Hokkaido II Day 1: Chitose Station Hotel

When we're booking our tickets in Jan this year, Singapore Airlines was more expensive than ANA by $200 per ticket on average. Hence, we booked ANA (Krisflyer miles!) at $1267 per adult and $1053 per child aged 2-11 years old (inclusive of free seat selection). These were the most expensive plane tickets we had ever bought so far! 😖 But for Hokkaido's winter season, it was definitely worth it! 🩷🤩😍

We could hardly sleep before our most anticipated trip of the year! Our flight was at dawn so we had to wake up by 3am and arrive at the airport by 4am! 😴💤 

No one complained of course! We piled into the Maxi Cab the Hubby had booked for $70 and headed to Changi Airport Terminal 2.

Sanrio-themed Christmas decorations at Changi Airport!

Our airport is really a destination in itself! So pretty!

After checking in and depositing our luggage at ANA, we had breakfast at the 24-hour food court at T2 Transit. We also allowed the kids to play at the playground before we head to the boarding gate.

Cute little playground that the Boy will soon outgrow!

Boarding process was smooth and our flight departed Singapore on time at 6.40am.

Littlest enjoying the kids' entertainment while having her breakfast

Loved the kids meal and wished for the umpteen time that adults were allowed to order it!

My boring non-kids meal in comparison

As usual, I had to entertain the Littlest on this flight as it was daytime. There were few movies that the Littlest liked and before long, she was bored! 😮‍💨 Thank God that the flight was only 6 hours 10 minutes, much shorter than expected! We arrived at Tokyo Narita International Airport (Terminal 1) at 2.15pm (Japan time, Japan is 1 hour ahead of Singapore)! 

Welcome to Japan!

We had about 3 hours to transfer to the domestic terminal. Just like what I'd experienced in the USA, we had to clear immigration, collect our luggage and deposit them at the domestic counters before clearing security check again at the domestic terminal. Despite all that, we still had more than 2 hours to kill at the waiting area! 😅

The waiting area in the domestic terminal was really small so the 2 hours felt like a really long time! We bought some food from the cafe for lunch. I wanted to buy more snacks but we were only interested in Tokyo Banana.

Waiting area at the domestic terminal

Takoyaki and ramen for lunch

The kids played at a tiny play area to pass time. We were all relieved when the staff finally started the boarding process for our flight to Sapporo! 

We had to take a bus to our plane!

Our plane departed at 5.45pm and the flight was just 1.5 hours. We arrived at New Chitose International Airport, Sapporo at 7.20pm! Yay! 🥳

Welcome to Hokkaido!

We collected our luggage and headed to the New Chitose Airport Station to take the JR Express train to our first accommodation of our trip. We bought one-way tickets to Chitose Station (just 2 stops away) at ¥270 per adult and ¥130 per child (FREE for children below 6).

New Chitose Airport JR Station

I've become very familiar with using these machines (6th visit to Japan you see 🤭) and bought our tickets very easily! 😁 The train was very comfortable!

After alighting at Chitose Station, we walked via the link bridge to Chitose Station Hotel, conveniently located just beside the station.

There were clear signs that guided us from the station to the hotel's lobby

The lobby was very beautifully decorated! There was also complimentary drinks for guests! 😊

Checking in at the front desk of the lobby

Getting our drinks from the drinks dispenser. The hot chocolate was a hit with the kids!

We booked the Family Room at ¥19,890 (S$195) per room per night (FREE for children below 6). The room accommodates 4 adults and includes breakfast (more details in the next post).

The family room was tiny but it managed to pack 2 queen beds and 1 bunk bed!
(The queen beds were ok, but the bunk beds were uncomfortable)

The room had a sofa and desk

Small but well-equipped bathroom with a bathtub!

Toilet and sink area

Adequate toiletries, including a set for kids!

The Hubby and Eldest went to the nearby convenience store to buy our dinner while I washed up the 2 younger kids. Dinner was simple but we enjoyed the ramen and bento sets that they bought! 😁 

View of the surrounding area from our room window

It was midnight by the time we went to bed, super tired but grateful for a comfortable resting place after a long commute!

We'd always wanted to return to Hokkaido since our last visit in 2012. Can't believe it took us 12 years! So happy to be back! 😍🤩

Continue to >> Hokkaido II Day 2: Train to Toya Kohantei Hotel

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on 

Hokkaido, Japan as well as other travel itineraries!

Please also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels!

Kuching Day 3-4: Spring Mall, Muara Tebas Seafood & My Reflections

DAY 3

We headed to Annie Kolo Mee for breakfast this morning.

Walking to the restaurant via Jln Padungan

Annie Kolo Mee

We loved the comfortable air-conditioned restaurant and the kolo mee that they served! Super good and highly recommended! 👍🏻

After breakfast, we explored the old street of Jln Padungan and took pictures with the famous cat statues!

Shopped at some of the shops along the street
(Littlest loved the bakkua / bagua from Loong Kee)

Kuching state pillar

The famous cat statue
(Kuching means 'cat' in Malay)

It was so hot that we needed a dip in the pool to cool off!

Swimming in icy cold water felt so good in the heat!

After we had washed up, we drove to The Spring Shopping Mall for more shopping.

Photo Credit: The Spring Mall

Found a small playground for the Littlest to play

We initially planned to visit Aeon Mall but decided to head to kelong for dinner instead. We drove for about 45 minutes to Muara Tebas Seafood Restaurant. There's parking outside the restaurant for a small fee.

Muara Tebas Seafood Restaurant
(Address: 10, Jalan Kampung Muara Tebas, Sungai Buda Kecil, 93010 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia)

Fresh seafood in the tanks!

After the men chose the seafood for our dinner, some of us headed to the boardwalk to check out the seaview!

The restaurant was located right above the water

You can see Ching San Yan temple in the background

Walking carefully on the boardwalk as it had many gaps in between each plank!

At the end of the boardwalk

Guys and girls photos

Great view of the ocean

We headed back to the restaurant to enjoy our dinner! The food was so fresh! 

Yummy vegetables, prawns, cockles and the largest clams ever! 😋

Fresh fish for the dad (his favourite food!)

Crab 🦀

My favourite lobster 🦞 

The family loved the clams and prawns so much that we ordered 2 plates of each! 😅 We were so full by the time we were done but we had no regrets!

We headed back to our hotel and got ready to rest for the day. It was a great end to a lovely trip!

DAY 4

We woke up the next day very refreshed and headed for breakfast at Nomadic restaurant at Level 1 of our hotel.

Buffet spread

We just love a good cereal!

Got eggs and noodles from the egg and noodle chef stations respectively

My choice of breakfast

Sarawak laksa

There were hits and misses but overall ok. I did miss Annie Kolo Mee and wished I'd gotten a chance to have another bowl!

We checked out at 11.45pm, loaded our luggage into the car and headed to Vivacity Megamall for final shopping!

Bought tons of cheap activities kits for the Littlest! Every minute away from screens is a win!

We had our final meal of the trip at Grand Canyon restaurant, which reminded me of the Grand Canyon we used to patronise in Batam before it closed down during COVID.

Yummy Thai food!

After lunch, we headed straight to the Kuching International Airport at 4pm to return our rental car and check in. Crossing customs was smooth and it wasn't long before we were waiting to board our plane.

Inside the terminal of Kuching Airport

Our AirAsia plane

So far (#touchwood), AirAsia has been very punctual! Although they was a slight delay due to the stormy weather, we managed to depart promptly at 5.45pm. Once we were in the skies, we paid for a kid's meal for the Littlest while my parents ordered some food for dinner.

The macaroni and cheese kids meal was very affordable! It even came with a toy!

The Littlest enjoyed her meal!

Glimpse of Singapore's Marina Bay as we made our approach to Changi Airport

After a very short 1.5-hour flight, we arrived in Singapore at 7.15pm. It was great to be home! 🫰🏻

My Reflections:

The food in Kuching was better than we all expected! 😋 Especially the kolomee! I tried kolomee in Singapore and honestly wasn't impressed until I tried it in its hometown and man, it was waaaay better in Kuching! 😋 Live seafood at the kelong was also amazing and the shopping was good. Most importantly, we enjoyed ourselves as a family and that's what really counts! Until the next family trip! 🫰🏻🩷

<< Back to Kuching Day 2: Borneo Cultures Museum & My Brother's Birthday

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia as well as other travel itineraries!

Please also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels!