Jamie Chua says Japan is best place to travel with a Birkin as it's clean and safe, shares Tokyo itinerary

Ever been too afraid to bring out your luxury bag because of how precious it is? 

Socialite Jamie Chua, who is famous for her insane Hermes bag collection, feels the same way about travelling overseas with her Birkin bags. 

Previously, the 50-year-old didn't even dare fly with her more expensive luxury bags for safety and hygiene reasons.

"After much deliberation, I decided that I should use a different bag this time on the plane because I am always using my Dior book tote.

"It's light and I can just chuck all my stuff – my cameras and everything else – inside and I can just put it on the floor and I don't feel heartache when my bag is on the floor," she confessed in a YouTube video uploaded on Aug 25. 

But it's different when she goes to Japan. 

Calling it "the best place and the cleanest place on earth", she has no qualms about bringing along her Birkin. 

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Even her boyfriend, Terence Koh, thinks it's a good idea and told her: "Just use it! If there is anywhere in the world that is safe for you to use your bags, it's Japan." 

"Coming from the man who tells me don't bring this, don't wear that, no jewellery, when we travel and stuff. When he says all right, let's go!" she said cheerily. 

For her trip, Jamie showed off two Birkin bags that she brought along. 

One was her B35 canvas in light blue and beige, which she used on the plane. 

The other was a "unique piece" that she would only dare to bring to a place as safe as Japan. 

One luggage? No problem 

Another new thing that Jamie did for this holiday was to only bring one luggage. 

"For the first time ever, you have one luggage. How is that possible?" said an amused Terence when the couple were at the airport lounge. 

"That has never happened before," admitted Jamie, adding that because it's summer, she packed just the exact amount of items that she needed for the trip. 

And her helpers, who were the ones who helped her put everything in her one suitcase, did such a good job that a shocked Jamie had to double check with them if they had missed out on an extra suitcase. 

Coffee, food and more coffee

As this was a short trip, the couple prioritised two things — good food and coffee. 

They started off by visiting a restaurant that holds great memories for Terence — L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon at Roppongi Hills. 

"This is the first Michelin-starred restaurant I've ever been to many, many years ago before it became so famous," he said fondly.

Another Michelin-starred establishment they visited was Le Sputnik, a French-Japanese restaurant. 

"[It has] one Michelin star, highly recommended by friends," Terrence shared. 

They also spoilt themselves with sushi and teppanyaki at the famous Atelier Morimoto XEX. 

And as Terence has recently been very into coffee, they visited quite a number of coffee spots during their holiday. 

"Tokyo has the best specialised coffee places, single-origin coffees and all that, so we're going to check some of them out. 

Some of the many places they tried include Ash Coffee, Higuma Doughnuts x Coffee Wrights Omotesando, Number Sugar, and Downstairs Coffee. 

And of course, they had to pay a visit to the iconic Dior Cafe, where they sipped on $20 lattes and nibbled on macaroons. 

Terence did point out that it was not real latte art and the designs on the coffee were stencilled on. 

But that didn't faze Jamie. 

"This is good enough for me because you know, it's a feast for my eyes," she said. 

ALSO READ: Here's her itinerary, including a catch-up with Sharon Au and multiple trips to Louis Vuitton

melissateo@asiaone.com