My wife and I just received our Schengen Visas today, and to help other Filipinos who would also like to visit the Schengen Area, let me share our experience getting it. We were planning to visit Austria and Germany in May so we figured two months before our planned trip would be a good time…
Moriyama Naotaro’s "Sakura"
Moriyama Naotaro’s Sakura is a classic Japanese song that I associate heavily with the cherry blossoms season (“sakura” is Japanese for cherry blossoms) and with graduation ceremonies. It is definitely one of my favorite Japanese songs and when I see cherry blossoms, this is always the first song that comes to mind. Original Singer: Moriyama…
Watching Pacquiao vs Bradley Match In Japan
On April 10th 11 AM Japan time (10 AM Philippine time). Pacquiao will fight his final match as a professional boxer. His opponent would be a familiar face, Timothy Bradley, with whom he has a 1 win 1 loss record. The question in the mind of most Filipinos in Tokyo would be where to watch…
Visit From A Policeman
The other morning while I was home alone, I heard the apartment doorbell ringing and when I checked the security camera, I saw a policeman waiting outside the building. Normally, I do not answer the doorbell if I’m not expecting a visitor or a delivery, but seeing he was a policeman, I answered and let…
Cannot Connect to bmonline.ph
Last time I went to the Philippine embassy to get my OEC, I was given this sheet containing a link to “www.bmonline.ph“. The lady advised me to start using this website as the embassy will soon stop processing manual applications and everything will be done online. Problem is, it seems I cannot connect to the…
Yiruma – River Flows In You
Yiruma is a recent discovery while I was searching the internet for pianists who play relaxing music. Yiruma’s style reminds me of another famous pianist, David Lanz, in that their music are both relaxing and beautiful even without the overly complex piano routines. When I ran into Yiruma’s “River Flows in You”, I loved it immediately….
Yellow Tokyo
The other day, I took a day off from work to run some errands, getting my OEC from the Philippine embassy, and renewing my Japanese International Driver’s License, both in preparation for my visit to the Philippines. The weather was amazing with clear blue skies, so I decided to bring my trusty camera with me…
Cloud Atlas Theme (Sextet) using Yamaha P-255
The theme song from the Cloud Atlas movie, is one of my favorite piano pieces. It starts slow and relaxing but gradually picks up pace. I did some customizations to this version by adding some strings midway (thanks to the Yamaha P-255), and by returning to the slow and relaxing part after the crescendo. I…
Moneytree Review
I have been using Moneytree for a couple of weeks now since I posted my first blog about it, and I believe I am ready to give my short review. Who Moneytree is for? This is for both Japanese and foreigners living in Japan, who want to manage their personal finances including expenses, on their…
Tax Free Counters and 220v Rice Cookers
The other day, I went to visit BicCamera in Yurakucho and saw this floor plan near the escalators. Notice anything weird? In the English and Chinese translations, you can clearly see two items highlighted in red – Tax Free Counter, and 220v Rice Cookers. Tax Free Counter, I would understand why tourists would be looking…
Moneytree – Promising New Personal Budgeting App
On the way home from work, I chanced upon this article featuring how this small Tokyo startup is getting funding from big Japanese banks — Mizuho, MUFJ, and SMBC, not to mention Salesforce, which is one of the world’s largest technology companies. This is notable news in Japan because Japanese banks are notoriously risk-averse, and…
Chuo-ku Tennis Association
The Chuo-ku Tennis Association is an association of people who play tennis and either work or live in Chuo-ku. I became a member of the Chuo-ku Tennis Association a few years ago to be able to join tournaments hosted by the association. They usually have singles, doubles, and mixed tournaments at the Ariake Tennis Forest…
Enrico in Tokyo 