Perhaps that's the main reason why I can't seem to move on from my trip to Japan last week, is because I was able to taste a bit of heaven in the land of the rising sun- and with the best brown rice!

Me

While the whole of Japan seems to be Heaven overall [psst their McDonald's has the best Orange Juice hahaha!], there's this particular place in Fukuoka that made my heart so full, it almost burst into shards of unicorn goodness! Am I referring to the place with the best Tonkatsu? Not really, but dayuuuum I equally cannot get over their brown rice! HAHAHA! Ok, kidding aside, let me show you what Heaven is...

Reptar is my spirit animal

Yes kuya, flaunt it!

Me freaking out as I get everything I could from the shelves

But my world, and my arms, stopped with what I saw next. Originally I intend on buying watercolors and brushes, but what I saw next made me abandon ship.

Shaky hands because of too much feels.

I DIE

Ok, maybe the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but yeah we almost had been homeless during our Fukuoka trip due to an AirBnB mishap!



Me and Imman were able to book for a tiny apartment near Hakata Station for around Php 9,000+ or around $ 200+ good for almost 6 days (we arrived in the evening of August 9 and left Fukuoka in the evening of August 15), and that was back in April. Our main objective when we chose a place to stay is the location. We looked for places near Hakata Station, since Hakata Station is the central train station in Fukuoka so it's easier to go to different places coming from that location. We purposefully booked it early, in order to ensure the prices aren't that high yet, because the average price for a place near Hakata Station would cost you around Php 15,000++ plus already! After 2 months, we decided to message our host, for us to know the particular address, and in this way we can finalize our itinerary. But after multiple messages sent to our host, we did not receive not even one reply. That's when things got fishy.


So, we messaged AirBnB's customer service for this. We explained that our host is non-responsive, and we are worried sick that we may not have an accomodation once we arrive there. AirBnB's customer representative checked with our host, then found out that the host is not yet registered in Japan's local government! The first solution given to us by their customer service is to refund what we have paid, but after pointing out that since we were 2 months away from our trip, the listings' prices have already sky-rocketed, and with that it will be hard for us to get a place for only Php 9k.



The next solution our AirBnB customer representative gave is to help us find a place with the same price, and at least the same location as the one we have booked before. However, they have also realized that there are no more available listings with similar price point. With that, they gave us the best offer a traveller could have...

... AirBnB gave us the refund which costs Php 9,000+ and they also gave us another Php 9,000+ credits, or the price of the place we have originally booked, in this case we can conveniently find a newer place that will meet our needs. But the fun doesn't end there, because AirBnB also gave us a $100 coupon that we can use for AirBnB experience!!!!

You get a coupon! You get a coupon!

With that, we were able to, not only book for a place conveniently located near Hakata station, but also book for a Temple walk around Hakata! For those who are curious what place in Hakata we booked, unfortunately I can no longer locate the listing, but this one is almost identical to the place we booked. Check out the link HERE

For those who are about to embark on a holiday, and is currently deliberating whether they should go for a hotel accomodation or go for AirBnB, I definitely full-heartedly recommend going with AirBnB. Sure, hotels have amazing ammenities, like pools, gyms, and swanky lobbies, but come to think of it, you won't be spending much time in the hotel when you travel, right? You'll be spending about 80% of your holiday outside, wandering around, looking for amazing experiences that has nothing to do with being in a bathrobe. Another thing to consider is, most foreign hotels are probably readily available in your country, and most likely they are similar to whatever place you'll have your holiday. With that, if you want the luxe feel of a hotel, go do it for a staycation instead 👌😋

There you have it, folks! If ever you are a newbie with AirBnB let me introduce you to it by clicking on this LINK, then you'll get Php 1,600 or around $ 30 in AirBnB credits, which you can use when you book a listing. Cheers!

Love, Always,

Nicole ♡♡♡

Soooooo, I just got back from our trip to Fukuoka, Japan, and daaaaamn! I seriously want to go back to Japan as soon as possible! Like the moment our plane landed in NAIA 3, I swear I want to dash back to departure, and sneak into a plane going back to any place in Japan! Just like from my previous travel to Bangkok, I am definitely suffering from Post-Travel depression! But luckily, I still have some upcoming trips to look forward to, which means it's not yet time to store away my luggage ♥

Yes, you've read it right, I've been to Japan! It is pretty much a huge deal, because I have always dreamed of going there! What usually hinders me from trying to start planning for a Japan trip was the notion that Japan is an expensive country, and you have to have A LOT of money to be able to go there. Also there is another notion that the language barrier will be a big burden to go to places!

How I envisioned myself in Japan

But lo and behold, those notions aren't that spot-on! You don't have to have a lot to go there, you just have to learn how to budget, and research a lot in order to get deals and save money. As for the language problem? Not really, there are a lot of English translations in signs and instructions, and if there's none, you could converse with Japanese people using simple English words, and eventually they'll understand what you mean.

Anyway, let me show you how our first day in Fukuoka was like...


We arrived in NAIA 3 at around 9 am for our 2 pm flight. Why so early, you asked? The traffic going to the airport is usually horrendous, and with that we can't afford to go to the airport in a much later time. While waiting for our flight, we had our breakfast in the airport, and spent our time downloading videos from Netflix for our in-flight entertainment- because Cebu Pacific has none, and the flight going to Fukuoka from Manila is up to 3 hours!

Hisamitsuuuuuuu

We arrived in Fukuoka at around 7 pm Japan time. Oh, take note, Japan is 1 hour advance from the Philippines, so you better adjust your watch or your phone's time so you won't have any mishaps ☺ Upon arriving the Fukuoka international airport, there is a free shuttle transport going to the Fukuoka domestic airport, where you can take either a bus or subway going to Hakata Station.

Here's Imman trying to make sense of Japanese ads in the train.

From the domestic airport, you can easily spot the stairs going to the subway station. If ever you are lugging around a lot of luggage, don't fret because there are escalators, so you don't have to carry them all the time. The fare going from Fukuokakuko subway station (the airport) going to Hakata Station is 230 Yen per person, or approximately Php 115. In order to buy the ticket, you will have to use their ticketing 'vendo' machines that has english translation. Also, if you're kinda problematic about having full 10,000 yen bills with you, I think the subway is indeed the best choice for you, because if you take the bus you are expected to give the exact fare amount, but unlike in the subway, the ticketing machine can give you change for your big bills.

At a glance, you might think it is kind of expensive, however if you are going to compare it to other forms of transpo coming from airport to city in other countries, this is actually waaay cheaper. In Hongkong you get to spend as much as around 20-50 HKD when you take the bus going from their airport to Mongkok, while if you take the express train it will be around 100+ HKD.

Another positive thing about the airport transfer from Fukuoka airport to their main city is the fact that the city proper is very near. It only took us around 5-10 minutes to reach Hakata Station! So when we arrived, it's still quite early despite the fact that we landed in the evening already...


and with that, even after we have put our luggages in our Airbnb, we still got time for...


Yep, the best tonkotsu ramen in the world! Despite it being readily available all-over Japan, Ichiran Ramen actually started in Fukuoka. Since our Airbnb is somewhat near Hakata station, we head over to their branch in Sunplaza, which is conveniently across Hakata Station. If there's one thing I recommend people to bring with them in heading over to Ichiran, it has to be patience. Ichiran is usually packed with people, so you could expect that there's a loooong line of hungry people wanting to have their ramen in their bellies.

But you can't blame these people, because Ichiran ramen is the best ramen I've ever had in my whole life! No exaggerations, it is indeed the best.

So what can you expect upon entering this wonderland? Well, for you to order, you will first see a vendo machine where you get to choose what you would like to have. They of course have their ramen, which costs 890 yen, then you could also order some extras like extra Chashu, eggs, or even some gyoza. One thing to note is, their base ramen doesn't have an egg, so if you got used to the servings here in The Philippines, you better buy a 130 yen soft boiled salted egg to go along with your delicious ramen. Upon ordering, you then insert your money, then the machine will give you a stub indicating your orders.

Hungry face

After ordering, you will proceed to a room where they will serve you the ramen. Once seated, they will give you a 'questionnaire'-like paper where you have to choose how you would like your ramen- For example, do you like the broth to be extra rich, how firm you like your noodles to be, and etc. Then after filling it up, you tap a button in front of you, where they'll get the paper and the stub you get from the vendo machine earlier, and by then you anticipate having the best ramen of your life!

photo c/o Imman

Once they have already served you your order, the window in front of you will be closed, then you will proceed in enjoying the best ramen you will have in this lifetime.

Aaaaand there you have it, our first night in Fukuoka ☺ Will blog about the other days soon *Wink* *Hopefully within this month hahaha*

Love, Always

Nicole ♥

P.S.
Huhuhu Craving for Ichiran Ramen now :(

What is Class Act, you ask? Let me tell you a short story...

Listen up!

For Christmas of 2016, I remember my boyfriend asking me what gift do I want to receive. He gave me options such as shoes, bags, and books, however I felt that those options felt meh- though I really don't mind whether he decided to give me a cactus or a happy meal, I'll still be happy with whatever it is (hopefully he isn't reading this). After stumbling upon a Youtube video of a polymer clay tutorial, I got so fond of it that I insist that he take me to this magical place called, Deovir.

Yes gurl!

Why magical, you ask? Well, it is a craft store that sells soooo many cool art goodies, and yeah they sell polymer clays. So after an hour of looking at different clays and tools, I ended up with a basic set.


And from then on, I am able to do these bad guys:








After posting these in my social media profiles, a couple of friends became really interested in getting their hands on these little bibis, so that's when I decided to make it into a bonafide small business.

With that, if you ever feel like splurging your money on little knick knacks, or if you are genuinely unsure what to give as a giveaway for a certain event or celebration, why not check out Class Act here ♥  or if you are lazy to click the link, here you go:



Love Always,
Nicole ♥

P.S.
I told yah it's just a short story *wink*

When I was younger and much foolish I always consider having a cat-eye a staple look for me. Back then, bibi Nicole always has blunt bangs, so the need for eyebrows on-fleek isn't that high. Back then, my go-to eyeliner product was Etude House's Oh m'Eye Line Eyeliner where I would have my upper lids in jet black, while my waterline in its glittery silver version.

My life-saver

Me, now.

But with all the upcoming shindigs and travels on my way, I figured I have to get back and embrace my make-up junkie-ness (lol), and with that I decided to do baby steps. In doing so, I figured I should probably start with something very affordable before dabbling with MACs and Bobbi Browns. With that, I ended up in Miniso.

Carry On, Move Along