To Tokyo!

After a rainy day visiting Enoshima and Kamakura; the next day continued to be a cold gloomy day. We checked out from our hotel in Kawasaki and head-off to Tokyo. Left our luggage at the hotel in Senzoku before walking around for a bit and finally made our way to meet up with a blogging friend in Tokyo; Minor.

Because the day was so cold, we ditched the plan to visit a couple of parks and instead Minor brought us to Sunshine City's Namco Namja Town.

Had a romantic ride on the Bianca Vita, the merry-go-round and then enjoyed a lovely dessert at Ice Cream City.

Afterwards, we had a spot of ping pong game and also Othello board game before dinner. Well, Zaini and Raimie did. I just sat around and take photos. ^^

Dinner was lovely. Minor and his wife were so hospitable to us that we felt kinda guilty for imposing on them.

While we chatted with Minor at the dinner table, his wife taught Raimie how to fold paper cranes. Did I tell you that Raimie loves origami? I did, right? :)

Pretty soon it was time to make our way back to our hotel and part company with our lovely hosts. Raimie spent hours in our hotel room afterwards folding paper cranes some more. All in all, it was a great day with an equally awesome company.

To Minor and wife, thank you so much for your kind hospitality.
We are blessed to meet generous people during our trip. :) By the way, there is another post about hospitable people in Japan over at my other site.

My 7 Links Of Nonsense

Here I was reading the blogs of people I have links on my sidebar, and noticing the 7 links thingy that's been cropping up recently and happily noting that nobody mentioned me. Just when I thought I was safe, I head over to David's Ogijima and what did I see there? I was nominated to join this 7 links  meme/initiative. Argh! Argh! But I am touched that he nominated me. ^^ Thanks for the thoughts.

It took me 6 days to come up with this post because, I may have hundreds of posts but they are mostly my own ramblings of my family's trip to Japan. If you ever came across the others doing it, you might have noticed the quality of the others' 7 links are so way above mine.

Still, I present you my 7 links. W00T W00T

My most beautiful post - Mojiko Station

This post is about a train station that I had always wanted to visit and we made it there in 2008. Not only did I get to see a beautiful train station, I met up with a beautiful person too. A lady whom I've never met generously took us around Mojiko Retro and spent her precious time with us. To me, that is beautiful.

My most popular post - Toilets, In Trains

I ranked my most popular post by the amount it generated comments and the most with comments is about a toilet. In trains. In Japan. Shows how important answering nature's call in a nice and clean environment is to everyone.

My most controversial post - Still eating sushi

This post was written about a month after the March 11 earthquake in Tohoku. I wrote that post to state my view on those who are panicky about the radiation and contamination in Japan. I should be scared about the radiation in Japan while living in Malaysia and all that nonsense I suppose, but will that really help any of the people who suffered from the earthquake and the tsunami? Not really. By the way, the whole of Japan did not turn into a radioactive wasteland after March 11. And I'm still going to Japan.

My most helpful post - Applying A Visa To Japan

a helpful post to Malaysian readers was I think about the visa requirement to Japan. It got a lot of hits everytime AirAsia (a budget carrier) offered super low airfares to Haneda Airport.

Receiving a lot of comments from people wanting to know about the visa requirements, I was surprised (I shouldn't be, but still...) by the lack of courtesy these people have when asking for information. No hi, no please and no thank yous. Just direct questions and I was expected to answer. I don't work at the Embassy. I am also not a travel agent. Get that?   

My post whose success surprised me - I need my meals on time

is about me being hungry and needing to be fed! I should be silly on my blogs more often!

My post that I don't think got the attention it deserved - Nighttime in Asakusa

I posted up a photo of a homeless guy sleeping in front of a shop in Asakusa, my  "subtle" way of showing Japan is just like any other countries with their fair share of problems. I love Japan and all things Japanese, but I am well aware of them not being the perfect society some people always talk about. We are all human. Malaysia has homeless people, Japan has them too.

My post I'm most proud of - An onsen & ryokan experience at Taenoyu Onsen

no particular reason for being proud of it. But that this was our first ever stay at a ryokan that has a mixed bath section and my first ever experience of cavorting naked all around the bath area. I was proud of that. ^^!

And the hard part of this...passing the baton to these lovely people:

London Calling
Ristinw
Kak Lela
Bananaz
Eastcoastlife

Mekari Park On A Rainy Day

We got to visit the Neo-Renaissance style Mojiko Station one rainy day in 2008 and met up with the very kind Hanny who was generous enough to spend her precious time with us touring her home-away-from-home in Kitakyushu.  After a really delicious and filling tempura lunch we headed to Mekari Park (or was it the other way round? Can't remember the exact detail now, old age creeping up on me!)

Mekari Park is situated on Mount Kojo on the western tip Setonaikai National Park. The view of Kanmon Bridge that links Kyushu and Honshu from the Kojozan Observation Point is absolutely awesome. Of course, best viewed on a clear day but it was pretty nice that day too.

Raimie and I with our good host, Hanny. Raimie got along famously with Hanny and was walking hand-in-hand with her, Mommy and Daddy completely forgotten. If you read my previous post, that was Raimie holding Hanny's hand with Banana Man.

Raimie with the Mural of the Battle of Dannoura between the Genji and Heike in the background.

Instead of going on the Kanmon Bridge from Kyushu to Honshu, why not visit the Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel and go underground? The tunnel runs underwater and after about ten minutes' walk you will emerge in Shimonoseki in Honshu. Cool eh? Plenty of runners in the tunnel while we were there. We were told they were high school students training there.

What else to do if you come to this area? Don't forget to visit Mojiko Retro. There's a building Einstein used to stay in with his wife that you can visit. You can view (and walk on) the only pedestrian drawbridge in Japan too.

And to think that we almost didn't make it here. I actually contacted Hanny to confirm us stopping at Mojiko Station about an hour or so before our arrival and made the call from a public phone inside a train! Thank goodness Hanny was kind enough to meet us despite the last minute arrangement. 

I♥栃木

Tochigi residents are sure nice people. Don't believe me? A random comment of mine over at  Yoshi's Extracting Abstract and the dear Anna (and Yoshi too) of Budget Trouble really took the trouble to send me not one, not two but three absolutely awesome I♥Tochigi T-Shirts. 

Aren't the t-shirts cool? Me, being a brat just couldn't resist showing them off to friends and colleagues over at the office. (I gave my office address because seems like I've been missing quite a few mails that was sent to my house address).

No photo of me or the hubs here. I look fat so I won't be showing off my fat self any time soon!

Can't wait to visit Tochigi one day and you bet we'll wear the t-shirts there! ^-^

This is my "show-off I got cool friends over in Japan"  post and I thought of putting it up for a third entry this week for Budget Trouble's : Show Me Japan. Well, never mind. Can't be too greedy. ^^! Anyhoo, check the link for awesome Japan posts.

Food Erasers And Lovely Friends

My Son has a whole gamut of plastic sushi erasers bought while we were in Japan; in Kappbashi to be exact. Don't they just look absolutely delicious? My son likes to play "restaurant" with those erasers and coerced Mommy and Daddy to play along with him.

He was absolutely chuffed when he got some addition to his collection by the Anna from Budget  Trouble  when the lovely lady came to Malaysia for a warm Christmas R&R.

I love my blogging friends. They sure are one generous bunch. I've gotten many souvenirs either sent by them or passed to me if we have the chance to meet. It's always a great surprise opening my mailbox and see the treasures I might find in there from one of them; sometimes completely out of the blue. Not to mention those who open their homes to us whenever we were in their part of town.

I am taking this opportunity to say thank you so much to my blogging friends and visitors for all those great comments, lovely souvenirs and kind gestures you all have accorded to me and my family. We are blessed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Not too sure whether this qualify for an entry for  Budget Trouble : Show Me Japan but what the heck!

Day 5 In Japan : Kawasaki

Day 5 saw us travelling back to Tokyo and then head off to Kawasaki.

We went to Kawasaki for two reasons. Raimie of course wanted to see his heroes, Ultraman.  A trip to Ultraman Club which is located in Lazona, Kawasaki is a must for us. Judging from this photo, the trip was a success, don't you agree? :D

The other reason was to visit a friend who lives just a station away from Kawasaki station. She is busy on weekdays (on most weekends too!) so we were lucky that the Saturday we were in Kawasaki was a "free" day for her.  I guess we lost track of time while at her home because we were there for SIX hours! 

Kak Hani, thanks so much for your kind hospitality and those great food. Raimie enjoyed playing with his new friends despite the language barrier. I apologise if we impose on you too much but it sure was great meeting you and your lovely family!

Day 3 In Japan - Part II Loitering Around Tazawako

One of the reason we go up to Akita was to make a stop at Tazawako and meet up with someone there. For those who has been reading this blog long, you might remember we've been to Tazawako last year and stayed at Taenoyu Onsen in Nyuto Onsen.

Our initial plan to stay at Tsurunyu Onsen this year didn't pan out and we've arranged to stay and enjoy some onsens elsewhere later this week.

Going up to Akita, you get on the Komachi Shinkansen and some of the bullet trains came with Pokemon motifs on the trains' body.

Arriving Tazawako station, we went to the tourism office there to pass something to a friend. We tried to arrange to meet but as luck would have it, she had to go on a business trip the day we were there. I guess, we just have to make a return visit someday.

One thing you can see in this area is how the promotion of a Korean drama IRIS can be seen everywhere even at the hotel we were staying in. Some scenes in the drama were shot there, and it was now being used to promote the area.

Waiting for our bus that will be stopping at the nearby bus stop, we walked around and check out the exhibitions there.

If you plan to make a day trip to this area, do come early. The place went dead early. By 5.30pm,  the nearby lake area is  already deserted.

But we get to enjoy a beautiful sunset there and only left when it was already dark;on the last bus from the area at 6.45pm.

A New Mission On The Upcoming Trip?

Drainspotting anyone? 

I read a blog post by Jamaipanese titled Drainspotting: Japan’s Artistic Manhole Covers and thought that finding and photographing these cool and artistic manhole covers would be a cool project while vacationing in Japan. I first took notice of these artistic manhole covers in Himeji. I saw them while walking towards Himeji Castle from the train station.

Zaini has his stamp rally project and he'll happily hop on trains and stop at every s.i.n.g.l.e train station in Japan for a stamp and I should have my own project too. Other than trying to photograph everything and anything for posts in this blog, that is.

I'm always fascinated by the manhole covers I saw there, but I didn't take any photo of them because I felt cheesy & weird doing it. Chancing upon the post by Jamaipanese make me raring to go on a drainspotting mission.

Even this photo on the left, I asked Raimie to act cute for the camera although I actually wanted to take photo of the cute paws (or something) on the cover. Raimie said it looked like paws on Blues Clues. LOL. Photo taken in Ikebukuro way back in 2007. 

Jamaipanese, coming? :) 

Oishi Buffet on Legs At Midori?

Should we go to Oishi Buffet on Legs at Midori Japanese Restaurant, Putrajaya Marriott Hotel & Spa this weekend?

A friend who has been living in Japan for three years is coming back to Malaysia on June 5 and will be staying at the resort for a few days. I was hoping to meet up with her and family on Sunday, the day after her arrival before she head off to her hometown. Zaini mentioned that perhaps we can head to Midori  for their buffet and maybe we can go there after going to his cousin's wedding earlier in the day.

Midori is having this promotion every Sunday for patrons to enjoy a Japanese buffet experience with a range of food presented by service associates at your table. Featuring appetisers, sushi, sashimi, tempura, teppanyaki, robatayaki, nabemono, soba, udon, chef’s creations and desserts – the whole works and all market fresh. It is priced at RM55++ per adult and RM33++ per child for lunch and dinner. 

But of course, I don't think my friend would want to join us for dinner at Midori. She already ate so much Japanese food in Japan for three years!

Photo Tag And I'm Playing For A Change!

I got tagged by A Z Haida, of Look Again blog which I had been following for a few years now.

Like her, I don't normally do tags but I couldn't resist this one from her. Not when she put it this way :

"I hereby challenge (ehcheh) these 8 to do this tag...
5) Lina (bet it's going to be Japan-related photo)."

I do admit that we have more photos of us in Japan than any other places in Malaysia. My 8th folder is of our photos in Japan during Summer 2006. Almost 4 years ago.

The tag requires me to:

1) Go to your photo files…Select the 8th photo folder.

2) Select the 8th photo in that folder.

3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.

4) Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same!

So, here goes! Yosh!

The Story: 

This photo of Raimie was taken in summer 2006. It was Raimie's second trip to Japan and we were there for a week, for the sole purpose of going to Ultraman Festival (Ulfes) in Ikebukuro. Because of that, we just stayed in Tokyo and one of the places we went to, apart from Ulfes was the Shitamachi Museum in Ueno.

Being in the museum was like being transported to the era of Oshin, a woman who lived in the Meiji period. The Japanese drama Oshin was aired on TV in Malaysia when I was in primary school and everyone I know stay glued to the TV screen watching this drama of a strong woman who persevered during hard and tough times. Oshin serves as a symbolic figure for perseverance, showing that a person should never give up - even in the most difficult times.

Anyway, back to Shitamachi Museum. Shitamachi which meant low city; is the name for the low-lying parts of Tokyo. This museum is dedicated to looking at the lives led by millions of  men and women over the years in the area spanning from the early Meiji to late Taisho-eras (1868-1923). The museum has interactive displays which meant you can touch and play with all the exhibits.

An elderly guy who volunteered at the museum taught Raimie how to play the Japanese toys that were on display and before we left the museum he gave Raimie a little koma spinning tops made out of old magazine pages and toothpicks.

Here in the photo, Raimie was happily poking around in the blacksmith's home.

For our trip in Sep 2010, I plan to bring my friend to this museum. Even if you don't care much of the history of lives of Japanese of yesteryears, being in this museum makes good photo op.

I'm passing the baton to 8 others:

1. Cindy of Blank Thoughts. She's expecting her first baby soon. She made Osaka her home but she is back in Malaysia for the time being.
2. Kozue of Oh Tazawako, Where Art Thou? Hardworking to promote Tazawako and its surrounding area, I completely understand if Kozue can't play this tag. :D
3. Shida of shidafzan. A friend of mine since college, we used to be roommates too. She just started blogging  with blogspot, after years of using fotopages. She's one of few people left who still call me by a boy's name.
4. Nick of Anything goes. He blogs because he can!
5. Su of I Lookup As I Walk. A Malaysian, she is currently raising her family in Japan and giving support to her hubby who is pursuing his studies there.
6. Evan's Mom of A Little Boy's Blog.  A proud mom of two sons in Bogor, Indonesia.
7. Yatie of Sawanila. She just gave birth to a beautiful baby.
8. Bengbeng of My Longkang. See great photos and read about his life, Benghui's and the people around him in Sibu.

No pressure though. Have fun!

p.s. It might take me sometime to inform all those listed that they've been tagged.

And The Prize Goes To...

Remember my post earlier; about giving away a book written by Hajah Halela titled Pulut Sakura Serunding Kasih?

Am happy to inform the winner is Nick Phillips of Anything Goes. Nick e-mailed me the correct answer within minutes after my post was published.

The book is on its way to Nick and hopefully he’ll receive it soon. But first Nick, you haven't replied to my e-mail yet!

Congrats Nick!

Weekend Posts - Books, Souvenirs And A Giveaway

I got two new books for my reading last week. Two cookbooks to be exact. I love these two books because not only it contains recipes but also information on Japanese and Korean cuisine too. A good insight for me towards understanding the two countries and their food culture.

 

And I can't wait to try out the recipes soon! Wish me luck though.  I'm not a good cook, with or without recipes to refer to. :D

 

A friend who came back from her holiday (cum belated honeymoon) in Japan got me a souvenir. A pack of daifuku. Daifuku is a Japanese confection, a glutinous rice cake filled with sweet filling. This one that I got had cream filling. Raimie was so happy eating, he ate three in matter of minutes! Yumm!

Yesterday, I went to MPH again and got myself a Malay novel. This novel is pretty special because it was written by Kak Lela or Hajah Halela of Awan Okinawa Berlalu of whom I had been reading her blog for quite a while now. I bought an extra book which I plan to give away to one reader.

Open to anyone, anywhere but you do have to understand Malay language to try. Just answer one simple question and the first person to answer correctly will have this book sent over to him/her. E-mail me the answer (just click on my profile for my e-mail address).

The question is : In what month and year did the writer of Pulut Sakura, Serunding Kasih climbed Mount Fuji? A hint: shimmy over Hajah Halela's blog and go to posts under Travel. I'll announce the winner in two weeks' time.

"Makan" Club Outing - Lunch At Pasta Zanmai

Me and a few friends at the office have this so-called club that we call the "Makan" (which means Eat in English) Club. We contribute a certain amount of money each month and we try to arrange for a Makan outing every few months or so. Last month, we decided to go to Pasta Zanmai. I duly got a few Panora Magazines because there were discount coupons inside that we can use at the restaurant.

The gang, 10 of us and growing...

Happy faces with our respective orders. Most of us went for the set lunch that day which are a good value and we shared pots of tea. A pot of tea (RM3) is refillable and they do give extra cups for us to drink.

I had a busy time that day because almost everyone in the gang asked me about the menu and the food there. LOL

I was pleasantly surprised that the "old" staff were back at the restaurant. I ranted about the bad service Zaini and I received when we were last at Pasta Zanmai, with their batch of new, clueless staff in the restaurant and had not been back to this place ever since that visit.

Not only that our waiter (the cute one that I like too was back! Hehehe) was patient enough taking our orders - my friends are an opinionated bunch and they do like to query about almost everything, they obliged our request to split our bill 4 ways; because we have four RM10 discount vouchers from Panora magazine. So obliging of them. You bet that got favourable response from my gang.

Food as always were satisfactory. Certainly no complaints about it.

Great improvement on your service Pasta Zanmai! Keep up the good work.

To Yuzu Japanese Restaurant For Lunch

Another lunch out for me, after eating at The Boulevard Hotel on Friday and at Tony Roma's on Monday. Today, I had the good fortune of meeting up with Foongpc of My Very First Blog and our meeting place was at Yuzu Japanese Restaurant in The Gardens Mall. Any guess on who suggested the venue? :D

Sorry guys, no photo of the man himself, but you can look at what he chose for lunch. :) He went for the Yuzu Gozen set priced at RM48.00

I went for a cheaper meal and chose from the set lunch option. There are two options; the other one was Unagi & Sushi set (forgot the correct name). I went for the Sake Kabuto set priced at RM15.95.

If you want more photos, I guess you have to shimmy over to Foong's blog; when (and if) he posts about this lunch because I only took a couple. I totally forgot to bring my camera! Old age must be creeping fast on me. LOL

It was really fun meeting Foong. We had a two hour lunch there! Sorry Foong if I talk too much. Don't know whether all my jabbering bore him to death. ^-^

And he kindly brought me a souvenir from Guilin:

Hopefully we'll meet again after my trip to Japan. Deal?