An Exceptional Tree

These are just the roots

There are two huge Banyan trees in front of the Honolulu Zoo. In fact, a number of them scattered in the city. I've often wondered why the trees  in Honolulu are very well maintained and it's only on this trip that I learned the local government has an "Exceptional Tree Program".

A whole bunch of trees around the city are part of  the program, and anyone can apply to have  a tree "exceptionalized"--whether it's in a public place or in their own property. To be considered an exceptional tree a criteria has to be met--it should be historic or ancient, aesthetically pleasing, etc etc, complete details can be found on the state's website. When the tree has been declared "exceptional", it will be cared for and protected by the state.

Being a highly touristic state, the city  government realized early on that trees contribute to the beauty of Honolulu, and were alarmed that rapid development would destroy heritage-type trees. They passed the "exceptional tree law" in 1995. You can say Honolulu was an early-mover in the green movement.

With this program in place, there is a general awareness of tree preservation.  Many ordinary trees will have a chance to grow into exceptional ones, specially since the local government has made trees one of its priorities. That's what I call smart and forward thinking.

The committee created to oversee the exceptional tree program has to include a certified arborist and a practicing landscape architect, and the rest are chosen based on their involvement and interest in community beautification. All these committee members are appointed by the mayor. No wonder Honolulu looks like one big manicured garden--they leave the research and recommendations to the experts.

Unfortunately in Manila, decisions involving the city's aesthetics are left with goverment officials, some of whom have absolutely no taste or inclination towards things beautiful. We are then subjected to horrific fuschia road signs and public urinals in Makati,  baby blue flyovers in Ortigas, and diamante-shaped lamposts on Roxas Boulevard.

It's my wish that the new president will appoint a beautification committee--okay, that sounds frivolous for a third world country--perhaps he can appoint an "urban aesthetics committee" composed of respected architects and designers who can make tasteful recommendations. Then we will really be on the road to recovery (from bad taste).

New Toy!

Photo from here, which includes a full macbook pro review

I just got myself a Macbook Pro 13. I'm still figuring out the clicks and scrolls but I love it already. No new posts yet because I haven't migrated all my photos from my old macbook yet. Have to get a firewire or ethernet to ethernet cable, and haven't been able to fit that into our busy vacation schedule either.

Meanwhile the top destination of the kids on this vacation is...the Apple store! They ask to go "to the MAC store"  every single day. At least I can shop while they are in there. Mac (store), my new babysitter.

My Future Beach House

Kawayan Cove in Nasugbu

Eye candy in cool colors. Look at all the shades of blue and green above and see why they inspire interiors such as these.

Specially now, when most homes are here are  mostly "modern asian" with white, beiges and browns, wouldn't it be nice to have something different? Colorful, playful...yet sophisticated.

I would entertain you on my back porch, overlooking the South China Sea. I will serve you fresh coconut juice in their shells, and you will hang out with me until the sun goes down.

Then you will go home to your house next door, since we'll be neighbors. And we will have lots of fun as our families create memories together.

(Interior are shots from here)

National Children's Castle, Tokyo

The National Children's Castle or Kodomo no Shiro is another place just for children. It's very close to the Jido kaikan, and near the Omotesando mall. This place has a number floors also with lots of things to do--workshops, computers, book and video libraries, open playgrounds, large halls, theaters and more.

The kids spent most of the time playing with two expat kids in the mini-kitchen on the third floor while their moms chatted away with each other. Across the hall on the same floor is the Fine Arts Studio. Here again they spent a lot of time painting on this long white board with different colors of poster paint. I thought this idea was ingenious--a very simple idea, but with maximum impact on the kids. Imagine the freedom of being able to splatter all kinds of paint on a wall--they were thrilled.

Also in the same room was the 'project-of-the-day', creating simple masks. Behind this creative room was a room full of computers with video games. We spent our last remaining minutes here until closing time, leaving still a big area of the Children's Castle unexplored.

When we talk about Japan, the kids mention the Jido kaikan and the Children's Castle (aside from Disneysea of course). I know they will always have good memories of Japan, having experienced special places created specifically for kids. 

Jido Kaikan, a Kid's Wonderland in Tokyo

The girls loved this place in Tokyo--the Jido Kaikan or the Tokyo Municipal Children's Hall. There are five floors of fun for them, but since we only had a couple of hours left before it closed at 5 pm, we stayed on the fourth level which had the arts and crafts stations and the music room.

 one of the projects they made

Everything here is in Japanese but we were able to figure out what needed to be done by just looking at the very clear step-by-step visuals.

In this floor, there were lots of craft stations, each prepared with materials for different projects. The staff was on hand to teach the kids how to create more complicated projects.

Being artistic and creative like, ahem, their mom (okay, and also their dad)  they really liked hanging out here and I had to drag them out of the fourth floor to continue exploring other areas. There are science and computer games in another floor, woodworking areas, ride-on toys for smaller kids, and on the roof-top, yet another playground.

It seems that there is only one Jido Kaikan in Tokyo, although other areas have what they call Jido kans, or "children's halls"--none of them are as big as the Jido kaikan. I saw a lot of moms here, chatting with each other while their kids played, so it's also a moms' gathering area.

This can easily be a whole afternoon affair. You can probably bring the kids here in the morning and they'd find something that will keep them excited for many hours.

Between floors, there are eating areas with tables and chairs. I think there are a couple of restaurants in the building but they were closed when we were there. There are a few vending machines with drinks and ice-cream. The best thing about the the Jido Kaikan is it's absolutely FREE! It's a state funded and run establishment open to all children.

Getting here is easy; we took the subway from our hotel to the Shibuya station, then walked a couple of blocks until we found it.  After the place closed and we were walking back to the Shibuya station, we passed by what looked like a cooking studio.

The women were having a cooking lesson! A quick thought passed-- If I had planned better, I could have brought the kids earlier to the Jido kaikan, left them with the hubby, and then taken a cooking lesson (ok, ambitious travel planning, I know).  I'm sure that the cooking class was all in Japanese, but I'm sure I could've just watched and learned, just like in the Jido kaikan.

At least I have a smattering of a plan, for the next Tokyo trip.

Tokyo-to Jido kaikan 1-18-24 Shibuya -ku, Shibuya, Tokyo

Miracosta Hotel at Tokyo Disneysea

 

My Tokyo friend told me that Disneyland is the number one dating destination in Japan. The young people don't mind waiting hours in line for ride--in fact, the longer the line, the better for them! Not for us, who need to get as much done in one day.

On one Tokyo trip with the whole family, we spent our last night at the Miracosta Hotel right in Disneysea.

 

We got there right after lunch, checked in and then explored the park, which by that time was swarming with people. Since our hotel was right in Disneysea, the folks could go back and rest when they were tired. When it got dark and the crowds thinned, we had the whole park to ourselves.

We did the rides over and over again...and then again! And when we had our fill, it was nice to just walk back to the hotel instead of taking a long train ride back into Tokyo. The next morning, we enjoyed Disneyland before the crowd got in too.

The Miracosta opens out right into Disneysea. Our room had two double beds, one which even had a trundle --so four of us fit comfortably in one room. Our group got three rooms, two of them connecting to each other. I was still renovating the house when we stayed here so I took lots of photos of interior details.

On other trips, we did Disneysea and Disneyland only for the day, so we went by subway and then took the train. It's about an hour commute. It's very efficient, but we just have to plan our return well so that the kids are not too tired for the trip home.

Staying at a hotel in the Disney area rounded off our Disney experience and helped us maximize our park visits. Glad that our schedule allowed us to do that then.

Sofitel Dalat Palace

This is the lobby of the Sofitel in Dalat. I talked about their mirrors here, but I want to post more shots of the public areas. As Domino's manifesto said--"copy from homes you like"--lets add hotels to that too!

This is one of the function rooms in the lobby with dinner/lunch set up for 10. Notice the paintings on easels as decor. They weren't done yet when I peeked because the artwork was just scattered all around the room, some still on the floor. Unless that was intentional!

 I like the effect of the double drapes. The contrast of elegance in a countryside setting is what attracts me to this.

I want to put sheer curtains from my living room to the powder room. The interiors of the Sofitel public areas were charming specially when candlelit at night--but I think they were taking this "traditional" thing a bit too seriously. For example the bathrooms of the guestrooms were only equipped with bathtubs and not showers. The men were not too thrilled.

I was also surprised to see that the rooms were not air-conditioned, and they weren't equipped with ceiling fans (they had chandeliers). If it wasn't that cool a night in Dalat,  you'd have to open the windows so it wouldn't be too stuffy. But they had no screens!

The Sofitel is high on tradition, but not too high on comfort. The Mercure du Parc next door is also managed by the Sofitel group.  Although it also has no aircon and rooms can get stuffy, you can ask to an electric fan and they'll provide an antique-looking one. (I guess you could do that for the Sofitel too)

 

 The Mercure window also has no screen and from the looks of it, you're not encouraged to open it

The prices are almost a third of the Sofitel so of course the room is much simpler but at least it has a shower stall, even if it's the same one as the bathtub. 

 Mercure bathroom

Oh, the spa treatments at the Mercure also cost much less. We had massages at both places and we preferred the service and prices of the Mercure. So if you're looking for a basic good deal, go for the Mercure, but if you are looking for romantic ambience, then it's the Sofitel Dalat Palace.

In front of the Sofitel

Missing Domino

 Louis XVI and Eero, together

I took this photo about a year ago, at the magazine stand of the Singapore airport. No, I don't make it a habit to take photos of magazines and NOT buy the magazine, but I was just in transit and didn't want to be carrying yet another magazine on the plane. This photo spoke to me--I love the chandelier, the old chairs, and the modern table! It's so...Domino and Elle Decor. But this photo I think is from Martha Stewart Living, I can read the small print on the bottom left of the photo.

My two all-time favorite magazines are Domino and Elle Decor. Okay, since Domino shut down, only Elle Decor. I hope that doesn't shut down too!

Back issues I got at Book Sale for P65 ($1.50) each

I really liked what Domino stood for--it's exactly what I think and feel, so I feel validated reading this which I believe was taken from their (now gone) website.

Domino’s Manifesto

• Home Should Make You Happy!
• We swear by the 3 R’s: repaint, repaper, reupholster
• Steal ideas from other people’s houses
• Even the insides of the closets & cabinets can be beautiful
• It’s ok to NOT BE finished
• TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS—ALWAYS!
• A chandelier is as timeless as a black dress
• Renters need not be second class citizens
• Sometimes your mistakes become your greatest inspirations
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO MIX STYLES (Louis XIV and Eero Saarinen should hang out more often)

I copied the above from one of my favorite blogs, Paris Apartment.

Good thing Domino published this book. Lots of wonderful photos in it. I found it at National Bookstore for P995. So before you order online and pay top dollar, find out if the National near you has it. Every design library should have this book.

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to find Domino back issues at Book Sale. There's one very near my home. Sometimes they have it for P65 only! I also score a lot of old Elle Decor there. Then I leave all my old design magazines at the beach house so guests can enjoy them (and few have swiped them--I know who you are..)  I shouldn't be telling you this because I'm creating my own competition.

The magazines are only few months old, but it wouldn't matter to me if they are even more than a year old because the style never is out of date, and the resources are still usable to me. Elle Decor is about P110 ($2.20). I never buy full price locally because I think it's a rip-off, but I one of the reasons I get excited for US trips is because I can update my magazines. Cheap thrills or what?