First time in Tokyo, Japan

This trip to Japan was so unexpected. Me, my husband, my mom, my uncle, and my auntie all ended up going together. There’s been a lot of drama with my mom lately, and I just wanted to take her somewhere new, somewhere she could breathe for a bit. I also haven’t seen my cousin in years, so I thought, why not visit her in Tokyo? Then I invited my uncle and auntie too, hoping we could all have a happy, peaceful vacation as a family.

I only had three weeks of vacation left for the year. I already used one week in Jamaica back in May and another week in Manila, so this basically gives me one week in Japan and one week in Korea before going back to reality and waiting until next year for fresh leave days.

One thing that made this trip extra memorable is that I recently found out I’m pregnant. So my husband and I decided to squeeze in one last round of travelling before we officially enter parent-mode. We originally planned just Manila and Tokyo, but since Seoul is right there, and my husband hasn’t been, might as well add it to the route.

And honestly? I enjoyed the perks of being pregnant while travelling. I kept getting preferential treatment everywhere. We were always bumped to the front of the line, and almost every queue had a “priority” spot for me. I was not complaining.

We always hear people say Japan feels like a country living in 2050, so we were excited to finally see it for ourselves.

We left early in the morning and landed in Narita around 8 AM. My first impression was how quiet and calm everything felt. Not too impressed with the airport itself… I’ve seen better ones… but immigration was a breeze. After that, the usual: picking up our pocket WiFi for the trip.

My cousin and her husband were already waiting for us, and they even rented a car so all of us could travel comfortably. It was so thoughtful, and honestly such a blessing to have family in Tokyo who speak Japanese and know their way around.

On the way to the city, my mom and auntie (the grannies, as I like to call them) saw Tokyo Disneyland along the route and immediately suggested a quick stop for photos. So there we were: two very excited senior citizens and my pregnant, exhausted self trying to keep up. Good thing my husband was always right beside me, ready to help whenever I needed it.

After that, we finally headed home and rested. We had Yakiniku for dinner, our first real Japanese meal in Japan. Such a treat. It’s the perfect nutritiom we need for a long day we will have tomorrow!

To be continued…