The "naive" Shermayne in Tokyo!

Shermayne left Japan.. =(

2010-08-04T22:33:00.001+09:00

It's the end of the exchange..
I've probably used up my 5 years of tears saying goodbyes to people I love.
They made the trip so wonderful and worthwhile. I'm so glad that I made the decision to go to Japan, would not have met these awesome people if I didn't.

I'm in Melbourne now.
I met this middle-age Japanese guy who sat next to me on the plane. He thought that I was a Japanese and started speaking Jap to me when he sat down. He said I look totally like a Japanese and he remembered that I was saying 'sumimasen' to someone before boarding (which I didn't realize at all). I was surprised but am glad that I had the opportunity to practise my Jap one last time before I start my new semester.

Had to attend classes not long after I arrive Melbourne in the morning. Going to classes in Melb uni and not bumping into DK friends are weird. Adapting to the previous system is difficult too =( and tiring.
I wish I had more time and I wish I had a short break.

My brother moved into a new house and it's still on renovation, so basicly the house has nothing. It's muddy and dirty as the landscape is not done yet. Furniture will only arrive 2 months later. Moreover the house is far away from my university and I need to wake up even earlier than when I was in Japan. Feels kinda discouraged getting home to a place which is not exactly a 'home' yet. I wish everything was already done and I wish I could just focus on getting back on track and focus on my last semester of university. I guess I need to go through this with my brother to ensure that we will create a better living environment for not only us, but our family too. Hopefully everything will become worthwhile in the end =)
Feel like crying everytime I recall the sweet moment in Japan. Have to deal with reverse cultural shock too. I need some encouragements and motivation to move me on.

I really miss Japan, and the people.

Climbing Mt.Fuji - Craziest thing I've ever done in life =)

2010-07-18T00:11:00.003+09:00

２０１０　７月１４日.７月１５日　　水曜日.木曜日　

I made it to the very top of Mount Fuji! 3776m above sea level!

Those 14 hours (8 hours climbing up, 6 hours going down) were a very tough journey for me. I've never expected it to be this difficult and dangerous.

The decision of climbing Mt.Fuji was sudden though. It was on Tuesday when my classmate, Kelly asked Valencia and me if I wanted to climb Mt.Fuji the next day. Valencia and I were uncertained but we really wanted to try it out, so after thinking for like three hours, we made up our mind. =) I was still very tired because I've just came back from Kyoto trip during the weekend, but I thought that I should not miss this opportunity because it's an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

At that night (Tues), I ran around my dorm trying to collect as many stuff from my friends & got advices from those who've been there before. Thanks DK mates! You guys are awesome!

Essential stuff for climbing Mt.Fuji (you can probably just give up if you don't have these):

1. Head-lamp

2. Protein-bar/Snacks/Chocolates - to give you energy. I had a bite everytime I reached a standing platform. It really helped me.

3. Walking stick - to keep you stable + save your energy when going up + getting down (Highly recommended! especially during windy days) Got it from the Station5 stop for 1000yen only.

4. Warm and water-proof clothing/ Backpack + very good HIKING SHOES

5. Water - I only needed one litre for the whole journey because throughout the end when I climbed up, I was basicly drinking rain =_=" Don't gulp a whole bunch of water in one go though (too much oxygen getting into your body might have a higher chance of giving you altitude sickness). I had little sip by sip during the journey, it helped a lot =)

On the next day (Wed), we went shopping for hiking shoes, food and warm socks after classes. After that I went home, took a quick shower and stuffed everything in the backpack. It was a little bit ギリギリ but we were glad that we made it to the 5.50pm bus.
After three hours of bus ride, we finally reached the 5th station of Mount Fuji. It was raining and kinda chilly so we went into the restroom and put on some warm clothes.

After getting ready and all excited.

Giselle, Alex, me, Valencia, Kelly.

Five of us (all girls) started climbing at 9pm from 5th station. It was raining so badly and the wind was so strong. It's probably the worst weather to climb Mt.Fuji. The higher we reached, the worse it became.

Station 6? not too sure..

We were still energetic. =)

My protein bar expanded because of the pressure.

After three hours, we reached the 7th station, Valencia was very tired and had problem breathing due to the altitude and she couldn't keep up with the pace. A guy named Michael whom we met at the beginning felt sick too. He wanted to go down so we asked Valencia if she wanted to go down with him because she might not be able survive in the coming journey. I'm actually very glad that Valencia went down with Michael, because what happened next was almost unbearable for me. I think Valencia kinda saved Michael's life too because the next day, she told me that Michael kept walking near the edge of the cliff, and if she hadn't warn him, he could have fell...

Valencia, you've done well! =)

The first three hours for me (from the beginning) was tiring but wasn't as difficult. But when we moved on from 7th station, we had to climb these slippery rock surface which is like 85 degrees - almost vertical. I'm really surprised that Mt.Fuji is open for public because it's just too dangerous!

Half-way through 7th station, I felt really tired and my head lamp wasn't bright enough to show me the way, so I actually went off the trail. I shouted for my friends and they stopped. They were standing above me and Alex told me (next day) that I was literally hanging by the cliff and we didn't know what's under us because it was too dark. Every step I took, I slided down a little bit because it was just too steep. After staying there for like 10min or so, I figured that I have to move on, so I grabbed on to any rocks I could find and successfully climbed up to where my friends were. It was very scary..

It didn't happen once but twice, and no one was around me at the second time because my friends were racing with time to see sunrise at 4.30am. I guess I wasn't as athletic and I was progressing slower, so they kind of left me behind because our pace were different. I didn't want to be a burden anyway, so it was ok =) I would feel bad if they needed to wait for me all the time. At some point, I didn't even recognise if it was sweat, rain, mucus dripping from my face. It was freezing and warm clothes didn't help anymore because rain got in and everything was wet, including stuff in my backpack.

I kept questioning myself "Shermayne, why did you get yourself into this?" because I would be sleeping soundly at that time if I chose not to go. During the journey, I kept thinking that this is really crazy and I couldn't believe that I was doing this. But I couldn't back out anymore so the only choice was to continue. I was praying a lot, asking God to keep me safe. I guess that's also where my strength and determination came from =)

I realised how important teamwork is because it was really difficult for me to go all the way up by myself. I could feel myself getting weaker and I was losing energy. 30min/an hour (just an estimation) before I reached Station 8, this young Asian guy from New York, Bernard (we met before starting the journey) came behind me and he accompanied me. He kept telling me 'You can do it', 'Keep going'. I was too tired to respond him but his encouragement at that moment was like music to my ears. Although he's a stranger to me, what he said really kept me going on and I felt like I was energized all of a sudden. I really, really wanted to thank him again and I regret not talking much to him when I last saw him at Station 8 on our way down. I wish I would have the chance to see him again because he's one of my life saviours.

When I reached the 8th station (it took about three hours from 7th to 8th), I was already very exhausted and I knew that it was almost my limit. But I didn't want to give up after I've gone this far. I told myself if I could get through this, I would have nothing to fear in life. I wanted to challenge myself despite of the weather and exhaustion. Then I continued.

I thought I could get rest at Station 9 but there wasn't any standing platform when I reached the 9th station, so I had no choice but to keep climbing. When I was climbing on rocks, a sudden strong wind knocked me down and I fell behind. I was literally being lifted up by the wind although I tried sticking myself to the ground. Fortunately I landed on my back (not my head) and I was lucky enough because there was a tour group behind, stopping me from falling further. I cut my knee (and luckily again, I was wearing a few layers so it wasn't bad). I tore the trackpants which I borrowed from my friend, Guen. (I'm still feeling really very bad about it because she didn't want any compensation)

At that moment I couldn't think of anything but to move on. I was so happy when I saw the entrance of the 10th station - the top. The feeling is really hard to be described in words. I could see sky changing from purple to pink and to orange but there wasn't sunrise because it was too cloudy.. My aim was to reach the top, not the sunrise, so I wasn't sad about it. Instead, the changing colours were the most beautiful thing I witnessed from the top.

Entrance of Station 10 - the top of Mt.Fuji

One of the last pictures I took because my camera died after that. Water got in and I could see ice forming in it. I spent at least ten minutes taking this picture because my hands were shivering so badly that I couldnt hold my camera right. But I guess this was the most valuable picture I've ever taken!

I was soaked in rain when I reached the top. I found my friends and they got me a bowl of ramen but I was shivering so much that I couldn't hold the chopsticks. My wallet and money was dripping in water too but I'm glad that the person accepted the wet 1000yen note. It was really cold. I'm glad that I didn't suffer from altitude sickness because it would make me feel worse. After trying hard to finish the bowl of ramen, I recalled what happened before and I started crying when I thought of how much effort I had put in. I could have lost my life. The first thing I thought of was my dad and mum. =( I thought I wouldn't see my family and friends anymore.

I slept for half an hour and we started descending from the mountaintop. It was still very windy and slippery. Three of them went ahead of me again because the rain and wind blocked my front vision and I didn't want to be knocked down again, so I slided down slowly. I started crying again and I really wanted to tell them not to leave me behind, as it's really scary going through this alone.. I yelled 'Wait!' for a few times and perhaps they sensed my feelings, they waited for me. Since then we moved down together. After an hour, the sky started clearing off and it stopped raining. The scenery was absolutely beautiful because we were above the clouds. The weather was finally good and I actually enjoyed going down.

I didn't do this on purpose. My shutter wasn't opening well. It was frozen.

But it looked kind cool, right?

My camera's crazy now though..hopefully it'll dry off and function well again =(

It was really an unforgettable experience for me. It's probably the craziest thing I've ever done. I'm very, very proud of myself though. I did well and I'm not ashamed to say that. =)
Although people might reprimand me of being silly as I climbed Mt.Fuji in that kind of weather (obviously I didn't see it coming), I don't regret it because I've learnt more about myself during this journey. It has definitely gave me a boost of confidence because I know if I believe in myself, I can do almost anything.

Now that I've conquered the highest mountain of Japan, what else would I be afraid of?

G.W. Day 4 Back to Takayama =D

2010-06-26T19:32:00.001+09:00

５月４日　火曜日　晴れ

We were back in Takayama!
Stayed there for another night before we concluded our Golden Week trip.
And of course, we stayed in the same backpack hotel again because it's cheap and the people are nice ♥
We got the same room as last time~

Put down our luggage and we started exploring again ^^
It was Hida Sosha Festival (the annual festival of the grand sanctuary enshrining most guardian gods of Hida) and Kinzojishi (Kinzo lion dance) that day.

We went to the shrine where they started their parade.

It was too warm and we didn't think we could be able to watch the whole parade under the scorching sun, so we went on a walk instead. ^^

Saw this outside someone's house. So cute!

We walked to one of the famous shrines in Takayama

Weather was too hot so we bought ice-cream >v<

And then,

we visited a museum about 昭和Showa period (1926-1989).

It's one of the coolest museums I've ever been in Japan because I felt like I was back to childhood again!

Took picture with this cute little girl who reminded me of Rachel Liang 梁文音(a taiwanese singer)

Perhaps the oldest model of Karaoke?!

I had an Ultraman alarm clock exactly like the one on the right when I was little!

Felt nostalgic~

A street during Showa period ^^

The museum's actually quite small but we had so much fun in there!

A classroom which looks exactly like those in my elementary school.

My classmates and I would chalked on the blackboard everyday in the morning, and quickly erased them just when the bell rang.. =)

Cinema in the Showa period

Hehe.. it's a ciggarette candy! XD was very popular among us back in the old days!

懐かしい～　＝ｖ＝

It was about evening when we were done with the museum..

By the way, I think I took a nice picture =D very jap-like.

and Yi-ching, haha.

Frozen mandarin! Best snack in a summer-like day!

We were lucky enough to witness the Kinzo lion dance!

I thought it was like Chinese lion dance but it wasn't what I expected.

The Kinzo lion dance is much slower and the melody was strange and not rhythmic.

It's kinda creepy and evil to me.. =P lol.

The lion went into each shophouses and blessed them with prosperity, I think.

The sun was setting so we decided to sit on a bench and enjoy the evening breeze and the colour of the sky.

I bought this at the Showa museum. The little thing which I played with a lot when I was a kid. (How to play with it: twist and set some of the liquid on the tube, then blow it and try to cover any holes by pinching it with your fingers. You can make them into different shapes too)

Clearly my skills had become worse because I successed twice only after 10+ attempts.

It was fun though.

Qian realised that she sat on my 'balloon' when she stood up. Funny moment lol.

It was a beautiful day to revive childhood memories...

And then, my camera batteries died. =(

We passed this Yukata/Kimono shop and went in to have a look. Turned out that Qian and me bought a Yukata each XD We tried it on and it's just too pretty. I've always wanted to get a Yukata for the Tanabata festival in July anyway ^^ so it's worth spending the $

After that we went to the Ramen restaurant which we wanted to go two days ago.
The ramen was two thumbs up!!~ ♥♥

Had a good night rest and enjoyed our last moments in Takayama. Took a bus in a morning and we returned to Tokyo..the feeling's just so different and I felt weird not seeing much green.

My お土産 from Takayama and Shirakawago =)

Spent a lot, but the experience was worthwhile ^^

No more holiday for me until September... Time to study and play hard!

G.W. Day 3 白川郷 ۩ Shirakawago!

2010-06-26T18:01:00.001+09:00

５月３日　月曜日　晴れ

Finally, we were going to visit the world's heritage - Shirakawago! It's our major purpose of the whole trip ^^

We were waken up by this very nice Korean song 'Baby baby' from Qian's iphone (although my annoying alarm ringtone interrupted the atmosphere). The view of green and snowy mountains, gentle sunlight as well as birds chirping greeted 'good morning' to us ☼ I've never felt this refreshed and comfortable waking up in the morning.

After getting ready, we went to the skiing place and had our healthy breakfast - Soba noodles with mountain vegetables. (Oh, Hiroyo was so nice that she came and pick us up! Although the place's only 5min away)

View from the indoor restaurant

I wish I could see the winter scene of this skiing slope

After breakfast, we were ready to walk for about 40min to the bus stop so that we could catch a bus to Shirakawago.

Not long after we started walking, a car stopped beside us and asked us to get on. It's the uncle/owner of our minshuku! =D We thought he was going to send us to our local bus stop, but he U-turned and drove to the other direction. He sent us all the way to Shirakawago! @@

We were very surprised. Though we were the customers, they didn't have to treat us this well.

Moreover, he didn't just dropped us at Shirakawago station, but at the great look-out stand on the mountain so that we didn't have to walk all the way up.

T.,T *touched*

The car trip saved us so much effort, and gave us more time to explore Shirakawa-GO!

First thing I spot - A super cute Shiba-inu puppy!

and his brother >v<

I just can't control myself when I see dogs ^^

Had so much fun playing with them ♥

The full view of the world heritage - Shirakawago!!!

I couldn't believe my eyes.

You would feel the same too if you were standing at the same spot as me.

No words are good enough to describe the scenery.

The professional photographer took this picture for us. He was really funny and instead of saying 'cheese~/1.2.3~', he said 'Shirakawago' in a funny flow and accent - Shi↓raa√→kaa∩→wa↓GOU↑↑~!

(lol hope you get what I mean)

```sakura shower``` ♥

Got some light snacks on the mountain

Ching and me got the last two tubs of soy milk pudding!! muahaha..

it was simply delicious~~

The tofu steak was really good too!

Then, we walked down to the real village.

It was so sunny and warm but we're definitely enjoying the dreamlike scenery~ ^^

Old school coke bottle with traditional japanese houses

We spent some time exploring and walking around the neighbourhood ^^

♥

Found this very pretty Jinja (shrine). We sat on the ground and took a series of crazy pictures.

→ Trying to imitate Ching's default face XD

We loved the breeze and the atmosphere.

Randomly walked into a traditional-looking restaurant to try the famous beef+miso paste in Shirakawago. They said it was mind-blowing~ (I don't eat beef)

Had our last group picture in Shirakawago.

Wish that we had more time to chill out by the river..

The uncle told us to call him whenever we're ready to get back but we figured that we shouldn't give him too much trouble, so we took a bus instead.

We met another nice person - the talkative bus driver. He sent us back to our place instead of leaving us at the bus stop.

We totally didn't expect that..were we just lucky or what?

We must had done a lot of good deeds in our past lives to deserve such kindness. =)

We were so, so grateful that we met these people.

The next day. Morning.

The minshuku uncle told us he will send us to the bus station in Shirakawago. But before we left, we wanted to meet Hiroyo and the campsite-ojisan so that we can thank them in person.

Thank-you letters and gifts which we prepared on the night before..

Pls pardon my childish drawing+writing haha.

We walked down to the campsite and we were glad that it was opened.

This is Hiroyo~ ♥

"We love Lady Gaga!"

The campsite uncle.. I was teary when we expressed our gratitude to him. He was the one who started helping us. Without him, our trip would be difficult and wouldn't be as memorable.

We said the last goodbyes. Then Hiroyo sent us back to our minshuku.

We had 15 minutes before leaving the place..

Took pictures with the minshuku owners.

We bought a packet of soba noodles to obaasan and she was delighted. =)

We will definitely miss her voice.

Uncle sent us to the main station and we thanked him again and again..

Because of him, we had saved so much time from taking public transports ^^

One of the snacks I'll miss the most - 五平餅 (Goheimochi)

Grilled rice cake with Shirakawago's special miso paste.

*Shirakawago&Hirase onsen was a special trip for us.

At the beginning, I thought I made a mistake booking ourselves into the minshuku, but it was when we started experiencing the kindness from the locals.

We were very blessed.

Maybe it was fated so that we could learn to appreciate and be thankful of everything.

We will never forget the warmth we received..

May God bless those who had helped us, and lead them to a better life =)

G.W. DAY 2 - 平瀬温泉　Hirase onsen

2010-06-15T00:51:00.000+09:00

５月２日　日曜日　晴れ

After hanging around in Takayama, we made our way to the station and got the 11am bus to Shirakawago! Due to traffic jam, we arrived nearly an hour later to the designated time but we weren't worry coz' holiday is supposed to be relaxing and fun! We had lots of time anyway ^^ and I really enjoyed the scenery too.

We arrived Shirakawago main station and I was a little disappointed to see so many people walking around. I thought I could get away from the crowd. =_=" Well, it's Golden week..I should've expected that.

We stayed on the bus because we wanted to go to our Minshuku民宿(Japanese private family-house for travellers) and hang around in that area for the day. All other passengers got out and we had the bus to ourselves! We were too excited that we didn't realize what's awaiting us...

The driver told us that we had reached the place. We got down and this was what we saw...

A dead town with absolutely no one on the street...

which reminded me of those streets in 'Resident Evil', where zombies come out at night and kill people.

"Where on earth are we??"

Well, it's a place called 'Hirase onsen' and the bus frequency was like....

THIS! Only four times in a day?! @@

It was later when I learnt that Hirase onsen was at 白山, the uphill of the place (白川郷)where we wanted to go -(somewhere near the white round flash on the map). It's about 15min drive.

We were speechless but I took it easy. "Just take it as an adventure", we thought. =P So we carried our bags and started walking to the direction of our Minshuku. We were still amazed by the exhilarating scenery, breeze and the sun despite getting lost in an alien place.

After crossing the bridge and got lost for about 10 minutes, we were glad to see a camp place which was run by a middle-age man (about 50yrs old I guess). We went in and asked for directions and he was pretty shocked to see four girls carrying big bags, wandering around in this deserted place.

He asked us what were we planning to do with dinner because meals were not provided in the minshuku. We told him we didn't know what to do. (=.=) and we did not expect this because there were supposed to be some restaurants etc according to the map!

The camp uncle made a phone call and after ten minutes or so, a lady with super-permed hair arrived in a four-wheel-drive. He told us that she would drive us there and he said something about dinner but we couldn't fully understand him - we were too surprised about the offer. =D Before the lady drove off, the uncle ran to me and passed me my camera =P I accidentally left it in the shop...
He probably think that we were four young girls with no sense of danger lol.
That's probably why he arranged the following stuff for us..

The lady's name is Hiroyo. She might be the uncle's daughter but we didn't ask. We were also surprised to hear Lady Gaga's songs in the car lol. Hiroyo told us that she likes her songs. ^^
After going up, uP, UP the hill for 10min, she stopped us at this skiing place and brought us into the restaurant. The boss welcomed us with big smile and asked us what did we want to eat for dinner. Unsure of everything, we ordered a chicken dish for four of us. Hiroyo said the restaurant will close in a few hours so dinner will be held at the campsite and she will pick us up at where we stay.

We were so touched and couldn't believe how kind they were.

Finally, we reached our minshuku (only 2min by car from the skiing place). A tiny grandmother came out and I recognized that she was the one on the phone with me because of her high-pitched voice. The grandma has a very strong local accent when most of the time we couldn't get what she was trying to tell us. She laughed it off whenever we didn't understand her. XD

Our room with very nice view.

We were so glad that we actually brought cup-noodles with us. Lunch was solved. ^^

After settling down, we decided to explore around this quiet town and see what we would discover =D

Was delighted to see Sakura in May!

Art on a stone =D

We stopped at this big field and hang out for an hour or so. Although it's a really quiet town, we were loving it because it's so peaceful and the views were awesome!

And there're snow mountains nearby too!

The place we stayed in is popular in Winter for skiing activities. That explains why no one was there during golden week! And that also explains why this place was available after I called 20 over minshuku. Lol..the map was so deceiving though because I thought it's quite near to the Hirase-onsen station. I didn't expect it to be up up up up up on a hill!

We shot a few mock-commercials and while we were having so much fun, some kind of weird animal appeared on the field!

(Picture from Kat)

Qian said she heard some rolling sound and soon after that a big animal ran across the field. The funny thing was when Kat saw it, she screamed and that attracted the animal's attention. It braked and stopped for like 10-15 seconds, staring at us.

The atmosphere was really intensed.. We froze and stood on the ground, praying that it would not come to us >_<" (although at that moment I thought that it was kinda funny too) =P The animal looked like a mix of wild boar+bear+deer. It didn't look friendly at all though..

The 10+ seconds felt like an eternity. Finally, it ran way and we heaved a sigh of relief.

It was quite an experience.

>v<

Two+ hours passed and it's about an hour away from dinner time. So we decided to walk down to the camp place to see how long would it take us to go down because we might need to walk down tomorrow to catch the bus to Shirakawago town.

On our way down the hill.

We heard this beautiful melodic chimes at 6pm.

The music and the scenery blended in so well.

At that moment, I felt really lucky that I was born and being brought up healthily.

Very glad that I get to enjoy music and travel around too <3

We climbed up the rocks!

Took us so much effort to take this picture as it was self-timered.

- The campsite -

We reached the place after 30min of walk! (not including stopping/playing time)

Pretty sure that going up the hill will take us twice the time though @@

Still had about twenty min before dinner so we walked around at the camp place ^^

Brothers playing with each other

And Yi-ching practising her drum-major skills haha.

Dinner was served!

It's chicken dish with Shirakawago speciality - miso paste. It was incredibly delicious.

We were so thankful because Hiroyo actually cooked/warmed that up for us.

Sitting beside us was a group of uncles, drinking beer. They kept trying to talk to us in english too. I think they were really surprised, seeing four young non-japanese girls by themselves in this campsite (usually kids come with their family).

We were so popular that we were offered lots of free food XD

Squids.

This uncle was a little drunk and he acted a little aggressive too.

The uncle behind him was so cute because he kept saying that 'I will safety you', which means 'I will protect you'. He told us that he has a daughter about the same age as us too. ^^

Oh, and he said I looked totally like a Japanese because I have 'safety hair'. XD -probably my hair colour and hairstyle I guess.

Also, he gave us each a Waraji string made by his mother, which was very sweet of him <3

The uncles were kind of shy but they expressed their warmful-welcome and kindness to us by giving us food and presents. They were really cute.

Hiroyo sent us home after taking a group picture.

We went to bed feeling loved and touched. =)

And of course, feeling super excited about Shirakawago白川郷！

Golden Week Day1 - 飛騨高山 Takayama

2010-06-06T01:04:00.002+09:00

(click in and keep reading, it's a long post)

５月１日　土曜日　晴れ

Everywhere is crowded in Japan during the Golden Week (Everyone is having holiday at the same time!)
The bus trip was supposed to be three hours but it took me about four hours to reach Takayama from Nayoga because of the bad traffic jam. I had fun looking at the sceneries though.

It's definitely different from Tokyo and it's so refreshing!

So beautiful right?!

I was so excited when I saw snow mountains! The weather was quite warm though!

I planned to meet up with Kat, Yi-Ching, Qian (they departed from Tokyo) in Takayama station but I still arrived about 45 minutes earlier than them. So I went this cute little cafe and had my lunch while waiting for them ^^

My hot dog + cocoa~

Finally, they arrived! o(>v<)o

We were all in such a high mood and couldn't wait to start our trip.

As we didn't do much planning before arrival, we got some free brochures and programme books for Takayama from the station. It such a touristy place and they have so much information in English. That's really handy =D

Also, we were lucky enough to find this budget hostel where we only need to walk for 3-min from the station! There were quite a few foreigners too! Surprisingly the place was really clean and comfortable. The price was relatively cheap too. Oh, and they have really nice shower, so much better than my dorm. ^^

Our Japanese style room ^^ reminds me of Doraemon ♥

http://www.j-hoppers.com/ (The staff can speak good english, and the guy plays VERY nice music by guitar) They have branches in Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima too!

Anyway, Time to Explore!!!

We had so fun walking in Takayama because it's such an old town. We felt like we were living in history!

The hospital which looks like a traditional Japanese house.

Ooo! Apparently Takayama is well-known of its Hida beef.

Although I don't eat beef, I was excited for my buddies! =D

Found different effects on my camera and I was using them for the first time lol.

Black & White.

Ok... I need to apologise for the enormous number of Sepia-colour pictures below.

I was having fun with the effects XD

I ♥ my Panasonic Lumix camera by the way.

Very big and scary birds...nice river though

They were hawks, I think?

I ♥ the town so much

Well, I was exaggerating. There weren't that many Sepia photos lol..

Enough of the effects, let's get back to normal! ^^

We were on a mission to look for this famous Gyuman (beef bun) place in Takayama.

It was on the TV before!

Saw this super cute Shiba-inu on the way. It was blanking out/dozing off! ~>v<~

Finally, we found our 牛まん店！

I ordered a green tea bun instead. But according to my buddies, the beef bun was like heaven =P the green tea bun was super-delicious too! Even the hot green tea which they served to us was mind-blowing! They deserve to be popular!

And the staff there were SUPER nice and friendly to us >V<

Especially the auntie, she's so cute!!!

Our message for the shop. My writing was bad but my notes were sincere!

We appeared on their blog the next day. Haha~ ♥

We saw Sarubobo (the name for the monkey-doll) everywhere in Takayama!

Lucky charm for you =D

Then, we went into this really cute shop!

Very beh-song (frustrated) little woman. Haha.

Found this glasses which I ♥ a lot! >v<

Bought them after hesitating for like...10 minutes lol. Didn't regret buying though!

Kit Kat - Miso flavour @@ I've never tried it.

A ham-sup (pervert)-looking doll =[]="

Me, Yi-Ching, Qian and Kat in the old town of Takayama!

Cam-whoring =P

A very special place for us, right? ^^

After that, we walked to the red bridge by the river and waited for lights to be turned on at 7pm =D

♥♥♥♥

It was such a romantic place for couples.

Well, too bad for us~ XD

Randomly picked a Japanese restaurant on this street and enjoyed a super-satisfying dinner!

The street reminds me of an old american cowboy town haha.

We were so tired that we decided to go back to our hostel.

Got some free hot tea from the kitchen for us too.

Spent the night watching some of the TV programmes from my mobile phone.

It was a good night~ ^^

______________________________________

５月２日　日曜日　晴れ

We woke up at 6 something in the morning because we didn't wanna waste any time for sightseeing =D

Owl, owl, owl~

First stop of the day - Miyagawa Morning Market!

My breakfast - warm milk from hokkaido. It was so yuumm~~ My hair was so messy from the sleep lol.

One of the best apples we've ever tried.

Fluffy-egg-white-snack! The texture was so soft, like marshmallow! 入口即化~

Our morning walk was perfect with refreshing breeze and warm sunlight~

And of course, pretty sights too =)

We went to a few shrines and a big children's park too!

And we found this old-looking variety shop (It's exactly like those shops I went to when I was a kid)

And we bought some of the toys ^^ I missed them~ ♥

After that, we went to this monthly antiques street-sales. We didn't find anything we like, but it was special though =D Lots of second hand antiques.

Believe me, it's a real dog! So cute!

It was in front of a shop full of metal designed stuff. Cool shop.

It was already 10am and we need to catch the 11pm bus to Shirakawago.

Hung out at this empty parking lot near our hostel when we were heading back.

Kat accidentally flew her bamboo stick over the fence so Qian had to climb in and get it for her lol.

Laughed so much. XD

Kat and me trying to imitate Doraemon - flying with a bamboo stick!

I wish we could fly to Shirakawago using that though XD

Next post,

Shirakawago

白川郷！

Golden Week - NAGOYA 名古屋

2010-05-26T01:07:00.001+09:00

(It's a long post, so click in & keep reading ^^)

４月２９日　木曜日
It wasn't exactly golden week yet. Although 29/4 was a public holiday (Showa no hii), the next day was normal as usual. That wasn't the case for me though =P I skipped Friday class and decided to visit my Nagoya host mother from eight years ago! Call me a bad student, I don't care ♪ It's MY Golden Week! muahaha.

Although I'd confirmed everything with my host mother several times, I was still a bit worried during the trip to Nagoya. What if my phone battery died? What if they weren't at the station when I arrived? Worse still, when I got up the bus, I realized that I've forgotten to bring along the memory card for my camera! It's sitting happily in my laptop coz' I was deleting pictures the night before. =__=" After blaming myself of being so careless, I decided that I should get some sleep from the 5-hours bus trip. *dozed off*

I woke up and saw the text from Okaasan (my host mum). It was when I sighed in relief as they were already waiting for me at the station. ^^"~ I got excited, finally =D

Okaasan and Saori (my host sister) picked me up when my bus arrived. I recognized them instantly as okaasan didn't change much at all! And lucky for me, the station was located at the opposite of BicCamera, so I bought a memory card for my camera. I'm glad I got it coz' my previous card wouldn't have enough space for the whole trip.

My host father was in the car waiting for us. He didn't change much too except that he's gained a few kilos if compared to before. He was still as quiet and shy as before though. =)

Our first stop, Nagoya Castle.

Okaasan asked me if I'd visited Nagoya Castle and I said no coz I couldn't recall any images from it.

But when I stepped in, I thought I might have already been there with the exchange group coz some parts looked really familiar to me.

But I still had fun anyway ♥

お父さん＆沙織

Took this really nice picture when I was eating ice-cream with Saori. ^^

It was about 5pm+ when we were done with the castle and we decided to go home!

All memories from eight years ago started flooding into my mind when I gradually see more and more familiar places! Lovin' the feeling ♥♥

The tallest building on the right is our house!

Now that I looked at it, it's considered quite big in comparison to any other ones in Tokyo lol.

And I met Arang, the cute-hyperactive pet.

He's really nice to me.

We rest for a little while.

Saw a family picture that I drew back then. It was still on the wall at the same spot! XD

Too embarassed to show it though.

Finally, it's dinner time!

My stomach was grumbling like a grumpy old lady. =P

We picked up Hiroki (my host brother) from a station nearby and proceed to a Japanese restaurant!

The food was so yummy~ ♥

***

I can't believe how time flies.

Had a big shock when I realized how much Hiroki and Saori grew.

It was just like yesterday when I was in Nagoya, playing with the two little kids.

They were only 8 and 3 back then.

Especially Hiroki, I remember him showing me his flag dance that he learnt from school. He was so shy and wouldn't dare to talk much to me though. But now he speaked with me like a grown gentleman!

Apparently I looked at the albums and found out that I've missed the period where he became chubby and big, he's slimmed down a lot now. Oh, he's 16 now by the way.

We didn't talk too much during the recent visit too coz he was busy with school and clubs.

But we had a little chat on the last night before I left.

I told him I'm glad that both of us have the same interests/passion in Drama and we both like Maguro (a kind of fish) a lot. He laughed =)

And he blushed sometimes when I talk to him too. So cute ♥

As for Saori, I guess our relationship has grown so much during this trip and we were like good friends instead of sisters.

She was still so young when I first met her. She's 10 going on 11 now.

But now, she's grown so much taller and prettier!

Still as bubbly as before though. ^^ I guess that's why we clicked with each other.

Oh, and I'm very sure that she will become a heart-breaker in a few years time.

She has a really pretty face. ♥

４月３０日　金曜日

My Nagoya trip was more like a gathering or reunion rather than travelling.

Okaasan called up people from eight years ago and also arranged a little reunion party for me.

How sweet~ ♥

In the morning/mid-afternoon, we went to a traditional tea ceremony and visited a shrine.

After that, I met up with Cha-dan for lunch. I haven't seen her in eight years, she became prettier. I guess time didn't pull her down. I remember that she made lunch box for me when I attended high school in Nagoya, and it was really colourful and tasty.

We had 文字焼 and お好み焼き for lunch！

After lunch, we bid goodbye coz there's another woman coming to the house to meet me =D

She brought her chubby little baby along~ oh no, but I forgot her name.

She was really nice and tried to speak Malay with me all the time.

There was when I realized that my Malay language level has decreased a lot, coz I needed time to think of some words. =(

Saori came home from her 遠足(school excursion) during our chat ☼

After the woman left, I helped okaasan for dinner.

Saori saw and stopped watching her cartoon.

"Min-min is helping? I wanna help too!", she said. XD

She has been calling me ミンミン (min ming, my chinese name) every minute.

I guess it's much easier for Japanese to call my chinese name instead of Shermayne, and it sounds cute too so I don't mind either way. ^^

*Dang dang dang dang ♪* Salad with maguro and ebi!

(From left: Ta-chan, Saori, Cha-dan, Kusu-kusu, Okaasan)

More and more people started coming at night and I was super excited to see all the old faces!

Most people was shocked seeing me, especially Kusu-kusu because she nearly couldn't recognize me.

They said I've turned into a pretty young lady. *Shy =^^= ☺

It was are reunion filled with snacks and laughters.

Ooo, I taught them Mandarin too because I was helping Saori with her Chinese.

She's going to Taiwan for a short exchange during the summer holiday (Aug/Sept) all by herself!

Such a brave girl. =) Proud of her ♥

Grandma had to leave earlier though. I was teary when she left. =(

She reminded me of my grandma.

I always envy people who have a grandma or grandpa coz' I didn't get to enjoy those kind of love.

Well, I figured that I should seize every moment with someone I care rather than complaining and focusing on what other people have.

We had so much fun that we didn't realized that it's already nearly 12am.

The guests started leaving and I immediately took a bath and packed my belongings after that.

Couldn't afford missing the bus to Takayama in the next morning.

Took a lovely picture with my host bro and sis ♥

Saori wanted to sleep with me that night.

I was too tired and slept immediately.

I think she was expecting me to talk to her though. =P ごめんね！

---

We woke up early in the morning and went to the station.

Still had some time left so we walked around in the station.

One of the last few pictures with Saori.

Felt heavy hearted leaving them but I'm sure we'll meet sometime soon!

Hopefully I could visit them again before I leave Japan.

Okaasan texted me and said she will bring me to Nara and play with deers if I'm going there again.

***

I was looking at the sceneries and recollecting memories..

The Nagoya trip surprised me because other than Saori and Hiroki, I realized that I've grown up a lot too.

I could only speak a few Japanese words back then and my host family and I had to communicate in pieces of Jap/Eng. But now I have no problem speaking in Jap to them. =D

Also, I read the cards and letters which I sent to them throughout these years. My english was so shockingly poor back then! There were so many obvious grammar mistakes and wrong expressions etc. Well, not that my english is perfect now but at least I've improved =)

During the exchange in 2003, I didn't get to talk much with my host father as he was too busy with work and I didn't see him for a few days during my short stay. This time I got to interact with him and found out that he's actually really nice and helpful. He's just like my dad, strict and stern from the outside but actually soft and kind in the inside. ^^

After an hour or so, I packed up my feelings and got ready for the real Golden week trip!

Next stop, Takayama!

Woohoo!

≈♪♫♪≈

Go Go Power Rangers! ♪~♪~♪~♪~♪~

2010-05-18T01:40:00.001+09:00

４月２４日　土曜日

I felt so fortunate that I found out about this 赤羽馬鹿祭り Akabane Stupid(?) Festival two days before it was held. ^^ Considering that the location is very near where we stay + we don't have to pay for the transportation fee because it is included in our commuter pass, we decided to experience our second festival in Japan (after the Penis festival)!

The weather was perfect for outings too! ♥

It wasn't what we expected it to be when we first reached there though.

What welcomed us were a rock band singing, and people promoting their newspaper.

Without having a clue of where to go, we looked at the programme board and hoped to find something interesting =D Apparently the formal festival opening was over so we missed it.

Walked passed this super yummy-looking bakery!
The smell was so good that we deliberately went into the shop just to enjoy it. XD

It was my first time walking to the other side of Akabane!

And we met Ai-chan, the festival mascot ♥

There were a crowd waiting at this primary school so we decided to stay around and see what happens =)

The show didn't start until an hour later..so we went into the school!

So cute~ ♥ reminds me of my childhood ^^

Those primary school children write their names on basicly everything! Books, plants, and even shoes!

Had lots of fun playing in the school's playground too!

LOL Kat was hilarious! Look at how the kid was staring at her! XD

Ooo! While waiting for the show to start, we found this mini Asian groceries where they sell a bunch of TVB/Chinese dramas! Felt like I was back in Melbourne at that very moment =D

Found this popcorn pan too! Just heat it on a stove and you'll get popcorns! So cool!

FINALLY,

The show started! Guess what, it's a live power rangers show!

Everyone was so excited!

Power rangers hitting bad guy.

Everyone was so engaged.

Was amazed at the atmosphere where not even children, but parents accompanying their kids kept shouting "頑張れ!頑張れ!" too which means, Go Go Power Rangers!

The little frog-kid was excited too! >v<

K.O!

The fair side always win!

I used to love the red and the pink character when I was a kid but only realised that 'Power Rangers' were originated from Japan a few years ago. -^^-

I watched the english version and it was so americanized!

Before we head back, we went to this SUPER(x100) cute shop - LBC.

I ♥ EVERYTHING in the shop and it's SO my style!

Got a super cute umbrella and a super cute bag in cheap price!

Only cost me 1500yen in total!

And I got two free plants as presents too~ ♥

(P/S: Ching why did you take my picture from this angle which makes me look even shorter! T-T)

Had my first Oyako-don in Japan. It was more pricey than what we've been getting for meals.

But it tasted superb.

Went home and took pictures of my beloved plants. ♥

I love them a lot but I kept forgetting that I should water them everyday. =P

Dusk - Scenery from my window ♥

*Had such a satisfying day*

It's definitely one of the happiest moments of my life in Japan!

and that's because I was with three of you =)

- xoxo -

Girls' Day Out - Movie @ 川口 ^v^

2010-05-09T02:33:00.003+09:00

- ４月２１日　水曜日 -

All of us had been dying to watch the movie 'My Darling is a Foreigner'~ The book was so good~

Since all of us already got the book, we decided to crash the cinema at Kawaguchi on a Wednesday coz we have early day off! >v<

Didn't know that Kawaguchi is such a nice place!! And it's just SO near to where we stay! We should come here for a picnic someday soon ^^

Saw this uncle feeding birds. *cute*

After buying our tickets, I decided to eat something sweet ^^ Got crepe from Haagen Daz ♥ Although it's abit pricey, it's reaally good...

Hung out for a while in the shopping centre, got a ring and a necklace for myself >v< and then rush to the cinema~~ ♪♪

Was kinda worried that we won't be able to understand the movie because it's in Japanese and there isn't any subtitles..surprisingly it was ok! ^^ I understood almost everything. It's a cute, funny and warm movie~ (and it's a real life story!) *Highly recommended*

Had fun playing in the cinema after the movie XD

I wanna watch Nodame too!!!

Hey, the showboard looks real!

It's easy to guess where we went next. ^^

We can never resist Purikura/Toy machines!

So we went to this game centre called 'Goldfish' ♪

Kat wanted this badly so I sponsored her ^^ She got a whole bunch on her first try!! But the machine was so tricky, it swung to the side and everything fell off before reaching the box!

But Kat still did a good job in getting the soft toy! All five of them! >v<

So Cute!!! ArPakasso~ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

All of us had one!!! *Happy*

Immediately hang it on our cute Jap phones!

The Domokun is so KY (doesn't fit into the situation) though =_="

After that, we went to this store which sells international food, and guess what I found??

Indomee!!! Ohh I miss it so much >v<

And coconut spread (Kaya) too!

Singaporeans with their Singapore Chilli Sauce ^^

We passed by this pet shop on the way out of the shopping centre~ ♥

The dogs are super cute!!!

I like this the most ♥ -->

We decided to walk to our dorm since the shopping centre is in between Kawaguchi station and our station. Had lots of fun chatting on the way home ♫

Had the most delicious McD burger - The Teriyaki Chicken Burger!

Really had LOTS of fun that day although we didn't do anything extra special. I guess it's the people that matter the most! ☺

Thanks Girls!!!

♥ みんなが大～~～好きだよ ♥

Harajuku 原宿 Part I & II ! ♥

2010-05-07T18:12:00.005+09:00

Golden Week (national holiday) is over!!! o(T____T)o which means no more fooling around but strictly studies only =(
But I guess sensei will be more lenient to me coz' I'm an exchange student =D My job is to travel around & learn about the culture, 勉強ばかりしているわけではない! Muahahaha... please don't envy me =P I've been through a tough period before I came, so it's payback time now! ♥

PART I. 原宿 @ Week 3
４月１１日　日曜日

Long live Harajuku!!! Always wanted to come here coz' things are cheap and stylish and cool!!

It's a Sunday afternoon. The crowd was craaaazzzy~

The entrance of the shopping street.

See what I mean?

Saw lots of young people who dressed in Lolita, Cosplay and Punk style outfit! Didn't get to take pictures though, 残念！
Also, you can hardly see any middle-age people/elderly here (except tourists) because it's a common space for youngsters only!!! >v<

Hmm.. saw this in a stylish T-shirt store. Isn't Japanese supposed to be polite and shy? That might not be the case in Harajuku =P

Finally!!!!!!! I've gotten my Crepe!!! Have been craving for it. >v<

It was so Yuuuuummm~~ -^^-

Didn't have mood to shop that day though coz' it was so crowded.

Therefore, we came back again after 2 1/2 weeks!!! ♥

PART II. 原宿@Week 6

４月２８日　水曜日

Haha. We were on a mission though. =P

Kat and me wanted to buy Lolita/Cosplay costumes for fun. ^^ (I wanted a maid costume =P)

Harajuku is always the best choice ♥ (for girls only), so there we went!

Went into this SUPER cute shop with so many nice accessories and clothings~

I was madly in love with their decoration and presentation, which explains why I was willing to stay for like, half an hour without buying anything (although I really wanted to =P but I'm just a poor student).

Aren't they just gorgeous??

I was so amazed by their creativity. The accessories blend in so well with the decor of wooden sticks, old books, bricks etc! It's the vintage style I like!

Back to mission.

We spent such a long time in the costume store.

Was going to get light-blue but was afraid that it might not turn out nice..it's such a sweet colour though!

After using up 70% my brain cells, I've decided to get a darker colour =)

Figured that I should play safe for the first time.

If I got addicted to it, I'll go back and try out other colours! XD

*Mission accomplished* Then we strolled around and found another cute shop with lots of hanging dangling stuff.

It's a Crepe card which resembles our daily Suica (train pass)!

A store full of celebrities photos and products. Realised that i can't take picture after taking one =P

Went to McDonald's Cafe coz our legs were about to break.

Surprisingly, the cinnamon melts were superb! (I don't like cinnamon)

The staff there were super-polite! They bowed to us slowly in 90'C with their eyes close!

Even their working uniform are cute!

It's OK though, coz I have my maid costume too!

Muahahaha

♥

Will take lots of pictures when I wear it out on the street with full make-up!

>v<

Watch out, guys! =P

P/S: I ♥ the bell on my neck a lot. ♪ ♪ ♪ ~

上智大学 ♠ Clubs & Circles ♠

2010-04-25T16:27:00.001+09:00

I've joined Sophia University's musical circle and acapella circle! ♪

How did it happen? Well, they were recruiting members on freshman week and since I'd been eyeing on musical groups, so there I went!

Their clubs/circles recruitment is nothing like Melbourne uni. They don't have their own stalls but just carrying boards and pamphlets (which drawn by themselves) around the uni!

Look at how many papers I've got!! XD

Was so happy coz' I was approached by quite a few clubs and circles =P All of them thought that I was a first year student/Japanese!

Even cheerleading group approched me. MUAHAHA. Does that mean that I am cute and attractive?? XD They don't go to people easily!

What is the difference between a club and a circle?

Club - Very time-consuming and require full commitment from members. Usually practises everyday or at least 5 times per week? (eg. tennis, sports club)

Circle - Usually twice a week. Not as demanding as clubs. =D

Aikido合気道 circle. My friend joined, not me. Was there to watch hot guys. =P

Sophia uni's huge sports field. I don't think I'll ever have a chance to have activities there though. Not a sports person =P

The Sakura street beside in between the sports field and our uni!

♣♣ Masquerade Musical Circle ♣♣

Our first meeting and workshop! (High school musical)

The people are nice ♥

Kinda disappointed coz there were girls only! Well, technically, only one guy

My group for the first week >v<

And second week (workshop - sister's act 2)! We are getting closer ♥

Had 食べ放題 (tabehoudai - buffet) after workshop! It was SOOOO good~~~ >V<

And most importantly, I didn't have to pay! =D Seniors pay for juniors!

ゆこ、私、アメリーズ　☺

*Didn't get any pictures of my Acapella group though =P Will get them soon!

Hopefully the circles will become more and more fun!! >v<

野球- Japanese Baseball Tournament!

2010-04-24T02:09:00.000+09:00

I can't believe I neglected my blog for this long..
Guess studies really took up lots of my time =) I'm more hardworking here than I was in Melbourne! and I go to classes on time (9am) everyday! =D which means - I wake up at 7~7.20am every morning! That's a record! <=====@***

Anyway, one of the events in the past few weeks. lol.

- 8 April 2010 -

The official Japanese baseball game!!!
Well, I knew that Japanese craze for baseball. But the real show & atmosphere still amazed me =D So many people although it's a Thursday. There're lots of salarymen in their suits as well =D

Ooo, but before the game, we went to Karaoke again. This time it's in our town, Nishi-kawaguchi ^^ and surprisingly it's so cheap (only 780yen) with unlimited drinks and about 6,7 hours of KTV!

Us! The happy gang <3

Oh, and I can't believe I can sing 叮噹我爱他 here!!! Was so so excited!

The songs are not too old too >v< Don't care if they don't have the original MVs, as long as I can sing what I want! ^^v

After that, we proceed to the stadium!!! dadada~

Our tickets!

We supported the team on the left! Its name is 'Swallows'!

The other team. They were so coordinated and enthusiastic!

We should have supported this team! ><

Sat and watched the game although I only understood half of the rules. LOL.

The atmosphere was superb though.

The rival team's supporters from our view. すばらしい~

Hungry. Went to get food. The hot noodles had already cooled down when we got back to our seats though. =_= Was freakiiiiing cold.

The team on our side!!! Go Go Swallows! =D

Towards the end of the show, I screamed the cheers with them as well. The weather was so cold though.

It's amazing that we could survive. There were 10+ of us, but half of them went back earlier coz the weather was unbearable.

Well, we were losing.

And yeah, we lost. Here's our sad faces. =(

On the way back in the station, lol. Bryce VS the poster man!

XDD well done!

*Well, it was also the day that I caught the terrible cold which lasted for a few weeks. =_="

Not sure even if watching the game was worth it then, I sacrificed my health.

But it was a good experience though =)

Shibuya =D the shopping heaven

2010-04-18T01:02:00.003+09:00

It's not an easy thing for someone like Shermayne to keep up blog postings especially after uni has started =_= Everyone knows she hates writing/essays (that doesn't apply to greeting cards tho)

But she will make an effort to record every moment in words and pictures <3 although it might be overdue =P

SHIBUYA

- 6 April 2010 - (haha)

It was a warm and sunny day ♥ perfect day for outings ^^

I've finally gotten a chance to see Hachiko - the loyal dog at the station! (Refer to posting 2)

This is Shibuya!!! 伝奇的な渋谷！>v< and a million of heads. =_=

We spent the next two hours in the AU phone shop because Kat needs to get her phone. =D The lady was so patient and nice to us although we had some problems in communicating.

Shermayne's and Kat's ♥ Our mobile

That's the popular Shibuya 109!!! I'll come shopping in my own time =) Hehe..

We didn't know what to do so we decided to do Karaoke!! My first KTV experience in the land which invented karaoke!

It wasn't a clean and decent place, but well, it's cheap =)

Got a room at 7th floor with nice view though ♥

~♪♪♪♪♪~

They have Mandarin songs here too!!

The input system is abit complicated and old though.

Maybe because it's cheap =P

After Karaoke, we had dinner at this ramen place. Apparently it's the best ramen in Tokyo according to Daniel @@ We waited for a while coz' there was a line =)

We were invited inside and filled in this paper where you circle your preference of spicyness, different part of meat, amount of spring-onion etc.

There's only single seats in the restaurant! So that people talk less and eat faster lol. Business go on!

That's the ramen!!!

It's so delicious that I finished the whole thing, even the soup!!!!! Yum~~

Went for a little walk after dinner ♪

There were street artists singing by the street.

And also,

Rockstars and headbangers!!!

Apparently they are having a concert in June/July and they are promoting the event.

Their fans in special costumes/hairstyle and make-up.

The performers weren't appealing to me though. Thought that they looked gay =P no offence. They had a ton of make up on their face!! Eww.

Went to the disney store in Shibuya!!! So cute ♪ This suits me better =D

Saw this Dale (from Chip&Dale) soft toy! It's one of my favourite cartoon characters!! Love at first sight ♥

Shermayne (ahem) entering a wonderland!!!

Arrghhh~ everything is so cute!!! >v< wish that I could own everything from the disney store!

♥ the decoration too. Can't wait to go to Disneyland & Disneysea although I've been there before!!

Will never get bored from Disney ^^

Hehe~ and the shop was playing Chip&Dale cartoon. For some reason, I only like the red nose dude though =D

After thinking for an eternity, I've decided to buy the soft toy although it costs 3000yen. Couldn't resist the temptation.

Went home feeling super-satisfied ♥

The DK dudes hanging out in my room >v<

And Baby-D lying on my bed ♥ So Cute right??!!!

Used to hugging stuff when I sleep but I forgot to bring along my Sunny-boy from home. Now there's Baby-D! ^^

Trying to do the same face as Baby-D! XD

Didn't regret buying him at all because ever since that night, I have good night sleeps! ♥

楽しい～♪

First Day of classes @ 上智大学 An emotional roller-coaster ride

2010-04-12T20:13:00.005+09:00

It wasn't a good start for the first day of university.

Was raining so badly and in fact, it's still raining at the moment and it hasn't stopped for even a minute. Was freezing.

Waking up early wasn't easy. But I guess I'll have to get used to it because I have 9am classes everyday from Mon to Fri. >_< It takes about an hour from my dorm to the university! - not to mention that I have to fight for air in the insanely-packed trains.

Got into the classroom just on time after bell rang. Jap Intensive II wasn't as demanding as I expected, but the class made me sleepy though. Maybe that's because I'm sick. Was wearing a mask so that I can stop spreading germs but people walked passed me gave me weird gazes. What's wrong with wearing mask anyway? There are people wearing masks everywhere in Japan! =_="

After class, I went to the overseas liason office to hand in the verification sheet. They need my Certificate of Registered Matters (some proof for getting a Gaijin card?) but I thought I could get through by showing them my Gaijin card since I got it earlier than most people. But they told me they need the sheet and I have to go all the way back to Yokosuka city (which is about 1 1/2 ~ 2 hours away) and get a copy from them. I was stunned and was kinda mad of myself. Why didn't I get it earlier? Why didn't I find out?

I was actually quite down. The weather and my cough made it even worse.

After that me, Kat, Sam & Jon went to the cafeteria on level 5 to get some food. Unexpectedly, I found extra 800+yen from one of the food machines! Didn't realised until I was about to get my change. Then I felt better =) At least that paid some of my fare to Yokosuka (which cost about 1000+yen). But I shouted Kat for lunch coz she's kinda poor now too. LOL.

Fell asleep after eating and luckily I woke up in time for my next class. I'm taking 'Introduction to Sociology' because I have no choice since the Intensive Jap class had taken 3 hours for my morning sessions. The lecture was packed to the max, a lot of students were standing at the back and also in front of the classroom(The uni has no lecture halls). Lecturer finished the class in 15min after some briefing coz the space was too cosy & stuffy.

I left immediately and caught trains back home. Got a bento box at this bento place near my dorm. I selected my own dishes because I thought it would be cheaper if I just get a small pack without rice. It turned out to be 370yen, even more expensive than the pre-made big bento box! *Angry*
Cost me like 500yen for the meal after I get plain rice from the convenient store!! Arggh!

My legs were wet and shoes were soggy when I reached my dorm. Surprisingly, there was a BIG box awaiting me at the front hall.

It was from the Sakamoto mama+papa ♪ I ran up and put down my stuff and ran down again to carry the heavy box. I opened it, and guess what, there's SO MANY food in there! and a card on top of everything.

That's what Mama sent me! There's lots of curry, pasta, rice, cans, soup, coffee, lots of snacks, biscuits, sauce, masks etc!! ♥

Her note to me about instructions of making those food/contents & getting lots of sleep so I can get well.

♥

That's how my cupboard looks now. Insane, yeah? =D

I felt so warm after receiving the box. Very touched as well..Mama said she's gonna send me food but I didn't expect it to be this quick & this many!!!

It feels really bad getting sick in a foreign place. But at least I have someone who is like a mum, taking good care of me and treating me like a daughter.

***

I went to Sakamoto house and stayed over for a night during the weekend. I was coughing so badly so mama gave me medicine, and cooked me good food again.

She kept asking me "how's the dorm?" "Is there a fridge?" "How's the people?" "Are you eating well?"
Then she started packing me food. I cried on the spot coz I was so touched and she hugged me ♥

Woke up in the morning and saw the bento she made for me + some medicine + masks in a bag, attached with some good advices on a paper.

It made me cry again.

I'm sure you would if you were me.

There's no reason for her & the family to treat me so nice but they just are nice!

Even Rin-chan loves me too.

I really hope my stay that night didn't affect them coz' papa started to cough too =( I felt so bad.

***

I think God treats me very well. =) He knew that I'm unhappy today and He gave me good news ♥

Hope God will bless the Sakamoto family with good health too!

Certificate of Alien Registration

2010-04-10T16:36:00.000+09:00

Got my Alien card!

I'm officially an alien now =D

Sweeeet~

P/S: I'm so glad I didn't need to queue up at all during the process. When I applied for it, I was the first one and suddenly 6 or 7 people arrived and lined up behind me.

It's even faster when I collected it because there was no one! One minute だけ. Lucky~ ♥

花見@ 上野 + かなまら祭り－The Fertility Festival

2010-04-09T02:44:00.002+09:00

I guess lots of people are anticipating this post. XD
Thanks for the patience, ne! I'm gonna post heaps of photos and let pictures do the talking =P I'm sure everyone will enjoy them ♥ Kekeke..

- 4 April 2010 -

It was a busy, fun and fulfilling day for us. Our initial plan was just looking at Sakura, chat and have fun at Ueno. I'm so glad Bryce actually told us about the fertility festival, or else we would have missed it! (It's only once per year!)

We went to Ueno station. I was shocked by the crowd. I knew it was a Sunday and there would be many people, but I underestimated the number of Sakura viewers.

Outside the station. It's the same capacity in the station as well. くるてる, Crazy!

But after I got into the park, I guess the Sakura was really worth seeing although we had to squeeze through the crowd sometimes. They were just so pretty!

That was our Ueno group! I really like them ♥

Kat went to church so she missed the morning event =(

Bought some food to rescue my grumbling stomach. "You are getting ready for the festival!", someone said. lol. Was trying to put up a sexy face =_=" epic fail though.

Well,

Here comes the exciting part!!!

What is a Fertility Festival?
There is a short answer to that, which is - The Penis Festival.
or what I call it, The GuGuJiao Festival (Chinese people will know I'm talking about) lol.

For those who wanna more about the festival, it is available on Wikipedia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanamara_Matsuri

This was the Kawasaki-daishi station. The festival was actually held in a kinda rural area. There were lots of foreigners and lots of people on that day though =D

I guess Japan is the only country which held this kinda festival. =D So open-minded.

Haha, many people dressed up for the festival. Mostly as prostitutes =P

Giant Penis - The Mascot!

Everything here amazed me =D They even sold penis candies lol!

It was definitely full of surprises!

(I don't know what to say, haha)

Got offered free sake by the uncle behind me. A few sips were enough to make me feel excited! XD

Yes, that was me. =P The crowd cheered when I did that XD

My friend was at the other side and she overheard a guy saying that "Can you do that for me too?".

LOL well, hell no! you wish!!!

Kids were singing for the festival. So cute!! They changed Michael Jackson's 'thriller' lyrics into "penis, penis, penis" though. =P

I ♥ this festival

Went to Shinjuku (yes, again) to get a super-cheap dinner and do some shopping ^^

And of course, PURIKURA!

It's just 400yen!!! It's amazing that we could squeezed in eight people too!

Love the photos & the people so much ♥

♥ DK WARABI 最高!!! ♥

♥ ~DK Warabi~ ♥

2010-04-06T03:00:00.004+09:00

- 1st April 2010 -

After being so pampered for a week, I was finally moving into DK Warabi! Surprisingly, I wasn't too excited, I was just hoping that I can make good friends and live peacefully for the semester =P
I travelled with Chiharu from Shin-otsu to Nishi-Kawaguchi for about two hours (=_="), with my huge luggage + two big hand-carry bags + a paper bag full of books. Our hands and arms were so numb when we reached the station.
Yi-Ching met up with us and brought us to the dormitory. Seriously I'm so glad that I met her a few days before and she's so nice & willing to help me in almost anything!

Walked for about 15min. At the first sight, DK Warabi appears to be like a haunted hospital to me. (Opps, picture coming soon)

But the inside isn't too bad ^^ Big common room, Big kitchen although I don't think I'll do much cooking, TV, Study room, Gym area etc..

I like my room too~ it's quite spacious and it's the first time that Shermayne has empty drawers in her room!!! Not just one or two but quite a few! Amazing, huh? I'm trying to keep it very clean too ^^ (Just vacuumed my room today, even moved the big cupboard just to clean everything up ♪)

View from my window

Did something quite exciting but bad when I first arrived DK. Secretly changed my curtain with someone's room, not that the original one was ugly, but I just prefer cheerful colour, just like me muahaha... Laughed so hard during the process. Yi-Ching couldn't believe that I did this, "It's such a Shermayne thing to do", she said. Well, I won't tell which room number is it, but I had fun running and laughing that my tummy hurts so bad.

I ♥ my curtain

My door! Decorated it because I don't want it to be plain. I want everything to be cheerful, which will brighten up my day too!

Door handle. People opens this door will enter a crazy world!! HAHA. ("You are crazy~" - Quote from Anna Hidano from 3rd floor)

Oh, I love my kettle & bowls & plates & utensils too!

They are so sweet! Yes? No?

Fridge is always full of sweet, nice desserts. ♥

----------

The Next Day

My first time to上智大学(Jochi Daigaku) aka Sophia University! It's about 1 hour away from where I'm staying now. It's considered quite near if compared to many other people!

Had orientation & briefing for exchange students. I bet most of them are from the U.S. Had not met any Malaysian at the moment. They are very cute & nice though. ^^

Orientation was boring. Was divided into groups and the leader was supposed to show us around I guess, but instead she just brought us to the food canteen. She disappeared until we had finished our food. =o=

We had our Japanese placement test after lunch. The test was FREAKING difficuly. I can't even answer most of the Kanji part. They were either too easy, or too difficult. Was trying out for the intensive course, a professor warned us that intensive course is very demanding and he urged us to take the regular ones. Well, I am here in Japan. Won't gonna have another chance like this so I guess I should grab this opportunity and learn the most out of it.

Had a welcome party after the test. I don't even wanna mention it. Was bored to the max. Food were placed on the table but we stared at them for an hour. They had speeches and performances but I couldn't see or listen well. The crowd was too big and I was just too short for that. =/

Cabut (escape) when we got the chance. Went to Shinjuku! Haha, this is what it should be! Everyone is happy again.

Cleaned my glasses in this free-specs-washing-machine placed beside an optom shop. ^^ nice~

---------

Third day in Dk Warabi (Sat)

It's finally Cherry blossoms season!!! The Sakura Street beside our dorm was so beautiful!!! People were sitting on the mat chatting/eating and enjoying their time. There were lots of stalls for food and games as well!! The atmosphere was awesome ♥

Look! It's my room (Second from the left)! I'm in second floor 238, very lucky number in the chinese culture ^^

花見~ first DK gathering & get to know-s. That's Anna on my left and Mario(!) on my right!

After our 花見(Hanami) with everyone from DK, 17 of us set off to Akihabara! Huge group! One was missing from this pic though.

Akihabara, full of electronics & anime stuff. Otaku's heaven.

Saw a few girls dressing as maids on the street. I'll try that one day. Not maids' cafe, but butler's cafe haha~ will be nice ♥

Walked pass this huge 6-7 storeys building which is filled with anime + cosplay goods!

They cracked me up ROFL.

Was definitely a freezing but fun night ♥

*Coping well in DK Warabi & I'm really glad that most people I met are friendly & nice. The dorm reminds me of my boarding house from high school in melbourne. ^^ But this time I'm in the west wing instead of the east =D

Laughed so hard and also walked a lot these few days, hopefully I had burn some calories! XD

Next post - The Penis Festival!!! Woohoo!

Last day with the Sakamoto family...

2010-04-04T03:06:00.001+09:00

It was my last day staying in the Sakamoto house. Felt really sad because I know I might not have many chances to stay there for a long time again. University is starting soon and I'm sure everyone will get very busy. I really love the house and the people though, remind me of my own family and I felt exactly like home. Chi called me and said that the family miss me too. The house has become very quiet and she especially miss my alarm ringtone "Ohaiyooo~~~" which went on and on in the morning because I kept snoozing it.

What I've done on that day.
- 31 March 2010 -

Haruka brought me to this beautiful temple ShoMyo-ji (称名寺) at Kanagawa Bunko (金川文庫). It was my first time seeing Sakura and words simply can't described my feelings at that moment. Was extremely amazed, touched and excited at the same time.

The real scenery is definitely much better than picture.

I felt as if I were in a fairy land!!

And, more pictures =)

The two pictures which I love the most. Look like postcards yeah? ^^

And they just look so Japanese. Oriental~ ♥

Was trying to catch a falling Sakura from the tree. I once read from Manga which says that if a person caught Sakura and make a wish, it will come true. =D Haruka said the same thing too!

The first Sakura I caught. So lovely.

We got home after that. I wanted to seize the precious moment in Sakamoto house. Saw this banner on the way back though. Apparently there's 'CATS' in Yokohama as well. Casts are Japs and music is in Japanese though. Sounds so cool. Wonder if it's the same as Melbourne ^^

Have a walk with Rin-chan and Haruka in the neighbourhood after we got back. Rin-chan was so reluctant to go out though coz it was too cold. Lol. If my fat boy Leo is here, he would love~ to do that.

Ooo!!! I've forgotten to tell you guys that I've got a phone! Totally Jap cellphone. ♥ I'm Lovin' it! It's super-kawaii and cool! I have unlimited internet, I can watch TV, check train timetables, pay money just by putting my phone on a sensor, exchange phone details just by infrared...Lots and lots of things I can do! Trying to get used to the typing keyboard though, it's kinda different coz they are all in Jap. Have some cam-whore moments with my rosy gold cellphone ♥

Then, I helped mama to prepare dinner. Had fun making tempura etc. Mama kept talking to me and she's so cute ^^ reminds me of my mum too. Oh and also found out that mama and my mum are both twins! Nowonder they have so much in common =P

The last dinner.. =(

Can't believe I've eaten so much of them. Too good and irresistable. =_=

Bro sent a message to me saying that "I know you can take care of yourself now but please take care of your weight too". But with these kind of food, it's epic fail. XD My last night though so it's ok..

Hmm.. guess I'll miss the house a lot. Rin-chan was unfriendly to me on the first day but throughout the week she has become like my family too. She played with me, licked me so I wake up and also sticked to me all the time.

I'll also miss the bath. Sigh. Not gonna get a chance to take bath in my dorm coz they don't have it.

And will miss the people too, especially mama who've treated me like her own daughter.

I remembered she once said to me "When you feel like coming back, we will always welcome you. Remember this is your home in Japan". On the late night before I left, she gave me a big, tight hug and kept asking me to visit them when I'm free. Arggh, she always make me wanna crying.

I woke up the next morning in a crying mood. I wish I could stay there longer but I should go out and meet more friends too because it's such a golden opportunity to be in Japan.

I'll miss crossing this road to get to the station with Chiharu everyday..Well, we always run/walk super fast though because we are always going to be late. That's a funny and cute memory ♥

Sunset at 新大津

I'll Miss You! ♥

A Day in SHINJUKU 新宿!!! ♪

2010-04-03T02:17:00.000+09:00

- 29/3/2010 -

I was glad that I asked on Facebook (Sophia University exchange group) regarding who was free on Monday. Yi-Ching and Shizuka replied! So I went to Tokyo (YES, it's my first time in the real tokyo city!) and met these two awesome girls whom I've never seen before! =D

So, these are the two people I've mentioned above! XD Starting from the left - Shizuka Anderson,

Yi-Ching and me!!! Shizuka is a mix of Japanese and Canadian; Yi-Ching is a Singaporean!!! They are sooooo nice~ Ching and me think that Shizuka fits well in Jap magazine, and also she's currently applying for drama or tv station's part-time! I have to take more pictures of her before she gets popular!

Anyway, pictures of Shinjuku!

The busy town - 新宿

This street reminds me of XiMenDin 西門町, Taiwan.

And here's the very famous OIOI building! (pronounced as 'oi,oi' haha. just like the "Aussie, aussie, aussie, oi Oi OI!")

Well that's a lot which you can do in Shinjuku. But one of them that you can't missed is... of course! Purikura! The sticker photos! ♥

It's so cool that you can send sticker photos to your cellphone as well! That's how we did it!

COOL right?!

Oh, and there are so many cute stuff in the purikura/game arcade.

You can even try to get Haagen Daz ice-cream! and Ritz biscuits box too!

Oh, and we passed this fruits store. How much does ONE durian cost in Japan? Look! It's 6000yen, which is like about RM205! CRAZY!

We went to dinner after that. There's a little thingy on the table. When you press the button, the waitress will come! It's so cute~ ^^

Went to watch movie after dinner. =D There are so many variety of food + drinks at their bar!

The cinema is weird though. Ticket booth on the 4th floor, but cinema theatres are everywhere from 5th to 11th floor. Our movie was shown on the 11th floor, we could only take escalator and it was tiring! Felt dizzy turning and turning~

Oh, I called mama before that though because I need to tell her that I'll be going back late. Ching said I sound exactly like a Jap-girl when I speak Japanese. XD ハッピ～ I told her that I can imitate the accent but my grammar actually sucks lol.

Dusk and Night!

So, these are the two people whom I shared my first experience of taking purikura, watching movie and visiting Tokyo! So glad to know them ♥ and they are also the first Sophians I met too! (Aside from Chiharu whom I met since 6 years ago)　きっと一緒に遊びましょう！

Little trips at Kanagawa & Yokohoma

2010-03-31T00:00:00.020+09:00

Well, I actually feel like jumping into my bed and read manga now but I know I have to post this or else I will never do it. I created this blog not only to share my experience and give an idea to those who will come to Japan in the future, but also for my own sake so I can revive all these memories when I leave. =) Therefore I have to be consistent ^^ サボれないよ～シャーメーイン～

- Third & Fourth day - 27/03 ~ 28/03

Kamakura (鎌倉)! One of the famous tourist attractions in Japan. There are a lot of cute shops too!!

People wash their hands or drink(?) the holy water before going into the temple.

Ahh! I was so lucky to witness a traditional Japanese wedding held in front of the temple! >v<

They look very serious though. Hmm..isn't wedding a happy day? @@

Bought a wooden tag and wrote my wish on it. It's a little expensive but if my wishes come true, I don't mind paying 10 times more than that! Haha.

Walk around at the little town and had some snacks as well. ^^ Chi felt cold so we went into McDonald's to get coffee. Was surprised that there weren't much choices in McD Japan.

My favourite time at night! Jap TV always show nice programmes! World figure-skating championship! Japan won gold medal for both men and women's! They are on the news everyday.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

The next day.

Chi needs to work so I went to Japan's biggest ChinaTown by myself! It's also my first time taking train all alone haha~ was so excited.

How to get to Chinatown (中華街-ちゅかがい) from Yokohama - Take Keihin Tohoku line to Ishikawachou 石川町

The Chinatown is HUGE. It's like 50 times bigger than Melbourne's Chinatown. Really enjoyed walking around though. At least I felt secure and was like at somewhere familiar. People there still speak Japanese though, didn't hear a single Chinese word.

Ohh!!! And guess what I saw?? Tian ren!! XD Reminds me of Melbourne. Well, I don't miss the uni or the lifestyle in Melb but I do miss the awesome people =)

This Tianren doesn't sell bubble milk tea/food though, just tea leaves that's it.

Bought a super-cute bag for my お弁当(lunch box). It only cost 350 yen!! So happy.

Caught this Sakura tree before I leave Chinatown. Can't wait till one/two weeks later when all Sakura in Tokyo blooms!!!

Chi and Haruka had part-time work so I had dinner with papa+mama. Can't believe they ordered a BIG box of sushi!!! Papa was arranging sushi for me so seriously as if he was creating a world art.

My super-nice Sakamoto Mama & Papa! They were drinking wine by using the Royal Selangor pewter glass which I gave them! I'm glad they like the present! ^^

Was SOOO full after the dinner that I couldn't move anymore. Sat down and watched one of my favourite Jap shows - Sasuke!!! It's something like Ninja Warrior but Sasuke needs even more stability and body stamina. This is Lee EnChi (direct translation from Jap) from Taiwan. He's so great!

This post have a lot of pictures but I believe pictures tell a thousand words, yea?

Here comes the food! ♥

2010-03-28T23:24:00.015+09:00

The Sakamoto family is SUPER nice. They treat me like a queen, which sometimes I feel very 恥ずかしい(embarassed). Mama insisted to wash all my clothes even if I rejected her. She's also very friendly and kept showing me pictures, kept talking to me, told me to be careful of this and that, and worst yet, kept serving me FOOD!!

Arrgh I've eaten so much calories these few days. Luckily I need to walk a lot and get to take Japanese bath (so I'll sweat and burn calories), or else I really can't imagine the consequences.

Anyway, pictures of food from the first and second day!

First Day

Ramen - My first meal (Lunch) in Japan! Although it looked plain but the taste is definitely unforgettable!
How do you eat it: Place all meat/vege into the soup bowl. Dip ramen (by chopsticks of course) into the bowl and start eating! It's that easy! ^^ *But if Haruka didn't tell me, I would pour the soup on the ramen though lol.

DINNER!

So presentable right? つばらしいね～ Mama was so shocked when I start taking pictures.

ずっと　"そんあ～" と言った.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　陽花と私

Tonkatsu! It's so much better than anywhere else! There's this crispy sound when I bite it!Taste nice with the sauce as well ^^

This is no ordinary 茶碗蒸し(Chawanmushi). There's a lot of ingredients underneath! 100% better than Sushi King!

Yummy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sashimi salad!!

*Ended the night watching a SUPER FUNNY Japanese show which lasted for three hours. The programme was とりはだ or something like that. Chiharu and me are literally rolling on the floor laughing (ROFL) because it's damn funny!

Second night

Had lunch at a shopping mall (Yokohama) with Chiharu ^^ Was too hungry so I've forgotten to take any pictures!! Here's a well prepared dinner when we got home!

This is my favourite! The chicken wings are definitely fingers licking good!!

Oh, and Sashimi again. =D Somebody told me that Japanese eat sashimi everyday. Now I truly believe in that.

By the way, was watching Doraemon before dinner! Sounds so much better in Japanese!! One of my favourite cartoons since young~ 超かわいい～

Ooo!! It seems like Japanese children really like eating snacks or desserts. Chiharu and Haruka prove that well. Mama prepared desserts for us everyday after dinner!! "Eat ice-cream! Eat cake! Eat @$#%!", mama always say it in commanding terms.. and there's so many stocks that we will never get hungry, but just too full. -_-"

Anyway, did you fill a tank of saliva after seeing all these savoury food?? Muahaha, envy me!

1st Day - スタット～GO!

2010-03-26T23:05:00.011+09:00

The first day when I arrived Japan (25 Mar)

It's weird when everyone thought you are Japanese and starting speaking with you in a super-quick speed. That started even when I was on the plane. Luckily I got through it with my broken Jap. lol.

I'm glad that I actually called 3 and activated international roaming before I left Australia. Narita airport actually seemed very confusing to me. Couldn't even see an obvious payphone. Went straight to buy the bus ticket to Yokohama. The lady is the first person whom I spoke to in full Jap! Was shocked when she told me it takes 2 hours to Yokohama though.

That's the ticket.

So, I waited for the bus for about 10 min. It was FREEEEEZING~ 4'C only because it's raining. I regret for not packing more winter clothes. =(

Wanted to call my parents but remembered that it's rude to talk on the phone on public transport. I basicly slept throught the two hours because I was exhausted from the 16 hours+ of flight. Woke up seeing a hot Jap guy on the street though. Jap guys (only those who dress up properly) are so delicious =P Muahaha.

For the remaining 15 minutes before I reached the station, I have the thoughts that I was dreaming. Couldn't really believed that I'm really and finally in Japan - one of the leading countries in the world!

Chiharu's sister, Haruka was waiting for me and picked me up from the station. I actually recognized her first because she resembles Chiharu a lot, especially the sweet smile =) Finally got home after two rounds of transportation transfers. The house is in Yokosuka city though, an area even further than Yokohama. So in fact, Shermayne is not in Tokyo, yet!

♪ It's the first time I bought train ticket by myself! ♪

Sakamoto family is so sweet~ they prepared this for me ♥
Felt so warm although it was raining for the whole day. =)

But I think the pet, Rin-chan didn't like me. She barked and wanted to bite me =( Mama says that's because she's stress from the contraception operation.

Papa and mama (that's what I call them haha, so sweet right?) didn't speak English so I actually communicate with them in full Jap! Papa told Chiharu that my Japanese is good =P Well, ways to go though. I can imitate the accent but I know my grammar sucks. Haruka was trying to speak English with me but after a while she changed to Japanese as well. Chiharu wants me to speak English to her so that she can learn. I tried but she refused @@ I understand the feeling when a person has no confidence in a language and tries to escape it =) So I'll help her. 頑張ってね、陽花!

!!!Ohh by the way, you guys can't imagine what I've eaten these two days!!
Chiharu's mama is such a good cook! The food is very presentable as well. とってもおいしかったよ! Even though the food's homecook, they are HEAPS better than the restaurants in Melbourne/Malaysia. Will upload pictures of them tomorrow because everyone is sleeping right now. I should go =P

おやすみなさい！♥

Transit @ Singapore

2010-03-24T23:54:00.003+09:00

Actually, it's the last call for boarding now, but the gate is just a few metres away. lol.
Just had a yummy authentic Singapore-BabaNyonya food in the airport.
The auntie was so nice. She talked to me and offered me curry ^^ guess i'll miss spicy curry a lot in Japan.

Ooo! And I took airbus A380 just then. It's FREAKING AWESOME. Big screen. Big seats. The window is 3 times bigger. Lots of movies and nice food too! The service is also one of the best I've ever experienced ^^ Can't wait for the coming flight~

Finally had the chance to watch 'Hachiko: A Dog's Story' (Highly recommended!). Cried my lungs out and i guess the indian guy beside me was freaked out. He didn't know what to do lol. I miss my dogs. =( and Jojoe which is in Heaven now.

The movie 'The lovely bones' is not bad too. =) Heart beat was racing when I watched it.

OK.. I have 5min remaining for this internet access. Guess I should go.
Japan here I come! <3

Half-day before flying off!

2010-03-24T01:58:00.006+09:00

今の気持ち　－　すごっく緊張します! >_<

12 more hours before I fly off to Tokyo. Still in the progress of packing.
Friend told me "C'mon you're only going there for a semester! You don't need to pack your whole room!"
Well, everything seems important to me and I don't know which to give up.
Guess I'll just stare and be indecisive for the remaining time being.

In fact, other than excitement and nervousness, I don't really feel any joy at all.
That's partly because I'm too unorganized. Packing at the last minute and didn't really plan anything ahead. ><

---

What I need to do before & after I arrived Narita airport. Friend can't pick me up because she's having a test T_T

Gonna transit in Singapore. Pray that there's no delay or else I'll miss the flight to Tokyo! ><
Call Chiharu after getting out from custom check. (OHH I need a payphone! But where do I get small change??!)
Take bus 3, 12 or 7 to Yokohama.
(Checked internet.) Duration is about.. 90 minutes??!!!
Get off at YCAT. (How do I know when to get off? Will they inform me??)
Chiharu's mum will be waiting there. (Hmm..will try my best to communicate with my crappy Japanese haha)

It's time to prove your living skills Shermayne! Hopefully everything will go smoothly. @@" Can't miss the stop or else there will be lots of trouble. Don't want Chi's mum to wait too long in the cold weather.

-Tokyo Weather Max 14, Min 5, Raining on 24th March

PRAYING HARD!!!
ok, and off to pack again. Then get some sleep. =)

P/S: First time blogging (well really not a fan but guess I should start using it for the sake of pretty memories in the future). How do I upload a picture? LOL =D