Came across this inspiring series of documentary(?) created by this guy (Adam Dodge), who cycled 4 abandoned railways in Hokkaido with his girlfriend in a month’s time. The videos are very well made. Besides being entertaining to watch, they are also educational, touching on some history of the lines. During my time here, I think I’ve fallen in love with trains in Japan (some were even major highlights of my Kyushu trip!)… and it is amazing how much respect the Japanese have for trains… They don’t just decorate them with themes, some people even go as far as saluting to the trains(Mostly from train operators and janitors… but I’ve seen several train otakus done that too)!
Japan.
Come and Go
Second round of drinking at M-san and H-san’s Farewell Party.
‘Tis is the season when new hires come and old members are relocated to other group companies. During this month,two members left our team and two newcomers arrived. In roughly a month’s time, it’ll be my turn to say my farewell to all these wonderful people. My time here in Japan is really slipping away now… Looking at the calendar every morning reminds me of how much there is left to do.
Recently.
Some guy put this sunflower thingy by the office’s window, praying for the rain to stop.
Have not posted anything for a while. Posts are piling up, but I don’t have time to write them, or even upload photos. With slightly more than 2 months left in Japan, I’ve been working late and travelling my butt off. I guess those travel posts will have to wait until I get back to Canada. June is the typhoon season, so it’s been raining on and off for quite a while now. Trains were even delayed or stopped several days ago. Another Typhoon hit last Friday, and on my way to work, I saw this guy’s umbrella got ripped by the strong wind… so he just pulled the remains over himself and used it as raincoat lol My situation wasn’t much better either, pants were soaked… and I was wearing a pair of converse (dunno why I always wear the wrong shoes on the wrong days).
Mesmerized by Fujisan, Part 3: Kawaguchiko & Fujikyu Highland
- Mt. Fuji floating on clouds… seen at Lake Kawaguchi.
This is the second day of my weekend trip to the Fuji-Goko area. It was such a perfect day- with perfect weather, views of Fujisan literally everywhere I went. The day started off with me biking around Kawaguchiko, then hopped on some of the world’s best coasters at FujiQ Highland, and finally relaxed at the Fujiyama Onsen nearby before bussing back to Yokosuka. It’s by far my most favorite day in Japan =D
Tonight’s Dinner: Spanish Egg Tortilla
This meal took the longest preparation time to date XD
Love how the sky is still bright when I leave work. It just feels like I have more time on hand… I loaded up my fridge with food last Friday after a grocery shopping spree, so it’s time to treat myself for a better meal. After dinner, I played with my new “toy” for a while and youtubed for a bit…. I love chill evenings like this.
Mesmerized by Fujisan, Part 2: Suicide Forest
Retro Bus that went around Lake Saiko
Continued from Part 1… After a short trip to see Shibazakura, I bussed back to Kawaguchiko station to take the Retro tour bus. There were two retro bus lines, one went around the Kawaguchiko lake, to places such as museums; while the other one (the one I took) was bound for Lake Saiko. I bought a 2-day pass for 1300 yen, but ended up using it for that day only.
Mesmerized by Fujisan, Part 1: Shibazakura
Night view of Kawaguchiko (河口湖)
OK, Fuji-goko (富士五湖)is not on my travel wish list… It all starting with reading this post from a blog that I frequent in the middle of last week. WOW, I thought, I would like to see Mt. Fuji from this paradise too. OK, I can occasionally spot Mt. Fuji from the office… but this is certainly different… where you feel like you’re just right under the mountain, and it’s decorated by a carpet of Shibazakura(Mos Phlox, 芝桜). And the Shibazakura Festival event lasted until May 27th… which meant, either I went last weekend or I would forever miss the chance to see such a beautiful sight. However, I did not plan the trip until Friday night… because I was caught up with work, and I was uncertain about the weather during the weekend. People say there is no point going if you can’t see Mt. Fuji- because even on a clear and sunny day, Fuji-san may still be blocked by clouds, due to its altitude. The best season to visit would be in winter, while summer (June/July) is the worst because it’s a stormy season. One of my colleagues said she visited twice, but she missed Fuji both times. What a pity!
Dinner Disasters and etc.
Failed attempt (visually) to make Omu-rice last week. Eggs got burnt, even the ❤ looked ugly =(
This post is just a photolog of some of my disastersdinners last week. Plus I said I would try out Natto Miso Risotto. So read on to find out what it tastes like.
Eclipse, Skytree and Risotto
People dressed in funky Skytree Costumes (Photo courtesy of DailyMail.co.uk)
Yesterday, everybody was talking about the Solar Eclipse. Today, the talking point became the Tokyo Skytree, now the world’s tallest broadcasting tower. Obviously, I couldn’t go because of work. But I probably wouldn’t go up on a weekend either…
The Weekend: BBQ and Harajuku
Setting up our area…
Yesterday (Sat), we had a team BBQ at 上郷・森の家 , located in Yokohama. The place is a family resort, with hot springs, spa, sports facilities and BBQ grounds. This event was organized by Y-san, and she prepared everything (food, drinks, tools) for us. I thank her for that!
On Sunday, I went to Harajuku (原宿)- and bought quite a lot of things =D
Blah. 