Author: bunsongpayat

“Limited” Service of Tune Hotels

/ bunsongpayat / Leave a comment

Have you experienced staying in a hotel with limited service?

If you want a “5-star sleeping experience at a 1-star price”, tune your attention to Tune Hotels.

Tune Hotels offers limited service which means they will only charge you the minimum price you need to pay for your bed, room, a/c, table, electricity and security without the need to pay for other amenities that you barely use. So for example, you will not be charged with usual hotel toiletries if you brought your own toiletries.  Other amenities are 12 or 24 hours air-conditioning, TV and internet access.

Continue reading →

Oops..saw some things in Japan!

/ bunsongpayat / Leave a comment

HEY!!!

Let me continue telling our wandering stories we had in Japan last year.

Make sure, though, to also watch the travel video here. Just spare me for some mistakes I have made. Hihi.

October 21, 2013

Japan is amazing in a new way!

Nearly all subway stations in Tokyo have braille board beside every ticket machine. Braille is a reading and writing system used by the blind and visually impaired people. One can know how much would a ticket cost from point A to point B and navigate even the ticket machine to know where exactly the coins should be dropped in or bills should be inserted. Aside from being awesome for having also an option to use English language in the ticket machines for able people and braille for blind people, these ticket machines can also read out the words for deaf people. Handicap people can also navigate themselves in and out of the stations by following the yellow rubber guide strips on the flooring throughout the subway network. Amazing and Awesome, right?  Continue reading →

6 Food Principles

/ bunsongpayat / 1 Comment

When I was mulling over a number of good captions to put on the photos of Food Survival in Japan, I recognized that I have unconsciously developed a set of principles on buying food in a foreign place.

As much as we try to minimize our expenses, the “Take the Plunge” persona in us still want to try new things. We can’t pass eating a bizarre meal or a familiar meal in an unusual place because this is exactly the reason why we travel. But one way to balance out this persona within our budget is to actually acknowledge first the principles we have and then make most of what we have.

Continue reading →

Hello, Hello Kitty.

/ bunsongpayat / Leave a comment

Hello Kitty was such a big hit when I was in elementary and high school. It was so popular back then that some of my classmates didn’t mind spending on collecting the expensive Hello Kitty items. I was never a fan of Hello Kitty. I never liked Pink. I don’t understand the idea of liking a cartoon character of a cat and then spend money on a very expensive collection.

In Taiwan, they have a Hello Kitty Cafe. Everything is in pink. Servers wearing pink hello kitty aprons. Walls are with pink cushion or painted with pink paint.

Continue reading →

Food Survival in Japan

/ bunsongpayat / 3 Comments

Visiting Japan is neither just enjoying the sweet scenery of cherry blossoms nor having a glimpse of おたく [o-ta-ku] life in Akihabara. It can be just experiencing an authentic 温泉 [on-sen ; hot spring] after you learn the modern life in Tokyo. I do know some people who ended up doing shopping only because Japan fashion is so upbeat and fun. Like me, you probably listed Japan in your bucketlist because experiencing their culture will be a good shock to what you are used to.

Or…

Maybe you just want to indulge in sushi. Who could blame you for such reason? The love of many for Japanese cuisine may have started from loving the sushi first. I loved sushi first then went on with ramen and takoyaki…and now, sake.

Sake

I barely eat in Japanese restaurants in Philippines because they are so expensive. Most of the time , after we pay for an expensive set of sushi platter and gyudon, the authentic taste the Japanese restaurants claimed they can give was just not there.

Continue reading →