Zsup~!

Tohoku Youth Ambassador Day 2

2011-08-05T00:06:00.000+08:00

It was an early start for Day 2. Getting to breakfast at 6.30am, and then moving off on the bus to Rikuzentakata at 7am.

Hotel Breakfast!

It was a 4 hour journey to Rikuzentakata, and we were privy to views of one of the worst hit areas. Rikuzentakata is actually situated right along the coastline, as a result, a lot of the buildings were just steamrolled to nothingness. Interested to note however, was that at one point I noticed that the treeline resulted in a substantial portion of land relatively untouched by the effects of the tsunami. Truly, mankind has nothing to compare with the strength of natures forces. It is also truly a testament to Japanese construction techniques that there were some buildings left standing, the structures still complete, but the insides completely ruined.

The beginning.

Coastal area.

Trees that are dead, lining those that are alive.

Crumpled truck.

An example of the many areas in Rikuzentakata that are still undergoing relief work.

The structure of a supermarket (?) still standing.

We were briefed by the staff at the volunteer centre, and we proceeded to our designated area. Where we worked for about 2 hours non-stop. While I have no pictures to show what it was like, I can hardly begin to describe what I felt. Seeing a house in ruins, with belongings strewn all over. If it was a place I returned to gather what was left I would most certainly just feel like a void consumed me. At a loss. I uncovered a box of letters, still in dry and good condition, and was shocked to find something still left untouched by the waters. I wondered if the family would have wanted those back. Clothes, books, everything, regardless of how branded they are, are reduced to nothingness when nature bares her fangs. While I only worked 2 hours, and I was tired, I desired to continue, to do more than just that. However, we were limited by our itinerary, and so we had to leave.

We returned to the volunteer centre, which by now was bustling with activity. More local groups had turned up to help. We did some washing, and returned the items we loaned for our work. Gargled iodine, and had some refreshment they provided. The staff were kind and thanked us profusely for our help. Instead, I felt that I had more to thank them for, than they had to me. I was allowed privy to an area that many have not seen, nor touched, nor stood upon. I was allowed to get down and dirty to do my part. My wishes were fulfilled today, to actually stand on the ground and do something physical and concrete.

I purchased a number of things to show my support. A couple of stickers and a very unique shirt that I would be proud to wear.

Re-kuzen Takata shirt, 2 stickers, and a volunteer tee. Above right: Mini tanabata gift.

Just before we left, we were presented with a volunteer shirt, with the words "Even in the toughest of times, never forget to smile."

I am truly glad to have been given this chance, to accomplish something that many would have wanted to, but few had the chance. To contribute physically and economically even in the most minute of ways to Tohoku. Just before I end off, I would like to post one last picture. One that truly captured my mind, heart and eyes.

A tree that survived. Amongst the strewn ruins. A sign of hope, providing courage to all.

Tohoku Youth Ambassador Day 1 (continued)

2011-08-04T23:11:00.000+08:00

So after our mini tanabata making session, we were whisked 2 roads down to Sendai Kokusai Hotel for an opening ceremony and our dinner.

A couple of speakers made their speeches, starting with Prof. Kawamura from Fukushi University (Who is a Buddhist monk as well), who spoke to us about his experience with previous disasters and how with that experience he managed to do his part for Tohoku, when the massive Tsunami struck. As of 26/7/11, the death toll stood at 15,628 and 4,823 were still missing. He explained how it Japan has recovered astoundingly quickly, with aid from the rest of the world. He thanked us from the bottom of his heart, for volunteering to come down to Tohoku to show the world that it is safe, as well as for all the efforts that many Singaporeans made to raise funds for Japan.

Lobby of Sendai Kokusai Hotel

Prof. Kawamura

Mr. Alexis (sp?) his translator. From Russia and Karate expert.

Next Mr. Abe from Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organisation spoke to us about the developments of the Tohoku region, and how relief efforts have been so far. Some important information:

1) Almost ALL modes of transport in Tohoku are fully functional. The Tohoku Expressway, the Shinkansen tracks, and various airports as well are running well. With Sendai Airport running charter flighteds from 25 July, and ALL domestic airports fully open and in operation.

2) Many of the tourist attractions are safe to travel and did not suffer significant damage from the earthquake. With the exception of coastal areas, all are safe for travel.

3) In hot spring areas, all ryokans are open for business.

4) This summer, many of the traditional festivals will be held as per normal.

We then proceeded to our dinner location. Where we, well, had dinner!

Waiting for dinner.

A selection of alcoholic (not) drinks.

Our dinner spread.

The local specialities.

Sea urchin from Iwate, and grilled scallop from Aomori.

Inaniwa Udon from Akita

Hittumi (left) and Zunda (right) Mochi from Miyagi.

Moni from Yamagata, its a pork + konnyaku in broth dish

Grilled sea urchin from Fukushima. The only dish I failed to taste :(

Scallop on the grill.

The queue of food.

From nearest: Salmon, octopus, pork, chicken, pasta, edamame.

Nearing the end of our dinner, we had a couple more stage activities. First of which was the self introduction by some of the University students from Sendai.

And then it was a renactment of Sendai's history, by a group of pretty talented guys, roleplaying as Date Masamune and his entourage.

The awesome gang.

Group photo!

With that, we ended our nights activities and retired to our hotel. 2 night stay at ANA Holiday Inn Sendai.

Tohoku Youth Ambassador Day 1

2011-08-04T00:18:00.000+08:00

Allow me to start the post with the highlight of the 8 hour flight via ANA direct from SGP to NRT. That's right, in any flight, the highlight HAS to be the in-flight meals! So anyways, I always got my meal first, as I had a special arrangement for my meals (bane and boon as you will see later).

No proawn as you can see. Danbo Approves.

Some amazing spring water from Toyama!

This is what normal people got.

Lays and water. Well the bags a plus, but "No proawn" scores 1 against "normal.

Breakfast! What I woke up to, after a 2 hour nap.

Zzzzz. Could it get any blander?!

Boiled potatoes, boiled friend omelette, boiled mushrooms, boiled tomato. Danbo does not make a cameo.

This is what normal people got. :O

Finally after touchdown at Narita Airport, I proceeded to immigration. No pictures though, I remember what happened the last time I took one. Below are some pictures of the situation in NRT AP though.

No unnecessary lights.

Travellators are off, because people actually don't need much effort to walk horizontally.

After clearing the customs, it was off to another long journey! A 5 hour drive to Sendai (turned out to be 6 due to road works). We made a couple stops along the way, at Expressway Service Areas (Kinda like Hokkaido's Road Stations or Malaysia's Rest Stops.) And at the first of these stops we got our lunch!

Rendezvous with the ekiben van.

The Ekiben.

Unboxing the ekiben.

Looks good. Really good. Trust me, looks better than it tastes lol.

But just so everyone knows, I did eat the lot, rice and meat, so I'd like to make a point that as much as radiation is a worry to people, it does not affect ALL food items. The Japanese government is already doing as much as they can to intercept and prevent the spread of irradiated food so KUDOS TO THEM.

Next rest stop. Chop point 2.

So awesome. Even got dog run.

We finally reached our destination. Fujisaki Departmental Store, where on the 4th floor, we had our lesson at making the mini tanabata decorations.

Parts required to make the kimono. 6 parts in all.

KIMONO DONE!

Better view. Front.

Back view. I screwed up the obi. T.T

Group photo. Or rather table photo! Our sensei is the lady in the middle. And second from the right is Aki Meguro, our friendly translator from Tohoku Womens University (?).

Well, I'm stopping here for the night, as it's gonna be an early day tomorrow. Volunteer work at Rikuzentakata. Will post more about the nights events! So please stay tuned and do comment, I appreciated them lots!

Tohoku Youth Ambassador Day 0

2011-08-02T13:20:00.000+08:00

Well, the time has finally come and today is the departure date for my wonderfulawesomeluckyonceinalifetime trip to Tohoku.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I would provide more details about where I would be heading to. *apologises for failure to blog due to mad weeks after the inauguration ceremony* (Had some cosplay thing to do, outings to manage, tuition to teach, MAN this is the busiest holidays I've EVER had) Anyways, the 100 students selected were split into 3 groups (Well now less than 100 as some have withdrawn), and then further sub-divided into another 3 teams. I was in group A, which meant that I would be heading to Yamagata Prefecture to experience the Hanagasa Matsuri!!!!

Some interesting things found during research.

1) Hanagasa (花笠): actually refers to the flower hat that performers wear during the festival.
2) It is one of the 4 greatest festivals in the Tohoku region, ranked among the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri (That I will be attending as well), the Akita Kanto Matsuri, and the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri.
3) It originated from Obanazawa City to the North of Yamagata prefecture.

Not a lot of information is available online (as usual) so I will make it a point to emphasise about the festival during my blogposts. :D

Among other things, we will be climbing (?) Mount Zao, participating in the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri, having an onsen experience (the atas kind in hotel lol as compared to my previous outdoor onsen experiences), visiting the Sendai Airport, as well as possibly doing some relief work at Rikuzentakata.

While I expect that the efforts on my two puny hands will barely put a dent in the amount of work that the Japanese have on theirs, I sincerely hope that I do get the chance to do the relief work, to sweat under the sun, as one with their people because that has always been what I wanted to do after the disaster (economic and academic circumstances brought that down to a NIL).

Anyways, time for last minute checks to ensure that all I need is brought along. Stay tuned for most posts! And do comment! I always enjoy reading them (however few I have T.T)

*transformation!*

Youth Ambassador for Tohoku

2011-07-04T19:18:00.000+08:00

On the 16th of June, I applied for JNTO (Singapore) Youth Ambassador to Tohoku project. They were slated to select 100 applicants for this project. Considering that they were 1) going to travel to an area of Japan that I did not manage to cover during my previous trip and 2) it was the East coast that was previously hit by the tsunami, I really wanted to be selected for the trip. However, I considered the fact that there would be several hundred or even thousands of other applicants that my chances were slim. Nonetheless, I pressed on an sent my application, and left it to fate to determine whether I was to get my chance at this.

On the 27th of June, I received a call from JNTO rather early in the morning and lo' and behold! I was selected as one of the 100 lucky persons to go for this trip! I had a rather muted response on the phone I think, as the caller even asked if I was excited haha. (I was at a loss to respond actually because I didn't expect the call that early, and still in shock at being selected)

Anyways, since I am once again going on a trip, this blog shall be revived (especially since I will be able to handle carrying a laptop on this trip w/o fear of being mugged or stuff being too heavy). So stay tuned for more updates about the trip from 2 August to 9 August!

Cheerios people!!!

Gear Review: Armpocket Sport20 by Armpocket

2011-02-27T02:11:00.001+08:00

I received my Armpocket Sport20 on the 9th of February and I have been putting it to test on all my runs so far.

Before I get to the review, heres a picture of the Armpocket.

In my favourite colour. Oh so damn rare.

Reflective piping FTW.

At the bottom-line, the Armpocket has managed to serve its function as a small carrier for running. However, it has far exceeded my expectation during my runs.

First of all, the strap. it's not the conventional velcro strap that completely ruins ALL dri-fit shirts that it snags onto. This one, doesn't snag at all, much less cause any weird fibres running out of the shirt.

Next, the memory foam really made a difference to the snugness of the Armpocket during runs. It forms up to the shape of your arm when you tighten up the strap, and because the material actually has a lag time getting returning to it's normal shape from compression and vice-versa, it provides a constant snug fit even while your arm muscles flex and relax throughout the run, reducing bounce to nearly zero. Best of all? After sweating bucketloads, this thing does NOT slip downwards. Do note that you do have to fasten this baby up just above the triceps for its perfect lasting non-slip powers.

I thought the loop at the side to hold down the zippers were an awesome and well thought out detail for the Armpocket. It does exactly what I said, hold them zippers down, which is an often neglected detail in other running pouches.

Your common earphone jack pass-through. Which is made of silicon (?) and provides a fair bit of traction so that you don't end up with extending wires during your runs. They performed exactly as Armpocket said it would, even with my cloth covered wire on my Skullcandies.

Inside! The Armpocket Sport20 is supposed to be sufficient to hold, 1 smartphone, credit cards, keys (not too many), cash and a couple of gels. The slots at the back serve to hold cards and keys for me. Which is perfect, considering that I would REALLY REALLY prefer not to realise at the end of my run that the back of my phone has been DESTROYED by a bouncing key in the pouch. Oh yes, and an elastic band holds the phone towards the front of the pouch which minimises movement of the phone.

Finally, the all important question. Does the plastic actually allow you to use your amazing CAPACITIVE touch-screen smartphone? Well, if you can see how I've swiped my last page on the phone to the left, the answer is obvious. Although I must say that you do need to get used to using a little bit more pressure to get the phone to react, but I attribute that to the plastic being loose and slightly away from the screen, an acceptable factor.

The ONLY issue that I have with the Armpocket is that it's so perfectly sized for the phone that you end up with your straight earphone jack sticking out at the top. The issue can easily be solved with the usage of a bent jack earphone, but since I'm fine with running around with this, I'll live with the problem. Half and inch more of material would have been perfect for covering everything.

Well after 4-6 runs with this pouch, I'm glad to say that, Armpocket, you have not disappointed me. In fact, I am now an extremely satisfied customer of Armpocket and would definitely recommend it to anyone out there who is looking for a running pouch. Especially if you use your smartphone's tracking features for your sport activities. To top it off, they have 5 other awesome colors if you're bored of the only color available in the market, BLACK.

On a side note, as a customer who has experienced top-notch service from the staff at Armpocket, I would like to thank them for the prompt and excellent service rendered to me. Great product, great people.

Get yours at ARMPOCKET.

*Disclaimer: This is an independent, and unbiased review of the above product by me. It has not been funded nor instructed nor guided by the folks at ARMPOCKET. I will however provide them a link to this page so they may use it as a testimonial. All runs have been completed in Singapore, tropical weather.*

The oddball: Okhotsk Tower. (Errata: Monbetsu, home of Hospitality)

2010-04-28T01:56:00.001+08:00

The Okhotsk tower and museum.

The one thing that I really really wanted to visit in Japan.

So when I reached Hokkaido, it became part of the itinerary to visit the place.

Initial research pointed me to Abashiri, where there is a Ryuhyo (Drift Ice) Museum, The Okhotsk Drift Ice Museum. This was a link given by Japan-guide website. Which then became the second point of the journey in Hokkaido.

However, upon further research, I found another sea ice museum. The GIZA Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum of Hokkaido. Which was situated in Monbetsu, some far-ass place up North in Hokkaido. This was the place that the JNTO website pointed out as an attraction. It gave the address, and directions to the place, but no website.

Using the above information, I tried to cross-reference the two museums, to see which one the JNTO website was referring to. I then realised that there were 2 SEPARATE MUSEUMS BOTH SITUATED MILES AWAY FROM EACH OTHER!? In addition to that, I also realised that the JNTO website was EXTREMELY misleading. You see, although the JNTO website listed the Monbetsu museum, it gave the picture of the Abashiri Museum, which resulted in my inability to reconcile the two!!!

I then researched the location of the OKHOTSK TOWER, which was apparently in Monbetsu, which then concluded where I would be headed.

Anyway, with my newfound knowledge that the Monbetsu Sea Ice museum was the one that I wanted to head for, I tried looking up more information on opening hours, directions and admission prices. Turns out there is ZILCH, when it comes to finding out stuff about the Okhotsk tower in Monbetsu. All information is either is Japanese or lacking in figures. All I managed to find out was, the admission to the museum is 750 yen, it closes on Monday, and opens from 9am to 5pm, buses to Monbetsu go from JR Engaru, takes an hour, BUT NOTHING ABOUT THE TOWER!!!!

So after this fiasco, which took up the last few hours of my already belated bedtime, I decided to just head out into the wilds with whatever little information I have. Which is actually very little. ZZZ.

After a mad rush to catch the first train at 0917 from Nishi-Kitami to Engaru, we took the bus to Monbetsu. Which took about 1 hour to the stop that I wanted to get off at. It seemed like the correct stop on paper, but when I arrived, this was what I saw...

Yes, desolation...

Hence started our long walk to what was to be our first destination, the Okhotsk Tower. We were rather clueless about where it was and how to get there, so when we finally found some building that had the words 'Tourist' in Kanji, we went straight in to check it out. Turns out it was the boarding terminal for the Garinko II Ice Breaker (Not what we wanted to take but at least it was a close idea to the stuff we were looking for). Suddenly, we were approached from behind by a person, who asked us if we wanted an English or Chinese brochure, which signalled the beginning of our EXCELLENT experience at Monbetsu. We were actually still very clueless, and just said Okhotsk Tower? Whereupon he directed us to a very nice van just outside the building, and DROVE US straight up to the lobby of the Okhotsk Tower!

Really cool van, that drove us to Okhotsk Tower!

We headed up to the Okhotsk Tower and checked out the place. The view from the 3rd floor of the tower was not very astonishing, which I attributed to the lack of drift ice (understandable due to the time that I was visiting the place). The exhibits were of little interest to me, but reading some of the stuff made me think that ice research is rather cool (forgive the pun). The true beauty of the tower lies at the basement. The 10m deep section of the tower, for viewing what is in the Sea of Okhotsk. Within it, there were touch pools, fish specimens, and once again, the view of the sea was rather lacking but it is once again attributed to the lack of drift ice.

The Tower!!!

That would be the sea beneath me.

This would be what we had to walk if we didn't meet the nice guy!

Underwater place!!

We headed up and prepared to leave the tower, when the counter staff told us that the same car would come to pick us up. We were delighted by that, and when the same person came to drive us down, he said that he would drive us to the Tokkari Centre (out next destination) and then afterward tell us how to get to the bus stop of mystery. When we mentioned that we also wanted to visit the Sea Ice Museum, he immediately suggested that he drive us there so that we can check out the place! [I was blown away by the hospitality and courtesy shown to us]

At the Tokkari Centre, we had a really cool experience up close and personal with sealions. They did funny tricks like rolling over, slapping their bellies to say goodbye and taking photos with us!

The sealions!

We returned to the Garinko II terminal to find that it was mostly closed inside, with the lights off and stalls closed. However, the same person mysteriously appeared again, and once again we were off, this time to the Sea Ice Museum of Okhotsk! Let me introduce him now.

One of the Best Service Staff I have ever encountered!!

His name is Yoshiyuki Kosaki, and he was the first person who approached us lost souls at the Garinko II terminal. I APPLAUD his EXCELLENT SERVICE and INITIATIVE shown to us, for without his timely aid we would probably be lost and wandering around, totally failing to see the attractions that we came so far for. Thank you very much, Kosaki-san, for going the extra mile and driving us around, even all the way to the bus stop, before going to the Museum, so that we would know where it is. I am extremely moved by the extent of service, and personal touch you provided us with.

We hurried into the GIZA Sea Ice Museum and were greeted by several staff, who tried their best to explain how to buy tickets and showtimes even though we had a communication barrier. When we finally bought the tickets, they ushered us in to the highlight of the place. The Low-Temperature Simulation Room, where temperatures were set at -20 degrees Celcius.

Yup -20.2 degree C.

Frozen Fishies!

Freaking HUGE SUNFISH!!! The box was about 2m X 2m X 2m.

It seemed we had what we considered a personal guide through the entire museum, whom I will introduce at the end of this post. He showed us and explained to us in English the stuff in the Simulation room, from frozen bubbles to frozen blocks of ice with fish and plants in them! It was really really amazing especially when we saw one of the staff chipping away at a HUGE Sunfish that was frozen!

After viewing the exhibits, our guided tour came to an end and the staff member who took us around asked us where we were going next, whereupon we mentioned that we were heading back to Engaru from the nearest bus stop. We then looked around the place a bit, and before we knew it, he came and told us that he would be driving us to the bus stop! Quite a shock to us actually, because we actually still had quite a lot of time to spare and could walk up to the stop. It wasn't until I checked my paper, that I realised he was trying to get us on the next bus which was coming in about 10 mins! I also realised when I went out to board the vehicle that it was his own car that he was driving us in and not the van!! He then drove us up to the bus stop, and told us when the bus was coming.

The aforementioned Personal Car!

Guide for Sea Ice Museum, and going the extra mile to drive us out!

This is Kuwahara Takashi. Our guide to the Sea Ice Museum. Once again, I am awed by the service provided to us. He rushed out to get his OWN CAR to drive us to the bus stop!! This is not something I would expect of staff at an attraction, and he has really shown me what Initiative and Service Excellence truly is. I am VERY VERY GRATEFUL to you, Takashi-san for going the extra mile to make sure we could catch the bus to return to Engaru.

There was also one more person that I could not feature here, because I couldn't get a name or picture in time. He is a staff from JR Engaru, who assisted us with our bags as we couldn't fit them into the lockers at the station. This was the first thing that amazed me as I couldn't believe that service staff could go so far to ensure the service provided to the customer is tip-top.

Our first view of Monbetsu was bleak, and our journey there was made worse due to me stopping two stops earlier. However, with the effort and service and hospitality showered upon us at the attractions, our day made a 180 degree turnabout. To Takashi-san and Kosaki-san, all the staff at GIZA Sea Ice Museum, the JR staff member from JR Engaru, ありがとうございます!!!! All of you made Okhotsk Monbetsu so much more beautiful.

I strongly recommend that anyone who goes to Hokkaido, make Okhotsk Monbetsu a trip on your itinerary. It is TRULY an uplifting experience!

The Beer Factory

2010-04-26T22:25:00.007+08:00

We got into Kitami late the night before, and wandered around like lost sheep for a bit (because we WERE lost) before we pulled into our pasture for the night. Awaking this morning, we realised heyho, it's MONDAY and thusly postponed our Okhotsk outing for a day.

For those of you who are not with it on the Japanese schedule, Monday is the fashionable rest day for most things of touristy interest. Which means any attempt to make a trip to the very obscure museum (more on that later) might potentially end up a wasted one. As it was, we decided to toddle around Kitami to see what we could see.

Lo and behold, the Tourist Information Counter (TIC) at JR Kitami confirmed our suspicions. "Well, it's Monday... so... everything is closed." Yay. However, after having had our spirits tested by Toyama and Takaoka, we figured this town couldn't possibly be as bad. After all, it had a functional TIC, and with one sweet lady who spoke wonderful English no less! So we fudged around about where to go and what to do, when suddenly she mentioned that we ought to try the local speciality if we had the time. YES WE DID and we are very glad for it!

Following her precise instructions, we arrived at the recommended restaurant:

The decor was simple, but quite lovely - of course this opinion comes from someone who has been eating primarily streetfood and convenience store stuff here, but still. It has a number of seating areas, able to suit anyone's whims, from glass-fronted sunny patio type seats to raised stage-area seats, second floor seats and regular restaurant seating. They led us to a strategically positioned table on the raised stage-area, where we got a nice view of the entire restaurant floor as well as the beer brewing window. Plus, it was positioned in such a way that we were able to plonk servings from the freeflow table to ours. (YAY!)

We ordered separate items after deciding to skip dinner (the price of a lunch like this, alas). ZsupCreator got dibs on the local speciality, shio yakisoba (salt fried noodles), while I picked a beef stew with rice (Hokkaido beef, Japanese style).

Our spirits lifted when we were told we could make free with a little table of goodies - hot onion consommé, onion-laden salad, onion pasta salad and fruit cocktail (no onion). Also free flow of tea and coffee. Wondering about my emphasis on onions? Well, you guessed it... the local star produce is ONIONS. And peppermint, actually.

Those who know me would know I usually shun this vegetable. However, Japan is turning out to be a wonderful place for plant-chomping me. The raw onions tossed into the salad was more sweet than pungent, with hardly any of that nippy taste that usually makes me avoid it. I had several helpings of everything on that table... would blame it on my Singaporean background, but really, it was THAT good. None of the usual cheapozoidal squishy cocktail either. The stuff was firm in texture and just right in sweetness, Del Monte, I believe?

The dishes we ordered arrived in due time, and I have to say I rather like the fried noodles. Served on a hotplate ringed with metal to look like a regular dish, it came with caramelised fried onion and lemon juice for toppings. This was very easy to polish off between the two of us and well worth the 880yen price tag.

When I first saw my beef stew though, my heart sank a bit. Stew, to me, means a healthy helping of soupish portions. The splatter on a plate hardly sufficed. And it was a flat plate, at that, rather than a deep dish... However, the first taste just blew my doubts out of the water. We could hardly believe that the meat in the dish was beef - it was fatty and soft, more like ter bak than gu bak. The taste was all COW though. Tender and just enough to chew on so the teeth can squeeze the tasty juices out into the rest of the mouth. At 1000yen with rice on the side, I felt pain for my wallet, but this was worth forgoing dinner and supper and tomorrow's breakfast for.

Of course, with the restaurant being named as it was, I could hardly pass up the opportunity to try their unfiltered ale. It went very nicely with the stew, although I can't really say it would be good with the noodles. Pilsener for that, perhaps?

Thumbs up to the Kitami TIC for the great recommendation. This was a clear winner - in our two hours there we saw a constant stream of people coming in for the shio yakisoba and beer, though most left before us (we attribute this to their inability to down multiple helpings of salad/dessert/soup/tea/coffee). All Japanese, incidentally... Kitami is a little bit off the main tourist map, I believe?

Anyway, if anyone is traipsing around Hokkaido in future and doesn't mind a little detour for some fantastic food, The Beer Factory in Kitami is the place to be!

Update on Agion Website

2010-04-25T02:22:00.002+08:00

Woohoo! The site is up and taking clicks again... so feel free to contribute anytime! Just remember, one click per person... or per IP address, really. So if you are using the same network as your friend/classmate/family/village, the website is only going to take one vote!

Thanks everyone for your support and Many Thanks to Joel M. and the Agion team for their efforts to get the bugs fixed :)

VOTE FOR ME HERE!

Fizzy Fuzzy Head >.>

2010-04-25T01:50:00.006+08:00

Been carrying flu for a couple weeks, and in the last two days it finally decided to make a stand. Losing battle, I know, but it did bring me down for a bit so I made good on my travel insurance and picked up some nice tasty meds from a doctor.

Nasty virus goes *rawr*

Up yours, evil viruses! Well, actually I didn't have to take the ones in the foreground - just in case I ran a high fever. I did have to add the rest to my current diet, though.

This means we didn't do much around Hakodate even though we stayed here for 3 days so far... our actual exploration has only covered one evening and a day, really. But we like what we see anyway!

So our first foray into the touristy rounds of Hakodate had to be its Number One attraction, of course. Mt Hakodate's night view from the observatory up top!

Lucky us, we had a lovely blanket of mist obscure the city view for much of the evening. Although it was a thin sort of blanket, so my DSLR came to the rescue by pretending the mist didn't exist at all in the photographs...

The horror of having 1/3 of the photograph bathed in mist.
The mountains have vanished and Hakodate looks astonishingly flat.

Ooo la la... good camera = Hakodate looks pretty anyway!

I have to say it really was quite beautiful, though I would have appreciated it more if the winds on Mt Hakodate had left more of my fingers and nose and ears alone. I really like the photographs I managed to get, but I really had to earn these!

This morning the flu has backed off to a dribbly sort of standstill (better than the green slime I've had to cough up before, anyways), so we also twirled around the Hakodate Morning Market, where ZsupCreator tried his hand at squid fishing and hooked us a nice fresh breakfast! It was everything squid sashimi should be... firm, with that squidly sweetness bursting into the mouth. ZsupCreator hooked one with egg, too. So I had extra nutrients because he didn't like its slimy texture.

Selecting the most succulent one...

Amidst the filleting process, the guy suddenly picked up the decapitated head and scraped it on the cutting board a few times. Then he put it back on the board, whereupon the head rose up upon the tentacles and attempted to run away! *curiosity + shockhorror*

I wonder how many karma points I lost today T.T

We did some walking around after, running through the Red Brick Warehouse shopping bits and the waterfront area (where we had lunch), toddled up the hill to see Carl Raymon's museum (not much to see, really) and ended up in Goryokaku Park (star-shaped, but no pictures of this because we were stingy and didn't want to shell 720yen to go up the tower).

ZsupCreator: "Why? Why did you have your museum so obscurely hidden up that steep slope?"

C.Raymon: "It seemed a good idea to have my house on Mt. Hakodate at the time... good view, you know."

View of expensive tower from the eyes of a garden-goer...

I love what I have seen of Hokkaido so far... I wonder what comes next?

Agion in the Interim

2010-04-21T00:31:00.004+08:00

I am still having fun anyway!

A sort of quickie note to those who have been helping me test out the link:

Thanks much for your dedication, ladies and gentlemen. I really appreciate your support and I have to admit that I very much would have liked to get that prize ;D

Alas, it seems that the link isn't going to be fixed anytime soon and the competition is swiftly catching up. It is kind of sianz, especially after everyone put in the effort and helped to spread the word, but I guess what will be will be?

In any case, I just wanted to thank you for clicking for me. I still hold faint hopes that they might fix it, but figure it also might not happen. Ah well.

----EDIT---

Yayness! A miracle breakthrough! We are back in business again :)

http://zsup.blogspot.com/2010/04/update-on-agion-website.html

Blazing hazing hectic days!

2010-04-20T23:32:00.004+08:00

We've been in Tokyo two days and I have to say that it has been quite an experience being here! It feels like Sendai and Yokohama and Osaka all rolled together, and yet somehow a world apart.

Our highlights so far include:

1. Discovery of the Most Amazing Taito Clawgrab place ever
We are staying right next to it, and have been making off with Gloomy cloaks, MonHun Pig towels, Gloomy Claws and random keychains which have cost us an average of 200 yen. The staff there are very helpful, cheerfully resetting the machines on request and all. Not to mention that for once, the machines are actually playable!

2. Freshly Baked Melon Pan

After visiting Sensoji Temple early in the morning, we hung around a store nearby awaiting its opening. We scoped out the place the night before, and the displays of melon breads was just too tempting. The moment it opened, we made our orders and were rewarded with the freshest toasty melon bread ever! It was not too sweet, with a crunchy texture to the top crust while the interior was downy soft... we nearly squashed the bread trying to pull it out of the paper wrapping!

3. DisneySea
Well, it's Tokyo, and it's Disney. What else can I say? While we had to deal with the sad disappointments of having the night's fireworks extravaganza cancelled due to bad weather (just a very cloudy sky) and some key thrill rides not being open, it was still a good experience just going through the various themed areas. I have to say, Disney isn't much for thrill, just flashy over the top showiness mostly. I really liked the obvious effort put into the background stories of the rides and areas, but felt there was too much storytelling and wanted more ZOOOOOOM. I shall have to make up for the lack of real excitement elsewhere.

4. 3D Movie Outing to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
Though here it should be more rightly called Johnny Depp's Alice in Wonderland. The cinema was chock full of memorabilia and merchandise featuring his very prominent orange do. It was an interesting experience, being in a cinema in Japan. For one thing, the audience was SILENT. Like if you so much as rustled in your seat, you would be the only source of sound not from the screen. Such a lovely change from the Singaporean movie watching scene! Secondly, the lights in the cinema don't come on till the credits are over. While this isn't great news for those waiting to use the toilet at the end, I think it shows due respect for all the people who put in the effort create the movie. Even if those people aren't there to see it. It does show just how much dedication to respect there is in this society. I must say though, that it was during the end credits that people started putting on jackets and folding up lap blankets. As quietly as possible, of course ;D

Well. This isn't an exhaustive list of the things that we actually did... I mean, we also visited Akihabara and Ueno, and waltzed through Shibuya as well, but they are the things that made my day in Tokyo so far!

One more day left, I wonder what tales I will have to tell after?

Playground fun time!

Wheeee group shot!

What a Rush!

2010-04-19T01:05:00.006+08:00

Aye, it has been, indeed. There is so much backlog to clear, Agion-related postings, sweet, sweet memories of Kyushu, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Tateyama-Kurobe... OMG.

But one must move with the times, and I will simply have to update for what is the latest ;D Simply consider that I have taken a holiday from working on the blog to celebrate my 30th birthday, eh? :D

In any case, we are now in Tokyo at last, usually the first place that anybody visits when they come to Japan for the first time.

We arrived at Shinjuku from Matsumoto Castle, the temperature is about 16 degrees and we are killing ourselves in our layers. So now the new outfit is Agion at base layer, and a light jacket on top. Heattech just for pants, with my usual trackpants over.

It was a painful arrival, after all the hiking we did around Matsumoto yesterday. Back is aching, bags aren't feeling any lighter with the layers stacked on them instead of on our bodies. So we went and checked out what we thought was a nice place to eat - Royal Host. While resembling Big Boy, we do think that the latter is better value for money for its excellent salad bar and drinks selection. Royal Host has pretty good food at similar prices, but likes to control what the customers get to eat - they give a choice of 3 pre made salads... Bring on the salad bar, I say!

First home in Tokyo: Gera Gera Manga Kissa. Nice place that let us park our bags there while we went and ran all over the place with Edward and Dennis!

Speaking of whom, WELCOME TO JAPAN!

We will be moving in a group and messing around Tokyo for the next few days before we abandon them for Hokkaido and they will go forth to the delights of Osaka instead.

Messing around in Asakusa ;D

Anyway, we met up and had dinner part II, courtesy of Werd's pocket (YAY YAY thankew!) and then went crazy at Taito Station Asakusa, collecting a pile of stuff in winnings. In case anyone thinks we have forgotten our pathetic budget, let me just say that we won an average of 1 item per 200 yen. And both ZsupCreator and I got a GLOOMY BEAR CLOAK - BLACK each for that price, so it was more than worth it! ;D Werd also picked up the same, in pink! ZsupCreator also picked up more stuff because he was trying to get a stuck Gloomy paw... it's all good!

Taito Station Asakusa - The place to Play!

We visited Sensoji Temple after ditching our bags after, and will be returning tomorrow morning for daytime shots!

Sweet night glow!

Giant Lantern Jump Shot

Toyama. Japan's most boring prefecture.

2010-04-16T14:57:00.002+08:00

Next morning, we decided to find out more about Toyama and its surroundings. The place seemed out of a DREAM, because the streets were empty even at 10am in the morning? We went to the TIC which was located in a shopping centre, and when they couldn't give us much info in English, we headed to the other one near the Station. Who somehow spoke better English and told us to visit, Takaoka, apparently a place of sightseeing, with old houses and what-not.

We took a train, that cost us 320 yen to Takaoka. And was greeting by railway construction, a nice facade, a stamp and it seemed perfect. So we decided to put our stuff into a locker, to check out the place, which seemed to have a HUGE buddha, and some shopping areas. Lo' and behold, what greeted us when we reached the shopping street was this.

A street of nothing? At 1pm?

So we decided, maybe, just maybe, the people wake up late here, or there is more to be seen? Hence we trudged on, in hopes that the place would betray its dreamy looks.

Guess what? We were wrong. The place was such a DREAMland that EVERYTHING we walked past was closed or half open, i.e. the open ones didn't even seem to have anyone staffing the place. In fact, when we asked the very nice TIC, they told us of an internet cafe that wasn't even one? It was a place with computers, that's about it, most definitely not a cafe. The place was such a DREAMY place that the most populated place was this WINGWING plaza, that houses the library and seemed to double as some sort of information counter.

The most interesting part of Takaoka was probably the multiple brass statues and sculptures we found all over the place, some Doraemon, Musicians of Bremen, etc.

Desperate to awake from this DREAM, we headed back to Toyama, hence incurring another 320 yen cost, PLUS locker fee which kept our bags for about 2 hours @ 600 yen. On the way to Toyama, we realised that the place seemed to have awoken from its DREAMLIKE state, because we actually saw people walking around!?

The TIC told us before we left that there was an internet cafe on the third floor of the stations. So with a nagging doubt in my head, i headed to the third floor to check it out. LO AND BEHOLD. I WAS RIGHT. The purported internet cafe was a CUBICLE.

I decided that since we had nothing to do, and we had some maps of internet cafes in the vicinity to try ONE LAST TIME to find out whether there were any 24hr internet cafes nearby. So I asked the nice lady, "Do you know any 24 hour internet cafes near here?"

Her reply was. "VERY FAR, take bus to (place name) and it will be called (place name)"

Great.

Here I am in a place which seems to be well developed, but it has no internet cafe within walking distance. I conclude that this place must be out of someones DREAM.

We took the bus out to the supposed place, and on our way passed by the shopping arcade. Guess what? It was DESOLATE. I guess nothing like that really surprises me anymore in Toyama.

Finally after disembarking from the bus at what seemed to be along a highway exit, we found our VERY NICE INTERNET CAFE. Which offered 24 hour rates. The first internet cafe we have been to that offers it though. And I can probably guess why, the Otaku's who have no jobs, and NEET's can't possibly survive in Toyama the place of nothingness?! So to provide supply to the demand, 24 hour rates are offered! Much to our delight.

Now, to get an idea of what the place is actually like? Replace ALL instances of DREAM with NIGHTMARE. There, now you get the idea.

Conclusion: Unless you have time to burn? Or maybe the day Toyama has a properly built up tourism infrastructure? Don't go there. There is nothing. NOTHING. Of course it is the transit point for Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, but since its transitting, you won't get depressed seeing the whole amazingly empty city.

What Matsuya, Sukiya? The only thing this place has is EXPENSIVE-YA?! - Me, expressing my disgust @ the emptiness of Toyama and Takaoka.

The Sights, Scenes, and Horrors. Takayama Spring Festival.

2010-04-16T14:06:00.004+08:00

It's been a long time since my last post, because I really lacked the inspiration to post anything that I thought might be of interest to readers. But today, after reaching the lowest point in my travels in Japan, I figured it would be a GREAT thing to share this with everyone.

Its been 45 days.

In Japan.

45 days of fun, excitement, tiredness, and spending.

On the last day of my Japan Rail Pass. It was the first day of the Takayama Spring Festival. Apparently one of the top 3 in Japan.

So early in the morning after the stop over the night before in Nagoya. We caught the first train to Takayama at 7.43 a.m., and it took just over 2 hours to get there. Reaching at 10.01 a.m., we realised that Takayama was REALLY COLD, in fact just as the weather forecast had shown me, it actually snowed! 2nd time I have seen snow in my life and just within a month away from the last time in Japan!

We started off trying to find out more about the festival from the TOURIST information centre. Rainestormyr went off to do so, while I searched around for stamps (our everlasting quest). Turned out, that even though the TIC was placed in a prime position and there were so many non-japanese tourists, AND they spoke English, all the information they could give us was a very unhelpful pamphlet and repeatedly telling us that ALL HOTELS ARE BOOKED OUT, even though we were asking about 24hour internet cafes. With that, our festival experience started. ZZZ..

TIC of Nothingness

When we finally found out about the performance schedule, we headed out to check out the Kakuri Doll performances. Which apparently needed in excess of 10 people just to operate ONE DOLL. Which I found quite amazing, considering that it is only 1 doll.

Yes, there were many people.

One of the dolls.

After the performance, we headed out to enjoy the sights of the old town, the festival food and just plainly to check out Takayama.

After hours of walking around, we finally obtained the information we needed. Which came from an English pamphlet given by a POLICEMAN. Seriously that just goes to show how lousy that TIC was. ZZZ. The pamphlet told us that the highlight would start at about 6.30 p.m. We decided that since we could catch the last train to Toyama (our next location) after the performance, we would stay and watch it.

As time went by, the temperatures got colder, and colder, and colder. I believe that if weather forecast was right, it hit about 1 degree and we braved that cold to watch what was supposed to be a spectacular festival. The festival itself was quite a scene. The lights on the floats, being pushed by 8-12 people down the road, all of it was pretty. However, one must comment harshly on the conduct of the festival.

The crowd control was the worst we have seen since the first festival (Tagata Jinja), the festive crowd control in our area consisted of 1 man. That's a ratio of about 1:300? The start was pretty ok, as the people listened and stay within the boundary set by the oraganisers, but soon, it was hell with people rushing up to the floats and running across the path that the floats would be taking. What was supposed to be a sight to behold became one of sight of assholes. Not to mention all the old people would be pushing through and causing everyone to move while taking pictures.

By about 8p.m. the festival ended, and we were well on our way to Toyama. With frozen fingers and hands. The train to Toyama took about an hour and a half. And when we reached there, it was dreamland. The streets were empty, and it was cold, well not as cold as Takayama, but it was cold. And it started raining. And we had no clue where to go.

So in the end we settled for an expensive night at a hotel. Toyoko-inn (Lol. Considering our last experience there, its quite funny, read back to Yokohama to get an idea) We managed to get a special night rate because we reached at an unearthly time of 1a.m. and I signed up with them for membership (lifetime). Total damage? About 7500 yen. Freaking expensive night.

So ends our journey through Takayama.

Agion Rocks On!

2010-04-14T02:02:00.007+08:00

So after that last time I reported that I seem to have zilched my Agion Tee, it is my pleasure to say that it is up and running again! According to the Agion peeps, the shirt does require some degree of rejuvenation via washing. Even better if it can be run through a dryer...

This presents an interesting puzzle to me... because I don't generally use a dryer at home. So there are definitely going to be tests for this once I get back home.

So after some exposure to nice clean water and a little sunshine... (Ok, we really did get around to washing machine, detergent and a dryer cycle) the shirt was subjected to a little more stress!

We spent the last couple of days in Kagoshima, the furthest south we have been in Japan. This meant that the ambient temperature became quite a bit warmer than we have been used to so far, so the Agion tee got promoted to base layer. For the most part, it was actually the only layer - first time on this trip I actually got to run around wearing just tee and berms! It did mean that the shirt got a good workout right after it was washed though, and I have to say that the shirt seems to be working better now.

I hesitate to say it is completely back to normal, though, because while the treated side registers a noticeable degree of difference from the untreated side, it seems that it has not completely recovered from its unwashed ordeal. The treated side used to be practically smell proof for days! Now it is working hard enough for a day's climb, but I think more regular washing is needed to get things back to what it was before.

So remember, ladies and gentlemen, treat your equipment well and it will love you back! :D

At Yunohira Lookout Point on Sakurajima - the nearest anyone can get to the volcano without working for the Met agency. 1/2 shirt straining but still smelling all right for 2 hours uphill slog!

We are back to 3 layers weather, but the Agion tee is going to the Takayama Spring Festival as base layer next for some more hard work. I really want to see if having the really thin thermal layer I was wearing before was helping the tee to do its job all along ;D

EDIT: Forecast of snow showers at Takayama today, with 1 deg temp at the lowest. No freaking way to wear the Agion as base. Maybe in warmer climes...

Also, the chemicals seem to have kicked in while I slept in it overnight... half the shirt now smells nice and clean while the other half smells like... well, like I slept in it! I think the earlier sniff test was probably when the sweat hadn't quite cleared out yet.

Morning bath to the rescue! ;D

p.s. Don't forget to cast your vote for me, if you haven't done so yet, k? If you have already voted, thanks a million!!! ;D

Vote for me here! (Click the word under the vote count)

Himeji Castle

2010-04-10T00:48:00.007+08:00

Ah, the belated blogpost, made possible only by the honesty of the Internet Cafe in Himeji that returned my memory card :)　 http://www.icafe-maganet.com/

So back to the story... we arrived in JR Himeji station, to see this very prominent signboard...

First thought: AAAAARGH! 40mins? Just how exclusive is this castle?

I mean, none of the other castles before this had this kind of crowd. I thought Osaka Castle was crazy crowded as it was, but at least there was no wait to get in, everyone just kind of jammed in steadily and flowed right out again when they were done.

When I saw the castle for the first time, I knew we had reached a High Point in our journey. The sakuras were blooming, the green was sprightly, the sun was shining... and the castle did look gorgeous, seriously.

And we proceeded. The initial approach was very smooth. The ticketing counter area was crowded, and people were let into the section in batches, but no 40min wait was in sight at that point. I allowed myself to feel some relief as I walked into the main gate, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the castle lawn area. It wasn't until we tried to approach the main building that THIS hove into view...

The approach. See the line of people behind the signboard? *dawning horror*

So of course we had to get to the end of the line... and sadly headed away from the direction of the castle building.

Walking...

And walking...

Still walking... the line just keeps going... around the bend...

Must... go... on...

Past another gate??

And at last, the end of the line. Like a couple hundred metres from where we started O.o

**fast forward**

We reached the main building sooner than 40mins... but then realised why there was such a long queue in the first place. Crowds aside, the top levels of the building could only take a certain weight. And the crowds were such that the officials were kept busy stopping people from going up when there were too many upstairs. It was really a test of social responsibility that people did not take too long looking around upstairs (even though they served their time in the queue below) and went off so a new batch of people could go up.

But the view from the top was quite worth the climb!

Day time was one thing. But we were lucky enough to hit the first day of the hanami festival light up! That very evening, Nishinomaru Garden was to be open to the public for free enjoyment, complete with pretty lights and all.

So we returned after dinner, to find this sight going on!

They were giving out sticky transparencies to mostly children, for them to draw pictures themed on either the castle, sakura, or flower viewing. Coloured markers and all that were provided. And afterward, the transparencies were stuck onto lanterns that were provided and displayed along the street (for the period of the light up festival).

Hearing our foreign accents, the ever-obliging volunteers whipped out a couple of these blank transparencies at us and encouraged us to join in. So we did our best, and had our handiwork shining out there on the street beside all the others! The Japanese are terribly polite, and I really appreciated this when they accepted our kindergarten-standard pictures with grace and didn't even sneak a laugh.

Here is ZsupCreator's work of art... mine is a tad too ugly to put up... but as you can see, he accidentally set the castle on fire...

The castle ablaze...

Entering the castle grounds once more, though... the sight really took my breath away. It is not like you can't see Himeji Castle from the main road. But somehow, standing there surrounded by the blossoms and festive sounds, all the people sitting on mats and playing and laughing and taking photos... that really added to the glow of this light up!

The garden was, of course, gorgeous. It is difficult to show the play of lights on the trees, even with photographs. One of those experiences that I think lives better in the memories for having seen it with your own eyes.

The colours kept changing, but here is red and purple... just because I like them!

There were also lots of people trying to capture photographs like these, with a reflection of the pretty flowers in the pond. Actually, there was a signboard saying that it was for putting out fires, but hey, water is water and at night, pretty is fantastically gorgeous, especially in a setting like this!

Our evening was rounded off with a performance by this Chinese ensemble, or at least Chinese-styled. They played a lot of Chinese springtime classics, and ZsupCreator and I had a great time just sitting there listening to them. Mind you, I paid a lot less attention to such music when I was subject to those school assemblies and etc. But again, the backdrop was White Heron Castle, and the spirit of spring was truly in the air. Perfect.

Himeji Castle has a deserved reputation for its beauty, and I do count us lucky, that we managed to see it before it gets closed for renovation.

Starting from April 12th, the main keep will be closed to all visitors until 2011 at least, and then there will be limited access and ugly looking scaffolding all over until 2014 when the freshly restored castle will be open properly once more. I think I would like to return to see it after 2014... we shall see?

Post-Tottori... Tottery, Tottering...

2010-04-09T00:37:00.002+08:00

No kidding. The net connection from the place I am currently in is not bad, but the computers are laggy as all hells, so I will have to make this blogpost text-only, and (relatively) short. BUT.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY! Actually, 2 of them

1. I am once again impressed by Japan's excellence in being, well... human. I thought I lost my memory card for good when I left it behind in Himeji a while back, at the internet cafe I was staying overnight in. Lo and behold, today we happened to pass through so I thought I'd pop by and check, just in case... IT WAS STILL THERE!

This is something that would never happen in Singapore. Leave your phone behind... *pouf* Leave your keys behind, change your lock. Leave your snazzy bicycle outdoors... still a high chance of disappearing. Leave your memory card out of your camera? Forget about seeing it again.

I will definitely post more about the amazing place once I get on better computers. Now that my entire set of photos are back, I can do the extravaganza I planned for the amazing Himeji Castle outing!

2. I have BUSTED my Agion Tee!

Well, not exactly, it still looks like a T-shirt and all. But in the latest cycle of wearing it down, after a mere 8 days of non-washing, both sides are smelling exactly the same. Of course, this might have to do with the fact that I haven't really bathed properly in a while (plus minus dunking in raging river waters), but I think this still counts for something. When the trip began, the treated side of the shirt was holding its own against my personal pong for longer than.

We are currently considering if I have actually just overwhelmed the chemicals with the sheer extent of personal nonhygiene I have been subjecting it to. Will be giving it a good wash and then updating again in a bit.

So, apologies to all for the half-dead blog, we do have loads of backlog to catch up on, really!

Rocking the Yoshino River!

2010-04-05T23:36:00.017+08:00

We had a brilliant time along the Yoshino River with our HappyRaft guides, Teru (who incidentally also owns the HappyRaft Guesthouse) and Kobu. Sadly, the weather didn't allow us to wear our Agion Tees, because we were kitted out in double wetsuit layers. But, the tees might yet go rafting later...

We arrived at Tosa-Iwahara station two nights ago on the last train from Naruto. Having been warned that there would be nothing around for miles, we had stocked up plenty of bread type food, but were still floored by the abject darkness when we stepped out of the scruffy little train station. Good thing we had superb directions from Terry (?) and swung rightwards with faith, soon finding the Parking sign we were supposed to look out for. For the blur stumblers, please note that this sign is unlit. So if you arrive like us, just walk to find it. Directions in the daylight provided later in this post!

We soon settled in under a blooming sakura tree for the night, thanks to lovely Sachi-san, who showed us where we wouldn't get run over by a car in the morning ^.^

So back to the rafting, 10am the next day! We started with a group of seven, another party of four boys and their parent/guardian plus us. Can't describe the ride in words, but much fun splashing ensued!

The Morning Group! Father on our left, his twins and their two friends on our right!

We lost three during a particularly fun wave bashing... I think those three had the better deal :D

We also got to jump into the water from a rock... This is me, before...

And after! Unglamness edited out. HOHOHOHO.

After lunch, the party got smaller...

But no less fun!

Teru, who was with us on the boat the whole way. Thank you for showing us a great time on the water and out of it!

Kobu, our cameraman who was in the safety boat, whose sacrifice meant he wasn't in most of the photos with us... Thank you for the brilliant memories!

So afterwards I went to cook dinner. And that was pretty much it for the day! We spent another night there, since camping was free and the river ride singed our pathetic budget a little (TOTALLY WORTH IT THOUGH!).

Here are some more photos for those of you who want to check out the place... First up, the directions:

1. Take the train to Tosa-Iwahara Station

2. Turn right as you exit the station... see the nearest red sloped roof? That's the place! Start walking...

3. You will pass this shop along the way... it is place-to-buy-all-things-dinner run by very nice aunty! We got extra half cabbage from her when we went to get pork and noodles for dinner!

4. Tada! Front Entrance!

But there is more...!

Washing area, on B1!

Also on B1, the gear stores, changing rooms, kit distribution area, gathering area and etc.

This is what the shop complex looks like, from our campsite! Double storey building on ground level from up top, B1 with all the stuff and B2, where the canoes are parked and us, too!

We also like the non-humans at the shop... we met three of them, wonder if that is all or are there more?

First one, not so small and not quite grown... a little scared, but still very much after affection. Completely prancing around at the chance of walking, and barks only when indoors at night O.o We met this lovely when we got in the first night, and didn't dare to do anything because of the valiant noisy guard.

Second barky critter! But very cute when drinking water from the hand... which it willingly does if approached even though she/he starts out barkybarkybarky... Unfortunately this photo was taken after an attempt to get a snack from us failed. No chocolate for doggies unless they have Raksu-type constitution!

Last but not least, the cute-to-the-max puppy! More barky than the rest combined, still a little afraid of people, but obviously enjoys scratching and pets and wants lots of hugs!

All in all, it was a very satisfactory trip, and we do hope to return because we heard that there is a competition coming up in May that customers get to take part in if they want, mostly for fun! We must build up shoulders and arms for that, and hope we have the budget when the time comes!

So we end this post with a fun vid... Enjoy!

Okonomiyummy!

2010-04-03T01:10:00.004+08:00

We got a recommendation for Fugetsu, specifically the branch at Midosuji Building, right out of Exit 24, Namba Subway Station (also connected to JR Namba). So obviously we had to try it out, since Osaka is the home of Okonomiyaki!

First they mix up the stuff and lay it on the hot plate, right before your eyes!

We were hungry and sort of had no clue what to do since they just toodled off after and left the stuff roasting before our eyes. So we started fiddling with the food...

This earned us a stern look from an upset chef-type chap who told us to leave the stuff alone.

See the piccie above? That is the sad result of fiddling with your Okonomiyaki, all the little burn marks from the sauce being toasted on the hot plate.

All was well though, because we ended up ordering seconds, the first was so good despite being burned a little! So this is Okonomiyaki No 2, with the bonito flakes added, just before getting flipped over for more toasting.

And the beautiful end result is reached.

We really enjoyed the experience of having the cooking process take place right before our eyes, and certain differences from what gets dished up in Singapore did not escape our notice, either!

For one thing, the Singaporean stuff is far more doughy... I liked that Fugetsu added just enough batter to stick the veggies together, making this far more like a vegetable cake than a dough pancake with vegetables mixed inside.

Secondly, in Singapore, the bonito flakes get sprinkled on top after cooking, as if it were a takoyaki dish. Here, it was put on, left to roast, then the okonomiyaki was flipped over so the bonito flakes really got a good toasting on the hot plate before the sauce was finally added at the last stage.

Which brings me to point 3, that the cooking process here was rather more precise, less just swoosh and splat. Of course, one pays more in Japan to eat the stuff, and Singaporeans do like to get their money's worth. This probably explains the significant change in flour mix to vegetable ratio, too.

So a big THANK YOU to Kazuna Yamada, who works in both Hotel Toyo and Hotel Taiyo, for his excellent recommendation! He also gave us a tip for good takoyaki that we sadly never got around to checking out - YET. As I mentioned before, we would definitely like to return to Osaka, maybe when we are burning our Rail Pass, we will make a special trip to taste what he says is stunning negi-ponzu!

Osaka Aquarium, place of wonders

2010-04-03T00:32:00.005+08:00

So on our first real day exploring Osaka, we went to the MUST SEE place! Not too many piccies of it here, since everyone who goes, will go and get their own, after all. But just a few, for those of you who haven't done it yourself and are curious!

Does your curiosity outclass this sealion who stopped to stare at the children looking in?

Zooming around... with a total slacker on its back! This manta ray is so graceful and lethal looking... quite the lord of its territory, just next door to the main attractions, the whale sharks!

Warring crustaceans! They stand out, because mostly these crabs just stand like statues in their tank...

No pics of the whale sharks, because a little secrecy to their majesty is best preserved! Well, that, and I really want to move on to the lesser attraction, situated right beside the aquarium complex!

It is noteworthy that we found very little food to recommend at this spot. Macs abandoned this area, leaving it to what we felt were overpriced places that weren't quite giving enough bang for the buck!

However, it was a wonderland of curious and interesting things... for those who like their toys, anyway. People should come here to indulge their inner child, it's the only thing to do!

There are actually 2 Hello Kitty shops, one on each floor! But I liked the obiangness of this display outside the one on the ground floor. All types of Hello Kitty paraphernalia can be sourced here.

There is also a petting zoo! But one must pay to get inside. Here, however, we are being cheapo and playing with the "free" testing bit. They put two sheep and a goat outside, with a 100yen feed dispensing machine. Their eyes are perpetually pinned on whoever approaches this machine, and they were voracious when given the food. I feel sad for them, actually, since I doubt they get enough feed, the way they fight for the munchies. It actually got down to headbutting and shoving for the pathetic half handful of pellets that I paid for. Inside the petting zoo, more animals are advertised, including squirrels, chinchillas and even llamas!

Moving on, we found this gem! Sexy stuff eh? This is the greeting mannequin at a ninja-themed shop, selling all sorts of ninja-related stuff! There is even a Naruto section with the usual fanstock. This shop is right beside a Ninja Maze as well, which one can pay to play in. We were tempted, but the need to stick to budget is greater, so we did the free thing and used our eyeballs instead.

More goodies can be had at a Ghibli shop, also located on the upper floor. The tanks in this picture are meant for marimo, and are just one of the many many types of fan merchandise available here! We had fun looking through everything, and there was so much I would have liked to own... Everything here comes with a certificate of authenticity. This, I really LIKE. It's probably a Singaporean fetish, the obsession with certs. o_O

We went to the aquarium twice, once earlier in the day, and then returned later at night. It must be noted that in the daytime, we were jostled and shoved by the hordes of tourists and aggressive mamas who made sure their children were poked into my every camera frame. However, this is also the timing for feeding to take place, and there is fun stuff to be had, watching the animals go into frenzy mode! But I also liked the evening session, when we really had the time to walk around and leisure and there were significantly fewer people so that only 5 people or less were staring at any one display at a time? Except for really cute ones like the beluga whales, but there was still plenty of space. So anyone planning to visit independently should note this option :)

Osaka, we love you!

2010-04-03T00:21:00.003+08:00

We have just left that city this morning, but after spending the last three days there, we conclude that we will definitely return! No small stamp of approval, this, since we have hardly had that to say about the previous places that we have visited. Not that we didn't like them, more like we felt we had just about enough of them... Exceptions were made only for people who impressed us, like Kyoto's excellent takoyaki guy!

So anyway, quick run down of our itinerary in Osaka went like this:

Day 1: Reach hotel, CRASH BIG TIME.

Yes, no kidding, that is exactly what we did. Or rather, we got there at 7am and were told we could only check in at 4pm. So we proceeded to fall asleep on their reception area couches and voila, when we regained consciousness at 11am, they took pity (or were anxious to get rid of us unsightly lot) and lo, there was a room ready. Whereupon we went there and crashed for the rest of the afternoon too.

Day 2: Osaka Aquarium and its surrounds!

Day 3: Tennoji Zoo, Shitennoji Temple, ATC, WTC Cosmo Tower

Day 4: Osaka Castle (Museum), Post Office, Santa Maria Cruise, Fugetsu Okonomiyaki, Floating Garden Observatory

More about the various attractions in a later post... there is just too much to handle at one go!

Gear Reviews Part 2

2010-04-02T22:44:00.000+08:00

I was very inspired to do this post after finding an amazing outdoor shop in Osaka, in the ATC building. Its a Japanese shop called 'LOGOS', which sells lotsa cool stuff from huge tents, to mini bbq stands. ATC building also houses another outdoor gear shop belonging to a departmental store at its upper levels, selling huge specialised stuff like Canoes, surfboards etc.

So the last time I reviewed my gear I gave a review of the following items, my Backpack and Daypack, my Gloves and my Boots. So this time, I'm gonna review some other pieces. Specifically, my Trackpants, my Mid-layers, and my Thermals baselayers.

So first up, my thermals are made up of 2 sets of Heat-tech from UNIQLO. I purchased them at SGD 25 per piece (Top, Bottom) The reason I purchased them was because I checked out the reviews and found all to be favourable, and considering that I'm going to Japan and these clothes are made by the Japs for the Japs with great Jap reviews I made it a point to get them.

I started off in Japan wearing a purple HEATTECH top and a black bottom. For most of March I was seeing temperatures below 10 degrees celcius in the day and lower at night. Which started giving me doubts as to the effectiveness of the HEATTECH at keeping me warm. Which also meant that for most of March I was miserably cold, even while piling on the layers, and when I entered a heated area, I had to perspire and melt to nothingness.

Now that I'm in Osaka however, I changed my set for another, a set of Black bottoms and top with turtleneck. This set shined. I was seeing temperatures of just above 10 degrees but at no point of time was I freezing cold. Even when it rained today! I figured that it meant that my HEATTECH was actually working, definitely for this set because it keeps me so warm I can stand in winds of 20-30km/h in only my thermals and a t-shirt and pants! (Tested and proven on the Umeda Sky Garden!) I figured that it probably meant that the start was just way too cold for me, and that resulted in me obtaining a down jacket that was on clearance for about SGD 50 odd.

The verdict? HEATTECH is good. But only good enough for temperatures slightly above 10 degrees if you wish only to wear that and another top layer. Any lower and you'll need to start piling on the wool and down. To buy or not to buy? Well I definitely don't regret my buy, but at 25 bucks, its a little steep, but for stuff that works, I definitely recommend it. [There is better stuff out there by other companies that are more price exclusive, within the hundreds range, so this is the best bet at a mid-range thermal that works]

Next up are my Mid-layers. I have 3 mid-layers, 2 by UNIQLO and 1 by Millet. Let me start off with the Millet. The Millet is a Polar-tec material which is reputed to keep one warm, even in really cold temperatures. Sad to say. It disappointed me when I first reached Narita AP. In temperatures of about 5-7 degrees I was shivering and piling on another Mid-layer before my outermost Waterproof layer.

The Uniqlo one was the next layer I padded over the Millet. Which didn't give me much chance to review it until I wore it on its own. Either ways, it worked pretty well for something under SGD 20. Most importantly though was that it was light, damn light, which means ALOT when backpacking for long periods.

After using them for the past month though, I can safely say that they both work pretty well. The Millet more than the UNIQLO thats for sure, due to its better fit and material.

The verdict? Millet cost me SGD 72, which is not something to be laughed at, which would also mean that I'm likely to pass on that kind of purchase in the future, but right now I feel that I didn't get a wrong buy. As for the UNIQLO mid layers? Sure go ahead, they work fine as fashion wear and even better as functional wear.

Last of all, are my Trackpants. I bought them from Marina Square at an outlet store for SGD 19, they are branded (Sportiv) and fit me real well. I was rather skeptical about bringing along a pair of trackpants at first, because I thought they probably wouldn' shield me from anything. However it turns out that this pair of trackpants works wonders here. Firstly, it blocks wind, nothing short of major gusts of wind gets through this. Secondly? It's water resistant. VERY water resistant. In fact I have had a few clashes with the elements and I can head for shelter about half an hour in the rain and still the pants are merely damp. Not to mention that they dry fast, which only adds to its ability to maintain dryness! I dry my hands on them all the time after washing and poof the water evaporates away instantly, well nearly instantly.

The verdict? I have a second pair that I bought for Rainestormyr. Which turned out to be loose fitting on her. So now I am going to acquire it from her. What does that tell you? I love these pair of trackpants. And at SGD 19? They are a STEAL. Nothing comes close, especially if they are travel pants at that price.

Well thats all for now, stay tuned for my next review, which will be my Waterproof Jacket, Flatware and perhaps a couple of other equipment.

Temple of Total Largeness

2010-04-02T09:54:00.007+08:00

So earlier I covered the deer stuff, furry lovelies that they are. I did say that they were my inital reason for visiting Nara, but I found myself awed by the Todaiji Temple. It is as huge as huge gets, at least that's how I feel. There are bigger statues around, certainly, but the construction of this place succeeds in being large enough to impress, yet not too large that the brain just loses track of the scale and fails to see the larger whole. Even better, you get to be fairly close up, so you can really see the details on the statue and everything. Sweet!

Well, that is me there, trying to show some appreciation for the scale. Note how the people behind me are rather smaller and smaller and smaller... until they enter the huge doors as gnats.

What they are visiting is the very large Buddha statue pictured below. This picture actually makes it look normal-sized, but in reality, the height of this statue rises up over three tall storeys, just under that roof of the temple up top in the picture above!

Wandering around inside, I found myself just floating along with the steady stream of tourists. Just nice, not too crowded, and not too few people. They have a number of displays along the walls, as well as a station where you can write a dedicated roof tile which they will use when they maintain the temple. Just 2k yen, and you get to wield a calligraphy brush! The Japanese are supposed to just write name and address, but we saw some funky tiles done by French and English tourists...

This is one of the displays. A 30cm tall full-wood replica of the temple, and its interior prize. I was really impressed by the attention to detail, and totally wish that I had the ability to craft something as intricate as that.

Other than being awed and amazed by the scale, we also got the chance to hop in the queue to climb through Buddha's nostril! Well, not literally, of course. The statue is too precious for that, but there is a hole in the base of one of the temple's hugeass pillars that is the size of one of the statue's nostril. It is said that passing through it brings luck for the rest of the year!

So there I am, taking off my jackets in the chill. No zero size female, me. And I was beginning to regret the very good basin of udon I just helped to eat earlier. T.T (more about this tasty tidbit in a later post!)

Down to my Agion! It says "try everything", and it is certainly getting the chance to do something new today!

There I go, squirming through that hole. It was pretty cramped for my tubby self, and I was just a little too short to just push myself through easily.

And there I am, just getting out after getting a proper hold ;) Shirt is still whitey and smelling a-ok!

It was loads of fun doing it, I certainly wouldn't mind doing it again! But it was fun also to watch others doing their thing... high heeled ladies, uncly types, a more portly chap who turned back at the last moment with a resigned exclamation of "Muri, muri...". Entire families passed through that hole, 3 generations even. The wood of the hole has been polished to a shine by all the bodies getting through.

So afterwards, we went to view the somewhat lesser but still impressive statues around the temple.

This one sits to the right of the temple entryway. Despite his appearance, he is reputed to heal the ills of anyone who rubs any of his bodyparts and then rubs their own corresponding ailing bodypart. I tried it out f0r my knee, hasn't been aching! But I forgot to do my back, neck, arms, head... ah well, old age.

And yes, we were very lucky to be visiting at a time when the sakura trees on the temple grounds were exploding with soft pink blossoms. I feel blessed much!

Piratical Deer!

2010-04-02T09:24:00.007+08:00

Yay! First blogpost in a long while, because we have been staying in hotels instead of Internet Cafes, for once! In Osaka, that is. But more on that later.

After leaving Kyoto, we headed for Nara to see the Todaiji Temple and Deer Park there. I have to say, my primary target was initially the deer, reputed to be a 2,400 strong population wandering free. Sadly, most of what I saw was deer poo. We had to get almost all the way to the temple complex before we saw deer but the first impression was just... awwwwwwww!

Hand feeding allowed! Petting allowed! OMGOMGOMG!

I didn't really get to see all that many deer, though. Maybe a couple hundred at most? And they were clustered around the main gate of the temple... because that was the primary site of feedingness.

Hikone survives on sales of Hiko-nyan... Nara? 2/3 of the shopkeepers we saw were just selling deer biscuits for 150 yen a pop. The other 1/3 had other merchandise AND deer biscuits for the same price. Same packaging too. Obvious price controls in action!

But! For the price conscious, note that you can retrieve a stick of baked dough from the unmanned boxes. Honour system, guys! 100 yen per stick, make sure you put it in!

So anyway, back to the deer. They know their food well, indeed. We saw connoisseurs amongst them picking and choosing their food. Some turned down the 150 yen stuff, preferring the cheaper sticks. Others turned up their noses at the cheap food and went only for the rich stuff. One really special one we saw, specialised in hanging out around a dango stall eating you-know-what!

He had one from us! And licked the stick clean, too!

Not all is wonderful in deer-land though. There were signs warning people that the friendly critturs were only happy if you had food in hand. If you tried to approach them without it, they would grab anything else you put forward... like your hand.

Sometimes, it is even more than that. In the evening, I found myself left with some biscuit bits that had broken in my pocket. Luckily they were wrapped in paper (or so I thought), so I went off to feed some more of the ever-hungry deer.

The inevitable result.

Impatient for the crumbs I was distributing, this one went for the kill. Mindful of my fingers, I dropped the paper, and this is what happened after...

Rawr. I win. But he got a good chunk of paper in his gullet. He's there at the side of this picture too, just waiting to get more of the same!

So. If you ever drop by Nara, go in armed with many many many biscuits. And maybe flea powder because a lot of these deer have rather sadly patchy fur. Not bald patches, just uneven. Flea powder is mainly for the hordes of tourists that you will find jamming in the space with you. Heh.

Random post.

2010-03-28T07:45:00.000+08:00

Its been 25 in Japan already, not a very long time away considering that my last trip was about 3 weeks in Malaysia. The trepidation of this trip was immense knowing that it was going to be much longer than this. Several reasons were the cause of that trepidation, the weather, the culture, the people, the uncertainty that even research cannot dispel. However, much of that fear has been expelled from my mind after experiencing Japan for almost 4 weeks!

First off, the weather has been hell on me, but thats mainly because I cannot stand cold. It gets EXTREMELY cold when it rains, regardless of the severity of the rain, and it gets real hot when the sun beats down on you (I for one would prefer hot, hence I believe I probably am better off staying in the tropics). I have seen snow here, and ice forming and all the beautiful things associated with temperate countries, but I have also experienced 3 days of continuous rain and several days of zero degree temperatures. However, it has all been a refreshing and excellent experience.

The culture has astounded me. The politeness, the verying degrees of acceptance we see in the people' s eyes, the plethora of sub-cultures and dressing that can be seen on the streets that are NEVER frowned upon. Japan is really a buffet for the eyes, even without venturing far from the city.

The people are the main topic for this post though. Japan has been renowned for its manners, the people's helpfulness, and overall the kindness of the population is immense. From my trip so far, I have met quite a number whom have gone out of their way to help me. First up would be the nice restaurant owner from Choshi, even though she did not understand our half baked Japanese or English, she still helped us to find a hotel with available rooms! Then on the train to Nagoya, a nice uncle stepped up to ask if we needed help, something that surprised me totally. After that, while we were in Nagoya, another old man stopped to enquire about our well-being, whether we had eaten, whether we had a room. Our next encounter would be in Kyoto, where a customer in an internet cafe was requested to help explain to us the rules and packages offered by the cafe, and he did so with much patience. He even struck up a conversation with us after, talking about Singapore and all.

One encounter which I would like to mention would be in JR Kyoto Station, a restaurant named PASTAMORE. We headed in to have a meal shared between us, but when we found out that the restaurant had rules for ordering, i.e. each person had to order 1 each, we thought of leaving the place because we couldn't eat so much. This was the point that the nice waitress asked us to wait for a moment, and she went to check with the manager for permission for us to order 1 set to be shared. she returned moments later with a smile and told us we could, whereupon we ordered our share of food and guzzled it down. She never had to go out of her way to do this, and just let us leave, hence I feel very strongly for their service. If you even have to have a meal in Kyoto, try this place out, prices are decent even for 1 person, the food is excellent, and service is no doubt extremely good.

The last one on the list but definitely not the least, is a middle-aged man who sold Takoyaki from the back of a Van at JR Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit. His hospitality is boundless from the first time we bought a box of 6 Takoyaki from him, which was when he inquired where we were from, upon knowing that we were travelling from overseas, he immediately went 'Service Service!' and promptly changed the box to a larger box and gave up 10 balls instead! This happened the next 2 times as well, without fail and he never ever gave us the feeling that he wouldn't have done so for repeat customers. I definitely recommend anyone and everyone who visits Kyoto, Japan to have a go at the nice uncle who sells Takoyaki. You can find him at night parked outside JR Kyoto Hachijo Exit, with his Lantern hung to a white van, sitting in there cooking his Takoyaki!

Aforementioned Takoyaki Van and uncle with me!

I believe we will only meet more of these kinds of people as we move on in our journey through Japan, so I look forward to having these encounters of the nice kind. They keep my spirit up even in the cold.

Eating to travel or travelling to eat?

2010-03-24T23:45:00.007+08:00

My last food post was a while ago, and I figure it is time for another one before anyone thinks we might be missing out on one of the highlights of our travels!

We generally survive on convenience store and supermarket foodstuffs, and seriously, Japan isn't a bad destination for budget travel in this respect. Our biggest love so far goes out to the 210 yen curry rice package we made from Lawson's, which made for a fantastic breakfast and carbo load on a budget combi that has not yet been beaten.

But seriously, we have good memories of the trip thus far built on food, so here's some piccies and a few stories for you :)

Somehow we felt this was wrong at so many levels... eating Hello Kitty? Affixing it onto a... uhm...totem pole? But it did get a lot of kids to get a'licking...

Who can forget the Fertility Festival I posted about a mere few days ago, with its deluge of phallic-themed items? Obviously, phallic foods were big at the festival, and we had our share of it! While the previous post featured some sweet desserts (featured again here with Hello Kitty and Tigger affixed as charming decorations), it was the savoury sausages that caught our attention.

Speaking of savoury, the stunning flavours of Matsusaka beef steak on a stick is still lingering on my mental tastebuds. When we glimpsed this street stall opposite a used clothing store, just down the road from Osu Kannon temple, little did ZsupCreator and I realise that we were going for a life-changing experience. I am NEVER going to eat a satay without dreaming of this, for the rest of my life. The beef simply oozed rich meaty zsup, and rather than being just oily, the fat-rich meat was an explosion of COW-ness that I have only previously tasted on shiny plates, in restaurants that have solid reputations. I have tasted good food from street stalls before, but never restaurant quality, dream making stuff.

The next day, we passed by again on the way to pick up stuff for a friend, and the stall was not there. We wish we were not on a budget and had gotten more, the day before.

Nonetheless, our gastronomic odyssey continued...

We have also eaten loads of noodles. Soba, udon, ramen, instant, in broth, in soup, with miso, soy and pork bone stock. The LOT. And I have to say, we have yet to encounter anything we dislike. From train station shops, both on the platform and in the station, to restaurants in shopping arcades... even a museum dedicated to Ramen (in Yokohama). It has all been fantastic for Asian tastebuds that were honed on the likes of Myojo, Ramen, and world-class wonton mee/hor fun/bak chor mee and etc.

The three pix above are just a random selection from the many many bowls of noodly type foods we have scoffed along the way. I love the way that the udon is always smooth, never overcooked. I favour the textures of the soba, firm and not at all mushy, regardless of the outlet I'm purchasing from. Much respect to all the noodle sellers in Japan!

Special mention #1: Ramen street in Nagoya! Despite my dislike for the city, I must say I very very much appreciate the existence of this place. Hidden in a backalley of the JR station itself, the bunch of shops gathered here represent the various flavours of ramen available throughout Japan. We is loves this!

Special mention #2: Perhaps Yokohama's only real place of interest to me. The Ramen Museum has a nice display detailing the history and makings of the yummy noodle, and traces its development in Japan. This is of course done in Japanese text, making for slow reading and even slower translation in my Chinese-stunted mind. I count myself lucky that I even know the alternate language that allows me to guess at what the Japanese text is really saying...

Note to people who might venture here for the historically accurate and very excellent ramen concoctions at this place: It is popular with tour groups and queues for the little shops in there can run up to 1hr or more! Getting your hand stamped and returning in the evening at about 8ish will be good if you want to avoid queues, but this would mean less chance of sampling all the goodies at the various shops, since multiple queueing sessions before they close at 9 will be nearly impossible.

In Hikone, we caught sight of these biscuits in a convenience store. They were horribly overpriced, of course, but that's what you get for having Hiko-nyan gracing the surface of your food right? We chose not to eat it, but I felt like I would have liked to try it, just to bite off his head for fun!

Despite our tight budget for this trip, deprivation has not always been our lot. The plate of sweet goodies above is from Sweets Paradise in Nagoya, where we dug into several servings of cakes over the course of 80 minutes. The buffet is timed so as to facilitate the movement of the queue, which was really long. We would have liked to stay longer though, all the cakes looked amazing!

Food has also sometimes been a source of amusement for us, especially when we see tantalising shopsigns like the one above. While the pictures look really yummy, I doubt I would buy the stuff from reading the text...

This next picture holds the memory of a night in Nagano, being chucked out of a purportedly 24 hour Macdonald's that was really only a 22 hour Macs (they close from 3am-5am for cleaning) so that we ended up going next door to have a beef bowl to justify our taking up a new sleeping spot at 3am in the morning. With our brains scrambled from shattered sleep, we were faced suddenly with a bowl of stewed beef rice (familiar and tasty), and a chilled raw egg (????????) which we were told to simply stir into the meal. Chilled, so that it wouldn't cook even when mixed with the piping hot rice. With the risk of salmonella firmly stuffed into our one-week-old-socks, we tucked into this with positive comments of "MMM mmm MMMMMM". Kudos to ZsupCreator for scoffing the lot in his determination not to waste food in our impoverished travel conditions.

Better food memories exist in Yokohama, where we had our first Real Burger. McPork does not count - it is practically a sandwich. Everyone who goes to Yokohama should check out the lovely babes at Kua'Aina and have one of their luxurious cheese burgers. This is King of CheeseBurgerdom. Rivalling the portions of Carls Jr, and definitely floating around Uberburger and other gourmet burger stores' quality.

It was also in Yokohama that we had the chance to see a ninja chef literally whipping up a storm as he made the omelette in omu-rice a visual display of his skills. The above picture barely captures his mad skillz in creating an omelette of even texture on the pan, and does not at all show the very cool and accurate flips he makes every single time he creates a dish of omu-rice. We watched him do this nearly 5 times in an attempt to pick up some tips and maybe try this at home!

And now we're in Kyoto, and somehow the theme has shifted to rice rice rice! While it is not the only thing we are eating, it is definitely something we are happily indulging in every single day. From stewed beef/egg bowls to stewed chicken/egg bowls to curry laden plates... I am in happy rice heaven!

Not to mention, we picked up these adorable collectibles from 7 Eleven at JR Kyoto station! These little containers hold magic sprinkles which transform any bowl of rice, no matter how plain, into flavoursome chicken rice! I choose to believe that the seaweed bits constitute a healthy portion of fiber additive, while the powdery bits are practically a compressed whole chicken. Unbelievably tasty, and best for our budget living style!

Last, but not least, we have made passing acquaintance with this van-store-takoyaki-selling chap. Who has our gratitude for his generosity... immediately after hearing that we were tourists, despite our absolutely scruffy exterior, he said "Service, service!" and promptly upgraded our order of 6 takoyaki balls (for 200yen), to 10! Parked outside the JR Kyoto station at night - we have reliably visited him at around 9pm for the last two nights - he simply sits there in his van, opened at the back, with a HUGE red lantern hung on the open backdoor that doubles as a shelter for his customers.

There is so much more, obviously, that we haven't posted, the endless samples we have consumed - photos being impossible because we are constantly trying to avoid notice while scoffing down enough food for entire brunches, teas and suppers. In this way, I have been blessed to enjoy more flavours of mochi than I have ever eaten before in my life. Same applies to yatsuhashi, the cinnamon flavoured specialty from Kyoto. Resembling snowskin wontons, ZsupCreator has been downing it all with great relish.

There is more yet, that I have not posted... Kyoto is turning out to be a place that is putting more calories on me than I can work off. (Hint: Dinner today was a pile of sugar glazed mini croissants that I could not help but scoff one after another until I was accidentally too full to eat anything else!)

All this, I think, is one of the biggest reasons why I travel. I aim to eat at least one round of a proper Kaiseki meal before leaving Kyoto... I wonder which place would be best?

Of goodness and sheer lousiness

2010-03-23T01:49:00.002+08:00

So now we're in Kyoto, and lodged in (yet another) internet cafe... I hadn't blogged about the previous one and planned to, so here's the presentation of both together...

I knew we weren't always going to be able to get as sweet a place as we did in Nagoya, or lovely as the Sendai peeps. But it seems things are swinging to new lows in Kyoto, where I have barely got more ability to access the internet than when I'm wifi-ing on my iPhone.

Grouse 1: So the first computer I had was so lagged out, I ended up changing to another computer. Sadly, the second computer has thus far failed to impress with its especially irritating keyboard (currently being mangled by my very persistent typing), backdated programs (archaic IE, no Firefox, Java mangle that *I* had to update for them) and refusal to upload my photos to Facebook after having stated that it was successful twice.

I recognise, incidentally, that the last could be Facebook's fault. But my travel companion is not facing the same nonsense, so I choose to blame the computer instead.

Grouse 2: Most expensive so far, and all I got was a "free" bath and a really old recliner. This is sad, because I know, Kyoto has a long, traditional history and a very popular tourist area. Still, they could do more about their obvious complacence in at least providing reasonable service for their freaking inflated prices. C'mon. It can't be that tough to give a good chair when charging nearly half extra all the previous places that DID give very excellent sleeping arrangements. *mumbles*

Incidentally, for Kyoto, we are putting up, ONE NIGHT ONLY, in Media Cafe Popeye, located along Kawaramachi Road. Never again. I'd rather go back to sleeping on the cold stone tiles of Forum Ippukudo. At least that didn't dig out my pocket to frustrate me.

And now, to recover my soul, I will point out that the space we had in Yokohama was actually not a bad one, all things considered. We stayed at a DICE outlet, near Shin-Yokohama station. It's not the nearest, but the nearest place charged a bomb for its location. A short walk of 200m provided us with an automatic "discount" of nearly 1k yen on the overnight package price. They charged the cheapest so far, but they had no shower facilities. Then again, it's not like we couldn't get access to that elsewhere (Thank you again, Milton!). However, the computers were reasonably swift, even if we had dodgy USB ports that shook in the casing. And we did manage to sleep quite well in the temperatures set indoors.

What impressed this traveller most, however, was their thoughtfulness in providing sanitary pads in the ladies' toilet. It's quite a nice thing to do, you never know when someone might have forgotten or run out, and it's not always easy to acquire it in the middle of the night, either - particularly in the middle of paid-internet-time. I also very much liked their non-contact pad disposer. You wave a hand over the sensor and the lid lifts, so that you can dump the stuff without actually touching the bin. Even better, the bin has a built in sanitiser and deodorant so that subsequent occupants of the toilet won't have to deal with the unsavory scent of used pads - something which is not at all rare in Singapore.

And yes, rarity as it may be, no photos for this entry because THE COMPUTER AT MEDIA CAFE POPEYE IS BEING AN ACCURSED BRAT.

GP Yokohama

2010-03-23T01:10:00.000+08:00

As some of you may know, our trip to Japan has allowed us to participate in a really special event for Magic: The Gathering, to be specific, the Yokohama Grand Prix.

So this post will detail my experience there.

The deck I was playing was rather new, and rather cheap, it was a Hive Mind combo Deck. During my playtests in Singapore with the group of friends that I play Magic with, the deck was really consistent, having the combo go off on turn 3 or 4 easily. However, as I entered Japan, some of that 'Magic' seemed to have faded, because I seemed to have more and more trouble with the deck when playtesting it here.

So then came Yokohama GP today. Where I was nervous, because I really didn't know what to expect or experience. Especially since I was playing in a foreign country where I did not speak the language, and considering that most of the way was plagued with vague hand waving and English words spouted with an impeccable LACK of grammatical accuracy.

So came match one. I was playing against a Japanese guy, who apparently was playing the same colors as me, Red and Blue. It was a really interesting match up during the first game because I mirrored him for laying the lands and playing the spells (He laid an Island and played Sleight of Hand, while I laid an Island and played Ponder), whereupon he started looking flustered and stressed. The next thing I knew he was throwing away two Blood Moons, and I concluded that he must have been convinced that I was playing the same deck as him. He eventually managed to see my hand using Vendillion Clique, and realised I was playing a Hive Mind deck, and so he prepared his counterspells. I lost the first game eventually because I was too hasty, playing two Pact of the Titans, and a Pact of Negation, which he countered his copies using Spellstutter Sprite, which promptly caused me to lose the game being unable to pay 10 mana during my next upkeep.

I learned from my mistakes and Sideboarded in 2 more Pact of Negations, and started the remaining two games. Which I won, being able to counterspell his Spellstutter Sprites and throw the Pact of the Titan with impunity. Sadly he had a really bad time with his lands, being stuck at 4 lands and 2 lands for the 2nd and 3rd game respectively. Which made me realise I really didn't know what he was playing, Faeries? Blue? Red? Didn't make sense at all.

I went on the my next matchup feeling all cool and calm as I won the first. Whereupon I was matched with a Bant Thopter Foundry deck. It was a terribly played match as I lost my first game due to a bad play. I had Tolaria West, Hive Mind, Pact of the Titan and Seething song in my hand, which I played without searching for a Pact of Negation, hence ending up having the Hive Mind countered and losing to a torrent of Thopters. The second game I learned from my mistake only to make another. I didn't have a Pact of the Titan in my hands when i played Hive Mind but I did have a Pact of Negation. I countered his counterspell once again and managed to put Hive mind into play, BUT lost during the next upkeep as I didn't have the mana to pay for my Pact of Negation. Stupid stupid me.

3rd match I came up against another Hive Mind Deck. O.o Which I lost terribly to, but it was admittedly wayy more consistent than mine. The player played Summoner's Pact along with the other two Pacts I played and won me twice on turn 3. My hands were extremely bad, with me either missing the Pact or Hive Mind entirely, resulting in me losing. First round was lost as I pulled off my combo but he had 2 Simian Spirit Guides to remove making him have enough Mana to pay, which he then conveniently slapped a Summoner's Pact to my face. Round 2 was promptly lost on turn 2, with Summoner's Pact once again. I consider it fair that I lost to him, because his lands were wayy more consistent, with fetches and shocklands. I was using cascade bluffs as I was on a budget, and as he pointed out, its a Turn 1 no colored mana which is the only downside. :D Played a couple more rounds with him while waiting for the paper of results, and I won once, which satisfied me, as it proved that I was NOT that lousy.

4th match was against Affinity. I won the first round against him, on turn 3, which he was rather surprised to see. Afterward, he took me down on the 2nd round easily, as I had no answer to his creatures, and sadly my combo refused to appear. The hand I had was rather ok, considering I had 3 Serum Visions, and I drew 2 ponders, but all that amounts to nothing without the combo pieces. 3rd round was lost as he killed me with a Man-land equipped with Cranial Plating.

Last match was in the loser pool, where I met up with a really nice guy who apparently played a treefolk deck. I won him easily with my combo on turn 3, and he had no answers. I was quite sorry for him, as the deck he played had no chance against mine even if my combo went off late.

After the last match, I headed over to the head judge and told him I wanted to drop out. I figured I had enough experience of the proper decks, and had more stuff I wanted to do for the rest of the night; taking into consideration the rest of the deck I would play with were would be having X-3 and below scores.

Overall this GP has been an excellent experience, and being able to know that my deck actually works, and proving that a budget deck can actually play in GP is great. Furthermore, coming out from the playing ground with a Jitte, and a Jap Mogg Fanatic is rather cool. My only gripe is this time there is no shirt. WTF.

Ryokan Time!

2010-03-22T01:53:00.004+08:00

The place where the Snow Monkeys was located was definitely not a place we could camp, since we were expecting snowfall and ice and what not. Therefore, we planned for a minor implosion in our finances to experience one of Japan's finest cultural offerings - the Ryokan stay.

ZsupCreator located Suisensou, not too budget busting and within walking distance from the JR Yudanaka train station, at Yamanouchi Town. Booking a place was easily done via the 'net, and we had very little trouble figuring out how to get there from the online map and some very useful signboards in the town itself. Be warned that it's not exactly right next door to the station, but it's certainly not a terrible walk to make.

We were a little unsure of how far we actually had to walk, since Japanese tourist maps have a habit of making some things seem too near, and other stuff deathly far. We were very happy to see the signboard as pictured on the booking website, really.

The room was a simple traditional affair, as can be seen above. In particular, note the table-like object of cushiony blanketness in the foreground? That's a kotatsu, and fixed on its underside was a heater that we both used to keep ourselves alive during our time in this place. Both of us having been born and bred in tropical environments, we were VERY appreciative of the toasty warmth emanating from it, especially since the room was rather traditional in design. (Read: Chilly to the max). In the background, you can see the two piles of what was to later become our individual futons. We set it up so that we both had one side of the kotatsu heater to warm our futons while we slept in a parallel sort of arrangement. The blankets were very fluffy, and the futon was the most comfortable thing I have slept on since I left home, really!

We also had the opportunity to try having a traditional Japanese bath, with hotspring water to soak in. Obviously, there were no pictures because 1. I refuse to risk my rather un-waterproof camera, and 2. I don't think anyone wants risque photos of me, really. The only sad bit here is that it was an indoors bathhouse, so I haven't yet fulfilled my dream of soaking in the amazing rock enclosed, open air pools that I saw the monkeys use earlier...

We also decided to reward ourselves for a long long train journey, both to get to Yamanouchi, and for what was ahead, in Yokohama. The spread you see above is one person's share of dinner. I found the tempura and sashimi　to be of much the same standard as regular restaurant fare, but I really appreciated the salt baked fish and extra firm tofu cube. The tofu came with little anchovies as the toppings, instead of the bonito flakes that we generally get served in Singapore's Japanese restaurants. While simple, the dinner was extremely filling and we rolled upwards later feeling like we had pigged out overmuch!

I took this photo with our hosts just before we left. That's the ladyboss and her mother right there! Her father declined to be part of the picture, although he was sitting on the sofa, hidden behind my fat backpack. As advertised, they really were very sweet people, very concerned about our welfare and comfort. I'd certainly recommend this place to anyone who's watching their pockets but still want to experience a slice of traditional Japan! :)

Nagano and the Monkeys!

2010-03-22T01:23:00.005+08:00

So as I was saying earlier, our mini tour group did a split... group Museums and Tech went southwards, and group Naturel went a little north-ish towards snow country.

It's a very scenic train trip up from Nagoya to Nagano, although if you're going by local trains, watch out for the connections on the Chuo Line. At one point, the connecting train comes by only once every few hours!

The further we got from Nagoya, the more the scenery changed to something I actually enjoyed. I don't hate architecture, but I just love Mother Nature's work more... However, the thing about going to see Snow Monkeys in their natural habitat is that you really have to do it when the weather's best for them. With the result as what you see below.

We had loads of fun with snowscape photos, especially since neither ZsupCreator nor myself have ever had an opportunity to take any before. Our first time seeing snow falling was earlier this trip, as the train zipped us along to Nagoya (we took a wrong turn).

No regrets anyway, despite his expression there. There's a lovely heater waiting for visitors in the ranger's hut at the end of the walk up to the Monkey reserve - that's where we got our noses and ears back!

We spent a few hours in the company of frolicking (though mostly eating) monkeys. Here's one stuffing his face now, though he looks awfully fuzzy and cute!

There were lots of monkeys of all ages going around the place, though hardly any newborns since this is pretty out of season, I think. The youngest we saw was trotting after its mother, not clutched in her arms. There were lots of kiddies like these though, monkeying around with each other and snatching food or tussling all over.

It was the older monkeys, though, who seemed to really enjoy this bit. Which is what we actually DID come to see. Soaking in the hotspring pool, this particular oldie was diving into the water at intervals to pick up more nibbles.

Along the way to the Monkey Reserve, there were posters telling us to watch out for various wildlife, including wrens, squirrels and this particular one called the Japanese serow. We got lucky when one decided to visit the area with the monkeys, and came down to a mere couple of storeys above the walkway where everyone was standing. The moment it was spotted, all the cameras swung around and zoomed right in, completely ignoring the monkeys that they had been so focused on before.

I think we had more fun with the monkeys though, perhaps a little closer in kind? ZsupCreator is getting in touch with his deepest roots right there, and totally enjoying it!

Which obviously completely explains this subsequent picture, snapped on our way back to the bus stop.

All in all, I think group Naturel did have much fun, the monkeys were a fab attraction to be at. Despite our initial disappointment at missing actual snowfall, this was definitely more than made up for by the gorgeous snowscapes and icy melting springs!

Rated R-21!!!

2010-03-22T01:01:00.004+08:00

Way back when we lost the ability to blog, just after we wrote our bits about Matsushima Bay and the Cool T-Shirt of Greatness, we went to the Tagata Jinja Hounen Sai.

Disclaimer: While the pictures might look decidedly pervy, the festival is really about celebrating and blessing people with fertility and good harvest and etc... so keep an open mind yea?

So they had all these themed artwork for sale... like clay pottery, ashtrays, even wood carvings... displaying these objects in the home is supposed to work like a charm for promoting prosperity of all kinds!

I also saw far too many kids and more than a few women chomping down on these sweet goodies... Yes, they brought young ones along to enjoy the fun. In fact, an entire horde of children were front-row viewers along the parade lines, led by people who appeared to be their teachers! I honestly cannot imagine anyone from MOE suggesting this sort of thing as a possible school excursion... o.o

Even the bell at the shrine was suitably themed. There was a sign that said No Photos, but it seems that ignoring it on festival day is all right, because loads of people were waving their Nikons, Sonys and Canons. Telescopic lenses included...

This was the Object of Much Veneration... they had teams of chappies toting it down the streets, while the crowd busied themselves with snapping photos manymany, waving their cups of free sake (distributed by a cart preceding this one) and trying to cop a feel since apparently stroking the OMV will bring showers of goodies in the coming year. For those who missed the giant one, they had a priest bring out a relatively smaller one measuring only a metre or so. He made sure that anyone who wanted to hug it and have photos with it, managed to do so.

Anyway, it was at this festival that Vincent finally joined our little tour group. He has been having many adventures ever since! We like to think that our mini OMV has been responsible in some small part for the luck we've enjoyed thus far...

Quickie Update!

2010-03-19T00:57:00.003+08:00

We've been without internet for a couple days, and our group is currently travelling separately... MX is lost in the wilds of Osaka, while HY and I have been wandering around with monkeys and roasting ourselves in hotsprings.

We'll get around to proper posts in a while... but we're just back in tech civilisation, have walked two hours trying to find a decent place to sleep, and put all our photos into safe places like just a few seconds ago because the comps are running slow... now it's 2am so getting some kip is first priority... but our updates will be back as we snuggle into Yokohama for the next few days!

:)

On a side note, the Agion team has been sweet enough to post up my review of their tech tee... Read and remember to vote!

http://stinkatnothing.com/index.php/2010/03/3-months-of-backpacking-in-japan-live-updates/

Gear Reviews.

2010-03-15T23:18:00.001+08:00

This trip has been a minor experiment with my equipment. Almost all of which is new, and me being a virgin backpacker would like to share the pro's and con's of my equipment.

For this trip I have brought what would have equated to a soldiers full battle order and more. Perhaps equal in weight, but way better in quality. The stuff I have are, Vaude Astra 65+10 backpack, Marmot Phoenix Waterproof Jacket, Millet Polarstretch Mid Layer, The North Face Fortress Peak Full Gore-tex boots, The North Face Apex Bionix Gloves, Chamelius Sunglasses, Millet Axiome 32 bag, Sportiv Trackpants, Uniqlo midlayers and Heat-tech. Those are the items that I use most often.

In this post I shall review my gloves, boots, and bags.

First up, my gloves. The North Face Apex Bionix gloves.Supposedly water-resistant, breathable softshell which is ideal for cold excursions, with light insulation. Sounds good at the price of about 50 bucks. But it turns out that its unbelivably true. The insulations so light that it leaves my hands cold, even without the wind or rain touching it. As a result, the hands take far too long to warm up in the gloves. It is also not ideal for cold excursions, because it blocks wind like cotton blocks wind. The only thing I'm willing to give it, is the fact that its water-resistant, in fact almost waterproof, as I have worn it in the rain, held wet stuff, washed it, dipped it into water, and my hands are still dry.

Verdict? Not too happy with the gloves, as they are currently of little help to me in single digit temperatures. I would however recommend them to climbers who are expecting showers, or wet conditions.

Next, my bags. My Vaude Astra 65+10 is excellent. It comes with a rain cover, enough compression straps to ensure that all the stuff within it is locked down tight, and the bag fits really well, not to mention the hip belt positions the weight of the bag really well. I have no doubt that this bag is an excellent purchase at 180 bucks. My Millet however, is slightly disappointing. Its extremely light, just over half a kilo for a 35 litre bag is excellent, plus it comes with water bag compartment, straps, hip belt, and the main compartment with lid. It also came with two plastic back panel supports, which I removed so that I could squeeze the bag into my main backpack. On hindsight, this is starting to look like a seriously bad idea. It seems that the bag is unable to position weigh properly without the back supports; even though they are really just two plastic sticks. I have carried the bag for two weeks for in-city trips, and I must say that its a real pain to carry it. However at 52 bucks for such a cool bag, which would probably work really well with the supports, I can't complain.

Verdict? Vaude Accept 65+10 is perfect, great price, great look, great performance. Millet Axiom fails to perform, but I would still recommend it for light packers.

Lastly, are my boots. My lucky buy. The North Face Fortress Peak Full Gore-tex boots. These boots are fully equipped with Gore-tex waterproofing, leather outers which repel water, and a really nice insole. Best of all? I managed to get it under a hundred dollars, cost it was apparently a used pair. Not that it affected me at all. The boots have seasoned very well, and I have tried it time and again for its waterproofness, and Gore-tex has yet to fail. The leather uppers are extremely smooth to touch, and one can hardly expect it to repel water, but it does with class. The insole is amazing, as I have walked a whole day with these boots on (mind you these are not light, probably close to 3 kilos of shoe) and not felt even slight fatigue in the heels. So far in this trip, these boots have yet to fail, although they are starting to show signs of wear and tear; the folding area at the toes are starting to get worn down due to friction, but its no real issue, unless you mind staring at the upper absorb water, which at the end of the day fails to get past Gore-Tex.

Verdict? Perfect buy. Yet to fail, extremely comfortable, protects from cold, and is worth every single cent I forked out for it. Normal retail price may shock the tootsies out of you, cos its about 300 bucks for a pair.

With that, I end my first gear review post. The gear I have with me will endure 3 months of torture, with little washing and lots of use, perhaps I'll have problems with them, perhaps not, but I will update it here for all to see.

Agion Coolness

2010-03-15T23:09:00.007+08:00

Righty... so for those of you following this blog for some time now, and who view my photos on Facebook (friends only, unfortunately, to maintain a little control over viewership and comments), you'd have noticed that we've pretty much been wearing the same clothes day in day out as we move from place to place. Do we smell funny? Maybe. Sometimes... but you know what? It takes super long for me to smell bad, thanks to a cool new t-shirt I'm testing.

I would like to say that I would have preferred to test this in the home environment, since nothing beats the tropics for testing anti-sweat stuff. But being the base layer or 2nd most base layer in a 5 layered outfit isn't bad for it either. I don't notice much smell getting out while the jackets are zipped up, but at certain times, when we get the chance to shed a couple skins... we definitely know where the clothes stand in terms of how badly they need to be laundered.

I'm amazed how well the treatment works. I was dubious at the start, but now I really wish I had my socks and underwear on this trip dosed with the same wonder chemicals!

Only half of it is treated, but hey, half the smell is good, you know. Having worn this T shirt pretty much nonstop for the last couple weeks, I can say that it has pretty much withstood what I've thrown at it so far. Longest record without washing it was four days. And at the end of those four days, I could tell exactly which side was chemically treated and which side I WISH had chemical treatment since the fragrance rolling off half of the shirt could knock out a skunk.

-.-"

After bath time, both sides of the shirt smelled the same again...

Rinse and repeat. Dashing around in the city, taking alternate day baths to save money, letting the sweat soak and marinate the shirts just to see what would happen...

This was one of those places which was so well heated inside that under all those layers, my clothes were totally damp. I didn't take off any layers until I really couldn't take it any more, partly to see how much the Agion could take, and partly because there wasn't really a convenient place to plant it.

Again, it gradually became more and more obvious which side of the shirt was needing more care to keep fresh.

Good stuff, this!

If I wasn't smelling fresh enough I would never have dared to take this picture. Two days without bathing, and I stripped off my jackets to do this photoshoot under a sakura tree in Hikone Castle grounds, one of Japan's National Treasures. There were visitors all around us, and nobody so much as sniffed when I walked by. I know this could be because they are a polite people, but I doubt it.

I have to say, the T-shirt really works well in more ways than just being so amazing that I haven't had to use my one other spare tee yet, keeping me carrying minimal clothes and less whiffy than otherwise. With the shirt on, my jacket layers aren't getting to stink as quickly as in my previous travels. To put it indelicately, it doesn't matter whether I've used any deodorant on my armpits, as long as I have the magic (half of the) shirt on.

It is also praiseworthy that the material of the test shirt is fantastic - it feels ultra good on the skin, and I very much like sleeping with the shirt on. A touch of comfort in the days of roughing out...

I think if I had Agion Tech's treatment on my clothes, I wouldn't bother with bringing more than two sets on any of my backpacking trips. One for in case it rains, the other for just wearing on, and on, and on! In fact, if they bottled and sold the stuff in a spray can, I'd probably douse all my clothes in it so I know I never have to worry about being smelly again!

In a couple days, we're headed for hotsprings and monkeys. I'm going to bring the shirt in with me to the sauna. I want to see how it holds up against sulphuric fumes!

比內地鷄の親子丼 the best chicken rice ever~

2010-03-15T00:42:00.000+08:00

比内地鸡的生活过得象凤凰一般，喝的是奥羽山脉雪融后的清水，吃的是上等的天然饲料，在野外放养，自由自在，整整180后被宰杀（一般土鸡的三倍）

在日本有「鸡の顶点」, 「幻の地鸡」「日本一の美味鸡」等各种称号。是日本土鸡中最高级的一种。今天有幸在彦根市找到了这样一家餐馆

秋田比內地鷄，日本愛知縣彦根市梦京桥

Hikone, Aichi prefecture, Japan

餐館设计是传统日本风格。在玄关需要脱掉鞋子才能进入，地下有加温设备，透过袜子暖脚，非常舒服。菊黄色的灯光配上jazz音乐，让店里很有情调。

店内所使用的烹调材料都各有来头。从日本關西的備長木炭，北海道的「海幸」盐，到秋田县大馆市比内町的地鸡，样样有名。

食材证书

因为来源有限，许多鸡的部位在目录上带有星号，说明有一人最多一只的限制。

我叫了招牌菜「比內地鷄の親子丼」1200¥

鲜美的鸡肉咬起来带有一丝甜味
半熟的鸡蛋加上海幸盐无可挑剔
有电视上那种升天的感觉

外观9分
味道10分
口感10分

有机会一定要来尝尝~~

The Things People Do For Tourism

2010-03-14T00:53:00.007+08:00

We have been going around some places in the last few days, from Ise to Hikone, and I have had quite the experience as a traveller, in a way, just the kind of thing I look for when I make a trip.

The importance of tourism is not to be underestimated, after all some countries have up to 99% of their GDP generated by those struck with wanderlust and wonder. But sometimes I don't know if it is worth it, not the travelling... but more the stuff that goes into making people go out there.

The above is one of the ladies who dove into the frigid 10 degree celsius water just a couple days ago while we looked on. Wrapped in my five layers of warm clothing, gloved and hooded, I was freezing while trying to capture the photographs. I cannot imagine what she must be feeling, in that water... certainly she did not have access to a heatpack, nor could she have had the skin of a seal. The demonstration was to show people how previous generations had made a living. Today, even though the community now usually cultivates their pearls through barbaric torture, a few ladies still dive, every hour and torture themselves to titillate guests. I feel guilty for contributing by watching, almost, even though news of this performance was exactly what brought me out to the Ise Peninsula. I wonder if I did wrong, to go. Surely there must be better ways to generate money or teach lessons of the past? In this day and age of computers and 3D technology?

On the next day, this was the sight that greeted my eyes as I stood on Lake Biwa's shores. It is a scene that would not have been out of place in East Coast Park, back home. A lost shoe, plastic bags, discarded bottles and cans among the flotsam and jetsam that had washed ashore. In marketing the place to tourists (this was part of the beach that was designated as a swimming spot), could not more have been done to preserve the environment? Or is the lake simply secondary, since it loses out in popularity to the town's favourite samurai cat mascot?

The aforementioned mascot who adorned lamp-posts and walls all over the city, appeared on edibles (biscuits, cookies, dorayaki), stuffed toys (complete with hello kitty incarnation), clothes (sweaters, tshirts, even lacy underwear), cutlery (every imaginable type), and even as solid stone statues and wooden plaques, culminating in the shrine captured in the photo. We were spammed so solidly with his completely adorable image that I succumbed and am now in possession of postcards, sake cup, pin badge, stuffed toy and a bag. Ok, so not all of it is for me, and clearly the touristy thing is working for the economy of Hikone, but something at the back of my head was squeaking in a small voice "Aaaa! It might be cute, but this is Merlion material!" For those not in the know, this would be the mystical creation of the Singapore Tourism Board to chalk up more dollars in our local economy. Purely for that purpose, because nobody really believes the tripe that the thing might have existed.

See, the thing is this. In the last few days, I have:

1. Visited one of the holiest and most revered Shinto shrines in Japan, dedicated to Amaterasu and stood among the cypress trees that surround the tranquil location, soaking up the peace in my soul.

2. Visited one of Japan's National Treasures, Hikone Castle, one of the oldest castles of original construction left in Japan and stood in the donjon that has been preserved for more centuries than I have decades.

3. Stood on the shores of Lake Biwa, one of the twenty oldest lakes in the world and the largest body of freshwater in all of Japan. So huge that I could not see its opposite shore from the heights of Hikone Castle's ancient donjon and with such a diverse ecosystem that it holds 58 endemic species found nowhere else in the world.

So I think it very odd indeed that the first three items stand out more in my experience, than the latter three. It is only through dedicated research on my part that I have found the latter information at all, and I wish it could have been otherwise somehow. Perhaps I should stick to documenting my meetings with dogs, cats and various bird species instead? They enchant me with wonder, without fail, and leave much less guilt in my heart when they go...

Day 10 (Ise city)

2010-03-12T00:13:00.001+08:00

Ise City. Home of the Shinto's Holiest Shrine. BUT, I'm not covering that. Instead I'm covering the Mikimoto Pearl Island.

Mikimoto Pearl Island is situated just 5 mins from TOBA STN (JR or Kintetsu) and is readily accessible via the local tourist bus, the CAN bus.

Right, so the first thing we did there was to rush to see the Traditional Pearl Diving done by the diving ladies. The temperature then was:

Yes, it was that damn cold. Wind was really strong too.

So the ladies started diving soon, and there were happily gathering oysters for us to see. I thought I spotted one of them with purple lips though. Admirable people, getting down into the water at that temperature without wetsuits, oxygen or anything. The whole show lasted only about 10 mins though; probably because any longer and they would get hypothermia. Video will be up soon.

After the performance, we went to the Pearl museum, to learn more about the comings and goings of the pearl trade. It was an eye opening experience. I managed to learn how to identify man-made (Fake) pearls from cultivated or natural pearls. There was also a talk in Japanese on how Mikimoto cultivates their pearls, the methods are extremely graphic, even though it was only an oyster, however I believe if it was a Human in that place, the rating would be R21 for extreme gore.

You see, cultivation of pearls is kind of like IVF. First, one has gotta prepare the Nucleus, on which the Pearl is grown within the oyster. The process starts with cutting our a portion of the flesh of the oyster, and then forcefully opening it, and cutting a slit at its Gonads (sexual organs) to place both the flesh and Nucleus into it. After which, the pearl will react to the foreign body and coat it with nacre (I liken it to discharge).

I have a video which will be posted soon. However here are some interesting pictures for your viewing pleasure.

This is the stuff you oyster eating people eat.

Well, to return to the topic of pearl cultivation, I realised it was such a Barbaric act. The tools required were like the stuff from Victorian torture rooms, with pliers, scalpels, clamps of all sorts. The process was just as bad, just imagine if IVF was done in the same way; i.e. having the ovaries sliced open to place a foreign body which forces the body to become fertile and pregnant.

Here are some pictures of the torture devices.

See what I mean? For such beautiful object prized by so many, they sure have a barbaric process of production. Just because it's a shellfish doesn't mean this can be done to it.

Anyway, to make the day more beautiful, here are some pictures of the really pretty pearls.

Well, for 1,500 yen entrance fee, I wouldn't say its ravingly good. But I certaintly think that its a perfect place to learn new stuff and see really beautiful pearl products. Just don't head down to the shop unless you really really want exclusively priced pearls.

On a side note, Ise City is a real tourist magnet. Possibly cos of the religious aspect; afterall it does house the Holiest Shrine of Shinto. My verdict? Go, one probably won't regret spending a day down at Ise. But if one wants to see more than the Shrine and the Pearl Island, do start early because alnmost everything closes by 5pm.

Exciting new place to stay in Nagoya!

2010-03-10T23:39:00.010+08:00

MX's wandering feet have hit jackpot for us in Nagoya... here's our spanking new home for the next five nights. It's so new that the congratulatory flowers are still arranged in their foyer, and the celebration party was on tonight for the grand opening!

Front door! Very warm and inviting inside!

Staff at the counter, with a party celebrant to the right ^.^

Presenting to you, the next big thing in Nagoya's internet cafe scene... the Meiekimae.com! Impressively situated in one block over 8 floors, they've got a females-only level, a library's worth of manga and magazines, games level and more!

Checking out some of the titles from the impressive array. This is stocked like a decent bookstore, and all the books are shiny and new too!

My place. See all that space? There's more of that, where the table and computer set take up one side of the room. Luvverly space, space and more space!

Not our cube, but an option for those who actually want a chair

I'm typing this now from my very lavish pad, it's a good 2mx2m room with cushy floor and a couple cushions for sitting, widescreen LG Flatron monitor and PC engines so quiet I can hear myself breathe. This is definitely a huge upgrade from the previous place, where my computer sounded like an aeroplane taking off everytime I was trying to upload my photos. It eventually got done, of course, but here, everything is happening faster. WAY faster. I also have an overhead light because I have a ceiling! The guys are in cubes right next door, also lounging on their very own cushy platforms, spacious enough to stretch and roll around a bit in.

The leather's still all soft and smelling fresh from the store!

They've got a package deal going at 1600 yen for a block of 8 hours at night, and for tonight we're extending it at a charge of 105 yen/15mins in case we oversleep... considering how expensive we're finding Nagoya, in relation to what we've been getting in Japan so far, this is definitely worth the price.

Other than the usual range of freebies like various drinks, they've got additional perks on the upper levels...

No smoking for us, but the couch is still really cushy and great to slack in

And games machines for those who get bored of their stunning PC access, or just want to hang out with fellow campers at the net cafe!

We like the laundry access option in particular... fresh clothes are a must-have, and it recognises that some stayers in the net cafe need more than just a quick shower or a few hours to crash. Backpacker bargain alert!

Not for us, again, but the ciggies and food vending machine beside the lifts on the ground floor are a good thing for some people to get their fix. They also do "room service" for a mean curry rice topped with a pork cutlet at 850 yen. The phones are right by the lifts, so all a person has got to do is make a quick call!

Lounging area right by the counter so people can lay back and watch TV

Toilets on every level, clean enough to have a drink in ;)

So we managed to arrange our stay here for the next few days, we shall be adjusting our itinerary to suit our choice to live it up right here. The staff were sweet enough to accomodate us by promising to keep our cubey spaces for us each night - we rather thought they would fill up really fast once the news gets out that there's such a great place!

Just a couple of things on my wish list for this place. They're so new that a couple very small things are still missing from the lineup:

1. Slippers - I think this will be more important once the place starts filling up. I simply ran around barefoot for today because the floor is still pristine, but I wouldn't want to do that once the hordes start milling. Nor is it very comfy for a long staying type to be dragging their shoes on every other time they want to hop out of the cubicle to grab a drink.

2. Tissue box/Bin in the shower room - These are necessities, especially in the ladies' rooms. Many girls do major make-up here, nevermind other pesky female inconveniences, so it would be nice to make it more convenient. If they don't want odd rubbish in their bathrooms, perhaps disposal bags would be good?

I want to end on a more positive note though, so I will end with 3 more big pluses they have for me.

1. When you shower with them, you get a baggie package with a full size bath towel, a face towel, disposable toothbrush and razor. So thoughtful of them, right?

2. I love their hairdryer - it's got a hairbrush attachment so it makes it super convenient for a girl to do her hair after the hot shower!

3. The cleanliness of this place is currently unparalleled. I felt like I was totally dirtying up the place when I came in here all scruffy from the day's activities!

So this should be the number one option for people who need a place to crash, the fattest, tallest person won't ever have problems fitting comfortably into their 8 levels of comfort!

Happy friendly people!

MEIEKIMAE.COM, access map available from their website. Walking distance from JR Nagoya station and miles better than "Rounge" e-cafe, which the Visitors Info Counter recommended to us.

Day 7 in Japan

2010-03-08T23:14:00.002+08:00

Its out third day here in Sendai.

Its really comfortable. Staying in an internet cafe that is.

I ended up buying a new jacket. A nice purple down jacket. Because I couldn't stand the cold no more. T.T

So how has it been in Sendai?

First thing, it has been cold. We've been seeing the temperature range from the negatives to max 6 degrees.

Second, its a really shoppy city.

Third, it has cheap food readily available. Thank heavens.

Today we headed down to check out Sendai itself. But we realised that most of the attractions were closed; apparently monday is a good day to close. So we tromped around the shopping arcade and morning market.

At the morning market we saw all variations of seafood available, fruit from ok affordable prices to extremely &^%^&#@ prices; e.g. 7000 yen for a melon the size of a volleyball. Thats over a 100 bucks.

Tuna, Tuna Belly. Under 15 bucks for a slab!

Eggs!

MX in the market.

Giant Scallop.

Monhun Banana

It seems that the wet markets here smell less bad, and have lots more competition. Within the 10 m of street stores, we saw more than 10 vendors for the same seafood. I think SG should have the same thing, but then again, we probably wouldn't need so much food. Heh. Work on the smell maybe.

Sendai is also home to interestingly attired people. Examples below.

Rilakuma.

Ever seen Piplup, Pikachu, Cheshire Cat and Chopper walking on the street?

Sendai's a fine city. Too fine for the likes of us, with too little to spend. I would definitely return here should I get the chance for a more comfortable trip to Japan next time. Perhaps a day or two will be sufficient.

I'm desperate for warmer temperatures too I realised. But my new jacket has saved the day.

Verdict: Sendai = good place. Willing to come back again. Another reason would be to actually have a look at its attractions. Although they are probably 2nd rate compared to rest of Japan.

i-Cafe, we LIKE!

2010-03-08T21:30:00.005+08:00

We couldn't possibly stay at a place three days running and not give them some credit, right? So here's a short photo presentation of our temporary shelter. Great staff, cushy seats, and FANTASTIC toilet, even though we had to pay an extra 320 yen (per 40mins) to use it. Very popular place!

Rates are 1980 yen for overnighting from 8pm to 10am. Can't leave the place after getting the package deal though, so better make sure you've got all your stuff ready for it!

This branch is located on the 7th floor of the LABI building, just a short walk away from JR Sendai Station on the overhead walkway. The tourist information counter at the station was more than happy to recommend this to us. There is a need to sign up for the membership at 350 yen, but somehow when we went the staff offered us a coupon to discount the fee, so we didn't have to pay it at all.

Clean, hygienic and not at all sleazy, though they do provide tissues... for wiping up spilt drinks, of course *winks*

Just two of their entire range of drink machines
Freeflow ice cream too!

Teas and hot drinks counter. The signs on the left inform customers of the timing of the free food.

Drinks and drinks and drinks!

Front service counter. Staff were unfortunately too shy to take piccies with us...

A wee peek into our living conditions. Hohoho.

HY's room on 2nd night.

Width of room.

Munchies of Sendai

2010-03-08T21:09:00.002+08:00

We started the day today in the supermarket. Being hugely hungry despite the many cups of hot chocolate and drinks and ice cream from the i-cafe (liquids can only do that much, after all), we nearly scoffed the lot without getting pictures.

The breakfast selection

I couldn't really resist later when we went to the market though, the queue for this was nonstop, and people were hauling packages the size of Bee Cheng Hiang at CNY period from the counter of this korokke stall. I had a random one (since my reading is horrible), and the random meat was indeed moist and flavorsome, while the outside was perfectly crispy without dripping any oil. YUMS!

Another irresistable food tasting attempt came when the dango counter came around. This one's covered in shoyu sauce. I keep wanting to eat them with some honey, but it's awfully tasty even when salty somehow.

Starbucks gets my bomb of the day award though. It being the right season and all, I thought I would be extravagant for once and treat myself to a cup of Sakura steamer. The picture was very tempting, of course...

But somehow the mug made it look a whole lot less appealing. This was when I realised that most of the patrons in Sendai's Starbucks (I peeked at other branches too) were using plastic cups and paper cups or mugs, even when they were sipping it in the cafe. What's with that wastage? And I don't get what happened to all the really cool Starbucksy cups either. I've seen them in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. So what's up, Japan? Or is it just Sendai?

The steamer was reasonably tasty, I guess. But when a person pays for a cup of Starbucks, it's not just about the flavour... the presentation's definitely important too.

Local flavour of the day award... Japanese Nasi Lemak! Well, not really, but it looked awfully like it was. With chicken "sambal chilli" teriyaki, omelette and fried bits.

As mentioned before, I wanted to try Japanese KFC. But the menu looked so awful that I thought we'd shelve it for some other time... they don't even have whipped potato here, and it's all seriously overpriced.

We decided on a yakitori restaurant in the end, one last splurge before our long long day of 14 hour train ride tomorrow. We need something to make up for the bread and biscuits diet tomorrow. Very satisfactory meal, though not really outstanding. We give thumbs up to their free cup of chicken soup and little palate cleansing saucer of grated radish, though!

And so ends our gastronomical delights of Sendai. More places to eat our way through soon!

Urbanite Sendai... oozing the shopping belt :D

2010-03-08T20:49:00.006+08:00

Today was just out and about in Sendai, most of the major attractions were closed, but we were more than happy to just explore the place...

Tucked in among the many shiny shops of Clis Road was this small little shrine down an alleyway. We passed it over the other night because it looked very creepy, but since this was broad daylight we thought we'd risk taking a peek or two.

It's right there at the end of the road.

We also made it to the Morning Market area... this was more like All-Day Market. Rowdy and bustling place, even at the late hour that we finally made it there. But pictures probably say more than any of my words could...

Fried mouse anyone? Or Hamtaro?

I'll have you know that these things were bloody *wriggling* as they lay on the ice. I prefer my tentacles motionless, thank you.

Anyone want anime-scale eyes? Very shiny!

Live and sitting calmly all covered in sand, these hairy crabs were resigned to their fate.

So as we explored the streets further, we could not help but notice some people who stood out from the crowd. We love them for their guts and gumption!

His job is to give out tissue on the streets. I think he makes a very Relakked Kuma!

Yes, this chap is really asking for alms in earnest. Position is key, if you consider what's on the wall behind him.

And then we had this lot of young girls, appealing to the more bestial otakus. Either that or they're aiming for a great tissue-giving career like Rilakuma up there.

By day's end, we were back in our regular Sendai hideyhole, from which I'm bringing you this post. Special feature on them later, right after my latest food update!

Day 6 in Matsushima Bay

2010-03-07T22:54:00.002+08:00

We woke this morning at 8 and checked out of our comfy internet cafe sleeping place to head for our day trip destination. Matsushima Bay, one of the top 3 scenic sights in Japan. There were a number of routes we could take to explore Matsushima. Thus there were a few things we had to decide.

First was which station we wanted to start from. We could either start from Hon-Shiogama Station (300yen)and take a cruise down over to Matsushima or start from Matsushimakaigan (400yen) and take a cruise over to Hon-Shiogama Station. No matter what the cruise would cost us 1400 yen.

Second, was the cruise we wanted to take. We had several choices, of which we attempted to make an online reservation at an english site (http://www.marubun-kisen.com/english/index.html) which would cost us only 1260 yen due to a 10% discount for online bookings. However, the reply we got was that they would get back to us in a few days time, of which we didn't have, so we steeled ourselves for a 1.4k yen charge for the cruise. The routes available were either from Hon-Shiogama to Matsushima or vice versa or Hon-Shiogama round trip or Matsushima round trip.

We figured that since we wanted to check out Matsushima bay, and have the cruise too, we picked our cheapest option. Which was to take the cruise from Hon-Shiogama, which would cost us 320 yen reach via train, the cruise costing us 1.4k yen and returning from Matsushimakaigan 400 yen.

However when we reached Hon-Shiogama we were greeted with a pleasant surprise. JR operated a cruise line too. At we could get the 10% discount on the spot, so we took it immediately and left for the cruise which was to depart at 12, 10 mins from the time we reached the station.

The cruise itself was quite leisurely, watching people feed the amazingly fat seagulls, and the islets move by.

Some pictures.

Seagulls Galore

For more pictures of the islets, view the facebook album.

After a leisurely 50 min cruise, we hit Matsushima Bay. Which wasn't all that bad, the surroundings were serene, and peaceful. We took a stroll down to the tree-lined path to the temple. And we spotted a stall selling Sendai's specialty. Cow's Tongue (Gyu-tan). We had a sample each, and boy was it good. Even to me, considering that I am honestly quite averse to such things. However IMO, I wouldn't consider it a delicacy, and pay the exorbitant prices exhibited at JR Sendai (averageing 1k yen). Kim did however purchase a portion to eat costing 500 yen. Also, Matsushima's specialty seems to be shellfish, to be exact oysters. Didn't try that, cos I'm not really into shellfish.

Gyu-tan

The Cows Tongue.

Walking down the pine tree lined path to Zuiganji Temple, was total serenity. The tree's gave shade and an aura of peacefulness.

Can you feel the serenity?

MX trying to be tree.

We hung around for the rest of the afternoon, climbing one of the islets Oshima. We lost MX halfway, but managed to regroup after some time. We then went down to Godaibo to check out the view of the Fukuura island. By then it was freezing. And we had no clue what the exact temperature was. So we braved the cold air and headed for Fukuura Bridge. Which was quite some distance away from our cozy warm waiting room. When we reached there, our fingers were nearly frozen off already, and we quickly snapped a couple of pictures, grabbed a stamp in our journals and headed back for the JR station to head back to Sendai.

And now here is where I am, nice and cozy in Sendai's I-cafe. Apparently Sendai was freezing cold as well. Why? Because it was raining. And the temperature? It was 1 degree at 6pm in the evening. Did I ever mention our day in Japan ends at 5.30pm? Yea its cos the world goes dark then, and most places start to close, thats excluding places like Sendai and Tokyo which thrive on night businesses.

Verdict: Come to Matsushima Bay in end spring, or summer. Not at the start of spring. Everything looks dreadfully dead. Beautiful, but I think better alive. May come back again, JUST to see the islets with more color.

Oh yea, I've also started wearing this shirt which I got from AGION to test for this trip. One half side is treated with their AGION technology and the other half is a normal dri-fit shirt. I believe even in such low temperatures, wearing it for 3 months will produce rather remarkable results and a full review will then be due. Expect weekly results from this shirt when I can get to post them. Further testing will also be done back in Singapore, after which I'll submit everything to AGION and hope that this review will please them much. I most certainly agree with Kim that few others will be able to compare with us on length of trip outdoors.

Thanks AGION for providing this shirt, and we'll most certainly be happy to provide the reviews. :D

Till the next time of the unknown, stay tuned for more. XD

Matsushima, the gloom ridden island...

2010-03-07T20:30:00.000+08:00

During the tsunamlet scare earlier this week, we considered changing our itinerary entirely to catch devastated spots. Of course, we know by now that this was not to be, so the trip to Matsushima Bay was expected to be as scenic as one might expect one of the "Top Three Views" of Japan to get.

It certainly wasn't disappointing in terms of the rockworks... I loved the interesting shapes of the islets, and the way in which they were pine covered was completely reminiscent of classic Oriental paintings.

However, the day's weather forecast of "cloudy with no rain" proved to be more of a killer whang than we originally considered. It being coastal and all, the fresh ocean breeze was pretty much nonstop.

We spent the day doing a leisurely walk around the main attractions of the islands, avoiding the cost of actually entering them because we felt that they were not entirely worth it. We were not, however, averse to spending a little on the food. I liked the cow's tongue, springy and beefy... the piping hot sliver of meatness was perfect against the chill. MX reported the steamed oyster as being zsuppy though, and somewhat regretted his decision not to wait the few extra minutes for a BBQ version. The delicious smells of the food were wafting up and down the street, with all the vendors throwing open their windows to let the breeze advertise their wares for free.

Remains of miso shellfish soup... free service portion, whole steaming hot bowl!

Smoked cow's tongue - yummy!

One of the many vendors selling the goodies... I had those shellfish onnastick :)

MX's portion of the steamed oyster. Reportedly very zsuppy indeed.

Shellfish that I wanted to try, but didn't. I think 800yen is exorbitant! Oh for the la la and gong gong back home T.T

I'm probably never going back to Matsushima Bay without murdering three seals and a polar bear before that. At least not during Spring or Autumn. Winter would probably warrant three bears and an orca's worth of blubber. Things to keep in my tropically-brought-up mind. Spring is not just about pretty flowers. It's about the tail end of Winter, too o_o

We also had an interesting encounter today... returning to Sendai, we ended up sitting on the floor outside a nice restaurant in the corner of the train station. Mainly because we wanted to get our paperwork done before collecting our bags and heading for the i-cafe that is "home" for these few days. Along comes a Japanese gentleman who enquired where we were staying and whether we had eaten, and we unfortunately replied "Internet cafe!" and "Yes, we have!" in bright and cheery tones... upon which he tootled off and we wondered if we had lost an opportunity right there T.T

Next time anyone enquires, our answer is going to be "Unfortunately, we have no idea." I wonder what kind of adventures that might bring? :)

Japan Day 0 to Day 5. Ultra long post.

2010-03-07T01:23:00.000+08:00

So, I finally get a connection thats long enough to do stuff. At 1,940 yen for the whole night, which makes this place my staying place with a roof overhead and warmer, I think its pretty cool. Compared to a hotel which brings us round to about 4k? I figure, its worth it. (Comes with food and drinks and toilet)

Ok, so begins my post of Day 0, From Changi Airport to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi AP. I hit Changi AP to meet up with Kim before Check-in and just as I left house MX called to ask what time we were going to meet up *shocknhorror* To understand this, Changi Airport is situated in the Eastern-most-ish part of Singapore, Kim and I stay rather far East, and MX stays way out West. *shocknhorror* Well anyway I told him the time, and he went ok, so I assumed he'd be there.

So I hit Changi AP with my mom and met up with Kim. Whereupon we realised that the flight opens at 1455 and not 1555. Which is expected upon hindsight, cos the gate normally opens an hour before the plane rises. So we looked around, and called MX, who didn't pick up the call, and more *shocknhorror* so we decided to check-in first w/o him.

Soon the one and only person to come send us off reached.

Enter Vincent Chong Kah Leong. (Hey Kah Leong Kah Leong~ Whatchu Doing Now?~)

BEFORE MX!?!?! *SHOCK AND HORROR*

Luckily, he arrived within the next 15 mins with his parents. Apparently he took taxi down.

Group Photo

My mom and I

So we finally made our way into the Departure lounge after much waiting. And Lo and behold, in a couple of mins we were off on our flight to Thailand. We had airline food, and it turned out that by the time it reached me, I was left with some prawn noodle thing that resembled Wantan Mee. So I pointed out that I had a prawn allergy to the nice flight attendant who immediately rushed off and returned with....

Special Meal for Special people. Kim believes this is staff food. I just have thanks for the speedy and kind service by Thai Airways staff.

Kim *nomnom* Wantan mee

Detailed pic of my noodles

Veggies that I didn't eat. MX ate most of it.

Dessert!

After a 2 hour flight, we hit BKK AP. This is Thailand, Land of the Weirdly Placed Toilet Signs.

Flight Connection Bridge

See what I mean, this actually leads to nowhere

Another angle for clarity

Last one, o.O

We soon realised Kim's Iphone was down. Which was bad. So we attempted many ways to try to bring it back to life. First up was an internet cafe in the airport. Freaking expensive place, 100 baht for 20 mins. =.= Which failed. So we dejectedly went to get a drink and chill in the transit area. I went to the toilet and spotted a lady with a laptop, so I hurriedly went back to tell Kim about it, and she attempted once again to revive it, which the lady kindly allowed us use of her laptop, but once again, it fails. Utter failure. T.T

Our flight to Narita was at aound midnight, so we boarded the plane and bade goodbye to Bangkok. The flight was long, around 6 hours worth of flight time. We were served 2 meals and the first was cake, supper. Then breakfast.

My breakfast. American Style

The other choice. Prawn Fried Rice. Which I obviously couldn't take.

Day 1 we hit Narita AP round about 6. Cleared immigrations with slightly less difficulty than expected. I sped through it only to find that Kim and MX were stuck. O.o to my surprise of course, didn't expect Kim to get stuck. However it was only a minor delay, and soon we were off waiting for our luggage. Which came quickly with Japanese efficiency.

Next up was our quest for our Handphone, which was to be obtained at the MOBAL NARITA counter. Apparently it wasn't opening till 8, so we hung around and re-arranged our packs to fit everything back into the LARGE pack. I went poking around at the toilets, because I was so curious, but by now its become a common sight for me lol.

Narita AP toilet comes with personal cubicle. With automated door!

Buttons for door!

Fancy Gadget Toiletbowl. Comes equipped with heated seat.

This is apparently for you to wash hands while seated on bowl. Water is then cycled for use for flushing.

Detailed explanation on works of toilet.

Many buttons. o.O

Emergency button, in case you get butt stuck.

Sink!

Next up we headed out to Narita City. Most of which was Shinshoji Temple, and a really hard to find Tourist Pavillion. You can read the stuff we did at Kim's post. Posting some photo's that I captured. My conclusion is that Narita City is not worth a stay over. Perhaps a day visit, and probably only once in my life, unless I make it a point to go there to pray.

This I have to post. My special meal of the day from AEON mall Market in Narita.

Yes, you can tell I really liked this peanut butter bread.

Next up we headed for Choshi.

Breakfast before heading to Choshi at a Convenient store AMPM.

Day 2 @ Choshi was much more interesting compared to Narita with its sole attraction Shinshoji Temple. It had a nice beach, cliffs, observatory, most of which can be read from the other authors posts. Some of my pictures tho.

Sweet dog who walked over and sat and stared at Kim's sandwish. XD Really polite though, didn't beg or try anything funny.

Crashing waves.

Me squinting cos the sun was in my eyes. This was at a clifftop.

Interesting hot water shower we found at the beachside rest house. Runs for 5 mins once u put coins.

Marimo without even hitting Hokkaido!?

Special anchor lamp posts cos Choshi is a port.

Signs. I belive it spells Choshi.

We found Pizza-la! See Link

Miao!

MX's expensive Dinner (Cold Soba)

My expensive dinner (Curry Soba)

Kim's expensive dinner (Sukiyaki Udon)

Boss Lady.

Breakfast

Next up, we headed to Yugawara on day 3 cos we woke up late after the Hotel night. ZZZ which screwed our itinerary by 1 day, so we gave the mountain climbing a miss, it was too dangerous to attempt since it got too late. For a detailed review of Yugawara, see Kim's post. Yugawara had really little information online, so we decided it had to make it to the net somehow, so that people would get to know of this beautiful place that shuts down real early; around 9pm at night EVERYTHING closes except the station which does just before midnight. Some pictures.

Funky puppy.

Is it me or do Japan's cats all look like they had a bad day. This one was comfortable with strangers even though it looked like that. o.O

Sibling

Awwwww~

For Edward. If you want it, just head down to Yugawara Station, nearby Odawara 100 store. :D

Somehow somewhere on the label, it said this was a vegetable bun.

Day 5 was a really long trip from Yugawara to our current destination. Sendai. The train ride with all its transfers took us about 9 hours? We started out from Yugawara at 4.40am, and hit Sendai at 2.30pm. Man it was a hellishly long journey, but totally worth the experience. I expect alot more of these journeys in the days to come, cos we are budget, and budget means only 1 7-day Japan Rail Pass for comfy Shinkansen rides. So far Sendai has been the only place that just about has people. And proper travel infrastructure, like the internet that I'm using now. A couple more pictures before I end this post.

This is what we took 9 hours of train for.

Lunch for 380 yen.

Tourist Information Centre of very helpful english speaking people. Apparently Japan has enough domestic tourists that most of the smaller towns TIC's are exclusively Japanese.

Gloomy bear's at the Taito Gamecentre.

Sendai was all interesting and fun until I hit the Taito Gamecentre. Whereupon my lack of Japanese reading skills cost me 500 yen, as I bought a dragonquest game card from a machine that I thought changed 100 yen coins into 500 yen coins. ZZZ. Depressing stuff. But I managed to bounce back up and rumble through the shopping arcade. Many shoe shops were seen with really cool shoes, that I would've loved to obtain if I were not on such a trip. The weight and trouble are too much to be worth buying them now.

Some sort of specialty there with lost of people queueing up for it. Not worth my 150 yen. Its a fried battered fishcake thing.

Dinner at 24 hour restaurant. Kinda like yoshinoya. This is the call device they use to call you when your meal is ready.

Dinner for 570 yen. Curry rice and Beef rice.

Tomorrow is going to be a day down at Matsushima Bay. And right now I'm just about ready to turn in for about 6 hours of sleep. Heh. Stay tuned for my infrequent updates.

Yugawara!

2010-03-06T21:40:00.011+08:00

Bright and early awakening to see the sun rise in the horizon... behind where we took shelter. Mountain on one side, a peek of the sea in between the buildings, very relaxing as we sipped our hot teas.

As mentioned in MX's post, we spent the day at Makuyama-koen Plum Blossom Festival... photos with comments do best, methinks :)

Just in front of JR Yugawara... near where we were living :D

A hint of what was to come...

Interesting honour purchase system... MX made off with two bunches along the way. After putting in appropriate payment, of course.

Ice cream and vitaminised drink to rescue parched throats along the 4km upward way!

Interesting little statuettes on the way up...

Complete with waterfall scenery!

The bright red berries caught my eye...

As did the kittycat in the window :D It had sulky look -.-

Roadside shrubbery...

I like the pink look... but just wonder... how do these trees live without leaves?!

And just as we thought we nearly arrived... we had to walk another 100m to reach the bit below.

HY gallantly goes forth and gets the goodies to follow! :D

Ok. Senget, I know... but the camera was perched precariously and we were really focusing on the background. Honest.

Meet PIG. We had close encounter when he decided to say hi by making an attempt at HY's bread. Must've been the plastic shining in the sun, we concluded later, since he swooped a few times through the afternoon and came up at least once with an actual packet which was calmly disposed of above tourists' heads after the contents were gobbled somewhere...

The weather was gorgeous, even the smurfs came out to play!

This guy was there with his parents. I can't believe they let him dress like that. Blinding.

Plenty of dogs came along for the fun with their owners, but we liked these stubby little dachschunds best!

Flowers, flowers, flowers... that was what we made the entire journey for, after all!

Peaceful burd.

Not peaceful burd. Seeking his next prey...

Think ma would want to grow these in the kitchen, if she could...

We filled our bottles from this, then lay down by the riverside to sleep. In all honesty. I cannot describe the experience really, but I didn't get sunburn, and the warm sun was all toasty and... nice ;)

This shop deserves special mention, because it's right beside our favourite hangout at the bus stop bench where we waited for people to go away and abandon their building so we could go sleep there. This entire display is set up every morning at about 6plus and dismantled completely every night at 7plus. No dawdling either. I literally had it materialise beside me as I scribbled in my journal... first there was an uncle with some crates of fruit. Next thing you know, the whole stall is shining bright and welcoming customers. In the evening, uncle was replaced by young lady... who was even faster about dematerialising the entire kaboodle.

Pictures of where we overnighted to come at a later date... I prefer not to give it away now since the local police are probably able to get suspicious and track us down or something. Hehehehe.

Food food food!

2010-03-06T20:46:00.011+08:00

Righty... me being me, my entries woithout a review of the gastronomic wonders we have sampled these few days... Try not to be underwhelmed. Most of these were culled from the bargain/discount sections of supermarkets and convenience stores... if not, they were from the cheapozoidalest of shops we could find. But I can tell you... ALL of it was really, really tasty! :D

Our first real meal... all 3 of us shared this. Almost like Pepper Lunch, except the nice lady whipped it up for us :D

First day spoils from the supermarket... Good stuff!

Food of choice... at $3 a pop, you can see why I'm eating this instead of "normal". I miss the good ol' hawker fare already!

The picture's really blurry, but all you need to know is that this babe can COOK. She did our first real restauranty thing, and I'm still thinking good things about it! And it was the cheapest in town, at that. If you ever drop by Choshi, go see her!

Only the Japanese... can you pick out the real cookie from the printed packaging? Yes, we couldn't believe it was the same size!

Day 2 breakfast. Hoho...

Yugawara is citrus country... oranges and lemons everywhere!

Really gorgeous sakura plum soup... er... tea. The lady said it was tea, but we believe her not because this was warm and salty and... sour. I liked it a lot! But the other two thought it was weird to have those flavours in pink food ;) Can't deny it's pretty though, and extra points for the gold flecks!

Picnic munchies for our enjoyment! Up top is the bread that Pig tried to snatch. Read next entry to find the reference :D

Today's food. Looks a lot more normal because we're splurging after skipping last night's dinner, and today's breakfast. And the early train and LOOOOOOOONG ride took a lot out of us. But mainly we're happy to see an actual city-like environment, I think.