Korean Food Fair At MidValley Megamall

Apart from the J Card Members' sale at Mid Valley, there's a Korean Food Fair currently on too. Located at LG floor, the fair showcase plenty of food items from Korea. We had fun sampling the many kimchis available. Yesterday, there were some Korean mini melons (looks pretty similar to Cameron Highland's apple) that is sold at RM35.90 per packet.

These past two days, it was madness getting to MidValley. There was traffic jam each day! Lucky, no traffic jam for those walking. Lucky me, eh?

J Card Members' Day At MidValley

J-Card Members' Day at Midvalley is on tomorrow from 9.00am to 11.00 pm, and on two days (Jul 15 & Jul 16 2009).

Anyone coming for the sale? These past few days, Jusco staff had been quite busy preparing for the members' day. Expect complete madness today and tomorrow!

Coincidentally, Jul 16 is marked as Buy Nothing Day. Organised in Malaysia by the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations as part of the National Consumer Campaign (3K) programme, Buy Nothing Day in Malaysia is marked annually on July 16 and is entering into its second year.

Eel Eating Day In Summer

Doyo No Ushi No Hi (or the Day of the Ox) is dedicated to eating eel. The Day occurs around the hottest period of the year. With the day being hot, lethargy sets in; which in Japanese is called Natsubate or summer fatigue. To counter this listless state, Japanese believe that eating nutritious eel helps to increase stamina and beat the summer heat.

This custom dates back to the 18th century. It is said that an eel seller who was in trouble because eel was not selling in summer due to the hot weather went to scholar Hiraga Gennai for help. Gennai recommended him to post a bill that read "Today is Eel Day and Eat Eel." As it was a recommendation from Gennai, who was well known as a very knowledgeable person, the eel shop prospered. Other eel shops followed suit and the custom to eat eel on the day prevailed.

Talk about good promotional marketing eh? Err... so when is the hottest day of the year?

Plug In, Charge And Drive With New Mitsubishi

A new range of plug in, charge and drive Mitsubishi electric vehicles goes into production in Japan for domestic and overseas sale.

We Went To Daiso

When we were in Japan, we always made a point to drop by Daiso for some cheap shopping. Know what we like to buy there? Cheap crockery and household items! My favourite store is the one nearby Hakata Station!

All items at just RM5 each! (100yen = approximately RM3.70 now, so the price is not that much higher for things imported from Japan. Although some Daiso items are Made in Malaysia, you know).

We went to Daiso at The Curve but didn't buy anything. Just browsed around and looking at stuff. The storefront of Daiso in Malaysia is a boring green and unlike the cheery ones in Japan.

I would've missed the store if Zaini hadn't pointed it out to me because I was looking for a similar looking storefront as in Japan (looks a bit like a pharmacy signboard, don't you think?) Apart from the store at The Curve, there are 3 other Daiso stores in Malaysia - 1Borneo in KK, Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall and IOI Puchong.

Plenty of stuff sold here but those looking for Japanese snacks might be disappointed. No Japanese food items sold here.

For us, we went gaga over plates, trays, bento boxes and those cute rice shapers (but not enough teapot available for me). I think I'm inspired to do some Japanese themed cooking for the weekend now! LOL

First Evil Ultraman In Mega Monster Battle : Ultra Galaxy Legends The Movie

Disclaimer : this post will only make sense to fan of Ultraman series, past and present.

If all goes according to plan, we'll end our Japan vacation on Dec 11 which is a day earlier than the release of a new Ultraman Movie, "Daikaiju Battle Ultra Ginga Densetsu THE MOVIE" or Mega Monster Battle : Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie. (Man, the name is long)

The movie, a joint venture between Tsuburaya Productions and Warner Bros will be released on Dec 12, 2009. The movie is directed by Koichi Sakamoto, who has worked predominantly as executive producer on the long-running American TV series Power Rangers.

The main antagonist in this movie is not a monster but an Ultraman. A new character, Ultraman Belial, is cited as being the first “villainous Ultraman” in the 43 year history of the franchise, who was locked away in the space prison by the mighty Ultraman King tens of thousands of years ago. Belial breaks free from his prison, and plans to use the Giga-Battlenizer to control 100 giant monsters and conquer the galaxy, shrouding the home world of the Ultramen in a state of darkness.

The movie will also feature Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Ultraman Jack, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro, Zoffy, Ultraman Mebius, Ultraman Hikari, Ultraman King, Father of Ultra, Mother of Ultra, Ultraman Leo, Astra, Ultraman 80, Yullian, Ultraman Neos, Ultra Seven 21 and Ultraman Boy.Original actors Susume Kurobe and Kouji Moritsugu return to reprise their roles as Hayata (Ultraman) and Dan Moroboshi (Ultra Seven) respectively, facing off against an army of over 100 giant monsters!

This should be an interesting movie with plenty of Ultraman and Monsters sightings, and the Ultramen are not restricted by the same 3-minute timer as then they visit/fight on Planet Earthbecause they are fighting on Nebula M78.

And think of all the merchandise Tsuburaya can spring on kids to coax their parents to buy! (And we'll be one of them too). Hmm... I wonder whether any limited edition figures for the movie will be sold at Ulfes 2009? Who's going to Ulfes 2009 this summer vacation?

Planning Our Trip With The Help Of JR

No, not JR of Dallas. (BTW, if you know who JR is, I think you are as old as me or older! Muahaha!!!!) I am talking about Japan Railways.

We've requested for a new JR train schedule online already and are waiting for it to arrive from New York. Won't be long! Yes... the brochures were sent from New York and not Japan. We've gotten the timetable every year now since 2007.

The JR timetable had been a tremendous help to us when navigating our way through the many train connections in Japan on JR Railways. You can get the brochure free by requesting it here and you can request not only for the train timetable but also brochures of the rest of JR Passes and places of interest in that area.

It may be easier to check the schedule online with Jorudan or our personal favourite, Hyperdia, but when we are out and about and want to reserve seats on trains, it is way easier to have the timetable in hand. We've pretty much cut down miscommunication between us and the JR staff by writing down the exact details of the train and the time we wanted to reserve because we know all the details beforehand.

I've written a similar post about getting a JR Pass here. Don't be afraid to click on the links I've provided in this post for more info on JR Passes.

During our previous travel, we've arranged our itinerary so that almost all the places we went to was covered by JR trains to cut cost on transportation. And with the passes too, we were able to just hop on trains and go to whatever places that took our fancy, without the fear of spending extra cash.