So sorry I’ve not been blogging lately. I’ve just returned from a very short yet sweet trip to Japan. I was sent there along with the very talented Rito Asilo from the Inquirer to attend the press junket of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. We are the only two lucky ducks from the Philippines who have already seen this awesome film! Will blog about that next week. This time I thought I’d do a photo blog.

I have never been to Japan before and was very excited to see, feel and taste this interesting country. We landed at the Narita airport, a good two hours away from our hotel in Shinjuku. Rito and I spent the time trading stories of various adventures and looking forward to making new ones in Tokyo. So here we go!!!

What a beautiful centerpiece! This was taken inside the Takashimaya Mall, the first mall we went to. It was all high-end shops! Got price-tag trauma for a while! Eventually I came to terms with the fact that Japan shopping will definitely be expensive. But in this mall...make that super expensive!

When Rito and I first got to our hotel, it was late in the evening. The restos were closed so our first meal in Japan was bought from the family mart at the ground floor of our hotel. Cup noodles! Very japanese and at the same time, not really! So after that sad meal experience, we finally had our first authentic Japanese meal at a resto at Takashimaya mall. Simple, yummy and as usual, expensive. Haha!

Okay so we figured we should go to the grocery and try to pick up some yummy goodies from there to take home as pasalubong. But we didn't find the usual Japanese snacks. We found an amazing assortment of fruits, dried fish, unagi, fresh seafood, noodles, etc., etc.! A wonderland! And everything was so organized and a feast for the senses. Unfortunately we cannot bring them home as pasalubong.

I found myself walking around the Shinjuku area by myself as Rito retired to his room after his own walking tour. I was hungry because I skipped lunch because I had to interview Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel (poor me!) during lunch time. Anyhow, found a cool place on the street where they had those awesome plastic food on the window. I chose one, remembered the number and paid at a vendo machine! It spewed out a ticket and I handed it to the lone guy running the kitchen. And voila! Hot soba soup and a rice bowl with kakiage on top. Quick, fuss-free and yummy. Oh and for the first time, quite affordable!

Am here with my new friend Rito inside the Toho Cinemas where we would be among the first few people in the world to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. We were dressed to the nines and didn't mind at all that the press from other countries came in jeans. Anyhow, local and Asian celebs dressed up, so we didn't stand out too much!

Next on Mama Suz: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen!

Catch Suzi Entrata-Abrera in Mommy Diary, only on QTV!