Thursday, June 27, 2013

Dreaming of Hokkaido

So when I saw a link a friend posted in her FB wall that Japan would be lifting visa requirement for most ASEAN countries starting July 1 this year (You can read more of that here.), I was ecstatic!  Ok, all right that’s too exag (OA lang ang peg). 


But anyways, if there was a two thumb up sign for like in FB, I would have clicked on that.  The hubby and I have been talking about places we would love to visit, and Hokkaido was one of them. 
While most Singaporean friends I have spoken with visits Hokkaido for the snow, I want to visit Hokkaido for the sunflowers and the lavenders.  But unfortunately the sunflower season comes just next after the lavender season which is sometime in August.  While the lavenders are in its glorious around the time of June to July. 


Now I am having a hard time choosing between frolicking amongst the sunflowers or breathing in the relaxing scent of lavenders.  Which would it be?

Well I guess I still have two years to decide which is which.  Yes I know my earlier excitement is quite contradictory with the number of years that we are putting off travelling to Japan.  This year, and probably the next one and a half years, our plates our full and so travelling that requires an expense of $S2000 budget for each of us (that's the budget our friend quoted on her last Japan sojourn) will have to be put on hold.
 Now I am resigned to dreaming of Hokkaido.  And mind you I am good at that.  Probably the news of Japan lifting the visa requirements for some ASEAN nations is a good sign that the "universe is conspiring" to make this dream a reality. (Pa da secret epek pa oh! :)) And maybe all these dreaming would not come to naught.
Please indulge me as I continue dreaming of fields of lavender and bright sunflowers.

How about you mga kababayan ko, does this news stir any travel plans to Japan anytime soon?






PS: The initial news was flawed, unfortunately.  Visa are not waived for the Philippines, but they have relax visa rules already.  They will issue a multiple entry visa that allows Filipinos to stay in Japan for 15 days and this visa is valid for three years.

Oh well, I guess I was too excited. But who knows what could happen in the next two years. *wink *wink... (pa da secrect epek pa rin)

photos from : lavender field freshpoweder.com, sunflower field from iroirodori.blogspot.com

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