Out and About again!

Hey guys! Did you miss me? It’s PIGGLETINO!

Piggletino got so sick of waiting for his scout to get time away from work… he decided to take a trip on his own! (Read: tag along his scout’s work-trip)

Piggletino decided he had to stock up on his own stash of food, so he took a stroll around Covent Garden in London…

 

…in search of the Apple Market, not knowing that the market would be closed at night. (Obviously, because he had forgotten to check with his scout who would usually plan all the trips for him!)

So Piggletino took the Underground…

 

 

…and the Overground …

…and made his way across Europe, all without his scout knowing!

What adventure shall lay ahead?

Time to leave!

It’s time to say goodbye again! Piggletino’s got to take a break from this hectic lifestyle of eating, sleeping and playing. He shall release his scout back to work, while he takes a good ol’ nap for a few weeks.

Til our next trip, friends! 🙂

 

Amsterdam Centraal

 

 

 

 

 

Piggletino has arrived in Amsterdam!

In less than half an hour from the airport, Piggletino arrived at the heart of Amsterdam – the Central Station. While his scout was figuring the way around, Piggletino took some photos…

 

…and with little clue of where to walk or what to do, he had arrived at his hotel!

 

That’s the Victoria Hotel, conveniently situated directly opposite the Amsterdam Central Station.
Piggletino was exhausted after finding his way around (read: taking photos whenever he had the chance), and decided to leave further exploration to the next day!

Be sure to come back and check out Amsterdam with Piggletino!

 

Kyoto Nijo Castle

A short walk from the Nijojo-mae train station, the Nijo Castle (二条城) was built in 1603 for the first shogun of the Edo period.

Piggletino welcomes everyone to the Nijo Castle – first beginning with the traditional Japanese landscape garden, the Ninomaru Garden.

 

The Nijo Castle has three main areas – the main circle of defense, the secondary circle of defense and the gardens.

 

You can rent English audio guides to learn more about the Nijo Castle during your visit! Of course Piggletino’s scout went around the tour route that showcased where the highly-ranked visitors of the past would wait for the shogun in the audience rooms, understanding how bodyguards hid in closets to protect the shogun, and other offices or living chambers in the premises.

And Piggletino? That’s right – photos, photos and more photos!

Cultural City of Kyoto

Piggletino welcomes everyone to Kyoto! Although ravaged by natural disasters like many other areas of Japan, Kyoto was relatively spared from the destruction of WWII, and today stands as testament to the cultural richness of Japan.

 

Most of the historical attractions are easily accessible by local train. Only 3 minutes away from the Inari station, this the Fushimi Inari Shrine (recognise the Torii Gate?) No, this isn’t just ‘yet another shrine’ – rather, it is famous for the thousands of orange torii gates that line its walkways and leads into the wooded forests and heads up to Mount Inari.

 

The Fushimi Inari Shrine is dedicated to the Shinto god of rice. Piggletino highlights the hiking trails behind the main shrine building, which starts with two parallel rows of Senbon Torii – literally ‘thousands of torii gates’ which are donated by individuals and organisations. This forms a covered walkway to the summit of the mountain (it takes 3 hours!) Of course, you can take a 45 minute walk to an opening which offers great views of Kyoto city!

 

 

Osaka Museum of Housing & Living

Hidden from the usual ‘tourist’ attractions, an intriguing sits in the Kita area of Osaka, on the 8th floor of a building somewhere along Temjimbashi. Easily accessibly by local trains as well, this is no ordinary museum – it is a remarkable re-creation of the past of Osaka!

This museum has streets that made Piggletino feel like he was back in the Edo period… Look! Even the cats on the roof are models!

You can check out the life of Osaka’s past as the museum highlights various facilities such as an ancient apothecary, fabric shop, traditional Japanese kitchen, poor man’s house vs rich man’s dwelling…

An interesting thing to note – the museum lets visitors experience day and night in an ancient Osaka street, through the use of awesome lighting and sound effects! Don’t be surprised if it turns dark all of a sudden!

The Osaka Museum of Housing & Living is definitely worth a visit. While there might be small problem of the absolute absence of English or other translations (everything including the descriptions comes in the local language), Piggletino is sure that you will still enjoy looking around these wonderful remade models of a town!

Osaka-jo – the Castle

Piggletino is impressed with the train network in Osaka! The Osaka Station (大阪城) is easily accessible by local trains.

Stopping at Osakajokoen Station, Piggletino had a leisurely stroll towards the Osaka Castle. Look at these beautiful flowers within the Castle Grounds!

It takes about 15minutes to walk from the station the main castle keep. (But Piggletino took so long because he had to stop to take photos everywhere he went!) Along the way, Piggletino saw the moat, gardens and forts… here’s the bridge towards the Castle!

And finally Piggletino has arrived at the Castle!

Free and easy for everyone, go have some fun! Piggletino’s scout heads into the Castle’s Museum to learn about its past, while Piggletino takes a break here!

Onward to Osaka!

Hello, Osaka!

Piggletino hopped off the plane and very quickly took a front seat on the special Kansai Airport Rapid Service from a station that is connected to the Kansai Airport, towards Osaka Train Station. Ah, bright and sunny Japan, Piggletino expects to take lots and lots of photos on this trip!