Osaka Castle is one of the famous attractions in Osaka, Japan.
We took the Metro Train going to Tanimachi 4-chrome Subway Station. From the station, you need to walk across the Osaka Museum of History.
From the Museum you will also be directed to the South Outer Most Moat.
We went to the left side going to the Sangan-Yagura Turret and entered the Otemon Gate. The Otemon Gate is the gateway going to Nishinomaru Garden and the Former Osaka Guest House.
From the Garden, we walked to the Sakuramon Gate.
The Osaka Castle was built in 1583 but was destroyed 13 years later. Under Toyotomi rule, the castle was one of the largest castles and under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it was intended to unified Japan.
It was rebuilt again in the 1620s under Tokugawa Hidetada after they eliminated the lineage of Toyotomi. The main castle was struck by a lightning and was burnt down in 1665.
There was a reconstruction in 1931. And the castle was modernized in 1997. The castle house a museum about the castle’s history during the Toyotomi Hideyoshi rule.
Above the castle, you can also see a 360 degrees view of the different moats of the castle and the gardens.
You can also view the modern Osaka skyline and buildings.
We went to the side of the castle and found the Gokurakabashi Bridge.
There’s also a boat tour around the castle.
We then spent our time in the Plum Garden to enjoy the cherry blossoms.
One of the main reasons why we went to Japan was to see Universal Studios Japan or also known as USJ which is located in Osaka. We loved to see the park especially the Harry Potter Themed Park.
From our apartment, we walked again going to Nipponbashi Station. From Nipponbashi we went to Namba station and bought a Metro Ticket. From Namba, we alighted at the Metro train going to Nishikujo then alight again going to Universal City. We rode a Harry Poter themed train.
From the train we went to the entrance of the Universal Studio, the one with the revolving globe. From there we fell in line to buy a ticket. We got our map and looked at the Harry Potter-themed park.
A huge number of visitors flocked the Universal Studio since it was the 15th Anniversary of USJ. It was March 17, 2017, a Friday.
It was a very easy to spot where Harry Potter was because most of the people are going there.
It was still early but there are lots of goers inside. We were like kids once again, looking at the Hogwarts castle, checking the Hogsmeade, trying the wands.
We also saw the Snoopy and friends, Sesame Street, Hello Kitty as they also have their own theme park.
There was also a parade for the anniversary.
And some characters roaming around the park.
You can also try different rides.
Or eat at different restaurants.
You can also view outside performances.
And since it was near Easter, they also have Easter Egg Hunt.
It’s the time of the year again when most people await the Sakura or Cherry Blossoms or spring season in Japan. The Sakura blooms in the different regions of Japan on different dates. The earliest is in Okinawa, which is normally in January, and then it goes up to Osaka to Tokyo to Sapporo for the dates of the Sakura. I remembered my trip last 2017 in Japan. I booked for 6 days, 3 days in Osaka and 3 days in Tokyo. It was supposedly in the middle of the spring. But when we were in Japan, it was still winter. The coldest I experienced was 2 degrees Centigrade.
It was a Wednesday our flight was 3 pm in the afternoon. We arrived at Osaka airport. We bought our express ticket and we went to the wrong train. But it was still on the same destination, longer this time.
We were checking the train and got inside. We asked help from a Japanese guy and he eventually guided us. We got off at the Namba station. We walked inside the station and eventually seeing the train going to Nippombashi Station. The cute Japanese guy helped us to buy the ticket going to another station.
From the Nippombashi station, we went to the other side of the street, walked two blocks and we found 711. We went to the left side and entered the block and looked for Lawson and the post office. From the post office, we found the apartment, went to the 3rd floor, found a small box and unlocked it. There was a key inside and we went inside to a one-room apartment, complete with cooking utensils and bath. After settling, we went outside to get some food. We were supposed to buy from 711, but we walked going towards the Nipponbashi station and found a small Japanese restaurant called Matsuya Nippombashi. We ordered 3 gyudons and we also have a misu soup. We went to 711 and bought drinks and coffee and food for breakfast.
Baler is located in the central part of the Philippines, in Aurora province. It is rich in historic places and incredible beaches. It is also one of the best places for surfing.
I have done solo traveling in this place using an automatic car and I tried the route of the Pantabangan-Aurora Road. It was already late when I left Nueva Ecija. It was a little scary though since I really haven’t been to this place and I was all alone. The roads have narrow curves and zig-zags. It was a lot better if it was just zig-zags, but the roads were steep. The problem at some point was the rough road somewhere in Quirino and the several rough roads along the bridges where you need to go up after every bridge. Somehow I thought those that were behind me wanted to push me upward or hoping that they could overtake me. Another problem just in case I got lost or the car breaks down was that there were no nearby communities along the roadsides and there were no signals for my globe and smartphones.
After almost two hours and a half from Nueva Ecija, I made it to Baler and it was already seven in the evening. The next problem with this trip was I didn’t check any hotels in the area or booked ahead of time. It was summer so most of the resorts I saw were fully booked.
Thanks to Aliya Resort, I was able to find a place to stay, at a much expensive price. But don’t get e wrong, the resort was really great and the staffs were accommodating and I had a room on the third floor with a veranda overlooking the Sabang Beach of Baler.
It was actually raining in Baler and it was still Amihan season. From the veranda of my room was the view of the sunrise.
The Sabang Beach in Baler is a surfing site. The following morning I was up early in the morning hoping to witness a surge of waves splashing over the shores of Sabang Beach. And there were surfers who were already up and braising the waves of the Pacific Ocean.
It is also called Le Petite Prince French Cultural Village. Located between Nami Island and Cheongpyeong Lake and near Homyeongri.
French Cultural Village
It was a filming site for famous Korean Drama like Secret Garden and Man from the Stars and also for Running Man, a Korean Variety Show. There are memorabilia from the different Korean Drama in the cultural village.
Saint-Exupery and Little Prince
Aside from the picturesque French village, it is the home for the gallery of the famous French author Antoine Marie Roger De Saint Exupery.
You can check out the Saint-Exupery Memorial Hall. There are life-size images of Saint-Exupery’s renowned book of Little Prince.
My favorite spot in the cultural village is Fountain Square and the Butterfly Garden which is overlooking the Cheongpyeong Lake.
You can also go inside the different buildings and check out the decorations, art paintings, galleries and also to appreciate the European style houses.
There are special French art performances in the Amphitheater. For more information, you can check the website for the performance times.
There’s a miniature Eiffel Tower of Paris in the cultural village.
How to get there
From Nami Island you can ride a shuttle bus with the Gapyeong Tourist Attraction. It is a 15 – 20 minutes bus ride from the island bus stop. You can see the bus stop along the road. You will also see the entrance tunnel in Petite France.
Going back to Seoul, you can also wait for the shuttle bus going to Cheongpyeong Station and take the subway going back.
Nami Island is one of the favorite destinations. It is located at the Chucheon area. Nami Island is the result of the construction of the Cheongpyeong Dam.
Nami Island is dedicated to General Nami who led the victory against the rebels during the Joseon Dynasty. The tomb of General Nami is the first attraction that can be seen alighting the ferry. Carved in his tomb is a poem he wrote.
The Metasequioa road and Central Korean Pine Tree Lane is the most famous attraction in Nami. This was the filming site for the famous Korean Drama “Winter Sonata.”
The Winter Sonata park is dedicated to the memorabilias inside the park inclduing the life size image of the actors and the bike they used during filming.
Nami Island is designated as a Unicef Child Friendly Park. They are one of the 14 parks in the world and the first in Korea.
Another place is visit is the handicraft studio in Nami Island.
There are different hotels in Nami Island. You can spend a night on Hotel Jeonggwanru. There are coffees and restaurants around the area.
Another attrection is the Namipungwon Garden, home of the different plants and trees.
One of the four seasons in which Filipinos like me will not experience in my country is Autumn. My first Autumn was in South Korea.
Arriving in South Korea
We arrived in Incheon International Airport at 8PM in the evening. When we had our passport stamped, I waited for our luggage and I head to the Travel Center. I bought a ticket for the express train going to Seoul Station. When we reached Seoul Station, we took a taxi to look for Seoul City Hotel.
The driver was an old man and he had a hard time looking for the hotel. But after checking the Korean characters, we were able to find it. It was already cold in Korea when we arrived. Even the taxi’s aircon was off, and the windows were open and we could still feel the breeze of the cold night.
Seoul City Hotel
Seoul City Hotel is located in Teorgyo-gil and we were near Hoehyon Station. We were greeted by the manager Mrs. Kim and she immediately took us to our room. But before that, I talked to her on how to go to Nami Island. And she gave me maps to check and assisted me with the map guide in Korea on what to ride going to Nami Island. The following morning we had our breakfast in the rooftop of the hotel. They served Korean food and some American food. Our view from the top was buildings from the nearby establishments.
I inquired about the card to use in the station and the receptionist wasn’t speaking in English. But the guy inside the booth went to us and explained to us how to get the card and how to reload it.
From Hoehyon station we need to transfer to two other MRT Lines to reach Gaepyong station. The first transfer was in Dongdaemun, where we transferred from Line 4 to Line 1. Upon reaching Hoegi Station, we transferred to GyeongLine.
Upon reaching Mangu Station, we transferred to Gyeongi-Jungang Line. We alighted at Gapyeong Station. From the station, we went to the other side of the street to wait for the bus going to Nami Island.
Gapyeong Station
The bus from Gapyeong Station is about 10 to 15 mins. Many tourists rode the same bus. Upon reaching the bus station in Bukhanganbyeon-gil road, we checked the different restaurants nearby.
Winter Sonata Cafe
Winter Sonata Cafe
My mother and I saw the Winter Sonata Café, which was on the second floor of Master Koffee. Winter Sonata Café includes pictures and memorabilia inside the restaurant. We ordered our food here and took a rest from the long ride going to Nami Island.
Winter Sonata Cafe Restaurant
Getting to Nami Island
After having lunch, we looked for the main entrance of the ferry that would take us to the island. You will easily spor the immigration going to Nami Island.
We also saw the Zip line going to Nami Island. this is another option in getting to Nami Island.
Zip Line
We bought tickets first and then we lined up to the entrance for the 15 minutes ferry ride from the wharf. The ferry was full of different nationalities.
Ferry Boat at Gapyeong Wharf
The boat ride was short and we were on the island, where different flags welcome the tourist. After which we started touring the island. After Nami Island you can go to Petite France.
Mentors are invited for the Annual Global Science Alliance (GSA) Summit in The New York Academy of Sciences in New York for the annual gathering of young scientists, international researchers, mentors, mentees and their parents or guardians. It is held every July and it was on its third year.
I went to New York to attend the Summit last July 24 -26. The highlight of the event was the gathering of the future STEM leaders across the globe, showcasing their projects and achievement from the different mentoring programs of the academy. I also met notable persons from the academy especially those program managers who handles the GSA and the Mentoring programs.
While the mentees were having their activities, the mentors were also invited a talk by Josh Henkin.
On the third day the mentees were also awarded with their winning projects.
I was glad that there was a lot of young scientist from my countries whom I met during the summit. There were seven from young Filipinos who attended the event.
For more information about the mentoring program please check NYAS Mentorship.
I submitted my application in September of 2018 to the website of The New York Academy of Sciences. I was reminded of completing the application by an email in which I didn’t finish. The mentorship is in cooperation with the United Technologies Corporation. One of the qualifications of being a mentor is graduate students, postdocs or professionals working in STEM-related fields with expertise in green buildings and sustainability or related topic area. Other criteria are to be passionate about engaging and inspiring the next generation of STEM innovators.
I was able to complete the application and I was scheduled for an interview by another mentor in October. After the interview, my background was checked by a vendor to provide a secure and comfortable mentoring environment to the NYAS program. It took 3 weeks to finally be cleared of the background check.
In the first week of November, I was admitted to the program. I was given access to the portal. We were then given a welcome package on how to use the portal and what are the reminders of being a mentor.
I received an email that I was matched with my mentee in the second week of December. My mentee is budding 17 years old girl from Bulgaria who wants to be a Chemical Engineer. I was matched with her because I graduated with BS Chemistry in college.
We were introduced and our first meeting was in the same week. She’s a very pretty girl who is active in her hometown in different science-related activities and also with her advocacy with her community as one of the young leaders. She planned to study in a different country and she’s learning French.
There are four modules with the STEM U that will also help and guide the young generation and it was distributed for the whole school year. They are an interactive module that helps the mentee with their personality and personal goals going to STEM.
At the end of the school year, both mentees and mentors will receive their certification in being a part o the program.
For more details about the mentoring programs, you can check the website www.nyas.org
After our tour with Bohol Grand Scenery, we rested for awhile in our resort in Panglao. After dark, we stayed at the sands of Alona Beach.
Alona Beach
Our resort is located in Alona Beach, Panglao Island. There are different resorts, hotels and hostels around Alona Beach.
Dolphin Watching
We woke up early the following and waited for the boat that would take us for our island tour. The sun was rising from the horizon and we took pictures of it before going to the site for the dolphin watching.
There were so many boats on the site who was also taking a chance to see the creatures. We were happy to see a bunch of dolphins lingering around the boats. They were having their own show for the people to watch.
We then had lunch in Balicasag island.
Balicasag Island
After which we went snorkeling in the Balicasag Island Marine Sanctuary where there was a diverse marine environment to explore. It is a dive site if you go further beyond the snorkelling area.
Virgin Island
Our last stop was Virgin Island or also known as Pungtod.
This one was my favorite island from all other islands I had seen in the Philippines because of the long sand bar. We even went to the middle of the island where the sand bar was no covered with water.DSC03512
There were vendors on the island. In his boat were coconuts, clams and sea urchins.
Hinagdanan Cave
We went back to our resort to check out. After which we went to Hinagdanan Cave in Panglao. Stalagmites and stalactites surrounded the cave with a deep lagoon. The cave is also made of limestone.
Panglao Shell Museum
The tour ended in the Panglao Shell Museum and with us getting souvenier.
