pastry filled with vanilla ice-cream though, and shared that between us. Then Isaac gasped and said, “Pa! There is deer ahead!“

So we scrambled to finish our snack. You don‘t want to mess with the deer here. They can smell your food and your fear.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 6, Miyajima Island by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure

Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 5, Hiroshima: a Photo Essay

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co)

DAY 5: HIROSHIMA

Today, we traveled back in time.

We set off at 9:00 a.m. and managed to get on the 11:13 a.m. train to Shin-Osaka and then we transferred to another bullet train to Hiroshima. By the time we reached Hiroshima, it was 1:30 p.m.

Our room at the hostel wasn‘t ready yet so we left our bags there and took a tram to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

Today, we traveled back in time.

We saw the devastation of Hiroshima from the A-Bomb dropped in 1945, from the Enola Gay. Wiping out a city in seconds.

Today, we traveled back in time.

Stories of children melting from the fire and the heat. Stories of families torn asunder. Stories of radiation killing people invisibly.

Today, we traveled back in time.

We looked at the articles of clothing, covered in black rain.

We saw a nail, black and curled, saved by a parent to remember a dead child. We saw a shoe belonging to a girl, not much older than Isaac, with a piece of paper stuck on the sole so she could wear it longer. But she was no longer around and the shoe was all that was left of her existence.

Today, we traveled back in time.

We listened to a man, a Hiroshima survivor, tell his story of how he carried his friend home, despite being burned badly. His friend was worse off, because the soles of his feet were burned so badly he could barely crawl.

We saw how far the damage was from the hyper-centre of the blast. At a 2km radius, everything was destroyed. I told my son, if that bomb hit our home in Lorong Ah Soo, it would destroy everything from our home to Serangoon MRT station. And cause further damage beyond.

We learned 80,000 died immediately. And 100,000 or more died within a year.

We saw drawings depicting a mother trying to save her child inside a burning house but could not make a hole big enough and had to leave the child behind, because the fires were going to engulf them all.

Today, we traveled back in time.

And we wept.

Then Isaac said we should sign the petition to end nuclear weapons, and I said sure, write all our family names on the paper.

We departed the museum, our hearts still heavy. Then we stood on the bridge and looked out at the Ota River and the sun was setting, casting a glow over the city.

We heard some jazz music and stopped to listen to a duo performing at the park by the river.

Cyclists were riding home from work, dressed stylishly.

Dusk fell, and the city of Hiroshima looked like a phoenix that had risen from the ashes of destruction.

We hopped on a tram to head home, which tonight, was a backpacker‘s hostel with a shared toilet and shower facilities in the common corridor.

Downstairs, travelers from various lands gathered in the common room to chat, use the computer, and to eat their store-bought dinners.

Isaac and I ate a bento box set each, bought from the 7-Eleven around the corner, while I waited for the washing machine to finish the cycle in the shared laundry room.

While eating we chatted with John and Wendy Egan from Melbourne who are retired and have five adult children. Wendy played Monopoly and Jenga with Isaac while I chatted with John about politics. Then it was time for bed and Isaac got to sleep on a Japanese-style futon and use a shared shower outside the room for the first time.

Today, we traveled back in time.

We traveled back in time and glimpsed at what war can do to fragile lives.

And I hugged my son a little tighter as he slept, giving thanks for every precious second we have together.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at brown.exposure.co or view the embedded version below.)

Isaac and Papa go to Japan: Day 5, Hiroshima by Kinmun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure