Summertime in Hokkaido

Hokkaido! The second most popular honeymoon destination among my friends. Actually, Hokkaido is also my ideal honeymoon spot as well, since as you know, I love Japan. LOL

Hokkaido and Okinawa. Both are separated from the main Japan island, and need air flights to reach, yet, Hokkaido still feel very much like Honshu really. Very different from Okinawa, which really felt like overseas. Food and culture wise, Hokkaido is very similar to the Honshu, too.

Here are some pointers I would like to share on my own 5-day-4-nights DIY tour in Hokkaido:

Lavender
When we talk about Hokkaido, usually 3 things will come to our minds: Seafood, snow and lavender.

The best season for Lavender is July, in summer. Early August is not bad, too. I visited Tomita Farm in early August, and the lavender is still in full bloom. The air carried a strong lavender fragrance. ;)



During this season, the special Lavender train station is in service, and the Noroco Train (富良野・美瑛ノロッコ号), which is part of the SL series. Steam-powered trains! By luck, I managed to catch one to the Tomita Farm.


Lavender station- only available during the lavender season


Noroco train

TIP
When visiting Tomita Farm, do not forget to drop by the melon farm next to it, do try the freshly harvested melons. They sell at 250yen per slice.

Otaru
Perhaps you heard of the music-box museum? It is an icon in Otaru.


Music-box Museum, 小樽オルゴール堂

But that is not what I love about Otaru.

What made me fell in love with Otaru is this, 運河:







A very picturesque place. I would love to visit it in winter again.

Transport
To get to Hokkaido within Japan, you can consider taking Skymark. It is a domestic budget airline.

TIP

If you book your flight at exactly 2 months before, you may be able to snap up the cheapest early-bird specials.

Within Sapporo, besides JR trains, there are also the subways which we can take. There are 3 different lines I think.

To travel from Sapporo to other parts of Hokkaido, you can consider taking the highway buses instead of trains. Though time wise, it is longer, it is usually half the price of trains. And trains include transfer. To avoid the hassle of moving my luggages across platforms, I opted for highway buses. Chuo Bus and Donan Bus provide these long distance rides.

TIP
When travelling between Sapporo and Toyako (Lake Toya) consider taking the Donan Highway bus. It costs 4790yen two-way, and takes close to 3 hours. The scenary is very beautiful though, as it circles the lake on its way to the Toyako Bus Terminal.

Food
After reaching Hokkaido, I realized that all my favorite food, well.. most, at least, are from Hokkaido! My favorite ramen- butter corn ramen, originates from Hokkaido.


Miso Butter Corn Ramen!

In fact, my favorite ramen place from 梅光軒 in Singapore is from Asahikawa in Hokkaido, I manage to locate the Japanese branch in Sapporo! ;D


Special shouyu flavoured ramen only at 札幌ら～めん共和国.

TIP
Located at the Esta mall (at Sapporo JR station), on the 10th floor is the Sapporo Ramen Street 札幌ら～めん共和国.

Hokkaido is also famous for corn and potatoes.


Steamed potatoes lathered with butter and a dash of salt... Yummy...

And of course, crabs..



And… sweets! Ok, I don’t mean candy. I mean desserts! The Japanese call desserts – sweets, though. I think I have gained about 1kg just from my Hokkaido trip from all the desserts I have been having. :P


Doraemon taiyaki with iced chocolate from Doraemon Skypark at New Chitose Airport. I would recommend to arrive earlier at the airport, so that you can explore the Doraemon Skypark, Royce Chocolate Museum, even onsen, etc at the airport.

Accommodation

Toyoko-Inn Hotel
I stayed in 2 Toyoko-Inn Hotels during my 5-day trip in Hokkaido. These are business hotels, very reasonably priced, especially after the member discount. Discount is about 1000yen for each stay. To be a member, pay 1500yen, a one-time payment at any Toyoko-Inn Hotels. You can get your membership card immediately, and use it right away.

What I like:

• Accessible. Many branches near big cities or train stations.
• Provides all basic amenities of a business hotel.
• Clean
• Internet access (cable)

What I do not like:

• Depending on which hotel, the morning breakfast maybe very crowded, and not enough seats or room to accommodate all, since we eat at the lobby. Do wake up earlier to avoid the rush.
• For one of the hotels, they mixed up my reservation and gave me a smoking room instead of a smoking room.

Sumire Ryokan
This is a cheap ryokan, or rather minshouku 民宿. Single one-night stay costs 4000yen without meals and 5000yen with breakfast.



What I like:

• Close to Furano station. Very easy to locate.
• Opposite a supermarket, so it is very easy to buy snacks and light breakfast.
• Personalised service. The owner gave me a personalized map of the area as well as recommendations of where to eat and shop, etc.
• The common area (toilets, wash area, etc) is very new and clean.
• Internet access (cable)

What I dislike:

• Maybe it is just my room? It has a musky smell. ;(

Grand Toya Hotel
I was looking for a onsen ryokan near the lake, where I can watch fireworks, and take a ferry ride. Grand Toya Hotel is the perfect choice. Besides they offer plans for single stays. (It is not common among onsen ryokans to take single stays, as they usually offer double rooms for single stays.)

What I like:

• Accessible. About 2 minutes walk from the Toyako Bus Terminal, and is located right in front of the ferry dock.
• The jaguzzi onsen pool! There are 4 pools in all and a sauna room. Quite a lot for a small onsen ryokan.
• Cheap- 12,000yen for a single stay. But my room is actually for two.

What I dislike:

• The hotel is quite old, the room is quite old as well.
• Again, maybe I was unlucky? My room has a lingering cigarette smell. But it has one of the best view of the fireworks, so I resorted to airing the room.

Interesting
Fireworks at Lake Toya is different from the fireworks I have been to in Hamamatsu. It is a “moving” fireworks. The speedboats will fire fireworks from different locations along the lake. But as it is a long-run fireworks event, it is only 20 minutes long instead of the usual 1or 2 hours fireworks event, common in Japan. The fireworks event in Lake Toya continues till October 2011, so do catch it if you are planning a holiday in Hokkaido!


Special ferry service to watch fireworks

Overall, Hokkaido is a very easy place to navigate, even for a single lady like me. In Sapporo (including Otaru), they have announcements and signs in English. Glad I spent my last lone adventure in Japan at Hokkaido. I wanna visit Hokkaido again in winter!

Last Day...

Last day, in my house. Last day, in my little town.

Tomorrow, I will embark on my last trip on JET to Hokkaido, and then back to Singapore, officially. I shall blog about my Hokkaido trip from home, my Singapore home then.

Seriously, time flies. One year just flown by, just like that.

And to me, it all sums up to one word- DREAM.

It is a dream come true for me,
I finally had a chance to live and work in Japan.

The whole "QQ's adventure in Japan" is like a dream;
I can even imagine myself waking up in my bed in Singapore one morning, blinking and yawning, and wondering if the JET adventure was actually real.

Japan, thank you! I have learnt lots, loads, plenty, while I am here. You have helped me gain so much confidence, especially on my road of Japanese learning.

I think I am changed, regardless how small, you have changed me.

This adventure, is a dream, but even dreams can be lonely at times. Nevertheless, thank you so much!

The only thing I would change if I were to restart this again?

Maybe, I should not be so apprehensive and hesitant, and should have plunged right in, back in 2008, when I first got to know about the programme. Looking at fellow ALTs here, that's the most important lesson I have learnt from them.

We can never be thoroughly prepared. We just need the leap of faith at times.

お世話になりました！またね、日本！I will be back to visit the rest of the other prefectures, which I couldn't cover in this year.

P.S:
I have visited 14 out of 47 prefectures;
took the aeroplane 10 times in one year;
Never had I travel so much in a year!

And... I will miss being called Q-chan!

Little Korea in Osaka

Yes, I finally made a trip to Osaka! Osaka always had a special place in my heart, as I met my first helpful Japanese there when I lost my train ticket. ;)


Capturing Osaka Castle and its reflection in the early morning ;)

If you are like me, and took the night bus to Osaka, do visit the Osaka Castle as your first stop. Candy and I really enjoyed our morning photoshoot at Osaka. And Candy wasn't even that interested in photography in the first place! Besides, not a lot of places are open at 6am anyway. ;P

And to the main theme!

Do you know there is a Little Korea in Osaka? It is called Ikuno Korea Town.

Though the website/ pdf map, says it is just a 10 minutes walk from 鶴橋駅, it really feels like a 20 minutes walk. :P

Once again, lucky us, met a very nice Korean obasan (auntie in sg terms) who kindly brought us there, despite our lack of communications. She doesn't speak much Japanese, and we don't know Korean. :P She's so nice! She even went to ask directions from another Korean, and brought us there, as she is unable to tell me how to get there. There, you see, Osaka people are so nice!



Finally we reached the Ikuno Korea Town. But I was a little disappointed though. It is a bit small. Just a street with Korean shops on both sides.

But 麻雀虽小，五脏具全, there are all kinds of Korean shops there- food, groceries, facial products, idol goods, CDs, DVDs, restaurants, and even a bridal shop. Serious!



My Korean lunch at 班家食工房 wasn't that fantastic though. Candy assured me that authentic Korean food is much better. Yup, I thought so too. I missed Togi so much! I think Togi tastes much better than the lunch. Likely, it is because we picked the wrong restaurant.

It reminded me of my lunch experience in Yokohama Chinatown too.

Heard that there is a Little Korea in Tokyo too. Hope to visit it one day. Maybe not this JET year though.

Stepping into the digital era

On 24 July 2011, 12 noon (Japan time), Japan has officially crossed the analog border and stepped into the digital era. All television broadcasts, (other than those in the Tohoku earthquake affected areas) be it via CRT TVs at home or the navi-cum-TV in the cars, have gone digital.

Actually even before I came to Japan, I have already heard of this analog-to-digital change. So the government have actually taken many steps encourage the public to discard their CRT TVs for digital TVs. :P

Weeks before the actual change, the corner of all TV programmes is plastered with a message, which counted down to the actual day.

And then finally on 24 July, the countdown to the actual moment began.



And then at 12 noon sharp, my TV screen turns to this ;'(



So... my CRT, perhaps 21-inch (estimated) TV has retired. Thank you for serving me faithfully every day of my one year in Japan!

P.S: By the way, the countdown message is not available for digital TVs (of course!), so I am one of the lucky ones to be involved in the countdown. LOL

What happens when the garbage collection days are over?

This is my current challenge. How to keep my apartment sparkling clean, free from all garbage for the new owners of my home, and also for the impending apartment check, which... very cleverly is set after all garbage collection dates are over.

Maybe, I need to explain the context to my Singaporean readers, as you may be wondering what's the big fuss over it. I can easily just packed in a big trash bag and throw at the local rubbish collection point, no?

Yeah, no. I can't. Japan is not like Singapore, discarding garbage is not so straightforward, unfortunately. ;(

• To throw burnables, I can can only throw on Tuesdays and Fridays.
• To throw plastics, I can only throw twice a month.
• To throw other refuse, I can only throw once a month.
• To throw big refuse, I need to call someone. Umm.. maybe the local city office, or the recycle mart. Luckily, I do not need to do that! *victory sign*

So, back to the schedule. My last plastics day is over. My etc refuse day is tomorrow, and the last burnables collection day is this Friday.

I am staying till this Sunday, so I consider how to dispose the garbage accumulated after I left.

Here's a brainstorm:

The easiest option is, of course, ask my neighbors for help! But I really would like to keep them as the last option, instead of dumping all my trash on them, since they are really nice to me.

Burnables
Discreetly, throw at the burnables bins at convenience stores, train stations and huge department stores. Shh...

Plastics
This is a very complicated issue. Plastics are divided into:

1. Pet bottles
2. Clear plastic and styrofoam plates (from groceries)
3. Bottle caps
4. Plastic bags

For items 1 to 3, I can dispose them at the supermarket. But the last item, plastic bags... I do not know how to dispose them otherwise. (>_<)

Cans, Glasses

Since I am moving, I have to get rid of all remaining sauces, etc, so I will have quite a number of glass items. Luckily, my supermarket and department stores do collect these.

TIP
Bins near vending machines also collect PET bottles and cans. *hint hint*

Other weird refuse
Example shoes, household items, etc, other than selling them to recycle mart, I do not know how to dispose them after the big trash day too. (>_<)

So, I will be cracking my head over when and how to effectively spring clean and pack, so that I have a way to dispose of my trash after that.

Wish me luck! *keeping fingers crossed*

Interesting Japanese culture of cheerleading

Last Saturday was my school's baseball match, together with all the teachers and Year 1 students, we went to the local baseball stadium to support our baseball team. It was a really interesting experience! 大开眼界！



1. Going Botak
The entire baseball team, including those on the benches (especially Year 1s who are not included in the competitions yet), had a haircut. Everyone went botak! This probably signify unity and determination to win the match.

2. Cheerleaders
Usually in our terms, cheerleaders are usually girls, but in Japanese schools, they are usually 3 guys. They will wear their formal school wear (complete with jackets) and have this long strip of cloth tied across their forehead. They will lead the school in their cheers from a platfrom in front.

3. Band
Yes, the entire band is down too! So besides cheering with our voices, we cheer with music. ♪♫♩♬ 　



3. A Splashing Good Time!
My students have been practising hard for the cheerleading. We had sessions after school nearly every day. Very serious stuff. During the actual match, when tension is up, at the highest points, boys will pour and splash pails of water at other schoolmates. Gosh! How I wish I was nearer, it will be so refreshing after 3 hours under the blazing hot sun!



4. 礼仪
Even during games, the Japanese are very polite and considerate. We take turns to cheer. So my school will cheer first, and the opposition school will listen; then we switch our turns.

What's more interesting: We even cheer for the opposition team. After that, the opposition team will bow to us as a form of thank you. And the vice versa happens too.

A very gentlemanly cheering process indeed!

Very very different from what I remember at the annual Track and Field meets. I remember that we often returned with no voices on the next day. Everyone was cheering for their own teams, it was very loud and noisy. :P

And all ends well, with our victory! :D On to the next match!

What I hate most about Japan.... Spiders

It's official. I simply hate the 梅雨 (tsuyu) season and mostly.. the spiders that comes with it.

As a tropical gal, I know how to coexist with bug life throughout the year, since we have summer all year long. Or so I thought.

I was so wrong. Wait till you get to the rainy season in Japan, also known as tsuyu in Japanese. The bugs are ever so energetic in this season.

Probably because they missed out on winter, and maybe spring and autumn, so they are bent on making the most out of summer. I do not have any bug problems in my apartment in the other 3 seasons.

And with bugs, comes spiders. And they are HUGE! The smallest I have seen so far is probably 5cm in diameter.

I have never seen any spiders more than a diameter of 2cm in Singapore, so imagine my shock when I first saw a huntsman spider, the infamous gigantic, yet common spider in Japan. That was last summer, when I first arrived, I met the mother and child pair outside my neighbor's apartment.

But they were outside the house. As long as they were outside the house, I can coexist with them. I thought.

The next time I met a huge spider was recently- a 6cm diameter spider in my living room. Totally unprepared, I spent about 10 minutes staring at it.

It eventually escaped. They move so fast! Which is actually not surprising since I think they have more than a pair of eyes on their body. They can probably watch me with a 360 degrees surround view.

I panicked, and of course started to research, started to ask my Japanese colleagues, ask my neighbors, etc how they deal with their spider problems. My American neighbors were as freaked out as me, too, since they have spotted two in their bedroom too, and were too looking for solutions. We all have tried crowdsourcing for solutions, by tapping on our seniors' expertise over the very popular social network, facebook. Spiders are just tricky fellows, they are faster than our sprays or slippers.

The Japanese however, time and again, assured me that these spiders, especially big ones, are harmless. At least to humans. They are the good guys. They eat the bad bugs. And they are really common during the summer season, especially the rainy season, in Japanese homes. They tell me that all Japanese homes will have some spiders. They just leave them alone.

My colleague even told me to look on the bright side. Since I only have a few visiting spiders and not other more horrible buggy problems like cockroaches or rats. She has a cockroach problem at her apartment. Now that's way worse off than me. And btw, Japanese cockroaches can fly. Eeeks. Just for record, I have not seen any cockroach at my place, and would like to keep it that way. *cross fingers*

But why do these huge hideous spiders invade our private space? Besides on a lookout of food, one other reason they like to hide in our houses is because they are seeking dry shelter from the rain.

After my Japanese colleagues and neighbors' repeated assurances, I had tried to coexist with spider. I thought that if they didn't intrude in my life, I don't mind them feasting on whatever bugs in and near our apartments. We could live in harmony. But living in harmony is so difficult! These are hunting spiders, thick legs, huge bodies, scary patterns on their body... They look so intimidating!

The last straw came last night, when I spotted a 5cm spider in my bedroom. I was warned by my predecessor before, that she had seen a palm-sized one beside her bed once, and she drowned it with insecticide. (Yes, drowned. Not kill.) So, I shouldn't be that alarmed. Eventually after dressing in full battlewear (gloves, socks, armed with my latest -85 degree Celsius bug freezing spray- (it freezes the bug and not poisons the bug), me and the spider had a long fight, in our, ops.. my, bedroom. First, I chased it around, trying my best to spray at it, but it is just too fast, too hardy. Next, I need to trap it, and finally after chasing it across 3/4 of my bedroom. It is all curled up and froze to death.


My best helper, the freezing spray.

I do not know why, but despite repeated assurances that they are pretty harmless. I do not like the idea of them invading my private sanctury, especially while I am unconscious. Yup, they do not attack. Usually. What happens when one happens transpass my bed, and at that exact moment, I turn and rest on it?! I can't imagine!!!

And what is more depressing is that regardless of how much I clean my house, they are still there. I do not know where they come from. Since I have never seen them in the last 10 months in my apartment since I was here.

So here's how I am coping:

1. Continue to keep the place as clean as possible. Rid them of their food source, bugs, mosquitoes, whatever.
2. Only open the windows with the wire meshes on. Otherwise, keep windows closed at all times.
3. Keep a freezing spray near me, at all times.
4. Stay positive. At least I have spiders who police my apartment and not such other beastly pests that feast on me. Eeeks.

TIP
The freezing spray is really useful. There is no lingering smell after use, and the white spot that appears when you spray continuously at disappears after a while, which means it's likely water. It is said to kill by freezing and not by poisoning. I actually hope there are such sprays in Singapore to kills roaches with. I hate the smell of insecticides.

I don't know if I can ever coexist with them. But definitely it is a kill-all order if it invades my bedroom and bathroom.

No, spiders, you can't get near me where I may be vulnerable. But I have to agree. My bedroom did become void of mosquitoes after that one and only spider visit.

I am so glad 梅雨 is finally over now. I deal summers better without the constant awful stickiness feeling. *cross fingers* Bug life did seem to be a little less active as well.

KTVing in Japan vs Singapore

KTV is probably the 3rd thing I missed most after I left Singapore.

Surprised? Japan is the so-called motherland of KTV or karaoke. This very popular hobby originated from Japan. So... how can I not have KTV-ed since I came in last August? Yup.. all the way until my last month in Japan did I had my first Japanese KTV experience. ♫♫♬

So how different is Japan's KTV from Singapore's?

On and off I will compare with Taiwan's and Indonesia's, based on my personal KTV experiences there, too.

I went to Shidax and Round 1 KTV lounges in Japan.

Food
The variety of food is huge! It is like Taiwan's 钱柜. Unlike Singapore's which is more of finger food variety. Both KTVs I visited in Japan have a wide range of main courses too.

Rooms
There are different types of rooms for us to pick at the Japanese KTVs. They are of different theme and decor. The one I went to at Shidax, is the usual ones, like the ones we have at KBox and Partyworld. The second one I went to at Round 1, had a stage! And we have props, even drums, for us to accompany our friends' singing.

Technology
Without doubt, Japanese technology is the most advance of all.



They use touchscreen remote controls. And I can even search for songs by year, by my age, or ask the system to recommend songs for my gender/age/preference.

Another feature which I like a lot is the categories of search- Pop, drama and movie OSTs, anime OSTs, English, etc. I especially like the category "Drama and Movie OSTs"! I am a drama-otaku, and most songs I listen to are OSTs. This category is so useful! Songs not only display their title and singer, they are tagged to the dramas or movies as well. This is non-existent in Singapore nor Taiwan.

Their techonology is much more advanced that our simplistic song title/ language/ singer search.

They even have Chinese songs! I sang 五月天's, 周杰伦's and 梁静如's songs. Though not complete, the selection is pretty extensive I thought. I could find 《离开地球表面》，《恋爱ing》, 《说好的幸福呢》 and 《没有如果》!

TIP
To search for Chinese songs, look for Chinese/Korean songs category, and type the hanyu pinyu of the song title/ singer to look for songs.

MTVs
This is the most disappointing part of my Japanese KTV experience. They have so few real MTVs. There is no real MTVs for Johnny's Entertainment groups. So that means we have to contend with fake MTVs while singing 嵐's, SMAP's songs etc. (*´д｀*) Copyrights are taken very seriously in Japan.

Of course the Chinese songs I sang to, are accompanied by fake MTVs as well.

I miss singing to real MTVs. We can find real MTVs for Korean songs though. For example Girls' Generation's MTVs for Gee, Genie, Mr Taxi, etc are all real. On the other hand, I remembered that when I KTVed in Indonesia, some MTVs are actually ripped from online video websites, with their logos still intact. It is not a chain though, but a privately run KTV lounge. The lyrics at Japanese KTV also may run on the whole screen, covering the entire screen, thus blocking the MTV. Drinks In Singapore, KTV are mostly fixed to about 2 drinks per session, and with a plate of fruits and some snacks. Japan's slightly different. The two KTVs that I went to, I had free-flow of drinks. (I can change the drinks.) For Round 1, we had to order a food item as well.

Taiwan's KTV is quite similar to Singapore's system.

Nevertheless, I still miss my K-lunches. Nothing can beat K-box's 3hr of singing with lunch and a drink at about $13. I hope they still have K-lunches! Looking forward to it when I return.

Overall, I enjoyed my experiences at Japanese KTVs a lot! And it was pretty cheap as well, slightly over 1000yen for 2hr and 4hr sessions at Shidax and Round 1 respectively. But then, that was probably with member discounts and coupon discounts, so it may not be an accurate gauge.

And nothing can beat the range of Japanese songs... of course. Haha... And it definitely improved my speed-reading of Japanese.

Remember to KTV if you can afford the time on your next trip to Japan!

Nationality = Birth Country?

Often, new Japanese colleagues would ask me if I was originally from China, after I self-introduce myself as a Singaporean Chinese. I would usually explain that I am born in Singapore, so my nationality is Singaporean, but my race is Chinese.

But sometimes, they will still have a puzzled look.



At that time, I didn't quite get why they are puzzled. To me, birth country = nationality, and that was the best explanation, or so I thought.

Yesterday, my Japanese friends enlightened me. In Japan, birth country may not always equate to nationality.

For example, if the parents of the baby born in Japan are both non-Japanese, the baby is not a Japanese citizen. He will be listed under the same nationality as their parents.

If one of the parents is a Japanese, then the child will have dual citizenship. He will then pick one when he is 20. 20 signifies entrance into adulthood in Japan.

Interesting...

****

Thanks to Victor! I finally realised that the rule applies to Singapore, too! Silly me!

Did a check on the statute "Constitution of the Republic of Singapore", if both parents are foreigners, the baby will not receive Singapore citizenship by birth. One of the parents have to be a Singaporean, with some exceptions.

How do Japanese wives manage the household finance?

By coincidence, I came across a TV program special, 『がっちりアカデミー』, on how Japanese wives manage the household finance. It was so interesting that it triggered my urge to blog about it.

Before I came to Japan, I heard from friends, that the Japanese wives typically controlled the finances at home. Husbands will hand over their salaries, and wives will then give them allowances.

It is a bit hard for me to imagine, as young families in Singapore are dual-income. Typically, the couple will have a joint account for household expenditures, whereby contribution proportion would have been discussed beforehand and decided. We usually do not have the practice of the wives controlling the household finance. It's a shared responsibility.

Or for more traditional families, like mine, the breadwinner will pull the purse strings. Not my mum. My dad does. So it is a bit stretching for me to visualise the said scenario in Japan.

Then I came across this TV program. The crew surveyed 1200 couples randomly, and from there picked a few couples as representatives to show us the different ways of managing household income.

After the husbands hand over their salaries. What happens next?

1. Wives will decide the frequency and amount of allowance for husbands.

Some examples I caught from the program:
-Daily 300yen (about S$5)
-Weekly 5000yen (about S$80)
-Monthly 30,000yen (about S$460+)

TIP
It is recommended by the program to set the allowance as 10% of the salary. Yeah. 10%?!

2. Where do the other 90% go to?

This will be for the household expenditure and savings.

TIP
Set aside a few envelopes which indicate the different kinds of expenditures. Eg. Telephone bills, Utility bills, Children's expenses, Grocery, etc.

Fix a maximum amount and the household cannot spend beyond that amount. The rest will be savings. Anything not spent will be savings as well.

It works for Japan, as it is still very much a cash society. I am used to direct bank deductions, and cashless payments, so bounderies drawn by envelopes doesn't really help though. :( But I do like the idea.

3. How to curb spending?

For example when going grocery shopping, bring only the minimal amount in cash, and spend within that, to curb oneself from buying needless wants.

Again, it only works if it is not cashless payment. :(

4. Small change does matter.

Diligently clear out the wallet and set that as savings once the day ends, and top up with the new allowance set for the day. A family actually managed to use that piggy bank of small change to exchange for a day of family fun at an amusement park!

5. Set goals.

Have goals, so that saving money is more achievable.

TIP
Long term goal is not enough. Short term goals are needed too.

For eg. one of the families' long term goal was to build their own house, and because of that Daddy's allowance was a mere 5000yen per week. But he had short term goals. Every day he saved up his allowance and spend it on gatherings with his friends and colleagues, limited to 3 times per month. Short-term goals will keep the discipline towards long term goal.

6. How to survive on the meagre allowance?

Daddys in the TV program, will buy cheap lunches at the convenience store, or only from cheaper vending machines, or even better, bring Mummys' homemade bentos to their workplace. With that lunch money is saved. Need drinks? Drink from the pantry water dispenser/ cooler.

7. Control splurges. Give and take rule.

One of the daddys' hobby is collecting expensive jackets. So Mummy allowed him to splurge once a month. But in return, every time he buy a new expensive jacket, he needs to give up one old one, for Mummy to sell.

Lastly, to share on my tips:

8. Compulsory savings

Once salary is received, set aside a fixed amount as compulsory savings, which should not be touched, regardless. With that, at least a minimal amount is saved every month.

9. Shop on days with discounts

In my neighbourhood, supermarkets have sale on every Tuesday and Wednesday. It is the same for MaxValue, Seiyu and Apita. And for my most commonly-frequented MaxValue Supermarket, on 20th and 30th of every month, there is a 5% storewide discount.

For some drugstores, they also have daily specials, eg. For Mondays, rice are on sale.

It is not restricted to only shopping, even eateries like Dipper Dan sells all crepes at 290yen only on every 9th, 19th and 29th of each month.

10. Make use of Loyalty Cards

The loyalty card system is very popular in Japan. Most stores have them. Their benefits include:

• Redeem points for money rebate.
• Special discount coupons for members only.
• Special discounts for members only on certain days.
• Redeem a free item at the nth stamp.
• Redeem gifts with points.

On the TV program website, they also did an online special on tips contributed by audience on how to cut spending.

Some are really jaw-dropping for me... like pitching a tent in the apartment and sleep in it, to cut down on heater usage during winter and wearing magic wipes as indoor slippers (killing 2 birds with 1 stone!) (ŐдŐ๑)

I want to swim in that skypool, too!

Gosh.. don't you wanna jump in that swimming pool and enjoy the skyview from there? Imagine a cityscape view from 55th storey! The Skypark swimming pool (I will calling it skypool, for short, here)... 良いなあ。行きたい！

Being away from Singapore, meant that I was quite behind in terms of Singapore news and updates. Mm.. which shouldn't be an issue if I have religiously kept myself updated :P I am pretty much unaware of news uncovered by news tweets and unmentioned by my Singapore friends on facebook.

So, when my Japanese colleague asked me about the skypool, pretty much out of the blue, I was really lost. Eh... you mean, we have a swimming pool on top of our Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel? Eh... really? I know we have a Skypark, which is opened for public viewing as well, with some sections closed, only exclusive to guests, too. Mmm.. so I assume he probably means the Skypark instead of a skypool.

So imagine my surprise, when I finally saw the SMAP TV ad on my Japanese TV set. How ignorant I was! There really is a skypool in Singapore!

And it reminds me very much like the pool in Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at Palms Las Vegas, which I saw from a Japanese TV program.

Very very posh...

Now back to MBS...



I so wanna visit the Infinity Pool (the name of the Skypool)! (◕ω◕❀) But I think it is likely (actually I am 99% sure) that it is only reserved for their hotel guests. Gotta book a one-night stay there!

When I am back in Singapore, I want to spend a day properly exploring the new facilities at MBS resort! Like a tourist. （✿◕‿◕)ﾉﾞ ♬♫

マル・マル・モリ・モリ！

可愛いね！This is the theme song for the Japanese drama マルモのおきて, currently my favourite jdrama for this season.

It is a very heartwarming series about a single guy adopting his friend's twins. After his friend had passed away, the relatives decided to raise the twins separately, which broke the hearts of the twins. After the twins ran away from their respective homes one day, the guy, Marumo, adopted them.

Every episode, there is a little lesson or moral. I learnt quite a bit from the twins and their daily interactions with their new dad-cum-mum.


The twins in the drama, 芦田愛菜-chan and 鈴木福-kun, on SMAP x SMAP!

But that's not the only heartwarming part. Drawn by the catchy ending dance, young audiences are also trying their hand in joining the twins in the dance.


The spontaneous dance at home...


A pretty professionally done video.


A real pair of twins! 5-year-old Tai-kun and Ai-chan.

and many more...

There is even a campaign to encourage viewers to submit their videos to Universal Music Studios. Dance steps are included, too.

Though they are supposed to submit in the form of hardcopies, it didn't stop other enthusiastic dancers and parents to upload their videos to YouTube. :)


Sample video by Universal Music Studios

Mmmm... I liked the song a lot... and watching other children dancing to it makes it even more heartwarming. :)

Nice idea from Universal Music Studios! Now more people, even those who didn't watch the drama series will know about the song. But then, it wouldn't had been successful, if the song itself wasn't so catchy and simple that kids can easily follow and dance to.

Maru maru mori mori... *dancing*

Satisfying the Yakiniku craving....

Do you have days when you suddenly craved for BBQ meat? I usually get such attacks after watching 嵐 TV programs as they like to feature yakiniku. *drools*

The place where I go to cure my craving is... none other than 牛角. It is a famous yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant with many franchises across Japan, and even has outlets overseas like USA, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and even.. yes... even tiny Singapore! So my Singapore friends, you can visit the 3 牛角 outlets in Singapore. :P



牛角 offers mainly beef, pork, chicken and vegetables. For some outlets, seafood are also provided. Though the seafood collection is limited. Afterall, it is a yakiniku outlet, where niku stands for meat.

I don't take beef, but I love their pork selection. Especially クンバラ and　ビートロ (miso flavoured). They have very extensive beef collections, since Japanese love their local beef.

They offer tongues タン, intestines, livers etc, collectively known as ハルモン.

TIP
Lost like me, when ordering? Do not know which part of the cow/ chicken/ pig the Japanese names correspond to? Check this list of Japanese names with illustrations of the body part named. I think I will bring this along for my next yakiniku trip, then I will not be bothering the waiter too much :P

I also love their sides like their 黑糖おさつバタ (grilled sweet potatoes) and corn. They also offer some Korean sides.

I especially love their early bird special buffets. Before 6pm on weekdays, at my nearest 牛角 branch, I can have the eat-all-I-want-and-drink-all-I-want (not inclusive of alcoholic drinks) buffet for only 2500yen instead of the 2780yen (eat-all buffet) with a top up of 500yen to enjoy free-flow soft drinks. For more selections, they have two other buffet choices.

Buffet options etc might differ for branches though. For example, the branch downtown stopped offering buffets. :(

さあ、are you craving for some yakiniku action yet? Locate the nearest branch near you (Japan/ Overseas). *drools*

How to cancel NHK subscription?

Back to blogging some helpful tips for JETs or any foreigners planning to stay/ work long term in Japan.

Counting down to the last few weeks in Japan, I am now busy with the 'uprooting': packing, discarding, cancellations, farewells etc. And of course, it includes cancellation of NHK subscription of the television fee.

Cancelling is pretty easy.

1. Call 0120-151515 (toll-free) or 050-3786-5003 (9am-9pm for weekdays, 9am-8pm for weekends and Public Holidays).

2. Request to cancel your TV fee. If you are returning to your home country like me, cite 帰国 (kikoku) as the reason. And let them know when you are leaving Japan.

TIP
It is best to call NHK at least 1 month before you leave Japan.

3. NHK will send a cancellation form and the last bill to your address.


4. Fill up the cancellation form. We only need to fill in our name, and the reason why we are terminating and stamp it with our hanko. Mail it back to NHK.

5. Pay the last bill.

Done!

If you like Kyoto, you will like these too!

Most of us when we visit Japan, we will cover packed these places in our one-week trip- Tokyo for shopping & Disneyland; Osaka for takoyaki and their genki culture and Kyoto for the historic streets and temples.

If you love the back-in-olden-days-Japan look in Kyoto, then you will love these places too.

Takayama 高山

This town is gradually becoming a popular tourist spot. I have been there twice, 4 years ago, and 2 weeks ago.

The towns are still the same, with dark brown wooden structures and friendly shop owners. The shops look small on the outside, but when you enter these 'houses' you will realise that it is actually very huge. It can house a few shops. That's because these old houses were ancestoral legacies, with generations living under the same roof, hence the huge size. Moreover these houses are near the castle, hence they belong to richer households, who could afford big housing then.


You will love this stretch of old town in Takayama. It is designated as a heritage site.









Most signages have both Japanese and English, too. It is very tourist-friendly.



While researching for this blog post, I came across the above youtube video. Waa... Takayama is so beautiful in winter! Takayama, wait for me! I will visit you in winter! (I have visited Takayama in summer and autumn.)

Ise Jingu　伊勢神宮

Another spot you can't miss is Ise Jingu　伊勢神宮. Near the sacred temple, the oldest temple in Japan, is the stretch of old town. The wooden infrastructure were also preserved and designated as the heritage site.




A very old-school post office.


The wind shrine located in 伊勢神宮. Very different from other temples.


Fish stall, which allows customers to try their grilled fishes before buying.





I am still on a lookout for other "Little Kyotos". It is what makes Japan unique. :) Do let me know if you know more. Let's uncover the other less well-known "Little Kyotos" :)

Yarn Bombing!

Today is International Yarn Bombing Day! It is kinda of like 'guerilla bombing' the town with yarn crafts.

It also marks my virgin yarn bombing experience... mmm... well not exactly... haha.. as I didn't prepare any crafts to yarn bomb, but pretty much just tagged along the group. :P

Together, we yarn bombed Hamamatsu, starting from Hamamatsu station.


This is our favorite! 似合うね！

Then we walked to the park near 遠州病院 and started a series of yarn bombs.


We dropped about 3 yarn bombs here I think :P

And.. next on our way to Hamamatsu Castle...


What's real and what's not? *shrugs*


Our last stop...


With that, we ended our yarn bombing expendition. Wah... I have not covered so much of Hamamatsu in a day on foot! Now I know Hamamatsu town is actually not as big as I thought actually. Between 3 akaden stations, the distance is pretty walkable, and Hamamatsu Castle is actually not that far from Hamamatsu town.

:P

Sugar goodness from Sugarpot

By far, I think I have been spending more time at Sugarpot, a cafe which I have just discovered recently, than my most fave cafe, Milou.

Here's why...







Found out the reason? Yes... the cakes are so yummilicously cute! 超可愛い！

The chef's recommendation is:


Depending on seasons, there different flavours for the teddy bear puffs. This is the orange flavoured one, during winter. I have tried the strawberry flavoured one in spring too. (^^)

Different from Milou, Sugarpot specialises more in cakes. There are a greater variety of cakes in the cafe. Tarts are more common at Milou.

Another reason why I started to take fondness in Sugarpot, is because it is quieter. I loved the ambience there. Milou is nice too, especially being surrounded by the sweet aroma of cakes and tarts. But Milou is near the train station, hence there is a lot of human traffic. There are days when I can't get a seat, and the variety of options available are not many as many buy them as takeaways.

So... I started to spend lazy afternoons more often at Sugarpot. My typical afternoon tea will include rose tea (I highly recommend this! I don't quite like the iced hibiscus tea though) and a piece of cake which catches my eye that day.

Do You Know?
The sound system they used in the cafe is Bose! Gosh.. High end sound systems!

Sugarpot is a house by itself, whereby the first floor is a cafe. You can also buy cakes and cookies as takeaways. The second floor is a baking school. Mmm.. the lessons are too expensive for me, so I didn't enroll myself. Besides, I think I prefer cooking to baking. I'll leave baking to the professionals. :P

By the way, the lady boss is really sweet! The first time I went to Sugarpot, it started to drizzle after I have eaten, so I hurriedly paid to leave, since I cycled there. She trailed after me with a piece of rag, and helped me wiped my bicycle seat dry before I rode off. So considerate! Most definitely, this level of service will never be seen in Singapore.

Sugarpot is a little inaccessible though, since it is not near any stations nor bus stops. Probably that explains why they have more baking students (usually housewives) than walkin-customers. :(


大きな地図で見る

Do you know there's a teddy bear museum in Japan?

Teddy bears! For the longest time, I have been wanting to visit a teddy bear museum, especially the one in Jeju, because... of Goong, the Korean drama. That was love at first sight for me, with the kawaii teddy bears dressed as my favorite korean drama characters.

Though I have yet to visit the teddy museum in Jeju, nor the 4 or 5 others in Seoul (there are really many teddy bear museums in Korea!), by coincidence, I stumbled upon a teddy bear museum in Japan, Takayama 高山, and would love to share this wonderful little hut of happiness with all teddy bear lovers outta.

Tucked in a little corner in Takayama, 飛騨高山テディベアエコビレッジ Hida Takayama Teddy Bear Eco Village, is located in a traditional 150-year-old 合掌造り (Gassho constructed) wooden house.



Besides housing antique bears...


I didn't know that wood shavings were used as stuffing then...

There are many exhibits with various themes like, the Japanese theme:



wedding theme...




Bears in traditional Japanese wedding kimono


Make a wish!

and of course the main theme... eco... protecting earth:



and many many others....




I am sleepy... zzz...





This is probably one of the less beaten tracks in Takayama. Most would have covered the old town, morning markets, Shirakawa Village 白川郷... So if you would like to explore Takayama a little more, try this route instead. Near the teddy bear museum are other tourist attractions like the Folk Village, the Seven Gods 飛騨開運乃森大七福神...


There are 2 famous morning markets, 宮川朝市 and 陣屋前朝市, from 6am to 12nn everyday.


白川郷 in early autumn. It is very picturesque in winter. The postcards will testify that. I have yet to see it layered with snow though...



飛騨開運乃森大七福神

So... some basic details about 飛騨高山テディベアエコビレッジ Hida Takayama Teddy Bear Eco Village:

How much does it cost?

• Adults: 600yen
• High School students: 500
• Elementary and Junior High School students: 400
• Free for all other even younger kids :)

TIP
Visit the Takayama Tourist Centre right in front of the Takayama station to get a coupon with 100yen discount off admission tickets.

How to get there?

Take the さるぼぼバス Sarubobo Bus from the Takayama Bus Terminal (right next to the Takayama station). Alight at the 飛騨の里下 (Hida no Sato) bus stop. The museum is just right across it.

TIP
It costs 200yen per ride. You can also buy a day pass for 600yen, or a package at 900yen which includes a day pass with the Hida Folk Village entrance ticket.

Enjoy your date with the teddies! :)