Mizu-Kioku[dot]Net

I just realised that...

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:46:54 +0800

...they are all in the same colour. Well, almost.

Seriously, I hate NUS

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:36:07 +0800

Remember that I said that NUS is slower than a tortoise? I hereby take back what I said and shall change it to "NUS is slower than a sloth". What is a sloth you might ask...A sloth is the world's slowest animal and if NUS is slower than it, it sure tells you ALOT about the efficiency of NUS. Wait...what efficiency?

Since I'm going to Japan for SEP this semester, I had to do modules mapping and modules mapping is not something that's very fun to do. In fact, it makes people want to pull their hair out, vomit blood, and strangle every single admin staff in NUS. So I wanted to try to map this Japanese module from the partner university to NUS's GEM module and I had to fill up a form that included the following questions:

1) Synopsis of module (Reasonable question)
2) Lecture breakdown/topics by week (Seriously, NUS doesnt even prepare this information before the term starts and you expect other universities to have this information?!)
3) Required reading list (WTF?!)
4) Contact hours per week.

Apparently, NUS gives 4 modular credits for 36 contact hours throughout 1 semester and hence, contact hours less than 36 means that you do not get the full 4 modular credits. Seriously...NUS should stop thinking so highly of themselves. They arrive at the calculation of 36 contact hours because they add in the tutorials as well but seriously, do you even learn anything in tutorials?! All the teaching's done in lectures and tutorials are just there to go through readings, which you've already learnt about in lectures...so in short, nothing new is being taught. Some universities in Japan do not have tutorials so to NUS, they're not teaching alot because they do not have 36 contact hours...wtf?! The content taught is the same for fuck's sakes...and isnt it superficial to calculate modular credits based on contact hours?! Seriously, not everyone attends the full 36 contact hours in NUS and does that mean that they shouldn't be awarded 4 modular credits? Oh wait...nobody cares if students do not attend lectures or not.

Anyway, I submitted my request form to the Registrar's Office on the 16th of August and waited for the results. It's stated on the website that they'll take 5~7 days to announce the results but being NUS(i.e. slow), they still didnt tell me the results after 2+ weeks. So on the 2nd of September, I had to email them for the results and they replied me saying that they did not approve of my request and I should email my request to the Dean's Office.......................................

WHAT THE FUCK LA!

If you state that you'll give the results in 5~7 days, then fucking abide to it. Somemore I dont think that they were planning to reply me at all lo! Note that they only replied me after I EMAILED THEM. Take the fucking initiative can or not. It's obvious that nobody's doing their job can! Return me my school fees! Why the fuck should I pay them fees when they cant even be bothered to reply students. And...if I need to email the Dean's Office for approval and you cant do anything about it....then fucking tell me earlier can!

It's because of people like that in NUS that makes me want to graduate earlier and not want to take honours. Can you imagine taking honours?! Taking honours=staying for 1 more year in NUS=having to deal with shitty people like this for another year=going crazy. TMD.

Okay, end of ranting. Off to bed.

SKS Outing at SU

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:27:34 +0800

Will blog about my Hiroshima trip some other time because I'm still sorting out pictures. I think I took way too many pictures...(*_*)

Anyway, met up with my fellow SKS classmates yesterday at SU Korean restaurant. As usual, everyone was late. Normally I dont really mind if people are late but yesterday was kind of bad because I needed to leave early and Felie was going to reach like after I leave. In fact, she did arrive after I left. -_-. The reason why I left early was to go watch Hanayori Dango Final(HYDF) with Li Ming. HYDF was interesting throughout the whole movie(like Cyborg She) and why are Japanese guys(e.g. Oguri Shun and Matsuda Shota) so cute one ar?! I felt that they didnt give Oguri Shun, Matsuda Shota and Abe Tsuyoshi enough screen time. They came out for like only a few minutes in total lor! So disappointing...I was anticipating more Hanazawa Rui initially. =( Although HYDF was interesting, the storyline was so predictable(guessed the plot like 20minutes into the movie) and unreal...like seriously, it's never going to happen in real life! Okay, I think that nobody's going to understand what I just wrote but whatever la, like as if anyone understands what I wrote in my previous entries anyway. Lalala, I talk nonsense and I'm proud of it.

After the 130minutes movies, I rushed back to SU to continue eating. Yes, they were still eating there after like 3 hours. Whee~ Ordered cold noodles there and were happily eating it until the waiter came over, saw that we didnt add the vinegar and mustard, and proceeded to exclaim out loud, "You didnt add these?!" He then helped us to add the vinegar and mustard in and asked us to try how it tasted like. All of us agreed that it tasted better without adding anything. (^_^) I guess we have different tastebuds from the Koreans. When he saw our expressions, he thought that he added too much vinegar or something and proceeded to taste his masterpiece. "It's good, but we add more mustard in Korea." Erm, okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. Then again, it was nice of him to teach us the right way of eating cold noodles. =D

After eating, we started to take weird photos in the restaurant and I think that we seriously scared the people eating/working there. Paiseh lo, when four crazy people get together, they tend to get a bit rowdy and crazy. Too bad Ann's still in Australia otherwise I think that SU would've probably ban us from the restaurant for the rest of our lives. When I say weird photos, I really mean weird photos...ta-da~

Us again, with Eileen trying to "attract" the waiter who mixed the cold noodles for us. Peggy and Eileen thought that he was kind of cute and was trying to take his photos the whole time but only managed to take photos of his back. Eh---------lousy photographers. Should've had asked me to take...confirm can take face one. Had enough training back in my JC paparazzi days. Heh.

Another siao(crazy) group photo. Then again, looking at all the pictures that we took, I'm like the only one giving weird facial expressions. Oh no!!! Am I the only siao one?!

After a very filling 3+ hours meal, we continued our "Get Fat" mission at Gelare. Ordered this wonderfully chocolatey double-scoop Cookies and Cream ice-cream topped with Koko Krunch and Oreo biscuits...

...chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice-cream and a outside-crispy-inside-chewy waffle with 2 scoops of ice- cream. In total, we ate like 5 scoops of ice-cream...how not to get fat?!

Why do I look scared of Peggy here? Hmm...

Cant stand it...why are there so many strange photos of me?! Come to think of it, I havent taken weird photos like this in a long long la la time. Whee~

Eileen with her True Yoga bag and waterbottle. Eh, you think that you're True Yoga spokesperson ar?! -_-

Group photo minus Eileen because I aimed the camera at the wrong direction. See, told you that my photography skills are superb!

Whee~

Anyway, went karaoke-ing with hy, Eugene and Kevin today. Cash Studios is like my favourite karaoke place right now. We sang for more than 4 hours and they didnt charge us extra. Somemore can bring in your own food and drinks....seriously, how do they earn money?! They even offered to change our rooms for us because the next group of people who booked the room that we were using were coming soon. Damn nice =D The waitress kept smiling at us somemore. Normally at places like Kbox, the waitresses have this "I-cant-be-bothered-about-you" look plastered across their faces. Surprisingly, Kevin was like damn good at singing. He can sing songs by both male and female artistes and his rap was damn cool. Eh, isnt that like my sister? Heh.

Ate at Ajitei for dinner with hy. Ordered lots of food and dessert as well!!! Had substandard yomogi dango for dessert. The shape of the dango reminded me more of a lemon than a dango...wtf.

Had pizza for supper. Damn cool la the shape! The pizza tasted wonderful too by the way.

Okay, shall end this post abruptly because I got nothing else to write. More pictures of the crazy four of us here: http://mizu- kioku.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=200.

Osaka Day 5

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:33:28 +0800

The last day in Osaka.

Since it was our last day in Osaka and we didnt have much money left, we decided to do sight-seeing instead of going shopping. Upon reaching the station, instead of exiting the station to go to Nipponbashi, we ended up erm...shopping at the shops in the station. The attraction of shopping was just too strong for us to reject. Tra-la-la. Shoes were going for like 1000yen(SGD$13) per pair!!! How to not buy you tell me?! After shopping, we went to the make-up area in the toilet to sit down and rest. Hehe, I love toilets in Tokyo and Osaka. They have like make-up area for women to touch up their makeup can! So cool~

Had miso ramen set for lunch. The set included miso ramen(obviously), 2 onigiri and one plate of fried gyoza~! Samn worth the 900yen that I paid. However, I wasn't able to finish my meal because there was just too much food to ingest. Rice+noodles+meat+soup...damn filling. Burp!

Finally went out of the station to go see Nipponbashi. It was just touch-and-go because the weather was just too hot for sight-seeing. Whilst walking back to the station, Fulin went into this second-hand bookstore and bought the full set of Slam Dunk comics. 31 books in total! She was pretty happy over her purchase initially until we started pondering over how to lug 31 books back home to Singapore.

Ended up going to the cheap karaoke we went on Day 1 because firstly, it was too hot to wander outside and secondly, that karaoke place was damn cheap. While we were flipping through the song books to see what to sing, they kept playing videos of Suzanne on the tv. Damn popular la she. =D

Tried out the score function and I got 84 points!!! Whee~ Other people probably get 90+ points or even 100 points but whatever la, let me be happy okay~

After singing for a few hours, we got so tired that we ended up watching music videos instead of singing. -___-

Left the karaoke place at like around 6+ and proceeded to the noodles shop called "Tsurumaru" near our hotel to eat dinner. Ordered kitsune udon and it was so delicious. The piece of fried beancurd was sooooo sweet and I loved it so much. Wanted to order one more bowl but decided against it because more noodles=more soup=likely to go to the toilet. As I was going to take the night bus later, it wasnt a good idea to drink too much soup because there's no toilet on the bus...and I'm not exactly an expert at holding my bladder. When I was really young, I once urinated in public during school assembly(can you believe it?!) but luckily no one noticed.(I still cant believe that no one noticed lo! Then again, they probably pretended not to notice to give me face~)

Booked a taxi to drive us to the bus stop because we were just too tired to lug our luggages up and down the staircases. The fare was damn expensive(1700yen) but at least we didnt have to perspire at all. Whee~ Boarded the bus and just as I was about to sleep, the stupid guy announced that we had to change buses at the next terminal which was like 15mins away. wtf. Tell me advance if need to change buses can. They didnt even write on their webpage lo! Then again, can't complain too much because the bus fare was dirt cheap, compared to other bus companies.

Ended up in Tokyo the next morning. More pictures at: http://mizu-kioku.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=187.

Osaka Day 4

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:30:30 +0800

Day 4 in Osaka.

We didnt really know where to go on the fourth day in Osaka because we didn't do any prior planning. Ended up going to Tsurumi Ryokuchi Park because we saw from an advertisment that there was a flea market going on at that place. The park housed lots of different kinds of flowers and besides the fact that it was effing hot that day, I'm happy that we went to that place. It was so hot that people actually came to the fountain to cool themselves down. They even wore swimsuits there can! There was an indoor pool near the park but I think that you have to pay to get in so many people chose to use the free fountain instead.

Flowers galore~

There was an entrance fee of 300yen for the flea market...since when did you have to pay entrance fee for flea markets?! Oh wait...it's not called FLEA market, it's called FREE market in Japan. wtf. Not many stalls at the free market though. Look at the sea of Stitches!!! Wanted to buy one of them back but I couldnt think of a way to stuff it into my already-full luggage so I gave up that idea. Then again, I bought a Stitch bag so I guess I did buy something "Stitch" after all. =D As it was freaking hot that day and I forgot to bring the hat I bought at Osaka Castle, I bought yet another hat there. In fact, I bought another 2. -________-

Walked around the park for a while before deciding that it was too hot to walk any further so we went into this air-conditioned restaurant to have lunch.

"Hmmmn, can I join them to cool myself down? Heh." They'll probably poke me with their beaks to chase me out though. Haha.

Ate at "Restaurant of green and water".

Ordered cold Tsukimi udon topped with grated yam and okra. It was damn shiok can! Nothing beats eating something cold on a hot summer day. I think I ate ice-cream like for dont know how many times in Japan can.

Went to Shinsaibashi again. Saw the Biliken statue. I had like so much "yuan" with Biliken. Kept getting Biliken products no matter what I did. -_-

Next, we proceeded to Dotonbori Gokuraku Shotengai. The place reminded me of the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum. Like the museum, the Shotengai had the 60s feel and there were many restaurants in that place. You can also play games from your parents'(or grandparents' depending how old you are) era in that place too.

Entered this contest where you're supposed to draw a picture of a very scary ghost. I drew a picture of the cotton candy machine nearby....scary enough?! Eh-heh~ I am dumb.

Took weird photos in there too. Had to pay like 300yen(or was it 500yen?) to dress up and take photos. Fulin cross-dressed and I went to wear a pair of silly spectacles with my outfit. Damn fun can! However, I think that the Japanese family waiting behind us was seriously wtf-ed by us. Whee~

The guy who was manning the photo booth. Damn cute can! The reason why I wanted to take the photo although it was expensive. Hehe.

Old posters from the past. The long poster is the promotional poster for Yotsuya Kaidan, the movie that I reviewed 2 years ago for school. Didnt know that it was so popular. After exiting the shotengai, we shopped around for a while before returning back to the hotel to rest.

On the way back. I should really stop taking photos of shit. When I was showing my father this photo, he was like "Why you keep taking photos of shit one ar?" -___________________________-

Had cup noodles for dinner. It was seriously delicious can. It was like Tonkotsu tang hoon. Yummy~

The Stitch bag that I bought at the free market. SO cute right? =D

End of Day 4. More pictures: http://mizu-kioku.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=186.

Osaka Day 3

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:30:23 +0800

Day 3 of Osaka.

First stop of the day was HEP Five, located in the Umeda district. Had a little difficulty in finding the place because it was kind of far from the station that we alighted at so we went to the visitor's center to ask for help. =D The lady there was pretty nice and she tried her best to give us directions in English. So sweet~! Anyway, reached HEP Five a little too early and as the place was not opened yet, we stopped by Doutor Coffee for a drink. I love green tea latte!!! In fact, I feel like drinking one cup now as I'm writing this. Someone please get me one from Starbucks...thankew.

Took the ferris wheel at once upon entering HEP Five. Luckily we did so because by the time we got off the ferris wheel, there was already a long long la la queue outside. The ferris wheel set us back 500yen each and the whole trip lasted for like 15mins. It was kind of interesting at first but it slowly got boring and it didnt help that I was not with my non-existent boyfriend. The couple in the previous carriage was like totally making out so I guess the ferris wheel was interesting for them. =D

After 1 minute of taking photos of the scenery, we camwhored for the rest of the trip. Lalala.

Bird's eye view.

Pretending that I'm scared of heights. Bullshit.

Took an early lunch at this restaurant inside HEP Five called "ful fle". It was a waffle shop but they also sold moffle. What's moffle, you may ask. Moffle is basically using rice cake, otherwise known as mochi, to make waffle, in place of the traditional batter. Combine the words "mochi" and "waffle" together, you get moffle~! Wanted to eat this ever since I saw it on Domoto Tsuyoshi no Shojiki Shindoi~It was GOOD~

My iced tea that came in a freaking tall glass.

While shopping around for clothes, I wanted to try on a pair of jeans so I entered the fitting room and got the shock of my life. There were like posters and posters of naked women in the fitting room. Somemore is totally naked. The poster outside the fitting room was even worse. Not only was the woman baring her breasts, she was also baring the lower half of her body. wtf. It's not even a porn shop lo!

Next stop of the day was Osaka Castle. Never go to the castle in summer man...it was FREAKING HOT and I almost died walking under the hot, searing sun. I wore slippers throughout the trip and I got a nice slippers tan on my foot lo. In fact, it was more than a tan, I think some blood vessels burst or something and I had nice bruises that looked like slippers on my feet. wtf. I dont know what I'm talking about.

Took the choo-choo train because I was too tired to walk anymore and realised too late that the train actually stopped at some place further away from the entrance. Had to walk all the way back to where I boarded the train in the end...in the freaking hot sun. Anyway, the China kid was seriously irritating me while we were waiting for the train to move. He kept complaining that the train was not moving and that he didnt have so much time to wait for it to move.........Then get off the train lar idiot! The train is not your private property okay! Dont expect it to move under YOUR command.

Trying to act cute.

Since when did people in the past carry umbrellas? Hee~ I was so hot that day that I couldnt be bothered to put down the umbrella while taking this photo. I even went to buy a hat and towel from the souvenier shop because I was like seriously coming down with a heat stroke. Had a little difficulty in breathing lo.

The guy who was doing a little skit. He was like sweating bullets wearing that costume under the hot sun. Damn ke lian.

Ice lolly~ I love whoever who invented this!!!

My takoyaki wallet that I bought at the souvenier shop. I seriously hung it around my neck and walked on the streets of Osaka because I was too lazy to carry my bag. People were like staring at me but heck la, my shoulders were hurting can!

Went to this shopping street at night but by the time we reached there, it was closed already so instead, we did some grocery shopping. Most supermarkets in Japan have discounts on food after 8pm so being the kiasu Singaporeans that we are, we rushed to grab all the food on 50% discount. Ta-da~ Our cheapo dinner.

My luggage after 3 days in Japan. -__________________- How to carry home?!

End of Day 3. More pictures: http://mizu-kioku.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=185.

Osaka Day 2

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:36:09 +0800

Day 2 of Osaka.

Went to Kaigan-dori with the intention of going to the aquarium but before we could do so, I got attracted by the Tempozan Marketplace(read: shopping center) which was located right next to the aquarium.

While in the shopping center, we came across this whales exhibition done by Kyushu University. The exhibition was quite interesting as it gave us lots of information about whales that we've never known about before.

We also passed by this Ninja House and almost entered the place until we found out that there was an entrance fee. Being the kiam siap(stingy) person that I am, I decided that I would give the Ninja House a miss. First of all, I probably wouldnt understand half the stuff inside the house because they're all in Japanese and secondly, I'm not that interested in ninjas. Can't see their faces anyway. =D

After getting distracted by the shopping center for like about an hour or so, we finally made our way to the aquarium but got distracted again by the Suntory Museum situated next to it. When are we going to enter the aquarium lar?!
Watched this documentary called Dinosaurs Alive!...in Japanese. wtf. Although I could understand what they were talking about, I really wanted to watch the English version...simply because it was Johnny Depp who was giving the narration!!! Damnit.

Proceeded to the aquarium after the documentary but...yea, got distracted again by some random street performer. In fact, we stood there and watched his performance for like half-an-hour or so before deciding there it was about time that we headed towards our original destination.

The aquarium was wonderful. It was 8 stories high and there were soooo many different varieties of marine life. There were...

silly-looking yet cute baby penguins...

fish with scary faces...

scary octopus(The first thing that I thought of when I saw it was takoyaki!!!, or octopus balls)...

starfish...

fish that can camouflage...

crabs with seriously long legs...

jellyfish...

weird-looking marine life and many more.

Exited the aquarium and walked around the area to find a place for lunch. Chanced upon Macdonalds and realised that their Ronald Macdonald looks very different from the one in Singapore. The one in Japan looks way more comical...not to mention weird too.

Ate at this cosy little restaurant called Hoshi no Mori where I had a delightful meal. I ordered this mixed vegetables curry rice and there were so many different kinds of vegetables served. The curry wasn't too spicy and the rice was brown rice so I guess it was pretty healthy. =D

Night was spent at Shinsaibashi and Doutombori where we shopped till we practically dropped. Saw the famous Glico man!

Had takoyaki (^_^) for dinner and the takoyaki in Japan is seriously cheap and the taste was omfg good.

Walked around that area for a little while more before I decided that I was really too tired to continue walking so we headed back to our hotel...with me practically dead already. Lalala. End of Day 2. More pictures here : http://mizu- kioku.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=184.

Day 5 in Tokyo

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:26:31 +0800

Last day in Tokyo. Walked over to Sunshine City to do some shopping. One thing good about staying in Ikebukuro was that there are many shopping centres and shops around that area, i.e., everything's within walking distance so there's no need to pay for transport. Transport in Japan is not cheap so I was quite happy that we could save a bit on transportation. =D

Shopped in Sunshine City for a while and as we were about to leave, we saw people doing Hawaiian dances on the stage so we watched them for a while. There were like seriously lots of people watching them that day and I hate crowds more than anything else. Lalala...I am anti-social~

Were about to go back to the hotel when I caught sight of the Toyota Auto Salon amlux. Since we were already there and there was no entrance fee, we decided to enter that place to look around. Yes, we were like aimless sheep...no prior planning done. =D

There were like so many cars there can! They also had lots of games there too to occupy kids who got "forced" to accompany their parents...I think. They had this Doraemon car which I think that I forgot to upload the picture but I'm too lazy to do so now so...just use your imagination please. Heh.

Went to Tokyu Hands next and saw lots of girls dressed up as lolitas outside. In fact, there were many people on the streets that day with weird fashion but I was too chicken to take photos of them. =D

Ate the 100yen Mcpork at Macdonalds before returning to the hotel(We checked out already) to leech their wireless. In fact, we sat down at the lobby for like 3~4 hours...just to leech their internet. Luckily no one chased us away. While in the midst of using the internet, it started to rain. wtf. Of all days to rain, it had to rain on the day that I was going to leave Tokyo. It didnt rain at all for the past 10 days can! How to lug my luggages all the way to the station in the rain?! Didnt really want to take the taxi either because taxis in Japan are #$%$%#$% expensive. However, I think that someone up there likes me because after a short while, the rain stopped and it actually became cooler. In fact, it was so cool that we didnt even perspire after lugging 20+kg of stuff. Whee~

Took the Marunouchi Line instead of the Yamanote Line to Tokyo station because there was elevators for that line. Luckily I checked beforehand or else we would had probably died dragging the luggages up the staircases. Reached Tokyo Station and was amazed by the sheer size of that place. In fact, the place was so big that we got lost. wtf. After what seemed like ages, we finally managed to find the bus stop and I safely got onto the night bus to Hiroshima. Whee~10 hours bus!

Was seated behind this singlet-wearing uncle on the bus. He just had to recline his chair ALL THE WAY BACK and I almost had no space to move. wtf. In the end, I jammed my hugeass laptop bag against his chair so that he could not recline anymore. I win~ The same uncle was like drinking beer throughout the journey and he reeked of alcohol so bad. =( Next morning, he even asked me if I wanted to go drinking with him. -_______________________- wtf. Who goes drinking at 8 in the morning?! And, even if I wanted to go...I wouldnt go with HIM lo! In the end, I pretended that I couldnt understand what he was talking about and kept saying "Huh? I dont understand." to him. =(

Anyway, so yup...will blog about my Hiroshima trip some other day. Going to blog about Osaka first I guess. More pictures of cars at the Toyota Auto Salon amlux at http://mizu-kioku.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=183.

Day 4 in Tokyo

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:04:02 +0800

Had canned oden that we bought at Akihabara the previous day for breakfast. Although the can was pretty small, there were lots of ingredients in it. Enough for both Fulin and I to share. Taste wise, it was a little salty but I guess that's how normal oden tastes like??

The itinerary for today was pretty simple. Go to Shin-Ookubo to do some sight-seeing and then meet up with Yasuko later in the day. Shin-Ookubo was quite interesting in the sense that there were many different kinds of shops there. For example, there was this computer place that's called "Zi Jing Cheng", otherwise known as "The Forbidden Palace".

The restaurant that's called "Malaysia Restoran Mahathir" that serves...erm...Malaysian food. I like how they just anyhow use Mahathir's name for the restaurant. Then again, probably Mahathir owns this restaurant.

"Muanthai II", a massage palour...I guess?

Obviously a Korean restaurant.

"Great India" curry house.

Taiwan steamboat restaurant.

Shopped at this place called "Lovely Land" where the sales assistants greeted us in Korean, instead of Japanese. No wonder this place is nicknamed "Korean Town". The sales assistants were really nice and pretty. =D Clothes there were fairly cheap and they have like limited stock for each dress so it's good to know that not many people will own the same dress as you.

After a little more walking at Shin-Ookubo, we returned to our hotel. Wanted to do laundry before I left for Hiroshima so I asked the lobby guy for the nearest laundromat. "Oedo Hotel" was his answer so armed with my massive pile of laundry, I left for that place...but I did not manage to find it. I even went to ask the traffic police if he knew where it was but he too had no idea. Walked around aimlessly and all of a sudden, I caught sight of the words "Coin Laundry". Looking up at the signboard, the place was called "Oedo HEIGHTS" and not "Oedo HOTEL"...wtf. Stupid guy. I wonder how many tourists didnt manage to wash their clothes because of him. Bah.

Ate the Cheese Curry cup noodles for lunch and it was omfg delicious. It was a pity that the water wasn't hot enough to melt the cheese properly but still...it was good.

Helped Fulin move her luggages over to Yasuko's house as she was going to stay with Yasuko for a few days before her departure to Nagoya. Luckily the train was pretty empty as we had lots of luggages. Yasuko taught us how to make the "dango" hairstyle at her house. It looks easy but in reality, it's freaking difficult to do it.

Yasuko and me.

Next, the three of us went to Roppongi! Roppongi did not seem like part of Japan to me. There were so many blacks and white men there. Hello, it's more like America can!

Went into this club called Gaspanic...to erm...use the toilet. Decided against staying in the club because there was just too much cigarette smoke in there for comfort.

Had a late dinner at Pepper Lunch and even the waiter wasn't Japanese lor! He was really nice and even posed for our photos. Haha.

Me and my delicious beef pepper rice. I want to eat it again!!!

Was supposed to go to Roppongi Hills after dinner but we went home instead as I had a pretty bad stomachache. Paiseh!!!

Me, Fulin

Me, Yasuko

Yup, end of Day 4 in Tokyo. More pictures here: http://mizu-kioku.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=182.

Day 3 in Tokyo

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:31:08 +0800

My plane arrived in Singapore at around 10.05 last night. Not really excited to be back home as I really really miss the fun days I had in Hiroshima. Then again, I only have like less than a month to spend time with my family before I embark on a 5-month exchange trip to Japan. Yes, Japan. AGAIN. So for those people who want to meet me before I leave for Japan, please ask me out before the 12th of September ok!!! Otherwise you can ask me out in 2009 instead. One good thing about being back is that Singapore isn't as hot as Hiroshima. My mum's first reaction when she saw me wasnt "I missed you" or "Welcome back" but..."Wah! So dark ar!". wtf -_______________________________- Although I'm not as dark as Sharon Tan(^_^) but I'm still darker than before I left for Japan. Kaoz.

Anyway, day 3 of Tokyo. First thing in the morning, we took the subway to Asakusa. The Asakusa station was really pretty, compared to stations like Ikebukuro and Shibuya.

Contemplated taking the rickshaw but decided against it upon peering into my almost-empty wallet. Japan is a really scary place. Everything I see I feel like buying...aargh.

Took less than 5 minutes to walk to the shrine from the station. Wanted to take a photo with the policeman but got rejected. =( Then again, I guess he can't exactly agree to every photo request or else he'll probably get sacked or something. The number of tourists there that day was scary. The ratio of Japanese to Tourists was probably like 1:20 or something.

It was my second time there and the Nakamise shopping street looked a little different with the shades pulled down. I guess in winter they dont do that because the sun isnt that strong. Didnt really shop around because goods sold at tourist attractions are always marked up! Instead, we went to get our fortunes told but both of us ended up with an unlucky fortune. Damnit. If you get an unlucky fortune, you're supposed to tie it onto this metal thingy so I did BUT...I didnt know how to do it. =( Guess which one was the one I tied?

Walked out of the Nakamise shopping street to yet another shopping street to have lunch at Saizeriya. Seriously, Japan has too many shopping streets, just like how Taiwan has too many night markets. Lunch was good and cheap but the only sucky thing was that the non-smoking area was separated from the smoking area by an invisible barrier so we basically basked in the cigarette smoke there throughout lunch. What's the use of having smoking and non-smoking areas if the cigarette smoke can still travel across the air-conditioned place?! wtf.

Shopped around for a bit, visited Daiso before taking the subway to Akihabara, the land of electronics, otakus and maid cafes.

Saw a maid straight away upon exiting the subway station.

Browsed through shops there that sold sex toys and porn DVDs. We went into this store that had 7 freaking stories of porn DVDs!!! They had DVDs featuring young girls at the age of 9(wtf?! sicko), schoolgirls, married women and even old grandmothers. -____________-. It must pretty much suck to work as a porn star in Japan because the competition's so tough. I mean, if you were a porn star in Singapore, you'll probably get more DVD sales because it's kind of rare to be a porn star here.

Next, we went to this place called Donkey(?) where you can basically get ANYTHING. They have a wide selection of products, including cosplay costumes, T-shirts, stuffed toys, food etc. While at the cosplay section, I saw this middle-aged salaryman who was carrying a high-school school bag and he was browsing through frilly girl panties. And his pants were freaking tight...like totally bursting. wtf. He kept looking over when Fulin and I were looking at lingerie. wtf. Look what look...wait later I poke your eyes out hor!

As all of us wanted to eat a cheap dinner because of the lack of cash, we ate at Macdonalds. Macdonalds in Japan is like seriously the saviour of my life. A Mcpork burger there costs only 100yen(~SGD1.30) and the burger's juicy and yummy. Ordered Shaka Shaka Chicken too.

GAH...I'M HUNGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY!!!

For some reason I dont know why, we decided to stack the cup noodles that we bought at Donkey after dinner. People who were seated behind us that day were like seriously wtf-ed and they kept laughing at us. Whee~

Stood in the middle of the road to take this photo. Damn dangerous but whatever la, I am a foreigner in Japan remember? Must take everything that I see!!! wtf...

Went back to the hotel and yup, end of Day 3 in Tokyo.

More pictures at http://mizu- kioku.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=181.

Day 2 in Tokyo

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:09:57 +0800

Day 2 in Tokyo.

Set off for Shibuya first thing in the morning. Taking the train during rush hour in Japan is definitely not something that I would like to experience again. When I first got onto the train, I was standing right next to the exit but after passing through like 2 stations, I got bumped all the way to the middle of the train. Yes, bumped. I didnt even need to move an inch because people kept pushing their way in and before I realised what was happening, I was already standing in the middle of the train. -____-.

Upon reaching Shibuya, we saw the statue of Japan's most faithful dog, Hachiko. If you dont know why Hachiko's the most faithful dog in Japan, you can read more about it here.

Felt a little peckish so we stopped by Yoshinoya to have brunch. The Japan Yoshinoya menu is totally different from the Singapore Yoshinoya menu. Firstly, the Japan one has no fried food, unlike Singapore where you have chicken katsu, salmon katsu and whatsoever. Secondly, the Japan one allows you to choose the amount of rice that you want whereas the Singapore doesnt have. I ordered the pork and salmon set and it was omg so fucking good. The best thing's that it cost only 500yen. =D The second best thing was that it did not come with the disgusting boiled carrots that the Singapore Yoshinoya usually serves.

Next, we went to the Shibuya 109 mall to shop.

There were many shops in 109 selling pretty clothes, pretty bags, pretty accessories and pretty everything in short. All of the shop assistants there were dressed up so prettily that I kept mistaking them for mannequins. Yes, they dress THAT nice. Somemore they were all like freaking skinny...as skinny as the mannequins. One interesting thing was that they really do the "Irasshaimase~Douzo goran kudasaaaaai~" thing like how Yanagihara Kanako does it. I always thought that Yanagihara exaggerates it a little but in reality, it's true.

Went to HMV next and wanted to go see Hanjiro, a shop where they sell used and original clothes but it was closed. Why am I so unlucky one?! That time when I was in Hiroshima, the manga library was closed too on the day that I went. wtf.

As it was seriously wtf hot and humid in Japan, even worse than Singapore, we decided to shop in air-conditioned places as far as possible. Went to this place called LOFT and it was damn shiok when we felt the cold air blowing in our direction as we entered the place. LOFT also had free uchiwas(fans) so I took one so as to fan myself while walking under the merciless hot sun. Have been using the fan for the past few days and I tell you, I totally LOVE the fan. Am so going to use it to cool myself for the next few days in Japan...and probably in Singapore too.

They had this Hanayori Dango Final corner in LOFT where they sold lots of HYD goods and displayed lots of HYD memorabilla.

The golden(ugly) handphone that Doumyouji gave to Makino. You can get a replica of the phone there too! Just that it's not a phone but a mirror now.

Went to NHK hall where we sat down at the archives corner and watched Kouhaku from many years back. The receptionist kept recommending us the Kouhaku episode where SMAP was the backstage dancers for Hikaru Genji and she kept pointing out Kimura Takuya and Katori Shingo to us. -________- We also saw this art exhibition there.

Next, we went to Yoyogi Park where we saw people sunbathing, having picnics and racing each other under the sun. SIAO AR! Race under the sun! So hot can!

Little kids on a school outing. =D

Next, we went to the Meiji Shrine but did not enter the actual shrine because ... there was an entrance fee. No money liao lo. =(

After that, we walked towards Harajuku where we saw street performers doing their thing. The Harajuku station was damn ancient-looking can!

Met up with Fulin's friend, Kenny, at Harajuku station before proceeding to this small shop called "Apple Tree" that sold omu-rice. The shop's so small that if Kenny did not tell us that there was a shop there, we would not have had noticed it. The food was a tad expensive but damn delicious. Had seafod omu-rice and the prawns were freaking crunchy can!

Walked around Omotesando Hills after dinner.

Omotesando Hills' damn cool but it's definitely not a place that I'll shop at. It's like a higher class Paragon and that means that poor people like me cant afford to shop there.

Went to Harajuku next where we saw lots of gyaru, gyaruo and yamanba. Harajuku has like lots of stalls selling pretty clothes and stuff but one thing I dont like about clothes in Japan is that...they're freaking translucent. Like...how am I going to wear a dress that's basically see-through?! I know that you're supposed to layer your clothes but...it's freaking hot can!

Saw an official Hello Project store there too but it was closed for the day already. Took photos outside the shop although it was not allowed. Lalala~

Took neoprints at Daiso for like 200yen(SGD$2.60). Damn cheap considering that the original price's 400yen(SGD$5.20) for the same quality. Of course, there's the 100yen neoprint machine but the quality sucks.

While walking back to our hotel from the Ikebukuro station, we got lost and ended up walking through this stretch of love hotels. We saw like old men and ladies much younger than them coming out in pairs from the hotels. Eeeeh.

Looks wrong.

Saw this sign outside the Meiji Shrine. "Dont urinate here!" .... wtf...Who will urinate in public?!

Okay, apparently people do urinate in public. Were walking towards our hotel when I caught a glimspe of an old man with his pants DOWN in public. I could like totally see his white ass lo! Luckily he was facing a corner so his ahem couldnt be seen. Considering that his hands were on his ahem, I guess that he was either urinating in public or...masturbating. wtf!!! Sick.

End of Day 2 in Tokyo. More pictures at .

In Hiroshima

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:20:53 +0800

I cant believe this man. I just spent the last half an hour trying to logon to my blog. wtf -____- How did I manage to forget my username?!!!!!! I seriously rock lo.

Am currently in Hiroshima City University using the free internet. Whee~Free internet is my friend! Shall continue blogging about my Tokyo trip when I get home and after I finish my homework. Damnit, there is like lots of readings and the best thing is I dont understand. Am I stupid?! Hmmmn...

Okay, going for steamboat now....bye~

In Hiroshima

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:20:53 +0800

I cant believe this man. I just spent the last half an hour trying to logon to my blog. wtf -____- How did I manage to forget my username?!!!!!! I seriously rock lo.

Okay, going for steamboat now....bye~

Tokyo Day 1

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:50:50 +0800

Have been in Japan for around a week and I have a serious lack of money right now. Everything in Tokyo's so cute and I feel like buying everything but firstly, I have not enought money left and secondly, my luggage's seriously full already. Anyway, as I havent managed to sort out my Osaka photos, I'm going to blog about Tokyo instead now. Whee~

Arrived in Tokyo by a night bus from Osaka on the 23rd. The night bus was seriously horrible(but cheap) and I couldn't really sleep on it. Got off at Shinjuku station, got lost, squeezed through the horrendous amount of people, got lost again and finally arrived in Ikebukuro. As the check-in time was 3pm, we decided to place our luggages with the hotel first so that we would'nt have to lug them with us while shopping. Guess what?! The place where you put the luggages is SELF-SERVICE, i.e., anyone can just go in and take your luggage without your knowledge. WTF?! How unsafe...but...like we had a choice. Ate lunch at Macdonald's and I ordered the Salsa Chicken Burger which is currently not available now. Heehee, I love limited edition stuff!

A Macdonald's meal in Japan is kind of expensive considering that it costs about SGD$8 but the food's really good. Look at the french fry! Freaking long lar! One bad thing is that you have to ask them for ketchup as they wont give it to you automatically. Oh, and never order iced tea there unless you like pungent flower tea. I almost died drinking the tea up.

After lunch, we went to Tokyu Hands to shop. They have like everything imaginable there. They have like Kojima Yoshio T-shirts,

Edo Harumi T-shirts,

wigs for you to look like Bae Yong Jun in Winter Sonata (wtf),

fish-head masks,

wigs to make you look like an auntie,

masks for you to dress up like a psycho killer,

and even costumes to make you look like a different kind of living thing.

Oh wait, there's also this boob ball thingy where you can erm...squeeze them to relieve stress? I dont know.

There's also a pet shop on the highest level of the store where you can get pet clothes, food, baskets, diapers (yes, pets have diapers too!) and many other pet-related stuff. You can also pay like 600yen to play with cats but seriously, I think that it's too expensive.

Returned back to the hotel to shower and rest before meeting up with Fulin's friend, Yasuko, for dinner. Ate at Saizeriya where I ordered this spinach+cheese dish. Although it was just vegetables topped with melted cheese, it was freaking good.

Had an ice-cream dessert too~. How not to get fat in Japan you tell me!!!

So yup, this basically ends my first day in Tokyo and I'm actually leaving for Hiroshima tonight. Night bus again. Damn.

In Tokyo

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:42:28 +0800

/Edit 2/ Fuck. There was an earthquake lo! In Iwate with a magnitude of about 6.8, at around 0:26 Japan time. Tokyo also shook a little at around 2 on the scale. That answers why I felt the ground shake earlier. So I called the reception again and this time he admits that there was an earthquake but according to him, "earthquakes are common in Japan". When I told him that I've not experienced one before(except for the little shake in Singapore), he went "Oh, but it's fine."

-_______________________- Shithead. I replied "REALLY?!" and put down the phone.

More about the earthquake: http://typhoon.yahoo.co.jp/weather/jp/earthquake/

/Edit2/

/Edit/ OMG, I think that I just felt the ground shake. My friend felt it too so it's not my imagination. We were so afraid that it was an earthquake that we called the reception. "The floor shook!!! Is there an earthquake?" He couldnt understand what was "floor" nor "earthquake" so we gave up talking to him in English and used our lousy Japanese instead. His answer was that there's no earthquake and being the insecure tourist that I am, I questioned him..."Are you sure there's no earthquake!?!!!" "Yes." Okay, now I feel damn stupid and paiseh to go down to the lobby tomorrow. Then again, luckily it wasnt an earthquake. /Edit/

One word to describe the Japan trip up till now...TIRING. Finally left Osaka last night and took a night bus to Tokyo. Couldnt sleep at all on the bus and I ended up with a sore neck and butt. After arriving at Shinjuku bus station, the first thing that came to my mind was...Why does this place smell of urine?! It was freaking bad. Unlike Osaka, the streets of Shinjuku and Ikebukuro are pretty dirty with cigarette butts scattered all over the floor. Guess this is what happens when too many people stay in one place at one time.

Had to drag my scarily heavy luggages all over the Shinjuku station simply because I was trying to find the non-existent elevator. I'm pretty sure that there's an elevator somewhere but it was nowhere near where I was situated at that time. As it was rush hour with hoardes of salarymen walking in all directions, I really did not want to drag my luggages all the way to the where-the-hell-is-it elevator. Train stations here have a serious lack of elevators and I totally hate it because it means that tourists have to drag like 20kg worth of stuff up and down FLIGHTS of stairs just to board the train. Also, another point about Tokyo is that...the people here are like Singaporean aunties...and that's not a compliment. When the MRT train arrives, Singaporean aunties will always push their way through like there's no tomorrow. In Osaka, people queued up at the sides and allowed others to alight. In Tokyo, those assholes just pushed their way through. Seriously, if I cant get off the train...YOU THINK I WILL LET YOU GET ON MEH?! In the end, I just "lightly" brushed my luggage against anyone who was trying to budge their way up the train.

Anyways, I'm pretty tired now. In fact, I'm seated at the hotel lobby using the free wireless instead of going out to tour Tokyo. Okay, more updates when I find the time to do so~ Whee~