Pocketful of Thoughts

Change of Address

2011-06-18T03:26:00.003+08:00

Sorry for the late update.

I will be continuing my entries on my new blog due to easier management of posts.

I have exported the old entries and imported them into my new blog.

However, some older entries may not be correctly displayed.

It will take some time for me to go through all of them and edit them accordingly.

Meanwhile, continue and enjoy reading~

高尾山(Takao-san)

2010-11-05T23:44:00.001+08:00

When Pei Yen was here in Tokyo right after our Iwate trip, we went to Mt Takao for beer garden with my colleague and her friends!

After reaching the bottom of the mountain, we decided to take the funicular or ropeway halfway up before hiking to the top. The funicular at Mt Takao is the steepest railway line in Japan, with a 31 degrees elevation at maximum.

Beer garden~ 2hrs buffet!

When we reached, there was a 2hrs queue. So we got our queue number and started to hike the mountain.

Tree bark that is a medicine for the eyes?!

Goma dango!

We finally reached the top!

Going down the mountain was a little dangerous. A lot of tree roots. It was pitch black and we didn't bring any torch lights. But we made it to the beer garden!

Takoyaki that we made.

It was fun. My first beer garden in Japan. And we worked hard before feasting. So no need to feel guilty. Haha..

Miyako, Iwate Day 4

2010-10-24T22:53:00.018+08:00

After experiencing consecutive rainy days during which we were practically confined to the hotel, the last day of our trip was sunny. So we got up really early to catch the sunrise, an apparently beautiful sunrise that can be seen from our room and the hotel lounge. But we dragged ourselves up and were met with a dreary sky with gray clouds and rain.

Disappointed, we went back to sleep for a while before starting our day early so as to make full use of our remaining time in Miyako.

Our first stop after breakfast was to sit the sapa boat, a small boat that can only take up to four people, to go around the coast and the caves. We were given prawn crackers to feed the birds, which surrounded us all the time.

A tori gate that can only be accessed by the use of a boat.

Our boat went into that cave.

When b crash ig waves came, it will into the rocks.

The water is emerald blue in color and super clear!

Our captain, and the boat we sat is on the left.

After the sapa boat ride, we headed to sit the tour cruise.

After the cruise, we got on a tour bus which would bring us for a half day tour before dropping us at the train station where we would take the shinkansen back to Tokyo. Our first stop with the tour bus was the Jodogahama Beach, which is probably the most famous attraction in Miyako, and also near our hotel.

Instead of sand, the beach is filled with rocks.

The water is really clear.

After the spending some time on the beach, we headed for lunch and then continued our journey on the bus to Ryusendo Cave.

The Ryusendo Cave is one of the Three Great Limestone Caves in Japan and is a national natural monument. The cave has deep underground lakes of fresh spring water and is really clear and is emerald green in color. The deepest underground lake in Japan (120m) and one of the most transparent lakes in the world can be found in the cave.

The transparency of the water is really impressive.

The temperature outside was 19.1 degrees and 14.9 degrees in the cave.

We found a guy fishing at the river just outside the cave.

After the trip to the cave, we were dropped off at Morioka Station where we would take the shinkansen back to Tokyo.

Sunset seen from the shinkansen.

It was a little scary. Half the sky was clear while the other half was filled with dark gray and low clouds. It felt a bit ominous as we travelled towards the dark clouds. Or maybe I was just dreading going back to work...

It was a good trip, minus the fact that it practically rained everyday and we were stuck in the hotel. But because of that, I got lots of rest. We were slacking away everyday, and it was a good break. I wonder where is my next stop...

Miyako, Iwate Day 3

2010-10-24T01:49:00.009+08:00

Day 3 was the day that we had to change hotels so we got up in the morning, ate breakfast, checked out of Tarou Hotel and started on our way. It had been raining heavily the night before and on that day. So when we got to Tarou Station, the lady behind the counter told us that due to the heavy rains, the trains stopped and were delayed for an hour. With one hour and nothing to do, we looked for other options and found out that there was a bus that could bring us to our destination, although it will take a longer time. So we planned to board the bus when it came. But just before the bus came, the lady came out to tell us that the trains have started operation again and may come soon. So we got ourselves a ticket each and went up to the platform. The train eventually came from the other direction and the conductor told us that the train that we were waiting for was his train, and that he had to go right to the end, turn around and come back. Which meant that we had to wait for another half an hour. So with nothing to do, we started taking pictures on the platform.

A small shelter from the rain and winds.

The train finally came.

After we got off the train, we boarded a bus that would take us to our hotel, The Jodogahama Park Hotel. Finally, all wet, cold and hungry, we reached the hotel.

Our room facing the ocean.

Look at how dreary it was. It was just rain and clouds.

The hotel had a mini-bar fridge system that automatically calculates the price of each drink and charges it to your room when you pull the drink out.

We ate lunch in the hotel since there was no where we could go.

View from the restaurant.

Our dinner served in our room.

Cocktails.

Uni rice.

Tomato sorbert.

The staff made our bed after clearing our dishes. But they made our bed facing the wall. And being tv addicts, we shifted them to face the tv.

We didn't do anything that day because of the rain and strong winds. We practically just lazed around in our room the entire day. When we turned in for the night, we prayed for good weather the next day.

Miyako, Iwate Day 2

2010-10-12T22:20:00.011+08:00

Breakfast was buffet, but we were too full from the previous night's dinner to eat much. So I got all the healthy and light food for breakfast.

The weather forecast for this day was rain again, but lo and behold it wasn't raining! It was cloudy though. So we thought that we better get out and around before the rain started coming down again. So off to our first stop, and also one of the closest tourist spot that we wanted to go, Sannoiwa. It was like 10 to 15mins walking distance from our hotel so we set off on foot.

We climbed up the wall that the town built to contain tsunami disasters. This is a picture from the top of the wall, overlooking the town. You can see our hotel in the background, which is also one of the tallest building in the area.

View of the fishing port from the top of the wall.

There were painted emblems on the wall. I guess they symbolize something?

Sannoiwa（三王岩） consists of 3 rocks. The 'male' rock（男岩）at 50m, 'female' rock（女岩）at 23m and the drum（太鼓岩）at 17m. The rocks were apparently around since 140 million years to 70 million years ago. There is a sea hole in the 'male' rock and it is said that if you go through the hole, you will be blessed with good luck.

We walked up to get another view of the rocks.

Someone canoed past the rocks!

While we were up there looking at the view, we saw a group of guys climbing the rocks. One crossed over to Sannoiwa, went one round and came back. After looking at them, we decided to try it too! We thought of going through the cave in the 'male' rock. And so we climbed, in inappropriate shoes (seems like I'm always doing stuff with inappropriate shoes), bags and all. We got all the way to the tip of where we were.

View from the end of where we went.

Pei Yen said this photo makes it look easy. But it really wasn't. The rocks were huge and there were small ones too. But some were unstable. So you had to test it first before putting your weight on it.

We got till here, and although it doesn't look like it, the water was about knee-deep. Then we decided not to go further coz we didn't want to get wet. Lol.

After Sannoiwa, we stopped at a small temple which we passed by on the way. It is a temple to pray for their livelihood - fishing. But it was really remote, and looked unused.

Guanyin is actually holding a fish.

View from the top of the temple.

After that, we went back to the hotel. The sky didn't look great, and we couldn't travel far. We asked the front desk about the distance of the places we wanted to go and they said it wasn't walkable. So we called a cab. Yes, a cab. Can you believe it?? I actually took a cab in Japan for touring.

We first went to Sawajiri Kaikan（沢尻海岸）. The coast along Iwate Prefecture, also known as the Sanriku Kaikan（三陸海岸）, have plenty of small hidden beaches amongst the rocks/cliffs. Sawajiri Kaikan is one of them.

That's Pei Yen.

Next, we went to Masaki Kaikan（真崎海岸）further up the coastline.

The water is so emerald and clear!

There was a lighthouse there but we would have to climb up. And since the cab meter was running, we didn't go.

On our way back to the hotel. It was drizzling already. Look at the clouds!

The cab driver was really nice. He stopped by the road, picked 2 'fruits' from a bush and asked us to nibble it. He said that it was edible and it grows near the sea. He said that when he was a kid, he used to pick them from the bushes to nibble on them coz they were sweet. But there were lots of seeds too.

Back at the hotel, our dinner. Another feast!

We found out that foreigners in the area are few if not none. Everyone in the hotel were all excited coz they were expecting blonde hair blue eyes. So the staff actually asked us if we were mixed blood. The previous night when the hotel staff served us dinner in our room, the door to our room was open, and the people staying on the same floor all kept peering into our room. The hotel staff told us that that's coz my name is written on a paper outside the room, and everyone is excited coz they rarely if ever get foreign visitors, so they were just checking us out. It was quite funny, especially when you see their bewildered faces and when they ask why on earth would we choose to go there, when even Japanese do not go or some do not even know of the place. But it was a good experience...minus the rain. =)

Miyako, Iwate Day 1

2010-10-07T22:30:00.006+08:00

Pei Yen came over to Tokyo for her holidays and like last year, we decided to go on a short trip since I had to take my summer holidays too. After researching the Tohoku area (we wanted somewhere cooler than Tokyo), we decided on Iwate Prefecture (岩手県), specifically Miyako City (宮古市), the most eastern part of the main island of Japan (Honshu). From Tokyo to Iwate, we had to take the shinkansen (bullet train) for about 2 plus hours to Morioka (盛岡) and from there, take another train for another 2 plus hours to Miyako (宮古). Since there weren't much accommodation around the area and the hotel that we wanted to stay was full, we stayed at another hotel in Tarou (田老) for the first 2 nights which was another few stations away from Miyako station. The whole traveling time was quite long and the place is really at the countryside. The trains from Morioka to Miyako only come like 6 times a day. And the trains from Miyako to Tarou come like once every one to two hours? The scenery was supposed to be fabulous though as the ride from Morioka to Miyako is actually along a river (Hei River) which joins to the Pacific Ocean at Miyako. BUT, it was bloody raining. It rained the WHOLE day. Not pitter patter rain, but downpour with strong winds (especially when we were near the sea). So we couldn't really see anything along the way.

Tarou Station. It's a small station tucked away in the countryside.

Our room.

View from our room. Clouds... Rain.... (PY are you reading this? We should tag ourselves on this photo in FB. lol.)

The hotel puts the names of all the guests outside of the rooms that they are staying in.

Hotel

Post office. I had to draw money. So we walked in the wind and rain, with chattering teeth and shivering hands to find the post office.

This can only be seen in the countryside. So quiet, no high buildings. Very simple.

We were famished as we travelled all the way without food. So we raided the combini.

Our dinner! Yum...

This is really good. We bought it from the combini. Melon flavored calpis sour (alcoholic).

It was only after we got there than we found out that Tarou is actually the place where the most tsunamis hit Japan. We stayed at a hotel which was behind a fishing port. So I guess the main livelihood of the people staying in Tarou is through fishing. It is a small town, build with tsunami disasters in mind. Apparently the way the streets are paralleled with each other is to allow for easy evacuation when disaster hits. There is a huge long wall with gates that will be closed to contain the waves when tsunami hits. Although it is a small humble town tucked away in a corner of one of the biggest prefectures in Japan, where many do not take notice of it, but reading it's history and having been there to take a look myself, somehow I feel touched by it all and respect the people of Tarou for their perseverance. For those interested, you can click here for more information.

Till the entry of Day 2.

Cirque du Soleil

2010-09-15T00:31:00.000+08:00

While Mum was in Tokyo, I was quite busy and had to work during weekdays and weekends till late. Felt bad about not being able to spend time with her and decided to treat her to a circus show! I have always wanted to watch Cirque Du Soleil and I thought why not?

For those who do not or have not heard of this troupe, here is some background on them.

Cirque du Soleil which means "Circus of the Sun", is a circus troupe from Quebec, Canada. The troupe started off as a street performance, and has probably become the world's most famous circus(without animals). Cirque du Soleil has travelled to Singapore where the traveling troupe performed. However, Cirque du Soleil has also what they call a resident show where there is a permanent theatre in a country where a show is performed. Each show (whether it is a traveling troupe or a resident show) has a different theme and storyline. There are currently about 23 shows (I think) performing all over the world.

Japan has a resident show with a permanent theatre which is located beside Disneyland and DisneySea. The name of the show is called "ZED" and it is being performed twice almost everyday. The performance was superb! I love the clowns! The stage was breathtaking and the stunts were exciting. I was left speechless many times by the whole choreography. Everything is live. There is a live band and the songs are sung by singers who are performing. I think it is not right to say that Cirque du Soleil performs just a circus show. It is pure entertainment at its best. I would recommend anyone to watch it at least once. But it is expensive...

The building shaped like a Big Top (circus tent).

After "Zed", we headed to the Ninja Restaurant which mum wanted to try so much. And the ninja waitress remembered me! And we got the same magician as the one that performed when I went the previous time!

Burning wallet!

Mum being mum...who loves good food, ordered the 10,000yen per person Hanzou course.

My first cocktail.

2nd cocktail.

Shuriken star-blades grissini

Diced octopus with marinated scallop

Turban shell bombs a la escargot

Autumn treasure chest

Today's kaiseki soup, which was fish in clear broth

Seafood speciality of the day which was abalone risotto.

Mum's Japanese beef steak in wasabi horseradish and pepper sauce

My Ninja-style roast lamb with Korean flavoring

Sushi

3 Desserts which was 1) Rare cheese cake

2) Fruits

3) Tiramisu

It was a day in which we spent a lot of money. But all well worth it.

Food! Mum in Tokyo Aug/Sept 2010

2010-09-02T00:45:00.000+08:00

Mum was visiting Tokyo and we went round eating good food! Yay!

One of the lunches during the weekend was taken in Singapore Seafood Republic. Singapore food~

We ordered the Bukit Timah Course meal for lunch. Don't ask me why they called it that. I have no idea... but it was not bad.

Vegetable Salad with prawns

Sharks fin in Winter Melon Soup

Spicy Sour Shrimp (Kong Pao style)

Sambal Beef

Fried Rice with Pork

Dessert which was jelly and ice-cream.

Took some pictures of the place and found quite a number of posters and flyers on Singapore.

One of the dinners during the weekends was taken at an izakaya which is famous for fish, in Shinjuku.

Consomme Jelly

This was great. Bacon slices and brinjal grilled.

Rice and fish were steaming in this earthern pot.

Kavan in town

2010-08-15T23:01:00.008+08:00

So my cousin came to Tokyo for my long weekend, yay!! It was a fun 3 days with lots of alcohol. Lol.

Went to Haneda to pick him up and then went for breakfast together. It was my first time at Haneda International Airport. Seriously, it is a freaking small building out of nowhere. The arrival and departure is at the same place, and the waiting area at the arrival hall is only like as big as my room??? I don't know how are they going to handle the increase in international flights from this coming end-October. But heard from my colleagues that they are building new terminal, although I saw no construction anywhere when I was there.

So anyway, we came home after breakfast coz we barely slept the night before and then just crashed. Woke up, dressed up and went out for a late lunch, then headed to Kurihama in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, which was about a little more than an hour from my place. The Kurihama Perry's Fireworks Festival (久里浜ペリー祭花火大会) was being held there and I bought tickets for us a few weeks before. When we finally reached there, well, we were late. Walking from the station to the fireworks area took like more than 20mins? (That includes the time where we stopped by the combini to buy beers and sake). While we were walking, the fireworks started. So we kinda walked and watched the fireworks, and of course, drank.

After squeezing through crowds of people, we finally came to a stop as the road was packed with people and we couldn't get through. So I approached the nearest policeman and asked where was the seating area. And guess what? We had to fight our way through the crowd all the way back from the way we came and walked a further dunno how many metres and then finally to the pier area. When we finally reached our seats, we left like 2omins to watch the fireworks comfortably. But it was nice. Kurihama is a residential area, far away from the city, so it was a fresh respite from busy Tokyo. The fireworks festival was not the huge famous kind, but just a small festival. All the same, we enjoyed it while downing the beers and sake (most of it by my cousin, of course).

After the fireworks we headed back to my place and went to a bar and drank till 2.30am. It is a nice bar and it was the second time I went there. This time I set at the counter seats and watched the bartenders mix our drinks. It was interesting and nice. So we just set there and talked and talked.

The next day, we met sis at Shinjuku for lunch and then headed to Harajuku to shop. Bought loads of stuff and definitely did not have ample time to shop. We then headed to the Ninja themed restaurant in Akasakamituke as I reserved a table for us for dinner! On the way there, we transferred at Shibuya and I finally found Mr Bean! So of course we stopped to buy soya milk and pancake! How can I miss out on Singaporean food when it is right infront of me?!

Keema curry pancake! We don't even have this in SG. It was good.

We finally reached Akasakamituke and found the Ninja restaurant. Below are all the pictures!

Entrance

Cocktails and a whole bottle of sake!

The cocktails came with a spoon of bird's nest!

Cocktail + Rose petals + Bird's nest

Starters! Ninja throwing stars (shuriken) cookie with foie gras.

Crab tofu. This was good. Something different and refreshing.

Dark in this photo but it is actually asparagus with cashew nuts with some kind of dressing which was whipped to foam.

Escargot served with a flourish with some 'ninja power'?

Tempura with a dip that is whipped to foam. Different from normal tempura.

Bouillabaisse, soup. This was cooked infront of us with a hot stone which was put into the pot. Basically this stone is really hot and with the heat, raw food like meat and vegetables were put into the pot together and they all started cooking. At the end, the stone is taken out before serving.

Garnish for the soup. Parsley, tom yam paste and spring onions (from left to right).

Tuna sashimi (maguro) with avocado and a curried flavoured stick.

There was a magic show too. There were ninjas that went table to table to perform magic tricks.

A palette cleanser before the main course, which was a yuzu flavoured ice ball with mint leaves.

Our main course! Foie gras with veal.

Sushi

Dessert which was apple sorbet.

Below is the menu taken from the website. We ordered the Surprise course menu (びっくりコース)

*	Shuriken star-blades grissini

1.	Creamy lobster pudding, tofu-style

2.	Turban shell bombs a la escargot

3.	Ninja-style tempura, summer transformation

4.	Summer vegetable cocktail topped with whipped Japanese stock

5.	Special stone-boiled soup (Japanese bouillabaisse)

6.	Tuna and avocado tartar seasoned with mustard and vinegar-flavored miso bean paste

7.	Sherbet candy in summer flavors

8.	Foie gras and veal a la creme brulee or Fish of the day

9.	Ancient purple rice rolled in yuba soymilk films and sushi of the season

10.	Today's desserts

Drinks are charged separate and there is service charge too. The course itself was already 7,777 yen. The total bill was well...about 10,000 yen per person. It is really fine dining, so ya, expensive. But it was an interesting experience, and definitely the best themed restaurant that I have went so far (3 including this). I like the bouillabaisse the best of all the food. It was really good. I will recommend the place if you are willing to spend. =)

On the final day we just hung out around my area and did some shopping before heading to the airport. Didn't get to show my cousin more of Tokyo, but I thought it was a nice 3 days of catching up.

Cooking~

2010-07-03T01:53:00.002+08:00

Ash came to stay over for her grad trip and one of the evenings, cooked dinner for me!

Chicken stew~

Pam is now over here and one of the weekdays when I finished work early, I went home to cook~ Decided to cook one of the dishes mum cooked for me when she was here.

Braised minced meat with mushrooms and pickles

Yummy~

GW Day 5 Hitachi

2010-06-10T22:13:00.005+08:00

On our last day, we drove from Iwaki City (いわき市) back to Tsuchiura (土浦) to return the car. On the way, we stopped by Rokkakudo (六角堂), a place where we planned to go on Day 2 but didn't have the time.

Rokkakudo which basically means a hexagonal room.

This room which faces the sea in the peaceful surroundings have been used by poets, philosophers and artists who come here to seek inspiration and to calm their minds.

Rabindranath Tagore, a famous Indian poet, novelist, musician, playwright and a Nobel prize winner, who reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, also came here.

Around the area, there were other monuments and a museum.

Carved out all from a block of wood.

Countries which were under the Japanese Occupation in World War II would probably be pissed off seeing monument.

The words on the monument basically means Asia as One, which was the ideology of Japan when they launched the "Greater East Asia War" as they called it.

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept created and promulgated by the government and military of Japan during the Second World War. This 'ideal' represented the desire to create a block of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers.

After Rokkakudo, we stopped by a seaside cafe for lunch.

Heart-shaped?!

My salad lunch set. Olive oil with bread.

A plate of vegetables with this very interesting and delicious sauce as the dip.

Li Yan's bagel lunch set.

After lunch, we took a stroll down on the beach before heading back to Tsuchiura.

To sum it up, it was a relaxing Golden Week and it was a nice drive. Minus the fact that I had gastric pains for 2 days, it was a great trip. I definitely want to go back to the caves!

GW Day 4 Minamiaizu

2010-06-06T18:41:00.013+08:00

Since it was pitch black the night before when we arrived, I couldn't get any pictures then. By the way, it was so dark and the road leading to this guesthouse is really narrow, unlit and there weren't any signs, we actually took a wrong turn and turned into this guy's house. The owner happened to be outside and came over to us and was like "???". We then realized our mistake and apologized profusely before finding that narrow road.

Unfortunately again, we turned into the wrong guesthouse! Finally after some directions from the owner of the first guesthouse, we got to our intended destination.

Took some pictures of the guesthouse we stayed in the next morning.

The corridor leading to the shower, bath and outdoor onsen.

Stairs leading to the rooms.

Our breakfast!

Leaving the guesthouse, we headed towards Ouchijuku (大内宿), a famous historical site from the Edo period in Minamiaizu town. Ouchijuku is situated somewhere halfway up a mountain only about 15mins from the guesthouse we were staying at. However, we were caught in a jam for 2 hours! Poor Li Yan was at the wheel. I was still suffering from gastric and was in pain...

Took some pictures on the way up.

There was still snow at the top of the mountains in the foreground.

We finally reached, parked our car and walked towards the site.

This is so cool. By using the cold running streams from the top of the mountain, the shopkeepers cool their beverages. Natural fridge!

The shopkeepers use the water from the streams for everything. Cooling their beverages, washing their cutlery, etc.

After Ouchijuku, we drove to Li Yan's cousin's house to visit him, which was our main purpose of coming to Fukushima.

The sakura were at full bloom during our time there.

Matthew's (Li Yan's cousin) house.

He lives just next to the school.

After some catching up and lunch, Matthew brought us to Tou no Hetsuri (塔のへつり) which was a natural attraction in Minamiaizu.

A toad carved out of a tree trunk outside one of the shops.

The bridge is a suspension bridge.

View from the bridge.

After crossing the bridge, we walked on this ledge as seen above.

View from the ledge.

We then climbed up this flight of stairs.

View from the top.

It was a nice and relaxing day, minus the fact that I was still having gastric. However, there was a shop selling dried ginger slices coated with sugar at 塔のへつり and I bought it. It worked liked magic. I only ate a few slices and my gastric pains were gone.

After 塔のへつり, we went back to Matthew's house again and talked for some time before setting off for a three and a half hours drive to our next and final hotel which was in Iwaki City (いわき市).

GW Day 3 Takine

2010-05-26T22:18:00.013+08:00

We got up on day 3 and headed towards Takine town (滝根町) in Tamura City (田村市), Fukushima (福島). This place was recommended by my colleague who went there just 2 weeks before GW. There are at least 2 famous limestone caves in Takine and planetariums around.

Our first stop was Abukuma Limestone Cave (阿武隈洞). This cave was discovered in 1969 and is designated a natural heritage of the town. The stalactites have taken more than 80 million years to form.

Before we could explore the cave, we had to park somewhere down the mountain and then climb up. We were tired even before we reached the top. And this was with Li Yan's sprained ankle and my muscle aches.

To take a short cut up, we climbed these steep stairs. It was like climbing up the stairs at the Fukuroda Falls all over again.

Our car was somewhere down there. It is really steep. There is a point where you have to be crawling on all fours.

Pictures are not allowed to be taken in the cave. So we left our things in the locker and headed towards the cave, which we had to sort of climb down the mountain again. We were like, what's the point in climbing up?!

The temperature inside the cave is about 15 degrees all year round, with a high humidity level of above 90%. The stalactites in the cave have taken more than 80 million years to form. We paid more to be able to go on an 'exploration course' which was like an extension of the normal course. The exploration course is narrower with lower ceilings, so there were instances where we had to squeeze between rocks or duck our heads. It was nice. But there so many people because it was GW, and there was like a queue. So basically you are on a constant moving queue, going through the cave. The cave was lit quite well, and there were caution signs (for low ceilings) everywhere. There was even a tv crew filming at one part. I thought it was not bad for a tourist place.

The area around Abukuma-do.

Map of the surrounding area.

A shrine in the area.

View of the cave from the outside. Basically, the mountain.

There was a planetarium just sort of beside the cave, so we went to take a look.

The planetarium. We had to walk across that circular bridge.

The circular bridge leading to the planetarium is called 天地人桥. The bridge has apparently spots to see the star constellations.

Cancer constellation~

I really wanted to go to the other limestone cave around the area called the Irimizu Limestone Caves (入水鍾乳洞), also knowned as the Drowned Limestone Caves. Irimizu caves were discovered in 1927 and is designated a National Natural Treasure. I heard from my colleague that for the other cave, there are courses where you have to rent slippers and torches/candles and would be in waist deep water. However, we were at Abukuma-do till like 4pm and the caves close at 5pm. Since we were close by, we thought we would stop by to try our luck.

For the Irimizu caves, there are 3 courses. Course A was still open for admission, while the rest were closed as it was too late. So we decided to just go for course A.

The Irimizu caves are totally different from the Abukuma caves. There were very little shops around and it was not a tourist place. There were so few people, and the place was kind of run-down. After parking our car, we headed up and there was just one old guy at the entrance. When we said that we would like to go for Course A, he nodded without blinking an eye and took our money and just said, "Go in and walk till you see a sign which says 'End of Course A', then turn back and come back out the same way."

The entrance.

The price list for the 3 courses. For Course C, a guide is needed.

At the entrance of the caves, there were 2 bats flying constantly in and out. I was like ?!#$

I'm no good with flying creatures. So Li Yan went first and I just ran in after her. lol.

It was a totally different experience. Inside the caves, it was really wet. The name of the cave is really apt. The floors were not paved like the Abukuma-do. It was rocky and slippery. The ceilings are much lower, it was colder, humidity level was definitely higher. We had to duck, hold the rocks to climb, squeeze through the rocks, etc. The lighting was bad and there were much lesser warning signs around. Basically, it is definitely not a tourist place.

A waterfall in the cave.

See the floor? There is running water everywhere. We had to walk through that in our shoes, that were definitely not supposed to get wet. And we were carrying handbags. We were like, why didn't the guy at the entrance warn us or something.

End of Course A. And look at the difference! For Course B and C, you have to be wearing slippers since you will be in constant contact with water; and since it is unlit all the way, you have to have torches or candles. Basically you will be wading in that water just past this gate. The water is about 10 degrees.

Trying not to get our shoes wet, we went slow and climbed on areas that had the least water.

The map of the full course. We only finished A.

I definitely want to go back to the Irimizu caves. It is so interesting and it is such an experience! I swear I'll go back and finish all the courses. This time, I'll go prepared.

After the exciting caves, we got back into the car and drove to Minamiaizu town (南会津町), which is where Li Yan's cousin who is also on JET, staying. It is really in the mountains. We had to drive through the mountains to get there.

For the night, we stayed at a guesthouse. There was a outdoor onsen but I was too much in pain to bother.

Due to the long drive, and the fact that we didn't stop to eat (we barely ate the whole day), I started having bad gastric pains. Since there was nothing open except the combini (it was only 8 plus), we just grabbed cup noodles and headed back to the guesthouse.

Minus the fact that I started having gastric, it was a great day. I love the caves! Especially Irimizu caves. Anyone up to go with me? =)

GW Day 2 Hitachi, Koriyama

2010-05-23T00:46:00.015+08:00

Day 2 of Golden Week pics~

We got up and headed for Fukuroda Falls (袋田の滝), north of Ibaraki in Daigo town. This waterfall is ranked number 3 in Japan. In winter, the water freees and is apparently quite a sight.

Driving on the way to the Fukuroda Falls.

Koinobori (carp streamers) fluttering in the wind.

Sightseeing spots in Ibaraki.

We parked quite a distance away from the falls as there were only 2 or is it 3 carparks with free parking. Since it was GW and there were loads of people, we had to park at the one which was furthest away.

We could take an elevator up to look at the waterfall at eye level.

View from the bottom of the waterfall.

Rainbow!

Suspension bridge

View from the suspension bridge.

We saw this sign that pointed upwards which said 20mins, and I remembered that my colleague who came here 2 years ago mentioned that we could climb up to see the view from the top of the waterfall. So, what was there to lose since it is just 20mins? So we started climbing the stairs....

which went on forever.

And I really mean FOREVER.

The start of a very er... memorable climb. Lol.

The stairs at the start.

After the metal stairs came the stairs made of rock, which were steep, uneven, narrow and sometimes broken. Let me tell you that climbing stairs is no joke.

View of the waterfall at some point of the climb.

Well, we reached a fork that went 2 ways and we decided to go straight up instead of turning left. We thought that well, we could go left as we came back down. Well, this decision kind of sealed our fate for the next 2hrs...

The stairs went all the way up to the mountain. It came to a point where we were like, it's too late to turn back.

Since we didn't know how long it would take, it was like climbing with no destination in sight. We kept asking the people coming back down, how much longer it would take.

No, the stairs continue after this short rocky path.

FINALLY. The top.

And the view? Er... not much actually. It took us 1hr and 45 mins to get up to the top by stairs. Coming back down was faster. About 50mins?

Imagine climbing stairs. Not a slope, nor dirt path. STAIRS. ALL THE WAY. From the bottom of the mountain to the top.

Oh, did I mention that we were wearing flats? And my flats were not comfortable at all.

I knew I was going to be in pain the next day.

And guess what? Just as we started our way back down, Li Yan tripped and sprained her ankle.

The view from the left fork, which is the top of the waterfall.

On the way down, people started asking us how long it would take them to get to the top of the waterfall or to the top of the mountain. Lol.

Back down.

We climbed half of this route. It was good that we chose to come down the same way we went up. If we went down the other way, it would have been much longer.

With our tired feet, we made our way back to the car and drove to Koriyama for the night.

GW Day 1 Tsuchiura, Kasama, Hitachi

2010-05-22T23:00:00.006+08:00

For the first time, Li Yan and I went traveling together, and it was a road trip during Golden Week to the North of Ibaraki and to Fukushima.

Enjoy the pics~

Lunch at Tsuchiura's（土浦）Aeon after picking up the car at Nissan Rental. We went to Nana's Green Tea and I ordered Seafood Curry Udon with Iced Matcha Latte.

After filling up our stomachs, we headed to Craft Hills in Kasama City （笠間市）which is famous for pottery. We wanted to try our hands on making pottery but by the time we arrived, it was too late. So we settled on painting the pottery.

My painted plate.

The back of the plate.

Li Yan's painted plate.

The back of the plate.

After painting it, the plates have to be glazed and put into the kiln. So we have to wait for about a month and a half before they are really ready. After they are ready, they will be sent to Li Yan's place.

Craft Hills

The different types of materials used for pottery.

The kiln.

Seats shaped after the 12 animals.

The Cow (Mum and Dad).

The Chicken (Sis).

The Dog (Yong Jun).

The Rat (Me).

Craft Hills

After Craft Hills, we stopped by one of the cafes around the area, before heading up to Hitachi for the night.

Azuki Caramel Sweet

2010-04-18T01:31:00.001+08:00

For sis. Red bean caramel sweet. Apparently only available in Fukuoka.

Mum's Cooking

2010-04-18T01:18:00.002+08:00

The 2 weeks that mum was here, she cooked! Yay~

Didn't need to worry about my meals when I got home from work.

Chilli crab!

Banana cake made using the microwave! Didn't look great, but it tasted great.

Seafood Spaghetti in White Wine Sauce

Bacon wrapped Hamburg with Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms on the side

Ushiku, Ibaraki 20100410

2010-04-18T00:24:00.010+08:00

Brought my mum to Ibaraki and we met up with Li Yan. Then we went to Ushiku to see the world's tallest bronze Buddha. Before that, we stopped at the outlet for lunch.

Green tea latte at Bagel & Bagel. Mau's fav bagels.

Avocado and Bacon Bagel

The world's tallest bronze Buddha in the background with an actual size of the head in the foreground.

The statue got the Guinness World Record

Gardeners hard at work

These koi fishes were scary. They were huge and fat. And they were practically like only one fifth submerged. They were trying to get to the food which people throw and those that get washed up to the front. They basically didn't swim, but were just wiggling and using their fins to push them forward.

Dunno what this plant is. But I see it around in winter/spring. Looks like a kind of cabbage to me.

I look tall..... lol.

There was a small petting zoo in the garden surrounding the statue.

Nibbling away at a carrot stick. Cute.

This is cute. I like that the squirrel is wearing an armor. The sign says that don't grab the squirrels as they will bite. The staff will not take any responsibility if this happens.

The process of a star jump!

①Preparing to jump

②Jumping!

③Straining to be as high as possible

④Landing safely

The whole series of pictures were taken separately, in fact in reverse order. We just couldn't get a shot of me in the air and had to try many times. Lol.

Well, it is impossible not to shop when we stopped by the outlet. Hee...

Bought new specs! Cheap~

This pic is for sis from Li Yan. Lol.

Sakura in Tamagawa 多摩川公園

2010-04-16T23:47:00.002+08:00

Mum came to visit and to see sakura for 2 weeks. So after asking around, I decided to bring her to Tamagawa Park in Kanagawa prefecture, off Tokyo. Happy looking at the pictures!

After the sakura viewing, we headed over to Jiyuugaoka for some shopping and tea.

Sakura and Peach dessert

Strawberry shortcake

Spaghetti Vongole

2010-03-07T21:56:00.003+08:00

Being my favorite spaghetti dish, I thought that I would try cooking Spaghetti Vongole.

After my hair appointment today, I went to the supermarket to buy the ingredients, including a bottle of white wine and live clams. The recipe that I found had chorizos in it. So I bought those too.

The aroma was great, it looked great, and it tasted not bad for my first try I think. One thing I thought was lacking was the amount of sauce. I think I tossed the spaghetti for too long, therefore a lot of the sauce/white wine evaporated. Other than that, not bad I would think. Will try again. Yummy...

Joel in Tokyo

2010-02-28T21:53:00.002+08:00

Pictures of FOOD!!

Motsunabe

Lunch at the Outlet in Odaiba

I didn't know that there was a mini casino in Tokyo! I thought it isn't allowed. It is right smack in the center of the Outlet in Odaiba.

Joel brought over Bak Kut Teh he bought from Malaysia and Li Yan came over for dinner. So we cooked.

Yummy...

I have been snacking alot lately especially at work. When I am sleepy, in order to keep awake, I snack. This is bad... I think I'm putting on weight. Shucks... I have made a resolution to do crunches every night....

Hmm....

Balanced diet

2010-02-03T21:29:00.003+08:00

One of the managers in my company who is staying alone in Chiba asked me one day what do I eat for dinners and weekends. His family is in Osaka, so he has to settle meals and cooks for himself too. After hearing my diet, he shakes his head and said that I do not have a balanced diet. Not enough veggies, apparently. Then he showed me some photos he snapped of his food with his phone, and told me how he made salads.

So fine, I know I don't have enough veggies and fruits. Whatever veggies I consume are those that I have during lunch in the canteen, which is usually close to zit. So finally after much procrastinating, I decided to follow his example and started making salads. I have to say it is yummy. And I feel much healthier. lol.

Just throw in lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced green peppers, smoked pepperoni/ham/whatever meat, sprinkle cheese (I dunno what kind of cheese I bought. It just wrote thinly sliced natural cheese. The manager uses blue cheese.), and lastly italian dressing (I bought the low calorie kind). Sliced avocado is yummy with it too. It is yummy and easy to make. So yea, my healthy living starts...

Enoshima 16/01/2010

2010-01-31T22:55:00.017+08:00

Mum and Dad came over in Jan and we decided to go Enoshima in Kamakura. Sis coincidentally came over the same time, so she went too. Enoshima is a small island/seaside town in Kanagawa prefecture, to the south of Tokyo.

Enoden, a slow train which takes you on a scenic ride.

This van was parked in front of the station and sold homemade bread and coffee!

Sesame sandwich bread!

Grilled onigiri

Guess who visited this road-side stall? Kinki Kids!

The onigiri were really good. There were unagi inside, mixed with the rice.

Read the English words carefully. Earthquake = Tsunami (Tidal-waves) -> Refug (?!)

We saw so many of these huge birds flying in the sky and were thinking that they looked like eagles, till we saw the sign below...

After we crossed the bridge to the island, the first thing that greeted us was this cat which looked as if it got drenched in a swimming pool. It just sat there not moving until Sylvia went up close to it and tried to take a picture.

The place we WANTED to go for lunch as it is famous. But there were like 35 people/groups on the waiting list. So we gave up.

Our lunch at another restaurant instead.

Apparently, tulips were in season.

We went to Miami!!

.....

Love the setting of the cafe and the view. Would like to try this someday.

See the background? It was so tropical... but when you look carefully, you will realise that the palm trees are withering in the winter cold...

Drying seaweed.

On our way to the caves.

On our way back from the caves. There were so many steps, mum and dad almost couldn't make it. They were huffing and puffing and the next day had muscle ache.

The next day, we went to my favorite place, Jiyuugaoka! I brought them to Sweets Forest, and they loved it! Well, at least mum and sis did.

It was a great weekend. It has been sometime since all four of us were overseas together. Kind of miss those holidays we used to take together.

Anyway, I had fun. =)