Visit Japan: Oreshiki Jun Tokyo Station

During our trip to Tokyo, there was one stop we had to make — Ramen Street in Tokyo Station. It’s a must-visit for ramen lovers and a hotspot known for having some of the best bowls of ramen in the city, all conveniently located under one roof.  Tokyo Station is located in the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda City, right in the heart of central Tokyo, Japan.

View of Tokyo Station from across the street

Since it was lunchtime when we arrived, the area was buzzing with hungry locals and travelers alike. Lines stretched out in front of most of the restaurants, a testament to the quality of the food. 

The boys were starving, and we knew we couldn’t wait too long, so we scoped out a spot with a shorter line — Oreshiki Jun Tokyo Station.

They’re known for their rich, flavorful tonkotsu ramen, and they definitely did not disappoint. One of our sons went with a classic bowl of ramen, 

but the rest of us opted for tsukemen — thick, chewy noodles served separately from the broth for dipping. It was delicious. The broth was bold and silky, packed with umami, and paired perfectly with the chilled noodles.

While we may have chosen Oreshiki Jun for the short wait, we left with full bellies and no regrets. If you find yourself navigating Tokyo Station, don’t skip Ramen Street. Whether you’re a ramen purist or up for trying tsukemen, it’s worth the detour.

 

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Recently Opened in Wahiawa - Cha Cha's Indian Curry

I did a Google search for Wahiawa restaurants and discovered Cha Cha's Indian Curry recently opened up, so we decided to get take-out.

Naan

Veggie Samosas

The Samosas were not as crisped as I had hoped - they were a little mushy in parts, but the filling was plentiful and seasoned just right.

Everyone in our family had different favorites.  My favorite was the Chicken Curry.  It was an onion, tomato, garlic, ginger sauce that had a nice balance of acidity and fat.  The aromatic spices only added to the deliciousness of the curry.

Chicken Curry

Chicken Biryani

One of my kids loved the Chicken Biryani, which was a rice casserole that included spiced chicken.

Butter Chicken

The Butter Chicken had a noticeable sweetness, more than others that I've tried elsewhere, but it was still a pleasing dish.

Chana Masala

Rice

Overall I thought the food was great!  Cha Cha's is another welcomed new addition to Wahiawa!

Cha Cha's Indian Curry
935 California Ave.

Wahiawa, HI 96786

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My First Time Flying Cathay Pacific

When we went to Hong Kong last year, we flew on Cathay Pacific.  I did a lot of research on what would be the best airline, and even though it was pricey compared to the popular budget airlines, I read a lot of great things about Cathay Pacific, and I was also able to convert AMEX points to Asia Miles.  

It was our first time flying on that airline, and I was quite impressed, despite a few minor negatives.

One was that our seats had been changed weeks after I booked our HND-HKG RT flights.  It wasn't a plane change or anything and I'm not sure why and how (if it was done by a human or computer), but I was able to revert them back to the original seats I had chosen upon booking.

Check-in was a breeze via the app, and although upon leaving HKG I accidentally tried to get bag tags at the premium cabin kiosk (I didn't realize there was a specific one for premium cabin and main cabin), the agent was super helpful.

They do have lower carry-on weight limits, and I thought they were going to weigh our carry-ons, but they did not. 

I was impressed how quickly they boarded a 300+ passenger plane in just 30 minutes.  Out of HND, boarding was exactly on time.  Out of HKG, boarding was slightly delayed.

The main cabin seating was just fine - I was comfortable, and the food was great.  Of course I loved the ice cream.  

They had seat-back entertainment, and one of the options was the ability to view the live cameras on the plane exterior, so you could see what you're flying over and even watch the landing (going to HKG, we had an aborted landing due to ATC, so watching the plane nearly touch down and have to pull back up was a little nerve-wracking).   

The only other negative was on the flight to HKG - one of the FAs was not very customer service-oriented, being rude to some passengers and even bypassed us when passing out blankets and the immigration cards.  I didn't realize he was passing out immigration cards until after we were near immigration, when I saw people filling out the pieces of paper that he was holding.  

I was actually surprised he nor anyone on the plane made no announcement about the cards, so we were rushing to fill them out at immigration since we had booked a car hire to take us to the hotel and didn't want to be late.

Despite that, the other FAs we encountered were great, and I simply loved just how efficient and high-tech their overall operations are.  

Out of HKG, they actually offer baggage drop at some of the train stations so you don't need to lug them all the way to the airport.

Would definitely fly them again!

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Hawaiian Airlines - Why I Only Book One-Ways

I fly Hawaiian Airlines frequently.  I choose Hawaiian primarily because of the people, more than anything else - they are truly some of the nicest people, welcoming with aloha (and many are my former co-workers).  

One of the biggest challenges with the 2023 system "upgrade" was that for a long while, we did not have the ability to change flights online.  I'd have to call each time I want to change my flight, which is often.   

And during one of the calls when trying to change my flight - I learned something new (others may have known this, but I didn't).

If you are trying to just change one way on a round-trip flight, the entire trip will be re-priced, not just the segment you are trying to change.  So even if the new one-way flight you want to change to is the same price as the original flight, if the other segment has increased in price for the same exact flight, you'll have to pay for the increase.

Confused?  I sure was.  

For instance (prices are not what I actually paid, but just noted for simplicity's sake) - Flight A1 HNL-ITO was $70 and Flight B1 ITO-HNL was $70 when booked.  I wanted to change Flight B1 ITO-HNL to a different time - Flight B2, and when I checked the price online, it was the same price ($70) as the original flight I booked.  

However, when I called to change the flight, I was told that there was a change fee of $80!  I advised the agent that I checked the flight and saw that the price was the same as the original flight, and she said "The HNL-ITO Flight A1 had changed in price (to $150), and we have to re-price the entire trip."

Looking back, I always wondered why I was charged price increases even though when I priced the flight segments they were the same, and I thought it was because of dynamic pricing for that segment.  

In any case, the agent suggested that I take the flight to ITO, and then as soon as I land, change the ITO-HNL flight because the HNL-ITO portion will not need to be re-priced anymore.  

So that's what I did, while crossing my fingers that the ITO-HNL portion did not go up in price (thankfully it did not). 

Ever since, I've been booking one-ways.  I don't know about AS' system (I haven't flown them yet!) so not sure how they reprice tickets.  

Hopefully this knowledge will save you some $.  I shared the information with a friend and she had no idea about this repricing process either!  

Now . . . if only HA would offer credit online for when there is a price decrease like other airlines do! 

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Visit Disneyland: Our Experience with Early Entry

I always thought the people who rope-dropped or did the "Magic Hour" or "Magic Mornings," as it was called years before, were crazy.  Whenever we would visit Disneyland, we'd just take our time getting to the park, maybe around 9am or 10am.  Even though our kids would wake up early (until this day they are always up by 6am; 7am at the latest), we'd just have a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, then walk across the street to Disney.  We did have Annual Passports which eased the pressure off of us having to wake up early or rushing for Fast Passes (as it was called back then), but since it seems way more competitive now to get on certain rides, we thought we'd try and experience Early Entry, while also using Lightning Lane Multi Pass.  

Guests staying at Disneyland Resort hotel get Early Entry.  Early Entry is now only 30 minutes, and parks are designated Early Entry depending on the day of the week.

In terms of Early Entry, the Magical Tour Guide YouTube videos helped immensely in guiding us where to go.

Through her videos, I discovered how to get to the security checkpoint to Downtown Disney via the Grand Californian from Pixar Place Hotel, where we stayed.  

The first day of our Early Entry was a Thursday, which meant Disneyland.  We got to the security checkpoint at 620am, and the line was already about 15 people deep!  The security guards will brief everyone about going through the checkpoint and ask to see everyone's hotel keys or online confirmations, as only the Early Entry guests would be allowed through at 645am.

In just a few minutes we were at the main gates for Disneyland.  The gates do not open until 720am, even though Early Entry starts at 730am.  Also, there is no designated gate for Early Entry guests.  All rope-dropping and Early Entry guests are mixed in with each other, unlike at Universal Studios Hollywood, where only SNW Early Entry guests can enter through the admission gates before the general admission guests.

Once through the gates, you have to look for the roped off areas for Early Entry guests, at which you will have to swipe your key card and let a cast member know how many in your party.  

I haven't dug deep enough as to why they do the entry this way (combined with rope-droppers), especially since I've read how some people were not able to get through security and / or the gates until 15 minutes already into Early Entry since they are mixed in with rope-droppers, so it's highly recommended you get through security and line up at the gates really early.

We went to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland and got through four rides (Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White's Enchanted Wish, Pinocchio's Daring Journey).  Early Entry rides may not always be operable during the 30 minutes (Space Mountain was not yet open during Early Entry).

When it was DCA Early Entry day, it was the same process, but some of us got to security earlier (by 6am and ended up being the second in line), and the rest of us joined in by 630am.  We ended up doing two rides - Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission Breakout! and Web Slingers (a new-to-us ride) during Early Entry.  We also tried rope-dropping Radiator Springs after the rides, but the line was already 2 hours long by the time some of our family members got in line. so we just decided to buy Lightning Lane Single Pass (one of two rides at the resort you can buy passes for).

As stated in the Magical Tour Guide videos, there is a separate entrance / security to DCA, but she notes that's not the quickest way to get into DCA for Early Entry, especially if you're trying to get to Guardians or Web Slingers, or Rope Drop for Radiator Spring Racers.  

Even the security guard and another guest in line confirmed this - the quickest way is to go through Downtown Disney and enter through the main gates.

I am glad we experienced Early Entry, but I will say that during our visit, because we had Multi Pass Lightning Lane, the Early Entry wasn't worth it.

We were able to secure Lightning Lane passes for everything we wanted to go on both days we were there (we also had Park Hopper), and the rides we did Early Entry for, with the exception of Guardians, had decent wait times throughout the day (for me, decent means less than 30 minutes).  

There were rides we did multiple times even without Lightning Lane too (Astro Blasters, Star Tours).

And of course there are the Single Rider lines as well that minimize wait times.

If you don't buy Lightning Lane Multi Passes, the Early Entry could definitely be worth it for you,  But for us, we think we'll stick to Lightning Lane and spend some extra time in bed the next time. 

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Visit Disneyland Resort: MagicBand+

Not too many people had MagicBand+ at Disneyland Resort, from what I noticed, but that didn't stop us from getting them.  

You can use the MagicBand+ to scan into the entry gates or scan your Lightning Lane passes.  No need to take out your phone and open up the Disneyland app or your photos app for a screenshot of your admission ticket or Lightning Lane pass. 

It's easy to sync the MagicBand+ to everyone in your party through the Disneyland app.

It's rechargeable, and one full charge is supposed to last 1-3 days, but we'd charge them at the end of each night.

Another fun thing about the MagicBand+ is that it'll blink and flash in all sorts of colors depending on where you are, whether at certain rides or shows.  You can also use to link PhotoPass photos and other experiences.

It's totally not a necessary thing to have, but it's a nice-to-have for the convenience.  

One thing I did read prior to getting them is that they have a tendency to fall off your wrist, especially on certain rides.  So, I brought mini rubber bands and hair ties to secure the ends on everyone's wrist just as an extra precaution.  

You can find the MagicBand+ at various shops throughout the resort (we bought ours from World of Disney at Downtown Disney, but also saw them at STOR-E in Pixar Place).

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Lady Elaine

Last Friday, my gal pals and I finally carved out some time for a much-needed mom’s night out, and we couldn’t have picked a better spot than Lady Elaine. From the moment we walked in, I was excited. The cozy, welcoming vibe and the incredible aroma drifting out from the kitchen instantly made me feel like we were in for something special.

The service was warm and genuinely friendly — the kind that makes you feel like a regular even on your first visit. We opted to dine family style, which was perfect for our group and let us sample a variety of dishes.

We started with the bread and butter, featuring bread from the local Bread Shop. The bread alone would’ve won me over, but the spread it came with? To. Die. For.

Next came the savory plates that we all devoured:

Roasted eggplant risotto 

Charred tahini cabbage 

Chermoula shrimp 

  

Hen of the Woods

Each dish had its own vibe, and there wasn’t a single bite we didn’t enjoy.

Now, we are dessert people, so naturally we ordered all three of the dessert offerings (no regrets!):

• Coconut whipped panna cotta 
• Ricotta fritters 
• Pineapple phyllo cake 

I can’t wait to come back and check out their lunch menu — if it’s anything like dinner, I know it’s going to be amazing.

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LADY ELAINE

2752 Woodlawn Drive

808-888-3030

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