March 2010 Archives

Okinawa & Fukuoka 8th March 2010

By
Jhui
on March 28, 2010 9:31 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
Last morning in Okinawa! Went to eat at Makishi Public Market!


Had Umibudou-don and my favourite Jimami Tofu~


Almost couldnt catch our flight back to Fukuoka but luckily we managed to. I was so pissed off that day but I managed to control my anger.
Reached Fukuoka and decided to go to Kurume to eat croquettes by Uozen because it was introduced in the guidebook but we were too late. :(


Ate ramen instead, which was also featured in the guidebook.


Tiffany, Toku and Sojung.


There's seriously nothing else to do in Kurume so we went to eat gyoza too.


Soy sauce + sesame seeds + leek = best gyoza sauce ever.


Had fried gyozas and steamed gyozas. Both were damn good.


Went back to Tenjin because Kurume's fucking boring and did a little shopping. Stopped for a rest and had ice-cream~ I seriously dont know how much we ate that day...


Planned to eat ramen at Ichiran originally but the outlet we wanted to go to was under renovation....NOOOOOO.


Got onto the night bus and this is what I saw when we reached Hiroshima.


wtf??! It was 26 degrees in Okinawa and I came back to a snowy Hiroshima. Funny how temperatures differ that much in one country.

Okinawa 7th March 2010

By
Jhui
on March 17, 2010 12:49 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
According to my Okinawa food guide, you have to try Jef's Nuyaru Burger(burger with bitter gourd and luncheon meat) and it so happens that we stayed near this Jef outlet so yup, I went to try it. Ordered the Nuyaru Burger and Goya Ring(bitter gourd rings). They were so fantastic! Almost died of happiness~


Visited the Himeyuri Peace Museum.


And also the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park.


There were lots of middle and high school students when we were at the park and I seriously do not know why they even bother to go there. Or rather, why the teachers bother bringing them there. They dont even look nor read the exhibits but just talk crap among themselves and try to get out of the place as fast as they could...wtf. Felt like slapping them. Bunch of noisy irritants.


Had lunch at this quaint cafe called Fuju. You get a marvellous sea view from that cafe but it was too chilly to sit outside that day.


Beef curry rice~


Went to this UNESCO World Heritage Site called Sefa-utaki after lunch.


I was being silly in English because I thought that everyone else was Japanese and wouldnt understand me but it turned out that the group of people next to us was from America...FML.
No idea what pose is this. We were just doing what Toku told us to do. Lol


Sooki Soba!!! Another must-eat item according to my guide. It's basically spareribs soba but the Okinawan soba tastes different from the ones you get in other parts of Japan.

Okinawa 6th March 2010

By
Jhui
on March 16, 2010 2:19 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
Leaving Zamami Island.


Walked along Kokusai-dori while waiting for Toku to get the rental car.


Before going to Okinawa, I actually bought a guidebook to look up on erm...Okinawan food. From the first day we were there, I kept going on about wanting to eat A&W's Mozza Burger. I think the others finally couldnt stand me anymore so we stopped by A&W.
The burger wasnt as good as I thought it would be though...


At Churaumi Aquarium. Got a discount because we arrived after 4pm. Yay~


Favourite fish of the day~


Posing with this huge-ass squid. How did it swim?!!


I'm not sure if we were helluva lucky or what but the dolphin show usually ends at 4pm but they had an extra show at 6pm that day! Dolphins are so cute XD


I want to keep a dolphin as a pet! Can anyone please help me? Lol.


Went to Shuri Castle at night because I read that it gets lighted up at night. Kept getting lost and finally found it at the end. Picture of us taking a rest.

Okinawa 5th March 2010

By
Jhui
on March 16, 2010 8:41 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
Got up early to take a ferry to Zamami Island.


Didnt have time to eat a proper breakfast so we bought a bunch of Sata Andagi to munch on the ferry.


The ferry ride was however, like 2 hours long, so everyone was on the verge of dying of hunger by the time we reached Zamami...lol.


Trying to push Andrew overboard.


At this little eatery at Zamami! Smiling really happily because we finally got to eat! For some reason, I forgot what a cheeseburger was and actually asked the lady there "Is there only cheese in a cheeseburger?". She looked at me as if I were an idiot but explained to me what it was. Only after opening the wrapper then I realised how stupid my question was...


Iced zenzai, which is basically ice kacang. Zenzai is usually eaten hot in Japan but because Okinawa's so hot, people there eat zenzai with ice. How not to get reminded of Singapore??!


Nyan! Cutest cat I saw in Okinawa. There are like seriously lots of cats in Okinawa...erm, like Singapore...wtf.


The port of Zamami.


At Furuzamami Beach! As March is still off-season, there was like practically nobody on the beach. Felt like as if we owned the beach! Damn cool~
Walked around the beach and the guys decided that they didnt want to wear slippers and they soon realised that it was a big mistake because the rocks/sands on Zamami Island are big and difficult to walk on without shoes...lol.


Tiffany, Andrew and me burying Toku underneath the sand~


No idea why but someone suggested walking across the sea to the other part of the beach. It was fine at first because it was low tide but the water got higher and higher as we walked back. The waves were pretty big as well and I was really scared that I was going to die there.


Dinner was scrumptious! Lots of food and all the girls couldnt finish the meat so the guys were extra happy because they got to eat more.


Rokki, the guy who works at the place we stayed, brought us to see yakou-mushi and stars. Most of us saw shooting stars except this other guy and me...wtf.
Drank awamori again at night~ whee~

Okinawa 4th March 2010

By
Jhui
on March 13, 2010 8:44 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
Flew from Fukuoka to Okinawa on 4th March~! First time and probably the last time(because it's so expensive and kinda inaccessible) in Okinawa~!!!
Arrived at Kokusai-dori, the main street in Naha City.


My first impression of Okinawa was that it's like Singapore. Not sure why but that's the feeling I got.
At the dormitory where the 5 of us stayed for like 3 nights.


Shared taco rice for lunch!!! It was really spicy but delicious!


Went to Nami no Ue Beach after lunch and everyone was pretty much disappointed by it because there was lots of construction going on behind the beach...everyone except me. I personally dont really like beaches so it didnt really matter to me. So while my friends frolicked in the water, I sat on the sand and surfed the net with my phone...whee~ That is, until I got pulled in the water by my friends.


Tried Awamori(Okinawan alcohol) for the first time during dinner. The one that we had was like 20~30% alcohol and the owner of the restaurant also let us try this 40% alcohol content awamori too. It was so freaking strong but I didnt get high at all because I paced myself this time round.


Had lots of Okinawan food that night and they were all freaking delicious!
(Top left)Rafute, which is basically boiled pork. It may look disgusting with all those fats but trust me, this dish was so fucking good. It didnt taste greasy/oily at all and the meat was so soft and yummy~
(Top right) Goya-champuru, bitter gourd sauteed with tofu.
(Bottom left) Sashimi!!!
(Bottom right) Mimiga, which is erm...pig's ear.


(Top left)Umibudou, a kind of seaweed.
(Top right) Jimami Tofu, tofu made with peanuts. My favourite dish!
(Bottom left) Gurukun
(Bottom right) Some tofu topped with raw fish. I didnt really like it because the fish was too fishy and I had a hard time trying to bite through the bones.


Met two professors from Ryukyu University and a publisher while at the restaurant and we spent some time talking and drinking with them. They even gave us a treat to Okinawa Soba. Gochisousamadeshita!

Sozza's farewell dinner/party 9th March 2010

By
Jhui
on March 13, 2010 12:52 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
It was snowing like mad two days ago for some strange reason and the roads were covered with snow. Nobody cleared the snow immediately because nobody expected the snow in the first place. It was Sozza's farewell dinner so I braved the cold and trudged through the snow to get to the restaurant. If it wasnt a farewell dinner, I die also wont go.


How to walk you tell me?! My shoes were totally soaked and my feet were all wet and disgusting after walking for like 10minutes and so I went to the supermarket to get rain boots and new socks before heading down to the restaurant.


Everyone had already finished eating by the time I arrived so I tried my best to finish my food fast. Ordered this okonomiyaki called "Gratin" because it's made with cheese and topped with white sauce. Damn yummy! I'm going to have this everytime I go there from now on.


Cant remember who made this but yup, snowman peeing.


Went over to the guys' dorm to drink because there's security cameras in the girls' dorm and no guys are allowed over there and my dorm's too far away. First time in the guys' dorm and seriously, the security there sucks...lol.


Me, Tiffany, Andrew.


Kuma-chan getting sekuhara-ed...wtf.


There was like vodka, whisky, wine, chu-hi and beer that day. I only bought one chu-hi because I wasnt planning to drink much but I didnt even get to drink my chu-hi because Tiffany drank it all up...wtf. Ended up drinking other people's alcohol because I'm a cheapo and it was too cold and wet to go out and get more alcohol.


I have no idea why but Sozza kept feeding me alcohol that day. Then again, I didnt pay for it so...(dont call me cheapo hor!)


And more alcohol...wtf.


I wasnt wasted at the end of the day but I was a little tipsy. A little too tipsy in fact...to the extent that I accidentally chipped Sozza's tooth...


Felt so bad for doing that that I started crying. Everyone was seriously wtf-ed at first because I was the one who chipped his tooth and I'm crying when he's not even doing so. Then it started to get a little awkward because I couldnt stop crying. I cried so much that my eyes were like all puffy and red the next day.


Sending Sozza off at the bus stop.

Fukuoka 2nd & 3rd March 2010

By
Jhui
on March 10, 2010 2:04 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
Went to Fukuoka last Tuesday because I wanted to go to Okinawa and there are no flights from Hiroshima.
Took the night bus with Tiffany and arrived at like 6am and tried to find our hostel. Shitty thing was that the hostel only opens at 8.30am so we had to wait outside. During our wait, we realised that someone forgot to lock the door properly so we seized the chance and went inside because it was chilly outside. Doesnt say much about the security of the hostel though.

After checking in, we went to Tenjin to shop but we were 15minutes too early so we sat down for tea and I ordered bubble tea!!! The bubbles were too big for the straw and I almost died trying to suck the bubbles up. Gave up in the end and used a spoon to eat them...haha.


Met up with Andrew in the afternoon and we went to Hawk's Town where I saw this Silver Geisha and shook hands with him/her. Also got a free CD too!


At Kaihin Park trying to do mata-nozoki...wtf.


Spent some time at the beach skipping rocks, drawing on the sand and basically just slacking.


Wonder who drew this? And is that thing on the right a sperm?! wtf.


Ate at a "yatai"(pushcart stall) that night and I think that the person must have had thought that we are damn stingy because we kept sharing everything we ordered.


Went to Dazaifu the following day. Second time there but it was still fun! Ate Umegaemochi and it was so delicious...I want more!!!


For some reason, I bought this. Isnt it so cute?!


Went shopping and I seriously contemplated buying this bag. Then again, not many people would understand the meaning of it if I carry it around in Japan so I decided not to get it in the end.


At Kushida Jinja.

Trip to Kumamoto

By
Jhui
on March 9, 2010 1:49 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
I had just reached home one night when my friend called me.
Friend: Hey, do you want to go to Kyushu?
Me: Sure! When?
Friend: I'll pick you up in 15minutes' time.
Me: Okay!

wtf...so I rushed and prepared 2 days worth of stuff in like less than 15minutes. Went over to my friend's place and discussed plans for Kyushu. Yup, he had like totally no plans whatsoever when he called me but in the end, we managed to decide on going to Kumamoto first thing next morning. And for some weird reason, instead of sleeping, we went to sing karaoke.

Karaoke that night was really fun but I drank/got forced to drink a little too much to the extent that I actually slept next to the toilet bowl for a while because I had to throw up. First time throwing up after drinking too much and seriously, it's not fun at all. Drinking cocktails, beer, plum wine and Japanese sake in less than an hour is a good combination for throwing up, especially if you suck at drinking like me.

Woke up late the following day and set off for Kyushu 3 hours later than our original plan. Stopped over at Fukuoka for lunch and we ate at this ramen place called "Ichiran". One special thing about this place is that you sit at partitioned cubicles so that you can focus properly on eating ramen...wtf.


Best.Ramen.Ever.


Continued our journey to Kumamoto and reached at around 8pm and it was too late to enter any onsens so we decided to have dinner at this place called "Yamatake" instead. Had the chicken barbecue set! It cost like 1600yen but at least there was lots of food.


Stayed at this cottage while we were there and we had the whole freaking cottage to ourselves. It was so freaking cool!!! Drank again that night and I drank too much...AGAIN. Then again, I didnt puke this time round. I sucked at playing games so I had to drink like around 3 cans of beer in 20minutes...wtf. Got drunk, went to sleep and woke up to find that I knocked my little toe against something and it hurt like mad. I also had random bruises which were made by my friends when they were trying to pull me downstairs to drink ...wtf.


Went to 3 onsens the next day to make up for the previous day!
Ikoi Ryokan's onsen! Not supposed to take photos obviously but since there was no one there...tadah!


Next, we went to this cave onsen and the water there was freaking hot. In the cave, we peered through this window and were able to see another onsen and I was asking my friend what's there when someone walked passed the window. We then realised that we were looking at the men's side of the onsen...wtf. Luckily the cave was freaking dark and we couldnt see any unsightly bits.
This is the onsen for both sexes and it's damn pretty lah! Didnt have the courage to enter though...


Third onsen~Yamamizuki. Damn pretty can! The onsen's surrounded by trees and it's really cool! One bad thing is that there might be people hiding behind the trees and you'll never know...


After 3 onsens, we were all freaking hungry and had Jidori-meshi, something Kumamoto's famous for. Oh, and I also got to try horse sashimi for the first time in my life! It was surprisingly good though :D


Passed by Meoto Waterfalls which is basically a place where two waterfalls meet. Also went to Kuju to see Japan's longest suspension bridge but we were too late so we couldnt cross the bridge. :(


On our way to Mt. Aso, we passed by this place with lots of tree sculptures. Wonder who made them.


It was too foggy to see anything at Mt. Aso so we drove all the way to Yufuin but everything was closed by the time we got there so we just had dinner and went home to Hiroshima. Dinner at Yufuin was super fabulous though.
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