Be With You..

Read from Teck Guan's blog that this movie is currently showing in Singapore and apparently his friend couldn't find anyone to go with her to watch it because it is UNBELIEVABLE...

Well, just a few thoughts to share... name the top 3 most popular movies and inevitably Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings comes to mind. Coincidently, all three are fiction isn't it? So whether a movie is unbelievable or not, it is not that important I guess. Do you think so?

For those who hasn't watch the movie, it was a super hit in Japan prompting the production of the drama currently airing now. The attraction of the movie isn't so much about its storyline but that of what Japan is famous for, touching lines, simple gestures saying a thousand words and a simply beautiful story. This movie touches on the deep love not just between a married couple but also that of the mother and son that suggests that such love transcends beyond the boundaries of life and death. The lady who supposedly got a glimpse of her future when she met with an accident at 20 chose to marry the same guy even though she knew eventually she has to part with them one day. Another part that touched me was when she went to the cake shop to make reservations for son's birthday for the next 12 years to come till he is 18. She knows she won't be around so she makes sure that someone, somehow remembers it on her behalf...

Well... for those who are going to watch this show. Go with an open heart. Relaxed, enjoy the great onscreen chemistry of the cast. Of course if you understand Japanese, you will enjoy it even more! (Btw, both the leads are really getting married in real life) Lastly, be prepared to cry buckets!

My self Potrait!

I received a very special present from Carol, my good friend about 3 weeks back when we were going to Kyushu for a holiday. Despite her claims that she drawn it during her exam period and her apologies that she didn't draw well, I think it is fantastic! Don't you think so? Go look in her blog and you will realised what a talent she is!

Can't use words to express how delighful I felt. It's such a personal gift that I deeply appreciate.

Thanks Carol! For the drawing, for the wonderful week in Kyushu, encouragements during the climb in Mt Fuji and lots of fun to come!

Hanabi!!!

My first in Japan's hot summer. Hanabi anyway is the fireworks festival. It is a season where Japanese will turn up in Yukata, a simpler form of Kimono and enjoy fireworks by the riverside. Along with it will be eating together, games and of course Japanese's favourite pastime, drinking beer!

Went with 8 other friends. It was fun meeting together and getting dressed up for it! Tying our hair together and adjusting our yukatas. Kinda felt like high-school prom kinda of thing.

But well.. enjoy the photos! more to come because this is only the start of summer!

The pretty girls!

Attempting to look demure.. failed??

Watching Hanabi with my "son" Emmi!

The very loving couple.. ahhh...

All of us!!

Strangely speaking, we gathered lots of stares everywhere we went... probably due to the foreigners among us wearing yukatas... good experience nevertheless!

Fuji Q- Highland...

Very very very very FUN!!!! Contrary to it's small size. It had really good attractions!

The world's longest and highest roller coaster, The fastest jet coaster. The longest and very scary haunted house and well with a fantastic view of Mt Fuji!

We all agree the trip to Fuji was a test of the limits of every part of our body. First it was our limbs then at Fuji Q highland it was our heart- our courage!

The haunted house was apparently so scary that one of my friends exited halfway haa... so leaving So, Emmi and I to complete the walk screaming all the way togther. Yes. The guys screamed so loudly too.

Jet coasters. I just shut my eyes throughout... too exciting! Can you imagine the fastest one goes up to 172km/h in just 1.8 seconds??

WOoh.... but I love the place. Great fun!

Our Jet coaster photo. -Fujiyama



In the haunted hospital...



The world's highest and longest coaster. 3.5 minutes long...

Mt Fuji conquered!

Yes... on the morning of July 6th, at 8am.

When the group of us reached the top, one comment was prevalent, " Unbelievable... Can't believe we did". Well, ok maybe just among 2 of us, Shiro and me.. haa But really, the path we chooe or rather So-san, our leader chose was reputably the toughest among all the treks. It was supposed to be for mid-advanced climbers and not amateurs like us! But well, he only knew that on the day of the climb so can't blame him either.

Ok the day started with 8 of us meeting at the Okazaki station at 5.40am in the morning. Yup, we had to do so because there were very limited bus services to the 5 station of the mountain which we will start the climb. But the early hours did not dampen our moods, we as usual went crazy with photos and jokes all the way till the 5th station.

Here's Carol and Emmi who stayed with me for the night before the climb: Too excited to sleep..

8 of us, still sane and energetic and the 5th station. (with Carol as the photographer)

So we went on our way... but well due to the vast difference in physical conditions, some of us were fast and some of us were slow... But never the less, we made it through the 6th, 7th and 8th stations together. See the wooden pole each of us have? There are services at each station to brand the station's mark and metres above sea-level on it.

only finished the story halfway... we made a night's stop at the 8th station meaning to get some rest but well with 8 noisy and excited people you will only get a night's non-stop worth of snores and tossing around. Especially when it was freezing... Poor Carol who slept beside me had to move to another futon. Well that's only because Emmi insisted on squeezing beside us to sleep... ha

ok.. cause of the rain we could only set off again at 5am in the morning... so cus of time contraints only 6 of us made it to the top... sighz... but yup we did!!!

Resting along the way...

The small and squeezy rooms... felt like the coolies in "Wu Shou Nan Yang"...

The beautiful sea of clouds!

Finally, the conquerers!

Hellp Kitty Self-made series

Everyone who knows something about the famous Japanese- mouthless Feline should know that one trait about it is its every-changing image. Hello Kitty, fondly refered to as Kitty-chan by Japanese have been seen in every image possible. Now let's see some self-made images by yours truly...

The male body-builder...

The female weight- lifter....




Ahh... half naked... Kitty's so hairy!



Sexy Kitty....

Promiscious Kitty....

People behind the "scenes"....

Your contribution is greatly appreciated by the audience and the cast...

Kyushu- Nagasaki, Fukuoka and Kumamoto

Managed to conquer this 3 cities on my 6-day "pilgrimage" to Kyushu...

It started with a long 12-hr bus ride from Nagoya to Nagasaki. By the time I got down the bus, my head was already in a state of confusion from the lack of proper sleep and also inactivity.

Ok we started the day off by visiting the Peace Park. Nagasaki, for those who don't know, was the other city after Hiroshima which US dropped a atomic bomb on. As I walked around the museum, it brought back some of the emotions I felt when I first visited Hiroshima. All of lives in our history textbooks, we were taught the atrocities by the Japanese troops during the occupation. We all know how much the Chinese especially the older generation hate them even till today.

Yet, the museum presented another side of the story, which is the innocent Japanese who were wounded and died in the bombings. I was really shocked to know nearly half of the city perished. The effects of the radiation are still felt till today. The way they died were just so gruesome.

Anyway Nagasaki is just so different from other Japanese cities. It is so unlike Japan! The fashion is different, streets are pretty dirty... could be due to the fact they were the "door" to foreigners in the past so the place is pretty much still under the influence of dutch for instance from the numerous dutch artifacts left behind.

Fukuoka on the other hand is the glitzy city. We could feel the difference immediately as we alighted the train. The bright neon lights, high acitivity level even till wee hours in the morning.. It is also the first time I ate in a road-side stall, called "Yatai" in Japanese.

Lastly in Kumamoto. Was supposed to go to a Volcano but well due to the rain, the plan was cancelled.. sadness... but well that's 6 days in Kyushu!

International buffet

We have a little arrangement among ourselves. Each week, someone will take turn to make food from their countries. It used to be just among Bill, Frederik, Kyu, Sandra, Chou and me. But yesterday, since it was the last day of class, we invited the rest along too. And since it was such a big crowd, we made it into a picnic.... at the carpark outside my room where I have weekly picnics with Emmie and Sandra.

It was Pizzas from Czech Republic as presented by Sandra. Oh my gosh... it was sooooo delicious! It was really really good and it tasted not like any normal pizzas I have eaten before. For a start, she didn't use the normal pizza crust, she used the kind of crust used for pies. And well, all of us were licking our fingers with satisfication at the end of the meal. Of course, it is not completed with a dessert at the end! I just received some barley and green beans from my family yesterday, so decided to make some green bean-barley water. In this hot and humid weather, a cooling drink is welcome anytime uh...

Ok, I had some sparklers left from my last trip to Ise so I decided to bring it out to have some fun. And we did! dancing around with the sparklers. Only down point was that it created lots of smoke. But heck... we had such a good time. And we chatted the night away till about 12... wanted to go to the student bar but well... too tired to do so...

The 3rd last day of school...

As yesterday came and left, it marked the end of the third sem I am in Japan. Time flies is really such a wonderful way to describe how each begins and somehow end without your knowledge. Just another 5 more days, I would have been in Japan for 9 months.. wooh... 9 months... without my family, friends and the comfort of home... Thank God for His grace thus far. Praise Him for His bountiful blessings and favour upon me.

Ok this sem we have only Emmie who is going home.. And also our "form teacher" who is leaving to fufil her dreams of teaching in England. Matsumoto Sensei is really a good teacher. Really to our surprise. I recall my first impression of her being slightly shy and quiet. But she proved herself by the good examples she used and her confidence when explaining things. I don't quite remember anytime I don't enjoy her class. except of course when I myself was sleepy in the first place...

Anyway after her speech, she asked each of us to give a speech too. And 2 other senseis, Miki and Watanabe came to join us as well. The teachers all said that D class this sem gave a very united feeling. They always feel that our relationship is very good and we are all very positive and that we are their favourite class! (ah.... this sounds so primary school). But yeah I truly agree with that. This sem there are more gatherings, more parties and it's just not eating and having fun but we talk alot among ourselves too. About our dreams, our lives, our familes back at home... And of course, we are all looking forward to our trip to Mt Fuji and Fuji Highland together!

Ok so we had a mini party and photo taking session as usual!

By now we are all so into taking the "3 shots at one time" picture.... so here's out many poses!

Emmie showing off his pants!

Matsumoto sensei and our gift for her

Emmie's Little Party..

We had a mini gathering at a Izakaya yesterday for our dear dear baby Emmie... hem...

Izakaya anyway is a place Japanese hang out either after work or in their free time to drink or simply gather for a good time. We chose this particular Izakaya because the food was really good and ambience was fantastic. You could have your own little "room". It's like a cave which separates each group of guest from another.

Ok we ate a lot... the food was sooo good! We had sashimi, salad (the salad is one of their specialities), grilled-chicken stick, Tempura, Coroke( also another of their speciality), Omelette rice.... and much more... Wah.. (p.s; Carol must bring u there!)

Ok.. so it was another round of pictures and pictures... enjoy!

The 5 of us and our teachers!

Kuri-Bo... ( kurita sensei's nickname) and us...

The half-drunk Hiroe Sensei...

Delicious Sashimi!

Last but not least the very bo liao us... haaa Yeah we were so pleased with the timer..

Well... the 5 of us somehow became closer this sem. Maybe it is because were in the same class last sem... so such gatherings doing stupid things are just part and parcel of our lives here...

The very very very big house with many many dogs..

I was invited to a Japanese friend's house for BBQ today.

It's funny how I met him, Mr Yamagishi san. It happened when I was taking Carol (who came for a visit from Tokyo) to this park in the Eastern part of the town. Well, I was only in Okazaki for about 2 months then so wasn't too sure of the exact location of the park. So I went into a pet shop to ask for directions. The boss, Yamagishi, started chatting with me and asking me questions upon knowing I was a foreigner. He is a very kind and nice man in his late fifties. He even gave Carol and I 2 packs of animal feed each upon learning we are going to the park. Of course if you had read mine or Carol's earlier blogs, you will know how much trouble we ended up just to feed it to some ducks and swans....

Ok anyway, I brought another friend back to the shop about a month or 2 ago and met him again. This time he extended an invitation to us to have dinner with him and his wife. He then took us to this small but really delicious Taiwanese cuisine restaurant. It was pretty expensive but we ate to our fills... the food was simply so good... so hard to describe. Afterall I am not such a food critic nor gourmet like Carol.. haa

Today, we were supposed to have a BBQ at his house but due to the weather, he took us to Gamagori Laguna, a restaurant by the seaside to have dinner. Oh my god... it was sooo beautiful! The nightview was so magnificent. The sparkingly clear sea (ok couldn't see it at night so imagined it) But the soft lighting just gave the whole place such a romantic and peaceful feel.

Then he took us to a little river... which we saw something I had always wanted to but never had a chance to. I told him once I had never seen it in my life and he remembered it... I saw fireflies!! First time ever in my life. Or maybe I did but dun remember anymore... but it was so beautiful! To them flying about slowing and illuminating like little christmas lights... too bad they will only be around for a month or so...

Ok then finally we went back to his house to collect our bikes. he stays there with his son's family (wife and son). But the family stays on the upper levels of the house, having another life altogether of their own. my gosh... he has 5 cars!! He is super rich can... His house is soooo big... and then there is even a lift from his garage into his house... wooh... now i know.. a small pet shop can earn you big bucks! haaa... oh yah, i always get to see pups when i go to his shop. The last time Schnauzer pups.. this time, Schnauzer and Chihuahua pups... soooo cute! extremely small. about 2 weeks or so... anyway he has a 100 dogs as private collections. As many as 50 over in his house in think... Forgot to mention, he is so loving towards his wife. They are such a funny couple. He always tries to hold her hand but she is like so untypical Japanese women who always walk around so fast. He will fuss over her and she will joke that he is too naggy...

Wooh.. as usual ate so much.. must go exercise le...

Party and more parties!

Party! Party... party....party....

Constitutes 30% of my life here.. Anyway we just had a birthday bash and end of sememster party for the June babies in our class... Here's some pictures!

Preparation before the party.... Extreme right is Emmie, our class baby cutting some cucumbers for the first time in his life...



A break from all the cutting and frying!



The pride of the party! The finished product from the "yaki soba" team. Yes, we had the salad team, snacks team etc..



The first snapshot of the people preparing food....



Finally, the whole party in progress and everyone tucking in happily...

Cheers! To a good sem, the June babies and new friendships made

A final picture of everyone

Aftermath of the party. A nice relaxing night out in the back yard...

Thoughts:... Everyone agrees that it has been a absolutely fun sem despite the initial strange feelings of joining 2 different classes together. Somehow throught the constant teasing, regular dinner gatherings, our class became more cohesive. Yup, definitely we still miss those classmates not with with us this sem but still, glad that class D was formed! Next thing to look out for is our 12-man expedition team to Mt Fuji! Can't wait for it! Already booked a big chalet to accomodate everyone of us for the 3 days 2 nights trip!!

Interesting fact about sharks..

Was watching this programme on TV yesterday and discovered something interesting....

Do you know that a dry battery can save your life if a shark is nearby? Yes.. interestingly, sharks are "afraid" of batteries.

According to the explanation, sharks detect their preys, little fishes by the "electric waves" send out by them. And a dry C size (I think) sends out electric waves equivalent to that of 3000 fish. So when you hold on to a battery, Mr shark thinks that there are 3000 fish around so he is probably too afraid to attack.

The people in the show did an experiment. They lowered a dead 4 kg fish in the water to attract the shark to come. Each time they did it, the shark came real quick and bite the fish off without any hesistation. But then when they begin to drop a battery as well, the shark swam away quickly.

Interesting uh?... but p/s: the battery can only last you a minute worth of eletrical waves and a small one 20 secs. So don't try it!

Birthday Celebration

Jun 10th...

Miki Sensei's birthday!

The class decided to give her a little surprise class before the actual party next week to celebrate all the June babies' birthday.

First, we bought her a gorgeous and super delicious-looking ( delicious looking because we din get to eat it... ) chocolate cake. The during break, she went out for a while and all of us hid in the balcony outside our class. When she walked in, we burst in chorus of "Happy Birthday"!

Miki sensei is just so cute, she was so happy and surprised that she couldn't teach properly for the first 10 mins in class. She just kept smilling and kept saying she feels so embarassed and happy that she cannot continue in class anymore. Haaa...

The very happy Miki Sensei

Our proper class photo

Crazy bunch!

An extraordinary Cd

Have a test tomorrow… but just wanna write this down today…

Received a cd from a friend today who has left home last spring… When I received it, it was really just a normal cd which contained some of the photos we took together. However when I opened up the files, I discovered to my delight that my friend had created a video voice file for me in which she recorded her messages.

Started with the usual greetings about her life back home now and her plans for the year. The she shared with me about some of the stuff she has read from a magazine recently. Among which, phrase according to the magazine is very popular with Singaporean youths recently, “Move out of your comfort zone”.

When I heard that last track she recorded for me, I cried. I cried because I felt so touched that she actually sat down to do all these recordings. In it, she shared that she felt regret for not being able to move out of her comfort zone when she was younger to do things she wanted. She had actually wanted to stay in Japan longer because it has always been her dream to study in Japan but she had to go home because of financial difficulties and at the same time she felt she wasn’t young anymore and had to do something more concrete. She reminded me that I should also continue to move along and not be satisfied nor be complacent just because I am still young now…

I really really appreciate the effort so much. And when I heard her crying in the recording, I also can’t help but cry with her.

To my friend: Thanks for being for me always when you were in Japan. Now too =) We will be in touch I’m sure!

And also to my another friend Mannie, she wrote me a mail that day… and the last sentence touched me so much too. She said this, “Got anything must tell your big sister here ok! I won’t let my little-sister go through anything by herself. ”

Ahh… so so so blessed… so blessed by all these people in my life. Though only 8 months here but really found so many people who cared so much for me…