Little trips at Kanagawa & Yokohoma

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.

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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! ♥

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!

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

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!

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. ><

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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

1. Gonna transit in Singapore. Pray that there's no delay or else I'll miss the flight to Tokyo! ><
2. Call Chiharu after getting out from custom check. (OHH I need a payphone! But where do I get small change??!)
3. Take bus 3, 12 or 7 to Yokohama.
4. (Checked internet.) Duration is about.. 90 minutes??!!!
5. Get off at YCAT. (How do I know when to get off? Will they inform me??)
6. 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