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
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
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.
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
Foreigner’s life in Japan – Part III: What it’s REALLY like
Walking in the streets of Japan, I am just another Japanese in the eyes of locals.
I still haven’t fully experienced what it’s like being a REAL foreigner here (I mean, a visible one… Because of my Asian background, Japanese people think I’m Japanese.. until I speak of course). So Azam (the only Canadian student at my workplace besides me) has always complained about being treated differently, though he is fluent in Japanese… He is taking the N1 Language test this year.
Time is running out…
It just feels like the train is about to depart, and I haven’t purchased my ticket. Actually- worse, not even done packing my belongings yet.
On the first day that I arrived at Japan, I installed an app on my phone called “Days Since”- it is, obviously, a day counter and reminds me (whenever I look at my homescreen), the number of days I’ve been here.
And today, it’s time to celebrate the 110th day Anniversary. Don’t ask me why not celebrate the 100th instead… I did not even realize it. The point is- I only have about 3 months left… how do I live the rest of my life (in Japan) to the fullest? Now, if I’m the protagonist in some Korean drama, I should be writing my wishlist (already did)with teary eyes as the background plays the saddest song ever.
Kyushu: A Series of Unfortunate Events
On the last Shinkansen train of the night, heading home.
Lots had happened during our Golden Week trip to Kyushu: Good and Bad. I won’t write too much details of the trip here, because I have to first write about Kyoto. However, this post will be an summary of the ‘memorable’ bits and pieces, lessons learnt and etc.
Warning: This post won’t have any photos because as you may know already, I lost nearly half of my pictures (more about it later)!! And after some recovery efforts, photos of the first 2 days were still missing! As for the rest, I’ve got too many photos to sort through, so it’ll take a while. Read on if you don’t mind super wordy posts. XD
Heart Warming Encounters: Kamakura, Part II
The symbol of Kamakura- Daibutsu (the great buddha)
Hm, so where was I? Read Part I, if you haven’t.
Blah. 