DAY 3: This is “JAPAN”!

Hello there everyone!

Today was like a real life Japanese Culture studies class kind off outing?
Oh gosh… I don't understand what I just typed…
HAHA! Anyways~~~

Morning was another home cooked Japanese + American breakfast.
It was like… Japanese seasoned rice with Sunny side up egg and sausages.
Anyways, woke up about 8.30am, Yurina woke me up.
She had to leave for her part time job.
So it was sort of rushed.
Reina had already left for school for her Dance club practise.

Left the house about 9.20am.
Sent her to the train station which she will take about 1 hour to Nagoya.
Then Reina's mom and I waited at the station for her sister.
About… 10.40am, she arrived.

We then proceeded to Okazaki Castle!
It was like to know more about the history of Takugawa Ieyasu as well as to see the SAKURA!!!
Apparently, this year, the Sakura is blooming abit late because of the cold weather.
Today it was EXTREMELY COLD! They said today's temperature was like winter!
Imagine… if the Japanese found it cold… what about me?
Gosh… it was really cold~ and I took videos of the Sakura trees… my hand was almost numb!
Actually, the coldness came from the strong winds.
I felt like I was about to be blown away~~

Anyways, we went to the castle and explored the whole area~
I really learnt a lot.
Here is the video I have put together:

Here is a picture where I became a samurai for a few minutes:
Had my lunch at the castle.
I had Soba~
Here is a pic:

It was delicious!

After all that, there was about a few minutes and Reina's mom had to pay for the parking ticket so we went to the Okazaki library~
Apparently, Reina and Yurina would come to this library and study for the whole day when their exams are near.
Here is a pic of it:
Isn't it amazing?
I couldn't believe that this was a library!

After that, we parted ways with Reina's mom's sister, and Reina's mom brought me to a Kimono shop cause she had to pass the shopkeeper something.
When we reached there, everyone knew each other! @_@
Amazing!
Apparently Reina's Mom has always been their customer for years.
Reina's mom said that you can get Kimonos there for a cheaper price.
The shop wasn't busy at that time so one of the shopkeeper introduced the Kimonos to me.
Her name was Aya-chan.
She told me everything from the kind of cloth, the techniques they used to colour it, the difference between a real traditionally printed Kimono from a different kind of printing, to the meaning of the patterns on the Kimonos.
It's amazing how all of them have their own meaning.
You know what… they even allowed me to try on 2!!!!!
@_@
They are sooo kind!
They said it's fine since there is no customers at the moment.
Here are the pics of the 2 Kimonos I tried on:
Apparently, these are the Kimonos which girls wear before they are married.
I forgot to ask if they have already married.
Had lots of fun~
Aya-chan was so kind.

We then left to pick Reina up from school.
Then we went back to the Kimono shop as Reina wanted a new Yukata.
She picked hers and they asked me to pick mine! @_@
I'm really one lucky girl… ><

Then we went to the Supermarket to buy some fish for dinner and some bread as snacks on the way home.
Now I'm at home, writing this post at 7.50pm smelling the delicious smell coming from the Kitchen.
Apparently, dinner is ready~
So I'll be off~
Tomorrow we are going to watch Reina's dance performance! I can't wait~!

DAY 2: It’s not a dream.

Today I have gotten used to this dream like place, named, Japan.

Hi there everyone~!

I'm doing great here.
Being fed with good Japanese food and as usual, everyday is a new experience~!

This morning I woke up bout 9.30am cause we had to pick Reina's friends from the train station by 10am.
Quickly woke up, ate homemade Japanese breakfast and quickly got ready.
Drove there, picked them up, ordered McDonalds and drove back.

A cute caravan across the street~

My first Sakura tree shot up close~

It's petals on the ground~

TAIYAKI : it's a famous Japanese snack but it is rare to find it in thise cute small size. It like some breadlike thingy with red bean paste in it. For a person like me who doesn't really like red bean paste, I kind of liked it~

Was still pretty tired from yesterday so I napped in the car.

Reached back at Reina's place and sat down to have lunch.
Reina's friends are from the same school and the same club, dancing club.
They are Tsuki and Shizu.

Tsuki was cool like kind of girl and Shizu was the cute quiet type.
Today they got together to practise for their performance which is 2 days from now.
After lunch I followed them to their practise.
They practised at the Primary school near her house.
We walked there.
Here are the sceneries of Reina village which was on the way:

The scenery is just breathtaking.
It was COLD!! But I managed~
Here is like a short film of when I was walking towards the school with them.

It was really interesting.
Reina and co. actually choreographed their dance steps on the spot.
Their dance was very interesting.
It is like hip-hop, mixed with a bit of ballet and etc.
The music was like a pop song with a Jazz feel.
It was really a fusion thing which makes it so unique in its own way.

Had a drink and napped for a while.
4pm came and it was time to send them back and……… meet up with all the past Japanese Friends who came to Malaysia! YAY!
It's been 3 years since I last saw them.
I was so glad that Reina and Yurina organised this!
Apparently they themselves haven't met each other for about a year plus because they have been separated into different High Schools.
So it was like a reunion to them too!
We met in AEON and had dinner there.
They chose to eat in this restaurant which served the Katsu dons, except a bit more high class~
Here is the picture of my dinner:

It was really really awesome! It's Don Katsu.

They talked and talked. It was amazing.
I actually was witnessing a real life Japanese High school student conversation!
Then I was sitting there listening to them talk about their Middle school days and all… it made me realise, no matter if we were Malaysian students or Japanese students, we are not that different.
Well, except maybe in the sense that they are more serious in their clubs compared to a lot of schools in Malaysia…
They are actually having their Spring holidays now but they still go to school almost everyday for their clubs!
But of course there will be some who really just want to skip and relax at home.

After all the catching up was done, we left to take PURIKURA together.
For those who don't know, PURIKURA is the taking the photo in those Photo Booths they have in the Arcades (which they call Game Centre in Japan) There are those which are not in the Game Centers too~
8 of us fitted inside~!
Here were our photos:



After that we went our own ways and returned home.
That's all for today~
Tomorrow it will be SAKURA TREES!! YAY!!!!

DAY 1 : Am I dreaming?

Hello there everyone!

I only had about 2 hours sleep in the plane cause I was watching a show (New Nodame Cantabile Movie: Part 1) and also the seat wasn't that comfortable…

But I was really fascinated with the services available for you on the plane.
The best part was, at night, we were above the clouds so I could see the stars! SO CLEARLY!
Besides, that, I WOKE UP IN TIME FOR THE SUNRISE!!! YAY!!! It was beautiful!! Here are some pics of it:

My breakfast (Japanese Style =P):


My ratings out of 5 are:

Comfort : 2
Food: 5
Entertainment: 5
Service: 5
Environment: 3.5

I landed safely in Chubu International Airport, Nagoya, Japan.
The first shock of the day was…

"Good morning everyone, I am your captain speaking, we will reach Nagoya in another …… and the temperature is 5゜C . we are now flying…."
5゜C

My heart died.
Those who know me will know why~~ haha!

** Please note that from here onwards, I will follow the Japan time zone, which is 1 hour faster than Malaysia, +9.**
** My host friend is Reina. Her older sister is Yurina. **

Time landed: 8.10am
They are as strict as Thailand… In the sense that they recorded both of my index finger prints' and the actually took my picture~!
So got that all settled, luggage came in one piece, a little scratched though ( AND ITS NEW!!! *CRIES*)
Got out of the immigration with my luggage in 1 piece at about 8.40am.
Yurina and her mother recognised me straight away!
They said I look exactly the same as I did 3 years ago XD (Banzai to my youth~! HEEHEE!!)
Reina was busy with school so she couldn't make it.
When I was in the immigration area I found out that the phone I borrowed from Home wasn't 3G… (and everyone around me were already receiving signals, smses and calls… sigh)
Got me a little frustrated… haha
They then introduced me to a prepaid calling card which is for International Calls. (￥1000) It lasts about… 20 minutes. So it is pretty worth it.
Called mom.

Here comes the next surprise…
I had this misunderstanding where I thought that Yurina was driving there.
I was WRONG!
They led me to the train station connected to the airport and bought the tickets.
I found out that the train ride lasts 1 hour (inclusive of 2 stops) from the Airport to the last station.
Well, it was an experience. Went in with my violin and luggage.
Carried it up and down stairs~
From the last station to their house is about another 30 mins.
But because of this, I managed to have a nice long chat with Yurina and her mother.
I found out that the Sakura trees are only starting to bloom.
They only bloomed here and there. But it is not full yet.
I think they will take me to see it on Tuesday.
Those that were bloomed already were… beautiful! Imagine a whole area of them *drools*
Here is a little video of the drive from the last station to AEON:


Another surprise:
I only had big YENs… I needed smaller ones… Guess where they asked me to get the change?
I needed to change ￥10 000 into smaller notes.
*drumroll*
The answer is……………… "A CONVENIENCE STORE!"
They told me, go and buy a sweet or something and just use the ￥10 000.
My jaw dropped.
I bought a drink, and I gave the cashier the ￥10 000… the cashier… took it like it was nothing and changed it happily for me with lots of smaller notes.
Culture shock…!
Well my day didn't stop there… It had just begun…

After we reached the car, they found out that I wanted to buy a new sim card for the Japanese phone which Chea Yii had lent to me.
So they thought that AEON (their shopping mall) would have it so Reina's mother drove Yurina and me there.
Before that, remember how it was 5゜C outside?
I FROZE when I walked out of the airport.
Even with the fleece Jacket.
I FROZE.
So they took me to AEON to get me a warmer Jacket.
It was surprisingly cheap! For its quality! It was about RM50.
And it was really cool looking!
Then we proceeded to get the Sim card.
Found out that that place didn't have it so we went to YAMADA ELECTRONICS!
That is because I also wanted to buy an electronic dictionary since the book ones back in Malaysia is almost invalid for my current level.
AEON had it but… we thought maybe there are cheaper ones.
The cheapest they had was ￥17000

Arrived at Yamada Electronics.
A BIG building just for all the electronics products.
First we asked for the sim card… they didn't have it @_@!
Then we looked at the electronic dictionaries.
They were having a sale and stock clearance! YAY!
So I got a good one for ￥14800

Then we drove to another store to get the sim card.
Don't have…. @_@ I felt sooo bad ….
Then this shop gave us the map on the stores which do sell them.
So we decided to go and buy it when we pick Reina up from school.
By now it was already 1pm.
Everyone was hungry.
We found a ramen store nearby and we ate there.

IT WAS CHEAP! And on top of that, they served HUGE portions!
Here are the pics:

It was only ￥420 or less…
It was good too~~!

Then we drove home.
I put all my stuff down and I watched TV with Yurina and her father until it was time to pick Reina up.
Went to pick Reina.
Went to her school, about another 30mins drive from her house.
I swear! You can do drifting there and back, uphill and down hill.

Then we went to Softbank's store and bought the SIM card. Its called USIM.
It's a prepaid USIM for ￥300.
Got it working, and we rushed around to do some last minute shopping for dinner.

DINNER WAS FUN!
We made our own Takoyaki, onigiri, BBQ meat and their neighbours (Souma and his family) whom I know as well, came over as well!

Here is the vid:

Then we walked over to Souma's house and played Wii!
And then played one game of cards.
We left at… 12 am.

HAHA!

That's all of my CRAZILY BUSY 1^st day. A real adventure.
I know tomorrow will be an exciting day too! You'll know soon~!

I'm missins everyone in Malaysia! @_@ I really wish you all are here with me to experience everything.
I still feel like I'm actually watching a Japanese drama from my PC…
Japan is really a totally different world all together.
I'll put it as that for now.
And I'm truly amazed on how I survived today XD
Lot's of LOVE to back home!!

Dakeru, signing out~!

Sorry : No internet

Hi everyone.

So sorry there wasn't any updates the whole week.

I couldn't get internet connection at my Host Family's house for the past week.

Now I have it and will be spamming my blog with updates in a few minutes.

Thank you for your co-operation.

-Dakeru