Winter Trip 2009 - Osaka/Nara/Kobe Part 1

So on the night of 22 December, Isabel, Dhani, Yang Chen and I boarded the night bus at Shinjuku bound for ....-drum roll-.... Osaka! The night bus was, well, quite bearable actually, except that I probably should bring a neck pillow if I ever repeat this experience - which I probably will since this is the cheapest means of transport for domestic travel... =/ Poor Dhani was not so lucky though, as he sat next to a rather (surprisingly) big-sized Japanese who kept talking with his friend the whole night. Arrived in Osaka the next morning at about 6am, and so the trip began!

23 Dec - Sze Ping, Osaka Castle, Peace Osaka, Namba, Okonomiyaki
Our hostel (Guesthouse U-en) was such a cosy place! We managed to book the private triple room for the 4 of us and paid just 300yen more than if we were to get the dorm beds. The whole place had an almost bohemian-feel and yet traditional Japanese style to it. Our room used to be part of a family home, so it was styled in the traditional Japanese decor of tatami mats, futons, and paper sliding doors. Nice!

Managed to meet up with Sze Ping (!) at the Osaka Castle Park, which was just a 15 minute walk from our hostel. Went into the main hall of the Osaka Castle as well, which has been converted into a museum of sorts, mainly detailing the life and exploits of the founder of the Osaka Castle - Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Pretty interesting but then again probably because I'm a history student heh =P.
(The Osaka Castle Main Hall - a converted museum about Hideyoshi Toyotomi.)

(Taking a photo together at a random face-cut-out in the Osaka Castle Park!)

Next up on the outskirts of the Osaka Castle Park was the Peace Museum Osaka, which I found to be a highlight of the trip. Having been to the Yushukan (War Museum @ Yasukuni Shrine) and seeing how amazingly biased it could be, this was surprisingly refreshing, with a whole exhibit on the WW2 atrocities as committed by the Japanese. At 250yen, this was probably the cheapest admission fee of the whole trip too.
(A pamphlet from Peace Osaka, of which the logo apparently reflects the whole universe if you look carefully.)

Went back to the hostel for a bit of much-needed nap, before heading out to Namba - one of the main nightlife/shopping centre of Osaka - and had Okonomiyaki dinner with Sze Ping! Unlike the bounenkai one at Chofu, the staff made the okonomiyakis for us here. I had extra cheese topping with my order and it was heavenly. Cheese = <3! Sze Ping and I were both lamenting that cheese in Japan is so darn expensive though blah. After dinner, Sze Ping went back to pack for her trip to China the next day, whilst we 4 walked around for a bit.

(At okonomiyaki dinner - Sze Ping!)

(Hungry Isabel, Yang Chen and Dhani looking sad whilst waiting for their okonomiyakis to be done.)

Paddy Xmas Party 22 Dec 2009

Amidst the rush of all the work due in the last week of school, and the never-ending small errands to do before going for the winter break trip, before one knew it, it was 22nd December - last day of school for 2009!

Had a Xmas party with the Paddy English Conversation circle at Shinjuku at a really pretty and cosy cafe/restaurant but my only gripe was that the food was far from sufficient =/ Tried a very yummy 杏酒(an-zu-shu) though. Pictures below!



Isabel, Dhani and I rushed off right after the Xmas party - rushed back to the dorm to pack for the Osaka trip! 45 mins to pack for 5 days haha. Oh well guess it's me, so what's new right? I remember having 40 mins to pack for Work and Travel in USA heh. Trip photos in the next post!

Chofu Floorball Club 忘年会

Back from the short trip to Osaka/Nara/Kobe, but more importantly, Happy New Year!

Will post my winter break photos in the next post, but for now, I realised I forgot to put up photos of the 忘年会 that I went for with fellow members of the Chofu Floorball Club! This was held on the 19th December, Saturday, and we had yummy Okonomiyaki(お好み焼き)!

忘年会(read bou-nen-kai) is basically like a year-end gathering/party that most people in Japan seemt to have as the year-end approaches. From as early as November, started seeing signs for these at restaurants and it always struck me how it's interesting that it'd literally mean "a gathering to forget the year". That's how I saw it anyway. Nonetheless, what an interesting experience it was.

Went to an okonomiyaki place at Shibasaki (near Chofu where I usually train) for the Bounenkai. And for 1300yen (19sgd~) you get to choose an okonomiyaki or monjyayaki, yakisoba and a free flow of softdrink as well as a soft serve ice cream. Pretty good deal. But what was more interesting was that I basically learnt how to make okonomiyaki and fry yaki soba!! The teppanyaki (hotplate/stove cooking thing) was in front of you at the table and you basically made it yourself. Yutaka, one of the male floorball players was absolutely pro at this! And he taught me how to cook yakisoba too! Am gonna try doing it myself next time.

Some pictures:


After okonomiyaki, they moved across the street for part 2 - the drinking part - so the high-schoolers went on home. Basically you pay a fixed price, and get to order any alcoholic (or not) drink on the menu for 1.5 hours or 2 hours and they provided several side dishes as well. It was in the traditional Japanese setting where they sit on the tatami-matted floor. So by the end of the night my legs were in pins and needles from having to sit on the floor - so uncomfortable I dunno how they do it! No photos though - forgot to take any. Highlight of the night was when I somehow 'won' a lot-drawing game and got a long-sleeved adidas jersey as a prize! Just in time, since I don't have any long-sleeved jerseys for training! Lady Luck must have been smiling down at me =)

Last Weekend - Disneyland + Isabel's 21st

I feel so old - whilst my friend just turned 21 last weekend, I am going to be 22 in about 2 weeks! Oh well, age is but a number!

So last Saturday, we went to Disneyland for Isabel's 21st birthday celebration! 21 is big in USA and Singapore and a few other places, but in Japan, they celebrate 20 years old as the 'special' one - because it's the age when they can legally drink alcohol!

Some photos from Disneyland - went with Rachel, Isabel and Dhani from Canada!



Part of her birthday celebration 'criteria' was for everyone to wear 'ears' in Disneyland! In the 10million or so souvenir shops they have in Disneyland, they sell a variety of hairbands, clips, hairties etc with cartoon character ears on them! Like Dumbo, Shrek, Aliens, Minnie Mouse, Stitch etc etc. So Isabel got her Minnie Mouse ears, Rachel got Marie from the Aristocats and I got a huge pink, leopard-spotted Minnie Mouse ribbon hair tie. Felt like such kids lol. Didn't help that the park was full of toddlers and families.



Well, I honestly never ever ever thought I'd actually step foot into Disneyland (wasn't interested last year in LA either) but I guess since it was a special occasion, I had no objections either. Nonetheless, no offence to all the hundreds or thousands of visitors at Disneyland that day, but I doubt I would ever want to go back of my own volition. I've heard that DisneySea is better, because it is targeted at the adults after all so the rides are apparently more thrilling, but like I've said before, theme parks are never my thing. I can think of too many things to buy/do/experience with the money that's needed for the expense needed for a day trip to such theme parks. And the waiting time too. So no more Disneys and the likes - unless another special occasion comes along I guess.

Sunday, her real birthday, was a more relaxed day of karaoke in the evening - filled with songs by her favouritest favouritest artist Jay Chou - and dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant Tapas Tapas. The food was so-so, but honestly the service pissed me off for a bit. Firstly they didn't allow us to consume or bring out the cake there, unless we all bought a drink each. Ice water took a while to be served as well, and was never automatically refilled. And then, after all that initial fuss, the waiter blithely ignorantly spoiled the surprise by asking at the table if we would like the cake to be served now?! Sheesh, don't they understand the concept of service?! Coming from a nation who actually have a term coined out for this "saa-bi-su" (サービス) usually to mean that they throw in a freebie for buying alot though. Pshaw. Nevermind. Can't always have too high standards I guess, unlike at Italian restaurants in Singapore. Anyway, after the pretty birthday cake and dinner, made our way down to the Hub - an English pub where I just found out screens EPL matches!! - for a drink before calling it a night.



Certainly hope Isabel had a great time and a wonderful first few days of her 21st!

Mochi Tsuki 餅つき

餅つき (read: mochi tsuki) literally means mochi pounding, refering to the traditional Japanese festival where people pound the glutinous rice in a big wooden mortar with large wooden hammers/mallets. Last Tuesday, Japanese class ended 30 mins early especially for this school-organised mochitsuki event held at the beautiful Okuma Garden, and they even specially invited several sumo wrestlers down to perform the mochitsuki. 2 people pound the rice with a rhythmic step and shouts, and the rice soon becomes the sticky mass the eventually becomes mochi in various forms. Mochi is traditionally eaten in Japan all-year-round, but especially during New Year's.


(Rashaaa! Trying my hand out at pounding the glutinous rice into mochi!)


Besides allowing the students to try their hands at the pounding, they also gave out the freshly pounded mochi in a variety of ways - with red bean paste, with finely grounded peanut, with nori and shoyu or in soup. I loved the peanut and red bean one best! I ended up taking 3 plates' of these. =P

Mochi with (left) peanut, (right) nori seaweed and shoyu..

Mochi with (left) peanut, (right) red bean paste.

December Blabber

Went to Disneyland yesterday. Not a place of my choice but since it's Isabel's birthday today and she wanted to go Disneyland, so there we were. I can't say much about it except that there's ALOT of people and it's quite expensive and you wait alot for the rides, which end up being just all of 1/10th of your waiting time. Spent alot on food as well, because well, difficult to be there from 8am to 10pm and not eat/drink anything.

Will post pictures up soon.

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December is only halfway through but it's been and will be a busy one. Not to mention pocket-breaking too.

Assignments, quizzes, dinners, etc.

Disneyland, karaoke x 3, floorball, birthdays x 2, and of course the winter-break trip to Osaka/Nara/Kobe for 4 days.

And for floorball, I have to pay for the floorball club transfer (150ch = ~220sgd) and miscellaneous registration fees, club fees and uniform etc which is another 11610yen (~190sgd) and maybe a bit more next year/season. Sometimes I wonder why I go to such lengths to keep at it - travelling at least one hour each way each time I go for training, and paying the expensive accumulated transport costs, and now these. But it'd be such a waste to give it up now wouldn't it? Having brought my stick all the way here, going through all means to contact them and join the club, and faithfully going for every week even though it was difficult and awkward to make conversation... Such a pity if I let it all go because of money. So I'll keep at it. It'll be so sad if I trained with them but didn't get to play any matches with them.

$-wise, I'm definitely set back by quite a bit, but I guess will just have to cut back next month, alot. Guess that means no (too) expensive places for my birthday lol.

Winter Break: Osaka/Nara/Kobe Trip Confirmed!

Was planning and settling our rough itinerary with Isabel earlier just now - and so now winter break trip is confirmed!

We will be going to Osaka for 4 days 3 nights, of which one will be a day trip to Nara, then on to Kobe for 1 more day before coming back to Tokyo. Tried to get the cheapest hostels available and transport as well, so we're staying in dorms and taking night buses (8-9hours) rather than the Shinkansen which would take a mere 2.5 hours but cost about 2-3 times more. Nevertheless, this 'cheap' accommodation and transport still cost about 20100yen (~350sgd) so I'll be leaving myself about 200sgd more for food, admission fees, subway tickets, souvenirs and miscellaneous expenses.

This is so exciting! Will be my first ever trip in Japan - yay!