Colleague's Farewell Party @ Yakiniku

Intestine. Smelly, Chewy, Disgusting.

My project partner: Kim Jongrok-san

Baek-san. He is leaving for Korea next week.

Park-san: Leaving for Korea too.

2nd Trip to Adventure

This time, we go to...Matsushima again but different seashore. Of course, this time we go earlier. Manage to get some bright pictures.

That's me! On the fence.

Fishing jetty.

Dunno what jetty.

Dinner at my Senpai's House

Today my senpai invites me to his house for a dinner. He is preparing Korean food. San-giap-sah (or something like that)

Senpai preparing the San-giap-sah.

And Ken waiting to feast.

He worries I might not like the Korean food. So he prepares some Japanese delicacies as well. After that, we go to pub and my senpai gets completely hammered.

Hammered senpai hammering drum on the heater.

HIS MOTTO: STAY COOL EVEN WHEN DRUNK.

Furukawa Swimming Pool

Now this is a really nice swimming pool. It has gym, sauna, jacuzzi, whirl pool and slide. Entrance fee, however, is ￥620 which is about RM22 for 2 hours.

Magnificent pool, built on 2nd floor where 1st floor is gym room.

My Friend is Getting a Car

Now, the other Irish guy wants to get a car. So this weekend, we go to scout around for some good, cheap used car. Although Furukawa is not a big city, there are more than 10 shops selling new and used cars.

Nope, this is definitely not the car he is interested in. It is because....

It is a no smoking car....wondering what it means. Do other cars smoke? How are they going to know if you really smoke in the car?

Can someone tell me what does "No Smoking 車" mean? Noob here.

Hina Matsuri

Today is Hina Matsuri also known as Japanese Doll Festival or Girls' Day. Don't really know much about this day but it is definitely an expensive day. Reason? Refer to the photos below.

Two dolls, a platform with some decorations = ~RM2,500

Five dolls, 2 platform with decorations = ~RM4,500

Coming soon, Boys' Day (May 5)

My Friend's Car

One of my Irish friends gets himself a car this week. His purchase means we are breaking out of Furukawa. This car costs him ￥550,000 which is about RM20,000.

Subaru Legacy, a turbo 4WD with 285hp, maximum power allowable in Japan.

1st trip to Adventure: Matsushima. However it is already 4pm. Getting dark liao.

Nothing special. Same as Malaysia.

Small town near the beach. Getting dinner there.

WHAT!?!? Come so far for McD!?!?!?

Yakiniku (焼肉)

Today, after finishing my work, my supervisor invites me to go for Yakiniku. Yakiniku is originated from Korean which means grilled meat.

Most popular meat: Cow's tongue, Pig's tongue.

My Group Manager

Valentine's Day in Japan 2009

Unlike Malaysia, Valentine's Day in Japan is meant for the girls to express their feeling to the guys. Meaning, it is a day where girls should give chocolate or gifts to the guys they love. It is also a day where female colleagues show their appreciation to the male colleagues. Of course, as a male colleague myself, I get this.

As for men, they should respond to this on 14th March a.k.a White Day.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Chinese New Year 2009

Muahahaha, this year is the 1st year I am not celebrating Chinese New Year. I even have to go to work. There is no Chinese New Year celebration in Japan. However, my family sent me something and those are...

Thanks Dad, Mom & Sis!

Royal Host @ Shinjuku

This will be my 1st post talking about food. However, this is not about typical Japanese food. Just some nice one I have in Shinjuku.

Appetizer: Prawn salad.

Main course: Mixed grill
Japanese like burger very much. Burger restaurants can be found anywhere. Since they are not with the bread, they are called burgu.

Dessert: Crepe with chocolate ice cream.

ADA UHHMMMMM~!!!

Omochi a.k.a Kuih Tahun Baru

In comic Crayon Shin Chan, we always read about how Shin Chan has his 'kuih tahun baru'. Now, this is how I have my 'kuih tahun baru' a.k.a omochi.

First, slice the omochi into small cubes. Then, boil them with plain water.

Then, mince the peanut with bowl.

Don't forget about honey. No honey, no omochi.

Can include black and white sesame too. They are good partners of omochi.

1st, dip the omochi with honey. Then coat it with peanut. Add some sesame to make it tastier.

AND STRETCHHHHHHH~!!!!
OISHII~!!!!!

Church Camp @ Olive Land, Kinugawa

It's year end holiday~! This holiday, I go for a Church Camp organised by a Chinese Church in Tokyo. From Tokyo, it takes about 3 hours of drive to Kunigawa Camp. The camp is between 31 December and 2nd January. So I'll be spending my new year celebration here. ^_^

Lodging for travelers.

Total of participants: 40. Mostly from China. The rest are from Taiwan and China.

The river nearby. Too bad I can't jump in and play. Too cold to take off my jacket.

There is also a hotspring nearby.This time, I'll definitely take off everything and jump in. Visit my Picasa to see more from the inside.

Preparing New Year Sui Gao.

Happy New Year~!!!!!!!!

Year 2009 1st Service: Three sentences you must always say to your spouse.

1. I'm sorry.
2. Thank you
3. I love you.

Jungle trekking~

Chinese with Indian post. Globalisation.

Goodbye Kinugawa~! I'll see you again soon~!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

This year, I nearly have a White Christmas. It starts to snow on 26th Dec. Anyway, it is really great to have snow as this is the first time I experience snow.

This is the view from my window. I wake up quite early today and have a peep from my window. Muahaha, I'll be going out for sure today.

Sun rise. A view from the train station.

The path to 100 yen shop.

Look at the depth of my footprint. It can tell you how long it has been snowing last night.

COOL~! COLD~!

Restriction for smokers.

Here, I can say there are about 80% of males and 60% of females are smokers. However, they are not allowed to smoke everywhere and definitely not while walking. There are special places designated for smokers. The reasons are...

Needless to say more, the pictures already describe all.

A night in Sendai

Today, I go to Sendai with two of my Irish friends. Sendai is the capital of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in Northeast region. It is also known as the City of Trees. In winter, the trees are decorated with thousands of lights in an event called the Pageant of Starlight. Many people visit Sendai to see the Pageant of Starlight. As for us, we have other purposes.

We take the last train to Sendai (10:25pm). It takes 13 minutes to reach there by bullet train and 40 minutes by car. We are the only passengers on board. LOL.

After exiting the station, I take few pictures marking my 1st step into Sendai.

Santa Claus is coming~~ to Sendai~

The first purpose. Beers....I hate beers~!

Say cheese~~!!

Next, Ado Club...more alcohol? Give me a break please. I will drink Coke only.

I hate that club. So I go out and get some fresh air myself. I end up at this 24 hours super store.

This is VLANDOME. A pretty long street. Too bad, it"s already 3am. Nothing much to see now.

I have been waiting for this moment! Time to go back. Catching the 1st train (7.05 am) back to Furukawa. I don't think I will ever come to this city to spend my night anymore.

SAY TAK NAK TO SENDAI!

Welcome Party: Design Department

In Japan, whenever a new guy is joining a company, his department will throw him a welcome party. Same goes to me. I'm now in the design department handling power windows and seats for Japanese vehicles. Here is my team members.

When comes to party, you will see how wild the Japanese can go. They will enjoy themselves to the fullest without fail. However, the next day, they will be serious again. Work hard, Study hard, Play hard.

At the end of the party, everyone will stand up and the organiser will give a short speech where at the end of the speech, everyone will give a clap, signaling the end of the party.

This is my senior a.k.a senpai, Mr Yang. He is a Korean and he has been here for more than 12 years. Every new guy will have a senpai looking after him. I am glad to have him as my senpai. Very nice and helpful. Important is he doesn't treat me like a newbies. He does listen to my suggestions and of course, will give proper reasons when rejecting them.

ごちそさまでした！ THANKS FOR THE TREAT!

My New Dormitory @ Furukawa

From now on, I'll be having on-job-training in Furukawa Plant. Riding on Shinkansen(bullet train) at 300km/h, I reached Furukawa(395km away from Tokyo) in approximately 2 hours. After some briefing, I was brought to my new dormitory, 5 minutes away from the factory.

Yoshun-ryo, the name of my dorm.

The Lobby.

My Room Number: 304

The lounge.

View from my window.

Another view.

At -2 degree Celsius.

HELLO FURUKAWA, NICE TO MEET U.

Farewell with Teachers

After 6 weeks of Japanese lessons, here comes the end of our class. Today we have our farewell dinner with all the teachers and students. After today, we will be sitting for a test next week and then I'll be going to Furukawa.

My sensei and my shy friend.

A toast with another teacher.

Students have to behave like students even in the dinner.

All the students in single file. (Sorry for the blur pictures)

SEE YOU ALL IN MAY 2009!

Tokyo Orienteering 3/3: Tokyo Tower

The last destination is Tokyo Tower. Tokyo Tower is a communication tower located in Shiba Park, Minato. It is the tallest self-supporting steel structure in the world, the tallest artificial structure in Japan and 20th tallest tower in the world. The height of the tower is 332.6m. The tower acts as an antenna for television and radio broadcasts. On the ground, it has a 4 storey of shops. There are 2 type of observation decks. They are 2-storey Main Observatory located at 150m and Special Observatory at 250m.

We can see the tower even from the train station.

On the way to the tower, we passed the small gate.

Then the big gate.

Behind the gate is a temple. Zojoji Temple.

Bigger view of Tokyo Tower from the temple.

At the bottom of the tower.

We took the stairs to the Main Observatory and upon reaching the top, we received a certificate. You can look down from the small square transparent platform.

The view from the top.

And the view when you look down.

After getting some postcards and photos, we went back down and the tower was lighted up. We had to go back to the Tokyo Station by 5pm. So, here ends the Tokyo Orienteering 2008.

Sayonara Tokyo Tower.

OTSUKARESAMADESHITA!