Chong to Tokyo - 28 February to 5 March 2019
Lexuan was sick with cold and cough since Sunday and it seemed to get worse on Tuesday. So, we took half day leave on Wednesday afternoon. It was a good decision as I got to rest a bit. If not, it would be mad rush back home after work and then we would be packing until late at night.
Our last trip was in October 2018 and so after 4 months, we were traveling again! We foresee it to be a challenging trip as Lexuan is definitely more active and heavier to carry too! Haha. Yet, we are prepared to take up the challenge to bring her along. We know that we could have enjoyed much more without her but we don’t want to leave her alone in Singapore. Family that travel together stay together. Our Chong family stays together. =p (But every time when I am
going crazy overseas with her tantrums, I wish we didn’t bring her along. Yet, she is lucky that I always forget how bad it was to travel with her whenever we book her air tickets. And so she is always coming with us.)
28 February 2019
It was 8.05am flight so it means we got to wake up super early. I had to wake up at 3.50am to pump milk. Jianhui was busy cooking porridge and hard boiled egg for baby. In the end, we left house around 5.10am. Thankfully, we could get a cab shortly after waiting for a while.
We reached airport just before 6am. There are a lot of people doing self check in. As we needed them to tag our stroller, we went to the counter for check in. Then, we went to eat breakfast. We ordered kaya toast and steamed bread set at Old Town White Coffee and it costs $14.50! Damn expensive right? And it wasn’t nice at all. If only we could eat yakun or Toastbox.
Time seems to be pass by so fast. The moment we went in, I went to pump milk. And then it’s time to go Gate A3 for security check.
This is Lexuan’s first time taking SQ as so far, she had taken SilkAir, Qatar and JAL. JAL has priority boarding for parents with young kids but SQ doesn’t practice this. Luckily, a staff noticed us and approached us for priority boarding without joining the queue.
This time round, Lexuan is more active and she doesn’t want to fasten seatbelt. After much battle with her, she finally fell asleep after drinking milk. I also took a short nap. Nowadays, I will try to sleep when she’s asleep as you never know what time she will wake up and it will be busy time for us.
We were quite disappointed that they didn’t serve us much snacks other than peas and crackers. Not much drinks also. We had to ask them for some biscuits. We had to wait till 11am+ then they started serving us meal. Imagine if we didn’t eat anything in the morning, we would be starved to death. They served Lexuan’s baby food first and surprisingly it was very njce. Much nicer than normal SQ adult food in my opinion. Haha. True enough, when they served us our international baked fish, it was quite disappointing. The fish has a weird taste. Luckily, I ate some of her food earlier on. We had honeycomb mini magnum for dessert but it was a bit too sweet for me.
Lexuan didn’t sleep much so we were busy entertaining her. I managed to catch some glance of the cartoon, Wreck it Ralph though. About 2pm+ we finally reached Haneda! Our second time here! And it was a rainy day again. Why is it that it must rain every time we came here?
Lexuan refused to be on baby carrier so we got no choice but to carry her when we alighted. We quickly collected our stroller for her. Security and custom check is fast as there isn’t a crowd. We just had to wait for our luggage which probably took a while because of the rain.
Then here came the challenge to take train to Tokyo Station with our luggage! It was quite a nightmare given that we had to keep on finding elevator to move around. No words can describe how happy I was when we finally reached Tokyo Station.
When we came out, we were shocked! It was so crowded and everybody was walking so quickly. There were multiple exits until we were so confused. Thanks to Google map, we located the correct exit Yaesu south exit to walk to our hotel. It was a short 650m walk but it seemed quite Long due to the rain and luggage.
And yes, we finally reached Mitsui Garden Hotel. It was totally a tiring day for us and we were just too happy to check in. The hotel room looked decent and big enough compared to our previous accommodation in Japan.
It’s about time for dinner and so we went out trying to find food. Due to the rain, Jianhui decided to walk back to Tokyo Station to buy McD’s while Lexuan and I stayed in the hotel.
Jianhui came back with McD’s and Silvebait rice. Satisfying meal especially after we were being starved on SQ. Haha.
It had been a Long day for us since 4am... Time to rest!
1 March 2019
We didn’t want to stress ourselves and so today we got to sleep late till we feel like waking up. So, we slept until 8am which was considered late for us.
We went to Tokyo Station for breakfast. A lot of shops were not opened so we went to Fari-beurre. The pancake was nice and fluffy. Something different from what we have in Singapore. Then we walked back to our hotel room.
Lexuan had a Long nap so by the time she was up, it was already 12pm+. Thereafter, we made our way for race pack collection. It was quite troublesome to go there as we had to change train. And the train was so crowded and packed. Lexuan was very uncomfortable and so she kept on crying. I was just too thankful when we finally reached.
It was quite a long walk to the race expo and our dear girl was so excited to walk. It was always fun to come to race expo, especially World Marathon Major’s race expo. As usual, we spent money on t shirts. Jianhui bought 2 while I bought a yellow shirt which I really love it.
There were a lot of portable vans selling food so we bought udon, octopus balls and fried chicken to eat. Lexuan had a bit of her porridge too.
There are a big and impressive Gundam. We took some photos before making our way back. So Glad that I didn’t sign up for the family run if not we would have to come back here again the next day. Haha.
By the time we were back, it was already about 5pm. Where did all the time go? As it was kinda late, we decided to have dinner nearby. We chose a yakitori restaurant. Food was not bad especially the hot egg roll which was very nice! The damage was bad though as it cost us JPY7000.
After dinner, it time to go back room to rest again. As you can see from now, traveling with a kid means you get to go to one or 2 places in a day only. You just got to slow down your pace and accept it.
2 March 2019
We slept till 8.30am today. Though I woke up at 6am to pump milk before going back to sleep.
We had a late breakfast at McD’s. Somehow, the sausage McMuffin with egg in Japan is damn nice. For today’s plan, we wanted to go to Shinjuku, the starting point of the marathon to recce.
Compared to the location of the race expo, it was so much easier to take one direct train to Shinjuku. And it was a short walk to the starting point, Gate 2. We walked around before we stopped at the playground where Lexuan had her own share of fun.
We tried to feed her milk but she rejected us. We changed her diapers then we made our way to train station to go Tokyo Tower. Our third time to Japan and we finally made it to Tokyo Tower! And finally, we got clear blue sky today too! We bought baked sweet potato to eat and it was really sweet and nice.
It was an easy train ride back to our hotel. For convenience, we bought Yoshinoya for our late lunch. We rested a while in the hotel before we walked to the ending point from our hotel. We had to walk from Yaesu South exit (Daimaru) to Marunouchi North Exit. At least, we had a rough idea of the finishing line for the race tomorrow.
For dinner, we had ramen (shio and miso) and dumpling. The ramen was super salty though. At least so far all our meals are not too bad I would say.
Then, it’s time to go back to sleep.
3 March 2019
It’s race day! A day for Jianhui to earn his 2nd star. I’m equally excited as a supporter!
I woke up at 5.45am. Jianhui went out to buy McD’s for us. It was a super wet and rainy day today. Temperate is about 6 to 8 degree celcius. Freaking cold day for race
We left about 7.30am and took the Chuo line to Shinjuku. It was a fast ride and so we reached about 8.05, which was ahead of schedule.
Seeing that today was going to be a really cold and wet day, Jianhui made the decision to wear tights + shorts, singlet + jacket, arm sleeves and poncho. This turned out to be the best decision if not I don’t know how is he going to survive in the cold and rain with singlet and shorts. After sending him to the starting point, I walked back to Shinjuku station to go take train back. From the app, Jianhui started at 9.30am. The app is good as it will give me Jianhui’s estimated time at the next 5km based on his current pacing. This saves my effort of manually calculating his timing.
Once we were back in the room, I was busy entertaining her as she didn’t want to sleep. I managed to cook porridge for her.
For the first time, I could view the marathon race at 29KM from our hotel room. She was so excited that I brought her down first to cheer for the runners. She was so excited that she played in the rain. Being a typical singaporean Mum, I was worried of her falling sick, so i didn’t let her play in the rain for too Long.
We went back room and finally Lexuan fell asleep. Too bad, I got to wake her up to cheer for Jianhui as he would be running past us soon based on the app. I prepared hot Kopi gao siew dai for him. True enough, we saw Jianhui running past us. Jianhui was complaining how cold it was.
Then we went back to the room. It’s just so convenient. I was so busy that I didn’t eat lunch. As a result, I started to have a bit of gastric. =(
After feeding Lexuan some porridge, I packed bag to go to the ending point. It was still raining and very cold. I’m not sure if she is feeling uncomfortable due to the coldness or what, she was making a lot of noise until I am going crazy. She didn’t want to be inside baby carrier as she wanted to run around. Yet, it was raining and there were so many people, so I couldn’t let her run around.
At around 2pm+, I stationed myself at around 41.5km to look out for Jianhui. I shouted his name and he saw me too. Thereafter, I made our way to the station to wait for Jianhui.
It was nightmare for me at the station. It was so cold and windy. Yet, she kept on wanting to walk the stairs or walk outside the train station. I had to force carry her and she was crying so loudly that the people in station must be thinking if I am the kidnapper. After waiting about half an hour, we finally saw Jianhui and we walked back together.
Yeah! So proud that Jianhui had completed another overseas marathon despite such harsh conditions. If I am the one running, I am not sure if I can complete it as it was just too cold even as a supporter. Great job to Jianhui for his 2nd star!
On our way back, we bought beef rice back to hotel room. Jianhui washed up and we could rest a while before going out for dinner.
For dinner, we chose to eat Tempura bento set! My set costs JPY1600 while Jianhui’s set costs JPY2600. Seriously, my set is so much worth it. Haha.
Then we went back to our hotel via the underpass. Lexuan must be feeling so excited about daddy’s marathon that she couldn’t really sleep.
Talking about Lexuan, this girl plays non stop in the room. She loves to play with empty plastic bottle, empty beer can, paper and basically anything she could find in the room. She also likes to go to the toilet and throws anything into the toilet bowl. The whole room is in the mess because of her.
As for Jianhui and me, we were feeling so tired that we just wanted to sleep.
4 March 2019
I must say I had quite a good sleep though I did dream a bit. I woke up around 6.30am. So fast, it’s our 2nd last day in Japan which means our holidays is ending. Sigh.
Anyway, we decided to eat breakfast at the cafe downstairs so that we don’t have to walk too much. We had sandwich (which is like Toastbox ham and cheese sandwich) and crossiant. Not too bad I would say.
It’s another rainy day so we were hesitating if we should go Kawaguchiko. We know that we probably won’t be able to see Mount Fuji. Anyway, we decided to book tickets for the bus ride as we just didn’t want to stay in Tokyo.
So we rushed out to catch the bus at 11.20am. I am quite impressed that we managed to rush to the bus stop at Tekko building after buying McD’s and queueing for toilet (Long queue at the ladies). The bus leaves punctually at 11.20am.
Lexuan was so tired that she slept throughout the bus ride. This means that we could have some peace. I also had a short nap.
We reached about 1.20pm. The moment we reached, we prepared Lexuan’s milk for her and changed her diaper. Then we walked about 800m to the lake. It’s downslope all the way.
We had lunch at the Lake Side Cafe - Pasta and Sandwich. Lexuan saw that there’s pasta and so she’s not interested in my bread anymore. Think she will come snatch our room very soon.
After a relaxing lunch, we walked back to the station. We booked the 3.30pm bus ticket back to Tokyo. The bus left at 3.30pm sharp.
It was all good until there was a jam when we still have 28km to go. The bus trip was delayed by 1hr+. So thankfully, we booked the 3.30pm bus ticket instead of 4.30pm bus ticket. After all the delay, we reached Tokyo Station about 6.30pm+. Lexuan was so bored that she started crying just before we reached the station.
We helped her to change diapers and then we went to find dinner. We decided to try the JPY500 tempura rice. It was nicer than what we had last night. And much cheaper! Haha. After dinner, we finally went to The Pokemon store and the fungi store but there wasn’t anything for me to buy. Good news for Jianhui haha.
Then we headed back to our hotel. Lexuan is always very excited in the room that she doesn’t want to sleep. In the end, she only slept at around 10pm+.
It’s our last night in Japan and I slept relatively well.
5 March 2019
We are going back to Singapore today and so we woke up early to do packing, just before Lexuan woke up. With Jianhui’s help, we kinda finished packing relatively fast.
When Lexuan is up and showered, we were ready to go out for breakfast at about 8.30am. We bought McD’s for breakfast and ate it just outside the Tokyo Station, enjoying the good weather. Then we went for a short walk to the Imperial Palace. Apparently, you need to pre register to enter the Imperial Palace.
We took some photos before we went back to the hotel. Jianhui cooked the porridge for us to bring on board while I continued to pack the loose items. Meanwhile, our dear Lexuan is happily sleeping until 10.45am. She had her milk then we were all ready to go airport.
Compared to our first day in Tokyo, it was a much easier to go airport due to the good weather. It was also a smooth ride to Haneda Airport that we reached airport about 12pm+.
It was still early for check in so we walked around for a while. We decided to eat something like Saboten. Nowadays lexuan doesn’t eat rice as she prefer tasty food like pork. Think we will have a problem when we are back in Singapore.
After lunch, we went to 5F to see the aeroplane taking off before we went to check in. Checking in was a Breeze. Since we still got a bit of time, we went to Sirotan Town to shop. It’s so cute. Seriously if I don’t control I think I will spend lots of money in japan. Haha.
Then, we went to security check. There were quite a lot of people but thankfully, the queue was quite fast. Also, we got priority queue for customs. And gate 108 was quite near. Lexuan had her milk before I went to pump milk.
We bought Hokkaido ice cream and as usual Lexuan wanted to have a share of it. Nowadays, she kept on wanting to walk anywhere and everywhere. It’s tiring to follow her. Haha. Before we boarded the plane, she had fun playing with the vending machine.
We are one of the first few to board the plane and Lexuan was so happy to walk around the plane. And we got 3 seats in the middle to ourselves! Yeah! Lexuan must be so tired that she fell asleep the moment the plane took off.
She slept for quite a while before she woke up. While she was sleeping, we managed to have some peace. Haha. We asked the crew to serve her food and surprisingly her food is so nice, especially the chicken. How is it possible for a less than 2 years old finishing the food? So the parents get to enjoy. I was telling Jianhui that they know that parents travelling with kids have a tough time so they rewarded us with more food.
We ordered one japanese and one international food. I would say the food is not too bad though the pork fillet is a bit too salty. And we had 3 Hagaanz daz ice cream! Yummy.
Thereafter, it was nightmare trying to make Lexuan to sleep. After much battle, she finally fell asleep at around 9pm+. And I could catch some sleep too.
When we touched down around 10.45pm, Lexuan was still sleeping. We woke her up and she was in stone mood. And the moment she reached Singapore, she can’t wait to take off her pants and shoes. There aren’t a lot of people at this time so we could clear customs and collect our bag quickly. And there is no queue at taxi stand too! So we could take taxi at around 11.10pm and off we go to go home!
We made it back! Haha. From this trip, Lexuan had mastered the art of getting down from bed and exploring toilet. And now she started to reject bland food like plain bread and rice. She loves ice cream just like every other kid. Despite me applying so much moisturiser on her face, her face is still red from the coldness. Anyway, she is back in the sunny Singapore!
A great family trip though I must say both of us are totally exhausted by Lexuan’s stunts - moving around anywhere and everywhere! What matters is, Jianhui had earned his 2nd star! Yeah!
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Angeline winks
at |10:13 AM|
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