During my visit to Tokyo last week, meeting my fellow blog friends who are based in the Land of the Rising Sun was high on my agenda. After all, we have this Blogkadahan network whose Filipino members are located not only in Asia but also the US, Europe and New Zealand. It has become a tradition for us to meet whenever a fellow Blogkada goes into town to visit, and the meeting comes complete with the exchange of little gifts, dinner and of course, loads of engaging conversation.
I was therefore filled with so much excitement to finally see Sachi, a Filipina who’s been living in Japan since 1984 and who is considered an expert on all things Japanese. It takes a visit to her wonderful blog to be thoroughly apprised of the uniqueness of the Japanese culture and what contemporary living in Japan is like. Prior to my visit, she advised me to keep in touch with another Pinay, Athina who is based in the heart of Tokyo with her Japanese husband, a photographer. Meeting Sachi and Athina for the first time upon arriving in my hotel that rainy Monday, I am once again reminded of the many good things that blogging has brought me and the most important of these are the genuine friendships I’ve struck with certain people who are as nice in real life as they are online.
Since we only had a few hours to spare, Sachi and Athina wasted no time in guiding me through the harried maze that was Tokyo, including teaching me how to buy tickets and ride the train. After a few stops, we landed in Harajuku, a trendy district which has all these quaint shops and is often frequented by young people. We had fun having our pictures taken in the “purikura,†an automated do-it-yourself photo shop where you can select themes and put designs on your own pictures. Then they treated me to a nice dinner at Jonathan’s, a Japanese diner where I had my lunch-dinner of chicken teriyaki. After a few hours of shopping (mostly at the 100 Yen shop), I had to convince them to have to a value meal at McDonald’s, which was equivalent to 250 pesos in the Philippines ~ whew! The teriyaki burger was good, and so was the following conversation with my fellow bloggers. As expected , Sachi had lots of interesting tidbits to share while Athina, who is well-read and well-travelled, was more quiet and introspective. Read more here.
Great article! And wow, na-meet mo na si Sachiko! 😀
Good evening Ajay!So you already met Sachi and I am sure ganda ganda niya. I hope ma meet ko rin siya in the coming future.
Hello! I saw (and read) your article about meeting some members of your blogkadahan… My friend told me “ano ba,sa dami ng ginagawa mo nasisingit mo pa yan ha!” when she noticed that I was not reviewing for my economics exam.
Interesting… I’ll be waiting for your next article.
Hi Toni and Luchie. It was really great meeting Sachi and Athina, yun nga lang medyo bitin ang pagkikita namin. But at least, we exerted the effort and found the time to meet. Hope to see Sach in Manila soon too.
Hi Gera. Thanks for dropping by and reading my article. I hopped on over your blog too. Good luck sa studies:)
you’re back! wow! Thanks sa loads of wonderful stories about Sachi and Athina–
we want more!!!hehe
ay! sorry, rest ka muna 🙂
cool!
hey you let sachi and athina galing
still in france
It sounds like you had a great trip! Did you get me any presents? (^_~)V
The food isn’t necessarily expensive if you eat ramen and things like curry rice, but it’s not that healthy to eat it every day. But yes, for the most part, it is not cheap. I also wouldn’t say that Japanese people are warm- if you are a guest, you will be treated very well, or people might help you if you are lost, but that’s true anywhere. But there is an attitude that courtesty is not extended to everyone, only people you know and superiors.
Anyway, glad you had a wonderful time!
Thanks again for the article ajay! In posted some of our eb pics in my latest entry,hope you won’t mind..
be seeing you in manila, i hope? how about some karaoke and drinks?