November | 2017 | thestepsitake :)

March/April 2017.

I’ve yet touched down this amazing land my whole life, and everyone who knew I’m heading there already warned me that once you did, you will fall in love. That’s true. That’s really true. I’m back with my heart so full.

Since parenthood hits me, I’ve always there, stand by for my daughter. It’s been a very tough period for us, as to cope with a new life, with all the new priorities. We felt that this vacation is really important for us, to have a good break, enjoy meal time slowly, walk slowly or to just staring at the river empty minded. In other words, to just feel the luxury of just being alone, the two of us. I’ve been always looking forward to this trip, yet missing our daughter back home. But everything is alright and I knew she’s in good hands. Turn out, she enjoyed herself so much that she never look for daddy or mummy for the whole 9 days. 🙂

Back to Japan, we touched down Osaka hoping to have Sakura welcome us, but…NONE. There isn’t any. Apparently, the forecasts are a bit off this year due to the extraordinary weather. It’s still raining hard and extremely cold! We aren’t preparing for this. It can go down to 3 degrees at night and extremely cold and windy when it’s rain. Anyway, we still hope for the best for at least a glimpse of the Sakura before we leave. And 2-3 days before we fly off back home, we finally catch a glimpse of it. 🙂

Tired from the overnight flight. But, hello Osaka!

Everything looks really appetizing in Japan!

Night at Dotonburi.

Long queue, always and forever.

We spent our days at two cities, Osaka and Kyoto. Needless to say, Kyoto is amazing. Osaka is pretty cool as a city, but to me, Kyoto indeed mesmerizing! We spent a day in Osaka once we touched down, then headed to Kyoto the next day. First stop, we went to the Suntory Yamazaki distillery. Amazingggg experience!

Let’sssss GO!

That’s me on the other side. With my luggage. We can’t wait for the whiskey tasting. No time to check in yet. Haha.

The whiskey lover. While I’m not a fan of alcoholic drinks myself, I find it worth every penny for it. I enjoyed myself very much. Do make a reservation here preferable weeks before for the tour.

While this located nearby our Airbnb, whenever we pass by it’s always a long queue. We checked online to find out it’s serving some fancy desserts.

Wrong focusing, but plenty of people taking wedding/couple/family portraits by dressing traditional kimono here.

Sakura oh sakura. Why aren’t you blooming yet.

All the yummy food at Nishiki market. We literally stop by there every day. To grab some Oden, snacks and some yummy sashimi.

And for cheap lunch, drop by these small udon place.

Good hot coffee is very much needed on this cooling spring weather.

My view.

His view.

Hello, Fushimi Inari Taisha. Ticked one off the bucket list.

We are up! Worth all the steps!

Golden hour.

The sunsets are particularly amazing that day. It’s so beautiful.

Next day we head up to Arashiyama.

The well-known bamboo groove. Despite the busy crowd, it’s actually pretty cooling walk around here.

It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited.

Connected from the bamboo groove, we walk over to this amazing view. It’s all sakura’s buds. Can’t wait for it to bloom. It’s going to be so mesmerizing.

I would definitely come back for a visit in the future for this view. Autumn season would be great as well.

Since it’s a peak season, it’s so crowded, but it’s still worth our visits. We spent almost the whole day there and we enjoyed to slowly stroll around and just enjoy the scenery.

% Arabica Arashiyama. It’s such a longggggg queue! We can’t get a chance to taste it because it’s raining soon. Maybe next time perhaps?

Hi handsome 😀

On our “romantic train ride”. The Sagano Scenic Railway.

My picture can’t justify the journey. It’s breathtaking.

Since it’s a romantic ride, we shall have a picture together. 😀

No planning for the day. We just explore the Kyoto town with our small bike!

One of the oldest coffee shops. The old couple owners are really friendly and cute too.

We sit down there, by the river. To day-dream.

Catch a glimpse of the Sakura finally! But sadly we are leaving Kyoto already.

The big man with a small bicycle.

We are so heavy hearted to leave Kyoto. I love this city. 🙂

And we are back to the busy Osaka city!

Good morning, Kuromon Market.

I can’t believe we visited this Instant Ramen Museum. HAHAHA. And we queue to DIY our own instant ramen! Hahaha. But that’s because it’s a rainy day, so we got no place to go. Hmm.