Akihabara experience

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When we were in Japan, we stopped in Akihabara. We took the train to Akihabara and found local map. Even though it's crumpled, I thought it's good enough for picture. There are a lot of electronic stuff, Sony, Ipod, ... etc which I'm not too interested in. I was looking for Japan souvenirs.


There are many duty free shops. It's 5% tax free as long as you bring your passport and buy 10,001 yen or more ( currently, around $100). There is a small 100 yen store, or equivalent to a dollar store, inside Tsukuba station next do Mc.Donalds.
There're not too many varieties in that dollar store, but it's OK if you are looking for $1 local items.

If I remember it right, most store closes at 8. We arrived at around 5, get oriented, walked and shop... Three hours passed so fast. If you would like to walk around the area, I think you need more than 3 hours.

Kidzania Jakarta

In case you're wondering what your children can do in Jakarta, try Kidzania, located at Pacific Place.

It's a place where children do real life activities like being a fire fighter, pilot, biologist, nurse,... hundreds of activities.
They get "paid" for the work they done and they can spend the "Kidzos" on the activities of their choice like public transportation or car racing...

I believe it is geared towards 6 years and older. In case you have younger children, they do have areas for toddlers too like matching up shapes, story time...

Parents can come along to take pictures of the children activities. Some activities are in a closed room, but there are windows so you could still see your children. The staff speaks both Indonesian and English.

I do wish they would let adults participate in the activities... I would choose to be a pilot...

New textured sterling necklace

It's a tree, it's a flower field,... no... no... it's a man on the moon...

It's a new design from Bigib. A textured pendant made from sterling silver, black patina to emphasize texture. It's an abstract design... you decide what's in the pendant.

A perfect match for the textured earrings... so new it's still yet to be listed on Etsy...

New handstamped necklace

New hand stamped necklace design from Bigib.

It's a double sterling disk for two names, brushed finish and adorned with flower charm.
The large disk size is about 7/8". It's about the right size for daily use.

To learn more about this item, please visit my Etsy store.

Traveling to Jakarta

In case you are traveling to Jakarta, I have some experience to share...

When you arrive in Jakarta, you need to apply for Visa On Arrival (VOA). There are list of countries that could apply for VOA. It costs $25/person if you stay in Indonesia longer than 7 days. Don't get overwhelmed to see long lines. I think they work pretty fast. It took us about 1 hour.

There are a lot of porter offering their service. Usually, they ask for Rp 10,000/luggage (currently about $1). I would recommend that you hire a cab ( Blue bird or Silver bird ) or have friends pick you up. It's so different driving in Jakarta.

Food you should not miss is local food. Try Satay House Senayan or Pondok Laguna. A few of my favorite food including satay, soto kudus, tahu telur, tahu kipas.
Other than those two restaurants, you can go to Urban Kitchen in Senayan where they also sell local foods. Some food are naturally spicy. Like Gudek, they have "krecek" that is spicy. If you don't like hot spicy food, you should ask to put it on the side.

You should also try the tropical fruits like rambutan, jambu, manggis or perhaps durian. I had the best, sweetest mango in Jakarta.

Bathrooms are different too... Unless you live in a hotel, you won't find shower. It's a good idea to bring your own toilet paper for public restrooms and hand sanitizer.

Other than that, enjoy the trip...

What to do in Narita?

Few weeks ago, we went to overseas. In the next few blogs, I will share our experience going to Indonesia and Japan.

I had a 20 hours transit in Japan on my way to Indonesia and stayed at Nikko Narita Hotel. There are not too many things to do around the area but we found out they have a shuttle to go to Narita City. Armed by a map and shuttle schedule, we decided to check out the city.

The shuttle drop us off in front of Comfort Hotel, right by Keisei Station. We took the stairs up and found the train station. Coming from the US, I'm amazed to see Mc Donald's ad right in front of the station... We took a right turn and then left where we could cross a bridge.

It is a nice small town to walk. They have many kind of restaurants around the area, a temple, shops. When we arrived, most of the shops are closed. They have few vending machines on the street which looks so similar than the on in the US. So,... I got to take the picture...


We were looking for local food... so we stopped by Ramen Bayashi for dinner. It's good and reasonably priced. In case you don't speak Japanese, don't worry. They have pictured menu, so you could easily point out what you like.

I still have our crumpled map. I don't have a scanner... I hope this helps give an idea of Narita City.

In case you need to go to Narita airport, you can catch a train from Keisei to Narita. Children elementary school or younger are free. If you're not sure, just ask.
I think for International, you have to go to Terminal 2.
Enjoy the trip...

Textured sterling earrings

New items from Bigib... textured sterling earrings. It's made of round sterling disk, textured and black patina to emphasize the texture.

Another very simple and yet elegant piece. Wouldn't you agree?

Check out http://bigib.etsy.com

New item Kaleidoscope Necklace...

I called it a Kaleidoscope. One of the newest piece I designed for this summer.

It's made of sponge coral, lava, coconut beads, turquoise, coral and sterling spacers. Ends with hand made "S" clasp.

Very rich in colors, textures and yet, it's so elegant.
So new... I still have yet to list it on Etsy...

Would you agree?