Here is the last batch of photos taken in Japan:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Homestay02/
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Photos - MMU Malacca, ISE
Here are some of the photos taken with other ISE students:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/MMU/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/MMU/
Photos - Homestay in Japan - Batch 1
Here are some of the photos taken during my homestay in Japan:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Homestay01/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Homestay01/
Bye bye Japan!
June 10, Saturday –It was my last day in Japan. My host father and Satoe sent me to the airport. Most of the parking lots were full. It was hard finding parking space. As I arrived, all the other host families were there already. All of us took some group photos before going to the departure hall. All the host families waved to us as we entered. It was a touching scene… I hope that I can see them again in the future.
Day 7 in Japan
June 9, Friday – At around 8am, we departed to “Miwa Anjo” to take the bullet train to Nagoya. The train is really fast. We were all very excited to see the train. The trip to Nagoya took about 10 minutes. It will take about 45 minutes if we take the normal train. We bought a whole day subway ticket as we arrived in Nagoya. The subway system is very much like the one in Korea. They have a few special carriages for ladies only during peak hours. I think that it’s a good idea, to avoid being molested by guys. We took the subway to City Hall and walked for about 5 minutes before reaching the entrance of Nagoya Castle. Nagoya is famous for its castles. The castle is the same height as a 14 storey building. It was drizzling at that time. It was tough sightseeing with an umbrella.
At around 11.40pm, we departed to another place. We were able to see Nagoya Tower as we got out from the subway station. There is an amazing underground shopping complex near the tower. The architecture is simply fantastic! We had our lunch at one of the restaurants there. Nagoya is famous for “kisimen”, a type of noodle almost similar to “koay teow”. I ordered Salmon kisimen, it is very tasty. It cost 900 Yen.
After lunch, Pei Jiuan’s host mother brought us to some anime shops. It is like a heaven for an anime fan like me. I was excited to see all sorts of anime products, not sellable in Malaysia. I saw many “My neighbor Totoro” products in one of the shops, but the products are very expensive. The modeling shops are selling a variety of models, from the normal figuring to “Gundam” models.
At around 2.30pm, we headed to Osu shopping area. It is a very huge shopping area with many shops and the prices are reasonable. I did not shop much there. I came across a very nice shop selling much cute merchandise but the shop is not on business as they are renovating. There several small temples and a big temple near the shopping area. The Buddhist statues in Japan sure are nice. Malaysia’s one is much simpler.
At around 4.30pm, we departed back to Hekinan by train. We need to change train for a few stations before reaching Hekinan. My host father’s youngest daughter, Satoe, just came back from Kyoto. She is a business student studying in Kobe University. She had just graduated recently. It is nice talking to her. My host father brought me to a “yukata” shop to buy a set of yukata before dinner. The whole set, including bag and shoes, cost 3,900 Yen, slightly more than RM100. We also went to the supermarket to buy some souvenirs (food). My host father paid for them.
My host family sure likes Western food. Satoe likes spaghetti a lot. The restaurant that we went to for dinner have a variety of spaghetti, such as spaghetti fried with olive oil. It was tasty. They ordered some other popular dishes there. I like the one with the fried bread and cheese on top and rice in the bottom. It is really tasty!
My host mother helped me to dress up for my “yukata”. She even gave me a set of her old “yukata” as a present for my mum. That “yukata” itself cost RM600, it is handmade and the quality is good.
At around 11.40pm, we departed to another place. We were able to see Nagoya Tower as we got out from the subway station. There is an amazing underground shopping complex near the tower. The architecture is simply fantastic! We had our lunch at one of the restaurants there. Nagoya is famous for “kisimen”, a type of noodle almost similar to “koay teow”. I ordered Salmon kisimen, it is very tasty. It cost 900 Yen.
After lunch, Pei Jiuan’s host mother brought us to some anime shops. It is like a heaven for an anime fan like me. I was excited to see all sorts of anime products, not sellable in Malaysia. I saw many “My neighbor Totoro” products in one of the shops, but the products are very expensive. The modeling shops are selling a variety of models, from the normal figuring to “Gundam” models.
At around 2.30pm, we headed to Osu shopping area. It is a very huge shopping area with many shops and the prices are reasonable. I did not shop much there. I came across a very nice shop selling much cute merchandise but the shop is not on business as they are renovating. There several small temples and a big temple near the shopping area. The Buddhist statues in Japan sure are nice. Malaysia’s one is much simpler.
At around 4.30pm, we departed back to Hekinan by train. We need to change train for a few stations before reaching Hekinan. My host father’s youngest daughter, Satoe, just came back from Kyoto. She is a business student studying in Kobe University. She had just graduated recently. It is nice talking to her. My host father brought me to a “yukata” shop to buy a set of yukata before dinner. The whole set, including bag and shoes, cost 3,900 Yen, slightly more than RM100. We also went to the supermarket to buy some souvenirs (food). My host father paid for them.
My host family sure likes Western food. Satoe likes spaghetti a lot. The restaurant that we went to for dinner have a variety of spaghetti, such as spaghetti fried with olive oil. It was tasty. They ordered some other popular dishes there. I like the one with the fried bread and cheese on top and rice in the bottom. It is really tasty!
My host mother helped me to dress up for my “yukata”. She even gave me a set of her old “yukata” as a present for my mum. That “yukata” itself cost RM600, it is handmade and the quality is good.
Day 6 in Japan
June 8, Thursday – We were told that we were unable to get a bath in the morning as it was too early. Normally the Japanese do not bath in the morning. Around 6.40am, the bathing side was available. Zi Qi and I faster rushed down to take our bath. The whole hot spring was empty. We had breakfast at around 7.45am. They have a culture of mixing the raw egg and eat with the rice, which we Malaysians find it unusual. At around 8pm, we departed.
Our next destination is “Sanzen-in”, a temple near our hotel. This temple has a very nice garden, it is cooling and quiet. The monk there explained to us the cultures of Japanese Buddhism. At 10.25am, we departed to Nara. The trip took more than 2 hours.
At around 1pm, we reached Nara. As we were approaching “Todaiji”, a temple in Nara, we saw many deer along the way. They were running in the wild, almost everywhere in the park. As we approached the temple, we saw even more of them. The crowd was feeding them with special biscuits (only for deer). Many stalls outside of the temple were selling deer soft toys. Before touring in the temple, we had our lunch outside, in one of the stalls. The food there is more expensive than in Kyoto. I ordered a dish with a mixture of fried pork, half-cooked egg and rice. It was delicious. The meal cost 900 Yen. The place was packed with school children and high school students. The primary school students are very cute with their yellow caps on. Everything in “Todaiji” is huge, from the gates, statues to the building. It is amazing! I wonder how they built this temple in the ancient times.
About 3pm, we departed to Igaryu Ninja Museum. It was drizzling as we reached. They demonstrated some of the Ninja skills and techniques. It was interesting. Then, we explored the museum on our own. Ninja is like a special squad. Normally they work as farmers to hide their true identities. They worked in the dark, and not as bodyguards. Ninjas have 6 disguise to hide their identity when they are on a mission. Those special techniques in the animation, “Naruto” are merely a fiction.
At around 5pm, we departed back to Hekinan. On our way there, we stopped by a 100 Yen shop in a shopping mall. The gaming center there is really nice. The toys and prizes are fabulous. There is a lot of machines in which you can put in some coins, normally about 100-200 Yen and draw out an item. I bought quite a number of stuff in the 100 Yen shop.
My host parents brought me to a new Western café for supper. They ordered a tiny pizza for me. The decorations of the restaurant is very nice, it is based on the Disneyland theme.
Our next destination is “Sanzen-in”, a temple near our hotel. This temple has a very nice garden, it is cooling and quiet. The monk there explained to us the cultures of Japanese Buddhism. At 10.25am, we departed to Nara. The trip took more than 2 hours.
At around 1pm, we reached Nara. As we were approaching “Todaiji”, a temple in Nara, we saw many deer along the way. They were running in the wild, almost everywhere in the park. As we approached the temple, we saw even more of them. The crowd was feeding them with special biscuits (only for deer). Many stalls outside of the temple were selling deer soft toys. Before touring in the temple, we had our lunch outside, in one of the stalls. The food there is more expensive than in Kyoto. I ordered a dish with a mixture of fried pork, half-cooked egg and rice. It was delicious. The meal cost 900 Yen. The place was packed with school children and high school students. The primary school students are very cute with their yellow caps on. Everything in “Todaiji” is huge, from the gates, statues to the building. It is amazing! I wonder how they built this temple in the ancient times.
About 3pm, we departed to Igaryu Ninja Museum. It was drizzling as we reached. They demonstrated some of the Ninja skills and techniques. It was interesting. Then, we explored the museum on our own. Ninja is like a special squad. Normally they work as farmers to hide their true identities. They worked in the dark, and not as bodyguards. Ninjas have 6 disguise to hide their identity when they are on a mission. Those special techniques in the animation, “Naruto” are merely a fiction.
At around 5pm, we departed back to Hekinan. On our way there, we stopped by a 100 Yen shop in a shopping mall. The gaming center there is really nice. The toys and prizes are fabulous. There is a lot of machines in which you can put in some coins, normally about 100-200 Yen and draw out an item. I bought quite a number of stuff in the 100 Yen shop.
My host parents brought me to a new Western café for supper. They ordered a tiny pizza for me. The decorations of the restaurant is very nice, it is based on the Disneyland theme.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Day 5 in Japan
June 7, Wednesday – At 8am, we gathered at City Hall. With 2 cars, Ogasawara’s and my host father’s rented car, we departed to Kyoto. My host mother and her friend, and Janice’s host sister also joined the trip. We had our lunch at around 12pm, in one of the restaurants found on our way to Kyoto. The restaurant was relatively cheap and each of us can order anything within 1,000 yen. The girls’ table ordered a set meal each and several side dishes while the guys’ side was over budget.
At around 1.10pm, we arrived at “sanjuusangendo”, a temple famous for its 1001 Buddhist statues. At around 2pm, we departed to the gold temple, “kinkakuji”. Visitors are not allowed to enter the building. The building was made up of pure gold. Then, we visited Heianji. We saw 2 girls dressing up in “kimono” and dragged them for some photos. I made a draw for foretelling my luck and it is “good”. My host mother and her friend went for some shopping and took a train back to Hekinan after that.
Then, we headed to a hotspring called “Oharo no Sato”, which means inside the great valley. It is located deep in the mountains as the name indicates. But, I like it there. It is very peaceful. Our plan to go for shopping at night was spoilt as the place is very deserted and impossible to get public transport around there. It is not a natural hotspring and it is much smaller than I thought. Around 4 of us stayed in a room. There were uniforms in the form of “yukata” prepared for us. All of us were shy as we need to get undress before entering the pool. The male and female pools were separated. The guys seemed to be very excited.
We had steamboat for dinner. After dinner, we had a scroll nearby. It was spooky as it was not well lightened around there. We headed back to the hotel and gathered at Boon Kiat’s room, transferring photos, chit-chatting, eating some snacks and taking photos. I think we were quite noisy. Even from other rooms on the same level, I could hear the noise coming from Boon Kiat’s room. On that night, we all slept with our “yukata” on.
At around 1.10pm, we arrived at “sanjuusangendo”, a temple famous for its 1001 Buddhist statues. At around 2pm, we departed to the gold temple, “kinkakuji”. Visitors are not allowed to enter the building. The building was made up of pure gold. Then, we visited Heianji. We saw 2 girls dressing up in “kimono” and dragged them for some photos. I made a draw for foretelling my luck and it is “good”. My host mother and her friend went for some shopping and took a train back to Hekinan after that.
Then, we headed to a hotspring called “Oharo no Sato”, which means inside the great valley. It is located deep in the mountains as the name indicates. But, I like it there. It is very peaceful. Our plan to go for shopping at night was spoilt as the place is very deserted and impossible to get public transport around there. It is not a natural hotspring and it is much smaller than I thought. Around 4 of us stayed in a room. There were uniforms in the form of “yukata” prepared for us. All of us were shy as we need to get undress before entering the pool. The male and female pools were separated. The guys seemed to be very excited.
We had steamboat for dinner. After dinner, we had a scroll nearby. It was spooky as it was not well lightened around there. We headed back to the hotel and gathered at Boon Kiat’s room, transferring photos, chit-chatting, eating some snacks and taking photos. I think we were quite noisy. Even from other rooms on the same level, I could hear the noise coming from Boon Kiat’s room. On that night, we all slept with our “yukata” on.
Day 4 in Japan
June 6, Tuesday – At around 9am, we gathered at City Hall and visited Hekinan Aquarium by bus. I was delighted to see the sea angels from Hokkaido. It looks like a demon with angel wings. I lost my camera on my way to the aquarium. Luckily someone found it and handed it to the reception at City Hall. Then, we visited a small park with full of Japanese Iris flowers. It is really beautiful. Then, we headed to a primary school in Hekinan.
As we arrived, we need to take off our shoes and wore the slippers in the lockers. 2 of us were assigned to the same classroom and attend the class together with other primary school children. Jian Rong and I were assigned to the international classroom, designed specially for foreign students who are poor in Japanese language and following the normal classes. We were like stars of the day, distributing bookmarks, coins and stamps. Some students even asked us for signatures. We had our lunch at the meeting room of the school. Lunch set was served. I don’t like the milk there. It was terrible.
Then, we headed to Mizkan for a demonstration on the tea ceremony. We all had problems sitting on our knees. It was tiring and I felt that my legs were going to be broken. There are many things more than just a cup of tea. There are manners and procedures to be followed, such as the way we sit and greet as the tea is served.
After the tea ceremony, we visited a new primary school built less than 6 months ago. This new school sure is very advance. There is an elevator and other advance facilities. Then, we headed to a Toyata factoring, doing on engine parts. It is nice seeing the inside of a car factory but I don’t understand their explanation. Then, we visited a wide parking lot with different models of Toyata cars, ready for export.
At around 5pm, we shopped for groceries for our dinner of the night, “sukiyaki”. The main ingredient of this dish is beef. It is a bit like steamboat with less water. We prepared the ingredients before going for the Judo and Kendo session at 7pm. I could not stay there for long without having a nice meal and departed early. I only managed to witness the Judo session. Jian Rong, Masao, Patrick and Audrey joined the practice.
As we arrived, we need to take off our shoes and wore the slippers in the lockers. 2 of us were assigned to the same classroom and attend the class together with other primary school children. Jian Rong and I were assigned to the international classroom, designed specially for foreign students who are poor in Japanese language and following the normal classes. We were like stars of the day, distributing bookmarks, coins and stamps. Some students even asked us for signatures. We had our lunch at the meeting room of the school. Lunch set was served. I don’t like the milk there. It was terrible.
Then, we headed to Mizkan for a demonstration on the tea ceremony. We all had problems sitting on our knees. It was tiring and I felt that my legs were going to be broken. There are many things more than just a cup of tea. There are manners and procedures to be followed, such as the way we sit and greet as the tea is served.
After the tea ceremony, we visited a new primary school built less than 6 months ago. This new school sure is very advance. There is an elevator and other advance facilities. Then, we headed to a Toyata factoring, doing on engine parts. It is nice seeing the inside of a car factory but I don’t understand their explanation. Then, we visited a wide parking lot with different models of Toyata cars, ready for export.
At around 5pm, we shopped for groceries for our dinner of the night, “sukiyaki”. The main ingredient of this dish is beef. It is a bit like steamboat with less water. We prepared the ingredients before going for the Judo and Kendo session at 7pm. I could not stay there for long without having a nice meal and departed early. I only managed to witness the Judo session. Jian Rong, Masao, Patrick and Audrey joined the practice.
Day 3 in Japan
June 5, Monday – I have breakfast with my host father at a coffee shop at 8.30am. He ordered sandwich sets for both of us. At 9.15am, we went to my host mother’s shop as it was still early for the next gathering at City Hall. It was a lovely shop with a small garden. I like the atmosphere there. At 9.45am, we arrived at the City Hall for the meeting with the Mayor. It was a very formal occassion. We were on TV and interviewed by newspapers! We even get to visit some of the meeting rooms for EXCOs. At around 12pm, we had lunch at the City Hall’s restaurant. I ordered a small bowl of “tori udon” (chicken noodle).
At 1pm, we visited a vinegar factory. The factory is located beside a river bank. We watched a video clip introducing vinegar and the factory. We had a small tour around the factory after that. It was hard understanding all the explanations in Japanese. At around 3pm, we visited a “sake” (rice wine) factory located nearby. These 2 factories are like brothers, related to each other. I bought a small bottle of unknown “sake” at 390 yen, approximately RM12. At around 3.50pm, we departed to the workplace of the clay dolls by using the Kinuura undersea tunnel. Currently, he is the only person doing it. He will only work when there are orders. Normally there are a lot of orders as festivals are approaching. The dolls are not cheap. After the visit, we had a small visit to Mr Ogasawara’s house before visiting a Japanese dolls shop. The cheapest doll cost 6,000 yen. Normally the dolls come in a pair.
At around 6pm, my host father brought me to an electronic shop to get a pair of batteries before going for our grocery shopping. We had “omuraisu” (egg rice) for dinner. It is very much like “nasi pataya” in Malaysia. I helped out in the preparation as well.
At 1pm, we visited a vinegar factory. The factory is located beside a river bank. We watched a video clip introducing vinegar and the factory. We had a small tour around the factory after that. It was hard understanding all the explanations in Japanese. At around 3pm, we visited a “sake” (rice wine) factory located nearby. These 2 factories are like brothers, related to each other. I bought a small bottle of unknown “sake” at 390 yen, approximately RM12. At around 3.50pm, we departed to the workplace of the clay dolls by using the Kinuura undersea tunnel. Currently, he is the only person doing it. He will only work when there are orders. Normally there are a lot of orders as festivals are approaching. The dolls are not cheap. After the visit, we had a small visit to Mr Ogasawara’s house before visiting a Japanese dolls shop. The cheapest doll cost 6,000 yen. Normally the dolls come in a pair.
At around 6pm, my host father brought me to an electronic shop to get a pair of batteries before going for our grocery shopping. We had “omuraisu” (egg rice) for dinner. It is very much like “nasi pataya” in Malaysia. I helped out in the preparation as well.
Monbugakusho Interview
June 20, Tuesday – I went to KL with the 10.30am bus yesterday. At around 7.30pm, I headed to Japan Embassy for my Monbugakusho scholarship. I departed from Aunty Good Cam’s house to Taman Bahagia station. It was raining and the traffic was heavy. From there, I took the LRT to Ampang Park. Almost every train was packed like sardines in the tin. I was unable to squeeze in for the first train and need to wait for more than 5 minutes for the next train. It sure was scary. Most of the passengers went down at the Masjid Jamek station. I took around 20 minutes to reach the Japan Embassy from Ampang Park by foot. My luggage was getting more and more heavy. As I reached, I need to fill in a form before entering the embassy. Japan Information Center is located on the upper floor of the building. I arrived slightly before the appointment time. Another candidate was already there as I arrived. Another lady from the embassy was arranging her documents and performing checking on them. 9am stated in the letter is actually the registration time and not the interview time.
My interview started at 9.30am and it took around 20 minutes. There were 5 panels – 3 Japanese and 2 Malaysians. One of the Japanese can speak fluent English despite his age. The questions were relatively general, regarding to the scholarship application, such as “why choose Japan?”, “explain about your thesis”, “any university that you want to go to?” and so on. I was very anxious before that. Then, I headed to Ampang Park with the help of another candidate and stayed at McDonald’s for about an hour before going to Puduraya. I arrived at Penang at around 5.45pm.
My interview started at 9.30am and it took around 20 minutes. There were 5 panels – 3 Japanese and 2 Malaysians. One of the Japanese can speak fluent English despite his age. The questions were relatively general, regarding to the scholarship application, such as “why choose Japan?”, “explain about your thesis”, “any university that you want to go to?” and so on. I was very anxious before that. Then, I headed to Ampang Park with the help of another candidate and stayed at McDonald’s for about an hour before going to Puduraya. I arrived at Penang at around 5.45pm.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
"You are beautiful"
Here is something interesting from my senior, Tie.
It is a modified lyrics based on the song, "You are beautiful" by James Blunt (found somewhere in the internet):
My job is stupid,
My day's a bore,
Inside this office,
From 8 to 4.
Nothing ever happens,
My life is pretty blank,
Pretending that I am working,
Pray that I don't get canned.
My cubicle, my cubicle,
It's 1 of 62,
It's my small space,
In a crowded place,
Just a six by six board booth,
And I hate it, that's the truth.
When I give a sigh,
As the boss walks by,
No one ever talks to me,
Or looks at me in the eye,
And I really should work,
But instead I just sit here,
And surf the internet.
And my cubicle, my cubicle,
It doesn't have a view,
It's my small space,
In a crowded place,
I sit inside there too,
And sometimes I sit here nude.
It is a modified lyrics based on the song, "You are beautiful" by James Blunt (found somewhere in the internet):
My job is stupid,
My day's a bore,
Inside this office,
From 8 to 4.
Nothing ever happens,
My life is pretty blank,
Pretending that I am working,
Pray that I don't get canned.
My cubicle, my cubicle,
It's 1 of 62,
It's my small space,
In a crowded place,
Just a six by six board booth,
And I hate it, that's the truth.
When I give a sigh,
As the boss walks by,
No one ever talks to me,
Or looks at me in the eye,
And I really should work,
But instead I just sit here,
And surf the internet.
And my cubicle, my cubicle,
It doesn't have a view,
It's my small space,
In a crowded place,
I sit inside there too,
And sometimes I sit here nude.
Busy!
For visitors who are expecting my remaining posts on my trip to Japan, I would like to apologize for the delay. I think that I will only complete them by next weekend. This week is a busy one, busy filling in my scholarship applications. There are many unusual requirements for the applications and they are giving me a big headache. I have to write 4 essays in total for my ASJA application - 2 essays with 400 words and another 2 essays with 800 words. Today I spend my whole day on the road, going here and there to do a last minute medical checkup. From morning to afternoon, there is traffic jam almost everywhere. There are many examinations to it and it costs RM155 in total, you can see a big hole in my pocket now.
My mum is very anxious on the application. At 5.30pm, I rushed down to Victoria Road near the Ferry terminal from my house in Sg. Ara with my dad, just to send the application by post laju. We were 10 minutes late as we arrived. After much negotiation and begging with the officer in-charged, she let us send the letter by today. Phew~ The heavy traffic is still the same when I headed back to my home. It is a tiring day indeed.
My mum is very anxious on the application. At 5.30pm, I rushed down to Victoria Road near the Ferry terminal from my house in Sg. Ara with my dad, just to send the application by post laju. We were 10 minutes late as we arrived. After much negotiation and begging with the officer in-charged, she let us send the letter by today. Phew~ The heavy traffic is still the same when I headed back to my home. It is a tiring day indeed.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Day 2 in Japan
June 14, Sunday – Today is family day. There was no specific schedule for the day. It was up to our host families on where they are going to bring us to. Early in the morning, I had breakfast with my host father. He prepared the dishes. At 8.30am, Ogasawa-san and his wife arrived. As my host father was busy, I spent the day with the Ogasawa family instead. It was about 24 Celcius. We went to several places in Mie-ken. It took us around 2 hours to reach there. Mrs. Ogasawa was very talkative. Both of them can speak a bit of English, broken but understandable. I was riding on a new Nissan car which can take up to a maximum of 8 passengers. I like its automatic doors and navigation system. When the driver uses the reverse gear, the screen will change to the scene at the back of the car. It is very convenient for the driver. On the way, we went thru the Triton Bridge - 3 different bridges, with the same design but different colors (blue, white and red). They have ETC (Electronic Toll System) which is similar to SmartTag in Malaysia.
First, we went to Meiwachuu. There was a festival there called “Saioh Matsuri”. It was a traditional celebration. “Saioh” is a title given the princess chosen by the king. She will lead the other princesses and supports in the country’s administration. There were many stalls there selling food, goods and games. There was traditional musical instrument performance. Then, we headed to the Saioh Museum. There was a performance on “kamishibai” there. “kamishibai” is paper drama. As the narrators narrate about the story of Saioh, the pictures change to show different scenes of the story. The famous food for this city is dried Udon (dried noodle). I do not find it tasty. I still prefer the one with soup.
After lunch, we headed to “Saioh no Mori” (Saioh’s Forest). There was a demonstration on the Saioh ceremony there. The ceremony started at 1pm. It was a long wait under the sun. There was a huge crowd over there. The ceremony lasted for about 2 hours. We visited the Japanese Iris plantation after that. It was a small pond with some Iris flowers. Saioh is somehow related to Iris, which is once a commonly found flower in the area.
Then, we headed to Isejin. Isejin is the biggest temple in Japan. On occasions, the Emperor visited the temple. The compound of the temple is huge, covering rivers and mountains surrounding it. The river there is called Isuzukawa. They believe that the God that guards the jungle lives there and worship it. The architecture of the temple is also interesting. There is a tradition for this temple. Every 20 years, they will tear it off and build it at another location located almost beside it. There are 2 locations and the temple will be build alternating between them. This tradition is in order to preserve the knowledge of building temples so that it will not be lost. However, they have recently changed the tradition to 25 years instead. There has been more than 60 times since they destroy and rebuilt this temple. There will be another 7 more years to go before they rebuild the temple on a new location.
Then, we visited the small shopping area beside Isejin. There are many shops with old architecture there. I love it! There are many interesting things to be seen there, such as handicrafts, food etc. There is a very famous shop there for Akago, a sort of rice cake with red bean sauce inside. It is extremely tasty. It was wonderful enjoying the delicacy beside the river bank, with a cup of green tea. 3 Akago cost 280 Yen.
There was a traffic jam on the way back. The petrol stations in Japan use automatic payment machines to sell petrol and hiring minimum workers. A liter of petrol cost around 115 Yen in Japan, almost double the price of petrol in Malaysia.
Then, we headed to Sugiura Kazuhiko’s house for a party. It was Patrik’s host family. There were many people there and the place was crowded. Most of them were friends. As I arrived, most of the food had been clear off. At around 9pm, I headed back with the Ogasawa family.
First, we went to Meiwachuu. There was a festival there called “Saioh Matsuri”. It was a traditional celebration. “Saioh” is a title given the princess chosen by the king. She will lead the other princesses and supports in the country’s administration. There were many stalls there selling food, goods and games. There was traditional musical instrument performance. Then, we headed to the Saioh Museum. There was a performance on “kamishibai” there. “kamishibai” is paper drama. As the narrators narrate about the story of Saioh, the pictures change to show different scenes of the story. The famous food for this city is dried Udon (dried noodle). I do not find it tasty. I still prefer the one with soup.
After lunch, we headed to “Saioh no Mori” (Saioh’s Forest). There was a demonstration on the Saioh ceremony there. The ceremony started at 1pm. It was a long wait under the sun. There was a huge crowd over there. The ceremony lasted for about 2 hours. We visited the Japanese Iris plantation after that. It was a small pond with some Iris flowers. Saioh is somehow related to Iris, which is once a commonly found flower in the area.
Then, we headed to Isejin. Isejin is the biggest temple in Japan. On occasions, the Emperor visited the temple. The compound of the temple is huge, covering rivers and mountains surrounding it. The river there is called Isuzukawa. They believe that the God that guards the jungle lives there and worship it. The architecture of the temple is also interesting. There is a tradition for this temple. Every 20 years, they will tear it off and build it at another location located almost beside it. There are 2 locations and the temple will be build alternating between them. This tradition is in order to preserve the knowledge of building temples so that it will not be lost. However, they have recently changed the tradition to 25 years instead. There has been more than 60 times since they destroy and rebuilt this temple. There will be another 7 more years to go before they rebuild the temple on a new location.
Then, we visited the small shopping area beside Isejin. There are many shops with old architecture there. I love it! There are many interesting things to be seen there, such as handicrafts, food etc. There is a very famous shop there for Akago, a sort of rice cake with red bean sauce inside. It is extremely tasty. It was wonderful enjoying the delicacy beside the river bank, with a cup of green tea. 3 Akago cost 280 Yen.
There was a traffic jam on the way back. The petrol stations in Japan use automatic payment machines to sell petrol and hiring minimum workers. A liter of petrol cost around 115 Yen in Japan, almost double the price of petrol in Malaysia.
Then, we headed to Sugiura Kazuhiko’s house for a party. It was Patrik’s host family. There were many people there and the place was crowded. Most of them were friends. As I arrived, most of the food had been clear off. At around 9pm, I headed back with the Ogasawa family.
Day 1 in Japan
June 3, Saturday – We arrived at Chubu Airport, Nagoya at around 7am. Our host families should be waiting for our arrival. I was worried when almost all the host families had arrived and my host father was nowhere to be seen. He was a bit late. Ogasawa-san, the head organizer of this year’s home stay greeted us. Then, we introduced ourselves according to our numbering. Then, we departed with our host families. My host father, Shigeyuki Kurauchi is very friendly. Chubu Airport is something like KL Central, a center for several transportations. It is a station for train, ship and flight. We headed to Hekinan City, where I am going to stay with his Toyota Crown, Royal Saloon. It is huge and wide. I love the car boot. I sure can put a lot of things inside. There is a navigation system in his car too!
My host father is a politician. My host mother is the owner of a nurse care center, a sort of service center for disabled senior citizens. I heard that her business is very good. My host father has 4 children – 1 son and 3 daughters. His youngest daughter is the same age as I, a management student in a university in Nagoya. Hekinan City reminded me of Busan, Korea. There are a lot of small shops, the road is not spacious and the electric wires are messy.
It took us around 40 minutes to reach my host father’s house. It is located just beside a road junction. He parked his car at the parking space opposite his house. It is sort of weird for a Malaysian. His house is a traditional wooden Japanese house with a small garden. We quickly unloaded my luggage and headed to a nearby supermarket. All the host families are supposed to gather there and shop for the materials for food of the night. There was a welcome party at night at 2nd floor, Hekinan City Hall. We will be making some Malaysian food for the Japanese to test out. After that I went home with my host father, took a nap and then prepared for my dish, “tang yuan”. My host father helped me out with rolling some of them.
Some of the foods prepared were such as “bak kuh teh”, black rice, “tomyam” and some other desserts. We performed a Chinese dance, 3 songs (namely Negaraku, Permata Dunia and My Neighbour Totoro theme song), demonstration on a bamboo game and introduction to Malay language.
The weather was cooling at night. I should have brought along my jacket.
My host father is a politician. My host mother is the owner of a nurse care center, a sort of service center for disabled senior citizens. I heard that her business is very good. My host father has 4 children – 1 son and 3 daughters. His youngest daughter is the same age as I, a management student in a university in Nagoya. Hekinan City reminded me of Busan, Korea. There are a lot of small shops, the road is not spacious and the electric wires are messy.
It took us around 40 minutes to reach my host father’s house. It is located just beside a road junction. He parked his car at the parking space opposite his house. It is sort of weird for a Malaysian. His house is a traditional wooden Japanese house with a small garden. We quickly unloaded my luggage and headed to a nearby supermarket. All the host families are supposed to gather there and shop for the materials for food of the night. There was a welcome party at night at 2nd floor, Hekinan City Hall. We will be making some Malaysian food for the Japanese to test out. After that I went home with my host father, took a nap and then prepared for my dish, “tang yuan”. My host father helped me out with rolling some of them.
Some of the foods prepared were such as “bak kuh teh”, black rice, “tomyam” and some other desserts. We performed a Chinese dance, 3 songs (namely Negaraku, Permata Dunia and My Neighbour Totoro theme song), demonstration on a bamboo game and introduction to Malay language.
The weather was cooling at night. I should have brought along my jacket.
Depart to Japan
Almost every meal was like a feast for my 3 days stay in Banting.
June 2, Friday – At 8.30pm, all the members of this year’s home stay gathered in front of KLIA’s McDonald. The trip consisted of 10 members, excluding sensei. 6 girls and 4 guys from MMU Malacca campus. We will be staying in different host families in Hekinan City as we arrive. Like any other flight that we took before, we check-in our luggage and headed to the immigration, before heading to the departure hall. We took the 11.45pm flight to Nagoya, Japan by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), collaboration with ANAI. It was an air bus, A330. We had a mini hamburger and an omelet breakfast set. Before departing, sensei told me that my host mother is not friendly, making me a bit worry. I was unable to have a nice sleep for the night, not because of the previous matter. Nagoya’s time is 1 hour faster than Malaysia’s.
June 2, Friday – At 8.30pm, all the members of this year’s home stay gathered in front of KLIA’s McDonald. The trip consisted of 10 members, excluding sensei. 6 girls and 4 guys from MMU Malacca campus. We will be staying in different host families in Hekinan City as we arrive. Like any other flight that we took before, we check-in our luggage and headed to the immigration, before heading to the departure hall. We took the 11.45pm flight to Nagoya, Japan by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), collaboration with ANAI. It was an air bus, A330. We had a mini hamburger and an omelet breakfast set. Before departing, sensei told me that my host mother is not friendly, making me a bit worry. I was unable to have a nice sleep for the night, not because of the previous matter. Nagoya’s time is 1 hour faster than Malaysia’s.
End of Exam!
There were a number of gatherings to attend to after my last paper.
June 25, Thursday – ISE students had a small photo session after our TRQ paper. It was nice. I had dinner with Jin, my FYP supervisor, Ms. Tee Connie and Mr. Michael Goh at TC Spring, around 6.30pm.
June 26, Friday - I went to Security and Finance department to complete my Clearance Form. I wonder why we need to do it manually. They should be able to do them automatically since everything is online. Ai Chin, Hui Shan, Mei Shin and I went to TC Spring for lunch and then headed to Mahkota Parade (MP). We watched “Da Vinci Code” at around 2.30pm. The movie is quite okay but too much information to be absorbed, much about Christianity. Then, we headed to Capitol Satay Celup for dinner. It cost RM0.50 per stick. Our last destination is Jongker Walk. As it was drizzling before that, there were not as many people as usual.
June 27, Saturday - We had a small gathering of 9 people among our gang at 12pm, TC Spring. We ordered 6 dishes. It was like a feast. I sent Soon Jin and Xiao Wan off to Melaka Sentral after that.
I went for a gathering at UA (University Apartment) at 8pm. There was not much food. The barbeque fire was up quite late. There were more than 20 people, fewer than I expected. Melvin invited me to Pure Bar after the barbeque. Ai Chin and I headed there with a few other friends at around 11.30pm. It was a 2 storey shop lot. The place was very crowded, barely able to find a place to stand and breadth. The disco lights were making me dizzy. Most of the girls who went there were dressing up sexily. Many drank liquor. I did not like the place at all. I reached home at around 3am after a long wait. It was raining heavily. I was soaking wet as I reached.
June 28, Sunday – I sold one of my 3 layer bookshelf to Ai Chin while Poh Kim sold off his computer table. We moved our stuff there at around 12pm. I last saw her at around 4.30pm with Danny. It was a busy day for packing my stuff.
June 29, Monday – I had dedicated my whole day to house moving. House moving sure was very tiring. It was hard to decide what to throw away and what to keep. There were way too many things! The whole house was extremely dusty and the living room was packed with things. I had use up much of my energy and was extremely exhausted.
June 30, Tuesday – My parents arrived in Malacca at 5am. I packed up the remaining stuff in the morning. My landlord came at 12pm to settle with us about the house deposit. He was very picky. He even brought along a checklist and deducted RM50 for our house’s cleanliness and RM2.50 for each missing keys. I had lunch with Cindy and my family at Family Heritage. The fried taufu with sweet and sour sauce there was nice. My father and brother headed to Cyberjaya first to get the house keys from his landlord. We departed to there after the lorry came and had all the stuff loaded. The lorry only arrived at Cyberjaya at 9pm, one hour after we arrived. Then, we headed to my grandaunt’s house at Banting.
June 25, Thursday – ISE students had a small photo session after our TRQ paper. It was nice. I had dinner with Jin, my FYP supervisor, Ms. Tee Connie and Mr. Michael Goh at TC Spring, around 6.30pm.
June 26, Friday - I went to Security and Finance department to complete my Clearance Form. I wonder why we need to do it manually. They should be able to do them automatically since everything is online. Ai Chin, Hui Shan, Mei Shin and I went to TC Spring for lunch and then headed to Mahkota Parade (MP). We watched “Da Vinci Code” at around 2.30pm. The movie is quite okay but too much information to be absorbed, much about Christianity. Then, we headed to Capitol Satay Celup for dinner. It cost RM0.50 per stick. Our last destination is Jongker Walk. As it was drizzling before that, there were not as many people as usual.
June 27, Saturday - We had a small gathering of 9 people among our gang at 12pm, TC Spring. We ordered 6 dishes. It was like a feast. I sent Soon Jin and Xiao Wan off to Melaka Sentral after that.
I went for a gathering at UA (University Apartment) at 8pm. There was not much food. The barbeque fire was up quite late. There were more than 20 people, fewer than I expected. Melvin invited me to Pure Bar after the barbeque. Ai Chin and I headed there with a few other friends at around 11.30pm. It was a 2 storey shop lot. The place was very crowded, barely able to find a place to stand and breadth. The disco lights were making me dizzy. Most of the girls who went there were dressing up sexily. Many drank liquor. I did not like the place at all. I reached home at around 3am after a long wait. It was raining heavily. I was soaking wet as I reached.
June 28, Sunday – I sold one of my 3 layer bookshelf to Ai Chin while Poh Kim sold off his computer table. We moved our stuff there at around 12pm. I last saw her at around 4.30pm with Danny. It was a busy day for packing my stuff.
June 29, Monday – I had dedicated my whole day to house moving. House moving sure was very tiring. It was hard to decide what to throw away and what to keep. There were way too many things! The whole house was extremely dusty and the living room was packed with things. I had use up much of my energy and was extremely exhausted.
June 30, Tuesday – My parents arrived in Malacca at 5am. I packed up the remaining stuff in the morning. My landlord came at 12pm to settle with us about the house deposit. He was very picky. He even brought along a checklist and deducted RM50 for our house’s cleanliness and RM2.50 for each missing keys. I had lunch with Cindy and my family at Family Heritage. The fried taufu with sweet and sour sauce there was nice. My father and brother headed to Cyberjaya first to get the house keys from his landlord. We departed to there after the lorry came and had all the stuff loaded. The lorry only arrived at Cyberjaya at 9pm, one hour after we arrived. Then, we headed to my grandaunt’s house at Banting.
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