What I Think Of Japan

Hmmm......... time really flies. I've already been back in Malaysia for a week now. The past week has been really hectic, what with having to do a lot of catch-up workwise, and also having to sort out the souvenirs.

Overall it was a really great trip that I had in Japan, thanks to my niece Ange. Without her, I wouldn't be having some of the most tasty food around Kobe, and also won't even be able to catch a ride on their trains ! EVERYTHING is in Japanese, EVERYONE speaks Japanese ONLY. It's like I suddenly became an illiterate person !

Most are over polite, speaking to me in Japanese even AFTER I have spoken to them in English, saying that "I'm sorry, but I don't understand Japanese". They will nod their heads, then continue their level best to try and explain to me about something. And they REALLY like to queue. Whether it's for paying, boarding train, washroom, food, check-in, traffic lights, they will queue. As you know, we Malaysians seldom do that, so it was a bit odd.

When the Japanese drivers reach a traffic light junction at night, they will turn down the lights so that it is not glaring for on-coming motorists or people crossing the road, which seems like a good idea. What I find odd is that when you are on the escalator in Kansai, you have to stand on the RIGHT and walk on the LEFT. And yes, ONLY in Kansai.

People there are very "stick-like" because most of them are thin. Can't even buy clothes there. Nothing fits. All for those thin Jap girls. And they really pile on the makeup before leaving the house. Even those 60-80 year olds are dressed to kill and had on makeup, and they looked better than me !

Another funny thing is that most of the tables, chairs, washing basin and even their toilet bowls are so LOW. Initially, I thought the one in Ange's house was meant for kids ! But the weird thing was, the bathtub was darn tall ! Almost had trouble climbing in, with a darn small space for the bathroom. I wonder how old folks are going to climb into that bathtub.

It's a nice country, because it is reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaallllllllyyyyyyyyyy CLEAN. And everyone is environment-friendly, with plenty of rubbish bins at the train stations that sorts plastic bottles from normal rubbish. Also, although there are no rubbish bins anywhere on the road, people there do not simple throw rubbish on the road. Instead, they will take the rubbish home to throw.

They are also disabled-people friendly, having many amenities for the blind and the lame in most places, and they allow guide dogs to accompany the blind people, even into shopping malls. And yes, they really love their dogs. They have many shops selling clothes and toys for their dogs. Some of these clothes, collars, doggy bags (to keep pooches in), toys and even dog bowls are more expensive than the clothes or shoes Ange buys for herself !

Their standard of living is so much better than us in Malaysia, which is why they can afford nice stuff. Their 100 yen shop sells quality goods, and with the salary that they are earning, Japanese can really live comfortably, unlike us Malaysians.

When I was there, it was really cold and had low humidity, thus although having to wear the multitude layers of clothes were cumbersome, at least while Ange prodded me with a stick to climb stairs, hills, wait for buses / trains, walk a few miles, I didn't really sweat. Hehe... okok... I'll admit it, she didn't prod me with a stick. The only problem is food and drinks also become cold very fast, thus one meal at home may require the microwave to be used at least 5 times !

Another thing I like is that there are no mosquitoes or flies or cockroaches or lizards. And the crisps, biscuits or popcorn that we open to consume stays crispy for days ! Being able to sit in the living room with no mosquitoes using me as blood bank and not having to switch on the aircond to feel cold was great.

My only regret was that the sakuras only bloomed AFTER I left ! I only managed to see ONE single tree with sakura blooming, in Himeji castle. Sigh...... but then again, when the sakuras bloom, it means that the weather has turned warm, so I'd be sweating like mad. Well, win some, lose some.

I really went to quite a number of places during my visit there. Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara and of course, USJ. Although my poor back and legs were "complaining" so much, in the end, I still managed to accomplish quite a fair bit. Ange had to adjust her "walking speed" to accomodate me, but hehe.... old oledi ma.... watodo......

Anyway, it was a fruitful trip for me, and I really enjoyed eating ALL the delicious food ! Korean BBQ, Cheese Fondue, Ton-Katsu, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, parfait, haagan daz, custard bun, and not forgetting, their really really really really delicious puddings ! Hehehe... never liked the pudding in Malaysia, but those in Japan, YUMMY ! Even those cheaper ones sold in the convenience stores were sooooooooooo nice ! And of course the nice souvenirs I got for MYSELF to remind me of this Japan trip lar.........

Back on home soil

Yes folks, I am back in Malaysia, KL already. Reached here 6pm on 25th March, after the plane got delayed 30 minutes due to some idiot who checked in but didn't turn up at the gate. They had to search and remove the luggages that were checked-in earlier. Sigh..... some people !

Anyway, I am still tired from my trip, and anyhow, I'm already back at work. I will summarize my trip to Japan in another post later, and also some pictures of my extremely smart niece who just graduated her Masters ..........

Nara

The last city I visited in Japan was Nara. The place we went to was the Nara Temple, where they had deers running ALL over the place. The deers are mostly fat and not afraid of people at all. There were stalls nearby selling food (or rather crackers) that we can buy.
Some had pretty backsides... hehe.... also, there are these people going around cleaning up their feces, which actually looked like little pebbles.
This is the temple entrance

These people are lighting up joss sticks to give thanks to the buddha.
Pretty ya ?
This is where people are allowed to wash their hands after touching the deers.
This is the biggest bronze sculpture in the world. It was HUGE.

This is a beautiful replica of the temple. Wonder if it is also coated in gold since it was so shiny and bright.

This hole is for people to crawl through, especially if you have any wishes to make.
People buy these plaques to write down their wishes
Both Ange and myself had a go at getting a "chim" from this. It was in English so I could understand what was written. I got a "Good Luck" and she got a "Best Luck".
People with sickness are supposed to touch this idol, depending on where your pain is, after which you are supposed to be healed.

Ange lighting a joss stick.

Plum blossoms in full bloom
Close up of the deer
A lake with one or two ducks

We bought home some ingredients for Ange to cook. Why not me ? Hehe... I dunno how to cook.

Fried veges.....
The salad she made was YUMMY
She also fried beef cubes.
Lastly, she made lobak soup.... yummy meal... Was so full that night.

Next Stop : Osaka

We went to Osaka to visit the Osaka Aquarium and also to take a ride on one of the world's biggest ferris wheel. However, before going there, Ange had to collect her air ticket from the agent in Osaka. After collecting it, we went for Korean food. This is "bibimba", rice in hot stone bowl. Quite nice.
Haha....this is me in the ferris wheel on the way up to the top.
This is the Osaka Aquarium. It's home to fishes, ducks, pengiuns, whale, sharks, stingrays, beavers, seals, dolphins, crocodiles, otters, and many many more. Better than the aquarium in Singapore.
Here are some lazy seals lying in the hot sun, resting. Don't let their bulk fool you, they are really great swimmers in the water, graceful and FAST.
These are the pengiuns, which were HUGE. There are some "kids", who still have their fur. It was feeding time, and it was fun to watch. One of the pengiuns kept harrassing the keeper to feed it... hehe.
After that, we went to Dotonburi in search of dinner.

These fellas are making okonomiyaki in the open. Japs like to eat okonomiyaki and taroyaki.
Ange took me to a shop that sells okonomiyaki. We sat in front of a "hot plate" and once they bring the okonomiyaki and other food, they will place it there to keep it warm for us.
We went back to to Umeda and took a photo of this ferris wheel that is waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy on top of building.

Whole Day At Kyoto

After a day of "rest", Ange took me to Kyoto to see all the famous temples. The one below here is Kinkakuji or Gold Temple. This whole temple is coated with gold, hence its golden look. Can't even get near to scrape some home... hehe.

This is a place where you can make a wish and throw money into the bowl. Didn't waste my money here coz the Jap God wouldn't have understood what I meant.
Next we went to see Ginkakuji, or Silver Temple. The rooftops are all made of silver, but compared with Kinkakuji, this one looks more simple and rundown.
However, there were some interesting sand sculptures around this temple. Yeah, this HUGE thing was totally made out of sand.
Also interesting were the moss around the temple. They even had this sign here with a display of all the moss in the temple. Cute leh.......
Then Ange took me to see Kiyomizu Temple, where I had to CLIMB all the way up a steep street. Luckily there were plenty of things to see to distract me from the ardous task ! The climb was worth it though. The temple is really beautiful.
As we came down, we met some geishas. Not very pretty though.... but EVERYONE wanted to take photos with them.
We went to Kyoto Station and took photo of the Kyoto Tower, another KL-Tower thingy. To me, it looks like a donut on a stick, or an UFO that crashed down on a tower. Hehe..... not that our KL Tower looks any better lar......
Lastly we went to Gion for dinner. This is the old district of Gion, where there are many "okiya" that houses geishas.

Conclusion ? A well-spent day, but my poor poor poor poor legs were sending me signals that I overused them ! They decided to rebel and by the end of the days, I was almost crawling home instead of walking.

Easy Day

By the 4th day in Japan, I decided that today I need to "rest" my legs coz they felt like they will be falling off any time. I told Ange that she can ship them home and order new ones if we continue walking like the past few days. Anyway, she took me out for parfait in Sannomiya and we bought home some ingredients for steamboat.

See my satisfied look while enjoying the delicious parfait. Hehe. These are some of the things we bought for the steamboat at home.
We bought lots of mushrooms (yummy, my favourite) and dumped everything in. There's also nice local beef (from Kobe) and pork slices. We also bought some sashimi clams, which can be eaten either raw or dumped into the steamboat.

Having steamboat in such a cold environment is really enjoyable, since the hot soup and heat from the stove kept us warm. A great meal, and my compliments to the chef (Ange lar..)