Matsumoto trip

Last month in July, I went for a 3-day trip to Matsumoto at Nagano. Well, I loved the place, it was so green and serene. I think Nagano is a great place to visit during summer. It is still hot outside though, but the moment you see the greeneries and cold water in the river, you will be delighted.

So, how to get there? There are several ways: one way is to take shinkansen from tokyo (the most expensive), take the special express train (middle) or taking the bus (the cheapest). Let me tell you, if you do not book the bus ticket early, you would not get the seat during peak season. We booked pretty late and have to be satisfied with the special express train.

As for accomodation, there are many hotels and youth hostel too. We lived at the youth hotel. I forgot the link, but will post it soon because the hostel is exceptionally clean and the owner is really friendly and helpful. The house is also next to the river, so it is just a nice place.

Where to go? Actually I never planned for it. Sigh. C’mon, I do not really like travelling in the first place. Thankfully, my friend planned for the iteneries really really well. The places we visited are really beautiful place.

On the first day, we went to matsumoto in the morning, from there we put our luggage in the locker on the train station and headed to hatako, where the wasabi farm is. At hatako, we rented bicycles and cycled through the city. The wasabi farm was really cool because wasabi does not grow on soil. It grows on clean water. The place is really serene. I loved it. After the wasabi farm, we visited a wine shop and basically trying all the wine that were on display. Hhehe, when something comes free, dont hesitate! Anyway, from there, we went back to matsumoto and visited the matsumoto castle, which is one of the important castle in Japan, in fact it is one of the 4 national treasure. Well, after looking at sooooooooooo many castles which look almost the same,  I could not figure out whether this one is really better than the rest. Anyway, the thing that surprise me the most is how it is possible to make everything the same. It is like, one they see something is nice, they will just replicate it. Well, I guess that philosophy is apparent on the locales’ live here.

On the second day, we went to this high mountain, kamikochi. THe name means God came to earth. How true is the name. The place is basically a natural reserve with 2 beautiful lakes. Oh ya, we need to take bus to get there, the bus journey is almost 2 hours. I loved the lake, it was very clear and it reflected the blue sky. yeah, it is really beautiful. worth going.

On the third day, we went to Utsukushigahara highland. It was a beautiful place. Slightly on the highland, with all the grass and many cows. The sad thing was my camera was broken and because of the intensive trip for the past 2 days, the last day I was already exhausted. Thus, despite all the beauty scenery, my body was struggling to meet the demand of the terrain.

Anyway, I have to say that nagano, eventhough not as popular as hokkaido, osaka or sendai, is a place worth visiting. The only drawback is the food. Hehhehe, the food is just average.

Ok, that is all

summer holiday

Yeah, it is summer holiday this week. However, I decided to stay in town due to the high cost of travelling during this summer period. My friends are going to Hokkaido, but well, that one is not for me. I prefer to use the money for some shopping, which does not come cheap too.

Anyway, I have to say that Japan is a great place for shopping. I mean it literally. I never favour shopping, to me, shopping is a total waste of time and money. As someone with basic mentality, I would prefer to live as a minimalist. But but… Japan is really condusive for shopping. Why? Well, there are many magazines to help you identify the latest model, every girl is just soooo impeccable that you could not help but to change your outfit. Btw,  I never leave house with out at soft-make up!. On top of that, the salesgirls are just so friendly and will assist everything that you need. Yeah, they make sure you get the right size, the right shape and they will complement your looks. WOW, sooooooooooooooo cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Yeah, those are the keywords! Anyway, I have to say that Japan product is also very good. Top notch, even for a normal brand. Of course it also comes with a price. Hhaha, but it comes with quality.

I also would like to talk about their bra size.  Gosh, I quite love the bra style here. Hhahaha, it has many many shapes, styles and sizes. But but.. I have been losing weight recently and errrrrrrrrrrrr it leads to the reduction to the bra size too! Could you believe it! :angry:

Hmm I loved the shoes here too. Gosh. The variety is just expansive and the design is really nice. I have to say that Japan has much higher sense of fashion than singapore.

Oh ya, today I visited one mng shop in shibuya. Well, let me tell you, the shop is totally unlike singapore mng. The products are not really good and well, it seems that the brand could not compete with so many other brand than invested japan. yeah, sad isn’t it.

Ok, that’s all.

I love Japan

I have never thought I would ever go to Japan for such a period of time. I have not previously fancied Japan. I liked anime of course, but not that much. I have not even watched japanese dorama before I knew I would go here. In the past, it is america which amazed me. I think America is great, it is full of innovation, creativity and of course they also talk a little too much, i.e. they called it presentation skill. I am always amazed at how hollywood makes her movies and dramas. Yeah, when the came out with new drama series, the first things that came to my mind was ‘wow, how could they have thought of that!’. Many of their ideas are relatively new, or perhaps they took them from other parts of the world, who the hell knows. It just always seems, they came out with sth new most of the time.  The other area that amused me is their entrepernuership spirits that is apparent to us all. It seems they can always come up with something and make it succeed. Of course they are many failed start-ups that I never knew of. Anyway, it is America that I wanted most to know more. I love it vibrancy, diversity and its confidence.

Japan is relatively different or much much different. I have lived here for almost a year and I can observe how the locals here live their lives. I am really surprised that the people are not risk-takers. Even for big organisation, it is a surprised that they love status quo. I believe everyone would prefer no change, change is scary because the outcome is unkown. However, in the case of Japan, it is just a little too extreme. It is like everybody just have to follow everything and no need to ask why. Well, I may be wrong, but that is the impression that I perceive. In short, it is not easy to be a Japanese. Every aspect of their life is guided and it almost only favours the ‘academically smart’ people. I almost see no oppoturtunity for those not on the top of the prestigious university. It is not surprising when I heard that Japanese will study very hard to enter a particular university and will wait for another year just to get enrolled should they failed on the first attempt. It is also a little scary that their goal is to get into a Big company and work there all their life. Yeah, even untill today, it is the mindset. Now, it is even more difficult since japan has been under economic recession for more than 10 years. Many of the people are contract staff whose future is unknown.

Anyway, I can continue with a list of issues that japan is facing now. But, I better not get into that since many of them are merely my observation and words of mouths. I never read the newspaper here, you know. Ok, just one more point, in the rise of the sleeping giant, china, and fueled by the high oil prices, japan is really under difficult economic pressure. Yeah, I dont know what else to say, but perhaps the government has been thinking of a way out, who the hell knows.

So, what are the things I love about Japan. I have to say that I find breakthrough in this country. It is in this country that I learnt to smile during photo-taking, i have been all too conscious when a photo is taken, I am not able to loosen up. What? like that only? The fact is I grew up in a family that is very conscious of many things and one of them is smiling. hahhaha. I found now that smiling is really not that hard. Just thing of something nice and the fact is if we are really happy, we can smile. It is that simple, indeed.

It is also in Japan that I found language is not difficult to master. I have never do well for english during my school days, I never write well. The bottom line is I gave up language because of a mental block. However, I found here that learning Japanese is not all that hard. I can figure out the grammar, I can even remember the kanji and most importantly I can actually speak it. I am amazed myself, not because I do it, but to realise how many years I have been in the cage, believing that I should never take 3rd or worse 4th language. I was totally mistaken!

It is also in Japan I learn that beauty is beautiful. In the past, I am always afraid of outer appearance, I have this fear that pretty at the outside would not equal inner one. In Japan, where all the girls dress their best and full make-up, I realise that beauty is something important to present to others and it is simply about how much time you spend on it. Yeah, it is about time,  hmm and a little budget for it of course! However, I think japanese girl is overdoing it. despite the impeccably look, it is not the only thing but it seems they think otherwise. That is why it is amusing that make-up products are everywhere from both the high end to the low end.

I also learn about fashion of course. For once, I found the sense barrier to fashion is slowly reduced. I have always nightmare when it comes to clothes. I don’t know what to buy and never know what looks good on me. However, recently I have found some tips about it. Never go shopping alone or the sales-girls will cheat on you. Always ask friends opinion, audience is almost never wrong, unless he/ she lies of course. Dare to try new outfit. yeah, it is one of the most important part. You got to try the clothes, don’t just look from the outside. Fit it, that is what fitting room is built for. It is not that hard after all and of course, it also takes a little time. No pain no gain.

They are many others things I have gained here. Yes, literally plenty. They are basics, nothing glamorous about it but it definitely strangtens my path and let me see other areas that I have not been exposed to. It is an amazing experience, yeah, amazing.

夏休みですね

暑い，どこでも暑くて蒸しも高くて、私は好きじゃないんです。今週は夏休みですが、私の友達は北海道へいったんですが、私はこないんー貯金だから。：ｐ

日本の旅行は本当に高くって，どこでもほとんど同じように見ますよ、だから最近旅行のことは減っていますよ。日本では三四日旅行は大体四六万円かかりますよ。高いですよ。

今年仕事は最初凄く忙しくて、時間があまりないんですが、私もちょと大変だった。最近仕事はままですけれども、私のならってことはたりないんとおもっています。どちらがいい、わからない。

日本語はどう思いましたか。まだしばらく勉強したのは上手になりますよ。今まだまだですけど、喋る時には大丈夫かむしれない。でも、書き方と漢字もほんとうにすこしだけだ。頑張ります。