Recently in Japan May/June 2009 Category

17th May in Kyoto

By
Jhui
on June 12, 2009 11:10 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
17th May 2009

Went to Kyoto because the Mifune Matsuri was going on. Out of the 4 people who went, one was born in 1989, two were born in 1988 and hence, I was the oldest person in the group. I remember always being the youngest in the group the first time I went to Japan and now I'm always one of the oldest ones...damn...time really flies. :(
While waiting for Pek Sia to arrive, I handed Takaaki and Hiroki some durian sweets that I brought from Singapore and it was really interesting seeing their painful expressions after they ate the sweets. I know that most people cannot stand the smell/taste of durian but seriously, is it that bad?! I myself dont eat durian but I also dont think that the smell and taste are unbearable though...
Hiroki, after eating the durian sweet.


Although it was raining, there were lots of people there that day, mostly old people though. :D Performers were dressed up in period costumes and it was kinda hilarious when they arrived in a car...kind of like a past-present fusion. There were also lots of kid performers that day who were accompanied by their parents and they all had this "erm, remind me what was I supposed to do again?" look written all over their faces XD. So freaking cute!


Me with the two '88 babies, Takaaki and Pek Sia. I'm the only one in the picture who's using the cheapo 100yen umbrella...Somemore, the umbrella doesnt even belong to me...see how cheapo I am?! I didnt want to buy an umbrella during my short stay so I sort of walked in the rain if it wasnt too heavy and borrowed umbrellas from others when it was pouring. In the end, I had to buy a 600yen umbrella because it was raining really heavily and I didnt know anyone nearby to borrow an umbrella. At least the 600yen umbrella looks sexy :D


Most popular award: The Ninja Dog
The dog was so freaking cute and I think that more people looked at the dog than at the matsuri. :P


Next, we went to Kawaramachi because I really wanted to try the famous Matcha Parfait sold at Tsujiri. I've heard lots of good reviews for Tsujiri and was really excited to try it. Tsujiri's so famous that one has to queue up everytime one goes there. I felt kinda bad for making everyone queue up with me, especially since Hiroki was kinda hungry at that time(3pm).
There were a few cases of swine flu in Japan while we were there so Takaaki wore a mask out and with the hat, he could totally go rob someone and nobody will ever recognise him. Haha.


Me with the Tsujiri Matcha Parfait. TOTALLY WORTH THE WAIT. Kinda pricey but hey, it was freaking good! There were at least 5 shiratamas in it and anything with lots of shiratamas in it is good! Top it off with matcha ice-cream, matcha powder, matcha cake, matcha everything and red beans, it's SUPER-DUPER DELICIOUS. :O Wanna eat it again~


Walked around Kawaramachi and we came across this place. In the foreground, there's a love hotel and in the background is a shrine...wtf?!


Next, we went to Yasaka Shrine where I did a love-mikuji and got a lucky one. The only thing I need now is a guy to make that love-mikuji true. :D


Although it rained the whole day while we were in Kyoto, it was really fun! :D When I got home, my host-family did a little birthday celebration for me. Awww~
(Back)Host-dad, Host-mum, Yuki, Asuka
(Front)James, the new student staying at my host-family's house now, Me, Host-grandmother

13th ~ 16th May in Hyogo

By
Jhui
on June 10, 2009 10:20 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
13th May 2009

Went for Coffee Hour on the first day that I was in Hyogo. Coffee Hour is this session where one can erm, drink free coffee, eat free snacks and also mingle around with foreign/Japanese students. When I was on exchange, I had to go for Coffee Hour because that was one of the requirements for the scholarship that I received. However, I didnt really like Coffee Hour because I'm obviously Asian and to most Japanese, Asians=Cannot speak English=Not interested. The most popular people during Coffee Hour are usually the white/blacks/anybody-obviously-not- Asian. Initially, I thought that I was the only one who felt this way but upon talking to other fellow Asians, I realised that they thought the same way too and most of them just ended up not attending Coffee Hour at all.
This time however, I went for Coffee Hour because I figured out that it would be one of the best opportunities for me to meet up with my friends. So like every past Coffee Hour that I went to, I did not make any new friends but anyway, the most important thing for me that day was to chat with my old friends. Also, I managed to give my teacher and the staff there a shock with my appearance. :P
Me, Robyn, Kanako. If you are wondering what I was trying to do in this photo, I was actually making an idiotic face but the person taking the photo somehow managed to cut my mouth out of the picture...-_- Oh wait, I think this was a self-shot photo so yea, hands not long enough...Haha.


14th May 2009

Had a combined birthday party with Robyn at this izakaya located in Umeda called Yumehachi. The food and drinks there were pretty good and there was a wide selection. Best thing was that it was only 2500yen for all- you-can-eat-and-drink. How cheap is that?!
(Left, Clockwise)Kanami, Robyn, Trevor, Kanako, Anna, Tomoko, Roo, Will, Neil, Takuya, Lasse.
People who are not in the picture are Leslie and me, who was actually taking the picture.


Neil, Me, Trevor.
Trevor was the one holding the camera and I think we took at least 8 photos before all 3 of us could be seen in the picture. -_- Trevor kept cutting himself out of the picture. Finally, someone lousier than me at self-shot! Heh.


As alcohol was so cheap, everyone drank ALOT and Anna got a little too drunk so we got a few people to escort her back. :D On the other hand, I was more interested in eating so I didnt drink that much...wtf. In fact, I think I only had 3 glasses of cocktails, one glass of sake and TONS of food. I'm such a glutton...:(

On the way out of the izakaya, Trevor, Neil and Lasse tried to carry me up but I refused to let them do so by sitting on the floor but yea, they managed to do so in the end. I was like struggling and shouting while they were trying to lift me up and NOBODY came to help me...wtf! There were a few salarymen around us but all they did was to look and chuckle to themselves...Oi!

While heading towards the station, Neil wanted me to give him a piggyback ride but I couldnt carry him so Trevor did it instead :D


We broke up into 2 groups on the way to the station where one group went for karaoke and the other went to drink some more -_-. Guess which group I was in?
There were originally 6 people in the drinking group but evil Trevor ditched 3 of them midway so the three of us ended up buying beer from the convenience store and sat opposite Jankara to drink. I remember that the two of them were really loud and attracted LOTS of stares from passers- by. When the two of them went to take a piss in the dark alley, a Japanese guy saw them and starting giggling to himself...wtf! Neil was really drunk after that and it was so hilarious on the way back because he kept thinking that Trevor took the same train as us and asked which station did Trevor alight at. :D


15th May 2009

Went for a takoyaki party held at Kana's house. Was in charge of chopping up the octopus and konnyaku with Erik and our hands seriously smelt bad after that. After eating, Trevor and Kana rented a horror movie called "The Descent" or something and 5 minutes into the show, I was already snoozing. Not that the show wasnt scary, it was just that I was really tired and everyone was pretty amazed/shocked that I slept through the whole show...I should stop sleeping at random times.

16th May 2009

Went for Lasse's birthday party which was held in the Ouji-koen dormitory. It's so interesting that Lasse and I have the same birthday, albeit one year apart. :D I've been to the dormitory once with Robyn and during that time, we got lost and had Ian to come pick us up. This time, I went by myself thinking that I will be able to find the place but yea...I got lost. Wandered around Ouji-koen for a while before throwing in the towel and called Michelle for help and luckily, she was able to spot me from her balcony. Phew!!!! In the end, I took like 45-freaking- minutes to reach the dormitory.
Drank a little, chit-chatted, ate food cooked by Lasse, ate cake that Takaaki bought(thanks!) and helped Michelle cook chicken soup. It was really interesting helping Michelle cook because she's just soooo cute! She's not really good at cooking and I'm an idiot when it comes to cooking so it was pretty funny when we cooked. In the end, we just sprinkled lots of pepper and salt to give the soup taste because we realised that the soup was too bland. :D

Met up with Trevor, Neil, Roo, Jessica and Robyn in the evening to go eat Turkish food. It was my first time eating Turkish food so it was quite an experience for me. They even had a belly dancer to perform during dinner! She was seriously SO FREAKING SEXY! Everyone in the restaurant was like seriousy staring at her...everyone that is except Neil who was more interested in eating his food...wtf! Anyway, there were two perverts in the restaurant who were like taking photos of the belly dancer's butt!?! One of them even got up and danced with her when nobody asked him to do so lor...sicko!


Ate some seafood with cheese dish and it was soooo fucking good. It was a pity that I couldnt finish it though :(


After dinner, we went to this little bar for a drink and Robyn and me started fighting with erm...chopsticks. -__________-


So yup, that ends of what happened before/during my birthday! Will blog about my trip to Kyoto in the next entry~

Hiroshima 7~12 May 2009

By
Jhui
on June 8, 2009 4:58 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
Was in Hiroshima last month and I got the chance to meet up with Yu and Mari from the Hiroshima and Peace 2008 programme! It was really nice meeting up and chatting with them after such a long time. Mari has already found a job and will start work next April. I wonder when I will start finding a job...or rather, when can I graduate!?


After Mari left, Yu and I met up with Nao and walked around Hondori for a bit before stopping by the supermarket to buy some groceries to make kimchi steamboat! I really like the kimchi sold in Japan because it's sweet, unlike the sour ones that they sell in Singapore. :(
Ate quite a bit and felt really sleepy after dinner so I slept....-____- Thanks to Nao for cleaning up after dinner!


Yu, Me and Nao. Staying at their place reminded so much of the H&P programme last year. If only Margaret, the other girl who stayed with us last year, was there.


Ate quite a lot during my stay in Hiroshima and although the food was really delicious, it's not really good for my burgeoning weight...wtf. I need higher metabolism!!! I hate skinny people who eat and eat but still manage to stay skinny. Bah!
Top left: Caramel Sweets from Hanabatake Bokujo. Also tried the strawberry-flavoured ones. They were so good and they really melt in your mouth~ Ate around 10 sweets or so. :D
Top right: DIY Temakizushi.
Bottom left: Fried chicken.
Bottom right: Strawberries covered with cream. The strawberries were so sweet, unlike the ones sold in Singapore~!


Top left: Curry rice.
Top right: Sukiyaki.
Bottom left: Steak.
Bottom right: Some sandwich that I ate in Tokyu Hands. It was surprisingly good and pretty cheap.


Me and my host-grandmother, who is so freaking cute~!


Me and my host-mother, taken while waiting outside the Hiroshima station for the bus to arrive.


So yup, what I did in Hiroshima was basically to eat, meet up with friends, eat, go out with my hostfamily, eat and of course sleep. :D How not to get fat you tell me?!

H1N1 in Japan

By
Jhui
on May 18, 2009 1:06 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
Okay, seriously...wtf! Before I came to Japan for my holiday, there were no cases of H1N1 yet. Then, on the second day that I arrived in Japan, 3 cases popped out. I was in Hiroshima at that time when it happened. A week after I travelled to Hyogo, there is a sudden breakout of H1N1 in Kobe, which is basically part of Hyogo...wtf. There are also apparently cases in Osaka as well and I'm staying right smack in the middle of both Kobe and Osaka.
Yesterday, the H1N1 count was 5 in Japan and all of a sudden, it rose to a whopping 96 today. Guess what's the shittiest thing? I was near Kobe yesterday and I was out partying at Osaka for most of the week. Fuck, I hope that I didnt catch the virus. Due to the sudden outbreak, Kangaku's closed for a week and I have to cancel plans that I've made with my friends and wear a mask now everywhere I go. Then again, I guess it's the best thing that I can do now to avoid getting the virus. I can finally make good use of the thermometer that I brought with me to Japan. =D

On a lighter note, I've been going out almost everyday since I came to Hyogo.
Wednesday: Coffee Hour at Kangaku(Nishinomiya) and dinner at this pizza place.
Thursday: Shopping with Kanami and the combined birthday party with Robyn at Umeda, Osaka.
Friday: Takoyaki party at Kana's house(Nishinomiya).
Saturday: Lasse's birthday party at Ouji Koen(which is like almost Kobe) and dinner at this Turkish restaurant(Osaka).
Sunday: Mifune Matsuri at Kyoto and a little birthday party at home.

So far, I've been to all the places that have been infected...Kobe, Nishinomiya and Osaka. FML.

Hope that they dont cancel the concert on the 29th though...
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