Another Quicky Update

Well I'm back in Singapore. I was surprised when I realized I've been back for more then 1 week. Had loads to do almost immediately after my return, hence the lack of any entries till now. I've got a bit a free time today so I thought to put up this short note.

The trip to Japan was a very interesting experience. I am having a rather hard time trying to find the right words to describe my experience in it's entirety. Interesting is about as close and as neutral as I can get for now. I had fun and I got to experience stuff that the usual tourist to Japan would probably not know of. But there were also certain incidences that I would have preferred it not to have occurred.

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but this trip has kind of de-mystify Japan for me. Before I went there, Japan and it's people have always been somewhat exotic to me. The language, food and some of the more commonly known cultural aspects have always fascinated me. But now having gone there and stayed with the locals and interacted with the people, I find that the exotic imagery I had have been replaced. All things Japanese is no longer exotic but have become a part of the world.

Beneath all the famous Japanese politeness are a people that is not much different from you or me. Although they are generally more courteous and polite (especially when compared to Singaporeans in general), the politeness isn't found everywhere and towards everyone as I had imagined. And sometimes their politeness can be used as a mask to prevent their true feelings or intentions from showing. Oh well everyone is different and I suppose that is just one of the many aspects that makes the Japanese different.

Anyway I will try to edit through the 1200+ images that I shot during my trip and post some more up here along with some of the pix from the Korean trip.

A Quicky (Japan trip day 6)

I have officially passed the half way mark of my adventure to Japan. It's been 6 days since I arrived and there are 6 more full days to go before I return to Singapore.

There are lots that I would like to blog about, such as my experience of shopping alone in Osaka central yesterday, the summer festival and fireworks last night, the sushi restaurant and the deer park (Nara Park / Nara koen) today, having sushi and tenzaru soba for dinner with the family and me cooking a simple Chinese dish for them tonight, and packing my all my stuff for the move into the hostel tomorrow morning.

But I'm really tired now and it's another long day for me tomorrow, beginning with the move. I'm visiting the Kaiyukan (Aquarium) tomorrow to see the only whale shark in captivity, along with lots of other marine life. It's probably going to remind of diving and how much I miss it.

Well anyway, I thought that I should at least post something up so that those at home do not worry. At the moment I am not sure how convenient it will be for me to connect to the internet from the hostel. So it might some day before I post again.

Eating Habits

Pork and Wakame Ramen. We had ramen for lunch yesterday. This particular restaurant is supposed to be so good that even celebrities have eaten there. But it's not the small quaint Japanese shop that I have seen before on Japan hour. It's a rather big restaurant and apparently it's also something like a franchise. The main restaurant is located on Osaka central's food district, Dotombori.

Perhaps it's because the only ramen I've ever eaten are in Singapore so this being the 1st bowl of ramen in Japan, I have to say it is rather yummy. It doesn't taste like 'Maggi' noodles at all. The pork slices were generous and tender. The soup is also quite tasty, although a little on the salty side.

I have been trying for the passed few days to learn how to slurp my noodles or to eat with some slurping noise. But I just wasn't able to do it. Whenever I tried to slurp up the noodles, I always end up sucking in only air while the noodles remain dangling from my mouth!

Another thing that I have noticed while staying here is the speed at which they eat. The Japanese eat extremely quickly, especially lunch. I always find myself the last one to finish and it's getting somewhat embarrassing. I'm not used to eating my meals so quickly so it does get uncomfortable when I have to speed up so that I can at least finish only a few minutes after they are done. The only meal that they appear to eat a little slower is dinner.

Fukuda san explained that it's because since breakfast and lunch are eaten during the day, the Japanese eat faster at these meals so that they can get to work quickly (b'fast) and have more time to rest (lunch). But dinner they can take a little longer since it's the end of the day and they can relax. But I suppose when you form a habit of eating quickly for 2 out of 3 meals a day, it just becomes a natural way of eating.

Oh well, I suppose I will just have to continue trying to keep up as best as I can.

Farmer for 30 minutes (Japan trip day 3)

Yup that's right. I was a 'farmer' for about 30 minutes this morning. It was very interesting and actually quite fun. I was given a 'farmer's cotton shirt' to wear as protection from the sun and insects, a pair of boots as well as a farmer's hat. I looked quite hilarious in the hat and unfortunately there are no pictures of me in it since the whether was too hot to have it on for so long. We pulled several carrots, plucked some tomatoes (I ate a few straight from the branch and they were extremely fresh and sweet!), I plucked 2 brinjals (eggplant) and 2 zucchinis.

At first when Fukuda san told me we were going to harvest vegetables, I thought that it will be a few others and we would be clearing several rows. But it turned out that it wasn't a commercial farm and the veges are grown only for personal consumption. So today we basically just collected enough for ourselves. And there were only the three of us there: Fukuda san, his mum, and me.

I actually quite enjoyed the experience. It's definitely not something that I can easily do again in Singapore.

Pictures from Japan trip day 2

Today was a rather tiring day. It was more because of the heat then anything else. The heat and humidity. The weather is not that different from Singapore. I think the only difference perhaps is the intensity of the sun.

So I think I'll put up more pix than words tonight. Tomorrow will be another long and eventful day.

The Fukuda Residence: Where I am staying in the first 5 days of my visit.

The main entrance that leads into a small courtyard.

The courtyard.

The entrance into the house.

The main hall. For more formal entertainment and gatherings.

The inner living area. Here's where the family watches TV and relaxes.

The corridor outside of my room.

My room.

The inside of the local express train. The seats are rather comfortable cushioned seats. Not the hard and somewhat uncomfortable plastic seats that we have on the SMRT trains. But I suppose that's because plastic seat would not be very comfortable in winter with temperatures below zero. The trains passes by in surprisingly close proximity to each other.

Takoyaki. One of the many popular local Osaka snacks that has become rather popular in Singapore also. But the taste here is much better and the tako (octopus) is a lot bigger than what we have in Singapore. 300yen for 6 pieces. That's about S$3.90. The name of this store means roughly 'Japan's number 1 and biggest'. It was the most popular store that I saw while walking around. They were the only one with a long queue and 9 staff maning the little store.

Home-made Okonomiyaki with slices of pork and squid.

Konbanwa! Japan trip day1 part 2

Since I am staying with a local family I really feel more immerse in the Japanese daily lifestyle then if I were to stay at a hotel or even a traditional Japanese inn (called ryokans).

When we sat down for dinner it felt both familiar and foreign to me at the same time. It's a little difficult to explain. Perhaps the eating style (using chopsticks) and the food itself were familiar to me, but the language and the people were quite foreign. But they were all very welcoming. Dinner was really good. The mum (Okaa-san) made really tasty gyozas (Japanese meat dumplings) and the dad (Otoo-san) fried some yummy noodles with pork slices.

Fukuda san's sister's family came over from Osaka (about 1.5 hours drive) specially to meet me and to have dinner with us. It was a truly unique experience. At the rare times when I was able to communicate relatively well with any one of them, with the exception of the children, it was extremely thrilling for me.

Being able to speak Japanese and mostly importantly listen to it being spoken on a daily basis is a rare opportunity. Especially in such a direct and friendly environment. It has really given me a chance to practice what I have learnt in a very practical way. It is no longer a hypothetical situation created in a classroom. Here I am actually trying to communicate and understand local Japanese who do not understand English. Sugoi desune!

After dinner we all went out to a local summer festival held at nearby town. It is organized by the local Shinto shrine. Throughout the summer there will be several other such small festivals held at various places. It was quite similar to the periodic night bazaars (pasar malaam) that we have back in Singapore. But more colourful. It is like a cross between a small carnival (minus the rides) and the night bazaar. Since it was summer there were a number of girls dressed in the traditional summer kimonos called a yukata. Apart from the camera hanging from my shoulder and the language barrier, I felt almost like a local while walking down the streets and peering at all the various little stalls to see what they were selling.

The time here now is already 12mn. The sun rises at about 4.30am here and it sets at about 7.30pm. They have very long days compared to Singapore. So that means I probably should stop now and go get some sleep.

Oyasumi!

Konnichiwa! Japan Trip Day 1

Well I am in Japan! Yup I am finally physically in Japan. Actually in Kansai, Nara prefecture, Tenri city, to be exact.

The flight was great. (Stuff that I wrote during the flight are added at the bottom of this entry.) The first few hours here have been rather interesting. Met up with Natsumi for a while, but she had to go back to work. Had lunch with Fukuda san (I ate a very yummy bowl of Teriyaki Chicken don) and we had a good time reminiscing about his classes and lessons.

Right now I am at the Fukuda residence. It is a traditional Japanese house out in the countryside. The meeting with Fukuda san's parents were very interesting, to say the least, and a little bit embarrassing. But they are both very nice. The mum especially was quite amused at my command of the Japanese language, but in a good way. She was very happy and excited to meet me and apparently so is alot of other people. From Fukuda san's parents and relatives, to friends, and even right up to his boss's father. To be honest I do feel a little embarrassed at all the excitement that my visit has generated. The reason for the excitement seems largely due to fact that I am by far the first of Fukuda san's students from Singapore to come for a visit that is longer than 1-2 days.

I'm going to try and take a short rest now. But I will definitely take some pictures of the place that I am staying in later and post it up.

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(Here's what I wrote on my flights to Japan, along with some pictures.)

My First Solo Flight (Friday, 07 July 2006)

1st Leg
I am writing this while flying on Malaysian Airlines flight MH 610 to Kuala Lumpur. It is approximate 30 minute flight and we will be arriving in about 10-15 minutes.

Although it is short but this will always be my very first flight all by myself without family or friends with me. I would have preferred my first flight to be a longer one but circumstances was such that I had to take this flight.

I am actually on my way to Osaka Japan. But since I am flying Malaysian Airline I had to transit at KL.

Actually this is not too bad. The flight isn't too full so there is plenty of space and empty seats around. I was originally given a window seat but shifted over to an isle seat because there was someone seating beside me while there was so many other empty seats around. Since he didn't want to move I did.

I think we are making our descent already. My ears are starting to pop again.

The wait at KL International Airport for my connecting flight into Osaka is about 1 hour 45 min.

Need to shut down now.

2nd Leg
This is so exciting!! I am now on my flight to Osaka, Japan. Finally! Surprisingly the waiting time before boarding my connecting flight wasn't very long, which was great.

And I switch seats again. There were empty seats in front of where I was allocated and again there was someone sitting beside me. So I switched seats after we took off. Now I have the entire window seats to myself. It's the first time that I didn't have anyone sitting beside me on a flight. And it's great! The space is great! Having my laptop with me is great. I am off to a great start for my first solo vacation. I'm loving every minute of it! This is definitely an experience that I will remember for life.

I know I should also try to get some rest. Especially now that I have more space than I have ever had on a flight, it should not be too difficult.

How would I describe this experience so far? Exhilarating and liberating!

The flight is approx 6.5 hours and by the time I arrive at Kansai International Airport it will 6.15am Singapore time, which translates to 7.15am Osaka time.

But I think the one thing that I probably need to keep reminding myself through out this journey it not to rush, panic and get flustered. I need to slow down, observe my surroundings more, enjoy the moment for what it is and remember it in its totality.

I should probably take a picture of my seats. Just so that I can have something to remember this experience by.

Ok I think will shut down now and enjoy the in flight movie and my yummy looking snack.

Actually I didn't finish the movie that I set out to watch. But I did finish the snack.

3 days to Japan!

Before I can really settle and really blog about my experiences in Korea I find myself busy preparing for another trip.

But I am not complaining as this coming trip, or rather the experience of this coming trip, is one that I have been dreaming about since I was a kid.

I will be flying solo to Japan this Friday. For the first time in my life I will be taking a flight all on my own with no friends or family with me. It is a little like a coming of age thing that got belated. And I can't wait!

But that's only part of the excitement. I will visiting a country that I have been fascinated with for the longest time also. The land of the rising sun: Nihon.

Although I will only be visiting Osaka and a few surrounding cities, I am beginning to feel that perhaps 12 days will not be enough.

I am counting down the days till I fly this Friday evening and set foot for the first time in Japan!

Ahn Nyung Ha Se Yo!

That's 'Hello' in Korean.

I picked that up along with a few other phrases during my recent trip to South Korea last week. It was an interesting trip in a country that I was totally unfamiliar with. But thanks to our very bubbly, thoughtful and extremely fluent guide, Sonia, the whole trip was made alot more pleasant and memorable.

The scenery were nice but since we went during summer there was just too much green. We felt as if we were still in Singapore or somewhere in Malaysia sometime. The only times when we knew that we are in a different country were
1) when we tried to communicate with the locals without our guide,
2) when walking through a stretch of alpine forest with trees that don't grow in the tropics,
3) when sitting down for our meals (with the exception of breakfast).

On the whole it was a good trip. We managed to take some nice photos although they were not what we were hoping to get due to the wrong season and cloudy skies.

Will try to post up some pics along with more comments about the trip when I can.