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Jenn Tori
Jenn Tori

Jenn Tori

traveled in 8 countries Read more
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  • Jenn ToriMelbourne 2024 ChristmasTraveler

    Last day at Melbourne

    December 20, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    I seem to be bad with updating the last days of trips haha. Finally getting to it though it's Christmas Day!

    Today is the last day in Melbourne and we checked out at 10am, leaving bags at reception. The apartment hotel was not too bad, we used the laundry twice and the kitchenette to wash. Used bottled water instead of boiled so kitchenette probably wasn't altogether necessary, however it was nice to have. Having a separate room meant we could also put baby to bed early like we usually do at home, then hang out in the living room (checking in on her once in a while). Plenty of space as well and tram stops right outside.

    Headed to Bakemono for breakfast (again) but our picks were a bit uninspiring this time. Still decent size though. Then we walked to Fortress Melbourne to have a look, and it's funny we're visiting that before Fortress Sydney. It's nice and it's cool to have a nice space to do a variety of gaming in, but I think at home is still cheaper. Not for all groups though obviously.

    We headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags, then walked to DFO South Wharf and joined three other people on the free shuttle bus to the airport. Managed to get priority pass for late lunch/early dinner at two places.

    Unfortunately she was overtired on the flight back. Takeoff and landing themselves weren't the problem but irregularly she was screaming and it was so hard to soothe her not being able to walk around. I really didn't want to go up and down the aisle and be a spectacle. I guess that's the difficult part about travelling with babies!

    All in all a tiring trip, glad to be home, but also good to share our first of hopefully many travels with little Remilia.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriMelbourne 2024 ChristmasTraveler

    Easy day

    December 19, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Just an easy day today around city taking free trams. Had a halfway decent pork offal noodle and banmiam from Mr tall pork noodles, then headed to Southern Cross station to grab a free loaded donut from Daniel's donuts. Flavour we got was candy floss. It was pretty decent. Then headed to the outlet store near southern cross station which was alright, quite large. Some say it's not as good as South Wharf DFO but I think it was alright.

    Then we walked over to Docklands and saw the Marvel Christmas tree next to the Marvel stadium -and yes it's captain America etc Marvel.

    Dinner from Shujinko looked better than it actually was (just ok).    Read more

  • Jenn ToriMelbourne 2024 ChristmasTraveler
    1

    Brighton boxes

    December 18, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    We had hit the daily transport cap so decided to go to Brighton boxes, which we'd missed the last trip. It was nice! Bit of a walk there, Remi was asleep for that though it was really sunny. We rested at the beach for a bit and I decided to wake Remi up to dip her toes in the water. XD the video uploaded of that scene has a lot of wind noise but it was pretty funny!

    Dinner was just some Udon ordered in.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriMelbourne 2024 ChristmasTraveler

    S Melb markets, NGV, & Levain doughnuts

    December 18, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    When did findpenguins allow 20 photos per post?! I can post about an entire day now!

    Today we headed to South Melbourne markets which was kinda similar to Queen Victoria markets but also with a bit of Paddy's goods vibe. Upmarket produce and some apparently random and sometimes-overpriced food. Tried pandan flan and cherry pistachio danish at Agathe Patisserie; both were unremarkable and small compared to bakemono yesterday.

    Then it was off to NGV. Even though we didn't go for the Yayoi Kusama exhibit that was running, the free exhibits were plenty and featured some really nice and significant pieces. She was kinda fussy though so we had to quickly exit some exhibits at times. We also got to visit Kusama's obliteration room at its early stages (still lots of white space left), that was kinda fun.

    Again we had hit the travel cap though I didn't think s Melbourne was that far from the CBD. So we went to Levain doughnuts. Can't really say I recommend it cos it really is a trek, however the donut bites aka donut snack pack was really worth it. This one was $12 for the pistachio papi spread with some extra pistachio bits; other flavours $11. Shake was alright, I think around $9? Then since we were there we thought might as well buy six donuts ($28) which Danny liked to varying degrees. My favourite was probably the raspberry cheesecake.

    I don't know whether they are better than Daniel's doughnuts though. But I think they are nicer than the ones I've had in Sydney. (Bass Hill, doughnut mum, duoduo - but not the durian donut place, unfortunately that one is casual, ad hoc and has gotten expensive)    Read more

  • Jenn ToriMelbourne 2024 ChristmasTraveler

    Gai Wong lives up to its name

    December 17, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Much cooler today though I heard the heat wave has now hit Sydney. We had breakfast at bakemono bakery, delicious kouign amann and ok Yuzu almond croissant.

    Then it was off to dejour jeans to get a new pair for Danny. Unfortunately his chlorine one couldn't be repaired, I honestly thought they could distress over it or something. :/ anyway he was really quick and happy over his pair, while again I couldn't find anything I liked lol. Jeans are just not for me nowadays. I guess I'm firmly in my dress era.

    Lunch was a great plate of chicken rice at Gai Wong (chicken King), and a so-so plate if Kon loh mee. Then it was off to Brighton beach! Our travel cap had been hit so we could travel anywhere. I need to get a video off of Danny so I'll do that before posting the second half of the day.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriMelbourne 2024 ChristmasTraveler

    Walk around eat around

    December 16, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Just walked around melb and had some food, looked around, took pics with nice things. Remi was good until the end of the day, probably over-tired and hungry. Much happier now that we gave her a quick shower and she's tummy timing on the bed. I do regret not bringing more toys though. Someone told me she wouldn't need them lol but we're having to do a cycle in the hotel..

    Char kway teow from Kakilang was only OK. Japanese crepe was so overpriced, $9.80 now, no longer worth it unfortunately. Had dinner at Omi just next door. Was very average despite ~$20 per person. At least I got a free matcha creme brulee from submitting a review on Google..

    It was bloody hot today, oddly enough peaking at around 6pm ~39deg. Then at 7.30pm or so Danny went, "it's getting cooler" and at first I was like nah but it really did start getting cooler, much wind as well and before we knew it the temp had dropped 10deg. Now later at night it's 22deg. Weather is wild.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriMelbourne 2024 ChristmasTraveler
    1

    Plane ride success

    December 16, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 33 °C

    Slightly late to airport, we scarfed down a priority pass big breakfast, chorizo omelette with extra smoked salmon and hash brown, hot chocolate and coffee. I nearly choked on bacon which was a bit of a scary moment - it was a longer strip and sliding down the wrong passage. Made me feel a bit worried about Remi choking as she starts solids but I guess we can only be careful.

    Flight went pretty well! Was only an hour so a short one. She slept through takeoff, we napped for about 20 mins, she fussed a little when she woke up and before landing, and was ok through landing though it was slightly bumpy. Basically she only fussed when it wasn't take off or landing lol. Fed her in the air, no blowouts! (She did just poop yesterday and her schedule is once every two or three days)

    Caught the luggage very quickly, the baggage claim area was linked to departures and weirdly open - and it was festive, with a little Christmas tree in the middle of the luggage carousel.

    Managed to catch the free shuttle to DFO South Wharf with minutes to spare which was nice. The walk to the hotel, eh, not so nice but doable I guess.

    The crib was ready for us but it kinda sucks ^^" but can co sleep on the king bed if no choice.

    Feeding her and deciding whether/where we want to go out as the temp is slated to hit 39 deg at 6pm and only cooling at 8pm..    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Rainy day Osaka Kaiyukan

    March 12, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    It was a rainy day today and we thought we might as well go to the aquarium. Unfortunately, it was so crowded, we really didn't enjoy it that much and while I previously recommended it, I probably wouldn't recommend it now. We had some doteyaki at the gourmet street (naniwa kuishinbou yokocho) at the shopping centre nearby, which was pretty interesting, very strong taste and nice konnyaku. Dinner was just Sukiya on the way back. All in all a rather low key last day; we'll only have half a day tomorrow which will be spent traveling to the hotel for our flight just after noon.Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Nara

    March 11, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Day trip to Nara, though we forgot about the Kintetsu pass and just went via train ic card directly! (Could have saved a little bit of walking by using buses at Nara I think..) It was like a petting zoo with deer at many places! Could buy senbei to feed them at 200y for a small stack of crackers which you can each break into about two to feed. They are nice like alpacas and will bow to you for food or if they feel like it, but if you get a few mobbing you or biting your pants it can get not so nice lol. They also make this squeaking farting sound at around dusk.

    Visited Todaiji which had really cool massive statues at the start, and is also huge all around! Overall quite worth a visit, surprisingly both of us enjoyed it, me for the petting zoo aspects, Danny liked the deer as well.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Osaka station

    March 11, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    This was supposed to be a slow day exploring osaka station and the shopping centre surrounds but honestly it was still tiring for some reason! Even with breaks taken for sitting. Anyway had our standout meal for the trip, a well-balanced and well-thought-out bowl of ramen (technically soba) at Gion Tori paitan was thick and creamy, we got the option with truffle which to be honest drowned out the chicken a bit, though it was still nice. Clam and oyster was clear and sweet.Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Shittenoji and Dotonbori

    March 10, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Nice day today, we went to Shittenoji and tried a Michelin bib gourmand soba place along the way but it was a bit disappointing, soba was kinda hard. Had the arabiki/rough type and normal. Thankfully though aside from the smell of the buckwheat tea, I didn't have an issue with the soba noodles. Maybe I just have an aversion to some specific compound in some cheaper soba??

    Walked down a shopping street, had some Japanese sweets which was lovely, had dinner which was average sushi, then it was off to Dotonbori quickly for some night pictures. (And second dinner for Danny at a sutadon place.) Stumbled upon some popular Portuguese egg tart place but slightly pricey at 300y each.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler
    1

    Cat cafe

    March 8, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Time to cheat on our cats! Fairly decent cat cafe, though the owner seems to like patting (with some pressure) their cats on their back near the tail which I'm not personally into. They were all pretty well-groomed and taken care of though, with some but minimal cat fights.

    Dinner was okonomiyaki which unfortunately I would not really recommend, it was ok but not really worth the 2h queue, and when we were in the queue we would randomly smell something stinky like a drain. Seems maybe it was venting off from the restaurant.

    Then grabbed a Rikuro cheesecake, still fluffy, yum, and under 1k yen!    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Osaka castle

    March 8, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    I think we're not using the Osaka amazing pass this time around so we're just travelling around. Revisited Osaka castle, still pretty, didn't go inside though since there's an entry fee and also stairs. Walked around a bit though. They gave a detective Conan cafe that was full up, I didn't know it was still popular.

    After that was lunch at udon place with the longest chewiest udon ever! Pretty good but gave my mouth a workout lol, made me wonder whether the master making it was intentionally sadistic?!    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Quiet day at Osaka

    March 7, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    After a quick meal at Yayoi-ken, it was off on the train to Osaka. We were able to check in early at 2pm when we arrived rather than 3pm, and walked around the area for a bit. They have breakfast included at this hotel so that'll be a bit different.Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Fushimi Inari Taisha

    March 6, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Oh man I've been so lazy posting since we left Kyoto lol. Last day in Kyoto was at Fushimi Inari, which was crowded but not as cramped overall as Kiyomizudera. Wondered whether we should go/is tourist trap but maybe because of the diverse hiking paths it wasn't toooo bad. I couldn't go through much of it but we went through enough to have a good look.Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Kiyomizudera

    Mar 5–16, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    Went to Kiyomizudera because apparently we didn't go the last time we were here, and also to visit the pagoda of Koyasu Kannon (for safe childbirth and to get a talisman). This place definitely has a lot of tourists even on a rainy day and it kinda ruined what should probably have been a solemn vibe. The area is very Kyoto though, for people who want to risk it. We went in the afternoon.

    Had some dessert at Chasen which was not bad. The matcha tiramisu was rather cheesy but the matcha jelly with matcha syrup was yum.

    Also wanted to visit Kodaiji but we are a bit too late and it had an entry fee. Ryozen kannon was also nearby and we could see the massive Kannon statue peeking out the top of the entrance; it was already closed.

    The trip out from Kiyomizudera was truly miserable. Waited about half an hour for a bus and it was lucky we were at a fairly early stop because the bus had to reject further passengers at a few subsequent stops. Cold wet and shivering even with the warm heat pocket pads. Perhaps a shuttle bus instead?? Must be something better.

    Dinner was an uninspiring overcooked chicken oyakodon from Isetan depachika (also pretty uninspiring on the whole) and I couldn't find something else i wanted to eat so we ordered gyoza kosho from Uber eats.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Rainy day

    March 5, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    It's a rainy and cold day today, max of apparently 9 degrees. We got up a little later than previous day today and after a quick breakfast at the nearby konbini, it was off to the Kyoto Aquarium. Entry is 2500y. It was alright, quite small overall. Warm inside but a lot of schoolkids, many very small haha. The penguin exhibit was funny, they came right up to the glass and oddly didn't smell. They had dolphins but we missed the performance at 11.30am by just about half an hour. Stayed for about 1.5h then it's off to lunch.Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Curry lunch and gyukatsu dinner

    March 4, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Lunch was a surprisingly-spicy curry place which offered a shot glass of mango lassi and side salad for just 50yen more. Wanted to go to Kyoto Gyoen but it was just massive grounds and the castle that it surrounded was closed for today.

    Then it was back to Teramachi, where we stepped into random shops. Randomly found Honnoji which is where Nobunaga Oda died. Most places have been pretty quiet so far, not sure whether we have just been a bit off the beaten path. Went for dinner at a random gyukatsu place which was just ok, probably cos we got the cheapest two cuts. I cooked the meat as dead as I could. ^^" we nearly went to the otter cafe but the seating area looked tiny, it was crowded near closing time soon, and you apparently can't touch the otters. :( we'll have a look at the Osaka one instead.

    Wanted to look at Nishiki market but it was late and stuff was closed, I was also heading up to my 15k step limit (it seems for this trip!) so we headed back to Kyoto station area on a night bus. Four bus trips x 230y taken today, just short of 1100y for a one-day bus and subway pass. The bus-only pass has been stopped which is a bit of a pity. Stopped by at yodobashi camera to get a visitor SIM. 2950y with iij mobile which was what we went with last time as well for one month/6gb limit, which should be fine for us. There was a cheaper option for 1.5/3gb but I think cheapest around $20 so at the low end not too much variation.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Kyoto botanical garden

    March 4, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The weather forecast lied. It said it would be warm today but it was coooollld and cloudy. Poor Danny thought it would be warmer but at least I did get him to upgrade his jacket from a thinner one, though this is still not strong enough lol.

    Wore my maternity pants today to keep my bump warm and it's super comfy! Slept early last night but planned this morning to hit up roughly three spots. There aren't many food spots near the hotel but there's a ramen/chuka soba place that had a queue last night so we tried it out. It was clam which was a very nice sweet taste but my taste buds also got a bit fatigued after a while.

    Then it was off via bus to the botanical garden. This would have been stunning when the cherry etc blossoms were blooming but as it was it was mostly quite sad looking. We found a few early blooming trees and walked around though. They also had a small sheltered exhibit going on with what looked like purchased flowers.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Pretty good first meal

    March 3, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Ok so the hotel is kinda far from Kyoto station but quite honestly it was hard to find a place that has a nice bathroom. King bed is nice too. It's close to a bus stop at least! And the hotel is pretty new.

    First meal was a nearby place on our Michelin bib gourmand list. From our research as well I feel like prices in Kyoto and Osaka are a little lower than Tokyo; you can still get a fairly decent feed for 1000yen or lower whereas that's becoming more of a rarity in Tokyo. This did not disappoint. We got the (demiglace) tonkatsu, and sauce katsudon. Both had rather fatty but also super tender pork. The demiglace was a bit eh it was kinda like gravy but I quite liked the sauce which is more traditional katsu style. They had a yellow mustard condiment on the side that tasted like wasabi. Total for both, just under 2k yen so very very reasonable. (For some reason especially, some katsu places are becoming more expensive)

    Anyway, great start to our trip. We walked down south to a shopping mall, and also visited Animate nearby. Unfortunately we wouldn't make it for the death note exhibition (just off by one day). Spotted the discounted (500y) Uniqlo baby clothes but didn't have our passports for duty free so will have to return another day.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    At Osaka airport

    March 3, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 9 °C

    I forgot discord and Google don't work in China, however funny enough I did get notifications from Google chat, I just couldn't actually access the app. The flight was like three hours, felt like domestic. Breakfast served had zero salt (and zero taste) for mine rofl.

    We're finally (back) in Japan! Withdrew a bit of money from a convenience store, where we also grabbed some food for the 1h train trip. I was tickled to find there was still some cat day items leftover from 22/2/24 when they ran Collab items with mofusando art on them. (I sort of wanted to keep the plastic wrappers but hubby said no..)

    We had tickets for KIX->Kyoto on the hello kitty haruka shinkansen for about 2200y each from klook, which was a pretty good price iirc compared to other options. And the train was super cute cos it was hello kitty themed! Only thing is it's a bit of a process to claim your tickets, and then reserve your seat. Just need to do it on a machine. But volunteers are around to help. On the way, saw a lot of suburban areas, and even a solar farm on the water.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Beijing transit

    March 3, 2024 in China ⋅ ☀️ -2 °C

    We're at Beijing, which is a massive airport but this terminal has nothing much in terms of food. Some high end shops are open though, even though it's before 8am.

    The temperature outside is a bracing -5 to 0 C, but we can't really go out to feel it. The flight was fine but I was like a princess and the pea, so hard to find a comfortable position cos I can't pretzel as easily as I usually would. Plenty of legroom but I care more for sleep comfort! That said, the low sodium meals are surprisingly good (tomato both times) and the cabin crew kept us fed and hydrated. They did tend to run out of one of the food options so Danny got the chicken congee breakfast but he reports it was very tasty.

    About an hour before the next plane boards so we're just going to wait at the gate.    Read more

  • Jenn ToriBabymoon 2024Traveler

    Back at SYD airport

    March 2, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    It's three hours before and the queue to check in is massive lol. We didn't catch it when they opened but compared to the Qantas automated kiosks, this seems more manual.

    After some name scare when we realised Danny's name had somehow been flipped, thankfully rectified by helpful staff and a call to China support, we had some $29 fish and chips and chicken parmi at Mach 2. Obviously not worth it without priority pass but good thing we did because when we went airside, The House had barely any options for a pregnant person. Grabbed some fruit for Danny. Pumpkin soup was average. Roast lamb was old and ravioli has feta and ricotta.Read more

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